Open top IC socket

Details Open top IC socket Open top IC socket

2002-03-18

2003-08-05

Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...

Expandable, prong receiving socket

C439S342000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06602084

ABSTRACT:

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2001-078655 filed Mar. 19, 2001 and 2002-048638 filed Feb. 25, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an open top IC socket for mounting a grid array IC package such as a BGA (Ball Grid Array), a CSP (Clip Scale Package) or a PGA (Pin Grid Array), and more particularly relates to an open top IC socket capable of attaching or detaching of a plurality of IC packages simultaneously with one operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Upon a manufactured IC package being tested on its performance, an IC socket is interposed between an inspection board and the IC package, which IC package is thereupon adapted to be rapidly exchangeable with respect to the IC socket. A prior art open top IC socket that mounts a grid array type IC package mounts in general only one IC package thereon.
Referring to
FIG. 9
, such a prior art open top IC socket is illustrated in a plane view, and to
FIG. 10
, illustrated in a front view. The IC socket
100
comprises a socket body
101
, a slide block
103
that is superimposed on the socket body
101
and includes a plurality of lines of elongated terminal insertion holes
102
, into which holes pin terminals or ball like terminals formed on an IC package (not shown) are inserted, two sets of operation levers
104
and
105
for laterally moving the slide block
103
along the surface of the socket body
101
, and an operation member
106
for operating these operation levers
104
and
105
by depression.
The IC socket
100
further includes a plurality of connector pins each for electrically connecting the mounted IC package and an inspection board (not shown) for inspecting the IC package. The plurality of the connector pins include a plurality of paired contact sections
107
located in the terminal insertion holes
102
for holding the terminal of the IC package, and a plurality of terminal sections
108
protruded from the socket body
101
and inserted into the inspection board. The contact section
107
is adapted such that its one side engages with the slide block
103
in the terminal insertion hole
103
and it is hereby made resiliently displaceable in the direction opposite to the other side following a lateral movement of the slide block
103
.
When the IC package is mounted on the IC socket
100
, a guide piece
109
formed on the operation member
106
is depressed along the guide groove
110
mechanically or manually. Pressure reception sections
111
of the operation levers
104
and
105
receive the depressing operation whereby the operation levers
104
and
105
are rotated around a lever support shaft
112
provided on the socket body
101
.
Owing to the rotation motion of the operation levers
104
and
105
, the slide block
103
undergoes a lateral movement in the right direction in
FIG. 9 through a
transmission shaft
113
against spring force provided with the contact section
107
itself. The contact section
107
of each pair is hereby opened as illustrated in FIG.
9
. The IC package is positioned with respect to the slide block
103
while being guided by a guide section
114
protruded at four corners of the slide block
103
, whereby terminals of the IC package go in between the contact sections
107
of the corresponding pair.
When the depressing force to the operation member
106
is released in this situation, the operation member
106
returns to the original rise end position owing to the spring force provided with the contact section
107
itself. Following this, the slide block
103
also returns to the initial position. The terminal of the IC package is thus held between the corresponding contact section
107
.
When the IC package is detached from the IC socket
100
, the operation member
106
is again depressed to force the slide block
103
to undergo a lateral movement through the operation levers
104
and
105
and hence open the contact sections
107
of each pair for release of the restriction of the contact sections
107
for the terminals of the IC package. Thereafter, the IC package is pulled out from the IC socket
100
, whereby the IC package is detached from the IC socket
100
with ease.
Details of the opening/closing operation of the contact section
107
are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-19979 (1992), etc., for example.
The prior art IC socket
100
in the type illustrated in
FIGS. 9 and 10
simply mounts only one IC package for the one IC socket. This causes a difficulty that provided the IC packages are different from each other in their types, IC sockets corresponding to those types are required.
A recent trend that the number of IC packages to be checked is increased requires a need of inspecting many types of IC packages. An increase of the number of IC packages to be inspected causes a difficulty that a packaged area of the prior art IC socket is severely increased when an IC socket is mounted on an inspection board, particularly only one IC package can be mounted. There is sharply increased the time required for attaching and detaching of an IC package by manual.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an open top IC socket wherein packaging density is high, and a plurality of IC packages can be simultaneously attached or detached and hence the manufacturing cost is reduced.
An open top IC socket according to the present invention is adapted such that a slide block on which an IC package is mounted and a socket body are individually brought into units, and a socket base and a slide block movement mechanism, etc., all being capable of being shared, are unified. Namely, the open top IC socket according to the present invention comprises:
a plurality of IC package mounting units each including a socket body that includes a plurality of pairs of contact sections into which terminals of an IC package are inserted and each of which is able to open and close, and each further including a slide block slidably overlapped on the socket body for opening and closing the plurality of pairs of the contact sections;
a socket base for containing and holding the IC package mounting units in an aligned state;
a coupling member for mutually coupling the individual slide blocks of the IC package mounting units; and
block operation means mounted on the socket base for sliding the individual slide blocks in the direction of sliding of the slide blocks.
When an IC package is mounted in the present invention, the block operation means is operated to slide the plurality of the slide blocks simultaneously and hence change over the contact section of each socket body to an open state. Then, after the terminal of each IC package is inserted between the opened contact sections of the corresponding socket body, the block operation means is returned to the original position to slide the plurality of the slide blocks simultaneously and hence change over the contact section of the individual socket body. Hereby, the individual terminal is held by the contact sections of the corresponding pair to establish electrical connection.
When the IC package is detached from such a connecting situation, the block operation means is again operated to slide the plurality of the slide blocks simultaneously and hence change over the contact section of the individual socket body to an open state. Hereby, restriction of the contact section to the terminal of the IC package is released, whereby the individual IC package is drawn out from the corresponding individual socket body.
In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of the IC package mounting units are assembled in one socket base, so that the size of an external appearance is more reduced than the case where a plurality of the prior art IC sockets are simply incorporated to ensure light weight thereof and reduction of the number of parts and hence reduce the manufacturing cost thereof. Further, packaging density of t

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