Patent Application
20240256011
Electronic devices, such as computers, networking devices, power supply units, etc., generate heat when in use. Cooling systems may be utilized to remove heat from components of the electronic devices to keep them within desired operating temperatures. For example, liquid cooling techniques may use flows of liquid coolant to remove heat from the system. In such liquid cooling techniques, a cold plate thermally coupled with the electronic device and with the flow of liquid coolant can be used to transfer heat from the electronic device to the liquid coolant.
In systems that utilize liquid cooling techniques, the flows of liquid coolant are delivered to the electronic devices via liquid cooling infrastructure such as pumps, coolant lines, fluid couplings, etc. In particular, quick-disconnect (QD) fluid couplings are commonly used to connect tubes or pipes to other components, such as another tube or pipe, a fluid manifold, a pump, or other infrastructure.
The present disclosure can be understood from the following detailed description, either alone or together with the accompanying drawings. The drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or more examples of the present teachings and together with the description explain certain principles and operation. In the drawings:
As computing devices increase in performance, the heat generated thereby also tends to increase as well. Accordingly, liquid cooling systems for new generations of computing devices are expected to need greater cooling capacity, and in particular greater liquid coolant flow rates. To allow for greater flow rates, larger diameter tubes/pipes and larger diameter fluid coupling may be needed.
However, one problem with using larger diameter fluid couplings is that the larger diameter fluid couplings can require a relatively large amount of force to couple together, especially if the coolant lines are pressurized at the time of coupling. For example, some fluid couplings that can produce the desired increased flow rate may need to be pushed together with around 30-50 lbs (133-222 N) of force to complete the coupling thereof, assuming the coupling is performed while the lines are pressurized at typical pressures used in liquid cooling systems (e.g., about 30 psi (2.1 bar)). This represents a 3-4 fold increase on the amount of force typically needed for fluid couplings in various existing designs. Of this force, around 20-40 lbs (89-178 N) may be attributable to the internal spring forces of the springs that hold poppets/valves of the couplings closed, and around 10-20 lbs (44-89 N) may be attributable to the pressure of the liquid in the lines. In many cases, the coupling of the fluid couplings needs to be performed manually by a person, but many people might not be strong enough to push the couplings together with 30-50 lbs (133-222 N) of force. Moreover, even if a relatively strong user is able to couple these fluid couplings together, if many couplings are needed then even a strong user can easily become fatigued (e.g., some systems have dozens of such couplings). While depressurizing the system can reduce the force that is needed to couple the couplings, in many cases (e.g., during repairs and/or upgrades of existing systems) the system may need to remain pressurized so that liquid cooling can continue and the system can remain functional, and thus the force needed while pressurized remains an important limiting factor for fluid couplings.
To reduce the amount of force that a user may need to supply to couple the fluid couplings, examples disclosed herein provide the fluid couplings with complementary magnetic latch assemblies that generate magnetic attraction forces that aid the user in completing the coupling. The magnetic latch assemblies comprise magnets, such as magnet segments of alternating polarity arranged in a ring around the main body of the coupling. The magnets of one magnetic latch assembly are attracted to the magnets of the other magnetic latch assembly, and the forces generated thereby may offsets some or all of the required coupling force, making it much easier for a user to couple the fluid couplings together.
In some examples, the magnetic latch assemblies for the fluid couplings comprise a shell that houses the magnets, which is formed separately from and then mounted to a main body of the fluid coupling. This formation of the magnetic latch assembly separately from the main body of the coupling can allow for reduced manufacturing costs. For example, in some cases the main body of the fluid coupling is formed from relatively expensive materials (e.g., stainless steel, brass, or other metals) and relatively expensive processes (e.g., machining), whereas the shell of the magnetic latch assembly can be formed from relatively inexpensive materials (e.g., plastic) and relatively inexpensive processes (e.g., injection molding or additive manufacturing (3D printing)). In addition, the separation of the main body from the magnetic latch assembly can allow for the main body to be used for making both fluid couplings that do not utilize magnets (e.g., by using the main body without the magnetic latch assembly) and the fluid couplings described herein that do (e.g., by adding the magnetic latch assembly to the main body). This allows for reduced tooling and lower manufacturing costs. In addition, in some cases the magnetic latch assembly can be added to existing fluid couplings, allowing for the retrofitting of these existing couplings.
In some examples, magnetic latch assemblies for the fluid couplings comprise complementary latching structures that engage with one another to hold the couplings in a coupled state. This can help to ensure that the couplings do not inadvertently decouple, especially in those examples in which the magnetic attraction force is equal to or less than the internal forces urging separation (e.g., the spring forces and liquid pressure). Each of these latching structures comprises a hook feature and a ramp feature, and thus may be referred to herein as a ramp-and-hook latch. The hooks of one coupling are complementary to those of the other, and these hooks interlock to latch the two fluid couplings together. Moreover, the shells of the magnetic latch assemblies are configured to hold the magnets thereof in predetermined positions so that the magnetic attraction forces between the magnets cause the magnetic latch assemblies to automatically self-align relative to one another. This can aid the user in securing the latches as the hooks of one magnetic latch assembly are automatically aligned with the hooks of the other magnetic latch assembly. This also helps to keep the hooks engaged with one another after coupling has been completed, thus aiding in prevention of inadvertent decoupling.
The ramps of the latching structures can aid the user with decoupling of the fluid couplings. To allow for decoupling the fluid couplings, in some cases the fluid couplings can be rotated to misalign the magnets, thereby reducing the magnetic attraction forces therebetween or even generating repulsion forces if rotated far enough. However, in some cases the friction and magnetic attraction forces may make it relatively hard to rotate the couplings sufficiently to allow for decoupling. But in examples disclosed herein, the ramps may engage with and slide by one another as the couplings are initially rotated and, like the threads of a screw, begin forcing the fluid couplings to move apart from one another in response to the rotation. Although the translation induced by the ramps is relatively small—for example, on the order of a few millimeters—this separation may be sufficient to greatly reduce the influence of the magnets resisting rotation and hence the amount of torque the user needs to apply to the fluid couplings. For example, with a 1 mm air gap between the magnets, it can take 325 mN·m of torque to rotate the couplings through a given angle, whereas with an air gap of 4 mm the needed torque to rotate the couplings through the same angle is lowered to 150 mN·m. Thus the ramps, by forcing a slight separation between the couplings as rotation begins, can reduce the torque needed for the further rotation that will ultimately allow for the couplings to separate.
These and other examples will be described in greater detail below in relation to
The main coupling body 110 has a generally tubular shape with a central cavity defining a path through which liquid can flow. In some examples, the main coupling body 110 comprises a strong material, such as a metal (e.g., stainless steel, brass, or other metals). In some examples, the main coupling body 110 may be similar to various existing QD fluid couplings. In particular, the main coupling body 110 comprises a coupling interface 112 and a secondary connection portion 116. The coupling interface 112 comprises a QD interface configured to mate with a complementary coupling interface 112 of another fluid coupling 100. The coupling interface 112 is described in greater detail below. The secondary connection portion 116 is configured to connect the main coupling body 110 to a liquid carrying conduit, such as a tube, pipe, manifold, coolant distribution unit (CDU), pump, an entry port of a liquid cooled electronic device, or any other liquid cooling infrastructure. For example, the secondary connection portion 116 may comprise a hose bard connection, a threaded connection (male or female), a compression fitting, a push-to-connect fitting, a Yor-Lok fitting, an O-ring face seal fitting, a solder-connect fitting, or any other connectors/fittings. The secondary connection portion 116 is generally configured for a more permanent connection than that provided by the coupling interface 112, although both can be disconnected if needed.
Returning to the coupling interface 112, in some examples the coupling interface 112 can be male or female, and one fluid coupling 100 that has a male coupling interface 112 can couple with another fluid coupling 100 that has a female coupling interface 112. For example, one coupling interface 112 may comprise a protrusion and another coupling interface 112 may comprise a receptacle, wherein the protrusion is configured to be received within the receptacle, and the coupling interface 112 with the protrusion may be referred to herein as a male coupling interface 112 while the coupling interface 112 with the receptacle may be referred to herein as the female coupling interface 112. The coupling interfaces 112, whether male or female, may also comprise internal flow control elements (not illustrated) that prevent the flow of liquid when the coupling interface 112 is not coupled to a complementary coupling interface 112 (of another fluid coupling 100) and allow the flow of liquid when the coupling interface 112 is coupled to a complementary coupling interface 112. These flow control elements may comprise, for example, a poppet or valve that is movable between open and closed positions, with the poppet or valve blocking the liquid flow path when in the closed position and allowing liquid to flow through the path when in the open position. A spring or other similar biasing element may be coupled to the poppet or valve to bias it towards the closed position. As two of the fluid couplings 100 are coupled together, part of one coupling interface 112 may push against (or otherwise interact with) the poppet or valve of the other coupling interface 112 and move it into the open position, and thus the fluid paths through the two fluid couplings 100 are automatically opened as a result of the fluid couplings 100 being coupled together. In moving the poppets or valves to their open positions, the spring forces that hold the poppets or valves in the closed position need to be overcome, as well as forces from the pressure of the liquid pushing against the poppets or valves. QD fluid couplings and the coupling interfaces thereof are familiar to those of ordinary skill in the art, and thus the internal components of the coupling interface 112 are not illustrated or described in greater detail herein.
The magnetic latch assembly 120 comprises a shell 130 that carries the magnets 140 that provide the magnetic attraction forces described above. The shell 130 is formed separately from the main coupling body 110, and is later coupled thereto. For example, the shell 130 may have a ring-like shape with a central opening into which a portion of the main coupling body 110 may be received so that the shell 130 surrounds the main coupling body 110. The shell 130 may be formed, for example, from plastic via injection molding, additive manufacturing, or any other desired manufacturing technique.
The shell 130 further comprises a magnet compartment into which a plurality of magnets 140 are arranged. The magnets 140 may be arranged around the circumference of the shell 130 with alternating polarities. For example, if two magnets 140 are provided there may be one with a first polarity (e.g., North) and one with a second polarity (e.g., South), if fourth magnets 140 are provided there may be two with the first polarity (e.g., North) and two with the second polarity (e.g., South) arranged alternately, and so on for six, eight, or any even number of magnets 140. In some examples, each of the magnets 140 may be shaped as a segment of a ring (more specifically, a segment of a cylindrical shell or rectangular toroid), such that when all of the magnets 140 are arranged around the circumference of the shell 130 they collectively form an essentially full ring (cylindrical shell) (except for small gaps potentially left between adjacent magnets). For example, in some implementations two magnets 140 are provided that are shaped as approximately 180-degree segments of a ring. As another example, in some implementations four magnets 140 are provided that are shaped as approximately 90-degree segments of a ring. As another example, in some implementations six magnets 140 are provided that are shaped as approximately 60-degree segments of a ring. And so on for other numbers of magnets 140. In some examples, the magnets 140 may be separated from one another by ribs or other dividers, in which case the magnets 140 may have a shape of a segment that is slightly smaller than that noted above to allow for the divider (e.g., two 176-degree segments, four 88-degree segments, and so-on).
The shell 130 further comprises a plurality of ramp-and-hook latches 150. In some examples, the ramp-and-hook latches 150 are evenly distributed around a circumference of the shell 130. In some examples, the ramp-and-hook latches 150 are formed from a radially outermost wall of the shell 130. The ramp-and-hook latches 150 extend, generally, in an axial direction towards the location of where another fluid coupling 100 would be located during a coupling sequence, so that the ramp-and-hook latches 150 of one of the couplings 100 can engage with the complementary ramp-and-hook latches 150 of the other coupling 100. Each ramp-and-hook latch 150 comprises a hook feature and a ramp feature. In particular, each ramp-and-hook latch 150 comprises a somewhat saw-toothed or wave-shaped protrusion that protrudes in an axial direction from a rear portion of the shell 130 toward the opposite fluid coupling 100, and at an apex of this axial protrusion the hook feature is formed by another smaller protrusion (e.g., like the crest of the wave) that protrudes circumferentially away from the apex to define a cove or notch behind the hook. The ramp also extends circumferentially from the apex, but in the opposite direction as the hook, with the ramp sloping back from the apex towards the rear of the shell 130.
When the ramp-and-hook latches 150 of one fluid coupling 100 are engaged with the complementary ramp-and-hook latches 150 of another fluid coupling 100, the hook of each ramp-and-hook latch 150 is received within the cove defined by the opposite ramp-and-hook latches 150, and vice versa, such that the hooks interlock with one another and prevent translation of the shells 130 (and hence the two fluid couplings 100) apart from one another in the axial directions. Thus, the ramp-and-hook latches 150 can secure the fluid couplings 100 together, preventing inadvertent decoupling thereof. Moreover, because the magnets 140 of one magnetic latch assembly 120 are arranged in a complementary manner to those of the other magnetic latch assembly 120, the magnets exert forces that self-align the two magnetic latch assemblies 120 of the mating fluid couplings 100 such that the respective hooks of the engaging ramp-and-hook latches 150 are all automatically self-aligned with one another during the mating by the magnetic forces. In addition, these self-aligning magnetic forces tend to hold the hooks in interlocking engagement with one another after the coupling is complete, thus further securing the coupled fluid coupling 100 together. Moreover, because the ramp-and-hook latches 150 can secure the couplings 100 together, other latching feature that have traditionally been used in fluid couplings can be omitted, which can allow more room for other parts (such as larger magnets 140) and/or reduced costs.
In addition, when the ramp-and-hook latches 150 of one fluid coupling 100 are engaged with the complementary ramp-and-hook latches 150 of another fluid coupling 100, the ramp of each ramp-and-hook latch 150 in contact with the ramp of the opposite ramp-and-hook latches 150, and vice versa. This sloped engagement between the ramps converts rotational motion of the two shells 130 of a pair of coupled fluid couplings 100 into axial translation of the two shells 130 (and hence the fluid couplings) in opposite directions. As described above, this axial separation of the shells 130 can increase the air gap between the respective magnets 140 thereof sufficiently to allow for a noticeable decrease in the amount of torque that is needed to continue rotating the shells 130. For example, in one implementation, the torque needed to overcome magnetic resistance to rotation of the ring magnets relative to one another, for a given air gap therebetween, may start out relatively small and rapidly increase with each degree of rotation (at least up until about 20 to 30 degrees of rotation, whereupon the torque will continue to increase with each degree of rotation but at a slower rate). Moreover, the greater the air gap between the magnets, the less torque is required for the same angle of rotation. For example, ten degrees of rotation may require, in one example, 206 mN·m of torque at 1 mm separation distance, or 150 mN·m of torque at 2 mm separation, or 88 mN·m of torque at 4 mm separation. In other words, in an example, the torque required to turn the magnets 7-degrees when they have a 1 mm separation distance may be the same as the torque required to turn the magnets 10-degrees when they have a 2 mm separation distance or 20-degrees when they have a 4 mm separation distance. The ramps take advantage of these phenomena to reduce the overall torque needed to rotate the shells 130 to separate fluid couplings 100. In particular, as the shells 130 first begin to rotate, the torque needed to overcome the magnetic resistance to rotation is relatively small because the angle of rotation is small, thus during this stage the primary source of resistance to the rotation is friction between the ramps and the axial magnet attraction force that resists the axial translation caused by the ramps. However, the ramps create leverage much like a screw, and thus the friction and axial magnetic attractive forces can be relatively easily overcome with modest torque. As rotation continue through a larger angle, the magnetic resistance to rotation would normally increase rapidly if the ramps were not present, and when combined with the friction and other forces this torque may become sufficient to make continued rotation difficult for some users. However, in the examples described herein, this increase in the magnetic resistance to rotation due to increasing angle of rotation is largely offset by the increased axial separation between the magnets caused by the ramps. Recall that the torque required to rotate the magnets depends on the separation distance between the magnets, with greater separation reducing the needed torque. Thus because the ramps increasing the separation distance with each degree of rotation, they therefore also reduce the torque-per-degree. The effects of the increasing torque due to increasing angle of rotation and the decreasing of torque due to increasing separation distance tend to partially or wholly cancel one another out, greatly diminishing the effect of the magnets' resistance to rotation on the overall torque needed to rotate the shells 130.
In some examples, the ramp of one ramp-and-hook latch 150 ends (or begins, depending on perspective) within the cove defined by the hook of an adjacent ramp-and-hook latch 150, so that the plurality of ramp-and-hook latches 150 form a continuous series of ramps and hooks around the circumference of the shell 130. In some examples, the shell 130 comprises one ramp-and-hook latch 150 for each magnet 140. In other examples, the number of latches 150 is independent from the number of magnets 140. In some examples, there are four ramp-and-hook latches 150.
Turning now to
As shown in
The magnetic latch assembly 220 is secured in this position by a fastening element, which in the illustrated example is an snap retention ring or clip 219 which is inserted in the direction 299 through a slot 237 in the inner cylinder 231 and into a groove 214 in the radially outer surface of the coupling interface 212. The snap retention ring 219 keeps the magnetic latch assembly 220 from moving axially relative to the main coupling body 210. In other examples, any other type of fastening element could be used, such as a screw, a pin (e.g., a roll pin), a clamp, friction, a snap fit attachment, adhesive, solder, heat staking, etc.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The shell 231 further comprises a front mating surface 235. This front mating surface 235 faces and engages with a corresponding mating surface of the shell 331 of another coupling member 300 to which the coupling member 200 is coupled, as will be describe in greater detail below. In the example illustrated in
In
The female coupling interface 212 of the main coupling body 210 may comprise a receptacle 213 into which a complementary main coupling interface 312 of another fluid coupling 300 may be received. Inside the coupling interface 312, additional components (not illustrated) may be housed, such as flow control elements as described above.
The operation of various features of the fluid coupling 200 will be described in greater detail below with reference to
As shown in
More specifically, the magnetic latch assembly 320 comprises a shell 330, which comprises an inner cylinder 331 and a magnet compartment 332, and the inner cylinder 331 is moved in the direction of the arrow 398 onto the central portion 317 to mount the magnetic latch assembly 320 to the main coupling body 310. In the assembled position, the inner cylinder 331 is positioned radially outward from, and circumferentially surrounds the central portion 317. Moreover, as shown in
The shell 230 of the magnetic latch assembly 320 also comprises a magnet compartment 332. Like the magnet compartment 232 described above, the magnet compartment 332 comprises multiple sub-compartments (not visible, but similar to compartments 236) separated by dividers (not visible, but similar to dividers 234) that each receive a magnet (not visible, but similar to magnets 240). The magnets of the magnetic latch assembly 320 may be identical to the magnets 240 described above, and thus are not shown separately herein. The magnetic latch assembly 320 may further comprise a steel shunt ring (not visible) similar to the shunt ring 245 described above.
Like the magnetic latch assembly 220, the magnetic latch assembly 320 comprises ramp-and-hook latches 350. These ramp-and-hook latches 350 comprise ramps 351 and hooks 352 (which may comprise a protrusion 352a, a sloped lead-in surface 352b, and cove 352c), similar to the ramp-and-hook latches 250 described above. However, unlike the ramp-and-hook latches 250, the ramp-and-hook latches 350 protrude axially in the direction 398 beyond the front engagement face 335 of the magnetic latch assembly 320. This allows the ramp-and-hook latches 350 to extend partially over portions of the fluid coupling 200 during coupling so as to engage with the complementary ramp-and-hook latches 250 thereof.
As shown in
The male coupling interface 312 further comprises a flow control element 313, which blocks the flow of liquid therethrough. This flow control element 313 may engage with a portion of the female coupling interface 212 as the male coupling interface 312 is inserted therein and this may cause the flow control element 313 to be pushed in a direction opposite the direction 398, which may open the flow control element 313 and allow liquid to begin flowing. A similar flow control element (not visible) in the female coupling interface 212 may be engaged by the male coupling interface 312 to open that flow control element.
Turning now to
Furthermore, in the state illustrated in
Moreover, as shown in
In the latched state shown in
Turning now to
Block 402 comprises beginning the coupling of the two fluid couplings, for example by inserting a male coupling interface of one fluid coupling into a female coupling interface of the other fluid coupling.
Block 404 comprises overcoming resistance to the coupling of the two fluid couplings at least in part by the assistance of magnetic attraction forces generated by magnets included in the fluid couplings. More specifically, in some examples, the magnets are provided in magnetic latch assemblies removably attached to main coupling bodies of the fluid couplings, wherein the magnetic latch assemblies comprise plastic shells that house the magnets.
Block 406 comprises engaging ramp-and-hook latches on each of the fluid couplings with one another to secure the fluid coupling together. In some examples, the ramp-and-hook latches are part of the magnetic latch assemblies, specifically part of the plastic shells in some examples. Engaging the ramp-and-hook latches may comprise interlocking hooks of each pair of complementary ramp-and-hook latches, and also engaging corresponding ramps of each pair of ramp-and-hook latches.
Block 502 comprises rotating the fluid couplings relative to one another by a first amount. The amount may be a relatively small amount, such as a few degrees.
Block 504 comprises forcing an initial separation of the fluid couplings in the axial direction by sliding pairs of ramps along one another by the rotation of block 502, wherein the ramps that slide along one another each comprise a ramp from a ramp-and-hook latch disposed on one of the fluid couplings and another ramp from another complementary ramp-and-hook latch disposed on the other one of the fluid couplings.
Block 506 comprises disengaging the hooks of each pair of the complementary ramp-and-hook latches by the rotation of block 502, wherein for each pair of complementary ramp-and-hook latches, the hooks thereof were interlocked with one another prior to the rotation of block 502.
Block 508 comprises diminishing the magnetic attraction force between the fluid couplings by further rotation of the fluid couplings beyond the first amount. In some examples, block 508 may further comprise, in response to diminishing the magnetic attraction force between the fluid couplings, decoupling the fluid couplings from one another.
Turning now to
The computer system 1080 is a liquid cooled system. Thus, the compute nodes 1081 (and/or other electronic devices of the system 1080) may be configured to receive a supply of liquid coolant from a cooling system and to return heated liquid coolant thereto. Liquid lines such as liquid supply lines 1171 and liquid return lines 1172 may be coupled to the compute nodes 1081 to supply and return the liquid coolant. Some of all of these liquid lines may be coupled to the compute nodes 1081 and/or to other components via QD fluid couplings 1100. For example, in the illustrated examples each compute node 1081 has a QD fluid coupling 1100 attached thereto and another QD fluid coupling 1100 is coupled with the first QD fluid coupling 1100. Some or all of these QD fluid couplings 1100 may be any of the fluid couplings 100, 200, and/or 300 described above. For example, in some implementations the fluid couplings 200 may be used as the QD fluid couplings 1100 that are coupled to the compute nodes 1081 and the fluid couplings 300 may be used as the QD fluid couplings 1100 that are coupled to the supply and return lines 1171 and 1172.
In some examples, the supply lines 1171 are coupled to additional liquid cooling infrastructure, such as a supply manifold 1085 and a coolant distribution unit (CDU) 1090. Similarly, the return lines 1172 may be coupled to additional liquid cooling infrastructure, such as a return manifold 1086 and the CDU 1090. The CDU 1090 may comprise one or more pumps that generate the flows of liquid coolant, which flow in a loop from the CDU 1090 to the compute nodes 1081 (via the supply manifold 1085) and then back to the CDU 1090 (via the return manifold 1086). In addition, the CDU 1090 may comprise a heat exchanger arranged to cool the liquid coolant by transferring heat from the liquid coolant to another cooling medium, such as a facility-wide cooling medium. In this way, the liquid coolant provided by the CDU 1090 to the compute nodes 1081 can be relatively cool (thus allowing for more efficient heat removal from electronic devices), the coolant is then heated by the compute nodes 1081 and the heated liquid coolant is returned to the CDU 1090, and then the CDU 1090 cools the heated liquid coolant and supplies the now-cooled liquid coolant back to the compute nodes 1081 for another cycle. The facility-wide cooling medium that removes the heat from the liquid coolant in the CDU 1090 may be air (e.g., the CDU 1090 may comprise a liquid-to-air heat exchanger, such as a radiator) or liquid (e.g., the CDU 1090 may comprise a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger). In
In some examples, the couplings between the supply manifold 1085 and supply lines 1071 comprise QD fluid couplings 1100. Similarly, in some examples, the couplings between the return manifold 1086 and the return lines 1072 comprise QD fluid couplings 1100. Furthermore, in some examples, the couplings between the supply manifold 1085 and the CDU 1090 comprise QD fluid couplings 1100. Similarly, in some examples, the couplings between the return manifold 1086 and the CDU 1090 comprise QD fluid couplings 1100. Furthermore, in some implementations in which the CDU 1090 is coupled to facility liquid supply or returns, the connections between the CDU 1090 and the facility lines may comprise QD couplings 1100. In the various aforementioned examples, some or all of these QD fluid couplings associated with the supply or return manifolds 1085 and 1086 and/or the CDU 1090 may be one of the fluid couplings 100, 200, and/or 300 described above. For example, in some implementations the fluid couplings 200 may be used as the QD fluid couplings 1100 that are coupled to the manifolds 1085 and 1086 and/or the CDU 1090, and the fluid couplings 300 may be used as the QD fluid couplings 1100 that are coupled to the fluid lines coupled thereto.
In the description above, various types of electronic circuitry are described. As used herein, “electronic” is intended to be understood broadly to include all types of circuitry utilizing electricity, including digital and analog circuitry, direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) circuitry, and circuitry for converting electricity into another form of energy and circuitry for using electricity to perform other functions. In other words, as used herein there is no distinction between “electronic” circuitry and “electrical” circuitry.
It is to be understood that both the general description and the detailed description provide examples that are explanatory in nature and are intended to provide an understanding of the present disclosure without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Various mechanical, compositional, structural, electronic, and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of this description and the claims. In some instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques have not been shown or described in detail in order not to obscure the examples. Like numbers in two or more figures represent the same or similar elements.
In addition, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise. Moreover, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, and the like specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups. Components described as coupled may be electronically or mechanically directly coupled, or they may be indirectly coupled via one or more intermediate components, unless specifically noted otherwise. Mathematical and geometric terms are not necessarily intended to be used in accordance with their strict definitions unless the context of the description indicates otherwise, because a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that, for example, a substantially similar element that functions in a substantially similar way could easily fall within the scope of a descriptive term even though the term also has a strict definition.
And/or: Occasionally the phrase “and/or” is used herein in conjunction with a list of items. This phrase means that any combination of items in the list—from a single item to all of the items and any permutation in between—may be included. Thus, for example, “A, B, and/or C” means “one of {A}, {B}, {C}, {A, B}, {A, C}, {C, B}, and {A, C, B}”.
Elements and their associated aspects that are described in detail with reference to one example may, whenever practical, be included in other examples in which they are not specifically shown or described. For example, if an element is described in detail with reference to one example and is not described with reference to a second example, the element may nevertheless be claimed as included in the second example.
Unless otherwise noted herein or implied by the context, when terms of approximation such as “substantially,” “approximately,” “about,” “around,” “roughly,” and the like, are used, this should be understood as meaning that mathematical exactitude is not required and that instead a range of variation is being referred to that includes but is not strictly limited to the stated value, property, or relationship. In particular, in addition to any ranges explicitly stated herein (if any), the range of variation implied by the usage of such a term of approximation includes at least any inconsequential variations and also those variations that are typical in the relevant art for the type of item in question due to manufacturing or other tolerances. In any case, the range of variation may include at least values that are within +1% of the stated value, property, or relationship unless indicated otherwise.
Further modifications and alternative examples will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the disclosure herein. For example, the devices and methods may include additional components or steps that were omitted from the diagrams and description for clarity of operation. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the general manner of carrying out the present teachings. It is to be understood that the various examples shown and described herein are to be taken as exemplary. Elements and materials, and arrangements of those elements and materials, may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein, parts and processes may be reversed, and certain features of the present teachings may be utilized independently, all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of the description herein. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the scope of the present teachings and following claims.
It is to be understood that the particular examples set forth herein are non-limiting, and modifications to structure, dimensions, materials, and methodologies may be made without departing from the scope of the present teachings.
Other examples in accordance with the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the following claims being entitled to their fullest breadth, including equivalents, under the applicable law.
