Electrical connectors – With circuit conductors and safety grounding provision – Grounding of coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-13
2001-09-18
Paumen, Gary F. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With circuit conductors and safety grounding provision
Grounding of coupling part
C439S593000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06290514
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to a low-inductance, low-resistance electrical connector for making a connection between a high speed, high power consuming integrated circuit module and its power supply.
2. Description of Prior Art
With the development of higher levels of integration in integrated circuits (ICs), power requirements have increased. This is particularly true for current microprocessor and associated integrated circuits or chips recently developed. These chips, which are operating at higher speeds, require and consume greater amounts of power than previously required.
A microprocessor and its associated IC devices, such as a cache, are typically mounted on a board or a module. Such an IC module plugs into an electrical connector on a motherboard that has power contacts in the form of pins retained therein to deliver power from a power supply to this IC module.
However, current microprocessors have been designed to consume a large amount of power and to operate at a low operating voltage, e.g., 3.1 volts, which means that the current supplied to the IC module has become particularly relatively high. It is expected that future microprocessors will operate at a voltage as low as 1 volt and will have a current demand up to 80 amps. As a result, it is necessary to establish a low-resistance, low-inductance path between the power supply and the IC module.
Since conventional connectors have power contacts generally having a small cross-sectional area, inductance effects, resistance losses, and temperature rise due to Joule heating are significant and result from the large resistance of the power contacts. Therefore, an electrical connector with improved power contacts is desirable to meet high current, low-inductance, low temperature rise requirements in power applications.
Furthermore, in conventional connectors, the power contacts are made of copper alloys such as C194 and C195 (Unified Numbering System designation being applied). These copper alloys are formed by adding other metals such as tin, beryllium, and nickel to copper, giving the resulting alloy improved strength and elasticity. However, these alloys have an electrical conductivity only 10 to 30 percent of that of pure copper. When there is a demand for high current carrying capacity, low-inductance, and low temperature rise depending on low-resistance, these copper alloys are no longer suitable. Therefore, a high conductivity material, such as pure copper, must be selected for the power contacts to optimize electrical performance so that the disadvantage of the conventional power contacts can be overcome. However, as pure copper is relatively weak in strength, a new and novel arrangement is required to provide the pure copper power contacts with sufficient contact normal force, which is necessary for making a reliable electrical connection with the IC module.
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing an electrical connector which has power transmitting contacts stamped from pure copper sheets and a mechanism providing these power contacts with sufficient normal force to engage with an IC module mating with the connector. This arrangement establishes a low-inductance, low-resistance power delivery path between a power supply and the IC module.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a low-inductance, low-resistance electrical connector having power contacts made of a high conductivity material which are separated from each other by thin insulation films to deliver power from a power supply to an IC module.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a low-inductance, low-resistance electrical connector having plastic spring arms providing contact normal forces for pure copper power contacts to ensure a reliable electrical connection between the power contacts and corresponding contact pads of an IC module.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a low-inductance, low-resistance electrical connector that is connected to a power supply via a capacitor board connected with the connector by pressure engagement.
In order to achieve the objects set forth, a low-inductance, low-resistance electrical connector of the present invention for delivering power from a power supply to a high power consuming IC module comprises a ground contact, a processor power contact and a cache power contact stamped from pure copper sheets and separated from each other by a thin insulation film. Plastic members are provided with spring arms to engage with and thus provide sufficient normal force for contact arms of the corresponding contacts to ensure a reliable electrical connection with corresponding contact pads of the IC module. The ground contact and the processor and cache power contacts are connected to a capacitor board by pressure engagement, the capacitor board being also connected to the power supply. A plurality of individual signal contacts is also provided to interconnect a signal source with the IC module via a signal board.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the ground contact, the processor power contact and the cache power contact are made of a high conductivity material and are separated from each other by a thin insulation film to reduce resistance and inductance. Thus, the effects of the connector on the power delivery path from the power supply to the IC module is minimized.
According to another aspect of the present invention, each plastic member is provided with spring arms to engage with corresponding curved contact sections of the ground contact and the processor and cache power contacts. When the curved contact sections mate with corresponding contact pads on opposite sides of the mating edge of the IC module, the contact normal force necessary for a reliable electrical connection therebetween is provided by corresponding spring arms of the plastic members engaged with the curved contact sections.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the capacitor board is connected with the ground contact and the processor and cache power contacts by pressure engagement achieved by engagement between alignment pegs and alignment holes.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4834677 (1989-05-01), Archang
patent: 5160275 (1992-11-01), Nakamura et al.
patent: 5295843 (1994-03-01), Davis et al.
patent: 6024587 (2000-02-01), Garth
McHugh Robert G.
Walkup William B.
Chung Wei Te
Hon Hai - Precision Ind. Co., Ltd.
Paumen Gary F.
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