Patent US5748446A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5748446A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Heat sink support
Assignee: Intel Corp
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Filing: 1996-12-11
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Granted: 1998-05-05
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Expires: 2016-12-11
Abstract
Abstract A heat sink support device including a base and a top member is provided to support a finned heat sink attached to a processor card assembly of a computer system. The base member includes a number of dowels disposed on a bottom surface for securing the base member to a motherboard. The base member also includes a number of necked pins disposed on a top surface, and the top member includes a number of cutouts disposed on an edge for mating with the necked pins, to render a set of the fins captive, to prevent the heat sink from moving beyond the tolerance allowed between the fins and the base and top members.
Inventors
- 👤 Rick Feightner
- 👤 My-Hanh Nguyen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 15:01
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10W; H10W40/00; H10W40/60; H10W40/641
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
108 words
A heat sink support apparatus comprising: a base member having a plurality of dowels disposed on a bottom surface of the base member for securing the base member to a circuit board, the base member further having a plurality of necked pins disposed on a top surface of the base member; a top member having a plurality of cutouts disposed on a first edge of the top member for mating with the necked pins to render a plurality of fins of a heat sink captive, to prevent movement by the heat sink beyond a predetermined amount of tolerance allowed between the fins and the base and top members.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
108 words
A heat sink support apparatus comprising: a base member having a plurality of dowels disposed on a bottom surface of the base member for securing the base member to a circuit board, the base member further having a plurality of necked pins disposed on a top surface of the base member; a top member having a plurality of cutouts disposed on a first edge of the top member for mating with the necked pins to render a plurality of fins of a heat sink captive, to prevent movement by the heat sink beyond a predetermined amount of tolerance allowed between the fins and the base and top members.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
64 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each dowel of the base member comprises a plurality of deflectable fingers, and a hollowed center that is accessible through the top surface of the base member; and the apparatus further comprises a plurality of pins for correspondingly mating with the hollowed centers of the dowels to counter inward force exerted on the deflectable fingers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
72 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the plurality of cutouts of the top member includes a first and a second cutout disposed at a first and a second end of the top member respectively, and each of the first and second cutouts include a deflectable sidearm for facilitating mating of the first and second cutouts with a first and a second of the necked pins of the base member.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the top member further includes a first and a second pair of handles disposed at the first and second ends respectively to facilitate opening of the deflectable arm of each of the first and second cutouts.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
66 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein the top member further includes a first and a second push pad disposed at the first and second ends respectively to facilitate exerting force on the first and second necked pins of the base member, when mating the first and second cutouts of the top member with the first and second necked pins of the base member.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of the base or the top member is made of injection molded thermoplastic.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
100 words
A computer system comprising: a) a motherboard; b) a processor card assembly attached to the motherboard; c) a heat sink attached to a front surface of the processor card assembly, and the heat sink having a plurality of fins; and d) a heat sink support device having a first and a second support member that cooperates to render a subset of the plurality of fins captive between the first and the second support members, to prevent movement of the heat sink beyond a predetermined amount of tolerance allowed between the captive fins and the first and the second support members.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
100 words
A computer system comprising: a) a motherboard; b) a processor card assembly attached to the motherboard; c) a heat sink attached to a front surface of the processor card assembly, and the heat sink having a plurality of fins; and d) a heat sink support device having a first and a second support member that cooperates to render a subset of the plurality of fins captive between the first and the second support members, to prevent movement of the heat sink beyond a predetermined amount of tolerance allowed between the captive fins and the first and the second support members.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
41 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the first member of the heat sink support device includes a plurality of dowels disposed on a bottom surface of the first member for securing the first member to the motherboard.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
66 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the first member includes a plurality of necked pins disposed on a top surface of the first member; and the second member includes a plurality of cutouts disposed on a first edge of the second member for mating with the necked pins of the first member to render the subset of the plurality of fins captive.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
68 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 8, wherein each dowel of the first member comprises a plurality of deflectable fingers, and a hollowed center that is accessible through the top surface of the first member; and the heat sink support device further comprises a plurality of pins for correspondingly mating with the hollowed centers of the dowels to counter inward force exerted on the deflectable fingers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
85 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 9, wherein the plurality of cutouts of the second member of the heat sink support device includes a first and a second cutout disposed at a first and a second end of the second member respectively, and each of the first and second cutouts include a deflectable sidearm for facilitating mating of the first and second cutouts with a first and a second of the necked pins of the first member of the heat sink support device.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
46 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the second member further includes a first and a second pair of handles disposed at the first and second ends respectively to facilitate opening of the deflectable arm of each of the first and second cutouts.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
67 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 11, wherein the second member further includes a first and a second push pad disposed at the first and second ends respectively to facilitate exerting force on the first and second necked pins of the first member, when mating the first and second cutouts of the second member with the first and second necked pins of the first member.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
26 words
The computer system as set forth in claim 7, wherein at least one of the first or the second member is made of injection molded thermoplastic.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2001-05-04 | 2001-11-03 | 2002-05-05 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2005-05-04 | 2005-11-03 | 2006-05-05 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2009-05-04 | 2009-11-03 | 2010-05-05 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |