WO2019104750A1

WO2019104750A1 - Guide system for pcb assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2019104750A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/114858
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jingwei Liu; Chunping Zhang; Minghua Xie
Original assignee: Abb Schweiz Ag
Priority date: 2017-11-29
Filing date: 2017-12-06
Publication date: 2019-06-06
Also published as: CN207625986U

Abstract

A guide system (600) for a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly (102), comprising: a heat sink (202) comprising at least one guide portion (204) extending in a first direction (Z), the heat sink (202) being attached to the PCB assembly (102) in a second direction (Y) perpendicular to the first direction (Z); and at least one guide slot (302) extending in the first direction (Z), the at least one guide slot (302) being adapted to engage with the at least one guide portion (204) and to allow the at least one guide portion (204) to be movable in the first direction (Z).

Description

GUIDE SYSTEM FOR PCB ASSEMBLY

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, and more particularly to a guide system for a PCB assembly and an apparatus comprising the guide system.

BACKGROUND

With a development of science and technology in an electronic industry, electronic systems become more and more complicated. An electronic system for controlling robots or any other electronic devices generally includes a mother board (which may also be referred to as carrier board) having PCB assemblies mounted thereon by inserting the PCB assemblies into corresponding components provided on the carrier board. The PCB assemblies are electronically coupled to the carrier board via electrical connectors, and the PCB assemblies are mechanically coupled to the carrier board via the electric connectors and insertion slots.

Characteristics of such electronic system, such as performance, reliability, lifetime, cost, etc., generally rely on at least the electrical and/or the mechanical coupling between the PCB assemblies and the carrier board. The coupling mechanism is thus critical especially for those electronic systems having increasing number of electronic devices for controlling complex intelligent systems.

If the PCB assembly is not carefully aligned with a card slot or electrical connectors during the mounting procedure of the PCB assembly, the electrical connectors between the PCB and carrier boards might be damaged, which in turn has negative effects on the PCB assemblies. Therefore, human users now have to spend lot of time to carefully align the PCB assemblies. Currently, the PCB is directly plugged into and out from the card slot on the carrier board by itself, without any other support for facilitating mechanical stability. When the PCB is plugged into and/or out from the carrier board, the electrical connectors on the PCB and even the PCB itself may be damaged. Also it is not so convenient for operators to maintain the PCB.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a guide system for a PCB assembly and an apparatus comprising the guide system, which facilitate a mounting of the PCB assembly to a carrier board.

In a first aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a guide system for a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly, comprising: a heat sink comprising at least one guide portion extending in a first direction, the heat sink being attached to the PCB assembly in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; and at least one guide slot extending in the first direction, the at least one guide slot being adapted to engage with the at least one guide portion and to allow the at least one guide portion to be movable in the first direction.

In some embodiments, the heat sink comprises the guide portion provided at an end of the heat sink.

In some embodiments, the guide portion comprises an edge portion of the heat sink.

In some embodiments, the heat sink comprises two guide portions provided at opposite sides of the heat sink in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

In some embodiments, the PCB assembly comprises a PCB extending in the first direction and a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

In some embodiments, the guide portion extends beyond an edge of the PCB in the third direction.

In some embodiments, the at least one guide slot is further adapted to prevent the at least one guide portion from moving in the second direction and a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

In some embodiments, the guide slot is provided on a slot board.

In some embodiments, the slot board extends in the first direction and the second direction.

In some embodiments, the slot board is adapted to separate the PCB assembly from another PCB assembly in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus comprising: a carrier board; a PCB assembly mounted on the carrier board in a first direction; a heat sink attached to the PCB assembly in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the heat sink comprising at least one guide portion extending in the first direction; and at least one guide slot mounted on the carrier board with a support for facilitating mechanism stability in the first direction and extending in the first direction, the at least one guide slot being adapted to engage with the at least one guide portion and to allow the at least one guide portion to be movable in the first direction.

In some embodiments, the PCB assembly comprises a PCB mounted on the carrier board in the first direction and extending in the first direction and a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

In some embodiments, the guide slot is provided on a slot board, and the slot board is mounted on the carrier board in the first direction.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat sink moves along the guide slot so that it is convenient to assemble and disassemble the PCB assembly quickly and accurately, the guide portion is provided on the heat sink so that the PCB of the PCB assembly is prevented from wearing out and the electronic elements is able to be provided on the edge of the PCB, and the PCB moves along the guide slot and is prevented from moving along other directions so that the electrical connectors on the PCB is prevented from deviating from the electrical connectors on the carrier board, thereby protecting the electrical connectors from being damaged by incorrect directional forces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the following detailed descriptions with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objectives, features and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure become more comprehensible. Several embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated in an example and in a non-limiting manner in the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of mounting a PCB assembly on a carrier board in the prior art;

Fig. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of mounting a PCB assembly on a carrier board in the prior art;

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a heat sink attached to a PCB assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3A illustrates a schematic perspective view of a guide slot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3B illustrates a schematic perspective view of guide slots according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a slot board mounted to a carrier board according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic perspective view of a PCB assembly mounted to a carrier board according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6A illustrates a schematic perspective view of PCB assemblies mounted to a carrier board according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6B illustrates a schematic plan view of PCB assemblies mounted to a carrier board according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6C illustrates a schematic enlarged view of Part A in Fig. 6B; and

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic perspective view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or corresponding reference symbols refer to the same or corresponding parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter described herein will now be discussed with reference to several example embodiments. These embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the subject matter described herein, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the subject matter.

The term “comprises” or “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to. ” The term “or” is to be read as “and/or” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on. ” The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment. ” The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment. ” Unless specified or limited otherwise, the terms “mounted, ” “connected, ” “supported, ” and “coupled” and variations thereof are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect mountings, connections, supports, and couplings. Furthermore, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Note that, a phrase “A matches with B” means that A equals to B, or there is a difference between A and B that is not enough to affect desired implementations. In the description below, like reference numerals and labels are used to describe the same, similar or corresponding parts in the Figures. Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

As mentioned above, coupling or mounting of a PCB assembly to a carrier board plays a key role in an electronic system for controlling complex intelligent systems, for example, robots. The traditional PCB design, however, cannot support an efficient and accurate mounting procedure of the PCB of the PCB assembly. The mounting procedure of the PCB assembly is a time-consuming process. Moreover, when the PCB is plugged into and/or out from the carrier board, the electrical connectors on the PCB and even the PCB itself may be damaged. Also it is not so convenient for operators to maintain the PCB.

Fig. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of mounting the PCB assembly 102 on the carrier board 104 in a direction Z in the prior art. In a case shown in Fig. 1A, the PCB assembly 102 includes the PCB 106, and the electrical connector 108 on the PCB 106 deviates from the electrical connector 110 on the carrier board 104 by a certain distance in a direction Y. In this case, the electrical connector 108 does not align with the electrical connector 110, and thus the

electrical connectors

108, 110 may be destroyed during the mounting procedure.

Fig. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of mounting the PCB assembly 102 on the carrier board 104 in the direction Z in the prior art. In a case shown in Fig. 1B, the PCB assembly 102 includes the PCB 106, and the carrier board 104 has different

electrical connectors

110, 114 with different heights in the direction Z. In addition, the

electrical connectors

108, 112 on the PCB 106 deviates from the

electrical connectors

110, 114 on the carrier board 104 by a certain distance in the direction Z, that is, a distance between the electrical connector 110 with the lower height and the corresponding electrical connector 108 in a X-Z plane is different from the distance between the electrical connector 114 with the higher height and the corresponding electrical connector 112 in the X-Z plane. In this case, the

electrical connectors

108, 112 provided on the PCB 106 do not align with the

electrical connectors

110, 114 provided on the carrier board 104, respectively, and thus the

electrical connectors

108, 110, 112, 114 may be destroyed during the mounting procedure.

In order to at least partially solve above and potential other problems, in general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a heat sink that is adapted to be attached to the PCB assembly to hold the PCB of the PCB assembly, and a guide slot that is adapted to guide the PCB assembly having the heat sink attached thereto to be mounted to the carrier board. The heat sink is designed to engage with the guide slot during the mounting procedure such that the force during the mounting procedure will be concentrated on the heat sink, rather than the PCB, thereby protecting the PCB from wearing out.

Additionally, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat sink is fabricated by precise machining processes to have a guide portion for facilitating the mounting of the PCB. Further, with the pre-designed guide slot, the heat sink attached to the PCB assembly will move along the guide slots quickly and accurately, so that the electrical connectors provided on the PCB of the PCB assembly are connected quickly and accurately to the electrical connectors provided on the carrier board, thereby improving the efficiency and the accuracy of the PCB assembly while reducing the wear of the PCB assembly.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic perspective view of the heat sink 202 attached to the PCB assembly 102 in the direction Y according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The PCB assembly 102 may include the PCB 106 extending in the direction X and the direction Z. The PCB assembly 102 may further include electronic elements and electrical connectors provided on the PCB 106. The heat sink 202 may include at least one guide portion 204 extending in the direction Z. It is to be understood that in the context of the present disclosure, directions X, Y and Z described herein are perpendicular to each other.

In some embodiments, the heat sink 202 may extend in the direction X and the direction Z. The heat sink 202 may include the guide portion 204 provided at an end of the heat sink 202 in the direction X. The guide portion 204 may have a cross-section in the x-y plane different from that of the heat sink 202. The cross-section of the guide portion 204 in the x-y plane may have any suitable shape, such as round shape, rectangular shape, etc. In this way, the guide portion 204 may be individually designed to have a desired structure to improve the stability of the mounting procedure of the PCB assembly 102. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the guide portion 202 may include an edge portion of the heat sink 202 in the direction X. The edge portion of the heat sink 202 may constitute the guide portion 204. The guide portion 204 may have the cross-section in the x-y plane similar to that of the heat sink 202. In this way, the guide portion 204 may be designed to be formed as a part of the heat sink 202 in order to simplify the whole structure of the heat sink 202 while facilitating the mounting procedure of the PCB assembly 102. Note that, the guide portion 204 may have any other suitable shapes or structures, as long as the guide portion 204 facilitate the movement of the heat sink 204 in the direction Z with the aid of the guide slot, as will be described below.

In some embodiments, the heat sink 202 may be partially made of thermal conductive material such as metal, metal alloy or the like. The guide portion 204 may or may not be made of the same or similar material. For example, in some embodiments, the material of the guide portion 204 may have greater stiffness than that of the PCB 106, so that the guide portion 204 can bear the friction between the guide portion 204 and the guide slot and facilitate the movement of the guide portion 204 along the guide slot. In a case where the heat sink 202 and the guide portion comprise the metal or the metal alloy, the heat sink 202 and the guide portion 204 may be fabricated by plane processes to have a high accuracy in shape.

In some embodiments, a single guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 may be provided at either side in the direction X. Alternatively, in other embodiments, tbere may be two guide portions 204 provided at opposite sides in the direction X.

In some embodiments, the heat sink 202 may have an area larger than that of the PCB 106. The heat sink 202 may have a length in the direction X larger than that of the PCB 106. The guide portion 204 may extend beyond an edge of the PCB 106 in the direction X. In this way, it is possible to avoid the PCB 106 from engaging with other structures during the mounting procedure of the PCB assembly, thereby protecting the PCB from being damaged by the external force.

In some embodiments, the heat sink 202 may be coupled to the PCB 106 through coupling components 206, such as screws or any other suitable connectors. In this way, the heat sink 202 is attached to the PCB assembly 102, so that the heat sink 202 may not only dissipate the heat generated by the PCB assembly 102, but also facilitate the mounting of the PCB assembly 102 to the carrier board.

In some embodiments, the guide portion 204 may include a plurality of guide segments 208, 210, 212 which are spaced apart from each other on the heat sink 202 in the direction Z. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the heat sink 202 may include a single guide portion 202 extending in the direction Z at either side of the heat sink 202 in the direction X.

Fig. 3A illustrates a schematic perspective view of the guide slot 302 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, the guide slot 302 may extend in the direction Z. In some embodiments, the guide slot 302 may be adapted to engage with the guide portion 204 to guide the guide portion 204 to move in the direction Z. For example, the guide slot 302 may receive the guide portion 204 inserted in the direction Z. The guide slot 302 may be configured to accommodate the guide portion 204. Furthermore, by means of the guide slot 302, the guide portion 204 can be prevented from moving in the directions other than the direction Z.

In some embodiments, the guide slot 302 may be provided on a slot board 304. The slot board 304 may extend in the direction Z and the direction perpendicular to the direction Z. The slot board 304 may have any suitable shape. In some embodiments, in addition to the guide slot 302, the slot board 304 may have other structures, such as opening, etc.

In some embodiments, the guide slot 302 may include guide tracks 306, 308 protruding from the slot board 304. The guide tracks 306, 308 may have the same height from the slot board 304. Alternatively, the guide tracks 306, 308 may have different heights. The guide tracks 306, 308 may have the same length in the direction Z. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the guide tracks 306, 308 may have different lengths in the direction Z.

In some embodiment, the slot board 304 may include metal, plastic or any other suitable material. The guide slot 302 may or may not be made of the same material as the slot board 304. The guide slot 302 includes the material that bears the friction between the guide slot 302 and the guide portion 204 and that facilitates the movement of the guide portion 204 along the guide slot 302.

In some embodiments, the guide slot 302 may have a size that matches with a thickness of the PCB 106. A distance between the guide tracks 306 and 308 and/or the heights of the guide tracks 306 and 308 may match with the thickness of the PCB 106. In addition, the length of the guide slot 302 in the direction Z may match with the length of the guide portion 204 in the direction Z.

Fig. 3B illustrates a schematic perspective view of the guide slots 302 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The guide slots 302 as shown in Fig. 3B have the same structure as the guide slot 302 described with reference to Fig. 3A. The difference between the examples in Figs. 3A and 3B lies in that in this example, the slot board 304 includes two guide slots 302 provided thereon. However, it is to be understood that this is merely for illustration, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the present disclosure. In other embodiments, the slot board 304 may have any number of the guide slots 302 provided thereon.

Fig. 4 illustrates a schematic perspective view of the slot board 304 mounted onto the carrier board 104 in the direction Z according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the slot board 304 extends in the direction Z and the direction Y and may be mounted to the carrier board 104 in the direction Z. In some embodiments, for example, the slot board 304 may be mounted to the carrier board 104 via coupling components 402. An example of the coupling components may be, but not limited to, screws or any other suitable connectors.

In some embodiments, in addition to a mechanical coupling of the slot board 304 to the carrier board 104 via the coupling components 402, the slot board 304 may be electrically coupled to the carrier board 104 via the coupling components 402 and/or any other suitable electrical connectors. The slot board 304 may be electrically connected to the ground. In this way, the slot board may serve to shield electronic components of the PCB assembly 102 from external influences.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic perspective view of the PCB assembly 102 mounted to the carrier board 104 in the direction Z according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, the PCB assembly 102 has been mounted to the structures shown in Fig. 4, i.e., the carrier board 104 having the slot board 304 mounted thereto.

As shown, the heat sink 202 may be attached to the PCB assembly 102 in the direction Y to hold the PCB 106. The guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 may engage with the guide slot 302 of the slot board 304, so that the guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 and thus the PCB assembly 102 are allowed to be movable along the guide slot 302, i.e. the direction Z.

The heat sink 202 and the guide slots 204 together form a guide system for the PCB assembly 102. The heat sink 202 may hold the PCB 106 of the PCB assembly 102, so that the PCB assembly 102 will move in the direction Z as the heat sink 202 moves in the direction Z along the guide slot 302. The guide slot 302 may be adapted to guide the guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 and thus to guide the PCB 106 of the PCB assembly 102 having the heat sink 202 attached thereto to be mounted to the carrier board 104 in the direction Z, or to be detached from the carrier board 104 in the direction Z. Further, the guide slot 302 may be adapted to prevent the guide portion 204 from moving in the direction X and the direction Y.

In some embodiments, one of the sides of the heat sink 202 in the direction X may be guided by the guide slot 302 provided next to the corresponding side of the heat sink 202 in the direction X. That is, the guide slot provided next to either side of the heat sink 202 in the direction X may engage with the guide portion 204 and to allow the guide portion 204 to be movable in the direction Z.

Alternatively, in other embodiments, both sides of the heat sink 202 in the direction X may be guided by the guide slots 302 provided next to the corresponding sides of the heat sink 202 in the direction X. That is, the guide slots provided next to both sides of the heat sink 202 in the direction X may engage with the guide portions 204 and allow the guide portions 204 to be movable in the direction Z.

Through the above discussions, it will be appreciated that with the movement of the guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 along the guide slot 302 extending in the direction Z, the PCB assembly 102 moves along the direction Z quickly and accurately during the mounting procedure of the PCB assembly 102. In this way, the electrical connectors provided on the PCB 106 align with the electrical connectors provided on the carrier board 104 quickly and accurately during the mounting procedure of the PCB assembly 102. Therefore, the electrical connectors may be well prevented from being damaged by any incorrect directional force any more.

Moreover, according to embodiments of present disclosure, the heat sink 202, rather than the PCB 106, provides the guide portion 204 that engages with the guide slot 302. In this way, the force during the mounting procedure for the PCB assembly 102 will be concentrated on the guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202, rather than the PCB 106, so that the PCB 106 is prevented from wearing out, the electrical elements and the wirings provided on PCB 106 are prevented from being damaged by the force. As a result, there is no need to provide a spare space on the edge of the PCB 106 for the protection of the electrical elements and the wirings. In addition, the guide portion 204 includes the material that is strong enough to bear the force between the guide portion 204 and the guide slot 302, thereby ensuring the reliability of the mounting procedure.

Further, the heat sink 202 attached to the PCB assembly 102 moves exactly in the direction Z along which the guide slot 302 extends. In this way, the PCB 106 of the PCB assembly 102 having the heat sink 202 attached thereto will be prevented from moving in other directions, and there is no need to align the electrical connectors on the PCB 106 with great care to the electrical connectors on the carrier board 104 anymore. The PCB assembly 102 can easily move along the guide slots 302 up and down in the correct direction, and it is convenient to assemble or disassemble the PCB assembly 102 quickly and accurately. In addition, the guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 and the guide slots 302 of the slot board 304 are fabricated by precise machining processes to improve the efficiency and accuracy and also reduce the wear of the PCB 106.

Fig. 6A illustrates a schematic perspective view of PCB assemblies mounted to the carrier board 104 in the direction Z according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Although three PCB assemblies are shown to be mounted to the carrier board 104 with the aid of the guide system, there may be any number of the PCB assemblies mounted to the carrier board with the aid of the guide system in other embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in Fig. 6A, the PCB assemblies mounted to the carrier board 104 may be arranged in both directions X and Y. The slot board 304 may include any number of the guide slot provided thereon as described with reference to Fig. 3A and may be mounted to any position on the carrier board 104. In this way, the guide system may be applicable to any type of the carrier boards 104 having different layouts.

In some embodiments, the slot board 304 may separate the PCB assemblies from one another in the direction X. In this way, a safe distance between the PCB assemblies is provided. The guide slot is provided on the slot board 304 as described with reference to Fig. 3A for separating the PCB assemblies. In this way, the guide slot may be not required to be mounted to the carrier board 104 through other structures, resulting in a compact and complex system. Compared to conventional arrangements where the guide slot provided on an outer housing, embodiments of the present disclosure may prevent external influences from spreading internally to the PCB assemblies. In this way, the reliability of the PCB assembly and thus the reliability of the entire system may be improved.

Fig. 6B illustrates a schematic plan view of the structures shown in Fig. 6A. As can be seen from Fig. 6B, in aid of the guide system for the PCB assembly, the distances between the PCB assemblies in the direction X and the direction Y may be allowed to be smaller, which will facilitate convenient, easy and fast mounting of the PCB assembly onto the carrier board by the guide system, even if the PCB assemblies are closer to each other.

Fig. 6C illustrates a schematic enlarged view of the part A in Fig. 6B. As shown, in this example, the heat sink 202 is attached to the PCB assembly through the coupling component 206 to hold the PCB 106. In addition, the guide system 600 is shown to include the heat sink 202 and the guide slot 302, the guide portion 204 of the heat sink 202 may engage with the guide slot 302 of the slot board 304. It can be also seen that in this example, the guide slot 302 is provided on one side of the slot board 304 in the direction X. Further, two slot boards 304 are attached to each other in the direction X, and two heat sinks 202 are aligned with each other in the direction X. However, it is to be understood that those arrangements do not suggest any limitations as to the scope of the present disclosure. For example, in other embodiments, the guide slots 302 may be provided on both sides of the slot board 304 in the direction X, and the two slot boards 304 shown in Fig. 6C may constitute a single slot board. In other embodiments, the two slot boards 304 shown in Fig. 6C may be separated from each other by a given safe distance in the direction X. In other embodiments, the two heat sinks 202 shown in Figs. 6C may deviate from each other in the direction Y.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic perspective view of an apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 700 includes the carrier board 104 and other components comprising the PCB assemblies mounted to the carrier board 104. The heat sink comprising the guide portion according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be attached to the PCB assembly.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 700 may further include the slot boards 304 mounted to the carrier board 104. For example, the guide slot 302 may be provided on the slot board 304. As discussed above, the apparatus 700 may include the guide system 600 as described with reference to Fig. 6C for the PCB assembly, comprising the heat sink and the guide slot.

In the example as shown in Fig. 7, the slot boards 304 that have different shapes. In this way, the guide slots 304 may be easily mounted to the carrier board 104 of the apparatus 700 of the compact and complex system.

The apparatus 700 may be applicable to any suitable controller system. For example, the apparatus 700 may include a controller for the system such as robot or any other intelligent system.

While several details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the other hand, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features described above. Rather, the specific features described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. In light of this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to that of the particular embodiments illustrated and described herein, as they are merely by way of some examples thereof, but rather, should be fully commensurate with that of the claims appended hereafter and their functional equivalents.

Claims

A guide system (600) for a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly (102) , comprising:

a heat sink (202) comprising at least one guide portion (204) extending in a first direction (Z) , the heat sink (202) being attached to the PCB assembly (102) in a second direction (Y) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) ; and

at least one guide slot (302) extending in the first direction (Z) , the at least one guide slot (302) being adapted to engage with the at least one guide portion (204) and to allow the at least one guide portion (204) to be movable in the first direction (Z) .
The guide system (600) of claim 1, wherein the heat sink (202) comprises the guide portion (204) provided at an end of the heat sink (202) .
The guide system (600) of claim 1, wherein the guide portion (204) comprises an edge portion of the heat sink (202) .
The guide system (600) of claim 1, wherein the heat sink (202) comprises two guide portions (204) provided at opposite sides of the heat sink (202) in a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The guide system (600) of claim 1, wherein the PCB assembly (102) comprises a PCB (106) extending in the first direction (Z) and a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The guide system (600) of claim 5, wherein the guide portion (204) extends beyond an edge of the PCB (106) in the third direction (X) .
The guide system (600) of claim 1, wherein the at least one guide slot (302) is further adapted to prevent the at least one guide portion (204) from moving in the second direction (Y) and a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The guide system (600) of claim 1, wherein the guide slot (302) is provided on a slot board (304) .
The guide system (600) of claim 8, wherein the slot board (304) extends in the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The guide system (600) of claim 8, wherein the slot board (304) is adapted to separate the PCB assembly (102) from another PCB assembly (102) in a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
An apparatus (700) , comprising:

a carrier board (104) ;

a PCB assembly (102) mounted on the carrier board (104) in a first direction (Z) ;

a heat sink (202) attached to the PCB assembly (102) in a second direction (Y) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) , the heat sink (202) comprising at least one guide portion (204) extending in the first direction (Z) ; and

at least one guide slot (302) mounted on the carrier board (104) in the first direction (Z) and extending in the first direction (Z) , the at least one guide slot (302) being adapted to engage with the at least one guide portion (204) and to allow the at least one guide portion (204) to be movable in the first direction (Z) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 11, wherein the heat sink (202) comprises the guide portion (204) provided at an end of the heat sink (202) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 11, wherein the guide portion (204) comprises an edge portion of the heat sink (202) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 11, wherein the heat sink (202) comprises two guide portions (204) provided at opposite sides of the heat sink (202) in a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 11, wherein the PCB assembly (102) comprises a PCB (106) mounted on the carrier board (104) in the first direction (Z) and extending in the first direction (Z) and a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 15, wherein the guide portion (204) extends beyond an edge of the PCB (106) in the third direction (X) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 11, wherein the at least one guide slot (302) is further adapted to prevent the at least one guide portion (204) from moving in the second direction (Y) and a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 11, wherein the guide slot (302) is provided on a slot board (304) , and the slot board (304) is mounted on the carrier board (104) in the first direction (Z) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 18, wherein the slot board (304) extends in the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .
The apparatus (700) of claim 18, wherein the slot board (304) is adapted to separate the PCB assembly (102) from another PCB assembly (102) in a third direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Z) and the second direction (Y) .