Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-27
2004-03-23
Gushi, Ross (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S066000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06709279
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on Patent Application No. 2000-403208 filed Dec. 28, 2000 in Japan, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a contact pin module used for testing an electronic circuit in an object to be tested having the internal electronic circuit and a testing device provided with the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor integrated circuits mounted to an electronic equipment or others are subjected to various tests at a stage prior to being actually mounted so that latent defects therein are removed. These tests are carried out in a nondestructive manner by the application of voltage stress and the operation and reservation at a high temperature corresponding to a thermal and mechanical environmental tests. Among these tests, there is a burn-in test effective for removing initial-inoperable integrated circuits, in which the operational test is carried out for a predetermined time under a high temperature condition.
An inspection jig used for the burn-in test is generally referred to as an IC socket, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-275667 (1998), comprising a printed circuit board (a printed board) having an input/output section through which a predetermined test voltage is supplied to and an abnormality-detection signal representing a short-circuit or others is returned from an object to be tested, a object under test accommodating member (a socket body) having an accommodation section for mounting a semiconductor element (semiconductor integrated circuits), for example, of a BGA (ball grid array) type to be tested, a cover member (a lid) having a pressing section (a pressure plate) in contact with an upper surface of the semiconductor element and pressing the same at a predetermined pressure, for covering an upper part of the object under test accommodating member, and a hook member rotational moveable held by the cover member and engaged with the object under test accommodating member to fix the cover member to the object under test accommodating member.
The object under test accommodating member is provided with a contact pin module which is a collectivity of contact pins for electrically connecting terminals of the semiconductor element with electrodes of the printed circuit board. Such a contact pin module is formed of a plurality of lead frames superposed with each other, each lead frame being formed of contact pins electrically connected to the respective terminals of the semiconductor element and contact pins electrically connected to the respective electrodes of the printed circuit board, which contact pins are continuously arranged in the same plane while confronting each other.
For example, as shown in
FIG. 14
, a contact pin module
2
includes a semiconductor element
6
mounted to a socket body (not shown) as an object to be tested, a plurality of lead frames
4
electrically interconnected to a printed board
8
for inputting/outputting a test signal relative to the semiconductor element
6
, and an upper frame member
12
and a lower frame member
10
in association with each other for accommodating the plurality of lead frames
4
.
In this regard,
FIG. 14
illustrates only one lead frame
4
in two or more lead frames
4
superposed with each other, and eliminates the other of them.
The lead frame
4
consists of a plurality of contact pins
4
Ci (i=1 to n wherein n is an integer) formed at a predetermined interval in the same plane. The numbers of the lead frames
4
and the contact pins
4
Ci are selected, for example, in accordance with the arrangement and the number of terminals of the semiconductor element
6
.
The contact pin
4
Ci consists of a object under test-side end portion
4
A to be guided in a movable manner into an aperture
12
b
of the upper frame member
12
and coming in contact with the terminal of the semiconductor element
6
, a printed board-side end portion
4
B to be guided into an aperture
10
b
of the lower frame member
10
and coming in contact with an electrode pad of the printed board
8
, and a curved connecting portion
4
D connecting the object under test end portion
4
A to the printed board end portion
4
B.
According to this structure, when the semiconductor element
6
is pressed toward the contact pins
4
Ci-side with the above-mentioned pressing section, the object under test-side end portion
4
A moves through a predetermined distance against the elastic force of the connecting portion
4
D. Thus, due to the elastic force corresponding to the deflection of the connecting portion
4
D, the object under test-side end portion
4
A and the printed board-side end portion
4
B of the contact pin
4
Ci are brought into contact and thereby electrically connected with the terminal of the semiconductor element
6
and the electrode pad of the printed board
8
, respectively, with substantially the same contacting force.
As another embodiment different from the curved contact pin
4
Ci formed in one piece, a contact pin
14
shown in
FIG. 15
may include a object under test-side contact member
18
to be in contact with a terminal of the semiconductor element
6
, a printed board-side contact member
22
to be in contact with an electrode pad of the printed board
8
, a spring member
20
disposed between one end of the object under test-side contact member
18
and one end of the printed board-side contact member
22
to transmit a bias corresponding to the displacement of the object under test-side contact member
18
to the printed board-side contact member
22
, and a casing member
16
for accommodating the spring member
20
, the end of the object under test-side contact member
18
and the end of the printed board-side contact member
22
.
Also in the above contact pin
14
, the other ends of the object under test-side contact member
18
and the printed board-side contact member
22
are brought into contact with the terminal of the semiconductor element
6
and the electrode pad of the printed board
8
, respectively, with substantially the same contacting force. At that time, if a proper contacting force at the object under test-side contact member (end portion) and that at the printed board-side contact member (end portion) are different from each other, the above-mentioned bias of the contact pin is selected to be an intermediate value between the proper contacting forces at the object under test-side contact member (end portion) and that at the printed board-side contact member (end portion) since the bias of the contact pin is a single bias.
For obtaining the secure electrical connection at the object under test-side contact member (end portion) and the printed board-side contact member (end portion) of the contact pin between different objectives, however, it is necessary for each end of the contact pin to come in contact with the objectives to be connected electrically according to proper contacting force of the object under test-side contact member (end portion) and the printed board-side contact member (end portion) rather than contacting forces such an intermediate value.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a contact pin module used for the test of an electronic circuit in an object to be tested having the same and a testing device provided with the contact pin module, capable of individually adjusting contacting forces with a terminal of the object to be tested and with an electrode of a printed circuit board having a signal input/output section.
In accordance with the present invention which is proposed to attain the above object, there is provided contact pin module comprises a first connecting section formed of an elastic conductor and having a terminal portion electrically connected to a connecting terminal of an object to be tested including an electronic circuit, a second connecting portion consecutive to the first connecting portion and formed of an el
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP
Gushi Ross
Yamaichi Electronics Co. Ltd.
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