Patent ID: 7787251

Claim:
A heat sink apparatus comprising: a heat sink operable to be coupled to a first portion of a printed circuit board, the heat sink comprising: a first plurality of thermal elements having a first height; and a second plurality of thermal elements having a second height that is less than the first height, wherein the second plurality of thermal elements extend from the heat sink in a substantially same direction as the first plurality of thermal elements; and a retaining mechanism operably coupled along a first surface of the heat sink, the retaining mechanism operable to be coupled to a second portion of the printed circuit board to produce a tension between the first surface of the heat sink and the second portion of the printed circuit board, and wherein the retaining mechanism comprises: a first tension coupling element operable to be coupled to a first portion of the first surface of the heat sink, the first tension coupling element configured to extend from the first surface of the heat sink to along a first side portion of the printed circuit board, the first side portion including a first electrical contact region operable to be used in association with a detection module to monitor the coupling of the retaining mechanism to the second portion of the printed circuit board, and wherein the first tension coupling element extends over a first portion of the second plurality of thermal elements; and a second tension coupling element operable to be coupled to a second portion of the first surface of the heat sink, the second tension coupling element configured to extend from the first surface of the heat sink to along a second side portion of the printed circuit board, the second side portion including a second electrical contact region operable to be used in association with a detection module to monitor the coupling of the retaining mechanism to the second portion of the printed circuit board, and wherein the second tension coupling element extends over a second portion of the second plurality of thermal elements.