Clip on heat sink
First Claim
1. A heat sink comprising:
- a contact plate with a conduction side and a convection side, the conduction side configured to be in thermal communication with a heat generating device;
a plurality of thermally conductive elements extending outward from the convection side of the contact plate;
spring clips extending outward from the contact plate and returning toward and below the contact plate, the spring clips having elasticity to enable bending outward from the contact plate and self-restoring inward toward the contact plate to self-couple with the heat generating device.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A heat sink according to an embodiment of the present invention can be attached to any device without printed circuit board (PCB) modification. The heat sink may clamp on device edges, which does not stress solder balls between the device and heat sink. The heat sink may be configured to be installed to or removed from the device without special tools. The heat sink may be extruded, machined, or die cast aluminum or other material to reduce part and tooling cost, and may be black anodized to be electrically non-conductive. A single-piece embodiment eliminates a need for a separate clip, thereby increasing heat transfer by as much as twenty-five percent or more over heat sinks employing clips. Further, wavy fins or other heat dissipation configurations may increase heat transfer by at least eleven percent, for a total heat transfer improvement of at least thirty-six percent over a two-part heat sink.
70 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A heat sink comprising:
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a contact plate with a conduction side and a convection side, the conduction side configured to be in thermal communication with a heat generating device; a plurality of thermally conductive elements extending outward from the convection side of the contact plate; spring clips extending outward from the contact plate and returning toward and below the contact plate, the spring clips having elasticity to enable bending outward from the contact plate and self-restoring inward toward the contact plate to self-couple with the heat generating device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of removably securing a heat sink comprising:
applying a restorative force to self-couple a heat sink to a heat generating device. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A heat sink comprising:
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means for dissipating heat from a heat generating device; and means for self-coupling the heat dissipating means to the heat generating device.
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Specification