Patent ID: 7573709

Claim:
A heat sink grounding spring, comprising: a base comprising a conductive material having a generally planar portion, wherein an opening is formed in the generally planar portion of the base through which a heat sink and a module are to be placed in thermal contact with each other, wherein the opening has four sides defining a generally rectangular shape, wherein the generally planar portion of the base is configured to contact at least a portion of a peripheral surface of the heat sink; a multiple-jointed spring finger comprising a conductive material extending from the generally planar portion of the base to form a generally Z-shaped spring element, wherein the multiple-jointed spring finger is repeated as two or more multiple-jointed spring fingers disposed along each of the opening's four sides so that eight or more of the multiple-jointed spring fingers extend from the generally planar portion of the base, wherein the multiple-jointed spring finger is configured so that movement of a concave tip thereof is substantially limited to a direction perpendicular to the generally planar portion of the base as the multiple-jointed spring finger is compressed toward the generally planar portion of the base, and wherein the concave tip is to receive in ball-in-socket fashion at least a portion of a solder pad on the surface of a printed circuit board on which the module is mounted.