The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 08, 2002
Filed:
Aug. 09, 2000
Dennis J. Herrell, Marble Falls, TX (US);
Thomas P. Dolbear, Austin, TX (US);
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
An arrangement for a motherboard having a connector for a removable module is disclosed which increases the aggregate current carrying capacity of the connector by reducing the difference in current flow between power pins of the connector having the highest current flow and power pins of the connector having the lowest current flow. The current flow through all the power pins may then be operated nearer to the design maximum of the particular connector used. Thicker power planes within the motherboard (as well as within the module) reduce the effective resistance per square of the power plane, and help distribute the current more uniformly to a greater number of power pins of the connector. The use of multiple power planes in parallel also achieves a lower effective resistance. Multiple power terminals connecting the source of regulated power supply voltage (or reference voltage, such as ground) to the power plane may be used instead of just one power terminal. Moreover, placing a pair of power terminals symmetrically about a line perpendicular to the connector which bisects the power pins of the connector helps distribute the current flow through the power plane to the power pins. By placing the power terminal (or terminals) at least a certain distance from the connector (e.g., at least 15 mm), a more uniform current flow through the connector is achieved.