Electrical connectors – Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-23
2004-01-20
Gilman, Alexander (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
C439S330000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06679715
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket for an electrical part for detachably holding the electrical part such as semiconductor device (called “IC package” hereinlater), and more particularly, a socket for an electrical part including an improved structure of a contact pin to be electrically connected to a terminal of the electrical part and capable of finely positioning the terminal and smoothly mounting the electrical part to a socket body.
2. Description of the Related Art
As such a “socket for electrical parts”, there is known an IC socket for detachably holding an IC package as an “electrical part”. In such socket, the IC package is accommodated in a socket body, each of contact pins is arranged so as to contact, at two points, upper and lower surfaces of each of terminals of the IC package, and when an operation member is operated, an upper elastic piece of the contact pin is elastically deformed so that an upper contact portion of the upper elastic piece is contacted to or separated from the upper surface of the terminal of the IC package.
However, in such conventional two-point-contact structure, a lower contact portion of the elastic piece contacting the lower surface of the terminal is constructed 'to be stationary (fixed), and only the upper contact portion thereof is constructed to be deformable. Because of such structure, although a wiping effect can be achieved at the upper contact portion, the wiping effect cannot be achieved at the lower contact portion. Thus, the contact stability between the terminal of the IC package and the lower contact portion is not so good.
Furthermore, in such conventional two-point-contact structure, the terminal of the IC package is clamped between the lower and upper contact portions and the height (level) of the terminal is determined in a state that the upper and lower elastic pieces are balanced in force. Accordingly, there is a fear that the heights of the respective terminals are not uniform and, hence, the terminals are undesirably deformable. There is also a fear that contact pressures between the respective contact portions and the terminals differ and, hence, the good contact stability cannot be achieved.
Still furthermore, in such conventional two-point-contact structure, as shown in
FIG. 14
, lower contact portions
2
a
of the respective contact pin
2
project upward, and as shown with two-dot-chain line, when the IC package
3
is inserted in an inclined fashion, terminals
3
a
of the IC package
3
are inserted between the adjacent two lower contact portions
2
a
, which may result in an defective sitting or mounting thereof, thus being inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of the present invention is to substantially eliminate defects or drawbacks encountered in the prior art mentioned above and to provide s socket for electrical parts capable of achieving a desired wiping effect at a lower contact portion of a contact pin to thereby improve stability in the contacting state thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a socket for electrical parts capable of accurately positioning a terminal of an electrical part to thereby prevent deformation of the terminal and improve the contacting stability thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a socket for electrical parts capable, of preventing undesired seating of the terminal at the time of mounting the electrical part to a socket body to thereby prevent defective seating or mounting of the terminal.
These and other objects can be achieved according to the present invention by providing, in one aspect, a socket for an electrical part adapted to be electrically connected to a terminal of an electrical part, comprising: a socket body; upper and lower contact pins mounted to the socket body so as to be contacted to and separated from the terminal of the electrical part, the upper contact pin being formed with an upper elastic piece having an upper contact portion contacting an upper surface of the terminal and the lower contact pin being formed with a lower elastic piece having a lower contact portion contacting a lower surface of the terminal; and an operation member disposed to the socket body to be vertically reciprocally movable with respect to the socket body, in which when the operation member is reciprocally moved, the upper elastic piece is elastically deformed to thereby displace the upper contact portion so as to be contacted to and separated from the upper surface of the terminal, wherein when the upper contact portion is contacted to the upper surface of the terminal of the electrical part so as to clamp the terminal between the upper and lower contact portions, the lower elastic piece is elastically deformed by an elastic force of the upper elastic piece to thereby displace the lower contact portion so that the terminal of the electrical part and the lower contact portion are slidably moved.
In a preferred embodiment of this, aspect, when the upper contact portion contacts the upper surface of the terminal so as to clamp the terminal between the upper and lower contact portions, the lower elastic piece is elastically deformed by the elastic force of the upper elastic piece and the lower contact portion is displaced in a direction reverse to the displacing direction of the upper contact portion so that the terminal of the electrical part and the lower contact portion are slidably moved.
In another example, when the upper contact portion contacts the upper surface of the terminal so as to clamp the terminal between the upper and lower contact portions, the lower elastic piece is elastically deformed by the elastic force of the upper elastic piece and the lower contact portion is displaced in a same direction as the displacing direction of the upper contact portion so that the terminal of the electrical part and the lower contact portion are slidably moved.
The upper contact pin and the lower contact pin are formed integrally as one member. According to the structure of the present invention of this aspect, the lower elastic piece is elastically deformed by using the elastic force of the upper elastic piece to thereby slide the lower contact portion on the lower surface of the terminal. Thus, the wiping effect can be achieved even by the lower contact portion to thereby improve the stability in contact.
In the embodiment in which the lower contact portion is displaced in a direction reverse to the displacing direction of the upper contact portion, a force from both the contact portions acting to the terminal of the electrical part can be cancelled each other, thus preventing the terminal from being deformed.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a socket for an electrical part adapted to be electrically connected to a terminal of an electrical part, comprising: a socket body; upper and lower contact pins mounted to the socket body so as to be contacted to and separated from the r terminal of the electrical part, the upper contact pin being formed with an upper elastic piece having an upper contact portion contacting an upper surface of the terminal and the lower contact pin being formed with a lower elastic piece having a lower contact portion contacting a lower surface of the terminal; an operation member disposed to the socket body to be vertically reciprocally movable with respect to the socket body, in which when the operation member is reciprocally moved, the upper elastic piece is elastically deformed to thereby displace the upper contact portion so as to be contacted to and separated from the upper surface of the terminal; and a positioning means for stopping the terminal of the electrical part to a predetermined position when the terminal of the electrical part is depressed by the upper contact portion.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect, the socket body is provided with a partition wall section formed with a plurality of slits to which the lower contact portions of the lower contact pins are inserte
Enplas Corporation
Gilman Alexander
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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