Electrical connectors – Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-01
2001-10-02
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296503
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a socket for electrical parts for detachably holding electrical parts such as semiconductor device (which is called herein as “IC package”) or the like.
BACKGROUND ART
A known socket for electrical parts of the type mentioned above, as shown in
FIGS. 14
to
16
, includes an IC socket
2
for holding an IC package
1
as “electrical part”.
Such IC package
1
is so-called a gull-wing type, in which a plurality of IC leads
1
b
as “terminals” project sideways from a package body la having substantially a square shape.
The IC socket
2
has a socket body
3
which is provided with a mount portion
3
a
on which the IC package
1
is mounted, and a plurality of contact pins
4
capable of being elastically deformable so as to be contacted to the IC leads
1
b
of the IC package
1
in electrically conductive state are also formed to the socket body
3
. Each of these contact pins
4
has a stationary contact piece
4
a
contacting the lower surface side of the IC lead
1
b
of the IC package
1
and a movable contact piece
4
b
contacting the upper surface side of the IC lead
1
b
in a manner such that the IC lead
1
b
of the IC package
1
is clamped between the stationary and movable contact pieces
4
a
and
4
b.
The socket body
3
is also provided with an upper operation member
5
to be vertically movable in the following manner in an operative state. That is, when the upper operation member
5
is lowered against the urging force or elastic force of the contact pins
4
and a spring means, not shown, the movable contact piece
4
b
of the contact pin
4
is elastically deformed and then separated from the IC lead
1
b
, and on the contrary, when the upper operation member
5
is moved upward, the movable contact piece
4
b
is returned by the elastic force to thereby press the IC lead
1
b
from the upper portion thereof so as to clamp the IC lead
1
b
between this movable contact piece
4
b
and the stationary contact piece
4
a.
However, in the conventional socket of the structure mentioned above, when the IC socket
2
is mounted to a printed circuit board, not shown, if an external force is applied to the contact pin
4
from the lower side thereof, the contact pin
4
is raised upward as shown in
FIGS. 15 and 16
, and there may cause such defect that a position of a stationary contacting portion
4
c
of the stationary contact piece
4
a
is raised or inclined, which results in a deterioration of electrical conductivity to the IC lead
1
b
and a deformation thereof.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to provide a socket for electrical parts which is capable of preventing the contact pins from being raised and positioning the stationary contact pin and other elements in their correct positions.
Furthermore, although the conventional IC socket mentioned above adopts two-point-contact-type contact pins, an IC socket
6
shown in
FIGS. 17 and 18
adopts one-point-contact-type contact pins
7
.
The IC socket
6
has a socket body
8
having a mount portion
8
a
on which the IC package
1
having a rectangular shape is mounted and also having guide portions
8
b
at positions corresponding to the corner portions of the IC package
1
for positioning the IC package
1
to a predetermined position. Partition wall sections
8
c
are formed at the peripheral edge portion of the mount portion
8
a
so as to project upward and a plurality of slits
8
d
are formed to the partition wall sections
8
c
with predetermined pitches.
The socket body
8
is also formed with a plurality of elastically deformable contact pins
7
which are contacted to or separated from the IC leads
1
b
of the IC package
1
. Each of the contact pins
7
has a movable contact piece
7
a
contacted to or separated from the upper surface of the IC lead
1
b
of the IC package
1
, and these contact pins
7
are inserted into slits
8
d
, respectively, to be vertically movable, formed to the partition wall sections
8
c.
Furthermore, as not shown in
FIGS. 17 and 18
, an upper operation member such as shown in
FIG. 14
is provided for the socket body
8
to be vertically movable. When this upper operation member is lowered against urging force of a spring and contact pins
7
, springy (elastic) portions of the contact pins
7
are elastically deformed thereby to separate the movable contact pieces
7
a
from the IC leads
1
b
, and on the other hand, when the upper operation member is raised, the springy portions are returned by their elastic force and the movable contact pieces
7
a
contact the upper surfaces of the IC leads
1
b
, as shown in
FIG. 17
, and press the IC lead
1
b
from the upper side thereof, thus establishing an electrical conduction between the contact pin
7
and the IC lead
1
b.
However, in the conventional IC socket of the structure mentioned above, as the IC package has been made compact, a number of IC leads projecting from the package body have to be arranged with narrow pitch and narrow width. In other words, if the width of the IC lead
1
b
is not made narrow, it is impossible to arrange a number of IC leads
1
b
with a constant interval from each other. Accordingly, when such IC package
1
is mounted on the mount portion
8
a
of the socket body
8
, the IC leads
1
b
, each having narrow width, intrude into the slits
8
d
formed to the partition wall sections
8
c
formed to the peripheral edge portion of the mount portion
8
, resulting in the deformation or damage of the IC leads
1
b
and undesired mounting thereof.
Accordingly, another object of the present invention is to provide a socket for electrical parts having a structure capable of preventing terminals of electrical parts such as IC package from intruding into slits formed to the partition wall sections of the socket body and, hence, preventing the terminals from being deformed, damaged and undesirably mounted.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the above objects, the present invention of the first aspect is characterized by providing a socket for an electrical part which comprises a socket body provided with a mount portion on which an electrical part is mounted, a plurality of contact pins attached to the socket body so as to restrict a lower movement thereof and connected to a terminal of the electrical part to be electrically conductive, and an upper operation member provided for the socket body to be vertically movable, and in which each of the contact pins is provided with a stationary contact piece having a stationary contact portion contacting a lower surface of the terminal and a movable contact piece having a movable contact portion contacting an upper surface of the terminal, and the movable contact portion is displaced by vertically moving the upper operation member so as to be contacted to or separated from the terminal, wherein the stationary contact piece of the contact pin is formed with an engagement portion to be engaged and the socket body is formed with an engaging portion for limiting the upper movement of the stationary contact piece in engagement with the engagement portion.
According to the present invention mentioned above, since the engagement portion to be engaged is formed to the stationary contact piece of the contact pin and this engagement portion is engaged with the socket body as engaging portion for limiting the upward movement of the stationary contact piece, in a case where an upward external force is applied to the contact piece, the engagement portion of the stationary contact piece of the contact pin is engaged with the engaging portion of the socket body thereby to limit the upward movement thereof, so that the contact pin never raise, different from the prior art, and the position of the stationary contact portion is never raised and tilted, thus maintaining the attitude thereof in a correct position. Accordingly, when the terminal of an electrical part is mounted to the contact surface of the stationary contact portion, a suitable contacting state can be realized, and there is
Enplas Corporation
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Nasri Javaid
Sircus Brian
LandOfFree
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