Board-level heat transfer apparatus for communication platforms

Abstract

An apparatus, comprising a rack and a cooler. The apparatus also comprises a plurality of electronic circuit boards located in corresponding slots of the rack, each of the electronic circuit boards being held against a portion of the cooler by a corresponding force, some of the electronic circuit boards having a localized heat source thereon The apparatus also comprises a plurality of heat spreaders, each heat spreader configured to form a heat conducting path over and adjacent to one of the electronic circuit boards from one or more of the localized heat sources thereon to the portion of the cooler. The apparatus also comprises a plurality of compliant thermal interface pads, each of the pads being compressed between end of one of the heat spreaders and the portion of the cooler to form a heat conduction path therebetween.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.