PCMCIA card heat removal apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprising:
- a housing having an interior portion into which a printed circuit board may be inserted in an insertion direction;
support means for removably supporting a printed circuit board inserted into said interior portion of said housing; and
heat removal means for removing operating heat generated by the inserted printed circuit board, said heat removal means including;
a thermally conductive heat sink structure disposed within said housing and positionable against the inserted printed circuit board,spring means for resiliently supporting said heat sink structure for movement relative to said housing in a second direction transverse to said insertion direction, andcooling means for flowing a fluid against said heat sink structure and transferring heat from the heat sink structure to the fluid.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Operating heat generated by a PCMCIA card inserted into the base housing portion of a computer, representatively a notebook computer, is dissipated by a heat sink system disposed within the base housing. In response to insertion of the card into its associated support structure within the base housing, a metal heat sink plate member is resiliently pressed into firm engagement with a side of the inserted card by a spring member interconnected between the plate member and the card support structure. Card operating heat is efficiently transferred to the metal plate member by conduction. To dissipate the heat received by the plate member, a heat removing fluid is flowed against the plate member and caused to receive heat therefrom. Heat received by the fluid is then transferred to ambient air external to the computer to substantially lower the operating temperature of the inserted PCMCIA card. In one embodiment of the heat sink system the fluid is air flowed externally across the plate member, by a small fan disposed within the base housing, and then discharged outwardly through the base housing. In another embodiment of the heat sink system the fluid is a liquid sequentially pumped through a flow passage within the plate member, flowed through a radiator structure externally mounted on the computer, and then returned to the internal plate member flow passage.
26 Citations
16 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising:
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a housing having an interior portion into which a printed circuit board may be inserted in an insertion direction; support means for removably supporting a printed circuit board inserted into said interior portion of said housing; and heat removal means for removing operating heat generated by the inserted printed circuit board, said heat removal means including; a thermally conductive heat sink structure disposed within said housing and positionable against the inserted printed circuit board, spring means for resiliently supporting said heat sink structure for movement relative to said housing in a second direction transverse to said insertion direction, and cooling means for flowing a fluid against said heat sink structure and transferring heat from the heat sink structure to the fluid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. Apparatus comprising:
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a housing having an interior portion into which a printed circuit board may be inserted; support means for removably supporting a printed circuit board inserted into said interior portion of said housing; a heat sink structure disposed within said housing; first means, responsive to the insertion of the printed circuit board into said housing, for causing said heat sink structure to forcibly engage the inserted printed circuit board to receive operating heat therefrom, said first means including a spring member resiliently supporting said heat sink structure adjacent said interior portion of said housing for movement relative to said housing; and second means for flowing a fluid against said heat sink structure to receive heat therefrom. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification