ACT Granted Patent for its Thermally Enhanced ICE-Lok™ Wedgelocks for Embedded Computing Applications
Lancaster, PA August 16, 2018 – Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued ACT US Patent 10,034,403, “Card Retainer Device.” The patent acknowledges the unique design of a thermally enhanced wedgelock, a component used to secure a card module to a sidewall in embedded computing systems.
This patent marks ACT’s 15th patent in company history since its inception in 2003.
Embedded computing systems are used in ruggedized computer assemblies and used in demanding environments such as military and aerospace vehicles. Adoption of these assemblies has been widespread due to the inherent ease of maintenance and open architecture that encourages upgrades to systems as they become available. To enable the ever-increasing computational power while maintaining component temperatures, efforts are needed to reduce thermal resistance.
ACT’s Iso-thermal Card Edge clamp, “ICE-Lok™,” is a card retainer device providing the maximum surface area possible for heat transfer from a card module to the chassis while limiting forces applied to the side-wall of the chassis and card through a friction-locking design. ACT is the only provider of this style of clamp.
According to Mr. Jens Weyant, ACT’s Defense/Aerospace Products Group Manager, “We’ve been supplying our military customers with excellent thermal management solutions for both the conduction cooled cards and the chassis. A common complaint was the thermal bottle-neck presented by standard COTS card retainers. A successful SBIR effort resulted in the new ICE-Lok™. We now offer solutions for all thermal resistances between the chip and ultimate heat sink. This includes the HiK™ conduction cards, the ICE-Lok, and HiK™ Chassis solutions. We’re excited to begin working with customers to deliver the improved thermal performance they’ve been asking us for.”
ACT’s ICE-Loks™ have been rigorously tested and when used in place of a commercial off the shelf wedgelock can result in a thermal savings of up to 30%
About ACT
ACT specializes in advanced thermal technology development and custom thermal product manufacturing. ACT designs and manufactures PCM heat sinks, cold plates, HiK™ plates, heat pipes, custom thermal, fluid, and mechanical systems, and pumped liquid and two-phase loops for customers in diverse markets including Aerospace, Electronics, Temperature Calibration, Medical Device, and Energy Recovery Systems.
ACT’s team consists of personnel with established track records in technology development, commercialization and production. Many of them were involved in the pioneering work on heat pipes, loop heat pipes and other single and two-phase heat transfer devices. They are the inventors/co-inventors on numerous U.S. and international patents and the authors/co-authors of hundreds of scientific publications.
ACT’s Facility measures more than 60,000 square feet, including office, laboratory and manufacturing spaces. With ISO9001 and AS9100 certified quality system in place, the facility has designed and manufactured high quality, cost effective, thermal management solutions for dozens of mission critical satellites, and numerous military and commercial applications. ACT’s diverse R&D efforts are developing thermal solutions for tomorrow’s emerging technologies.
For more information about ACT, please visit www.1-ACT.com.
Media Contact
Amanda Hershey
Marketing Specialist
E-mail: Amanda.Hershey@1-ACT.com
Phone: +1 (717) 205-0625
www.1-ACT.com