Low-Profile Interposer Heat Staking for Contact Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interposers face challenges in achieving a low profile while maintaining mechanical strength, precision, and reliable contact force, which limits their miniaturization and performance in electronic systems.
Innovation Solution
The development of an interposer with a novel design featuring an insulative member and electrical contacts that include a base captured between a shelf and a protuberance within openings, allowing for dual compression contacts and heat staking to secure the contacts in place, enabling precise positioning and reliable connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the interposer height is reduced to achieve miniaturization, then the profile is lowered, but the mechanical strength and contact reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical contact is nested within the opening of the interposer, with the base portion positioned inside the opening and the contact portions extending outward. This nesting arrangement allows the contact structure to be integrated within the limited height space while maintaining sufficient mechanical strength through the support provided by the insulative member walls.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical contact is divided into distinct segments: a base portion within the opening and multiple contact portions extending outward. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently - the base portion provides structural support and electrical connection, while the contact portions provide mating surfaces, thereby maintaining functionality in a compact form.
2Length of moving object
If the interposer height is reduced for miniaturization, then the profile is lowered, but the contact force generation capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical contact is designed with compliance, allowing it to deform dynamically under applied load. The contact portions can flex and adapt to mating surfaces, generating sufficient contact force through elastic deformation even in a low-profile configuration. This dynamic behavior enables reliable electrical connection without requiring excessive height.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional contact retention methods are used, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the contact positioning precision and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The insulative member is pre-formed with openings that have specific geometric features (such as tapered walls or undercut sections) that automatically guide and position the electrical contact base during insertion. This preliminary preparation of the opening structure ensures precise contact positioning without requiring complex post-insertion adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical retention mechanisms with a thermally-activated retention system. The insulative member undergoes a thermal transformation (such as heat-induced expansion or phase change) that causes the opening to mechanically engage with and retain the electrical contact base, providing secure positioning through material property changes rather than mechanical fasteners.
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
This design allows for the construction of interposers with a height of less than 1 mm, generating sufficient contact force for reliable connections and enabling miniaturization of electronic devices with improved mechanical strength and precision.
Implementation Method 1
deforming the insulative member adjacent each of the respective openings to form a protuberance that locks the base of each of the electrical contact in the respective opening between the protuberance and the shelf
Data Source
AI summary
A low profile interposer with multiple electrical contacts held in a housing via a process, such as heat staking, that deforms portions of the housing into protuberances that lock the electrical contacts within openings of the housing. The contacts may be arranged in multiple parallel columns and may have an elongated dimension that is aligned at an acute angle with respect to the column direction. Distal tips of the contact portions of the electrical contacts may be bent to extend into an opening in the housing, even when the electrical contact is in an uncompressed state.