Electrical connectors – Coupling part having handle or means to move contact... – Expandable – prong receiving socket
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-03
2001-08-28
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
Expandable, prong receiving socket
C439S330000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280219
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This inventions relates generally to sockets for mounting semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits (ICs) having a plurality of terminals, such as BGA (Ball Grid Array), FBGA (Fine Pitch BGA) and CSP (Chip Scale Package, and more particularly to sockets to be used in a burn-in test of the ICs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various tests are conducted for the purpose of eliminating newly manufactured ICs that do not meet a required specification. In a burn-in test, the products have their heat-resistant characteristics tested by operating them at certain high temperatures for a prescribed period of time so as to identify and eliminate those which do not have the required properties. In a burn-in test, the IC is mounted on a socket which has been prepared specifically for it, with the socket being mounted on a printed circuit substrate, and placed in a heating furnace.
Various kinds of sockets have been proposed for burn-in tests for IC packages of the BGA, FBGA and CSP types which have become popular in recent years. These sockets are provided with a base member of an electrical insulating material mounting a plurality of contact members that correspond to the terminals of the IC. The contact members are arranged in conformity with the terminals on the mounting surface of the IC so that, when the IC has been placed on the base member, the contact members establish electrical contact with corresponding terminals. In the case of a typical socket of this kind, a cover member, movable between open and closed positions, is provided for attaching the IC on a mounting seat with the IC being attached to or released from the mounting seat as the cover is moved to one position or the other.
With reference to
FIGS. 23 and 24
, a known socket has a cover
232
rotatably supported relative to a base
231
. When cover
232
is opened as shown in
FIG. 23
, IC
100
can be placed onto a mounting seat
231
a
and cover
232
is then closed by an automatic mechanism, not shown in the drawing. A hook
233
engages with a catch on base
231
, thereby maintaining cover
232
closed. IC
100
is held on mounting seat
231
a from above by an engagement surface
232
a
inside cover
232
, with the IC terminals being held in contact with tips of contact members
234
that corresponds thereto.
Other types of sockets are provided with a mechanism for vertically moving the cover member relative to the base member and a latch that can be opened or closed in linkage with the movement of the cover. Generally speaking, the latch opens when the cover member is lowered, thereby making it possible for an IC to be placed on the mounting seat of the base with the latch closing and holding the IC on the mounting seat from above when the cover is raised. In any type of the sockets described above, the electrical connections of the socket to the terminals of the IC are effected by pressing of the lower part of the terminals of the IC to the tips of the contact members. If there are variations in the installed height of the terminals of the IC, however, the force of the contact members against the terminals will vary, thereby adversely affecting the reliability of the connection between some terminals and contact members. Additionally, there are some cases where the lower surfaces of the terminals of the IC are subjected to damage occasioned by pressing of the contact members against the terminals. Any damage to the lower surface of the terminals could cause soldering failure when, upon successful testing, the IC is mounted to a printed substrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a socket having contact members which will more reliably engage the terminals of the IC so as to establish contact therewith. Another object of the invention is the provision of a socket having contact members which minimize possible damage to the terminal region of the IC held by the contact members. Still another object of the invention is the provision of a socket having contact members which adapt to the positions of the various terminals even where there are variations or dislocations in the arrangement of the terminals of the IC as compared with the arrangement of the contact members.
This invention relates to a socket for use with an IC having a plurality of terminals on at least one surface thereof. A socket made according to the invention includes a base on which is mounted an adapter that has a mounting region or seat for a semiconductor device, and a plurality of contact members mounted on the base for establishing electrical contact with respective terminals of an IC placed on the mounting seat. Each contact member is bifurcated to form a pair of arms at one end with the other end being fixed to the base. The free end tip portions of the pair of arms of each contact nip a respective terminal of on IC that has been placed in the mounting seat. The contact members also have butting surfaces on facing sides of the arms which determine the minimum spacing distance between the tip portions of the arms of each pair. Moreover, a socket made according to the invention has contact member opening and closing members that open and close the pair of arms of the contact members and an opening and closing mechanism therefor. Each contact member opening and closing member is supported to move between the pair of arms of respective contact members and has a first position where the tip portions of the arms are opened and a second position where engagement between the butting surfaces of the arms is permitted. The contact member opening and closing members are moved by the opening and closing mechanism between the first and second positions. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the contact member opening and closing members are moved upwardly and downwardly between each pair of arms of the contact members by the opening and closing mechanism. In this case, the contact member opening and closing members can be constructed so that they engage the butting surfaces of the arms at the first position, thereby causing their tip portions to be opened. According to a feature of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the contact member opening and closing members have a prescribed clearance with the arms at the second position. The clearance makes it possible for the tips of the contact members to follow a terminal even where there may be a dislocation in the position of a terminal of the IC relative to the contact member. Preferably, arms of the contact members are constructed so that the butting surfaces of the arms of each pair can engage each other. According to another feature of the invention, the pairs of arms of the contact members are provided with contact surfaces that engage the IC base side of generally spherical terminals rather than the maximum diameter part of the terminals. A socket made according to the invention further includes through holes which form guide surfaces that guide the bifurcated arms of the contact members. The socket is provided with a slider which includes the opening and closing members formed in the through holes with the slider moved by the opening and closing mechanism. According to a feature of the invention, support portions of the slider protrude above the mounting seat of the adapter, thereby making it possible for the IC to be mounted thereon when the contact member opening and closing members are at the first position and, at the same time, recede from the mounting seat so that each terminal of the IC comes between the arms of a respective contact member when the contact member opening and closing members move to the second position. A socket made in accordance with the invention is further provided with a latch that has an open position so that an IC can be arranged on the mounting seat of the adapter and a closed position so that the IC that has been placed on the mounting seat can be clamped from above, with the opening and closing mechanism desirably being caused to move the latch to its open position when the c
Ikeya Kiyokazu
Sano Hideki
Baumann Russell E.
Nguyen Khiem
Telecky , Jr. Frederick J.
Texas Instruments Incorporated
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