Apparatus for supporting a cooling assembly coupled to an integrated circuit

Abstract

An apparatus and method for supporting a cooling assembly that is coupled to an integrated circuit package that is perpendicularly mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB). The apparatus includes a support bracket that engages the cooling assembly and extends over the PCB, a standoff which attaches to the PCB, and a retaining latch which detachably couples the support bracket to the standoff. In one embodiment, two apparatuses, one at each side end of the IC package are employed to support the cooling assembly. In one embodiment, the support bracket is triangular in shape, and engages the cooling assembly with wrap-around attachment tabs that fit into receiving grooves complementarily disposed on the cooling assembly. The retaining latch fits into a guided groove on a foot of the support bracket. A coupling slot in the foot of the support bracket is aligned with a corresponding mounting hole in the PCB. The standoff inserts into a mounting hole in the PCB, and a shouldered head portion of the standoff extends into the coupling slot of the support bracket. The retaining latch can slide in the guided groove to snuggedly receive or disengage the neck portion of the standoff.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.