TWM660562U - Quick connector guide structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A quick connector guide structure is used to guide a pair of male and female connectors to correct radial offset. The quick connector guide structure includes: a guide sleeve having a closed combination end and an open guide end, and a guide channel is provided inside the guide sleeve. The combination end has a coupling hole, and the guide end has a guide hole. The coupling hole and the guide hole are connected to the guide channel. The coupling hole provides the male connector plug The guide sleeve is assembled with the guide hole, and the end edge of the guide hole has an inclined guide slope to guide the female connector to enter the guide channel and connect with the male connector. The invention can use the guide sleeve to provide the male and female connectors with or without offset in both diameters to correct the offset before connecting or directly connect, thereby avoiding wear and tear when the two connectors are connected, affecting the sealing and preventing water leakage.

Description

Quick connector guide structure

A quick joint guide structure, in particular a quick joint guide structure that can provide offset correction before two non-coaxial joints are connected to prevent excessive wear during connection.

Currently, with the improvement of server computing performance, the heat generated by the internal computing units has also increased. In addition, multiple servers are installed in a server cabinet at the same time, and the space between each server is very narrow, so it is impossible to set up additional heat dissipation modules to dissipate heat for each server one by one. Therefore, the industry has used water cooling to provide heat dissipation for each server in the server cabinet. Since there are precise electronic parts in the server, various water cooling pipe configurations must avoid water leakage at each connection point to prevent damage to electronic components caused by water leakage. In order to prevent water leakage, most of the server pipes use hard or metal pipes to configure the cooling water pipes, and a male and a female connector are installed on the server (active side) and the server cabinet (fixed side) for docking, so that the water pipes on the active side and the fixed side can be quickly connected or separated. Because the radial tolerance of the male and female connectors will be small when assembled, in order to facilitate the rapid correction of the radial tolerance of the two connectors, a male and female connector will be installed near the fixed side. At least one guide post is arranged beside the position where the female connector is arranged on the fixed side (server cabinet), and a guide seat is arranged beside the position where the male connector is arranged on the movable side (server) at the position corresponding to the guide post, and the guide seat has a guide hole. When assembling the male and female connectors, the guide post is first inserted into the guide hole of the guide seat. The guide post and the guide seat guide the two connectors with radial tolerance until the two connectors are close to the coaxial center before the two connectors are aligned and connected in series.

Since the space inside the server cabinet is quite narrow, guide posts and guide seats must be correspondingly arranged at each joint between the male and female connectors to calibrate the radial offset of the two connectors. Therefore, the installation of guide posts and guide seats takes up a lot of space inside the server cabinet.

In addition, in order to save space inside the server cabinet, some companies have omitted the use of guide posts and guide seats. Therefore, they have specially controlled the tolerance accuracy of the radial offset of the two mutually connected male and female connectors, and set a bevel at the position where the inner hole of the female connector first contacts the male connector. When the bevel contacts the male connector, the two use friction to guide the male connector and the female connector to correct the slight radial offset, thereby increasing the smoothness of the connection between the two connectors. Although this method can omit the use of guide posts and guide seats, it is still not suitable for the industry. The use of the socket, but the following problems will still arise. When the male and female joints are used directly as offset correction parts, the front end of the male joint is very important for the sealing between the male and female joints. If the front end of the male joint is hit or excessively worn and damaged, it will cause insufficient sealing between the joints inside the female joint and the sealing elements inside the female joint, and the water valve set between the two cannot be closed, which will cause poor sealing between the male and female joints and water leakage.

In addition, in order to comply with the Open Computer Project (OCP) specifications, when two different types of connectors (such as UQD quick connectors and UQDB blind plug connectors) are used together, the lengths of the male and female connectors of the two specifications are different, so the depth of the male connector inserted into the female connector cannot be controlled after the connection. When the valve bodies inside the two connectors are inserted too deeply into each other, it is easy for the internal spring that controls the valve body to open and close the water path to be over-extruded and exceed the yield stress, causing permanent deformation. When the male and female connectors are separated, the spring loses its elasticity and cannot be restored to its original state, and the valve body cannot be returned to its original position to close the water path, causing continuous water leakage. Therefore, how to improve the lack of knowledge is the top priority for people in this skill.

Therefore, in order to effectively solve the above problems, the main purpose of this invention is to provide a quick connector guide structure that can directly correct the radial offset of the male and female connectors, and can smoothly correct the radial eccentricity between the two connectors to provide a combined quick connector guide structure.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the invention provides a quick connector guide structure, which is used to guide a pair of male and female connectors to correct radial offset, and includes: a guide sleeve; the two ends of the guide sleeve respectively have a closed combination end and an open guide end, and the interior of the guide sleeve has a guide channel between the combination end and the guide end, the combination end has a combination hole connected to the guide channel, the combination hole provides the male connector to be inserted and combined with the guide sleeve, the guide end has a guide hole, and its end edge has an inclined guide slope, the guide hole is connected to the guide channel, and the guide end provides guidance for the female connector to enter the guide channel and connect with the male connector.

This invention eliminates the need for additional guide posts and guide seats on male and female joints. The radial offset can be corrected directly through the guide sleeve, and the axial butt joint can be performed, which can reduce the wear caused by the male and female joints during the joint.

1: Guide sleeve

11: Combination end

111: Binding hole

112: Class

12: Guide end

121: Guide hole

1211:Guide slope

13: Guidance channel

131: Limiting platform

14: Perforation

15: Axial grooving

2: Male connector

21: socket part

211: flange

212: Neck

22: Plug-in part

3: Female connector

5:Fixed components

6: Server cabinet

7: Server case

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the first embodiment of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 2 is a combined cross-sectional view of the first embodiment of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 3 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the second embodiment of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 4 is a combined cross-sectional view of the second embodiment of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 5 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the third embodiment of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 6 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the fourth embodiment of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the actuation of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the actuation of the creative quick joint guide structure; Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the actuation of the creative quick joint guide structure.

The above-mentioned purpose of this invention and its structural and functional characteristics will be explained according to the preferred embodiments of the attached drawings.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 2, which are the three-dimensional exploded and assembled cross-sectional views of the first embodiment of the quick connector guide structure of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the quick connector guide structure of the present invention is used to guide a pair of male and female connectors to correct radial offset. The quick connector guide structure includes: a guide sleeve 1; the guide sleeve 1 has a combination end 11, a guide end 12 and a guide channel 13, the guide channel 13 is arranged inside the guide sleeve 1 and is located between the combination end 11 and the guide end 12, the combination end 11 has a combination hole 111, and is connected to the guide channel 13, the combination hole 111 provides the male connector 2 to be inserted and combined with the guide sleeve 1.

The male connector 2 has a sleeve portion 21 and a plug portion 22. The sleeve portion 21 has a flange 211 and a neck portion 212. The male connector 2 has a step portion 112 in the coupling hole 111 of the assembly end 11 of the guide sleeve 1. The male connector 2 is inserted into the guide channel 13 of the guide sleeve 1 through the plug portion 22 and the coupling hole 111, and is coupled with the guide sleeve 1. The flange 211 of the sleeve portion 21 is just clamped on the step portion 112 of the coupling hole 111, and the male connector 2 has an axial limiting effect. In addition, the male connector 2 and the guide sleeve 1 can also be assembled and fixed in a tight fit manner, but it is not limited thereto.

The guide end 12 has a guide hole 121, and its inner edge has an inclined guide slope 1211. The guide hole 121 is connected to the guide channel 13. The guide end 12 provides guidance for the female connector 3 to enter the guide channel 13 and connect with the male connector 2.

The main purpose of this invention is to assemble the male connector 2 with the guide sleeve 1, and the male connector 2 first extends the plug-in portion 22 to be plugged with the female connector 3 into the guide channel 13, and then the guide sleeve 1 provides the correction of the radial offset of the male and female connectors 2 and 3 before they are connected to each other, and the guide slope 1211 provided on the inner edge of the guide hole 121 of the guide sleeve 1 guides the female connector 3 into the guide channel 13, and the guide sleeve 1 is coaxially arranged with the male connector 2, so when the female connector 3 is successfully guided into the guide channel 13, it is also coaxial or nearly coaxial with the male connector 2, which can avoid the wear caused by the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 when they are connected, thereby keeping the sealing between the joint points of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 and the sealing elements of the male and female connectors 2 and 3 intact, and ensuring that the water valve set between the two is indeed sealed without leakage.

The guide channel 13 of the guide sleeve 1 has a limiting platform 131. Since the diameter of the guide channel 13 of the guide sleeve 1 is larger than the diameter of the coupling hole 111, the limiting platform 131 is formed at the bottom of the guide channel 13.

The hole diameter of the guide channel 13 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the female connector 3. When the female connector 3 enters the guide channel 13 and docks with the male connector 2, the female connector 3 will eventually hit the limit platform 131. This can prevent the two different types of male and female connectors 2 and 3 from being inserted too deeply into each other due to different lengths, thereby causing the internal spring to be excessively squeezed and permanently deformed, losing its elastic restoring force and being unable to provide the work of resetting the valve body inside the male and female connectors 2 and 3 to close the waterway.

Please refer to Figures 3 and 4, which are the three-dimensional exploded and assembled cross-sectional views of the second embodiment of the quick connector guide structure of the present invention. As shown in the figure, part of the structure of this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, so it will not be described here. However, the difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that the outer edge of the guide sleeve 1 has a through hole 14, and the through hole 14 penetrates the guide sleeve 1 in the radial direction of the guide sleeve 1 and is connected to the guide channel 13.

When the male connector 2 and the guide sleeve 1 are not tightly fitted, a fixing element 5 can be inserted through the through hole 14, and the fixing element 5 is inserted into the guide channel 13 of the guide sleeve 1 through the through hole 14, and because the flange 211 of the sleeve portion 21 of the male connector 2 is just clamped on the step 112 of the coupling hole 111, an axial limit is provided to prevent the male connector 2 from being inserted too deeply into the guide sleeve 1. Alternatively, the male connector 2 and the guide sleeve 1 can be fixed by welding, gluing or other methods.

In addition, when the fixing element 5 penetrates through the through hole 14 and enters the guide sleeve 1, the fixing element 5 just contacts the neck 212 of the male connector 2. The fixing element 5 provides axial limitation for the male connector 2 relative to the guide sleeve 1 to prevent it from being pulled out. The fixing element 5 can be a bolt, a screw, a spring bolt or other fixing element.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the third embodiment of the quick connector guide structure of the present invention. As shown in the figure, part of the structure of this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment, so it will not be repeated here. However, the difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that the guide sleeve 1 further has an axial groove 15, which is formed by the axial extension of the combination end 11 toward the guide end 12. The longitudinal groove 15 divides the assembly end 11 of the guide sleeve 1 into at least two parts in the radial direction, so that the assembly end 11 has the characteristics of elastic clamping in the radial direction. When the male connector 2 is engaged with the assembly end 11, the guide sleeve 1 can provide an elastic clamping effect on the male connector 2, so that the guide sleeve 1 does not need additional fixing elements and can be fixed to the outside of the male connector 2 by elastic clamping.

Please refer to Figure 6, which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the fourth embodiment of the quick connector guide structure of the present invention. As shown in the figure, part of the structure of this embodiment is the same as the first, second and third embodiments, so it will not be described here. However, the difference between this embodiment and the second and third embodiments is that the guide sleeve 1 has both the axial groove 15 and the through hole 14, and the fixing element 5 is penetrated in the through hole 14 to further limit the axial position of the male connector 2.

Please refer to Figures 7, 8, and 9, which are schematic diagrams of the operation of the quick connector guide structure of the invention. As shown in the figure, the left side of Figures 7, 8, and 9 is the fixed side. This embodiment uses the server cabinet 6 as an example. The components on the fixed side (server cabinet 6) are the female connector 3 and other components installed on the server cabinet 6. This embodiment only uses the female connector 3 as an example, and the remaining components are not shown or described in detail. In addition, the unit components on the right side of Figures 7, 8, and 9 are the components relative to the server cabinet 6. The movable side of the server cabinet 6 is a server housing 7 that slides with the server cabinet 6 for illustrative implementation. The quick connector guide structure of the invention cooperates with a movable mechanism that can provide a relative radial offset. When the guide sleeve 1 guides the male and female connectors 2 and 3 to correct the radial offset, the movable mechanism provides a radial sliding offset. This embodiment does not specifically limit the type of the movable mechanism, and other components on the server housing 7 are not further described or indicated.

The main purpose of this quick connector guide structure is to comply with the Open Computer Project (OCP), and any male and female connectors 2 and 3 that meet the specifications shall not be further processed or their specifications changed at will. In order to solve the problem of providing a radial offset correction structure for male and female connectors 2 and 3 with radial offsets, this creation is to first assemble a guide sleeve 1 with a male connector 2, and after the guide sleeve 1 and the male connector 2 are assembled, the male connector 2 is assembled with the aforementioned movable mechanism through its other end.

Afterwards, since the female connector 3 and the male connector 2 installed on the fixed side (server cabinet 6) are not on the same axial track, there is a slight radial offset between the two. Therefore, before the two (male and female connectors 2 and 3) are axially connected, the radial offset between the two must be corrected to within the error range so that the connection can be carried out.

The female connector 3 contacts the guide slope 1211 of the guide sleeve 1 through the outer edge of one of its free ends. Since this part is not used as a closed waterway and is relatively wear-resistant compared to other parts, it is used as the part in contact with the guide sleeve 1.

When the guide sleeve 1 continues to displace axially toward the female connector 3, the guide sleeve 1 is guided by the guide slope 1211 to generate radial movement and simultaneously drive the male connector 2 assembled with the guide sleeve 1 to move radially. When the female connector 3 completely enters the guide channel 13, the male connector 2, the female connector 3 and the guide sleeve 1 arranged in the guide channel 13 are close to the same axis, and the original radial offset between the male and female connectors 2 and 3 is also corrected to be close to zero. Finally, the male connector 2 is inserted into the female connector 3 and the two complete the docking operation.

This invention mainly uses the guide sleeve 1 to replace the direct contact between the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 for the correction of radial offset, which can avoid the wear caused by the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 when they are connected, so that the sealing between the joint points of the male connector 2 and the female connector 3 and the sealing elements of the male and female connectors 2 and 3 can be kept intact, and ensure that the water valve installed between the two is indeed sealed without leakage.

The setting of the limiting platform 131 inside the guide sleeve 1 provides two male and female connectors 2 and 3 of different specifications, and the limiting platform 131 can limit the axial engagement depth of the two male and female connectors 2 and 3 of different specifications, thereby preventing the problems such as excessive insertion due to different lengths. It also prevents the external bevel surface of the plug-in portion 22 of the male connector 2 and the bevel surface in the inner hole of the female connector 3 from excessively fitting or rubbing when engaging, or the two inner and outer bevel surfaces from getting stuck with each other and unable to separate.

This invention eliminates the traditional method of setting guide posts and guide seats to correct the radial offset of the male and female connectors 2 and 3, which not only saves a lot of component installation costs, but also improves the problem of excessive space crowding between server cabinets and server shells.

1: Guide sleeve

11: Combination end

111: Binding hole

112: Class

12: Guide end

121: Guide hole

1211:Guide slope

13: Guidance channel

131: Limiting platform

21: socket part

22: Plug-in part

211: flange

212: Neck

3: Female connector

Claims (10)

A quick connector guide structure is used to guide a pair of male and female connectors to correct radial offset. The quick connector guide structure includes: a guide sleeve having a combination end, a guide end and a guide channel. The guide channel is arranged inside the guide sleeve and between the combination end and the guide end. The combination end is closed and has a combination hole connected to the guide channel. The combination hole provides the male connector to be inserted and combined with the guide sleeve. The guide end is open and has a guide hole. The end edge has an inclined guide slope. The guide hole is connected to the guide channel. The guide end provides guidance for the female connector to enter the guide channel and connect with the male connector. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the guide sleeve and the male connector are combined with each other by a tight fit or a non-tight fit. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the guide sleeve has a through hole on its outer edge, the through hole penetrates the guide sleeve in the radial direction of the guide sleeve and is connected to the guide channel. As described in item 3 of the patent application, the quick connector guide structure further comprises a fixing element inserted into the aforementioned through hole and the aforementioned guide sleeve assembly, and provides axial limitation of the male connector relative to the guide sleeve. As described in the first item of the patent application, the guide structure of the quick connector, wherein the male connector has a sleeve portion and a plug portion, the sleeve portion has a flange; the combination hole of the assembly end of the guide sleeve has a step portion, the male connector is inserted into the guide channel of the guide sleeve through the plug portion from the aforementioned combination hole to be combined with the guide sleeve, and the flange of the sleeve portion is just clamped on the step portion of the combination hole. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the quick connector guide structure has a limiting platform in the guide channel of the guide sleeve. As described in item 4 of the patent application scope, the quick connector guide structure, wherein the fixing element can be a pin, a screw or a spring clip. As described in item 1 of the patent application scope, the quick connector guide structure, wherein the guide sleeve and the male connector are fixed by welding. As described in the first item of the patent application, the guide sleeve has an axial groove formed by the axial extension of the combination end toward the guide end. As described in the first item of the patent application, the guide sleeve has a through hole and an axial groove, the through hole penetrates the guide sleeve in the radial direction of the guide sleeve and is connected to the guide channel; the axial groove is formed by the axial extension of the combination end toward the guide end.