Socket for electrical parts

Details Socket for electrical parts Socket for electrical parts

2000-07-27

2001-10-02

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Coupling part having handle or means to move contact...

C439S331000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06296504

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a socket for electrical parts that temporarily holds an electrical part, such as semiconductor device (called hereunder “integrated circuit package”). The improvement is in the moving mechanism for the slide plate that displaces contact portions of a contact pin that clamps a terminal of the electrical part.
There is a known integrated circuit socket, that detachably holds an integrated circuit package as “electrical part”. The known IC package includes a BGA (Ball Grid Array) type in which a number of solder balls as terminals are attached to a lower surface of a rectangular package body.
A plurality of contact pins are arranged in the integrated circuit socket, and each of the contact pins has a pair of elastic pieces having ends on which contact portions are formed. The contact portions thereby clamp the side surface of the solder ball attached to the lower surface of the rectangular package body. The clamping happens when one of the paired elastic pieces is elastically deformed by being pushed by a slide plate which slides in a horizontal direction.
Further, the integrated circuit socket comprises a socket body, and an operation member is disposed to be vertically movable with respect to the socket body. When the operation member is moved downward, the slide plate is displaced by a link mechanism and one of the elastic pieces of the contact pins is elastically deformed to thereby widen a distance between the contact portions. The solder ball is inserted in the space in the contact pins. Thereafter, the slide plate returns to its original position and, hence, the one of the elastic pieces is also returned to its original position before the deformation, thus clamping the solder ball between both the contact portions. An electrical connection is thereby established.
A performance test, such as a burn-in, carried out. The slide plate is then slid in the manner mentioned above, such that the contact portion of one of the elastic pieces is again deformed. The wider distance between the contact portions allows separation from the solder ball. Thereafter, the integrated circuit package is taken out from the integrated circuit socket by an automatic machine. According to the structure mentioned above, the integrated circuit package can be mounted or dismounted using little force. Thus the working efficiency can be improved.
In such a conventional structure however, because the vertical motion of the operation member is converted to the horizontal motion of the slide plate through the link mechanism, it is required to use a plurality of link members. The additional pieces increases the number of parts and makes the entire structure of the integrated circuit socket large in order to provide a space for the link members, each having a relatively long length.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to substantially eliminate defects or drawbacks encountered in the prior art mentioned above and to provide a socket for electrical parts having a compact structure with reduced number of members or parts.
This and other objects can be achieved according to the present invention by providing, in one aspect, a socket for an electrical part comprising:
a socket body provided with a mount portion on which an electrical part having a terminal is mounted;
a contact pin provided for the socket body so as to be contacted to or separated from the terminal of the electrical part, the contact pin having an elastic piece formed, at an front end portion thereof, with a contact portion;
a slide plate disposed for the socket body to be slidable on a surface of the socket body; and
an operation member provided for the socket body to be vertically movable with respect to the surface of the socket body,
the contact portion being displaced in accordance with an elastical deformation of the elastic piece so as to be contacted to or separated from the terminal of the electrical part,
wherein either one of the operation member and the slide plate is formed with an inclined surface portion and another one thereof is formed with a roller member for movement rolling on the inclined surface portion so that when the operation member is moved in a direction normal to the surface of the socket body, the roller member rolls on the inclined surface portion to thereby slide the slide plate.
In a preferred embodiment, there is also provided with a reaction receiving means for receiving a reaction force applied from the slide plate to the operation member at a time when the slide plate is moved, the reacting receiving means being disposed between the slide plate and the socket body. The reaction receiving means comprises a roller member, for reaction, provided for either one of the operation member and the socket body and a rolling wall section, on which the reaction roller member rolls, formed to another one thereof so that the reaction force acting on the operation member at a time of moving the slide plate is received by the socket body through the reaction roller member and the rolling wall section.
The socket body is formed with a guide wall section with an interval from the rolling wall section between which the reaction roller member is inserted to thereby constitute a guide means for moving the operation member.
The inclined surface portion is formed on the slide plate. The movement roller member and the reaction roller member are mounted on a common axis and the rolling wall section is formed on the socket body.
The socket body has a rectangular outer shape, the slide plate is disposed to be slidable on a substantially diagonal line of the rectangular shape, and the roller member for movement and the inclined surface portion are disposed on the diagonal line.
Further, the operation member is provided with a pair of support posts
19
C which are located to support the roller member
19
D. A support shaft is located between the pair of support posts, a roller member is mounted in the central portion of the support shaft, and reaction roller members are mounted at both side portions of the movement roller member on the support shaft.
According to the present invention because a link mechanism as in a conventional structure is not needed, the number of parts or members can be reduced and the entire structure of the socket can be made smaller. Moreover, by using the roller member for movement, the inclined surface portion of the slide plate is more durable and longer lasting.
Furthermore, since the reaction force acting on the operation member at the time of moving the slide plate is received by the reaction receiving member, the operation member is not moved in a direction parallel to the upper surface of the socket body. The sliding operation of the slide plate can be performed with high accuracy. Further, since the reaction force is received by the socket body through the reaction roller and the rolling wall, thereby reducing wearing of the rolling wall section and extending its lifetime.
Since the reaction roller can be inserted between the rolling wall section and the guide wall section, the operation member is moved under the guidance thereof. Hence, the operation member can smoothly move vertically with respect to the upper surface of the socket body.
Furthermore, since the inclined surface portion is formed on the slide plate, and the movement roller member and the reaction roller member are mounted on a common axial member, and the rolling wall section is formed to the socket body, the socket can be made compact. The reaction force applied from the inclined surface portion to the movement roller is received by the rolling wall section through the reaction roller members disposed adjacent to the movement roller on the common shaft member. Therefore, since the portion on which the reaction force is applied and the portion at which the reaction force is received are not far apart an unnecessary external force is not applied to the operation member. Thus the operation member moves smoothly.
Still furthermore, by arranging the slid

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