Patent Application
20050255723
This invention relates generally to attaching integrated circuits to printed circuit boards.
Integrated circuits may be attached to printed circuits boards, such as motherboards, to produce electrical devices such as processor-based systems. A variety of integrated circuits may be attached to the printed circuit board.
One way to attach integrated circuits to printed circuit boards is to use a land grid array connector or socket. The socket electrically connects to contacts on the printed circuit board. At the same time, on its upper side, the socket has spring contacts that electrically contact lands on the integrated circuit. Thus, when the integrated circuit is pressed onto the socket and the socket is appropriately attached to the printed circuit board, a large number of electrical connections can be made through the spring contacts and lands to corresponding contacts on the printed circuit board.
The spring contacts on the connector or socket are relatively easily damaged. A large number of such contacts must be provided in a relatively small space. As a result, the spring contacts are structurally easily deformed. If these contacts become plastically deformed, it is not infeasible to repair those contacts. Thus, damaged contacts may result in the failure of the part or the need to replace the socket.
Thus, there is a need for ways to reduce the amount of damage that occurs to spring contacts in land grid array sockets, especially damage that may occur before the integrated circuit is coupled to the socket.
Referring to
The springs are protected, prior to placement of the integrated circuit package 20, by a protector plate 18 which has a large number of apertures formed in it. The apertures allow free upward movement through the plate 18 of the spring contacts on the upper surface of the socket 12. Thus, in one embodiment, the apertures may be shaped to correspond to the shape of the spring contacts. The plate 18 may be formed of an electrical insulator such as plastic.
However, prior to the placement of the integrated circuit package 20, the protector plate 18 may effectively float over the contacts of the socket 12. Initially, the contacts on the socket 12 may not, in some embodiments, extend through the apertures in the plate 18, but may reside beneath it. As a result, the spring contacts on the socket 12 may be protected from accidental contact and damage while they otherwise would have been exposed prior to placement of the integrated circuit package 20.
In some embodiments, the protector plate 18 may rest on top of a peripheral spring 22b. In one such embodiment, the spring 22b may extend around the edges of the socket 12, proximate to its upstanding guides 14. In other embodiments, the spring 22b may be a plurality of springs situated around the periphery of the socket 12. In some embodiments, the spring 22b may be formed of a gasket-like foam material which extends around the periphery of the socket 12 and spaces the protector plate 18 over the spring contacts of the socket 12. In another embodiment, the spring 22b may include spring biased pistons which are physically secured to the socket 12 at at least four locations. Those spring biased pistons are capable of vertical displacement, but may prevent side-to-side displacement of the plate 18 to the greatest possible extent to facilitate the penetration of the spring contacts through the protector plate 18.
In some embodiments, an additional spring 22a may be situated over the plate 18 and underneath the incoming integrated circuit package 20. However, the spring 22a may be dispensed with in some embodiments. The spring 22a may be similar to the spring 22b in some embodiments.
Thus, the integrated circuit package 20 may be inserted into the guides 14 of the socket 12 in the direction indicated by the arrows. Its insertion may be driven by an appropriate mechanical apparatus.
Thus, as shown in
Referring to
As shown in
The volume 26 between the plate 18 and the socket 12 may be compressed as a result of the insertion of the package 20. The volume 24 between the package 20 and the protection plate 18 may be non-existent or, in embodiments in which the spring 22a is provided, the spacing 24 may be maintained.
Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, good electrical coupling may be achieved between the package 20 and the socket 12. At the same time, prior to package 20 insertion, the spring contacts 30 may be protected against damage by inadvertent contact. Thus, the exposed spring contacts 30 are protected prior to their ultimate protection by the overlying package 20.
The integrated circuit package 20 may implement the processor 42 in one embodiment of the present invention. The socket 12 may couple the processor 42 to the rest of the motherboard 40 and, particularly, to the bus 44 in one embodiment of the present invention. The system memory 46 may be implemented by volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory in one embodiment of the present invention.
While the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention.
