Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-05
2001-03-20
Paumen, Gary F. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S066000, C439S246000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06203331
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a land grid array (LGA) connector for electrically connecting a CPU to a printed circuit board, especially an LGA connector in which contacts and a housing for retaining the contacts are retained in a floating relation so that when the housing and the contacts are urged by an external device, the housing may be moved relative to the contacts.
2. The Prior Art
Land grid array (LGA) connectors are commonly used with IC packages and do not require soldering procedures during engagement between the LGA connector and a related printed circuit board (PCB). Normally, an LGA assembly includes an IC package, such as a CPU package, having a plurality of flat contact pads formed on a bottom surface thereof, a connector having an insulative housing and defining a plurality of passageways therethrough, and a plurality of conductive contacts received in the passageways of the connector. Fastening means comprises a top plate positioned on a top surface of the IC package, a bottom plate positioned on a bottom surface of the PCB, and a plurality of sets of aligned holes defined through the PCB. The fastening means is used to configure the assembly. Each set of aligned holes receives a screw therein which engages with a washer and a nut thereby sandwiching the LGA assembly between the top and bottom plates of the fastening means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,598 discloses an electrical contact for use in a connector
30
between mutually opposed electrical interfaces
40
,
99
such as contact pads respectively formed on an IC package
2
and a printed circuit board
9
, as shown in FIG.
10
. The conventional contact comprises a generally planar contact body
10
having first and second major faces
110
,
120
. The body includes a pair of spaced apart spring arms
140
,
150
connected by a resilient bight portion
160
. The spring arms
140
,
150
each have a free end with an outwardly facing edge forming a contact nose
17
,
18
for engaging with the corresponding interface
40
,
99
. Shorting sections
19
,
20
generally extend toward each other from the free ends and are offset such that, upon deflection of the spring arms
140
,
150
toward each other, the shorting sections
19
,
20
overlap and the first major face
110
engages the second major face
120
. Thus, a shortened electrical path is formed between the contact noses
17
,
18
when the package
2
is urged against the connector
30
.
With the conventional LGA connector, the shorting sections
19
,
20
may not properly contact each other due to unwanted lateral deflection thereof when the bight of the contact is deformed. Moreover, an additional contact resistance exists between the shorting sections
19
,
20
thereby adversely affecting the signal transmission.
Additionally, the conventional LGA connector is in advance fixed in a motherboard via screws in a pre-assembly procedure. In a final assembly procedure, the screws have to be released first and then fastened for urging the CPU to the LGA connector. Therefore, in the total assembly procedure, the screws have to be fastened, released, and fastened again. This is cumbersome and not accepted by most mother board manufacturers.
Moreover, due to a low profile requirement, the housing which receives the contacts is made thinner, and is apt to be warped. This warped housing may block some of the contacts from being effectively contacted by the IC package which urges the LGA connector. Therefore, the ineffectively contacted problem due to the warped housing is to be solved earnestly. It is requisite to provide a new LGA connector for solving the above problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a new LGA connector which can solve ineffective contacting problem due to warpage of a housing thereof.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an land grid array connector comprises an insulative housing in which a plurality of passageways are defined. A plurality of contacts are received in the passageways. Each contact comprises an engagement plate loosely retained in the passageway, a positioning section connected to the engagement plate via a first flexible neck and mounted thereon a solder ball, a contacting section located above the positioning section and connected to the positioning section via a second flexible neck. When the solder ball is soldered on a printed circuit board and the housing and the contact is urged by an external electrical device, the housing is moved downward with respect to the engagement plate of the contact and the contacting section is pressed downward by the external electrical device, with the second flexible neck being deformed for providing a normal force facilitating the contacting section to abut against the external electrical device.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5378160 (1995-01-01), Yumibe et al.
patent: 5653598 (1997-08-01), Grabbe
patent: 5984693 (1999-11-01), McHugh et al.
Lin Nick
McHugh Robert G.
Tan Hanchen
Wang Jwomin
Chung Wei Te
Hon Hai - Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
Paumen Gary F.
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