Heatsink alignment to printed circuit board
AssigneeInterDigital CE Patent Holdings, SAS
InventorsDarin Bradley Ritter, Mickey Jay Hunt, Kevin Michael Williams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electronic device, such as a set top box comprises an enclosure that houses a circuit board having a peripheral edge positioned in the set top box. A heat sink has orientation features on its periphery that contact and orient the circuit board. Further, the heat sink has positioning tabs at a leading edge that contact a control surface on a rear wall of the set top box enclosure and orients the heat sink within the set top box. Antenna assemblies are positioned in corners of the set top box enclosure and adjacent to one of the vertically oriented walls, wherein the antenna assemblies are positioned outside the peripheral edge of the circuit board and the periphery of the heat sink.
Claims17
An electronic device comprising:
- a circuit board having a peripheral edge positioned in the electronic device;
- a heat sink contacting the circuit board, the heat sink having orientation features on a periphery of the heat sink, wherein the orientation features comprise alignment features that extend downward in a first direction from two opposing edges of the periphery of the heat sink, the alignment features contact two opposing ends of the peripheral edge of the printed circuit board to orient the heat sink with respect to the circuit board, the alignment features comprising a wall portion oriented in the first direction that contacts a portion of the opposing ends of the peripheral edge of the printed circuit board oriented in the first direction, and a ledge portion oriented in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction that protrudes inwardly from the wall portion, the ledge portion contacts a surface oriented in the second direction of the printed circuit board near peripheral edge of the printed circuit board;
- and
- a first antenna assembly positioned inside the electronic device adjacent to a wall of the electronic device.
A method of assembling an electronic device having at least one antenna comprising the steps of:
- providing an outer casing having a vertically oriented front wall, a first side wall connected to a first end of the front wall to form a first corner, a second side wall, and a rear wall connected to a second end of the front wall to form a second corner;
- positioning the at least one antenna assembly in one of the corners;
- providing a circuit board having a peripheral edge;
- inserting the circuit board inside the electronic device;
- providing a heat sink having at least two positioning tabs that protrude from one edge of the periphery of the heat sink and having alignment features that extend downward in a first direction from two other edges of the periphery of the heat sink, the two other edges are opposing edges, the alignment features comprising a wall portion oriented in the first direction that contacts a portion of the opposing ends, oriented in a first direction, of the peripheral edge of the circuit board, and a ledge portion oriented in a second direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction that protrudes inwardly from the wall portion, the ledge portion contacts a surface oriented in the second direction of the circuit board near the peripheral edge of the circuit board;
- inserting the heat sink inside the electronic device such the at least two positioning tabs contact the rear wall to rotational align the heat sink and such that the alignment features contact two opposing ends of the peripheral edge of the printed circuit board, thereby orienting the heat sink with the printed circuit board;
- and
- attaching the heat sink to the printing circuit board, wherein the at least one antenna assembly is outside the peripheral edge of the printed circuit board and the periphery of the heat sink.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.