Heat Sink Spring Mounting for Low-Resistance Thermal Contact

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing air-cooled and liquid-cooled heat dissipation apparatuses for electronic components suffer from poor attachment due to surface evenness tolerance and manufacturing roughness, resulting in large thermal resistance and poor heat conduction.

Innovation Solution

A heat dissipation apparatus featuring a support, heat sink, and elastic components with a peak-valley structure that provide a floating connection, allowing for tight attachment and improved heat conduction by adjusting force-applying portions while maintaining stable mechanical properties.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If conventional air-cooled or liquid-cooled heat dissipation apparatuses are used, then the heat dissipation structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the attachment tightness between heat sink and electronic component is poor due to surface evenness tolerance and manufacturing roughness, resulting in large thermal resistance

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveattachment tightnessVSAvoidheat dissipation apparatus structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs elastic components (springs) to create a dynamic, adjustable attachment system between the heat sink and electronic component. The elastic components allow the heat sink to maintain tight contact despite surface irregularities, transforming the static rigid attachment into a dynamic adaptive connection that compensates for manufacturing tolerances and improves thermal contact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the attachment system by introducing elastic components with specific force-applying portions. These components modify the contact pressure and attachment force parameters, enabling the heat sink to adapt to surface variations and achieve improved attachment tightness without requiring ultra-precise manufacturing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If the heat sink is rigidly attached to the electronic component, then the structure is stable, but the thermal resistance increases due to gaps caused by surface evenness tolerance and manufacturing roughness

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveheat conduction performanceVSAvoidattachment stability
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The elastic components provide a dynamic attachment mechanism that maintains stable contact force between the heat sink and electronic component. This dynamic system ensures reliable thermal conduction by continuously adapting to surface variations while maintaining attachment stability through the elastic recovery force of the springs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The elastic components act as intermediary elements between the heat sink and electronic component, mediating the contact interface. These intermediaries compensate for surface irregularities and gaps, ensuring both reliable thermal conduction and stable attachment by distributing and adjusting the contact forces across the interface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of manufacture

If the heat sink is loosely attached to accommodate surface variations, then the manufacturing tolerance is relaxed, but the thermal resistance increases and heat dissipation performance deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemanufacturing toleranceVSAvoidheat dissipation efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The elastic components create a dynamic attachment system that relaxes manufacturing tolerance requirements while maintaining effective thermal contact. The springs automatically adjust to surface variations, allowing easier manufacturing of the heat sink and electronic component without compromising heat dissipation efficiency, as the elastic force ensures continuous thermal contact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the force application parameters through elastic components, allowing the attachment system to accommodate surface variations within relaxed manufacturing tolerances. The elastic force parameters are designed to ensure adequate contact pressure for efficient heat transfer while permitting broader manufacturing tolerances for the heat sink and component surfaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Enhances heat dissipation performance by improving attachment tightness between the heat sink and electronic components, reducing thermal resistance, and optimizing the layout and stability of the circuit board.

Implementation Method 1

each elastic component is a strip-shaped elastic component having a peak-valley structure... The at least one elastic component is configured to provide, to the heat sink, pressure to tightly attach the heat sink to the heat source

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

a first heat conducting surface of the heat sink... is configured to penetrate the assembly opening to be attached to a second heat conducting surface of the heat source... improving attachment tightness between the heat sink and the heat source, thereby improving heat dissipation effect of the heat sink on the heat source

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectThermal conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentEP4343829B1Heat dissipation apparatus, circuit module, electronic device, and method for assembling circuit module
Publication Date: 2025.12.03 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP4343829B1 patent drawingFigure 1(a)
  • EP4343829B1 patent drawingFigure 1(b)
  • EP4343829B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and discloses a heat dissipation apparatus, a circuit module, an electronic device, and a circuit module assembly method. In the heat dissipation apparatus, a support is configured to be mounted to a circuit board, and an assembly opening on a bearing portion in the support is configured to accommodate a heat source on the circuit board, so that a heat conducting surface of the heat source can penetrate the assembly opening on a bearing board. A heat sink is disposed on the bearing portion of the support, and a heat conducting surface of the heat sink can penetrate the assembly opening, to be attached to the heat conducting surface of the heat source. A peak-valley structure in an elastic component is disposed on a mounting surface of the heat sink as a force-applying portion, and two ends of the elastic component exceed an edge of the heat sink and are mounted to the support as mounting portions. At least one elastic component can provide, to the heat sink by using the peak-valley structure, pressure to tightly attach the heat sink to the heat source. The heat dissipation apparatus in this application can appropriately adjust the force-applying portion while the mounting portions keeps unchanged, to improve attachment tightness between the heat sink and the heat source, thereby improving heat dissipation effect of the heat sink on the heat source.