Electrical connectors – Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-30
2001-07-17
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...
C439S268000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06261114
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket for an electrical part for detachably holding an electrical part such as a semiconductor device (called as “IC package” hereinafter).
Particularly, the present invention relates to a socket for an electrical part, which is adapted to prevent a contact portion of a contact pin from being stuck to a solder ball that is a terminal of the electrical part.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional “socket for electrical parts” of this kind, there is provided an IC socket for detachably holding an IC package as “electrical part”.
The IC package includes a BGA (Ball Grid Array) type of IC package which has a rectangular-shaped package body and a large number of solder balls mounted on a bottom surface of the package body.
Moreover, a contact pin is disposed to the IC socket and, to the contact pin, a pair of elastic pieces is formed. A contact portion is formed to one end portion of each of the elastic pieces so as to be contacted to a side portion of the solder ball and separated therefrom. One of the paired elastic pieces is pressed by a movable plate sliding in a horizontal direction to be elastically deformed thereby
When the movable plate is slid from an original position so as to elastically deform one of the paired elastic pieces, an interval (distance or gap) between both of the contact portions of both of the elastic pieces is widened so that the solder ball is inserted into the interval of both of the contact portions.
After the inserting work, the movable plate is returned to the original position so that the contact portion of one of the paired elastic pieces is returned to an original position at which no pressing force by the movable plate is applied, whereby the solder ball is clamped by both of the contact portions to electrically connected thereto.
In a state that the solder ball of the IC package and the contact portions of the paired elastic pieces of the IC socket are electrically connected, for example, a burn-in test is carried and, thereafter, similarly to the operation mentioned above, the movable plate is slid so as to elastically deform one of the paired elastic pieces, thereby widening the interval between both of the contact portions of both of the elastic pieces.
As a result of widening the interval between both of the contact portions of the paired elastic pieces, both of the contact portions thereof are separated from the solder ball and, thereafter, the IC package is removed from the IC socket with an automatic machine.
In this structure of the IC socket, by only sliding the movable plate, it is possible to mount the IC package on the IC socket and remove it therefrom without using inserting and extracting force, thereby improving mounting and removing working efficiency of the IC package.
However, in the conventional IC socket, while carrying out the burn-in test, the IC package is heated at approximately 125° C. so that the solder ball gets to be softened to frequently be stuck to at least one of the contact portions.
In a state that the solder ball is stuck to at least one of the contact portions, when deforming one of the paired elastic pieces to widen the interval between both of the contact portions, in some cases, the solder ball is not separated from at least one of the contact portions with being stuck thereto.
In some cases where the solder ball is not separated from at least one of the contact portions, there is the possibility that it is impossible to remove, with the automatic machine, the IC package from the IC socket without using extracting force.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a socket for an electrical part capable of preventing the contact portions of contact pins of the socket from being stuck to a solder ball of the electrical part and making it possible to remove the electrical part from the socket with no use of extracting force.
In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a socket for an electrical part comprising:
a socket body having a mount portion on which an electrical part is mounted, the electrical part having a solder ball;
a contact pin arranged to the socket body and adapted to be contacted to or separated from the solder ball of the electrical part;
a movable plate disposed to the socket body to be movable with respect to the socket body; and
stopper means provided for the socket body and adapted to be contacted to the moving electrical part to stop the electrical part at a time when the solder ball of the electrical part moves in accordance with the displacement of the contact portion,
the contact pin having an elastic piece formed at a front end portion thereof with a contact portion, the contact portion being elastically deformed in accordance with the movement of the movable plate so as to displace the contact portion by a displacement length to separate the contact portion from a side surface of the solder ball, and
the displacement length of the contact pin being longer than a length of movement of the electrical part to the stopper means.
According to the one aspect of the present invention, because, when the solder ball of the electrical part is stuck to the contact portion so that the electrical part moves in accordance with the displacement of the contact portion, the stopper means is contacted to the moving electrical part to stop the electrical part, and the displacement length of the contact pin is longer than the length of movement of the electrical part to the stopper means, it is possible to surely remove the contact portion from the solder ball. Therefore, it is permitted to prevent the contact portion from being stuck to the solder ball, making it possible to remove the electrical part from the socket therefor without using extracting force.
In a preferred embodiment of this one aspect, the contact pin has a pair of elastic pieces formed at front end portions thereof with a pair of contact portions, one of the contact portions of one of the elastic pieces being formed so that it is easy for the solder ball to be stuck to one of the contact portions, as compared with another one of the contact portions of another one of the elastic pieces, and the stopper means is formed on one side portion of the socket body, so that when the solder ball of the electrical part is stuck to one of the contact portions of one of the elastic pieces, the electrical part moving in accordance with the displacement of one of the contact portions is contacted to the stopper means.
According to the one aspect of the invention, it is easy for the solder ball to be stuck to one of the contact portions, as compared with another one of the contact portions of another one of the elastic pieces. Moreover, the stopper means is formed on the one side portion of the socket body, so that, when the solder ball of the electrical part is stuck to one of the contact portions of one of the elastic pieces, the electrical part moving in accordance with the displacement of one of the contact portions is contacted to the stopper means.
Therefore, it is possible to stick the solder ball only one of the contact portions of one of the elastic pieces so that it is permitted to surely prevent the contact portion from being stuck to the solder ball, only by providing the stopper means to the one side portion of the socket body.
In preferred embodiment of this one aspect, the movable plate is adapted to be movable in a direction substantially parallel to the mount surface, one of the elastic pieces is a movable side elastic piece elastically movable by the movable plate, another one of the elastic pieces is a stationary side elastic piece, and the stopper means is formed on the one side portion of the socket body so that, when the solder ball of the electrical part is stuck to the contact portion of the movable side elastic piece, the electrical part moving in accordance with the displacement of the contact portion of the movab
Enplas Corporation
Staas & Halsey , LLP
Ta Tho D.
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