Patent 7361844 was granted and assigned to VLT on April, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Power conversion apparatus includes a circuit board with power conversion circuitry and a package having an upper portion and a lower portion that respectively enclose circuitry on a top surface and a bottom surface of the circuit board. The lower portion encloses a smaller region than that enclosed by the upper portion. The regions are arranged to define an overhang region on the bottom surface of the circuit board. Interface contacts are provided on the bottom surface in the overhang region for making electrical connections to the circuit board. A thermal extender includes a surface for mounting a heat dissipating power converter and a surface for mating with an external circuit board. Interface conductors mate with contacts on the power converter and with conductive regions on the external circuit board. A heat sink is thermally coupled to remove heat generated by the power converter.