Method for a leak detection and containment apparatus for a liquid cooling chassis

Method for a leak detection and containment apparatus for a liquid cooling chassis

Disclosed is a method for a leak detection and containment apparatus for a liquid cooling chassis. Benefits include improved functionality and improved safety.

Background

              Liquid cooling is entering the market place in desktop PCs, workstations, and servers. There are no conventional devices in any chassis that provide leak containment. The typical chassis is constructed with many openings in the floor pan of the chassis that leave numerous routes for liquid to drain out of the chassis and damage personal property.

              Conventionally, no features in the typical chassis, or chassis that are specifically constructed for liquid cooling thermal solutions, route the liquid to a central location in case of a leak. The liquid is free to disperse to any location.

              Conventional chassis do not have leak routing features and small volume detection would require the leak detection circuit to cover a large percentage of the chassis floor. No chassis has leak detection capability of any liquid volume.

              Liquid-coolant system status monitoring and error handling have not been implemented in any conventional chassis.

Description

              The disclosed method goes beyond the basic requirement and provides a means of routing small volumes of fluid to the leak detector circuit, ultimately resulting in a lower cost of the leak detector circuit by reducing the size. The method also provides feedback to the main board that may be used to control voltage to the main board reducing the potential for electrical shorting and PC system damage.

              The device consists of a leak containment pan, leak detector circuit assembly, and status feedback cable (see Figure 1). The leak containment pan replaces the conventional floo...