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US 4,751,963 AGranted
Thermal conductance retainer for electronic printed circuit boards and the like
AssigneeHughes Aircraft Company
InventorsThomas T. Bui, John G. Ingersoll
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A retainer (10) mechanically and thermally couples an electronic cardboard (12) to a heatsink (14) between first and second continuous surfaces (30, 38) of walls (26, 28) on a base (22). Clamping is effected by moving a pair of wedges (54) and (56) and their slanted surfaces (58, 60) against corresponding slated surfaces (42, 44) of a clamping block (36). The clamping block has an oblique surface (40) which cooperates with a surface (32) on wall (28) to move the block and its surface (38) toward surface (30), thus clamping the card at both surfaces in tight mechanical and thermal contact.
Claims16
A retainer for mechanically and thermally coupling an electronic cardboard having spaced walls through which heat is to be rejected to a heatsink comprising:
- first and second walls secured to the heatsink, each of said walls having a continuous surface to define a space therebetween into which the cardboard is received for substantially full contact of said first and second wall surfaces respectively with the cardboard walls and for providing a pair of extended thermal contact areas therebetween;
- and
- means including a block having oppositely facing, non-parallel walls which respectively contact one of said first and second walls and one of said cardboard walls for clamping said first and second walls, said cardboard walls and said block walls together under compressive forces into secure mechanical and thermally conductive full contact.
A retainer for mechanically and thermally coupling an electronic cardboard to a heatsink comprising:
- first and second walls secured to the heatsink, said walls having a space therebetween in which the cardboard is received;
- and
- means for clamping said walls under compressive forces into secure mechanical and thermally conductive contact with the cardboard, said clamping means comprising a side wall which is stationary with respect to said second wall and which has a sloped surface facing in a non-parallel manner said second wall, an element incorporating said first wall and having a sloped surface in engagement with said side wall eloped surface, and means for moving said element in a path along said side wall and towards said second wall.
A retainer for mechanically and thermally coupling an electronic cardboard to a heatsink comprising:
- first and second walls secured to the heatsink, said walls having a space therebetween in which the cardboard is received;
- and
- means for clamping said walls under compressive forces into secure mechanical and thermally conductive contact with the cardboard, said clamping means comprising
- a side wall which is stationary with respect to said second wall and which has a sloped surface non-parallelly facing said second wall,
- an element incorporating said first wall and having a sloped surface in engagement with said side wall sloped surface, and
- means for moving said element in a path along said side wall and towards said second wall, said moving means comprising
- a second sloped surface on said element, said second sloped surface lying in a plane which is angularly positioned with respect to the planes in which both said sloped element surface and said second wall respectively lie,
- a cam having a sloped surface in engagement with said sloped surface of said element, and
- means for sliding said cam with respect to said element and, thus, said engaged sloped surfaces thereof with respect to one another.
6 more elements
A retainer for mechanically and thermally coupling an electronic cardboard to a heatsink comprising:
- first and second walls secured to the heatsink, said walls having a space therebetween in which the cardboard is received;
- and
- means for clamping said walls under compressive forces into secure mechanical and thermally conductive contact with the cardboard, said clamping means comprising
- a side wall which is stationary with respect to said second wall and which has a sloped surface non-parallelly facing said second wall,
- an element incorporating said first wall and having a sloped surface in engagement with said side wall sloped surface, and
- means for moving said element in a path along said side wall and towards said second wall, said moving means comprising
- a pair of sloped surfaces on opposite ends of said element, said pair of sloped surfaces lying in planes which are angularly positioned with respect to the planes in which both said sloped surface of said element and said second wall lie,
- a pair of cams having sloped surfaces respectively in engagement with said pair of sloped surfaces of said element, and
- means for sliding said cams with respect to said element and, thus, said engaged sloped surfaces thereof with respect to one another.
6 more elements
A retainer for mechanically and thermally coupling an electronic cardboard to a heatsink comprising:
- a base secured to the heatsink and including means defining a reference plane;
- a pair of walls spaced from one another and secured to said base, said walls having surfaces facing one another, a first of which is normal to the reference plane and a second of which extends obliquely from the reference plane and in a direction away from said first surface;
- a ledge positioned on said base and adjacent to said first wall surface to define a support for the cardboard;
- a clamping block having
- a first pair of surfaces, a first of which is substantially parallel to said first wall surface and a second of which is slidably in contact with said second wall surface,
- a second pair of surfaces which are angled with respect to one another and which are positioned normal to said first surface of said first surface pair and acutely angled to the reference plane;
- means defining a groove extending through and between said second pair of surfaces;
- resilient means positioned between said clamping block and said base for biasing said clamping means away from said base;
- a pair of wedges positioned on opposite sides of said block and having
- surfaces which are slidably in contact with said second pair of clamping block surfaces, and
- means defining through threaded bores having reversely threaded pitches;
- a pair of ends extending from said base and positioned normal to said walls;
- a rod journalled in said ends, passing through said clamping block groove means and having threaded portions respectively engaged with said threaded bore means of said wedges for moving said wedge pair towards one another upon rotation of said rod in one direction and, thereby, for camming said clamping block against said obliquely extending wall surface and for moving said clamping block towards said first wall surface and said base against the bias of said resilient means, to clamp the cardboard between said wall surfaces;
- and
- a retaining wall extending generally parallel to said base and secured to said walls and said ends for guiding said wedge pair.
12 more elements
A retainer for mechanically and thermally coupling an electronic cardboard to a heatsink comprising:
- a base secured to the heatsink and including means defining a reference plane;
- a pair of walls spaced from one another and secured to said base, said walls having surfaces facing one another, a first of which is normal to the reference plane and a second of which extends at an acute angle from the reference plane and in a direction towards said first surface;
- a ledge positioned on said base and adjacent to said first wall surface to define a support for the cardboard;
- a clamping block having
- a first pair of surfaces, a first of which is substantially parallel to said first wall surface and a second of which is slidably in contact with said second wall surface,
- a second pair of surfaces which are angled with respect to one another and which are positioned normal to said first surface of said first surface pair and obliquely angled to the reference plane;
- means defining an unthreaded bore extending through and between said second pair of surfaces;
- a pair of wedges positioned on opposite sides of said block and having
- surfaces which are slidably in contact with said second pair of clamping block surfaces, and
- means defining through threaded bores having reversely threaded pitches;
- a pair of ends extending from said base and positioned normal to said walls;
- a rod journalled in said ends, passing through said clamping block bore means and having threaded portions respectively engaged with said threaded bore means of said wedges for moving said wedge pair towards one another upon rotation of said rod in one direction and, thereby, for camming said clamping block against said obliquely angled extending wall surface and for moving said clamping block towards said first wall surface, to clamp the cardboard between said wall surfaces;
- and
- a retaining wall extending generally parallel to said base and secured to at least one of said walls and said ends for guiding said wedge pair.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.