Patent ID: 7564690

Claim:
A method for grounding a heat sink in thermal contact with an electronic module, comprising the steps of: providing a printed circuit board having an electronic module mounted on a surface thereof; disposing a heat sink over the surface of the printed circuit card and in thermal contact with the module; interposing a grounding spring between the printed circuit board and the heat sink, wherein the grounding spring comprises a conductive material having an opening formed in a generally planar base portion thereof through which the heat sink and the module are in thermal contact with each other, wherein the base portion of the grounding spring makes electrical contact with at least a portion of a peripheral surface of the heat sink, and wherein a plurality of multiple-jointed spring fingers extend from the base portion of the grounding spring to form a plurality of generally Z-shaped spring elements that make electrical contact with conductive pads on the surface of the printed circuit board, wherein each of the multiple-jointed spring fingers is configured so that movement of a concave tip thereof is substantially limited to a z-axis as the multiple-jointed spring finger is compressed toward the base portion of the grounding spring, and wherein the concave tip makes electrical contact with one of the conductive pads by receiving in ball-in-socket fashion at least a portion of a conductive pad on the surface of the printed circuit board.