Patent ID: 8885336

Claim:
A mounting structure adapted for mounting an expansion card within a computer enclosure and for absorbing and conducting heat from an integrated circuit chip on the expansion card to an ambient atmosphere surrounding the computer enclosure, the mounting structure comprising: a mounting bracket configured to rigidly support the expansion card within the computer enclosure; a means for securing the mounting bracket to the computer enclosure; a heat sink adapted to directly contact a surface of the integrated circuit chip on the expansion card; an extension interconnecting the heat sink and the mounting bracket, the extension configured for conducting the heat from the heat sink to the mounting bracket; and a means associated with the mounting bracket for dissipating the heat from the mounting structure directly to the ambient atmosphere surrounding an exterior of the computer enclosure, wherein the mounting structure is a unitary structure in which the heat sink, the extension, and the mounting bracket comprise a single seamless component rather than individual components assembled together whose surfaces contact each other.