Solderless Heatsink Anchor With Spring-Loaded Prongs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for securing heat sinks to electronic substructures, such as circuit boards, often lack reliable and economical solutions for ensuring positive engagement between the heat sink and the heat-generating components, which can lead to inefficient cooling and potential damage to the components.
Innovation Solution
A heatsink anchor system featuring flexible retention prongs with barbs, stabilization prongs, a spring mechanism, and a stop to secure the anchor to the circuit board without soldering or separate fasteners, allowing for easy installation and thermal contact between the heat sink and the component, while accommodating varying board thicknesses and preventing over-compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional methods (soldering, separate fasteners) are used to secure heatsink, then reliable engagement is achieved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated anchor component: the anchor body provides structural support, retention prongs with barbs provide mechanical retention, springs provide compliance and engagement force, and stops prevent over-insertion. This integration eliminates the need for separate fasteners and reduces assembly steps while maintaining reliable heatsink engagement.
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor is designed to be self-installing through the circuit board using the spring-loaded retention prongs with barbs that automatically engage with the board material. The component serves its own installation function without requiring external fasteners or complex tooling, reducing both device complexity and manufacturing cost.
2Reliability
If rigid anchoring is used to ensure positive engagement, then thermal contact reliability improves, but adaptability to varying board thicknesses deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs spring-loaded retention prongs that provide dynamic compliance to accommodate varying circuit board thicknesses. The springs allow the anchor to maintain consistent engagement force and thermal contact reliability across different board thicknesses, transforming a rigid system into an adaptable one that self-adjusts to dimensional variations.
3Ease of manufacture
If simple anchor design is used to reduce manufacturing cost, then ease of manufacture improves, but engagement reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The anchor is segmented into distinct functional elements (anchor body, retention prongs with barbs, springs, and stops) that can be manufactured separately and then assembled through simple insertion. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function using cost-effective manufacturing processes while maintaining overall engagement reliability through the coordinated action of all segments.
4Strength
If retention prongs extend fully through circuit board to ensure secure anchoring, then anchoring strength improves, but risk of over-compression and component damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates stops that preliminarily limit the insertion depth of the retention prongs before full compression occurs. These stops prevent the prongs from extending fully through the circuit board, thereby preventing over-compression and potential damage to the board or mounted components while still providing sufficient anchoring strength through the controlled engagement depth.
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
The system provides reliable, economical, and efficient heat transfer by ensuring positive engagement between the heat sink and the heat-generating component, effectively cooling the component without the need for additional tools or soldering, and allows for easy installation and removal.
Implementation Method 1
A spring is integrated with the anchor body and has a free end spaced between the barbs and the stop
Implementation Method 2
A pair of flexible retention prongs extend from the anchor body in a common direction, and have barbs on the ends
Implementation Method 3
the heatsink in direct thermal contact with the heat-generating circuit-board element
Data Source
AI summary
A heatsink may be releasably secured to a substructure of an electronic system, such as a circuit board, in engagement with a heat-generating component, such as a processor. One embodiment provides an anchor that includes an anchor body, a hook coupled to the anchor body, a pair of flexible retention prongs extending from the anchor body in a common direction and spaced for insertion into openings on a circuit board, an optional pair of stabilization prongs extending from the anchor body adjacent to the flexible retention prongs, each having a width greater than the adjacent flexible retention prong, a barb disposed at the end of each prong and configured for retaining the anchor body on the circuit board upon insertion of the prongs into the openings on the circuit board, a spring integrated with the anchor body and having a free end spaced from the barbs a distance of less than the thickness of the circuit board, and a stop integrated with the anchor body for limiting the amount of insertion of the prongs beyond an initial contact of the free end of the spring with the circuit board. A heatsink clip releasably secures the heatsink to the hook of the anchor.