Scissor structure for cable/tube management of rack-mounted liquid-cooled electronic assemblies

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12516752-B2
Application number	US-202318373555-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 27, 2023
Priority date	Apr 1, 2021
Publication date	Jan 6, 2026
Grant date	Jan 6, 2026

Abstract

The disclosed systems and structures are directed to the management of cable/tube bundles for rack-mounted liquid-cooled cases containing electronic assemblies. The management of cable/tube bundles comprises an articulating scissor structure containing a first arm detachably connected to a contact point on a backplane of a rack-mounted immersion case, a second arm detachably connected to a contact point on a backplane of a rack frame, and a joining portion connecting the first and second arms via a center axle and controllably guiding the cable/tube bundles along a pivot point of the central axle. During the de-racking of the immersion case, the articulating scissor structure is configured to laterally extend and support and guide the cable/tube bundle across a de-racked space, and during the racking of the immersion case, the articulating scissor structure is configured to laterally contract and guide the corresponding cable/tube bundle into a fixed racked space.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A rack system for housing at least one rack-mounted, liquid-cooled case containing at least one electronic assembly, comprising:
a rack frame configured to receive the at least one of liquid-cooled case within the rack system; an opening within the rack frame configured to accommodate at least one cable/tube bundle for servicing the at least one liquid-cooled case within the rack system when the at least one liquid-cooled case is installed in the rack system; and at least one articulating scissor structure comprising a first arm having a top portion with a fastener configured to be detachably coupled to a contact point of the at least one liquid-cooled case backplane, a second arm having a top portion with a fastener detachably coupled to a contact point of the rack frame backplane, and a joining portion hingedly coupling a bottom portion of the first arm and a bottom portion of the second arm together via a center axle, when in use and the at least one liquid-cooled case is received within the rack system:
the at least one articulating scissor structure being configured to slidably move the at least one liquid-cooled case in racking and de-racking operations, the racking and de-racking operations causing lateral movement of the at least one of liquid-cooled case between a racked space and a de-racked space,
the racked and de-racked spaces being defined between a distal end of the first arm and a backplane of the rack frame, the de-racked space being larger than the racked space, the joining portion being configured to controllably guide the at least one cable/tube bundle along a pivot point of the center axle during racking and de-racking operations movement, wherein, the articulating scissor structure is configured to support and guide the at least one cable/tube bundle during de-racking operations movement by laterally extending the first and second arms to accommodate the de-racked space and to support and guide the at least one cable/tube bundle during racking operations movement by laterally contracting the first and second arms to accommodate the racked space.

2 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one cable/tube bundle comprises at least one cable electrically communicating with one or more components of the at least one electronic assembly and at least one tube conveying channelized liquid to one or more components of the at least one electronic assembly.

3 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first and second arms of the at least one articulating scissor structure comprises a flat surface portion and a retaining sidewall portion, the flat surface and retaining sidewall portions of the respective first and second arms configured to complement each other to enable the joining portion to hingedly couple the first and second arms.

4 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first arm fastener and the second arm fastener comprises a structure selected from the group consisting of: a hook, catch, clasp, latch, clip, grommet, and snap or any combination thereof.

5 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one liquid-cooled case backplane contact point and the rack frame backplane contact point comprises a structure selected from the group consisting of: a protrusion, stud, stem, and hole or any combination thereof.

6 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein the joining portion of the at least one articulating scissor structure controllably guides the at least one cable/tube bundle along a pivot point of the center axle during racking and de-racking operations movement by arranging the cable/tube bundle to loop around the center axle.

7 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein the joining portion of the at least one articulating scissor structure controllably guides the at least one cable/tube bundle along a pivot point of the center axle during racking and de-racking operations movement by:
incorporating, proximate to the center axle, first rotatable coupling elements connecting to a segment of the cable/tube bundle routed from the rack frame backplane that are configured to communicate with second rotatable coupling elements connecting to a segment of the cable/tube bundle routed to the distal end of the first arm.

8 . The rack system of claim 7 , wherein each of the first and second rotatable coupling elements comprises an elbow shape and contains respective end openings configured to provide rotatable, sealed, pressure-fitted connections to the respective segments of the cable/tube bundle.

9 . The rack system of claim 7 , wherein portions of the first and second rotatable coupling elements are attached to a respective first or second arm of the scissor cable/tube structure or rotatably attached to the center axle.

10 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein the joining portion of the at least one articulating scissor structure includes a flexible spring structure configured to bias the first and second arms towards each other or to bias the first and second arms away from each other.

11 . The rack system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one liquid-cooled case contains:
a volume of immersion dielectric cooling liquid for submerging the at least one electronic assembly therein; a serpentine convection coil configured to convey cooled channelized liquid to reduce ambient temperatures of the immersion dielectric cooling liquid; and a closed-loop cooled liquid distribution arrangement configured to distribute channelized cooled liquid to one or more select components of the at least one electronic assembly.

12 . An articulating scissor structure for managing a cable/tube bundle that electrically and fluidly communicates with a liquid-cooled case containing an electronic assembly that is mounted within a rack frame, the articulating scissor structure comprising:
a first arm configured to be detachably connected to a contact point on a backplane of the at least one liquid-cooled case and to supportively guide a segment of the cable/tube bundle routed towards a distal end of the first arm; a second arm configured to be detachably connected to a contact point on a backplane of the rack frame to supportively guide a segment of the cable/tube bundle routed from the rack frame; and a joining portion configured to hingedly couple the first and second arms via a center axle and to controllably guide the cable/tube bundle along a pivot point of the center axle during a racking operation moving the at least one liquid-cooled case into a racked space within the rack frame and during a de-racking operation moving the at least one liquid-cooled case into a de-racked space away the rack frame, wherein the racked and de-racked spaces are defined between the distal end of the first arm and the rack frame backplane, in which the de-racked space is larger than the racked space, the joining portion being configured to controllably guide the cable/tube bundle by incorporating, proximate to the center axle, a first strain-relief fitting connecting to a segment of the cable/tube bundle routed from the rack frame backplane and a second strain-relief fitting connecting to a segment of the cable/tube bundle routed to the distal end of the first arm.

13 . The articulating scissor structure of claim 12 , wherein each of the first and second arms of the articulating scissor structure comprises a flat surface portion and a retaining sidewall portion, the flat surface and retaining sidewall portions of the respective first and second arms configured to complement each other to enable the joining portion to hingedly couple the first and second arms.

14 . The a

Assignees

• OVH

Inventors

• Bauchart Gregory Francis Louis
• Meneboo Alexandre Alain Jean-Pierre
• Chehade Ali

Classifications

• H05K5/0226

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