Electrical connectors – Coupling part having handle or means to move contact... – Expandable – prong receiving socket
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-09
2001-08-28
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
Expandable, prong receiving socket
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280218
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket for electrical parts having an improved structure capable of detachably holding electrical parts such as semiconductor devices, called hereinlater IC package(s).
2. Prior Art of the Invention
Sockets for electrical parts of the kinds mentioned above are known as disclosed for example in Japanese Patent Publication No. HEI 3-66787. An IC package mentioned herein as electrical part has an arrangement in which a number of IC leads project from a lower surface thereof in a lattice arrangement having vertical rows Y and transverse rows X.
An IC socket, as a socket for electrical parts, for supporting such IC package and achieving electrical connection has a rectangular outer configuration formed of an electrically insulating material and is provided with a substrate on which a cover is applied to be horizontally movable to open or close the upper surface thereof.
The cover is formed with a number of through holes, corresponding to the lattice arrangement of the IC leads, through which a number of IC leads are inserted, and these through holes, as insertion holes, provide a parallelogram shape in arrangement and the directions of the vertical and transverse rows of the leads are inclined by 45° with respect to respective sides of the cover configuration.
The substrate is formed with a number of contact groups in a lattice arrangement corresponding to the IC leads and IC lead insertion hole groups.
When the cover is moved along a direction of one of diagonal lines of the lattice arrangement, the IC package mounted on the cover is also moved, whereby the respective IC leads and the contacts are separated from or contacted to each other.
However, in such conventional arrangement, the IC lead insertion hole groups are inclined by 45° with respect to the rectangular configuration of the cover for ensuring displacement amount of the contacts which are separated from or contacted to the IC leads, resulting in an enlargement of the cover and hence the device itself, thus providing a problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to substantially eliminate defects or drawbacks encountered in the prior art described above and to provide a socket for electrical parts capable of ensuring a displacement of a contact member such as contact pin and realizing a reduced entire size.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a socket for an electrical part capable of achieving a wiping effect due to a contacting portion of a contact pin and suppressing a force directing obliquely upward from acting on a terminal by reducing a vertical displacement of an upper end of the contact pin.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a socket for an electrical part capable of centering a position of a terminal of the electrical part, when shifted, by a contact pin, and preventing the terminal from being applied by an desired force.
These and other objects can be achieved according to the present invention by providing a socket for an electrical part, which comprises a socket body, a contact pin disposed to the socket body, a movable member mounted on the socket body and adapted to displace the contact pin, and an operation member for moving the movable member to thereby displace the contact pin, and in which when the contact pin is displaced, a terminal of an electrical part is fitted to the socket body with the terminal being in non-contact state to the contact pin and when the movable member is returned to an original position before movement thereof, the displacement of the contact pin is released and the terminal of the electrical part contacts an contacting portion of the contact pin to thereby establish an electrical connection, wherein the direction of the displacement of the contacting portion of the contact pin is set to a direction oblique to a moving direction of the movable member.
In preferred embodiments, the contact pin is twisted by being pressed by the movable member through which the contacting portion of the contact pin is displaced in the direction oblique to the moving direction of the movable member. The movable member is provided with a pressing portion pressing the contact pin and the pressing portion is formed obliquely with respect to the moving direction of the movable member and the contacting portion of the contact pin is moved parallelly in an oblique direction with respect to the moving direction of the movable member by pressing the contact pin by the pressing portion.
The contact pin is composed of a plurality of clamping pieces between which the terminal of the electrical part is clamped, one of the clamping pieces being elastically deformable by a pressure of the movable member.
The terminal of the electrical part has preferably a spherical outer shape.
In more detail in structure, there is provided a socket for an electrical part, comprising:
a socket body;
a contact pin having a plurality of clamping pieces and disposed to the socket body;
a movable member mounted on the socket body and adapted to displace the contact pin; and
an operation member for moving the movable member to thereby displace the contact pin,
the electrical part having a terminal having a spherical outer shape and being fitted to the socket body in a non-contact state to the contact pin through a displacement of the contact pin when the movable member is moved, the displacement being released when the movable member is returned to an original position before movement thereof to thereby establish an electrical connection between the terminal and the contact pin, wherein the contacting portion of the contact pin is displaced by being twisted through the movement of the movable member in a direction oblique to a moving direction of the movable member.
According to the characters and structures of the present invention described above, the contacting portion of the contact pin is moved in a direction oblique to the moving direction of the movable member, so that the displacement amount of the contacting portion can be ensured, and moreover, the orientation (X- and Y-directions) of the contacting portions of the contact pins are made coincident with the respective sides of the socket for an electrical part having a rectangular outer shape. As a result, the outer configuration of the socket for the electrical part can be made compact in comparison with a conventional structure.
Furthermore, since the contact pin is twisted by being pressed by the movable member, the contacting portion of the contact pin is displaced in the direction oblique to the moving direction of the movable member likely in a manner to be rotatable, thus achieving the wiping effect, and moreover, the vertical displacement of the contact pin due to the twisting motion thereof can be made small in comparison with a conventional flexible structure of the contact pin, whereby the oblique contacting of the contact pin to the terminal can be suppressed and, hence, an upward force can be suppressed from acting on the terminal.
Still furthermore, the contact pin is provided with a plurality of clamping pieces between which the terminal of the electrical part is clamped and one of these clamping pieces is elastically deformed by the pressure of the movable member, so that the terminal is clamped by the deformable clamping piece even if the terminal is shifted in its position, whereby the centering of the terminal can be done by the respective clamping pieces and the acting of compulsory force on the terminal can be also prevented.
The nature and further characteristic features of the present invention will be made more clear from the following descriptions made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5059135 (1991-10-01), Matsuoka et al.
patent: 5342213 (1994-08-01), Kobayashi
patent: 5690281 (1997-11-01), Ikeya et al.
patent: 6042409 (2000-03-01), Ohshima
patent: 58-150281 (1983-09-01), None
patent: 61-116783 (1986-06-01), None
Enplas Corporation
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Nguyen Khiem
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