US20010027035A1 - Electrical connector - Google Patents
Electrical connector Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20010027035A1 US20010027035A1 US09/801,541 US80154101A US2001027035A1 US 20010027035 A1 US20010027035 A1 US 20010027035A1 US 80154101 A US80154101 A US 80154101A US 2001027035 A1 US2001027035 A1 US 2001027035A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- connector
- electric contact
- electric
- conductors
- board
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
- H01R12/50—Fixed connections
- H01R12/51—Fixed connections for rigid printed circuits or like structures
- H01R12/55—Fixed connections for rigid printed circuits or like structures characterised by the terminals
- H01R12/57—Fixed connections for rigid printed circuits or like structures characterised by the terminals surface mounting terminals
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/30—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
- H05K3/32—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits
- H05K3/325—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits by abutting or pinching, i.e. without alloying process; mechanical auxiliary parts therefor
- H05K3/326—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits by abutting or pinching, i.e. without alloying process; mechanical auxiliary parts therefor the printed circuit having integral resilient or deformable parts, e.g. tabs or parts of flexible circuits
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/40—Forming printed elements for providing electric connections to or between printed circuits
- H05K3/4007—Surface contacts, e.g. bumps
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
- H05K7/02—Arrangements of circuit components or wiring on supporting structure
- H05K7/10—Plug-in assemblages of components, e.g. IC sockets
- H05K7/1053—Plug-in assemblages of components, e.g. IC sockets having interior leads
- H05K7/1061—Plug-in assemblages of components, e.g. IC sockets having interior leads co-operating by abutting
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to printed circuits covered by H05K1/00
- H05K2201/03—Conductive materials
- H05K2201/0332—Structure of the conductor
- H05K2201/0364—Conductor shape
- H05K2201/0373—Conductors having a fine structure, e.g. providing a plurality of contact points with a structured tool
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to printed circuits covered by H05K1/00
- H05K2201/09—Shape and layout
- H05K2201/09009—Substrate related
- H05K2201/09081—Tongue or tail integrated in planar structure, e.g. obtained by cutting from the planar structure
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K3/00—Apparatus or processes for manufacturing printed circuits
- H05K3/30—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
- H05K3/32—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits
- H05K3/325—Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor electrically connecting electric components or wires to printed circuits by abutting or pinching, i.e. without alloying process; mechanical auxiliary parts therefor
Definitions
- This invention relates to an electrical connector adapted to be able to electrically connect a plurality of electric contacts and a plurality of electric contact elements at a time, and more particularly to an electrical connector including first and second connectors adapted to prevent any solder of the first connector from adhering to contact portions of the second connector.
- the electrical connector 60 includes a first connector 10 (Ball Grid Array or BGA) and a second connector 50 (which is a socket connector to be connected to BGA elements or the like).
- a plurality of electric contacts 12 made of solder in the form of spherical protrusions provided on one surface of the connector plate 11 of the first connector 10 are electrically connected to a plurality of electric contact elements 52 provided on one surface of the board 22 of the second connector 50 .
- the first and second connectors 10 and 50 are detachably connected to each other with the aid of a plug and socket mechanism (not shown).
- the connector plate 11 of the first connector 10 is made of a ceramic or hard resin substrate or board having a rigidity, on one surface of which are provided a plurality of electric contacts 12 of solder (PbSn) in the form of spherical protrusions. These electric contacts 12 are formed by reflow-soldering solder balls arranged on lands of a hard resin board.
- solder solder
- the plurality of electric contact elements 52 are provided on one surface of the board 22 so as to be electrically connected to the electric contacts 12 of the first connector 10 .
- the electric contact elements 52 are provided on conductors 26 on the board 22 made of a flexible printed card (FPC) or the like which is formed with U-shaped slits 24 around the conductors 26 to elastically support the electric contact elements 52 by small tongue-shaped pieces 36 .
- FPC flexible printed card
- the elastic support of the electric contact elements accommodates any differences in height between the electric contacts 12 of the first connector 10 .
- the electric contact elements are treated with a surface treatment such as gold plating because they are electrically contacting portions.
- the second connector 50 is used for inspecting the first connector 10 so that the electrical contact therebetween amounts often to several thousand times or more. Consequently, the electrical connector of this type suffers from the following disadvantages.
- solder (PbSn) forming the electric contacts 12 tends to adhere (as shown at 54 ) to the treated surfaces of the electric contact elements such as plated surfaces with gold, causing incorrect contact therebetween.
- an electrical connector including a first connector having a connector plate and a plurality of electric contacts provided on one surface of said connector plate, and a second connector having a board and a plurality of electric contact elements provided on conductors arranged on said board, said board formed with slits around said conductors to support said conductors and the like elastically by parts of said board surrounded by said slits, said first and second connectors being brought into detachable abutment against each other to electrically connect said electric contacts and said electric contact elements of said first and second connectors, according to the invention said electric contact elements of the second connector each comprise at least one ridge having a sharp crest thereon facing to said electric contact of said first connector.
- the ridge or ridges preferably extend in parallel with the direction in which the electric contact of the first connector slides on the electric contact element of the second connector.
- the ridge or ridges preferably have sharp crests.
- the ridge or ridges have a height of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm from the surface of the electric contact element.
- the electric contact elements of the second connector each comprise a plurality of ridges thereon extending in parallel with the direction in which the electric contact of the first connector slides on the electric contact element of the second connector to form a wave shape.
- the number of the ridges of one electrical contact element is decided in consideration of a positional deviation between the electric contact element and the mating electric contact of the first connector.
- the ridge or ridges are formed in a manner that after providing a protection covering layer on the conductors, the protection covering layer is formed with one slit or plural slits at a location corresponding to each of the conductors and the slit or slits are then plated with a metal to fill the slit or slits with the metal so as to form the electric contact element and further to form the ridge or ridges by continuing the plating with the metal.
- the board of the second connector is preferably provided with at least one elastic material layer such as silicone on the opposite side of the conductors to ensure the elastic supporting of them.
- the electrical connector according to the invention provides the following significant effects.
- the projecting ridge or ridges are provided on the surfaces of the electric contact elements, thereby making it possible to remove or scratch off the solder adhered to the electric contact elements in the preceding contact operations between the electric contacts and the electric contact elements without requiring any other particular precaution.
- the ridge or ridges extend in parallel with the sliding movement of the electric contacts of first connector so that the solder debris attached to the electric contact elements in preceding contact operations can be removed forwardly with more certainty.
- the ridge or ridges can be easily formed by progressively plating with a metal in slits formed in a protection covering layer provided on conductors. In the event that the crests of the ridges have been worn off, the ridges can be reformed by plating with the metal to regain the initial function of the ridges.
- FIG. 1 is an enlarged partly longitudinal sectional view of the electrical connector according to the invention.
- FIG. 2 is an enlarged partly cross-sectional view of the electrical connector according to the invention.
- FIG. 3A is an enlarged plan view of the board of the second connector of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the side of the first connector;
- FIG. 3B is an enlarged plan view of the electric contact element of the second connector shown in FIG. 3A;
- FIG. 3C is an enlarged sectional side view of the electric contact element of the second connector shown in FIG. 3A;
- FIG. 4A is an enlarged plan view illustrating a part of the protection covering layer formed with slits in order to provide an electric contact element and ridges on a conductor according to the invention
- FIG. 4B is an enlarged sectional side view of an electric contact element and ridges formed by plating
- FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining the sliding movement of the electric contact of the first connector
- FIG. 6 is an enlarged partly longitudinal sectional view of the electrical connector of the prior art.
- FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view illustrating the second connector shown in FIG. 6 to which the solder debris have been adhered.
- FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate one preferred embodiment of the electrical connector 1 according to the invention.
- a first connector 10 includes a connector plate 11 made of a ceramic or hard resin substrate or board having a rigidity as in a conventional connector plate, and a plurality of electric contacts 12 of solder or the like in the form of hemispherical protrusions provided on one surface of the connector plate 11 .
- a second connector 20 includes a connector plate or board 22 made of a soft resin or the like having an appropriate rigidity, a plurality of electric conductors 26 of disc-shaped metal layers on one surface of the board 22 facing to the electric contacts 12 of the first connector 10 , a protection covering layer 28 of an insulating material provided on the board 22 on the same side as the electric conductors 26 , a plurality of electric contact elements 30 provided on the electric conductors 26 , and protrusions or ridges 31 in the form of a mountain range provided on the electric contact elements 30 .
- the required electric conductors 26 are provided on the one surface of the board 22 , for example, by treating a metal layer such as a copper foil previously provided thereon by means of the printed circuit forming method which is one of the board producing techniques.
- lead wires 34 to be connected to the electric conductors 26 may of course be produced by the printed circuit forming method.
- the lead wires 34 may be formed on the rear surface of the board 22 so as to communicate with the electric conductors 26 through through-holes 40 (FIG. 3A) provided at appropriate locations in the board 22 .
- the electric contact elements 30 made of a conductive material superior in electric conductivity are provided at locations where electric conductors 26 electrically contact the electric contacts 12 of the first connector 10 .
- the electric conductors 26 are plated with such a conductive material to form the electric contact elements 30 of the conductive material on the electric conductors 26 .
- the material from which to form the electric conductors 26 may be any material, insofar as it is highly conductive, preferably, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze and the like.
- the electric contact element 30 contacts the electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 , a small amount of solder of the electric contact 12 tends to adhere to the electric contact element 30 .
- the element 30 is formed on its outer surface with at least one ridge 31 whose crest is preferably somewhat sharp.
- the height of the ridges 31 may be determined so as to be able to remove the adhered solder from the electric contact element 30 .
- the height of the ridges 31 of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm is sufficient to remove the adhered solder.
- the number of the ridges is preferably plural in consideration of a positional deviation between the electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 and the electric contact element 30 of the second connector 20 , and the like. With a plurality of ridges 31 , they form a wave-shaped surface.
- the crests of the ridges 31 preferably extend in parallel with the direction of sliding movement of the electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 to ensure the removal of the solder forwardly which has adhered solder in the preceding contacts between the electric contact 12 and the electric contact element 30 .
- the protection covering layer 28 on the electric conductor 26 of the second connector 20 is formed with at least one slit, preferably a plurality of slits 42 extending in parallel with the sliding movement of the electric contact 12 of the first connector shown in FIG. 4A.
- the sliding movement of the electric contact 12 will be explained later.
- the slits 42 may be formed by, for example, the laser machining.
- the slit or slits pass completely through the protection covering layer 28 so as to reach the surface of the electric conductor 26 under the protection covering layer 28 .
- the formed slits 42 are progressively plated with the same material as that of the electric contact element 30 to an extent that the slits are filled with the plating metal to form the electric contact element.
- the plating with the plating metal is further carried out to form a plurality of ridges 31 which project higher than the surface of the protection covering layer 28 as shown in FIG. 4B.
- the number of ridges 31 is equal to the number of the slits 42 formed in the protection covering layer 28 .
- FIG. 2 illustrates the relation between the electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 and the thus formed ridges 31 of the second connector 20 in an enlarged partly sectional view.
- the board 22 with the electric conductors 26 and the electric contact elements 30 is formed with inverted U-shaped slits 24 closely around the electric conductors 26 (FIG. 3A). These slits may be formed press-punching, laser machining, or the like in a simple manner. Because of the particular shape of the slits 24 , the electric conductors 26 and the electric contact elements 30 are elastically supported by small tongue-shaped movable pieces 36 located inside the respective slits 24 in a cantilevered manner.
- the electrical connection between the first and second connectors 10 and 20 is accomplished with high reliability.
- the elasticity for the electric conductors 26 and the electric contact elements 30 depends upon the elasticity of the small tongue-shaped movable pieces 36 of the board 22 , it is required for the board 22 of the non-rigid plastic material to have a rigidity to an extent such that a sufficient elasticity is given to the small tongue-shaped movable pieces 36 .
- each of the electric contact elements 30 is formed with at least one ridge 31 so that the solder adhered to the electric contact element 30 in the preceding contacts between the electric contact 12 and the electric contact element 30 is scratched off or removed forwardly by sliding movement of the electric contact 12 on the electric contact element 30 .
- the board 22 of the second connector 20 is provided with an elastic material layer 39 such as silicone on a metal conductor 38 on the opposite side of the electric contact elements 30 , and the board 22 is formed with the inverted U-shaped slits 24 around the electric conductors 26 .
- the electric contact elements 30 supported by the small tongue-shaped movable pieces 36 formed by the U-shaped slits 24 are displaced onto the rear side of the board 22 of the second connector 20 by the urging force of the electric contacts 12 of the first connector 10 , with the result that the contact positions between the electric contacts 12 and the electric contact elements 30 move and slide relative to each other.
- the electric contact element 30 is lowered downwardly so that the contact point X thereon is displaced to the point X′ in FIG. 5.
- the electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 is moved vertically along a straight line without swaying because of the first connector 10 guided straightly in a socket mechanism.
- the electric contact 12 contacts the electric contact element 30 at the point Y, which has been deformed downwardly.
- the electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 has been moved on the electric contact element 30 from the point X′ to Y thereon, while being urged by a constant force.
- Such a movement is the sliding movement, and the moving direction is the sliding direction.
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to an electrical connector adapted to be able to electrically connect a plurality of electric contacts and a plurality of electric contact elements at a time, and more particularly to an electrical connector including first and second connectors adapted to prevent any solder of the first connector from adhering to contact portions of the second connector.
- We have ever proposed an electrical connector adapted to be able to electrically connect a plurality of electric contacts and electric contact elements at a time in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/366,832 (received its Notice of Allowability dated Oct. 24, 2000). The proposed electrical connector will be explained with reference to FIG. 6.
- Referring to FIG. 6, the
electrical connector 60 includes a first connector 10 (Ball Grid Array or BGA) and a second connector 50 (which is a socket connector to be connected to BGA elements or the like). When the first andsecond connectors electric contacts 12 made of solder in the form of spherical protrusions provided on one surface of theconnector plate 11 of thefirst connector 10 are electrically connected to a plurality ofelectric contact elements 52 provided on one surface of theboard 22 of thesecond connector 50. The first andsecond connectors - The
connector plate 11 of thefirst connector 10 is made of a ceramic or hard resin substrate or board having a rigidity, on one surface of which are provided a plurality ofelectric contacts 12 of solder (PbSn) in the form of spherical protrusions. Theseelectric contacts 12 are formed by reflow-soldering solder balls arranged on lands of a hard resin board. - The plurality of
electric contact elements 52 are provided on one surface of theboard 22 so as to be electrically connected to theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10. As shown in FIG. 6, theelectric contact elements 52 are provided onconductors 26 on theboard 22 made of a flexible printed card (FPC) or the like which is formed withU-shaped slits 24 around theconductors 26 to elastically support theelectric contact elements 52 by small tongue-shaped pieces 36. With this construction, the elastic support of the electric contact elements accommodates any differences in height between theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10. The electric contact elements are treated with a surface treatment such as gold plating because they are electrically contacting portions. - The
second connector 50 is used for inspecting thefirst connector 10 so that the electrical contact therebetween amounts often to several thousand times or more. Consequently, the electrical connector of this type suffers from the following disadvantages. - Referring to FIG. 7, when the
electric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10 and theelectric contact elements 52 of thesecond connector 50 have been contacted with each other several hundred times, the solder (PbSn) forming theelectric contacts 12 tends to adhere (as shown at 54) to the treated surfaces of the electric contact elements such as plated surfaces with gold, causing incorrect contact therebetween. - Owing to such an adherence of the solder54 (FIG. 7) to the treated surfaces of the
electric contact elements 52, removal of the adhered solder therefrom is needed by the use of a brush every several hundred times or thousand times of the contact between the electric contacts and the electric contact elements. However, the removal of the adhered solder by brushing is not an easy matter if not impossible. In order to remove the adhered solder more completely, it is required to increase the times of the brushing operation, which also increases the man-hour of the operation of the electrical connector, resulting in increased cost of operation. - It is an object of the invention to provide an improved electrical connector which eliminates all the disadvantages of the prior art described above and which minimizes the adherence of solder or oxide impurities to treated surface layers of electric contact elements even after repeated contacts between electric contacts and the electric contact elements of first and second connectors more than several thousand times.
- In order to accomplish the above object, in an electrical connector including a first connector having a connector plate and a plurality of electric contacts provided on one surface of said connector plate, and a second connector having a board and a plurality of electric contact elements provided on conductors arranged on said board, said board formed with slits around said conductors to support said conductors and the like elastically by parts of said board surrounded by said slits, said first and second connectors being brought into detachable abutment against each other to electrically connect said electric contacts and said electric contact elements of said first and second connectors, according to the invention said electric contact elements of the second connector each comprise at least one ridge having a sharp crest thereon facing to said electric contact of said first connector.
- The ridge or ridges preferably extend in parallel with the direction in which the electric contact of the first connector slides on the electric contact element of the second connector.
- The ridge or ridges preferably have sharp crests.
- In a preferred embodiment, the ridge or ridges have a height of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm from the surface of the electric contact element.
- In one embodiment, the electric contact elements of the second connector each comprise a plurality of ridges thereon extending in parallel with the direction in which the electric contact of the first connector slides on the electric contact element of the second connector to form a wave shape.
- The number of the ridges of one electrical contact element is decided in consideration of a positional deviation between the electric contact element and the mating electric contact of the first connector.
- Preferably, the ridge or ridges are formed in a manner that after providing a protection covering layer on the conductors, the protection covering layer is formed with one slit or plural slits at a location corresponding to each of the conductors and the slit or slits are then plated with a metal to fill the slit or slits with the metal so as to form the electric contact element and further to form the ridge or ridges by continuing the plating with the metal.
- The board of the second connector is preferably provided with at least one elastic material layer such as silicone on the opposite side of the conductors to ensure the elastic supporting of them.
- The electrical connector according to the invention provides the following significant effects.
- (1) According to the invention the projecting ridge or ridges are provided on the surfaces of the electric contact elements, thereby making it possible to remove or scratch off the solder adhered to the electric contact elements in the preceding contact operations between the electric contacts and the electric contact elements without requiring any other particular precaution.
- (2) According to the invention the ridge or ridges extend in parallel with the sliding movement of the electric contacts of first connector so that the solder debris attached to the electric contact elements in preceding contact operations can be removed forwardly with more certainty.
- (3) According to the invention the ridge or ridges can be easily formed by progressively plating with a metal in slits formed in a protection covering layer provided on conductors. In the event that the crests of the ridges have been worn off, the ridges can be reformed by plating with the metal to regain the initial function of the ridges.
- The invention will be more fully understood by referring to the following detailed specification and claims taken in connection with the appended drawings.
- FIG. 1 is an enlarged partly longitudinal sectional view of the electrical connector according to the invention;
- FIG. 2 is an enlarged partly cross-sectional view of the electrical connector according to the invention;
- FIG. 3A is an enlarged plan view of the board of the second connector of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the side of the first connector;
- FIG. 3B is an enlarged plan view of the electric contact element of the second connector shown in FIG. 3A;
- FIG. 3C is an enlarged sectional side view of the electric contact element of the second connector shown in FIG. 3A;
- FIG. 4A is an enlarged plan view illustrating a part of the protection covering layer formed with slits in order to provide an electric contact element and ridges on a conductor according to the invention;
- FIG. 4B is an enlarged sectional side view of an electric contact element and ridges formed by plating;
- FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining the sliding movement of the electric contact of the first connector;
- FIG. 6 is an enlarged partly longitudinal sectional view of the electrical connector of the prior art; and
- FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view illustrating the second connector shown in FIG. 6 to which the solder debris have been adhered.
- FIGS.1 to 4 illustrate one preferred embodiment of the
electrical connector 1 according to the invention. In the drawings, afirst connector 10 includes aconnector plate 11 made of a ceramic or hard resin substrate or board having a rigidity as in a conventional connector plate, and a plurality ofelectric contacts 12 of solder or the like in the form of hemispherical protrusions provided on one surface of theconnector plate 11. Asecond connector 20 includes a connector plate orboard 22 made of a soft resin or the like having an appropriate rigidity, a plurality ofelectric conductors 26 of disc-shaped metal layers on one surface of theboard 22 facing to theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10, aprotection covering layer 28 of an insulating material provided on theboard 22 on the same side as theelectric conductors 26, a plurality ofelectric contact elements 30 provided on theelectric conductors 26, and protrusions orridges 31 in the form of a mountain range provided on theelectric contact elements 30. - With the
electric connector 1 including the first andsecond connectors connectors connector plate 11 of thefirst connector 10 on the opposite side of theelectric contacts 12 there are provided required wiring such as printed circuits electrically connected to theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10. - The construction of the
second connector 20 will be explained, which is a subject matter of the invention. - With the second connector according to the invention, the required
electric conductors 26 are provided on the one surface of theboard 22, for example, by treating a metal layer such as a copper foil previously provided thereon by means of the printed circuit forming method which is one of the board producing techniques. - Therefore, a great number of
electric conductors 26 can be produced extremely inexpensively without requiring a large space. Also,lead wires 34 to be connected to theelectric conductors 26 may of course be produced by the printed circuit forming method. In the case of lack of space for arranging thelead wires 34 on theboard 22 due to theelectric conductors 26 arranged in high density, thelead wires 34 may be formed on the rear surface of theboard 22 so as to communicate with theelectric conductors 26 through through-holes 40 (FIG. 3A) provided at appropriate locations in theboard 22. - The
electric contact elements 30 made of a conductive material superior in electric conductivity are provided at locations whereelectric conductors 26 electrically contact theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10. Theelectric conductors 26 are plated with such a conductive material to form theelectric contact elements 30 of the conductive material on theelectric conductors 26. The material from which to form theelectric conductors 26 may be any material, insofar as it is highly conductive, preferably, brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze and the like. - When the
electric contact element 30 contacts theelectric contact 12 of thefirst connector 10, a small amount of solder of theelectric contact 12 tends to adhere to theelectric contact element 30. In order to remove the adhered solder from theelectric contact element 30, theelement 30 is formed on its outer surface with at least oneridge 31 whose crest is preferably somewhat sharp. In this embodiment, there are provided a plurality ofridges 31 in the form of a mountain range viewed in section. Theridges 31 serve to remove the adhered solder as explained later. - The height of the
ridges 31 may be determined so as to be able to remove the adhered solder from theelectric contact element 30. The height of theridges 31 of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm is sufficient to remove the adhered solder. The number of the ridges is preferably plural in consideration of a positional deviation between theelectric contact 12 of thefirst connector 10 and theelectric contact element 30 of thesecond connector 20, and the like. With a plurality ofridges 31, they form a wave-shaped surface. - In view of the above function, the crests of the
ridges 31 preferably extend in parallel with the direction of sliding movement of theelectric contact 12 of thefirst connector 10 to ensure the removal of the solder forwardly which has adhered solder in the preceding contacts between theelectric contact 12 and theelectric contact element 30. - A method for forming the
ridges 31 according to the invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B. First, theprotection covering layer 28 on theelectric conductor 26 of thesecond connector 20 is formed with at least one slit, preferably a plurality ofslits 42 extending in parallel with the sliding movement of theelectric contact 12 of the first connector shown in FIG. 4A. The sliding movement of theelectric contact 12 will be explained later. Theslits 42 may be formed by, for example, the laser machining. Of course, the slit or slits pass completely through theprotection covering layer 28 so as to reach the surface of theelectric conductor 26 under theprotection covering layer 28. - Thereafter, the formed slits42 are progressively plated with the same material as that of the
electric contact element 30 to an extent that the slits are filled with the plating metal to form the electric contact element. The plating with the plating metal is further carried out to form a plurality ofridges 31 which project higher than the surface of theprotection covering layer 28 as shown in FIG. 4B. The number ofridges 31 is equal to the number of theslits 42 formed in theprotection covering layer 28. - FIG. 2 illustrates the relation between the
electric contact 12 of thefirst connector 10 and the thus formedridges 31 of thesecond connector 20 in an enlarged partly sectional view. - Returning to FIG. 1, the
board 22 with theelectric conductors 26 and theelectric contact elements 30 is formed with invertedU-shaped slits 24 closely around the electric conductors 26 (FIG. 3A). These slits may be formed press-punching, laser machining, or the like in a simple manner. Because of the particular shape of theslits 24, theelectric conductors 26 and theelectric contact elements 30 are elastically supported by small tongue-shapedmovable pieces 36 located inside therespective slits 24 in a cantilevered manner. - When the
second connector 20 is brought into abutment against thefirst connector 10 so that theelectric contact elements 30 abut against theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10, theelectric contact elements 30 compliant in the direction toward and away from theelectric contacts 12 will elastically contact them to keep the stable electrical connection therebetween even if there are some differences of theelectric contacts 12 in height. - In this manner, the electrical connection between the first and
second connectors electric conductors 26 and theelectric contact elements 30 depends upon the elasticity of the small tongue-shapedmovable pieces 36 of theboard 22, it is required for theboard 22 of the non-rigid plastic material to have a rigidity to an extent such that a sufficient elasticity is given to the small tongue-shapedmovable pieces 36. - As described above, when the first and
second connectors electric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10 tends to adhere to theelectric contact elements 30. According to the invention each of theelectric contact elements 30 is formed with at least oneridge 31 so that the solder adhered to theelectric contact element 30 in the preceding contacts between theelectric contact 12 and theelectric contact element 30 is scratched off or removed forwardly by sliding movement of theelectric contact 12 on theelectric contact element 30. - In order to realize such a sliding movement of the
electric contact 10, according to the invention theboard 22 of thesecond connector 20 is provided with anelastic material layer 39 such as silicone on ametal conductor 38 on the opposite side of theelectric contact elements 30, and theboard 22 is formed with the invertedU-shaped slits 24 around theelectric conductors 26. Theelectric contact elements 30 supported by the small tongue-shapedmovable pieces 36 formed by theU-shaped slits 24 are displaced onto the rear side of theboard 22 of thesecond connector 20 by the urging force of theelectric contacts 12 of thefirst connector 10, with the result that the contact positions between theelectric contacts 12 and theelectric contact elements 30 move and slide relative to each other. - Such a sliding movement will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG. 5. When the first and
second connector electric contact 12 of the first connector 10 (in the upper position in FIG. 5) is brought into contact with theelectric contact element 30 of thesecond connector 20 at the point X (in the middle position in FIG. 5). Thefirst connector 10 is further urged against thesecond connector 20, so that the small tongue-shapedmovable piece 36 formed by the inverted U-shaped slit 24 is deformed downwardly about a point 0 shown in FIG. 5 with the aid of the elasticity of the elastic material layer 39 (in the lower position in FIG. 5). - As a result, the
electric contact element 30 is lowered downwardly so that the contact point X thereon is displaced to the point X′ in FIG. 5. However, theelectric contact 12 of thefirst connector 10 is moved vertically along a straight line without swaying because of thefirst connector 10 guided straightly in a socket mechanism. At this moment, theelectric contact 12 contacts theelectric contact element 30 at the point Y, which has been deformed downwardly. Accordingly, theelectric contact 12 of thefirst connector 10 has been moved on theelectric contact element 30 from the point X′ to Y thereon, while being urged by a constant force. Such a movement is the sliding movement, and the moving direction is the sliding direction. - Consequently, the solder adhered to the
electric contact element 30 in the preceding contacts between theelectric contact 12 and theelectric contact element 30 is removed with the aid of the sliding movement of theelectric contact 12 on theelectric contact element 30 with the ridges thereon. - While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (7)
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2000064241A JP4420515B2 (en) | 2000-03-09 | 2000-03-09 | Electrical connector |
JP2000-064241 | 2000-03-09 | ||
JP2000-64,241 | 2000-03-09 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20010027035A1 true US20010027035A1 (en) | 2001-10-04 |
US6450821B2 US6450821B2 (en) | 2002-09-17 |
Family
ID=18583965
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/801,541 Expired - Fee Related US6450821B2 (en) | 2000-03-09 | 2001-03-08 | Electrical connectors adapted to reduce or prevent adherence of conductive material to contact portions as the connector |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US6450821B2 (en) |
JP (1) | JP4420515B2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2828890A1 (en) * | 2001-08-24 | 2003-02-28 | Itt Mfg Enterprises Inc | CONTINUOUS ELECTRODEPOSITION DEPOSITION DEVICE AND ELECTRICAL OR ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS MADE OF A STRIP HAVING AN ELECTRODEPOSITION PLATING LAYER |
Families Citing this family (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6830460B1 (en) * | 1999-08-02 | 2004-12-14 | Gryphics, Inc. | Controlled compliance fine pitch interconnect |
EP1249057A2 (en) * | 2000-01-20 | 2002-10-16 | Gryphics, Inc. | Flexible compliant interconnect assembly |
US6957963B2 (en) * | 2000-01-20 | 2005-10-25 | Gryphics, Inc. | Compliant interconnect assembly |
AU2003207211A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2004-08-30 | Kabushiki Kaisha Nihon Micronics | Electric connector |
FR2876244B1 (en) * | 2004-10-04 | 2007-01-26 | Commissariat Energie Atomique | COMPONENT HAVING A HARD-CONDUCTIVE MICROPOINT ASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING IT WITH A COMPONENT PROVIDED WITH DUCTILE CONDUCTIVE PROTUBERANCES |
WO2006107126A1 (en) * | 2005-04-07 | 2006-10-12 | Isc Technology Co., Ltd. | Circuit connecting apparatus using integrated silicone contactor. |
JP2008021637A (en) * | 2006-06-12 | 2008-01-31 | Fujikura Ltd | Socket, its manufacturing method, and semiconductor device |
JP2009146666A (en) | 2007-12-12 | 2009-07-02 | Japan Aviation Electronics Industry Ltd | Connector |
JP5184610B2 (en) * | 2010-11-15 | 2013-04-17 | 日本航空電子工業株式会社 | connector |
JP5834900B2 (en) * | 2011-12-27 | 2015-12-24 | 富士通株式会社 | Electronic device, connector, and method of manufacturing connector |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5163834A (en) * | 1990-12-17 | 1992-11-17 | International Business Machines Corporation | High density connector |
US5759047A (en) * | 1996-05-24 | 1998-06-02 | International Business Machines Corporation | Flexible circuitized interposer with apertured member and method for making same |
US6224396B1 (en) * | 1997-07-23 | 2001-05-01 | International Business Machines Corporation | Compliant, surface-mountable interposer |
US6010340A (en) * | 1998-03-04 | 2000-01-04 | Internatinal Business Machines Corporation | Solder column tip compliancy modification for use in a BGA socket connector |
-
2000
- 2000-03-09 JP JP2000064241A patent/JP4420515B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
2001
- 2001-03-08 US US09/801,541 patent/US6450821B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2828890A1 (en) * | 2001-08-24 | 2003-02-28 | Itt Mfg Enterprises Inc | CONTINUOUS ELECTRODEPOSITION DEPOSITION DEVICE AND ELECTRICAL OR ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS MADE OF A STRIP HAVING AN ELECTRODEPOSITION PLATING LAYER |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2001257047A (en) | 2001-09-21 |
JP4420515B2 (en) | 2010-02-24 |
US6450821B2 (en) | 2002-09-17 |
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