referring to fig1 and 2 of the drawings , the reference numeral 10 refers , in general , to a docking station for a portable computer ( not shown ) which can be a notebook computer , a laptop computer , a personal digital assistant , or the like . the docking station 10 is formed by a port replicator 12 connected to , and forming the back wall of , a tray 14 . the port replicator 12 has a multipin connector 16 formed in its front wall , as viewed in fig1 and a plurality of connectors 18 ( fig2 ) formed on its rear wall . the connector 16 is for the purpose of receiving a corresponding connector on the portable computer and the connectors 18 are adapted to be connected to peripheral equipment ( not shown ) such as a printer , a monitor , and the like . since the connectors 16 and 18 are conventional , they will not be described in any further detail . the tray 14 is formed by a bottom wall , or plate , 20 having a rectangular through opening 20a and two side walls 22a and 22b . as shown in fig2 the port replicator 12 rests on the rear portion of the bottom plate 20 and the rear portions of the side walls 22a and 22b of the tray 14 are connected to the corresponding side walls of the port replicator in any known manner . but for the opening 20a in the bottom plate 20 of the tray 14 , the port replicator 12 and the tray 14 are conventional , and , as such , are fabricated from plastic . a heat sink assembly is shown , in general , by the reference numeral 26 and is formed by a bottom plate , or wall , 28 , an upright wall 30 extending upwardly from the rear of the plate 28 as viewed in fig1 and two sidewalls 32a and 32b which extend a relatively short distance from the wall 30 . the bottom plate 28 has a raised portion 28a with length and width dimensions that are slightly less than those of the opening 20a in the plate 20 of the tray 14 . the thickness of the raised portion 28a is equal to , or very slightly greater than , the thickness of the bottom plate 20 of the tray 14 . the heat sink assembly 26 is preferably fabricated from a heat conductive material , such as metal . the docking station 10 is assembled to the heat sink assembly 26 by simply aligning the docking station over the heat sink assembly as shown in fig1 and 2 and lowering the docking station until it engages the heat sink assembly as shown in fig3 and 4 . in this assembled condition , the raised portion 28a of the bottom plate 28 of the heat sink assembly 26 extends within the opening 20a of the bottom plate 20 of the tray 14 of the docking station 10 , with the upper surface of the raised portion 28a extending flush with , or just slightly above , the upper surface of the bottom plate 20 . also , the rear wall 30 and the side walls 32a and 32b of the heat sink assembly 26 extend over the rear wall and the respective side walls of the port replicator 12 . as a result , the docking station 10 is mounted to the heat sink assembly 26 in a manner to prevent any lateral movement therebetween . as shown in fig4 the opening 30a in the wall 30 of the heat sink assembly 26 permits access to the connectors 18 formed on the rear of the port replicator 12 thus permitting connection , in a conventional manner , to cables extending from peripheral equipment , such as a monitor , a printer , or the like . fig5 depicts a portable computer 36 docked in the docking station 10 which , in turn , is mounted in the heat sink assembly 26 as shown in fig3 and 4 . to mount the computer 36 in the docking station the computer is placed in a spaced relation to the front of the docking station 10 and is generally aligned with the docking station in a vertical and horizontal plane . the computer 36 is then moved towards the docking station 10 with the bottom plate 20 and the raised portion 28a , as well as the side walls 22a and 22b , providing guide surfaces . this movement continues until the connector ( not shown ) on the rear of the computer 36 engages the connector 16 on the port replicator 12 . the design is such that , in the fully docked and connected position , the lower surface of the bottom wall , or plate , of the computer 36 contacts the upper surface of the raised portion 28a of the plate 28 . the bottom plate 28 , and especially the raised portion 28a function as a heat sink which receives the conducted internal heat from the computer 36 and conducts it away from the computer and along the bottom plate 28 and to the rear wall 30 and the side walls 32a and 32b from which it is convected into the ambient air . peripheral equipment , such as a monitor 38 shown as an example , can be connected to the connectors 18 , with the port replicator 12 functioning in a conventional manner to transfer the connections from the computer 36 to the equipment . the embodiment of the present invention described above thus enjoys several advantages . for example , any air gap between the computer and the bottom plate of the docking station is eliminated and a direct heat conductive path is formed to and through the heat sink formed by the raised portion 28a of the bottom plate 28 . since the bottom plate , including the raised portion 28a can be fabricated from a good heat conductive material , such as metal , an efficient discharge path for the internal heat from the computer 36 through the raised portion 28a and the bottom plate 28 , and to the back wall 30 and the side walls 32a and 32b , from which the heat is convected to the ambient air . also , any internal heat flow paths in the interior of the computer are not altered . variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , heat dissipating fins can be provided on the back wall 30 and the side walls 32a and 32b to aid in convecting the heat from the computer to the ambient air . also , the docking station 10 could be designed to allow for manufacturing tolerances between it and the portable computers to be docked . for example , a compliant , heat conductive material can be provided on the upper surface of the raised portion 28a of the bottom plate 28 to and / or the plate 28 could be spring loaded vertically . it is understood that the present invention is not limited to a docking station built around a port replicator but rather could be a full featured station or vcr styled docking station . also , the particular design of the docking station 10 can be varied as long as it permits contact of the raised surface 28a of the heat sink assembly 26 with a corresponding surface of the computer 36 . in this context the present invention is not limited to conducting heat from the bottom surface of the computer 36 , since the docking station 10 can be designed to place a heat conductive surface in contact with any surface of the computer . also , the connector 16 can be disposed on any wall of the docking station 10 including the bottom plate 20 or the bottom plate 28 . further , the docking station 10 and the heat sink assembly 26 do not have to be manufactured separately , but rather can be combined into one unit . it is also understood that the raised surface 28a can take various sizes and shapes as long as it functions to conduct heat away from the computer . also , the bottom plate 28 and / or the raised surface 28a can be designed to translate normal to the bottom plate of the computer to and from an extended position in which it engages the computer when the computer is in place , and a retracted position during insertion and removal of the computer 36 . in the latter situation , a lever mechanism can be provided to &# 34 ; lock &# 34 ; the computer in its docked position in a conventional manner , and according to the present invention , this mechanism would be designed to also move the bottom plate 28 and / or the raised portion 28a upwardly when the computer is locked in , and downwardly when the computer is unlocked . it is also understood that the embodiment described above is intended to illustrate rather than limit the invention , and that the present invention can take many other forms and embodiments within the scope of the invention .