U.S. patent application number 15/506540 was filed with the patent office on 2017-10-12 for socket for electric component.
This patent application is currently assigned to ENPLAS CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is ENPLAS CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Shin KOBAYASHI.
Application Number | 20170295661 15/506540 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55439723 |
Filed Date | 2017-10-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170295661 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KOBAYASHI; Shin |
October 12, 2017 |
SOCKET FOR ELECTRIC COMPONENT
Abstract
A socket for an electric component includes a socket body in
which a contact pin is provided in a housing part and a cover
member provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the socket
body. The cover member has a cover member body and a heat slug in
contact with an electric component. The heat slug is configured so
as to move downward and press the electric component by being
pressed from above by a cooling head in a state in which the cover
member is closed. In a state in which the electric component is
housed in the housing part, a restricting mechanism allows the
downward movement of the heat slug, whereas in a state in which the
electric component is not housed in the housing part, the
restricting mechanism prevents the downward movement of the heat
slug.
Inventors: |
KOBAYASHI; Shin; (Kawaguchi,
JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ENPLAS CORPORATION |
Kawaguchi-shi, Saitama |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
ENPLAS CORPORATION
Kawaguchi-shi, Saitama
JP
|
Family ID: |
55439723 |
Appl. No.: |
15/506540 |
Filed: |
August 27, 2015 |
PCT Filed: |
August 27, 2015 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/JP2015/074156 |
371 Date: |
February 24, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 23/367 20130101;
H01R 13/10 20130101; G01R 1/0483 20130101; H01R 33/76 20130101;
H05K 7/2049 20130101; H01L 23/4093 20130101; H01R 12/00 20130101;
H01R 4/5066 20130101; H01R 12/57 20130101; H01L 23/34 20130101;
H01R 13/2407 20130101; G01R 1/0458 20130101; H05K 7/10 20130101;
H01R 13/635 20130101; G01R 1/0466 20130101; H01R 13/652 20130101;
H01R 13/6278 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H05K 7/10 20060101
H05K007/10; H01R 13/10 20060101 H01R013/10; H01R 13/652 20060101
H01R013/652; H01R 13/24 20060101 H01R013/24; H01R 12/57 20060101
H01R012/57; H01R 13/635 20060101 H01R013/635; H01R 12/50 20060101
H01R012/50; H01R 13/627 20060101 H01R013/627 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 1, 2014 |
JP |
2014-177214 |
Claims
1. A socket for an electric component comprising; a socket body
which is disposed on a wiring circuit board and provided with a
housing part to house an electric component on a top surface of the
housing part, a contact pin to electrically connect an electrode of
the wiring circuit board and a terminal of the electric component
is disposed on the housing part, a cover member disposed so as to
be able to open or close with respect to the socket body, wherein,
the cover member comprises a cover member body and a heat slug
disposed on the cover member body and contact with the electric
component housed to the housing part in a state in which the cover
member is closed, the heat slug is configured to be pressed from
above by a predetermined cooling head in a state in which the cover
member is closed and caused to move downward with respect to the
cover member body so as to press the electric component, and the
cover member comprises a restricting mechanism that allows, in a
state in which the electric component is housed in the housing
part, the cooling head to cause the heat slug to move downward to
press the electric component and prevents, in a state in which no
electric component is housed in the housing part, the cooling head
from causing the heat slug to move downward.
2. The socket for an electric component according to claim 1,
wherein the restricting mechanism comprises: a trigger member
disposed the cover member body so as to be movable with respect to
the cover member body; an urging member that urges the trigger
member in a first direction to keep the trigger member at a
position where the heat slug is allowed to move downward; and a
trigger stopper that moves, when the cover member body further
moves downward by a predetermined distance from a lowest downward
moving position when the electric component is housed in the
housing part in a process in which the cover member is closed, the
trigger member in a second direction which is opposite to the first
direction against an urging force of the urging member to thereby
cause the trigger member to prevent the heat slug from moving
downward.
3. The socket for an electric component according to claim 2,
wherein; the heat slug comprises a concave part to insert an upper
contact part of the trigger member, the trigger stopper comprises a
slope to rotate the trigger member when the trigger stopper comes
into contact with a lower contact part of the trigger member, the
cover member reaches a lowest downward moving position when the
electric component is housed in the housing part, without the lower
contact part of the trigger member contacting the slope of the
trigger stopper with the upper contact part facing the concave
part, the lower contact part of the trigger member rotates and
moves in contact with the slope of the trigger stopper when no
electric component is housed in the housing part, and the cover
member reaches the lowest downward moving position after the upper
contact part reaches a position facing a surface outside a
peripheral edge of the concave part.
4. The socket for an electric component according to claim 3,
further comprising a pusher plate that is provided on an
undersurface of the cover member body, comes into contact with a
peripheral portion of the electric component from above when the
electric component is housed in the housing part, and comes into
contact with a top surface of the housing part when no electric
component is housed in the housing part, wherein the lowest
downward moving position of the cover member is defined by the
pusher plate.
5. The socket for an electric component according to claim 1,
wherein; the housing part is a floating plate disposed so as to be
movable upward/downward with respect to the socket body, the
floating plate comprises a through hole into which a first contact
part of the contact pin is inserted, and in a state in which the
electric component is housed in the floating plate, when the
restricting mechanism moves downward and presses the floating
plate, a pressing force thereof causes the floating plate to move
downward, the first contact part of the contact pin comes into
contact with a terminal of the electric component, then the cooling
head presses the heat slug to move downward, the heat slug thereby
comes into contact with the electric component, whereas in a state
in which no electric component is housed in the floating plate,
when the restricting mechanism moves downward and presses the
floating plate, the pressing force causes the restricting mechanism
to be switched to a state in which the restricting mechanism
prevents the heat slug from moving downward, and the restricting
mechanism prevents the heat slug from moving downward when the
cooling head presses the heat slug so that the heat slug does not
come into contact with the first contact part of the contact pin.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a U.S. National Stage Application, which
claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.371 of International
Patent Application No. PCT/JP2015/074156, filed Aug. 27, 2015,
which claims the foreign priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-177214, filed Sep. 1, 2014,
the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates to a socket for an electric
component electrically connected to an electric component such as a
semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as "IC package").
BACKGROUND ART
[0003] As such a type of socket for an electric component, an IC
socket is conventionally known in which a contact pin is disposed.
This IC socket is designed to be disposed on a wiring circuit board
to house an IC package which is an object to be inspected, and a
terminal of this IC package and an electrode of the wiring circuit
board are electrically connected together via the contact pin to
conduct a test such as a conductivity test.
[0004] Conventionally, to conduct a test efficiently, a plurality
of IC sockets may be arranged side by side, and IC packages may be
housed in the respective IC sockets to simultaneously conduct tests
on the plurality of IC packages (e.g., see Japanese Patent
Laid-Open No. 2007-78576).
[0005] Conventionally, a cooling apparatus provided with a cooling
head for cooling an IC package may be used to keep an IC package
under testing at a predetermined temperature (e.g., see Japanese
Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-78576). The IC socket may be provided
with a heat slug made of a material with high thermal conductivity,
the heat slug may be pressed by the cooling head to move downward,
and the heat slug may press the IC package so that the IC package
is cooled by the cooling head via the heat slug.
[0006] As described above, the apparatus that conducts tests on a
plurality of IC packages simultaneously using a plurality of IC
sockets is provided with a number of cooling heads for cooling IC
packages corresponding to all IC sockets. All the cooling heads
press the heat slugs of the corresponding IC sockets, causing them
to move downward, the heat slugs press the respective IC packages
so as to cool all the IC packages via the heat slugs.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Technical Problem
[0007] However, as described in Patent Literature 1, when a
plurality of IC packages are simultaneously tested using the
plurality of IC sockets, depending on the number of IC packages to
be tested, some IC packages may not be housed in some IC sockets.
Even when the IC packages are not housed in some IC sockets, all
the cooling heads operate similarly. For that reason, when the
cooling heads press the heat slugs of the IC sockets in which no IC
package is housed and the heat slugs are caused to move downward,
the heat slugs may directly come into contact with the contact pin
because no IC package is housed, causing damage to the contact pin
or causing a foreign substance to adhere to the contact part of the
contact pin.
[0008] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a socket for an electric component (e.g., IC socket) having
a configuration in which the electric component (e.g., IC package)
is cooled by a cooling head via a heat slug, capable of preventing
damage of the contact pin or adhesion of a foreign substance to the
contact part of the contact pin due to the heat slug.
Solution to Problem
[0009] In order to solve the above-described problems, a socket for
an electric component according to the present invention includes a
socket body which is disposed on a wiring circuit board and
provided with a housing part to house an electric component on a
top surface of the housing part, a contact pin to electrically
connect an electrode of the wiring circuit board and a terminal of
the electric component is disposed on the housing part, a cover
member disposed so as to be able to open or close with respect to
the socket body, wherein, the cover member includes a cover member
body and a heat slug disposed on the cover member body and contact
with the electric component housed to the housing part in a state
in which the cover member is closed, the heat slug is configured to
be pressed from above by a cooling head in a state in which the
cover member is closed and caused to move downward with respect to
the cover member body so as to press the electric component, and
the cover member is provided with a restricting mechanism that
allows, in a state in which the electric component is housed in the
housing part, the cooling head to cause the heat slug to move
downward to press the electric component and prevents, in a state
in which no electric component is housed in the housing part, the
cooling head from causing the heat slug to move downward.
[0010] The socket for an electric component of the present
invention is preferably configured such that the restricting
mechanism is provided with a trigger member disposed on the cover
member body so as to be movable with respect to the cover member
body, an urging member that urges the trigger member in a first
direction to keep the trigger member at a position where the heat
slug is allowed to move downward, and a trigger stopper that moves,
when the cover member body further moves downward by a
predetermined distance from a lowest downward moving position when
the electric component is housed in the housing part in a process
in which the cover member is closed, the trigger member in a second
direction which is opposite to the first direction against an
urging force of the urging member to thereby cause the trigger
member to prevent the heat slug from moving downward.
[0011] The socket for an electric component of the present
invention is preferably configured such that the heat slug is
provided with a concave part to insert an upper contact part of the
trigger member, the trigger stopper is provided with a slope to
rotate the trigger member when the trigger stopper comes into
contact with a lower contact part of the trigger member, the cover
member reaches the lowest downward moving position when the
electric component is housed in the housing part, without the lower
contact part of the trigger member contacting the slope of the
trigger stopper in a state in which the upper contact part faces
the concave part, the lower contact part of the trigger member
rotates and moves in contact with the slope of the trigger stopper
when no electric component is housed in the housing part, and the
cover member reaches the lowest downward moving position after the
upper contact part reaches a position facing a surface outside a
peripheral edge of the concave part.
[0012] The socket for an electric component of the present
invention is preferably provided with a pusher plate that is
provided on an undersurface of the cover member body, comes into
contact with a peripheral portion of the electric component from
above when the electric component is housed in the housing part,
and comes into contact with a top surface of the housing part when
no electric component is housed in the housing part, in which the
lowest downward moving position of the cover member is defined by
the pusher plate.
[0013] The socket for an electric component of the present
invention is preferably configured such that the housing part is a
floating plate disposed so as to be movable upward/downward with
respect to the socket body, the floating plate includes a through
hole into which a first contact part of the contact pin is
inserted, and in a state in which the electric component is housed
in the floating plate, when the restricting mechanism moves
downward and presses the floating plate, a pressing force thereof
causes the floating plate to move downward, the first contact part
of the contact pin comes into contact with a terminal of the
electric component, then the cooling head presses the heat slug to
move downward, the heat slug thereby comes into contact with the
electric component, whereas in a state in which no electric
component is housed in the floating plate, when the restricting
mechanism moves downward and presses the floating plate, the
pressing force causes the restricting mechanism to be switched to a
state in which the restricting mechanism prevents the heat slug
from moving downward, and the restricting mechanism prevents the
heat slug from moving downward when the cooling head presses the
heat slug so that the heat slug does not come into contact with the
first contact part of the contact pin.
Advantageous Effects of Invention
[0014] According to the present invention, since the restricting
mechanism is provided in the configuration in which the electric
component housed in the housing part is pressed by the cooling head
via the heat slug, it is possible to allow the heat slug to move
downward in a state in which the electric component is housed in
the housing part, whereas in a state in which no electric component
is housed in the housing part, it is possible to prevent the heat
slug from moving downward.
[0015] The present invention adopts a configuration in which the
restricting mechanism is provided with the trigger member and the
urging member and the trigger stopper causes the trigger member to
move, and it is thereby possible to prevent, with a simple
configuration, the heat slug from moving downward.
[0016] According to the present invention, the upper contact part
of the trigger member is caused to face the concave part of the
heat slug when the electric component is housed in the housing part
and the upper contact part of the trigger member is caused to
rotate and move to a position deviated from the concave part of the
heat slug when no electric component is housed in the housing part,
and it is thereby possible to prevent, with a simple configuration,
the heat slug from moving downward.
[0017] According to the present invention, the lowest downward
moving position of the cover member body is changed using the
pusher plate depending on whether the electric component is housed
in the housing part or not, and it is thereby possible to prevent,
with a simple configuration, the heat slug from moving
downward.
[0018] According to the present invention, when no electric
component is housed in the housing part, it is possible to prevent
the heat slug from moving downward, thus prevent the heat slug from
coming into contact with the first contact part of the contact pin,
and thereby prevent the heat slug from damaging the contact pin or
prevent a foreign substance from adhering to the contact part of
the contact pin.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an IC socket in a closed
state according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the IC socket in an open
state according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 3 is an A-A cross-sectional view of the IC socket in
FIG. 2 in which an IC package is housed and a cooling head is
disposed.
[0022] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view in the middle of closing
the cover member from the state in FIG. 3.
[0023] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cover member is further closed from the state in FIG. 4.
[0024] FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG.
5.
[0025] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cover member is further closed from the state in FIG. 6 and the
cover member is totally closed.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cooling head is brought into contact with the heat slug of the IC
socket in the state in FIG. 7.
[0027] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cooling head presses the heat slug to cause the heat slug to move
down to a lowest position from the state in FIG. 8.
[0028] FIG. 10 is an A-A cross-sectional view of a state in which
the cooling head is disposed without housing the IC package in the
IC socket in FIG. 2.
[0029] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view in the middle of closing
the cover member from the state in FIG. 10.
[0030] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cover member is further closed from the state in FIG. 11.
[0031] FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG.
12.
[0032] FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cover member is further closed from the state in FIG. 13 and the
cover member is totally closed.
[0033] FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cooling head is brought into contact with the heat slug of the IC
socket in the state in FIG. 14.
[0034] FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the
cooling head presses the heat slug causing the heat slug to move
down to the lowest position from the state in FIG. 15.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0035] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be
described.
[0036] FIG. 1 to FIG. 16 illustrate the embodiment of the present
invention.
[0037] An IC socket 10 as a "socket for an electric component"
according to this embodiment is disposed on a wiring circuit board
1 as shown in each figure, on a top surface of which an IC package
2 is housed as an "electric component" and is configured so as to
electrically connect an electrode (not shown) of the wiring circuit
board 1 and a solder ball (not shown) as a "terminal" of the IC
package 2. This IC socket 10 is used for a testing apparatus for a
conductivity test such as a burn-in test on the IC package 2, for
example.
[0038] A plurality of spherical solder balls are provided in a
matrix shape in a predetermined substantially square range of an
undersurface of a substantially square package body 3 of the IC
package 2 of the present embodiment.
[0039] The present embodiment includes a cooling head 5 (see FIG. 3
or the like) above the IC socket 10, provided for a cooling
apparatus (not shown) that cools the IC package 2 under testing and
keeps it at a predetermined temperature. The cooling head 5 is
configured to move upward/downward between an upper position which
is a position not in contact with the IC socket 10 and a lower
position which is a position in contact with the IC socket 10.
[0040] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the IC socket 10 is
provided with a socket body 20 that includes, on a top surface
side, a floating plate 40 as a "housing part" disposed on the
wiring circuit board 1 that houses the IC package 2, a pair of
cover members 30 so as to rotate with respect to the socket body 20
and disposed so as to be able to open/close, and a frame-shaped
operation member 50 to operate the rotation of the cover member
30.
[0041] The cover member 30 is provided with a heat slug 32 that
moves between a position at which the heat slug 32 is in contact
with the IC package 2 and a position at which the heat slug 32 is
not in contact with the IC package 2, and heat of the IC package 2
is transmitted to the cooling head 5 via the heat slug 32. The IC
socket 10 is provided with a restricting mechanism 70 that
restricts, when no IC package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40,
the movement of the heat slug 32 at a predetermined position to
prevent the heat slug 32 from contacting the contact pin 60.
Details will be described hereinafter.
[0042] Regarding the socket body 20, a contact module 22 is
disposed in a rectangular frame-shaped outer frame 21 as shown in
FIG. 3. A plurality of contact pins 60 (see FIG. 6 etc.) are
arranged in a matrix shape on the contact module 22 and the IC
package 2 is housed on the top surface side.
[0043] As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 etc., the contact module 22 is
provided with an upper holding member 23, a central holding member
24, a lower holding member 25, the floating plate 40 or the like.
The upper holding member 23, the central holding member 24 and the
lower holding member 25 are held at a predetermined interval. Above
the upper holding member 23, the floating plate 40 is disposed in a
state in which the floating plate 40 is urged by a spring 26 to a
direction toward an upper side of the socket body 20. This allows
the floating plate 40 to move upward/downward with respect to the
upper holding member 23, the central holding member 24 and the
lower holding member 25 by being held at the predetermined
interval.
[0044] The contact pins 60 are disposed by being inserted into
through holes 23a, 24a, 25a and 40a provided so as to penetrate the
upper holding member 23, the central holding member 24, the lower
holding member 25 and the floating plate 40 in the upward/downward
direction. The contact pins 60 are configured to be able to
expand/contract in the upward/downward direction.
[0045] As shown in FIG. 6, each contact pin 60 includes a first
conductive stepped cylindrical plunger 61, a second conductive
stepped cylindrical plunger 62 and a coil spring 63.
[0046] The first plunger 61 includes an outer cylindrical part 64
having an inner diameter greater than an outer diameter of the coil
spring 63, a first contact part 65 having an inner diameter smaller
than an outer diameter of the coil spring 63, and a stepped part 66
that connects the outer cylindrical part 64 and the first contact
part 65. The stepped part 66 of the first plunger 61 comes into
contact with a step part 23b provided in the through hole 23a of
the upper holding member 23 and thereby restricts the upward
movement of the contact pin 60. The floating plate 40 moves
downward as will be described later, and the first contact part 65
can thereby come into contact with a solder ball of the IC package
2.
[0047] The second plunger 62 includes a body part 67 having an
outer diameter larger than an inner diameter of the outer
cylindrical part 64 of the first plunger 61, a second contact part
68 having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the
body part 67 and an inner contact part 69 having an outer diameter
smaller than the inner diameter of the outer cylindrical part 64 of
the first plunger 61, and the inner contact part 69 is inserted
into the outer cylindrical part 64 of the first plunger 61 so as to
be vertically movable. The inner contact part 69 is tapered, with
the diameter thereof expanding from a top end (one end on the first
plunger 61 side) to a bottom end (the other end on the body part 62
side) and the diameter at the bottom end being larger than the
diameter at the top end. The inner contact part 69 is configured to
come into contact with an inner surface of the outer cylindrical
part 64 and be brought into conduction. The wiring circuit board 1
is disposed at a predetermined position on the undersurface side of
the socket body 20, and the second contact part 68 of the second
plunger 62 is thereby configured to come into contact with an
electrode of the wiring circuit board 1.
[0048] The coil spring 63 is inserted into the outer cylindrical
part 64 of the first plunger 61, a top end thereof is in contact
with the stepped part 66 of the first plunger 61, a bottom end
thereof is in contact with one end of the inner contact part 69 of
the second plunger 62, thus urging the second plunger 62
downward.
[0049] When the IC package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40,
the cover member 30, which will be described later, is rotated and
closed, the floating plate 40 moves downward so as to approach the
upper holding member 23, the central holding member 24 and the
lower holding member 25, causing a distal end of the first contact
part 65 provided on the first plunger 61 of the contact pin 60 to
protrude from the top surface side of the floating plate 40 and
come into contact with the solder ball of the IC package 2. Note
that although the plurality of contact pins 60 are arranged in a
matrix shape with respect to the socket body 20 in the present
embodiment as described above, only one contact pin 60 is described
in the figure for the sake of convenience.
[0050] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover member 30
includes a pair of cover member bodies 31 (that is, first and
second cover member bodies 31a and 31b) and the heat slug 32 made
of a highly thermoconductive material such as metal, provided on
one of the cover member bodies 31 (here, the first cover member
31a) and configured to be vertically movable with respect to the
cover member body 31. The pair of cover member bodies 31 is
attached to both ends of the side face of the socket body 20 so as
to be rotatable via rotating shafts 39.
[0051] More specifically, the pair of cover member bodies 31 are
supported by their respective rotating shafts 39 and disposed so as
to sandwich a substantially center of the socket body 20. The first
and second cover member bodies 31a and 31b making up the cover
member body 31 are configured to open/close outward and upward in a
so-called double-swinging door form. Furthermore, one end of a
tabular link member 34 that is fixed to the cover member body 31
and rotates together with the cover member body 31 through a
rotation operation around the rotating shafts 39 engages with
shafts 51 provided in the four corners of the side face of the
operation member 50. When the shaft 51 moves upward/downward with
the vertical movement of the operation member 50, one end of the
link member 34 also moves upward/downward, causing the cover member
body 31 to rotate around the rotating shaft 39.
[0052] The operation member 50 is urged upward by an urging member
(not shown) and if the operation member 50 is pressed and moved
downward against the upward urging force by the urging member, the
cover member body 31 that engages with the operation member 50 via
the link member 34 is configured to rotate upward and outward so
that the cover member 30 is placed in an open state. When the
downward pressure on the operation member 50 is canceled, the
operation member 50 moves upward by the upward urging force of the
urging member. Then, the cover member body 31 that engages with the
operation member 50 via the link member 34 is configured to rotate
downward and inward so that the cover member 30 is placed in a
closed state. As a result, the pair of cover member bodies 31 is
configured to open/close upward in a so-called double-swinging door
form.
[0053] A pusher plate 38 is disposed on an undersurface side of the
cover member body 31. The pusher plate 38 is a member to press the
IC package 2 housed on the floating plate 40 from above when the
cover member body 31 is closed and fix the IC package 2 to the
floating plate 40. As shown in FIG. 2, the pusher plate 38
according to the present embodiment is disposed in a nearly U-shape
so as to surround the periphery of a pressing part 35 (which will
be described later) provided on the heat slug 32 on the
undersurface side of the cover member body 31 (that is, one first
cover member body 31a and second cover member body 31b).
[0054] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the heat slug 32 is
disposed so as to be vertically movable with respect to the cover
member body 31. More specifically, a plurality of pin members 27
are inserted from an end of the top surface of the heat slug 32 and
a pin member coil spring 28 is provided for each pin member 27,
which urges the pin member 27 and the heat slug 32 upward with
respect to the socket body 20.
[0055] When the cover member body 31 is closed, the heat slug 32 is
urged upward by the pin member coil spring 28, and the heat slug 32
is urged upward with respect to the cover member body 31, and as a
result, the pressing part 35 on the undersurface of the heat slug
32 is located above the floating plate 40 of the socket body 20 by
a predetermined amount.
[0056] As shown in FIG. 9, when the top surface of the heat slug 32
is pressed downward by the cooling head 5, the heat slug 32 is
moved downward with respect to the cover member body 31 against the
upward urging force by the pin member coil spring 28. As a result,
the pressing part 35 on the undersurface of the heat slug 32 is
caused to move down to a position that can come into contact with
the floating plate 40 of the socket body 20.
[0057] Note that as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat slug 32 is
provided on only the first cover member body 31a which is one of
the pair of cover member bodies 31, and the heat slug 32 has a
shape including an overhang part 33 formed so as to overhang on the
other second cover member body 31b side when the cover member 30 is
closed.
[0058] Furthermore, as described above, the heat slug 32 moves
downward with respect to the cover member body 31, in a state in
which the first cover member body 31a is closed, when the heat slug
32 comes into contact from above with the cooling head 5 which has
moved to a lower position and is pressed from above by the cooling
head 5. The pressing part 35 provided on the undersurface of the
heat slug 32 comes into contact with the IC package 2 housed on the
floating plate 40 and presses the IC package 2. It is thereby
possible for the cooling head 5 to cool the IC package 2 via the
heat slug 32.
[0059] Note that in the present embodiment, the pressing part 35 on
the undersurface of the heat slug 32 has a position and a size that
the pressing part 35 can press a substantially entire top surface
of the IC package 2 housed on the floating plate 40 from above.
[0060] Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, the cover member
body 31 is provided with the restricting mechanism 70. The
restricting mechanism 70 allows the heat slug 32 to move downward
when the IC package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40 of the
socket body 20, whereas, when no IC package 2 is housed on the
floating plate 40 of the socket body 20, the restricting mechanism
70 prevents the heat slug 32 from moving downward.
[0061] To be more specific, the restricting mechanism 70 of the
present embodiment is provided on the first cover member body 31a
of the cover member body 31 as shown in FIG. 2. The restricting
mechanism 70 is attached at two locations, on the left and right
sides of an opening/closing boundary surface with respect to the
second cover member body 31b of the first cover member body 31a.
The restricting mechanism 70 includes a trigger member 71 and an
urging member 75. The left and right restricting mechanisms 70 are
configured to be arranged in a direction reversed left and right.
Note that the right restricting mechanism 70 is the same as the
left restricting mechanism 70 except in that the left and right
parts are inverted, and therefore the left restricting mechanism 70
will be mainly described and description of the right restricting
mechanism 70 will be omitted hereinafter.
[0062] Of the configuration of the above-described restricting
mechanism 70, the trigger member 71 is configured so as to be
rotatable with respect to the first cover member body 31a around a
shaft 72 formed near a center thereof as shown in FIG. 6. An upper
contact part 73 is provided at a top of the trigger member 71 and a
lower contact part 74 is provided at a bottom of the trigger member
71.
[0063] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the urging member 75 is
made up of a torsion spring or the like wound around a body part 76
and both end portions 77 of the torsion spring protrude from above
and a side thereof. The end portions 77 come into contact with part
of the first cover member body 31a (undersurface side of part of
the first cover member body 31a in the figure) and the lower part
of the trigger member 71 (bottom left side in the figure) so as to
urge the trigger member 71 in a predetermined direction
(counterclockwise in the figure).
[0064] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, a concave part 37 is
provided on the undersurface side of an upper wall part 36 of part
of the heat slug 32 and configured such that the position where the
upper contact part 73 of the trigger member 71 is urged
counterclockwise by the urging member 75 is located directly below
the concave part 37.
[0065] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower contact part 74
of the trigger member 71 is disposed at a position shifted leftward
with respect to the shaft 72 and includes a first protrusion part
74a on the left side of the undersurface and a second protrusion
74b on the right side of the undersurface. The lower contact part
74 is normally stopped by the urging member 75 at a position urged
counterclockwise by a predetermined amount. On the other hand, a
trigger stopper 29 made up of a metal plate or the like with which
the lower contact part 74 is in contact is disposed on the floating
plate 40 of the socket body 20. Of the lower contact part 74, the
first protrusion part 74a on the left side is located lower than
the second protrusion part 74b on the right side.
[0066] As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 9, in a state in which the IC
package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40, when the first cover
member body 31a having the heat slug 32 is closed, the pusher plate
38 provided on the first cover member body 31a comes into contact
with the top surface of the IC package 2 as shown in FIG. 6 before
the lower contact part 74 comes into contact with the trigger
stopper 29 of the floating plate 40 of the socket body 20.
[0067] Note that the trigger stopper 29 may have a plane shape
parallel to the top surface of the floating plate 40, but the part
with which the lower contact part 74 comes into contact is inclined
in a lower left direction, and when the lower contact part 74 comes
into contact with this part, it is readily shifted in the lower
left direction, and as a result, the trigger member 71 is likely to
rotate clockwise.
[0068] As described above, since the pusher plate 38 comes into
contact with the IC package 2 and the lower contact part 74 does
not come into contact with the trigger stopper 29, as shown in FIG.
6 to FIG. 8, when the first cover member body 31a is closed, the
trigger member 71 does not rotate but remains at a position where
it is urged counterclockwise by the urging member 75. As a result,
as shown in FIG. 7, the upper contact part 73 remains at a position
where it is just inserted into the concave part 37 provided in the
upper wall part 36 of part of the heat slug 32. This prevents the
downward movement of the heat slug 32 from being locked, and so
when the heat slug 32 is pressed by the cooling head 5 as shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9, the pressing part 35 on the undersurface of the heat
slug 32 comes into contact with the IC package 2 from above and
further presses the IC package 2. This ensures that the cooling
head 5, the heat slug 32 and the IC package 2 come into contact
with each other.
[0069] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 16, in a state in
which no IC package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40, since the
IC package 2 is absent when the first cover member body 31a
including the heat slug 32 is closed, the lower contact part 74
comes into contact with the trigger stopper 29 of the floating
plate 40 as shown in FIG. 13 before the pusher plate 38 comes into
contact with the floating plate 40.
[0070] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 13 first, only the
left-side first protrusion part 74a of the lower contact part 74
comes into contact with the trigger stopper 29, whereas the
right-side second protrusion 74b does not come into contact with
the trigger stopper 29. After that, when the cover member 30 is
further closed, the trigger member 71 rotates (rotates clockwise in
the figure) around the shaft 72 against the urging force of the
urging member 75. Due to the rotation, the right-side second
protrusion part 74b also comes into contact with the trigger
stopper 29 and further rotates, causing the first protrusion part
74a to separate from the trigger stopper 29 as shown in FIG. 14,
with only the second protrusion part 74b remaining in contact with
the trigger stopper 29. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the upper
contact part 73 also rotates clockwise, coming into contact with
the upper wall part 36 at a peripheral edge of the concave part 37
without being inserted into the concave part 37 of the heat slug 32
and reaching a position at which it is locked. Thus, when the
cooling head 5 presses the heat slug 32, as shown in FIGS. 15 and
16, the heat slug 32 does not move downward from a predetermined
position and the pressing part 35 on the undersurface of the heat
slug 32 stops at a position where the pressing part 35 is not in
contact with the contact pin 60 that protrudes upward from the
floating plate 40.
[0071] Next, operation of the IC socket 10 provided with the socket
body 20 and the cover member 30 will be described.
[0072] First, when a conductivity test, such as a burn-in test, of
the IC sockets 10 is conducted, a plurality of IC sockets 10 are
arranged side by side, and the testing is conducted by housing the
IC packages 2 to be tested in some of the IC sockets 10. That is,
the testing is conducted on the plurality of IC sockets 10 arranged
side by side, where the IC sockets 10 housing the IC package 2 and
the IC sockets 10 housing no IC package 2 are mixed.
[0073] In each IC socket 10, a plurality of contact pins 60 are
disposed in the socket body 20 respectively and the plurality of
contact pins 60 are in contact with the corresponding electrodes of
the wiring circuit board 1 on the undersurface of the socket body
20 and are electrically connected to the electrodes.
[0074] As shown in FIG. 1, the operation member 50 is located at an
upper position and in this way, the first cover member body 31a and
the second cover member body 31b of the pair of cover members 30
are rotated in a lower inward direction, that is, the cover member
30 is in a closed state.
[0075] As shown in FIG. 2, the operation member 50 is pressed using
an automatic machine or the like against the urging force of the
urging member and moved to a lower position, the first cover member
body 31a and the second cover member body 31b of the pair of cover
members 30 engaging with each other via the link member 34 are
rotated in an upper outward direction, that is, the cover member 30
is in an open state.
[0076] The IC package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40 of the
IC socket 10 using an automatic machine or the like. After that,
the pressure on the operation member 50 is canceled as shown in
FIG. 1, the operation member 50 is moved to the upper position by
the urging force of the urging member, the first cover member body
31a and the second cover member body 31b engaging with each other
via the link member 34 are rotated in a lower inward direction, and
the cover member 30 is thereby placed in a closed state.
[0077] By this means, the test is conducted with some IC packages 2
being housed in some of the plurality of IC sockets 10, and no IC
packages 2 being housed in other IC sockets 10.
[0078] Hereinafter, the IC socket 10 in which the IC package 2 is
housed will be described using FIG. 3 to FIG. 9. When closing the
cover member 30 of the IC socket 10 in which the IC package 2 is
housed, in a state in which the upper contact part 73 of the
trigger member 71 is located directly below the concave part 37
formed on the upper wall part 36 of the heat slug 32, the first
cover member body 31a and the second cover member body 31b
including the heat slug 32 is changed from the open state as shown
in FIG. 2 to the closed state as shown in FIG. 1. In the middle of
that process, before the lower contact part 74 provided in the
trigger member 71 of the restricting member 70 disposed in the
first cover member body 31a comes into contact with the trigger
stopper 29 at the position shown in FIG. 6, the downward moving
pusher plate 38 comes into contact with the IC package 2 housed on
the floating plate 40.
[0079] In this way, since the lower contact part 74 of the trigger
member 71 does not contact the trigger stopper 29 as shown in FIGS.
6 and 7, even when the first cover member body 31a is further
closed, the trigger member 71 does not rotate and the upper contact
part 73 continues to be located directly below the concave part 37
formed in the upper wall part 36 of the heat slug 32.
[0080] Note that when the pusher plate 38 presses the IC package 2
downward in the process of closing the first cover member body 31a,
the floating plate 40 in which the IC package 2 is housed is
pressed downward and moves down to a predetermined position. Thus,
the distal end of the first contact part 65 provided in the first
plunger 61 of the contact pin 60 protrudes from the top surface of
the floating plate 40 and comes into contact with a solder ball
(not shown) provided in the IC package 2.
[0081] After that, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in a state in which
the cover member body 31 is closed, when the heat slug 32 is
pressed from above by the cooling head 5 to move downward, the
upper contact part 73 of the trigger member 71 is inserted into the
concave part 37 located thereabove which is formed on the upper
wall part 36 in the heat slug 32. This prevents the downward
movement of the heat slug 32 from being locked and causes the heat
slug 32 to continue to move down to a predetermined position.
[0082] As a result, when all the cooling heads 5 corresponding to
the IC sockets 10 during testing are caused to move downward, come
into contact with all the heat slugs 32 and pressed downward, it is
possible to cause the unlocked heat slugs 32 of the IC socket 10 to
move downward, cause the heat slugs 32 to come into contact with
and press the IC packages 2, and cool the IC packages 2 through the
cooling heads 5 via the heat slugs 32.
[0083] Note that in the present embodiment, the plurality of
disposed IC sockets 10 are provided with their respective cooling
heads 5. All the cooling heads 5 perform pressing or pressure
releasing under the same control. That is, all the cooling heads 5
are configured to operate simultaneously. However, for the reason
below, the cooling head 5 can perform operation of pressing the
heat slug 32 to move down to a predetermined position for only
those of the IC sockets 10 in which the IC packages 2 are
housed.
[0084] Next, the IC socket 10 in which no IC package 2 is housed
will be described using FIG. 10 to FIG. 16. When closing the cover
member 30 of the IC socket 10 in which no IC package 2 is housed,
in a state in which the upper contact part 73 of the trigger member
71 is located directly below the concave part 37 formed in the
upper wall part 36 of the heat slug 32, the first cover member body
31a and the second cover member body 31b including the heat slug 32
are changed from the open state as shown in FIG. 2 to the closed
state as shown in FIG. 1. In the middle of that process, since the
IC package 2 is not housed at the position shown in FIG. 13, if the
first cover member body 31a and the second cover member body 31b
are further closed, the pusher plate 38 comes into contact with the
floating plate 40 in a state in which the heat slug 32 can move
downward. However, before the pusher plate 38 comes into contact
with the floating plate 40 of the first socket member body 31a, the
left-side first protrusion part 74a of the lower contact part 74
provided in the trigger member 71 of the restricting mechanism 70
disposed on the first cover member body 31a comes into contact with
the trigger stopper 29.
[0085] Here, when the first cover member body 31a including the
heat slug 32 is further rotated in a closing direction, the first
protrusion part 74a of the lower contact part 74 moves along the
leftward slope of the trigger stopper 29 against the
counterclockwise urging force of the urging member 75, which causes
the trigger member 71 to rotate clockwise around the rotation part
72. Furthermore, when the first cover member body 31a including the
heat slug 32 is caused to rotate in a closing direction, the
trigger member 71 further rotates clockwise and the right-side
second protrusion part 74b also comes into contact with the trigger
stopper 29.
[0086] When the first cover member body 31a including the heat slug
32 is caused to move downward in a closing direction, as shown in
FIG. 14, the first protrusion part 74a and the second protrusion
part 74b of the lower contact part 74 move along the leftward slope
of the trigger stopper 29 against the counterclockwise urging force
of the urging member 75, and the trigger member 71 thereby further
rotates clockwise, the first protrusion part 74a separates from the
trigger stopper 29 and only the second protrusion part 74b remains
in contact with the trigger stopper 29. In accordance with such a
movement of the trigger member 71, the upper contact part 73 of the
trigger member 71 rotates up to a position facing the upper wall
part 36 at the peripheral edge of the concave part 37 located
thereabove which is provided in the heat slug 32 so as to be able
to contact the upper wall part 36. As shown in FIG. 14, this locks
the downward movement of the heat slug 32, preventing the heat slug
32 from further moving downward.
[0087] Note that the pusher plate 38 comes into contact with the
floating plate 40 in the middle of the process in which the lower
contact part 74 of the trigger member 71 comes into contact with
the trigger stopper 29 and rotates clockwise. The pusher plate 38
presses the floating plate 40 downward in the process in which the
first cover member body 31a is closed, and the floating plate 40
thereby moves down to a predetermined position. Accordingly, the
distal end of the first contact part 65 in the first plunger 61 of
the contact pin 60 protrudes from the top surface of the floating
plate 40.
[0088] After that, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, in a state in which
the cover member body 31 is closed, when the cooling head 5 presses
the heat slug 32 from above to move downward, the upper contact
part 73 of the trigger member 71 comes into contact with and locks
the upper wall part 36 of the heat slug 32. Thus, the heat slug 32
does not move downward from its position and the pressing part 35
of the undersurface of the heat slug 32 stops at a position at
which it does not come into contact with the distal end of the
first contact part 65 in the first plunger 61 of the contact pin 60
that protrudes upward from the floating plate 40.
[0089] As a result, it is possible to prevent the heat slug 32 from
contacting the contact pin 60 that protrudes from the top surface
of the floating plate 40. This makes it possible to prevent the
heat slug 32 from damaging the contact pin 60 of the IC socket 10
in a state in which no IC package 2 is housed or prevents a foreign
substance from adhering to the first contact part 65 of the contact
pin 60.
[0090] Thus, in the configuration of the IC socket 10 according to
the present embodiment in which the IC package 2 housed on the
floating plate 40 is pressed by the cooling head 5 via the heat
slug 32, since the restricting mechanism 70 is provided, the heat
slug 32 is not locked so as to allow the heat slug 32 to move
downward in a state in which the IC package 2 is housed on the
floating plate 40 in the process of closing the cover member 30,
the heat slug 32 presses the IC package 2, whereas in a state in
which no IC package 2 is housed on the floating plate 40, the heat
slug 32 is locked so as to prevent the heat slug 32 from moving
downward and the heat slug 32 stops at a position at which it does
not contact the contact pin 60. For this reason, the floating plate
40 on which no IC package 2 is housed can reliably prevent, using a
simple mechanism, problems such that the downward moving heat slug
32 may contact the contact pin 60, damage the contact pin 60 or a
foreign substance may adhere to the first contact part 65 of the
contact pin 60. As a result, it is possible to improve durability
of the IC socket 10.
[0091] Note that in order to prevent the heat slug from moving
downward from a predetermined position, the present embodiment uses
the restricting mechanism including the rotating trigger member,
the urging member that urges the rotating trigger member in one
rotating direction, and the trigger stopper disposed on the
floating plate, but the present embodiment is not limited to this,
and a restricting mechanism in any other configuration may also be
used if the heat slug is caused to move downward in the IC socket
in which the IC package 2 is housed and allowed to contact the IC
package and the heat slug is prevented from moving downward so as
to prevent the heat slug from contacting the contact pin in the IC
socket in which no IC package 2 is housed.
[0092] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the cover member
includes a pair of cover member bodies that open/close in a
so-called double-swinging door form, but the cover member is not
limited to this. For example, the cover member may be constructed
of a member which opens/closes through a movement other than the
double-swinging door form, or the cover member may be constructed
of one or three or more movable members.
[0093] Furthermore, according to the present embodiment,
substantially the entire heat slug is made of a member having high
thermal conductivity, but the heat slug is not limited to this, and
the heat slug may be composed appropriately, for example, of only a
portion contacting the cooling head and the IC package and a
portion connecting them being made of a member having high thermal
conductivity and the rest of the heat slug being made of different
members.
[0094] In the present embodiment, the terminal of the IC package is
made up of a solder ball, but the terminal is not limited to this,
and the present invention may be applied to an IC package including
a terminal of another shape such as a tabular terminal.
[0095] The contact pin of the present invention is not limited to a
contact pin having a structure similar to that of the present
embodiment, but may be one having another structure such as a
contact pin formed into a tabular spring shape.
[0096] In the present embodiment, the "socket for an electric
component" of the present invention is applied to an IC socket, but
the present invention is not limited to this, and the present
invention is also applicable to other electric components.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
[0097] 1 wiring circuit board [0098] 2 IC package (electric
component) [0099] 5 cooling head [0100] 10 IC socket (socket for
electric component) [0101] 20 socket body [0102] 30 cover member
[0103] 31 cover member body [0104] 31a first cover member body
[0105] 31b second cover member body [0106] 326 heat slug [0107] 36
upper wall part [0108] 40 floating plate (housing part) [0109] 60
contact pin [0110] 70 restricting mechanism [0111] 71 trigger
member [0112] 73 upper contact part [0113] 74 lower contact part
[0114] 74a first protrusion part [0115] 74b second protrusion part
[0116] 75 urging member
* * * * *