JP2013205191A - Spring probe and manufacturing method of spring probe - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spring probe which can be molded with one metal die and can be used for mount holes having various diameters.SOLUTION: A spring probe 1 comprising a terminal 3, a spring 4 applying an elastic force to the terminal 3 and a sleeve 2 accommodating the terminal 3 and the spring 4. In an end portion of the sleeve 2 at a side opposite to the side where the terminal 3 is accommodated, a plurality of upper contact parts 6 are disposed at approximately equal distances to a center axis of the sleeve 2. Each of the upper contact parts 6 includes a first portion which is molded by being folded from a root of the upper contact part 6 with the sleeve 2 to the inside in a center axis direction, and a second portion molded by being folded from a position away from the root by a predetermined distance to the outside approximately in parallel with the center axis of the sleeve.

Description

  The present invention relates to a spring probe and a method for manufacturing the spring probe.

  Conventionally, semiconductor parts such as ICs and LSIs are subjected to inspection of electrical characteristics at each manufacturing stage such as a stage formed on a wafer or a packaged stage, and a non-defective product and a defective product are selected. . As a device for inspecting such electrical characteristics, a tester and an IC socket having a probe card are generally known.

  The probe card and the IC socket are provided with a plurality of conductive spring probes. The spring probe is interposed between the electrode of the semiconductor component and the electrode of the circuit for inspection, and the electrical characteristics of the semiconductor component are inspected by energizing both electrodes.

  An example of this type of spring probe is shown in FIG. A spring probe 150 shown in FIG. 12 includes a cylindrical sleeve 151, a terminal 152 that is detachably attached to one end of the sleeve 151, and a coil that is housed in the sleeve 151 and biases the terminal 152 in the protruding direction. Shaped spring 153. Then, the terminal 152 is brought into contact with the electrode of the semiconductor component, the other end portion of the sleeve 151 is connected to the electrode of the circuit for inspection, and the terminal 152 is stably pressed against the electrode of the semiconductor component by the biasing force of the spring 153. Thus, the energization state between the electrodes is maintained well.

  However, the conventional spring probe 150 shown in FIG. 12 is manufactured by separately manufacturing each component such as the sleeve 151, the terminal 152, and the spring 153, and manually assembling these components. There were problems such as poor production efficiency and high production costs.

  In the conventional spring probe 150, separate components are in contact with each other to form a conduction path. However, the electrical resistance increases at these contact portions, and the electrical characteristics of the probe as a whole are increased. There were also problems such as being unstable and adversely affecting inspection accuracy.

  Accordingly, a spring probe disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been proposed as a solution to the above-described problems. This spring probe 200 is shown in FIGS. The spring probe 200 uses a progressive die to form a sleeve forming portion 210P, a terminal forming portion 220P, and a spring forming portion 230P as shown in FIG. 13 from a flat substrate having conductivity (hereinafter referred to as a flat substrate). 14 are integrally punched in a coupled state, and subsequently each of the molded portions 210P, 220P, and 230P is subjected to bending, thereby forming a cylindrical sleeve 210, a terminal 220, and a coil shape as shown in FIG. The spring 230 is integrally formed.

  Such an integrated spring probe 200 has advantages that it is possible to shorten manufacturing time, reduce manufacturing cost, decrease electric resistance, stabilize electric characteristics, and the like.

Special table 2010-532908 gazette

  However, in the integrated spring probe 200 disclosed in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 15A, each vertex 232 of the wave-shaped spring molding portion 230P having the arm portion 231 and the vertex 232 is shown in FIG. As shown in b), it is formed into a coil shape by alternately twisting the near side and the far side in the thickness direction. For this reason, the plastic deformation at the vertex 232 is severe, and the expansion and contraction of the spring 230f in use may cause cracks, breakage, etc. exceeding the elastic limit at the arm portion 231f and the vertex 232f, particularly at the vertex 232f. There is a problem.

  Therefore, the present applicant has proposed an integrated spring probe in Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-256565 that solves the above-described problems and improves the durability of the spring.

  9 to 11 show an integrated spring probe 101 according to the above proposal. As shown in FIG. 9, the integrated spring probe 101 is first punched from a conductive flat substrate 110 by a punching process, and extends from the sleeve forming part 120 via a bent boundary part 143. The spring forming portion 130 and the terminal forming portion 140 formed by extending the tip portion of the spring forming portion 130 are formed on the same plane. After that, each molding part 120, 130, 140 is bent in each process, so that the cylindrical sleeve 102 of the integrated spring probe 101 and one end of the sleeve 102 are formed as shown in FIG. A terminal 103 for contacting an object to be inspected and a spring 104 that is built in the sleeve 102 and biases the terminal 103 are integrally formed. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11A, the spring forming portion 130 includes a connecting portion 141 and a substantially U-shaped elastic portion 142 in a continuous manner, and as shown in FIG. The elastic part 142 is apparently wound in a coil shape to form a spring, and is housed in the sleeve 102 in the wound state.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 11A, the spring forming portion 130 is opposed to the connecting portion 141 provided intermittently from the bending boundary portion 143 toward the terminal forming portion 140 and the connecting portion 141. Elastic portions 142 provided so as to connect the end portions to be connected to each other, and the connecting portions 141 and the elastic portions 142 are alternately continued from the bending boundary portion 143 to the terminal forming portion 140. Further, the elastic portion 142 is connected to the mutually opposing end portions of the adjacent connecting portions 141 and 141 at one end portions, and a pair of extending portions 142a and 142a provided substantially parallel to each other, and a pair of extending portions. The mounting portions 142a and 142a are connected to the other end portions of the bending portions 142b, and the extending portions 142a are provided substantially orthogonal to the connecting portions 141.

  Both the integrated spring probe 200 described in Patent Document 1 and the integrated spring probe 101 according to the above proposal are terminals that are urged by the springs 230 and 104 each time the electrical characteristics of the device under test are inspected. Since 220 and 103 are pressed into contact with the electrodes of the object to be inspected, the expansion and contraction of the springs 230 and 104 is repeated. Therefore, metal fatigue occurs in the springs 230 and 104. In particular, in the case of a spring probe integrally formed by pressing from a flat substrate, such as the spring probe 200 described in Patent Document 1 and the spring probe 101 according to the previous proposal, a portion having a large amount of plastic deformation, for example, FIG. Since the elastic limit of the connecting part 141 of 11 (a) and the extended part 142a of the elastic part 142 and the bending part 142b is low, the yield point is reached with the expansion and contraction of the spring 104, and cracks, breaks, etc. occur. there is a possibility.

  Contact probes used in probe cards and IC sockets have a minimum length of 1 to 50 mm, for example, and a cylindrical sleeve diameter of 0.2 to 5 mm, for example.

  However, in the integrated spring probe 200 described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 14, the spring 230 is provided between the shoulder portion of the sleeve 210 and the inner end portion of the terminal 220. Further, in the integrated spring probe 101 according to the applicant's previous proposal, as shown in FIG. 10, the spring 104 is provided between the shoulder portion of the sleeve 102 and the inner end portion of the terminal 3. .

  Therefore, it is not easy to sufficiently secure the expansion / contraction length (elastic deformation amount) required for the spring in the above-described extremely small spring probe. If it is going to secure sufficient expansion / contraction length, the total length of the spring probe must be long, and if the total length of the spring probe is matched to the specification, there is a possibility that sufficient expansion / contraction length against the contact stress of the terminal cannot be obtained. .

  Further, in the integrated spring probe 200 shown in FIG. 14, both ends of the spring 230 are connected to the sleeve 210 and the terminal 220, respectively, and the integrated spring probe 101 shown in FIG. The both ends of the spring 104 are connected to the sleeve 102 and the terminal 103, respectively. Therefore, since the pressing force applied from the terminal when the spring probes 200 and 101 are used concentrates on the connecting portions with the sleeves 210 and 103 or the terminals 220 and 103 at the ends of the springs 230 and 104, the connecting portions are cracked or damaged. There is a problem that is likely to occur. The occurrence rate of this problem is particularly large in a very small spring probe.

  Further, the end opposite to the terminal 103 of the integrated spring probe 101 as shown in FIG. 10 and the terminal 220 of the integrated spring probe 200 as shown in FIG. Used by being fixed to a mounting hole such as an IC socket by soldering. At this time, the diameter of the mounting hole is various, for example, 0.3φ, 0.4φ, 0.5φ, and 0.6φ. In order to deal with such mounting holes of various diameters, it is necessary to prepare different molds and mold the flat substrate, which increases the manufacturing cost.

  Therefore, the present invention improves the durability of the spring, or ensures a sufficient expansion / contraction length for the spring even in a very small size spring probe, or by the pressing force applied from the terminal side during use. One or more of reducing the risk of occurrence of cracks, breakage, etc. in the connection portion with the sleeve or terminal at the end, and being able to accommodate mounting holes having various diameters from one type of shape It is an object of the present invention to provide a spring probe that can be realized and a method of manufacturing the spring probe.

  One aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a spring probe. The spring probe of the present invention is a spring probe having a terminal for contacting an object to be inspected, a spring for applying an elastic force to the terminal, and a sleeve for housing the terminal and the spring. Has a plurality of first contact pieces arranged at substantially equal distances with respect to the central axis of the sleeve, and the first contact piece is a base of the first contact piece with the sleeve. A first part that is bent and molded inward in the direction of the central axis, and a second part that is bent and molded outward from the position that is a predetermined distance away from the base and substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve And.

  Furthermore, the terminal for contacting the object to be inspected has a plurality of second contact pieces arranged at substantially equal distances with respect to the central axis of the sleeve, and the second contact piece is formed of the second contact piece. A third part that is bent and molded inward in the central axis direction from the root of the sleeve, and a third part that is bent outward from the position that is a predetermined distance away from the root and substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve. A fourth portion.

  Here, for example, the first part or the third part has a trapezoidal shape, and the second part or the fourth part has a shape with a sharp tip. Further, the distance between the second part or the fourth part and the central axis is variably set by changing the predetermined distance or the bending angle at the base of the first part or the third part. You can make it.

  The other viewpoint of this invention is a viewpoint as a manufacturing method of a spring probe. A method of manufacturing a spring probe according to the present invention includes: a terminal for contacting an object to be inspected; a spring for applying an elastic force to the terminal; and a spring for manufacturing the spring probe having a terminal and a sleeve for housing the spring. When forming a plurality of first contact pieces arranged at substantially the same distance with respect to the central axis of the sleeve at the end opposite to the side where the first contact piece is accommodated, the root of the first contact piece with the sleeve is formed. A first step of forming the first part by bending inward from the base to the central axis direction, and a second part by bending outward from the position away from the base by a predetermined distance and substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve And a second step of molding.

  Further, when the terminal for contacting the object to be inspected is formed into a form having a plurality of second contact pieces arranged at substantially the same distance from the central axis of the sleeve, the base of the second contact piece with the sleeve is formed. A third step of forming a third part by bending inward in the direction of the central axis from the base, and a fourth part by bending outward from a position a predetermined distance away from the base and substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve And a fourth step of molding.

  Here, according to the distance between the second part or the fourth part and the central axis, the step of appropriately setting the predetermined distance or the bending angle at the base of the first part or the third part Can have.

  According to the present invention, since the interval between a plurality of contact pieces facing each other when the sleeve is attached to the attachment hole can be changed by the jig, the shape of the spring probe at the time of molding the mold is one type but has various diameters. It can be adapted to the mounting hole.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the integrated spring probe which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure seen from the X direction of FIG. 2, and is a figure of a state without a spring. It is a top view of each winding part of the spring used for the integrated spring probe of FIG. It is a figure which shows the state of a board | substrate when the 1st process and the 2nd process in the manufacturing method of the integrated spring probe shown in FIG. 1 are performed sequentially. It is a figure which shows the state of a board | substrate when the 3rd process and 4th process in the manufacturing method of the integrated spring probe shown in FIG. 1 are performed sequentially. It is a figure which shows the state of a board | substrate when the 5th process and the 6th process in the manufacturing method of the integrated spring probe shown in FIG. 1 are performed sequentially. It is a figure which shows an example of the shape of the spring before the bending process in the integrated spring probe shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the shaping | molding method of the upper contact part in the integrated spring probe shown in FIG. It is a top view of the flat board | substrate after the punching process of the integrated spring probe which concerns on the previous proposal of the present applicant. It is a front view which shows the integrated spring probe which concerns on the previous proposal of the present applicant. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the spring probe shown in FIG. 9, where (a) is an enlarged view of the main part showing the shape of the spring molded part before bending, and (b) is an enlarged view of the main part showing the shape after bending. is there. It is a front view which shows an example of the conventional general spring probe. It is a top view of the flat board | substrate after the punching process in the manufacturing process of the conventional integrated spring probe. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in the completed state of the conventional integrated spring probe. It is a perspective view which shows the spring of the conventional integrated spring probe, Comprising: (a) is a principal enlarged view which shows the spring before a bending process, (b) is a principal enlarged view which shows the spring after a bending process. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The integrated spring probe 1 serving as the spring probe according to the embodiment of the present invention has the same basic structure as the integrated spring probe 101 according to the applicant's proposal shown in FIG. The integrated spring probe 1 is used as a plurality of conductive contact probes used in a probe card or an IC socket. This contact probe is interposed between the electrode of the semiconductor component and the electrode of the inspection circuit, and the electrical property of the semiconductor component is inspected by energizing both electrodes.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spring probe 1 is built in a cylindrical sleeve 2, a terminal 3 for contact with an object to be inspected provided at one end of the sleeve 2, and the sleeve 2 and the terminal 3. And a spring 4 that urges the terminal 3 in the protruding direction, and has a structure in which they are integrally formed.

  In this integrated spring probe 1, a part of the spring 4 in the longitudinal direction is accommodated inside the sleeve 2, and the remaining part of the spring 4 in the longitudinal direction is accommodated inside the terminal 3. In this spring probe, it is possible to make it longer than the blank length of the spring.

  Further, as in the example of FIG. 1, the spring 4 has one end in the longitudinal direction inside the end opposite to the terminal 3 of the sleeve 2, that is, an upper contact portion 6 described later on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 2. The protrusion 7 provided in the vicinity prevents the upward movement in FIG. 1, and the other longitudinal end of the spring 4 is inside the tip of the terminal 3, that is, the lower contact described later on the inner peripheral surface of the terminal 3. The protrusion 9 provided in the vicinity of the portion 8 is prevented from moving downward in FIG.

  In order to make the blank length the longest, as shown in the example of FIG. 1, one end in the longitudinal direction of the spring 4 is inside the end opposite to the terminal 3 of the sleeve 2, that is, near the upper contact portion 6 described later. The other end in the longitudinal direction of the spring 4 is preferably positioned inside the tip of the terminal 3, that is, near the lower contact portion 8 described later.

  The spring probe 1 is attached to an inspection device such as a tester equipped with a probe card or an IC socket, for example, to bring the terminal 3 into contact with an electrode such as a semiconductor component, and to the other end of the sleeve 2 (an upper contact portion described later). 6) is connected to the electrodes of the circuit for inspection, and the terminal 3 is stably pressed against the electrodes of the semiconductor component by the bias of the spring 4, so that the energized state between the electrodes is maintained. The spring probe 1 has a minimum size, for example, a total length of 1 to 50 mm, and a diameter of the sleeve 2 of 0.2 to 5 mm, for example. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, each winding portion of the spring 4 is wound around about three times (in this embodiment, 2.75 times).

  Next, a method for manufacturing the spring probe 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this manufacturing method, an automatic assembly method using a progressive die is employed. For example, a thin belt-like substrate 10 made of Be-Cu or Be-Ni having high hardness and excellent conductivity is conveyed in the longitudinal direction. However, it is possible to manufacture a large number of spring probes 1 continuously by sequentially executing each process on the flat substrate 10.

[First step]
4 to 6 show the state of the substrate 10 when the respective steps are sequentially performed. First, in the first step, the substrate 10 is punched to form a substantially rectangular sleeve forming portion 20, a terminal forming portion 30 located on the opposite side of the sleeve forming portion 20, and the short side of the sleeve forming portion 20. Spring forming portions 40 extending from the center of one end portion in the direction through the bent boundary portion 11 are formed on the same plane. The terminal forming portion 30 is formed by expanding the tip portion of the spring forming portion 40, but may be formed so as to be reduced. The portions other than the molding portions 20, 30, 40 of the substrate 10 and the molding portions 20, 30, 40 are short of the connection portion 12 extended from the tip portion of the terminal molding portion 30 and the sleeve molding portion 20. It is in the state connected by the connection part 13 extended from the other end part of a hand direction. In addition, in the case where stability cannot be maintained with these connection parts 12 and 13, the number of connection parts may be increased separately.

  The sleeve forming portion 20 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and a total of four upper contact portions 6 projecting in the direction of the spring forming portion 40 are provided at the end on the spring forming portion 40 side. Further, a spring fixing projection 7 described later is provided at a position close to the left (or right) pair of upper contact portions 6.

  Further, the terminal molding part 30 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and a pair of lower contact parts 8 are provided at the end on the spring molding part 40 side. Further, a spring fixing projection 9 to be described later is provided at a position close to the right (or left) lower contact portion 8. The protrusion 7 provided on the sleeve forming portion 20 and the protrusion 9 provided on the terminal forming portion 30 are provided so as to be opposite to each other on the left and right.

  The spring forming portion 40 includes a plurality of connecting portions 41 provided intermittently from the bending boundary portion 11 toward the terminal forming portion 30 to the bending boundary portion 14, and ends of the connecting portions 41 facing each other. And a substantially V-shaped elastic portion 42 for connecting the two. As shown in FIG. 4, each V-shaped elastic portion 42 is connected so that one end portion thereof is connected to the end portion of the connecting portions 41 and 41 facing each other, and is inclined so as to approach each other toward the other end portion. A pair of extending portions 42a, 42a and a bent portion 42b for connecting the other ends of the pair of extending portions 42a, 42a. In addition, each V-shaped elastic portion 42 has one V-shaped elastic portion 42 adjacent to the connecting portion 41 positioned on one side and the other adjacent to the one V-shaped elastic portion 42. The V-shaped elastic portions 42 are alternately provided so as to be positioned on the other side.

  That is, the spring forming portion 40 is formed in a waveform in which the connecting portion 41 and the V-shaped elastic portion 42 are alternately continued from the bending boundary portion 11 to the bending boundary portion 14. The width W1 between the bent portions 42b and 42b is larger than the width W2 of the sleeve molded portion 20, and the width W2 of the sleeve molded portion 20 is larger than the width W3 of the terminal molded portion 30. Further, the protruding length L of the elastic portion 42 from the connecting portion 41 is larger than the inner diameter R (see FIG. 1) of the sleeve 2. As described above, the relationship between the widths W1, W2, and W3 is preferably W1> W2> W3, but may be other relationships such as W1> W3> W2.

  Gold plating is performed in this first step. That is, the plating adhesion is improved by performing plating before the bending process in the second step. In addition, it is preferable to perform plating before the bending process in the second step is performed, but after the second step, after the third step, after another step such as after the sixth step, and the like. You may carry out in the process of.

[Second step]
Subsequently, in the second step, each elastic portion 42 of the spring forming portion 40 is bent. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the elastic portion 42 is wound spirally from the bent portion 42 b toward the connecting portion 41 so that the distal end portion (bent portion 42 b) is located at the center. Further, at this time, one of the upper V-shaped elastic portion 42 and the V-shaped elastic portion 42 just below the upper V-shaped elastic portion 42 is wound in the clockwise direction and the other is wound in the counterclockwise direction. That is, the winding direction is alternately changed. Further, the axial center of the spiral elastic portion 42 is substantially aligned with each other, and further the axial center of the spiral elastic portion 42 and the bending center of the connecting portion 41 are approximately aligned with each other. Bend to the root. As a result, an apparently coiled spring 4 is formed.

[Third step]
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, in the third step, the connecting portion 12 that connects the substrate 10 and the terminal molding portion 30 is cut, and the terminal molding portion 30 is bent at the bending boundary portion 14 to be bent. A part of the spring 4 in the longitudinal direction is covered with the terminal molding part 30.

[Fourth step]
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, in the fourth step, the terminal molding portion 30 is bent, and the terminal molding portion 30 is rounded into a cylindrical shape to form the terminal 3. At this time, the spring-fixing protrusion 7 located on the inner peripheral side of the terminal 3 contacts at the base position of the first extending portion 42 a of the elastic portion 42 closest to the terminal 3 side end of the spring 4. Or close.

[Fifth step]
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, in the fifth step, the spring 4 is bent toward the front side at the bending boundary portion 11 between the sleeve forming portion 20 and the spring forming portion 40. The bending is performed such that the central axis of the spring 4 is along the longitudinal center line of the sleeve forming portion 20. As a result, the sleeve forming portion 20 and the spring 4 are overlapped.

[Sixth step]
Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, in the sixth step, the sleeve forming portion 20 is bent to round the sleeve forming portion 20 into a cylindrical shape, thereby forming the cylindrical sleeve 2 and the sleeve. 2 wraps the base part of the terminal 3 and the remaining part of the spring 4 in the longitudinal direction. In this case, the spring fixing protrusion 7 positioned on the inner peripheral side of the sleeve 2 is in contact with the spring 4 at the root position of the first extending portion 42 a of the elastic portion 42 closest to the sleeve side end of the spring 4 or Bring them close together and fix the spring 4. Thereafter, the connecting portion 13 connecting the substrate 10 and the sleeve forming portion 20 is cut to obtain a component having the same shape as that of the completed integrated spring probe 1 (see the drawing on the right side of FIG. 6).

[Seventh step]
And although not shown in figure, in a 7th process, hardening and tempering are performed and hardness and tenacity are given to the whole product including the spring 4. FIG. By sequentially executing the above steps on the substrate 10 to be conveyed, the integrated spring probe 1 in which the sleeve 2, the terminal 3, and the spring 4 of FIG. 1 are integrally formed is continuously manufactured. In addition, although the number of processes is shown as the first to seventh processes, each process is divided into several processes, and thus actually has 20 to 30 processes.

  Thus, since the spring probe 1 is manufactured by integrally forming the sleeve 2, the terminal 3, and the spring 4 as the component parts by punching or bending the substrate 10, the conventional manual operation is performed. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the need for assembling parts, increase the manufacturing efficiency, and reduce the manufacturing cost. Moreover, since the sleeve 2, the terminal 3, and the spring 4 which are the respective components are integrally connected to constitute a conductive path, the electrical resistance can be suppressed to be small, and the electrical characteristics can be stabilized. The accuracy can be improved.

  Further, since the elastic portion 42 of the spring 4 is wound, that is, only a small plastic deformation is uniformly generated over the entire length of the elastic portion 42, there is no portion where the plastic deformation such as torsion is severe, It has excellent durability with few cracks and breaks, thereby extending the product life.

  Further, the length L of the elastic portion 42 is made longer than the inner diameter R of the cylindrical sleeve 2, and as a result, the protruding length, ie, the length L, is increased with respect to the contraction width L 1 of the elastic portion 42. Therefore, damage at the time of contraction of the spring 4 can be suppressed, and the product life can be extended. Further, since the elastic portion 42 is spirally wound and positioned on the same surface side of the connecting portion 41 so that the axial centers of the elastic portions 42 that are spiraled are substantially coincident with each other, the length of the elastic portion 42 The spring 4 can be comfortably provided in the sleeve 2 having a small diameter while keeping the length long.

  Furthermore, since the elastic part 42 is V-shaped and the distance between the adjacent elastic parts 42 increases as the distance from the connecting part 41 increases, the adjacent elastic parts 42 and 42 interfere with each other when the spring contracts. As a result, the spring 4 can be contracted smoothly. In addition, since a sufficient space is provided between the elastic portions 42 and 42, even if an error occurs during processing such as punching or bending, the interference between the elastic portions 42 and 42 can be prevented. Inexpensive equipment can be used, the number of defective products can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Further, if a device with high processing accuracy is used, a smaller spring probe can be manufactured with a high yield.

  In addition, since the elastic portions 42 are provided alternately, the terminals 3 can be evenly biased, and the inspection accuracy can be improved.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the sleeve forming portion 20 is provided with a protrusion 7 at a position close to the spring forming portion 40, and the terminal forming portion 30 is protruded at a position close to the spring forming portion 40. 9 is provided. The protrusions 7 and 9 are formed by projecting on one surface by pushing in one surface. That is, one surface side (surface side that becomes an outer surface when completed) is a concave portion, and the other surface side (surface side that becomes an inner surface when completed) is a convex portion. These protrusions 7 and 9 are folded back so that the sleeve forming portion 20 and the terminal forming portion 30 cover the spring 4, and then, when bent, the protrusions 7 and 9 become the sleeves of the spring 4, respectively. It is provided at a position that abuts or is close to the root position of the extended portion 42a at the end portion on the molding portion 20 side and the root position of the extension portion 42a at the end portion on the terminal molding portion 30 side of the spring 4, respectively.

  As a result, the spring 4 contracted when the terminal 3 of the completed integral spring probe 1 is pressed against the object to be inspected is the base position of the extended portion 42a and the terminal at the end of the sleeve forming portion 20 side. Since the protrusions 25 and 34 are in contact with and supported at the root position of the extended portion 42 a at the end portion on the side of the molding portion 30, the right-angled connecting portion 41 that connects both longitudinal ends of the spring 4 to the sleeve 2 and the terminal 3. And it is prevented that the strong elastic restoring force of the spring 4 is added to the bending boundary parts 11 and 14 connected to it. Therefore, cracks and breakage are less likely to occur at the connection portion of the spring 4 with the sleeve 2 and the terminal 3.

  Further, since the spring 4 is supported by the protrusion 9 provided on the inner peripheral side of the terminal 3 at the base position of the extending portion 42 a at the end portion on the terminal molding portion 30 side, a lateral biasing force is generated in the spring 4. Let The urging force ensures that the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 3 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 2. Therefore, since the electrical resistance of the contact surface between the terminal 3 and the sleeve 2 is reduced, the integrated spring probe 1 with high inspection reliability can be provided. The low contact resistance between the terminal 3 and the sleeve 2 is effective when the inspection object generates high frequency.

  In order to increase the electrical conductivity between the terminal 3 and the sleeve 2 of the spring probe 1, it is effective to apply gold plating to the contact area when the outer peripheral surface of the terminal 3 and the spring 4 on the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 2 expand and contract. It is. If this gold plating treatment is performed after the first step of FIG. 4, that is, before the bending step of the spring forming portion 40, the object to be plated can be easily handled, and the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the terminals 3 and the sleeve 2. This is preferable because the plating process on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces is reliably performed. In the case where the plating treatment on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the terminal 3 and the sleeve 2 is regarded as important and the gold plating on the spring 4 is not regarded as important, the bending of the spring 4 is performed after each bending. Plating may be performed before processing, that is, between the third and fourth steps or between the fourth and fifth steps.

  Next, the detailed structure of the spring 4 of the integrated spring probe 1 and its merit will be described. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the spring forming portion 40 before bending the flat substrate 10 for the integrated spring probe 1. The spring forming portion 40 has a preferable shape for improving the durability of the spring 4. That is, as described above, the spring forming portion 40 includes a plurality of connecting portions 41 and a plurality of elastic portions 42. The connecting portion 41 is intermittently provided on a common straight line, the elastic portion 42 is formed in a substantially V shape, and is connected by the connecting portion 41 so that the end portions facing each other are continuous, and the connecting portion 41 and the elastic portion 42 exists alternately, and the whole spring formation part 40 is formed in the continuous waveform. The elastic part 42 may be substantially U-shaped as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11A shows an example in which four elastic portions 42 are provided on each of the left and right sides, a total of eight, whereas the spring 4 according to this embodiment has three elastic portions 42 on the left and right sides, a total of six. In this example, the number of elastic portions 42 can be set as appropriate according to the amount of expansion and contraction required for the spring.

  In the integrated spring probe 1, the contact pressure received by the terminal 3 during use is applied to the spring 4 to expand and contract the spring 4. At that time, stress is applied to the bent portion or the bent portion of the elastic portion 42 of the spring 4 or the bent portion connecting the connecting portion 41 and the elastic portion 42. When this stressed portion is forced to undergo deformation exceeding the elastic limit, cracks, breakage, etc. are likely to occur. The elastic limit is considered to depend on the hardness of the raw material of the spring probe and the shape of the spring.

  Therefore, an endurance test was conducted in the case where the spring probe was made of Be-Cu and Be-Ni and each spring had various diameters (Φ) and lengths (l). Table 1 shows the diameter (Φ) and length (l) of the spring in each durability test, the ratio (R) of the spring movable length (S) to the spring blank length (M), and the durability test results. It is as follows. Note that the blank length is the total length of the portion that becomes the spring 4 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7, and is the total length that connects the centers of the member portions of the spring 4.

From the above durability test results, it was found that the following numerical value R affects the life.
R = Spring movable length (S) / Spring blank length (M)
And when R is 4% or less, it will become a preferable thing which can endure 300,000 times or more of endurance tests. When R is 2% or more, the number of windings of the spring 4 does not increase excessively, and the diameter of the sleeve 2 does not increase excessively, which is preferable. When R is more than 4%, the stroke of the spring probe for bringing the terminal into contact with or away from the electrode of the object to be inspected is too large with respect to the blank length, and the possibility that the expansion and contraction of the spring exceeds the elastic limit increases. Therefore, since durability is lowered, it is not possible to endure 300,000 times of durability tests. However, depending on the method of quenching and tempering to give hardness and tenacity to the spring 4, even if it is slightly over 4%, it may endure 300,000 endurance tests. The permissible range is 4.49%. If R is less than 2%, the number of windings of the spring 4 is too large, and the diameter of the sleeve 2 is too large. Depending on the difference, etc., even if it is less than 2%, if the value is close to 2%, it may be adopted, and 1.50%, which is rounded off to 2%, is also acceptable.

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which the shape of the elastic part 42 of the spring 4 is substantially V-shaped, and FIG. 11 shows an example in which the shape of the elastic part 142 of the spring 140 is substantially U-shaped. The endurance test results at various ratios of the movable length (S) and the spring blank length (M) at various diameters (Φ) and lengths (l) were substantially the same as those in Table 1.

  Next, a method for forming the upper contact portion 6 as a contact piece will be described with reference to FIG. 8 shows only the main part of the sleeve forming part 20 having the upper contact part 6 shown in FIG. 4, and the lower part of FIG. 8 shows the sleeve 2 shown in FIG. The upper contact part 6 and its vicinity are extracted and illustrated. By processing what is shown in the upper part of FIG. 8, it is formed into that shown in the lower part of FIG. In addition, although the upper contact part 6a and the upper contact part 6b which are shown in FIG. 8 are parts shape | molded as the upper contact part in the blank punched out by the same metal mold | die, the 1st part 51a and 2nd which are mentioned later The boundary position between the portion 52a and the boundary position between the first member 51b and the second member 52b are different. That is, since the upper contact portions 6a and 6b are punched with the same mold, the planar shape is the same, but thereafter the tip shape is different depending on different jigs.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of contact pieces arranged at substantially the same distance with respect to the central axis C of the sleeve 2 at the end of the sleeve 2 shown in FIG. As upper contact portions 6a and 6b. The upper contact portions 6a and 6b are bent from the root 50 of the upper contact portions 6a and 6b to the sleeve 2 inward in the direction of the central axis C. And second portions 52a and 52b which are bent and molded outwardly from the position separated from each other and substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve 2.

  For example, in the figure on the left side of FIG. 8, the first portion 51a is a position away from the base 50 by a distance LS1, and the second portion 52a is a position further away from the upper end of the first portion 51a by a distance LS2. . On the other hand, in the diagram on the right side of FIG. 8, the first portion 51b is from the base 50 to a position separated by the distance LS4, and the second portion 52b is from the upper end of the first portion 51b to a position further separated by the distance LS5. is there. Here, LS1 <LS4, LS5 <LS2.

  According to this, as shown in the lower part of the left side of FIG. 8, the distance LS3 between the outer sides of the two upper contact parts 6a, 6a facing each other, and the two upper parts facing each other as shown in the lower part of the right side of FIG. The distance LS6 between the outsides of the contact portions 6b and 6b is LS6 <LS3. That is, the distance between the second portions 52a and 52b and the central axis C is variably set by changing a predetermined distance from the base 50 to the second portions 52a and 52b to a distance LS1 or LS4 or the like. Is done.

  The upper contact portion 6 is inserted into a hole having a predetermined diameter provided in, for example, a probe card or an IC socket, and is fixed by soldering or the like. As a result, the integrated spring probe 1 can be fixed to the probe card or IC socket by soldering or the like. Here, there are various types of diameters of holes provided in a probe card or an IC socket, such as 0.3φ, 0.4φ, 0.5φ, and 0.6φ. Therefore, when the probe card or the IC socket is changed and the diameter of the hole of the probe card or the IC socket is changed, the predetermined distance between the base 50 and the second parts 52a and 52b is changed. The distance between the outer sides of the upper contact portions 6a, 6a and the upper contact portions 6b, 6b facing each other can be adjusted to the diameter of the hole. For example, if a predetermined distance between the root 50 and the second portion 52a is a distance LS1, it can correspond to a hole having a diameter LS3, and a predetermined distance between the root 50 and the second portion 52b. If the distance is the distance LS4, it can correspond to a hole having a diameter of LS6 (<LS3). If the other side is not a hole but a protrusion, the inner diameter of the upper contact portions 6a and 6a (or the upper contact portions 6b and 6b) may be set in accordance with the outer diameter of the protrusion.

  Next, a method for manufacturing such an integrated spring probe 1 will be described. Upper contact portions 6a and 6b serving as contact pieces are formed at the end of the sleeve 2 opposite to the side where the terminals 3 are accommodated, at a distance substantially equal to the central axis C of the sleeve 2. At this time, a first step of forming the first portions 51a and 51b by bending the base portions 50a and 6b of the upper contact portions 6a and 6b from the base 50 to the inner side in the direction of the central axis C, and a predetermined distance away from the base 50. A second step of forming the second portions 52a and 52b by bending outward from the above position so as to be substantially parallel to the central axis C of the sleeve 2. At this time, there is a step of appropriately setting a predetermined distance from the root 50 according to the distance between the second portions 52a and 52b and the central axis C. The processing of these two steps may be performed in two steps, but these two steps may be performed at a time. As an example of performing two steps at a time, the base 50, the first portions 51a and 51b, and the second portions 52a and 52b are formed on the portion where the upper contact portions 6a and 6b of the sleeve forming portion 20 are formed. A method of using a jig that bends the boundary at a predetermined position may be employed.

  Thus, according to the integrated spring probe 1, since it has the 1st part 51a, 51b and the 2nd part 52a, 52b, by changing suitably the combination of these dimensions, The distance between the upper contact portions 6a and 6a facing each other in the sleeve 2 and the distance between the upper contact portions 6b and 6b can be appropriately changed. Specifically, the distance between the second parts 52a and 52b and the central axis C is variably set by changing a predetermined distance from the base 50 to the second parts 52a and 52b. According to this, it is sufficient to prepare only one type of die used for punching the integrated spring probe 1 from the flat substrate 10, and a jig is used for the sleeve forming portion 20 punched by the die. What is necessary is just to bend the boundary of the base 50, 1st part 51a, 51b, and 2nd part 52a, 52b in a predetermined position. As a result, the cost required to manufacture the mold can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the integrated spring probe 1 can be kept low.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can be variously changed unless the summary is changed. For example, the terminal 3 is provided outside the sleeve 2, the number of the upper contact portions 6 is not four, the number is three, eight or other numbers, and the number of the lower contact portions 8 is divided into three. It is possible to adopt only one or other numbers.

  In the above-described embodiment, one protrusion 7 is provided, but one of the protrusions 7 and 9 may be omitted. Moreover, you may make a total of four each two. Moreover, the structure which provides both or one of the protrusions 7 and 9 can be applied to a well-known spring probe which is not an integral type, or an integral type spring probe described in Patent Document 1 or the previous proposal. Moreover, although the shape of the protrusions 7 and 9 has a structure in which one surface side is pressed to form a concave portion and a convex portion is formed on the opposite surface, the convex portion is attached to the substrate 10 by adhesion or the like. You may do it.

  In the above-described embodiment, the protrusion 7 and the protrusion 9 are provided at positions that are approximately 180 degrees symmetrical when viewed from the axial direction, and the contact force between the terminal and the spring 2 is increased. May be another arrangement relationship such as 120 degrees apart from the axis direction and 160 degrees away from the axis direction. Further, the positions of the protrusions 7 and 9 are preferably positions that are in contact with or close to the root portion of the elastic portion 42, but may be disposed at positions close to the bent portion 42b.

  The value of R = S / M is preferably 4% or less, but may be 6% or less depending on the use of the integrated spring probe. The value of R is preferably 2% or more, but may be 1% or more when priority is given to long life. The elastic portion is preferably substantially U-shaped or substantially V-shaped, but may be an elastic portion having another shape. Furthermore, it is preferable that the substantially U-shaped or substantially V-shaped elastic portion is wound on the sleeve 2 or the terminal 3, but it is not wound but has a conventional shape. Also good.

  Also, the tip of the bent portion 42b, which is the tip of the elastic portion 42, is a flat surface, and the axis is easily aligned with the other elastic portion 42. However, like the elastic portion 142, the tip is curved. Also good. The elastic portion 42 is wound 2.75 times. However, in consideration of durability and ease of manufacture, the elastic portion 42 may be wound in a spiral shape in a range of 2 to 3 times. Furthermore, if only the durability is taken into consideration, it may be wound three or more times. Further, when the protrusions 7 and 9 are provided on the inner surfaces of the sleeve 2 and the terminal 3 and are brought into contact with the elastic portions 42 at both ends of the spring 4, the blank length (M) is the length from end to end of the spring 4. Instead, the ratio (R) may be calculated as the blank length between the two protrusions 7 and 9.

  Moreover, the elastic part 42 is good also as only one piece instead of two or more. Moreover, although the demerit that the outer diameter of a sleeve becomes large comes out, you may make it wind the elastic part 42 on the mutually different surface side of the connection part 41. FIG. In this case, the connecting portion 42 may not be provided. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the elastic portions 42 may not be alternately arranged on the left and right, but may be arranged only on the left or right side, or the extending direction may be extended only to either the left or right. .

  Further, the upper contact portions 6, 6a, 6b are formed in two parts, ie, a trapezoidal base side and a tip side where a right-angled quadrangle and a triangle are joined. May be an elongated right-angled square.

  Further, according to the method described with reference to FIG. 8, the distances LS3 and LS6 can be changed without changing the overall length of the integrated spring probe 1. However, even if the overall length of the integrated spring probe 1 changes slightly. If allowed, when forming the first portions 51a and 51b, the distances LS3 and LS6 may be changed by changing the bending angle at the base 50 between the sleeves 2 of the first portions 51a and 51b. For example, in the figure shown in the lower part of FIG. 8, the first portions 51a and 51b and the second portions 52a and 52b are left as they are, and the first portions 51a and 51b are moved further from the root 50 (on the center axis C). (Direction), the distances LS3 and LS6 are further narrowed. At this time, since the first parts 51a and 51b are bent further inwardly (in the direction of the central axis C) from the base 50, the second parts 52a and 52b are also inclined inwardly. You may bend | fold outward so that 52b may become parallel to the central axis C. Alternatively, when the first portions 51a and 51b are formed, the bending angle at the base is changed, and as described with reference to FIG. 8, the first portions 51a and 51b and the second portions 52a and 52b The distances LS3 and LS6 shown in FIG. 8 may be changed by appropriately changing the dimensions.

  Moreover, although the lower contact part 8 shown in FIG. 1 is a cone shape, the shape of the lower contact part 8 can also be made into the same shape as the shape of the upper contact part 6 of FIG. In this case, by changing the diameter of the lower contact portion 8 as described with reference to FIG. 8, specifications such as the diameter of the insertion hole of the lower contact portion 8 opened on the inspected object side are variously changed. Such a case can be dealt with by using the same punched blank. That is, for the lower contact portion 8 as well, a third portion corresponding to the first portions 51a and 51b of the upper contact portion 6 (not shown: the base portion of the lower contact portion 8 with the sleeve 2 in the direction of the central axis C (inside ) And a fourth portion corresponding to the second portions 52a and 52b of the upper contact portion 6 (not shown: center axis of the sleeve 2 from a position away from the root by a predetermined distance). The portion between the fourth portion and the central axis C (corresponding to the distances LS3 and LS6 in the upper contact portion 6) is the third portion. This is variably set by changing the distance from the base of the part 2 to the position where the fourth part starts or the bending angle of the third part at the base.

1 Integrated spring probe (spring probe)
2 Sleeve 3 Terminal 6 Upper contact part (first contact piece)
8 Lower contact part (second contact piece)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Board | substrate 20 Sleeve shaping | molding part 30 Terminal shaping | molding part 40 Spring shaping | molding part 41 Connection part 42 Elastic part 42a Extension part 42b Bending part or curved part 50 Base 51a, 51b 1st part (3rd part)
52a, 52b Second part (fourth part)

Claims (7)

In a spring probe having a terminal for contacting an object to be inspected, a spring for applying an elastic force to the terminal, and a sleeve for housing the terminal and the spring,
A plurality of first contact pieces arranged at substantially equal distances with respect to the central axis of the sleeve at the end of the sleeve opposite to the side in which the terminal is accommodated;
The first contact piece is a first portion that is bent and molded inward in the central axis direction from a root of the first contact piece with the sleeve;
A second portion formed by being bent outward from a position away from the base by a predetermined distance and being substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve;
Having
A spring probe characterized by that. The spring probe according to claim 1, wherein
The terminal for contacting the object to be inspected has a plurality of second contact pieces arranged at a substantially equal distance with respect to the central axis of the sleeve, and the second contact piece is the second contact piece. A third portion formed by bending inward from the base of the sleeve with the sleeve in the direction of the central axis; and bending outward from a position a predetermined distance away from the base to be substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve. A fourth part molded and molded,
A spring probe characterized by that. The spring probe according to claim 1 or 2,
The spring probe according to claim 1, wherein the first part or the third part has a trapezoidal shape, and the second part or the fourth part has a sharpened tip. The spring probe according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The distance between the second part or the fourth part and the central axis is variable by changing the bending distance at the base of the predetermined distance or the first part or the third part. Set to
A spring probe characterized by that. In a method of manufacturing a spring probe having a terminal for contacting an object to be inspected, a spring for imparting an elastic force to the terminal, and a sleeve for housing the terminal and the spring,
When forming a plurality of first contact pieces arranged at a distance substantially equal to the central axis of the sleeve at the end of the sleeve opposite to the side where the terminal is accommodated,
A first step of forming a first portion by bending inward from the base of the first contact piece with the sleeve in the central axis direction;
A second step of forming a second portion by bending outward from a position away from the base by a predetermined distance and being substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve;
Having
A method of manufacturing a spring probe. In the manufacturing method of the spring probe according to claim 5,
In forming the terminal for contacting the object to be tested into a form having a plurality of second contact pieces arranged at substantially equal distances from the central axis of the sleeve, the sleeve of the second contact piece and A third step of forming the third portion by bending inward from the base of the sleeve to the central axis direction, and bending outward from a position a predetermined distance away from the base to an outer side substantially parallel to the central axis of the sleeve. A fourth step of molding the four parts,
A method of manufacturing a spring probe. In the manufacturing method of the spring probe according to claim 5 or 6,
According to the distance between the second part or the fourth part and the central axis, the predetermined distance or the bending angle at the base of the first part or the third part is appropriately set. Having steps,
A method of manufacturing a spring probe.

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