Low Profile IC Test Socket Housing Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing test sockets for integrated circuit devices face challenges in achieving a low profile while maintaining structural integrity, especially when testing ICs with densely populated I/O contacts and high speeds, due to strain from spring-loaded conductor pins which limits minimal thickness and increases transmission delays and cross-talk.
Innovation Solution
The design of a low profile test socket with a housing structure featuring a thicker top housing and thinner bottom housing, utilizing counterbore holes in the top housing and through-holes in the bottom housing to securely hold conductor pins, thereby enhancing structural integrity and reducing bowing under pre-load forces, while maintaining a low overall height.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If spring-loaded conductor pins are used to allow easier removal and replacement of test sockets, then ease of operation is improved, but the housing thickness must be increased to accommodate the spring mechanism, worsening the profile height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the spring-loaded mechanism from the housing structure and relocates it to the conductor pins themselves. The conductor pins are designed as self-contained units with integrated spring mechanisms, allowing the housing to be thin while still providing easy removal and replacement functionality through the pins' inherent spring action.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the spring mechanism within the conductor pins rather than distributing it throughout the housing. Each conductor pin becomes a localized self-contained unit with its own spring-loaded structure, enabling the housing to maintain a thin profile while individual pins provide the necessary mechanical compliance and ease of operation.
2Length of stationary object
If housing thickness is reduced to achieve a low profile, then the overall height is reduced, but structural integrity deteriorates due to strain from spring-loaded conductor pins
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the spring mechanism from the housing structure and embeds it within the conductor pins. This extraction allows the housing to be thin without compromising structural integrity, as the spring-loaded functionality is contained within the pins themselves rather than requiring a thick housing to accommodate the springs.
Solution Approach 2:
The conductor pins are constructed as composite structures combining conductive materials with spring mechanisms. This composite design allows the pins to provide both electrical conduction and mechanical spring action within a compact form factor, maintaining structural integrity while enabling a thin housing profile.
3Loss of time
If conductor pin length is reduced to minimize transmission delays and cross-talk, then signal transmission quality is improved, but the housing must be thinner, worsening structural integrity under pre-load forces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the spring mechanism from the housing and places it within the conductor pins. This allows the use of shorter conductor pins that minimize transmission delay and cross-talk, while the spring action is contained within the pin structure itself rather than requiring additional housing thickness to accommodate separate spring components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the spring mechanism within each conductor pin. This localized approach allows short pin lengths for optimal signal transmission while the embedded spring structures provide the necessary mechanical support and compliance, eliminating the need for a thick housing to compensate for long pin requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The improved housing structure provides better structural integrity and reduced bowing, allowing for effective high-speed and high-frequency testing of ICs with densely populated I/O contacts, minimizing transmission delays and cross-talk, while maintaining a low profile.
Implementation Method 1
internal compression spring 1350 which exerts a restoring force against plungers 1330 and 1340 of the pin contacts 1310 and 1320
Data Source
AI summary
A test socket has a housing structure that holds conductor pins which provide mechanical and electrical connections between vertically aligned contacts of a device under test and a PCB. The housing structure comprises a top housing and a bottom housing. The top housing has counterbore holes to receive and vertically constrain top ends of the conductor pins. The bottom housing comprises a sheet and an optionally attached supporting frame. The sheet has through-holes that are vertically aligned with the counterbore holes of the top housing to receive and vertically constrain bottom ends of the conductor pins when the top and bottom housings are attached to each other.