Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6621704
-
Patent Number
6,621,704
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, June 18, 200222 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, September 16, 200320 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 361 707
- 361 709
- 361 722
- 165 803
- 165 185
- 174 163
- 257 706
- 257 707
- 257 722
- 257 727
- 024 457
- 024 458
- 248 505
- 248 510
- 248 3167
- 411 352
- 411 516
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A clip (1) for securing a heat sink (10) to an electronic device includes a fastener (30) and a handle (40). The fastener includes a lower engaging portion (31), a horizontal U-shaped spring portion (32) extending from the engaging portion, and an inverted U-shaped suspending portion (33) extending from the spring portion. An opening (311) is defined in a lower part of the engaging portion. A horizontal slot (312) is defined in a middle part of the engaging portion. The handle comprises a horizontal base portion (41), a pair of parallel fingers (42) extending from one side of the base portion, and a pressing portion (43) extending from an opposite side of the base portion. The fingers of the handle are deformably received through the slot of the fastener, such that the handle is movably held in the fastener and cannot be accidentally disengaged therefrom.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat sink clips, and particularly to clips which are economical to manufacture and which securely attach a heat sink to an electronic device mounted on a circuit board.
2. Prior Art
Computer electronic devices such as central processing units (CPUs) frequently generate large amounts of heat. Oftentimes, a heat sink is attached onto a top surface of a CPU by using any of a variety of currently available clips. By removing heat from the CPU, the heat sink protects the CPU and associated components from instability and damage.
Referring to
FIG. 6
, a conventional clip comprises a central spring portion
101
and two legs
103
depending from opposite ends thereof. Each leg
103
defines an opening
105
engagably receiving a corresponding catch
107
formed on a side of a socket, to secure a heat sink
100
on an electronic device mounted on the socket. A pressing point of the clip acting on the heat sink generally coincides with a center of the clip.
Contemporary high-speed CPUs are generating more and more heat. Heat sinks are correspondingly being made larger and larger. As a result, it is now commonplace that the pressing point does not coincide with the center of the clip. This results in the heat sink and electronic device being prone to disengage when subjected to vibration or shock during normal use.
To solve the above problem, a pair of clips is often used to attach a heat sink to an electronic device. The heat sink is secured between a pair of retention modules. The clips abut against opposite sides of a base of the heat sink. Opposite legs of each clip engage with opposite sides of the corresponding retention module. However, because two clips are required, this solution is costly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a clip which securely attaches a heat sink to an electronic device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a clip which is compact and economical to manufacture.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, a clip in accordance with the present invention comprises a fastener and a handle. The fastener includes a lower engaging portion, a horizontal U-shaped spring portion extending from the engaging portion, and an inverted U-shaped suspending portion extending from the spring portion. An opening is defined in a lower part of the engaging portion. A horizontal slot is defined in a middle part of the engaging portion. The handle comprises a horizontal base portion, a pair of parallel fingers extending from one side of the base portion, and a pressing portion extending from an opposite side of base portion. The fingers of the handle are deformably received through the slot of the fastener, such that the handle is movably held in the fastener and cannot be accidentally disengaged therefrom.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will be drawn from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with attached drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an exploded perspective view of four clips each of the present invention; together with a heat sink, and an electronic device and a retention module both mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB);
FIG. 2
is an enlarged assembled view of one of the clips of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a partly assembled view of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is a fully assembled view of
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 5
is an front plan view of
FIG. 4
; and
FIG. 6
is a perspective view of a conventional fastener attaching a heat sink onto an electronic device mounted on a socket.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to
FIG. 1
, four clips
1
each in accordance with the present invention can be used for attaching a heat sink
10
to an electronic device (not labeled) mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) (not labeled). The clips
1
cooperate with a retention module
20
that is mounted on the PCB around the electronic device.
The heat sink
10
comprises a chassis
11
, and a plurality of fins
12
extending vertically from a top surface of the chassis
11
. A pair of shoulders
14
extends horizontally outwardly in opposite directions from opposite outmost fins
121
of the heat sink
10
respectively. A pair of spaced recesses
13
is defined in a top edge of each outmost fin
121
.
The retention module
20
is secured on the PCB with four screws
50
or by other conventional means. The retention module
20
includes a rectangular base
24
, and a pair of opposite side walls
21
extending upwardly from respective opposite sides of the base
24
. Each side wall
21
has an inverted āJā shaped profile. A pair of spaced catches
23
is formed in an upper portion of each side wall
21
.
Referring also to
FIG. 2
, each clip
1
comprises a fastener
30
and a handle
40
attached to the fastener
30
.
The fastener
30
includes a lower engaging portion
31
, a horizontal U-shaped spring portion
32
extending from a top end of the engaging portion
31
, and an inverted U-shaped suspending/abutting portion
33
extending from a distal end of the spring portion
32
. An opening
311
is defined in a lower part of the engaging portion
31
. A horizontal slot
312
is defined in a middle part of the engaging portion
31
. A tab
332
is bent horizontally from a distal end of the suspending portion
33
, to facilitate attachment of the suspending portion
33
to the corresponding outmost fin
121
of the heat sink
10
at the corresponding recess
13
.
The handle
40
comprises a substantially horizontal base portion
41
, a pair of parallel fingers
42
extending horizontally outwardly and then slightly upwardly from one side of the base portion
41
, and a pressing portion
43
extending from an opposite side of the base portion
41
. In the preferred embodiment, a width of the base portion
41
is greater than a corresponding total distance spanned by the fingers
42
. Accordingly, the fingers
42
can pass through the slot
312
of the fastener
30
, but the base portion
41
cannot. A pair of cutouts
413
, around an joined portion with the fastener
30
, is respectively defined in opposite outmost edges of the fingers
42
respectively, where the fingers
42
adjoin the base portion
41
. A gap
44
is defined between the fingers
42
and through part of the base portion
41
, to enable the handle
40
to elastically deform. The pressing portion
43
extends slightly upwardly from said opposite side of the base portion
41
, and then doubles back under itself to form a rounded section
431
. The rounded section
431
enables the handle
40
to be safely and comfortably manipulated.
Referring also to
FIGS. 3
to
5
, in assembly, the retention module
20
is mounted on the PCB with the screws
50
. The retention module
20
surrounds the electronic device. T he heat sink
10
is placed on the electronic device, such that the recesses
13
of the heat sink
10
are aligned with the corresponding catches
23
of the retention module
20
.
The suspending portions
33
of the fasteners
30
are attached onto the outmost fins
121
of the heat sink
10
at the corresponding recesses
13
. Topmost sections of the suspending portions
33
are securely held in the recesses
13
. The fingers
42
of each handle
40
are inserted into the slot
312
of each corresponding fastener
30
. The fingers
42
resiliently deform until the cutouts
413
thereof snappingly receive the engaging portion
31
of the fastener
30
at opposite ends of the slot
312
respectively. The base portion
41
of the handle
40
abuts against the engaging portion
31
, thus preventing the handle
40
from being over-inserted into the slot
312
. The fingers
42
also abut against the engaging portion
31
at the cutouts
413
, thus preventing the handle
40
from being accidentally withdrawn from the slot
312
.
The pressing portion
43
of the handle
40
of each clip
1
is pressed downwardly. Distal ends of the fingers
42
of the handle
40
, i.e., fulcrum ends, are thus rotatingly moved upwardly to engage with the corresponding shoulder
14
of the heat sink
10
where the shoulder
14
adjoins the corresponding outmost fins
121
. The pressing portion
43
is continued to be pressed downwardly, whereby it rotates about the shoulder
14
where the shoulder
14
adjoins the outmost fin
121
. The engaging portion
31
is thus moved downwardly, with the spring portion
32
of the fastener
30
being stretched. The opening
311
of the handle
30
receives the corresponding catch
23
of the retention module
20
, and the engaging portion
31
is thus resiliently engaged with the catch
23
at a bottom extremity of the opening
311
. The heat sink
10
is thereby securely fastened onto the electronic device by the clips
1
.
It is understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit thereof. Thus, the present example and embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the two opposite clips may be joined together with one handle equipped therewith.
Claims
- 1. An electronic device assembly comprising:a circuit board; an electronic device mounted on the circuit board; a retention module mounted on the circuit board around the electronic device and comprising a plurality of catches; a heat sink comprising a base contacting the electronic device, and a plurality of fins; and at least two clips, each of the clips comprising an integrally-formed fastener, the fastener comprises an engaging portion defining a slot, a spring portion arranged adjacent the engaging portion, and a suspending portion arranged adjacent the spring portion; wherein the suspending portion engages with a corresponding fin of the heat sink, and the engaging portion engages with a corresponding catch of the retention module, whereby the heat sink is attached to the electronic device.
- 2. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 1, wherein at least one recess is defined in a top of said corresponding fin of the heat sink.
- 3. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 1, wherein at least one shoulder extends from said corresponding fin of the heat sink.
- 4. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the retention module has a pair of side walls, and the catches are formed at the side walls.
- 5. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 1, wherein the spring portion is generally U-shaped.
- 6. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 2, wherein the suspending portion has a generally inverted U-shape, which engages with the at least one recess of said corresponding fin, and a tab is arranged at a distal end of the suspending portion.
- 7. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 1, wherein each of the clips further comprises a handle movably engaging in the slot of the engaging portion, for facilitating attachment or detachment of the clip.
- 8. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 7, wherein the handle comprises a base portion, a pair of fingers arranged adjacent one side of the base portion, and a pressing portion arranged adjacent an opposite side of the base portion.
- 9. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 8, wherein the fingers extend outwardly and slightly upwardly from said one side of the base portion.
- 10. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 8, wherein the pressing portion extends slightly upwardly from said opposite side of the base portion, and a rounded section is formed at a distal end of the pressing portion.
- 11. The electronic device assembly as described in claim 8, wherein a gap is defined between the fingers and through part of the base portion.
- 12. A heat sink assembly comprising:a printed circuit board; a module positioned on the printed circuit board with a heat generating device thereabouts and defining a pair of catches thereof; a heat sink positioned on the heat generating device; at least one clip including an abutting section engagingly abutting against the heat sink and around a lower portion thereof an engaging section latchably engaged with the corresponding catch, a joined section being defined between the abutting section and the engaging section; and a handle attached to the clip around thereof the joined section of the clip, and located between the abutting section and the engaging section; wherein said handle includes a distal end in abutment with a portion of the heat sink, and a manipulating portion located opposite to said distal end, said distal end and said manipulating portion being located by two sides of said joined section.
- 13. The assembly as described in claim 11, wherein said abutting section not only limits movements of said heat sink in a vertical direction but also in a horizontal direction.
- 14. The assembly as described in claim 11, further including another clip engaged with the heat sink and fastened to the other one of said pair of catches.
- 15. The assembly as described in claim 14, wherein said another clip is discrete from while in corporation with said clip to hold said heat sink unto the module.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
91205220 U |
Apr 2002 |
TW |
|
US Referenced Citations (6)