Heat exchange – With retainer for removable article – Electrical component
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-02
2001-04-03
Flanigan, Allen (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
With retainer for removable article
Electrical component
C361S704000, C361S710000, C257S719000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209623
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of heat sinks for semiconductor devices and integrated circuits.
2. Prior Art
Various configurations of heat sinks for semiconductor devices and integrated circuits are well known in the prior art. One common type of heat sink for mounting on the integrated circuit or other semiconductor device comprises a heat sink having projecting fins or legs to increase the surface area of the heat sink for heat dissipation to the surrounding area, either through free convection or forced convection (fan driven) cooling.
In some cases, heat sinks have been configured to somehow snap onto the integrated circuit or other semiconductor device. In such circumstances, the thermal contact between the integrated circuit and the heat sink can be substantially limited, as the actual area of contact between the integrated circuit and the heat sink can be only a small fraction of a potential area for such contact. In such cases, the heat transfer from the integrated circuit to the heat sink may be increased through the use of a thermally conductive grease spanning the air spaces between the heat sink and the packaged integrated circuit. In other cases, the heat sinks have been cemented to the packaged integrated circuits, providing both the mounting and the substantial absence of air spaces between the packaged integrated circuits and the heat sinks.
In the case of snap-on heat sinks, such heat sinks are readily removable to provide access to the integrated circuit pins and board traces for probing purposes, but such heat sink designs are not readily adaptable to certain integrated circuit packages, such as ball grid array integrated circuit packages. In the case of cement-on heat sinks, such heat sinks are readily adaptable to a wide variety of integrated circuit packages, including but not limited to ball grid array packages, but generally prevent reworking or probing of the integrated circuit pins and associated circuit traces in the event that board trouble shooting is required after the heat sink has been mounted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Heat sinks and methods particularly suited for use on packaged integrated circuits which are not amenable to the use of snap-on heat sinks and on which cemented-on heat sinks prevent conventional probing or reworking of the integrated circuit in the event trouble-shooting of the circuit is required after mounting of the heat sink. In accordance with the invention, a scalable post, based on heat sink size, mass and integrated circuit size, is cemented to the integrated circuit package in a configuration and location not interfering with the later probing or reworking of the integrated circuit, and without interfering with the printed circuit board layout. The post is then used to removably and independently hold a heat sink onto the integrated circuit so that good heat transfer between the integrated circuit and the heat sink is achieved, but still allowing the removal of the heat sink at any time if probing of the integrated circuit is later required. Alternate embodiments are disclosed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5010949 (1991-04-01), Dehaine
patent: 5055909 (1991-10-01), Culver
patent: 5570271 (1996-10-01), Lavochkin
patent: 5615735 (1997-04-01), Yoshida et al.
patent: 5761041 (1998-06-01), Hassanzadeh et al.
patent: 5880930 (1999-03-01), Wheaton
patent: 5990552 (1999-11-01), Xie et al.
Blakely & Sokoloff, Taylor & Zafman
Flanigan Allen
Sun Microsystems Inc.
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