Metal-Reinforced IC Socket Protrusions to Prevent Skiving
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing socket designs for integrated circuit (IC) packages are prone to skiving, which leads to misalignment and performance issues due to the brittleness of liquid crystal polymer (LCP) materials, causing debris and misalignment between the IC package and the socket pins.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating metal protrusions and components into the socket design to strengthen the walls, prevent skiving, and ensure proper alignment by using metal shields that can absorb contact forces, allowing for taller, wider datum walls with sharper chamfer angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If LCP material is used for socket walls, then the socket can be manufactured with standard processes, but the material brittleness causes skiving and misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by combining LCP material with metal protrusions embedded in the socket walls. The LCP provides manufacturability and basic structural properties, while the metal protrusions provide enhanced mechanical strength and alignment features. This composite structure resolves the contradiction by maintaining ease of manufacture through LCP molding while preventing skiving and improving alignment accuracy through the metal reinforcement elements.
2Manufacturing precision
If taller datum walls with sharper chamfer angles are used, then alignment precision is improved, but the LCP material becomes more prone to skiving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by embedding metal protrusions specifically at the datum walls and chamfer regions where mechanical strength is most needed. The metal elements are strategically positioned to reinforce the alignment features without modifying the overall LCP socket structure. This allows taller datum walls with sharper chamfer angles to be implemented for improved alignment precision while the localized metal reinforcement prevents skiving at these critical high-stress areas.
3Volume of moving object
If LCP socket walls are made thinner to reduce size, then device compactness is improved, but the walls become more susceptible to skiving
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials with metal protrusions embedded in the LCP socket walls to enable thinner wall designs. The metal elements provide the necessary structural strength and skiving resistance, allowing the overall socket size and wall thickness to be reduced for more compact device designs. The LCP material maintains electrical insulation and basic structural properties while the metal reinforcement compensates for the reduced wall thickness.
Data Source
AI summary
Protrusions of socket bodies having metal are disclosed. An example apparatus comprises a socket body, the socket body including a plastic material, an array of contacts distributed across a surface of the socket body, and a protrusion extending away from the surface of the socket body, the protrusion to facilitate alignment of an IC package with the array of contacts, the protrusion including metal.