Miniature surface mount heatsink element and method of use

Details Miniature surface mount heatsink element and method of use Miniature surface mount heatsink element and method of use

2002-04-12

2003-09-16

Chervinsky, Boris (Department: 2835)

Electricity: electrical systems and devices

Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...

For electronic systems and devices

C361S704000, C361S707000, C361S712000, C361S717000, C361S718000, C361S760000, C165S080300, C165S185000, C257S706000, C257S707000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06621705

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to heatsinks. More particularly, the present invention relates to surface mount heatsink elements on printed circuit boards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As circuit board components require more power, some of the surface mount devices (SMDs) have become more dependent on using the printed circuit board (PCB) as a primary thermal path to a heat sink. Typically, the SMD relies on a copper pad upon which it is mounted and upon thermal vias to help carry away the thermal energy generated during operation through the layers of the PCB.
FIG. 1
illustrates a SMD disposed on a PCB in accordance with the prior art. A PCB
102
has a first copper pad
104
disposed on one surface, and a second copper pad
106
disposed on the opposite surface. Thermal vias
108
thermally connect the first copper pad
104
to the second copper pad
106
. A SMD
110
is mounted on the first copper pad
104
such that the SMD
110
is thermally coupled directly to the first copper pad
104
. The heat generated by the SMD
110
dissipates through the first copper pad
104
, down through the thermal vias
108
, and through the second copper pad
106
.
However, the PCB
102
provides a relatively poor thermal path to dissipate the heat generated by the SMD
110
. The copper pads
104
and
106
and the thermal vias
108
provide poor air exposure and poor thermal paths. One solution involves increasing the effective copper pad surface by expanding the surface area of the copper pads
104
,
106
relative to the SMD
110
such that a greater surface area on the copper pads
104
,
106
is exposed to air. However, that solution would require more space on the PCB
110
which is usually unavailable.
Another solution involves customizing a heatsink (not shown) on a top surface of the SMD
110
. The heatsink is thermally coupled directly to the top surface of the SMD
110
. However the heatsink needs to be customized for every SMD used in this fashion since the shape of a heatsink for one SMD may be completely different from the shape of a heatsink for another SMD. Such customization proves to be inefficient and costly.
It would be desirable to provide a PCB capable of efficiently providing thermal paths through scalable thermal conductive elements that flexibly adapt to any SMD shape, thereby saving costs and board space.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A printed circuit board (PCB) has at least a first surface. A patterned electrically and thermally conductive layer is disposed on the first surface. A surface mount device (SMD) is disposed on an area of the layer and is attached thereto with solder. Heatsink elements, each including at least one flat surface, are placed by a pick and place assembly robot and permanently attached to the area with solder.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4682269 (1987-07-01), Pitasi
patent: 4720770 (1988-01-01), Jameson
patent: 5113315 (1992-05-01), Capp. Michael L. et al.
patent: 5258887 (1993-11-01), Fortune
patent: 5659458 (1997-08-01), Patchen
patent: 5933324 (1999-08-01), Barrett
patent: 5999408 (1999-12-01), Koon et al.
patent: 6212071 (2001-04-01), Roessler et al.
patent: 6477054 (2002-11-01), Hagerup

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