WO1979001123A1

WO1979001123A1 - Package for electrical components

Info

Publication number: WO1979001123A1
Application number: PCT/US1979/000066
Authority: WO
Inventors: W Yen
Original assignee: Funville Invest & Dev
Priority date: 1978-05-26
Filing date: 1979-02-07
Publication date: 1979-12-27
Also published as: GB1593760A; IT1166850B; HK18482A; IT7923011A0; EP0016053A1; MY8300018A

Abstract

A package is disclosed for containing electrical components which are susceptible to static electrical charges. The package comprises a tubular member (2) of substantially uniform closed cross-section. The tubular member (2) has walls which define internally a portion (4) for supporting the body (5) of a dual-in-line package and two regions (6) to receive a row of pins (7) of the package. The walls around the two regions (6) being electrically conductive and the wall (8) which covers the top of the package being transparent.

Description

Package For Electrical Components

Technical Field

This invention relates in general to a package for electrical components and, more particularly, to a package for containing electrical components formed in a duelin-line package and which are susceptible to static electrical charges.

Some electrical components, for example a metal-oxide semi-conductor (MCS) integrated circuits, are highly susceptible to static electrical charges end must be packed in a manner which will prevent the application of static electrical charges to one of the pins of the electrical component which would cause an internal electrical breakdown.

Background Art

Prior to my invention, it has been proposed to protect MOS integrated circuits against the effect of static charges by connecting the pins together by means of a wire clip. The major disadvantage of this, however, is that it does not provide any mechanical protection for the components.

Another proposal has been to force the components pins into a conductive foam plastics material. Although this is effective in preventing static charges from damaging the components it does not provide any mechanical protection for the components and therefore the foam plastic must be inserted into a protective tube. Another major disadvantage of using a plastic foam inserted into a protective tube is that this type of packing does not allow testing of the components by conventional machines because the completed unit can not be inserted into the test machines. For this reason the foam must be removed before testing and repacked after testing which adds to the cost of the processing in addition to increasing the possibility of damaging the components from additional handling.

.Another prior proposal is to pack the components in an elongated aluminum member which may be sealed at its ends and is provided with a gap in its top to enable the components to be seen. The member is of course conductive and provides reasonable electrical and mechanical protection for the devices. However, the components are exposed to dust and humidity which may enter through the gap in the top and, further, the member is relatively expensive and heavy which considerably increases the cost of transporting the components. The aluminum members are generally used only once and destroyed on reaching their destination. This is obviously wasteful and expensive. Furthermore, if a transparent cover is used to protect the components from dust and humidity then the components must be removed for testing.

Still another proposal has been the use of a conductive non-transparent lower body and a transparent nonconductive separate upper cover. This type of package allows visual inspection and may be effective in protecting the electrical components from static charges, dust and humidity. The components cannot, however, be inserted into test equipment without being removed from the package before testing. Again the extra handling of the components not only adds to the cost of packaging but even more importantly it increases the opportunity for damaging the components and rendering them useless. Ordinary plastic tubes used prior to my invention can generate and/or accumulate potentials of up to 1,000 volts or more. Such tubes even when given prior art type antistatic coating treatments, may still retain potentials of up to 200 volts. Many electrical components, however, may be damaged by potentials of even less than 100 volts and some may be damaged by as little as 10 volts or less. Furthermore, the anti-static coating is subject to wearing off during handling and shipping. Therefore, these tubes, even with anti-static coating, do not provide reliable and sufficient protection to all grades of electrical components.

Disclosure of Invention

According to my invention, I provide a package to contain electrical components formed in dual-in-line packages, the package comprising a tubular member of substantially uniform closed cross-section formed of plastics material, the tubular member having walls defining internally a portion for supporting the body of a dual-in-line package and two regions for receiving the respective rows of pins of the package, the walls around the two regions being electrically conductive and the wall which covers the top of the package in use being transparent.

The electrically conductive walls prevent the application of static charges to the pins of the components and the transparent wall allows visual inspection of the components.

This invention provides a conductive package for electtrical components that is essentially static charge free. The invention also provides a package for electrical components which allows inspection and testing of the components in conventional testing machines without removing the components from the package.

The invention further provides a package for electrical components which is sealed from dust and moisture. In addition the invention provides a package for electtrical components which has a monolithic transparent window which allows visual inspection of the components.

The invention provides a package for electrical components which can be produced from a variety of polymeric compounds and into various shapes to accomodate the various electrical components to be protected.

This invention also provides a monolithic one piece body package for electrical components such that the sensitive part of the component is protected by the conductive walls yet preventing contact of the sensitive part with the integral transparent window.

These and various other advantages of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the attached drawing.

Brief Description Of Drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the package according to my invention; and Figures 2 and 3 are cross-sections of the package of Figure 1 showing the position of a dual-in-line package component in use.

Best Mode For Carrying Out The Invention

Preferring now to the drawing wherein like numerals indicate similar parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 shows the preferred package for packing electrical components formed in dual-in-line packages. The package comprises a monolithic tubular member, generally designated 2, of substantially uniform closed cross-section. The tubular member 2 has electrically conductive walls which internally define a portion 4 for supporting the body 5 of an electrical component and two regions 6 for receiving a row of pins 7 of the component. The electrically conductive walls are capable of protecting the component by maintaining substan tially zero potential across the walls even when voltages of greater than 200 volts are applied to the walls. Preferably the tubular member 2 is plastic and the plastic in the area of the electrically conductive walls is impregnated with a material selected from the group consisting of conductive metals, graphite, conductive carbon powders and most preferred highly conductive carbon black. The plastic is also preferably polyvinyl chloride. The wall 8 which covers the top of the dual-in-line package in use is transparent to enable the components to be seen.

By making the tubular member 2 of plastics material, the package can be cheaply mass-produced and the product is very light, which leads to low transport costs.

Preferably the package further comprises a pair of end plugs 3 formed of plastics material and arranged to seal the ends of the tubular member 2. Thus the package may be sealed when packed with components and the components are protected against the effects of dust and humidity. Furthermore, the end plugs 3 may be removed without damaging the tubular member 2, so the plugs 3 and tubular member 2 may be re-used repeatedly.

The end plugs 3 each have a projecting portion 9 shaped to fit within the end of the tubular member 2 and a rim 10 which abuts the end of the tubular member 2. It is also possible to permanently seal one end of the tubular member 2 and use only one end plug 3. However, if two plugs 3 are used it is preferred that they would be identical.

As may be seen in Figures 2 and 3 the tubular member 2 is shaped such that the pins of a component cannot contact the transparent wall 8 which may not be electrically conductive. The monolithic package of the instant invention can be inserted directly into conventional test machines without removing the electrical components from the package. This major breakthrough cannot be realized in any prior art package which also protects the components from dust and humidity. Prior to my invention the only package which provided sufficient protection against static charges and could be inserted into the test machines was a one piece open top aluminum package which provided no protection to the components from dust and humidity. Furthermore, the aluminum package is even more expensive than the package of the instant invention. In addition, it is heavier which also adds to transportation cost.

In use, components in dual-in-line packages may be packed in the tubular member 2 and an end plug 3 fitted to each end. The conductive walls prevent the build-up of possibly damaging static charges and the transparent wall 8 enables the components to be seen. On reaching their destination, the plugs 3 may be removed to give access to the components and the tubular member 2 and plugs 3 may be reused as often as desired. While the preferred and alternative embodiments have been shown it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other adaptions and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A package for electrical components which are susceptible to static electrical charges, said package comprising; a monolithic tubular member of substantially uniform cross-section, said monolithic tubular member comprising; a) electrically conductive walls which internally define a portion for supporting the body of said electrical components and two regions for receiving a row of pins of said components, said electrically conductive walls being capable of protecting said electrical components by maintaining substantially zero potential across said walls even when voltages of greater than 200 volts are applied to said walls; and b) a transparent top wall.

2. A package according to Claim 1 wherein said monolithic tubular member is plastic.

3. A package according to Claim 2 wherein said plastic in said electrically conductive walls is impregnated with a material selected from the group consisting of electrically conductive metals, graphite, conductive carbon powders and highly conductive carbon black.

4. A package according to Claim 3 wherein said plastic is polyvinyl chloride.

5. A package according to Claim 4 wherein said plastic is impregnated with highly conductive carbon black.

6. A package according to Claim 4 wherein said plastic is impregnated with graphite.

7. A package according to Claim 5 which further includes a pair of end plugs to seal the package.

8. A package according to Claim 5 wherein one end of said tubular member is sealed and further includes a removable end plug.

9. A package according to Claim 1 wherein said transparent top wall is non-conductive.