Blindmate heat sink assembly

An assembly comprising:

• a circuit board;
• a socket connected to said circuit board and comprising an upper surface having a plurality of receptacles;
• an electronic device having a plurality of connector pins disposed in the receptacles of said socket;
• an alignment cage connected to said electronic device and having a plurality of alignment tabs arranged to interface with said socket to align the connector pins with the receptacles;
• a heat sink attached to said alignment cage and in thermal contact with said electronic device, wherein said heat sink has a footprint extending beyond both said electronic device and said socket;
• a plurality of alignment pins protruding from said heat sink and arranged to interface with a corresponding number of holes in said circuit board so as to align the alignment tabs with said socket;
• a locking lever pivotally connected to an arm extending from said socket to a position outside of the footprint of said heat sink.

A method for installing a chip and heat sink assembly to a socket mounted on a circuit board, the method comprising:

• attaching the chip to an alignment cage disposed on the heat sink assembly;
• inserting alignment pins protruding from the heat sink assembly into holes in the circuit board;
• moving the heat sink assembly toward the circuit board to first engage the alignment cage and the socket and then engage the chip and the socket;
• and
• actuating a locking lever to lock the chip to the socket, wherein the locking lever is mounted to an arm extending from the socket.

A computer system comprising:

• a circuit board;
• a socket mounted to said circuit board;
• a electronic device having pins engaged with receptacles on said socket;
• a cage attached to said electronic device and engaged with said socket;
• a heat sink connected to said cage and in thermal contact with said electronic device, wherein said heat sink has a perimeter that extends beyond said socket;
• means for aligning said heat sink with said circuit board;
• means for aligning said cage and said socket;
• means for aligning the pins of said electronic device with and the receptacles of said socket;
• and
• a locking lever rotatably mounted to an arm extending from said socket.