Patent Description:
With the advance of technology, the application of electronic apparatuses has become more and more common. In particular, various communication apparatuses such as server apparatuses have gradually become an indispensable part of daily life. These electronic devices generate a large amount of heat during operation, and therefore require immersion cooling systems.

Traditional server apparatuses are mostly arranged horizontally, however. This configuration is not conducive to placing the electronic devices in an immersion cooling system. Therefore, the electronic devices need to be installed in the immersion cooling system vertically, which is a laborious process for users and increases the difficulty of installation. As set forth above, how to effectively balance the convenience of use and the heat dissipation performance of the immersion cooling system will become an urgent issue. In addition, if the convenience of installing and removing the electronic devices can be improved, the loss of coolant can also be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of use.

The present invention provides an immersion cooling system according to claim <NUM>. The immersion cooling system includes a storage tank, an adapter frame and an electronic device. The storage tank includes a sealing cover and an accommodating tank, and the sealing cover is configured to seal an opening of the accommodating tank. The adapter frame includes a first wire channel. The first wire channel is attached to one side of the adapter frame, and the adapter frame is disposed in the accommodating tank in a direction that is perpendicular to the bottom of the accommodating tank. The electronic device includes at least one power wire. The electronic device is inserted into the adapter frame along said direction, and one side of the electronic device is attached to one side of the first wire channel. There is a distance between the bottom of the electronic device and the bottom of the adapter frame, forming a second wire channel. The first wire channel and the second wire channel communicate with each other. The at least one power wire is electrically connected to an external electric apparatus from the bottom of the electronic device along the first wire channel and the second wire channel.

The immersion cooling systems of some embodiments of the present disclosure are described in the following description. However, it should be appreciated that the following detailed description of some embodiments of the disclosure provides various concepts of the present disclosure which may be performed in specific backgrounds that can vary widely. The specific embodiments disclosed are provided merely to clearly describe the usage of the present disclosure by some specific methods without limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated that although the terms "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, materials and/or portions, these elements, materials and/or portions should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely intended to distinguish different elements, materials and/or portions. Accordingly, a first element, material and/or portion discussed as follows may be referred to as a second element, material and/or portion without departing from the teaching of some embodiments in the present disclosure.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It should be appreciated that, in each case, the term, which is defined in a commonly used dictionary, should be interpreted as having a meaning that conforms to the relative skills of the present disclosure and the background or the context of the present disclosure, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal manner unless so defined in the present disclosure. In addition, the terms "substantially," "about" or "approximately" may be recited herein, and are intended to encompass the circumstances or ranges that are substantially the same and exactly the same. It should be noted that unless specially defined, even if the above terms are not recited in the description, it should be interpreted as the same meaning as the above approximate terms that are recited.

Please referring to <FIG> illustrates a perspective view of an immersion cooling system <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the immersion cooling system <NUM> may be used, for example, in a server system, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. As shown in <FIG>, the immersion cooling system <NUM> includes a storage tank <NUM>, an adapter frame <NUM> and an electronic device <NUM>. The storage tank <NUM> includes a sealing cover <NUM> and an accommodating tank <NUM>, and the sealing cover <NUM> is configured to seal the opening <NUM> of the accommodating tank <NUM>. For example, the accommodating tank <NUM> may have a plurality of openings <NUM>, and the storage tank <NUM> may include a plurality of sealing covers <NUM>, and these sealing covers <NUM> respectively seal each of the openings <NUM> of the accommodating tank <NUM>. In some embodiments, the accommodating tank <NUM> can be used to accommodate a coolant (not shown), and the electronic device <NUM> can be immersed into the coolant in the accommodating tank <NUM>. As a result, the heat energy generated during the operation of the electronic device <NUM> can be taken away by the flow of the coolant, maintaining the electronic device <NUM> at an appropriate operating temperature and reducing the risk of failure of the electronic device <NUM> due to overheating. For example, the coolant may include fluorine-containing compounds or other suitable polymer compounds, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In addition, the adapter frame <NUM> is disposed in the accommodating tank <NUM> in a direction (for example, the Z direction) that is perpendicular to the bottom of the accommodating tank <NUM>. The electronic device <NUM> is inserted into the adapter frame <NUM> along the aforementioned direction (for example, the Z direction). In this way, the electronic device <NUM> can be vertically disposed in the accommodating tank <NUM>. In some embodiments, a hanging apparatus (not shown), such as a crane, may be used to pick up and place the adapter frame <NUM>, so that the users can arrange the electronic device <NUM> with relatively less effort.

<FIG> illustrates a partially enlarged view of the immersion cooling system <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a plurality of positioning members <NUM> are disposed on the sidewall <NUM> of the accommodating tank <NUM> and are suitable for abutting against the adapter frame <NUM>. The arrangement of the positioning member <NUM> may facilitate setting the adapter frame <NUM> to a predetermined position. The adapter frame <NUM> includes a first wire channel <NUM> and may further include a positioning portion <NUM>, wherein the first wire channel <NUM> is attached to the side of the adapter frame <NUM>, and the positioning portion <NUM> may be adjacent to the first wire channel <NUM> and is matched with the bracket <NUM> of the accommodating tank <NUM>. For example, the positioning portion <NUM> may abut against the bracket <NUM> of the accommodating tank <NUM>, and the shape of the positioning portion <NUM> may correspond to the outline of the bracket <NUM>. As a result, the adapter frame <NUM> can be stably disposed in the accommodating tank <NUM>. In addition, in some embodiments, a fixing member <NUM> may be disposed to penetrate through the adapter frame <NUM> and the bracket <NUM> of the accommodating tank <NUM> to strengthen the connection between the adapter frame <NUM> and the accommodating tank <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a perspective view of the adapter frame <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. <FIG> illustrates an exploded view of the adapter frame <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> includes at least one power wire <NUM> (shown in dotted lines), and the side of the electronic device <NUM> is attached to the side of the first wire channel <NUM>. In addition, a non-zero distance is formed between the bottom 130B of the electronic device <NUM> and the bottom 120B of the adapter frame <NUM> to form the second wire channel <NUM>, and the first wire channel <NUM> and the second wire channel <NUM> communicate with each other. As a result, the power wire <NUM> can be connected to the circuit of an external power apparatus (not shown) via the connection socket 110AC from the bottom 130B of the electronic device <NUM> along the first wire channel <NUM> and the second wire channel <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the power wire <NUM> may extend downward from the bottom 130B of the electronic device <NUM> to the second wire channel <NUM>, enter the first wire channel <NUM> via the hub end <NUM> of the first wire channel <NUM>, and leave the first wire channel <NUM> in the direction that is perpendicular to the bottom 120B of the adapter frame <NUM> (for example, the Z direction), so as to be connected to the circuit of the external electric apparatus. In some embodiments, the positioning portion <NUM> protrudes from the outlet end <NUM> of the first wire channel <NUM>, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the adapter frame <NUM> further includes an extension portion <NUM> that is connected to the top surface 123T of the positioning portion <NUM> (for example, referring to <FIG>) and extend in a direction (for example, the Y direction) that is parallel to the top surface 123T. In addition, at least one protruding portion <NUM> is disposed on the extension portion <NUM> and protrudes toward a direction (for example, the Z direction) that is away from the electronic device <NUM>, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the protruding portion <NUM> may be omitted or formed to protrude in other directions, and these configurations are all included within the scope of the present disclosure.

<FIG> illustrates a partially enlarged view of the adapter frame <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM> in accordance with other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, a hanging ear <NUM> is disposed beside the first wire channel <NUM>, and the corresponding positioning portion <NUM> is disposed below the hanging ear <NUM>. In some embodiments, the hanging ear <NUM> is suitable for a hanging apparatus (not shown) connected to the adapter frame <NUM> to pick up or place the adapter frame <NUM> (and the electronic device <NUM> mounted on the adapter frame <NUM>). In some embodiments, the positioning portion <NUM> is configured to be positioned on the bracket <NUM>, so that the adapter frame <NUM> can be disposed in the accommodating tank <NUM> in the direction (for example, the Z direction) that is perpendicular to the bottom of the accommodating tank <NUM> (for example, referring to <FIG>). In some embodiments, the hanging ear <NUM> may have a recess <NUM> that is configured to correspond to the hook-shaped structure of the hanging apparatus. As a result, it is beneficial to pick up or place the adapter frame <NUM> more stably.

As shown in <FIG>, the adapter frame <NUM> further includes a back plate 120P, which is connected to the bottom 120B of the adapter frame <NUM> and the side <NUM> of the first wire channel <NUM> (i.e., the side facing the electronic device <NUM>). The back plate 120P can protect the electronic device <NUM> and reduce the risk of damage to the backside of the electronic device <NUM> due to external force. In addition, the back plate 120P is also beneficial to accommodate the power wires <NUM> (for example, referring to <FIG>) in the adapter frame <NUM>, reducing the risk of interference among the power wires <NUM> in different adapter frames <NUM>. Furthermore, the back plate 120P may be connected to opposite sides of the adapter frame <NUM> to increase the structural strength of the adapter frame <NUM>. In an exemplary embodiment, a single back plate 120P is formed, so that the users may adjust the configuration of the electronic device <NUM> (for example, adjust the configuration of the power wires <NUM>) on the side opposite the back plate 120P. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the back plates 120P may be disposed on opposite sides of the adapter frame <NUM> to enhance the protection of the electronic device <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the length of the side of the electronic device <NUM> is approximately equal to the length of the side <NUM> of the first wire channel <NUM>, wherein the above-mentioned lengths may be, for example, measured in the Z direction (or the direction which is perpendicular to the bottom 120B of the adapter frame <NUM>). In other words, the bottom 130B of the electronic device <NUM> is level with the hub end <NUM> of the first wire channel <NUM> in the direction (such as the X-Y plane) which is parallel to the bottom of the accommodating tank <NUM> (and/or the bottom 120B of the adapter frame <NUM>). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the length of the side of the electronic device <NUM> may be set to be greater than or smaller than the length of the side <NUM> of the first wire channel <NUM>. As long as a non-zero distance is formed between the bottom 130B of the electronic device <NUM> and the bottom 120B of the adapter frame <NUM>, these configurations are all included within the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, a plurality of openings <NUM> are formed on the positioning portion <NUM>, and are configured for hanging apparatus (not shown) connected to the adapter frame <NUM> to pick up or place the adapter frame <NUM> (and the electronic device <NUM> installed on the adapter frame <NUM>). Specifically, the openings <NUM> of the positioning portion <NUM> communicate with each other to form a space in the positioning portion <NUM>, and the hanging apparatus can extend into the above-mentioned space to pick up or place the adapter frame <NUM>. For example, the openings <NUM> of the positioning portion <NUM> each have a rectangular outline, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the openings <NUM> may be circular, or they may have another regular or irregular outline. These configurations are also included within the scope of the present disclosure.

<FIG> illustrates a partially enlarged view of the immersion cooling system <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the openings <NUM> of the positioning portion <NUM> may be located on the top surface 123T of the positioning portion <NUM> and the first sidewall <NUM> connected to the top surface 123T. No opening <NUM> is formed on the second sidewall <NUM> which is connected to the top surface 123T and the first sidewall <NUM>. However, the above-mentioned configuration is just an example and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the openings <NUM> may be formed on the top surface 123T, the first sidewall <NUM> and the second sidewall <NUM>, respectively. All possible configurations will not be listed one-by-one as follows. In addition, at least one hole <NUM> is formed on the extension portion <NUM> and configured to be aligned with at least one hole (not shown) on the bracket <NUM>. As a result, an additional fixing member (not shown) may be disposed through the holes (i.e., through the adapter frame <NUM> and the bracket <NUM>) to further strengthen the connection between the adapter frame <NUM> and the accommodating tank <NUM>. To be more specific, the additional fixing member can be beneficial to locate the combined adapter frame <NUM> and electronic device <NUM> at a predetermined position, so that the fixing member <NUM> may be locked into the corresponding hole on the bracket <NUM>, thereby reducing the risk of displacement between the adapter frame <NUM> and the electronic device <NUM> in the vertical direction (which is, for example, parallel to the Z-axis).

As set forth above, the present disclosure provides an immersion cooling system that includes an adapter frame for accommodating electronic devices. To be more specific, with the arrangement of the adapter frame, the electronic device can be disposed vertically in the accommodating tank which contains the coolant, so that the users can install the electronic device with relatively less effort. In addition, the adapter frame also includes a first wire channel and a second wire channel that communicate with each other, so that the power wire may be connected to the circuit of the external electric apparatus from the bottom of the electronic device along the first wire channel and the second wire channel, realizing the electrical connection of electronic devices in the vertical direction.

Claim 1:
An immersion cooling system (<NUM>), comprising:
a storage tank (<NUM>) comprising a sealing cover (<NUM>) and an accommodating tank (<NUM>), and the sealing cover is configured to seal an opening (<NUM>) of the accommodating tank;
an adapter frame (<NUM>) comprising a first wire channel (<NUM>), wherein the first wire channel is attached to one side of the adapter frame, and the adapter frame is disposed in the accommodating tank in a direction perpendicular to a bottom of the accommodating tank; and
an electronic device (<NUM>) comprising at least one power wire (<NUM>), wherein the electronic device is inserted into the adapter frame along the direction, and one side of the electronic device is attached to one side of the first wire channel,
wherein a distance is formed between a bottom of the electronic device and a bottom of the adapter frame to form a second wire channel (<NUM>), and the first wire channel and the second wire channel communicate with each other,
wherein the at least one power wire is electrically connected to an external electric apparatus from the bottom of the electronic device along the first wire channel and the second wire channel.