JP4432258B2 - Contact probe - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a contact probe.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, for example, a contact probe 100 as shown in FIG. 5 is known as a contact probe used when measuring various electrical characteristics of an electronic component such as an LSI chip formed on a wafer. The contact probe 100 has an opening 116 at one end and a barrel 110 having a tube-shaped sliding hole 111 closed at the other end, and is slidable toward the opening 116 in the sliding hole 111 of the barrel 110. The plunger 130 is disposed, and the plunger 130 protrudes from the opening 116 in the direction in which the measurement end 135 protrudes from the opening 116. And a coil spring 140 for energizing. At the opening portion of the sliding hole 111 of the barrel 110, a plunger detachment preventing locking portion 114 is formed. The plunger detachment preventing locking portion 114 is formed by drawing and caulking the opening portion of the sliding hole 111.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the opening portion of the sliding hole 111 is drawn and caulked, the caulking force acts in the direction of decreasing the hole diameter d on the opening side of the sliding hole 111. Therefore, the hole diameter d on the opening side of the sliding hole 111 becomes small, and the plunger 130 is caught at this portion, and there arises a problem that the sliding property of the plunger 130 is deteriorated.
[0004]
Further, when the contact probes 100 are mass-produced, the hole diameter d on the opening side of the sliding hole 111 becomes equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the plunger 130 depending on variations in the amount of squeezing of each contact probe 100 that is mass-produced. As shown in FIG. 5, there is a possibility that the contact probe 100 is finished in a state where the plunger 130 main body cannot reach the plunger detachment preventing locking portion 114. For this reason, there also exists a problem that the dispersion | variation in the length L of a product becomes large.
[0005]
As this type of contact probe, one described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-72932 is known, but this contact probe also has the above-mentioned problems.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a contact probe in which the plunger is excellent in slidability and the product dimensions are stable.
[0007]
[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a contact probe according to the present invention comprises:
(A) a barrel having a tube-shaped sliding hole provided with an opening at one end and closed at the other end;
(B) a plunger that is slidably arranged on the opening side in the sliding hole of the barrel and has a measurement end protruding from the opening;
(C) a spring member that is arranged on the closed side in the sliding hole of the barrel and biases the plunger in a direction in which the measurement end of the plunger protrudes from the opening;
(D) A relief hole portion having a hole diameter larger than the slide hole is provided at the opening portion of the slide hole of the barrel, and a latch portion for preventing the plunger from being removed is provided in the relief hole portion ,
(E) The thickness of the locking part for preventing plunger detachment and the thickness of the escape hole part are each thinner than the thickness of the sliding hole,
(F) The plunger is not in contact with the joint portion between the plunger detachment preventing locking portion and the escape hole portion,
It is characterized by. Here, “the other end is closed” means that it has a shape capable of holding the spring member disposed on the closed side in the sliding hole of the barrel.
[0008]
With the above configuration, the clearance hole portion larger than the diameter of the sliding hole is formed in the opening portion of the sliding hole, so that the locking portion for preventing plunger detachment is formed by squeezing the opening portion of the sliding hole. The strain stress generated at the time is absorbed by the relief hole. Therefore, the hole diameter of the sliding hole does not become equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the plunger as a whole, and the plunger slides smoothly in the sliding hole.
[0009]
Further, the thickness of the wall thickness and the relief hole of preventing locking portion plunger omission is thinner than the thickness of the sliding hole, respectively, the processing at the time of forming by caulking squeezing preventing locking portion plunger omission sex is that, well.
[0010]
Further, since the plunger is not in contact with the joint portion between the plunger detachment preventing locking portion and the escape hole portion , the slidability in the sliding hole of the plunger is further improved.
[0011]
Further, since the plunger detachment preventing locking portion is provided substantially perpendicular to the plunger sliding direction, the plunger reliably contacts and locks the plunger detachment preventing locking portion. This further stabilizes the product dimensions of each mass produced contact probe.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of a contact probe according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each embodiment, the same parts and the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.
[0013]
[First Embodiment, FIGS. 1 and 2]
FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an embodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention before assembly completion. FIG. 2 shows a vertical sectional view of the contact probe after assembly of FIG.
[0014]
The contact probe 1 includes a barrel 10, a coil spring 40, and a plunger 30. The plunger 30 is electrically contact-connected to the contacted portion of the object to be measured at the center of the end surface of a cylindrical sliding portion 31 slidable in a tube-shaped sliding hole 11 of the barrel 10 described later. A rod-shaped measuring end 35 is formed. The plunger 30 is made of a metal material having electrical conductivity.
[0015]
The coil spring 40 is contracted between a plunger 30 disposed in a slide hole 11 of the barrel 10 described later and a closing portion 13 in the slide hole 11. The coil spring 40 constantly urges the plunger 30 in a direction in which the measurement end portion 35 of the plunger 30 protrudes outward from the opening 16 (see FIG. 2) formed in the barrel 10. The coil spring 40 is preferably made of a metal material having electrical conductivity.
[0016]
The barrel 10 is made of a metal material having extensibility and electrical conductivity, and has a tube-shaped sliding hole 11 formed by press molding and a hole diameter D larger than the hole diameter d of the sliding hole 11 on the opening side of the sliding hole 11. A counterbore 21 having a counterbore is formed. The side opposite to the opening side of the sliding hole 11 is closed by a closing portion 13. The depth a of the counterbore 21 is the length b (see FIG. 2) of the escape hole 20 formed by drawing the counterbore 21 of the barrel 10 and sliding the plunger 30. It is set to be shorter than the length dimension c in the sliding direction of the portion 31. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the depth dimension a of the counterbore part 21 is set to be approximately half the length dimension c of the sliding part 31.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, the contact probe 1 accommodates the coil spring 40 and the plunger 30 from the opening of the sliding hole 11 of the barrel 10 into the sliding hole 11, and then substantially half of the counterbore hole 21 on the open side. Is obtained by squeezing and forming a relief hole portion 20, a plunger detachment preventing locking portion 14, and an opening 16, as shown in FIG.
[0018]
In the first embodiment, the thickness of the relief hole 20 and the thickness of the plunger removal prevention locking portion 14 are set to substantially the same thickness. The wall thickness is set to be smaller than the wall thickness of each sliding hole 11. Thereby, the workability at the time of drawing and crimping the barrel 10 is improved. The plunger detachment preventing locking portion 14 is formed perpendicular to the sliding direction of the plunger 30. In addition, since the hole diameter D of the escape hole 20 is larger than the hole diameter d of the sliding hole 11, the joint portion 19 between the plunger removal prevention locking portion 14 and the escape hole 20 is in a non-contact position with the plunger 30. Is formed.
[0019]
The hole diameter of the opening 16 is set larger than the cross-sectional diameter of the measurement end portion 35 of the plunger 30. This is to prevent the measurement end 35 from coming into contact with the opening 16 when the plunger 30 slides in the sliding hole 11.
[0020]
Next, the operation of the contact probe 1 will be described. At the time of non-measurement, the plunger 30 is urged by the spring force of the coil spring 40 and presses the end surface of the sliding portion 31 of the plunger 30 against the plunger detachment preventing locking portion 14. At the time of measurement, the distal end portion of the measurement end portion 35 of the plunger 30 abuts on the contact portion of the object to be measured, the sliding portion 31 of the plunger 30 is guided to the sliding hole 11, and the sliding portion 31 of the plunger 30. Moves in the sliding hole 11 toward the coil spring 40 by a desired amount, and compresses the coil spring 40. By the repulsive force of the compressed coil spring 40, the distal end portion of the measurement end portion 35 of the plunger 30 is electrically contact-connected to perform pressure contact measurement.
[0021]
The contact probe 1 having the above-described configuration forms a relief hole portion 20 and a plunger detachment preventing locking portion 14 by subjecting a part of a thin counterbore portion 21 (see FIG. 1) to squeezing and crimping. Therefore, the strain stress generated by the drawing caulking process is absorbed by the relief hole 20. Therefore, the hole diameter d of the sliding hole 11 does not become equal to or smaller than the outer diameter of the plunger 30 over the whole, and the plunger 30 can slide smoothly in the sliding hole 11.
[0022]
Further, since the joint portion 19 is formed in the escape hole portion 20 having the hole diameter D larger than the hole diameter d of the slide hole 11, the slide portion 31 and the joint portion 19 are brought into a non-contact state, and the slide portion 31 will not be caught by the joining part 19, and the slidability of the sliding part 31 of the plunger 30 will improve more.
[0023]
Further, since the plunger detachment preventing locking portion 14 is formed perpendicular to the sliding direction, the sliding portion 31 of the plunger 30 reliably contacts and locks the plunger detachment preventing locking portion 14. Thereby, when the contact probe 1 is mass-produced, the product length L from the barrel 10 to the distal end portion of the measurement end portion 35 of the plunger 30 can be manufactured more stably.
[0024]
[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed to various configurations within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
[0025]
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the contact probe 1a using the plunger 30a which formed the slope 32 in the corner | angular part by the side of the plunger removal prevention locking part 14 of the sliding part 31 may be sufficient. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the contact probe 1b using the plunger 30b which formed the step part 33 in the corner | angular part by the side of the plunger removal prevention locking part 14 of the sliding part 31 may be sufficient. In this case, since the gap between the joint portion 19 and the sliding portion 31 can be made large, the plungers 30a and 30b can be securely connected to the plunger removal prevention locking portion 14 even if the position of the joint portion 19 varies slightly. Can be contacted.
[0026]
Further, the closing portion 13 only needs to have a shape that can hold the coil spring 40 in the sliding hole 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a through hole 13 a for drawing out a lead wire is formed at the center of the closing portion 13. May be.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a relief hole portion having a larger diameter than the sliding hole is provided in the opening portion of the sliding hole of the barrel, and the plunger removal preventing locking portion is provided in the relief hole portion. Since the opening portion of the sliding hole is squeezed and processed to form the plunger detachment preventing locking portion, the strain stress can be absorbed by the clearance hole portion. Therefore, the hole diameter of the sliding hole does not become equal to or less than the outer diameter of the plunger as a whole, and the plunger can slide smoothly in the sliding hole.
[0028]
Also, since the plunger detachment preventing locking portion is provided substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the plunger, the plunger can be reliably brought into contact with the plunger detachment preventing locking portion and locked. As a result, the product dimensions of each mass produced contact probe can be further stabilized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a contact probe according to the present invention before assembly completion.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view after assembly completion of FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of the contact probe shown in FIG.
4 is a cross-sectional view showing another modification of the contact probe shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional contact probe.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 1b ... Contact probe 10 ... Barrel 11 ... Sliding hole 14 ... Locking part 16 for preventing plunger detachment ... Opening 19 ... Joint part 20 ... Relief hole part 30, 30a, 30b ... Plunger 35 ... Measurement end part 40 ... Coil spring

Claims (3)

A barrel having a tube-shaped sliding hole in which an opening is provided at one end and the other end is closed;
A plunger that is slidably arranged on the opening side in the sliding hole of the barrel, and whose measurement end protrudes from the opening;
A spring member that is disposed on the closed side in the sliding hole of the barrel and biases the plunger in a direction in which a measurement end of the plunger protrudes from the opening;
Provide a relief hole portion having a larger hole diameter than the sliding hole in the opening portion of the sliding hole of the barrel, and provide a retaining portion for preventing plunger detachment in the relief hole portion ,
The thickness of the locking part for preventing plunger detachment and the thickness of the escape hole part are each thinner than the thickness of the sliding hole,
The plunger is non-contact with the joint portion between the plunger detachment preventing locking portion and the escape hole portion;
Contact probe characterized by. The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the plunger detachment preventing locking portion is provided substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the plunger. Said plunger for prevention engaging portion is a contact probe according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that it is formed an opening portion of the sliding hole of said barrel by crimping.

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