Multi-Lead Heat Sink

The field of the invention relates to heat sinks and more particularly to a heat sink which is circumferentially expandable and contractable and which can simultaneously physically contact all the leads of an electronic device.

In the electronic industry, electronic devices such as semiconductors, operational amplifiers, and other integrated circuits frequently must be soldered into position on a printed circuit board. During such soldering care must be taken to ensure that heat from the soldering iron at the joint where the lead is soldered does not travel up the lead into the electronic device and destroy the device, lower its efficiency, or change its characteristics. Typically, heat sink clips are fastened one at a time to individual leads before they are soldered. This is a time consuming operation and inefficient from a labor cost standpoint.

An apparatus in accordance with the invention will provide a heat sink for all the leads in one operation.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a multi-lead heat sink apparatus comprising an expandable lead encircling heat sink, structure for expanding the heat sink to allow it to be placed over an electronic device and for allowing the heat sink after it is placed over the device to contract, thereby causing all the leads of the electronic device to come into physical contact with the expandable heat sink so that the leads of the device may be safely soldered. In a preferred embodiment the heat sink is a lead encircling heat sink such as a loop of coil spring. Also in the preferred embodiment the coil spring is attached to the base of a tubular housing by a plurality of somewhat inwardly extending connecting rods and a longitudinally slidable member is positioned within the housing. When the member is pushed downward from an uppermost position against the connecting rods, it pushes them outward thereby forcing the coil spring to expand.

One object of the present invention is to decrease the time needed to solder electronic devices to printed circuit boards.

Another object of the present invention is to decrease labor time for fastening heat sinks to electronic device leads.

An advantage of the instant invention is that it is inexpensive to construct and easy to use.

Another advantage of the instant invention is that it may be used manually by technicians or may be incorporated into a robot used for automated soldering.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIGS 1, 2, 3, and 4 show perspectively a preferred embodiment of the invention and the various steps of its use.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which shows a preferred embodiment of the invention having the heat sink thereof in its contracted position preparatory to use. As seen therein, a housing 10 which is generally tubular or cylindrical in configuration comprises an upper ring 12 and a lower ring 14. Rings 12 and 14 are spaced and parallel to one another and are positioned by support rods 16. Each rod 16 is threaded at one end into ring 14 and at its other end is threaded through upper ring 12 and secured by nuts 18. An inner member 20 is slidably positionable within housing 10. In the preferred embodiment inner member 20 is slightly tapered inwardly from a base which will not pass through lower ring 14 to an upper portion topped by a cap 22. In the preferred embodiment member 20 may comprise a length of copper tubing which has been expanded at its lower end. Member 20 need not be tubular, but may be solid. It need not be made of metal but may be made of a durable plastic or other heat resistant material. Furthermore, it need not have a cap 22, particularly if it is solid. In addition, member 20 need not be tapered but it should have some structure for stopping its upward motion at some point to keep it from falling out of the housing 10. Housing 10 need not comprise two rings connected by support rods but may be a generally cylindrical piece of tubing or other structure. Furthermore, the device is not limited to being circular in cross section but may be square or multi-sided or of any practical cross sectional shape.

The preferred embodiment illustrated is suitable to be hand-held by an individual who solders electronic devices. The structure thereof may be modified so that it can be utilized effectively by a robot.

In base ring 14 or, in the case of a tubular housing, at the base thereof, are rotatably attached connecting rods 26 which connect the base of the housing 10 to an expandable and contractable heat sink such as a coil spring 24. At their upper ends the connecting rods are inserted through suitable apertures in base ring 14. The upper ends of rods 26 are formed into loops 30 so that the connecting rods are effectively rotatively attached to the base 14. They are fastened so that the connecting rods may rotate outwardly as the heat sink 24 expands and inwardly as it contracts. The lower end of each connecting rod 26 is formed into a small loop 28 and is affixed to a coil of spring 24. Each loop 28 can be fastened securely to spring 24 or it can be somewhat loose.

FIG. 2 shows, disposed below the preferred embodiment in its expanded position, an electronic device 40 having a plurality of leads 42 extending therefrom. Electronic device 40 is positioned on a printed circuit board (not shown) and the leads 42 thereof are to be soldered to the printed circuit board. To provide a heat sink for soldering, a user pushes down on cap 22 which causes member 20 to slide downward relative to housing 10. The outer edge of the lower end of member 20 pushes outwardly on the somewhat inwardly extending connecting rods 26 as it slides against them. The outwardly moving rods force the coil spring 24 to expand so that it may be placed over the electronic device 40. The user then moves the expanded coil spring 24 over electronic device 40 until the coil spring is positioned about leads 42 as shown in FIG. 3. At this point the user releases his downward pressure on the cap 22 and the inherent tension of the spring 24 causes member 20 to slide upward relative to housing 10. Alternatively, the device could be designed so that a user would grasp the edges of the cap and pull to cause the member 20 to slide upward in the housing. The upward movement of the member is stopped when its lower end, which is slightly larger in diameter than the inside diameter of ring 14, abuts ring 14. This retains member 20 within housing 10. As member 20 moves upward within housing 10 its lower end recedes into the housing; the tension within coil spring 24 causes it to contract to its untensioned length or as much as it is allowed go. This contraction brings some coils of spring 24 into physical contact with all of the leads 42 of electronic device 40 as seen in FIG. 4. Since the leads of electronic device 40 are in place on the printed circuit board onto which they are to be soldered, the soldering operation can now be accomplished. The heat sink provided by the coil spring 24 will absorb sufficient excess heat from the leads during the soldering operation to protect the device 40.

After the soldering operation is completed the steps are reversed. Cap 22 is again pushed down to force coil spring 24 to expand. The coil spring 24 is then passed over and removed from electronic device 40. The heat sink apparatus is ready for use again.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.