1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of electrical connectors. In detail, the present invention relates to a central processing unit (CPU) electrical connector/socket.
2. Background of the Invention
CPU sockets are widely used for establishing electrical connection between CPU and a printed circuit board (PCB)/motherboard. Therefore, CPU sockets are mounted on motherboards and hold CPUs execution of programs. Several types of CPU sockets are available with different structures. For example, type of Pin Grid Array (PGA) socket, which is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,409 issued to Liao on Dec. 16, 2003.
A PGA socket generally comprises a base, a moveable cover mounted on the base, an actuator arranged between the base and the cover and a plurality of contacts received in the base. The base defines a plurality of passageways and the cover defines a plurality of through holes corresponding to the passageways. When the PGA socket connects the CPU to the PCB, the CPU is disposed upon the cover with its pins inserted into the through holes of the cover and the passageways of the base. The pins will contact with the contacts after a movement of the cover under a force from the actuator.
As known to all, the contact of a PGA socket generally comprises a pair of arms received in the passageway of the housing; thus a PGA socket is hardly to provide a high-density layout of the contacts because of the contact received in the housing requiring a large cavity.
In view of foregoing, a new electrical connector is needed to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector that maximizes the quantity of contacts and reduces the size of the housing.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides an electrical connector for electrical connecting an IC package having a plurality of pins to a PCB. The electrical connector comprises a base defining a plurality of passageways, a plurality of contacts received in the passageways, and a cover moveable relative to the base from a first position to a second position. The cover defines a plurality of through holes corresponding the passageway. The contacts each have a resilient arm. During movement of the cover from the first position to the second position, pins of the IC package will compress the resilient arms of the contacts along a direction and the resilient will exert a normal force on the pins, thus ensuring proper connection between the resilient arm and the pins; wherein direction of the normal force is opposite to the direction of the pins moving.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made to accompany drawings to describe the present invention in detail.
Referring to
The electrical connector 1 comprises base 10, a plurality of contacts 12 received in the base 10, and a cover 14. The base 10 has a mating surface 100 with a plurality of passageways 102.
The cover 14 is moveably mounted upon the base 10, defining a bottom surface 140 corresponding to the mating surface 100 of the base 10 and an upper surface 142 opposite to the bottom surface 140. A plurality of through holes 146 extends through both the upper surface 142 and the bottom surface 140. Each of the plurality of through holes 146 is configured to ensure a pin 20 of the IC package 2 to be inserted into. The plurality of through holes 146 each define a guiding slot (not labeled), which is formed by a chamfer arranged at a position near the upper surface 142.
Each of the plurality of contacts 12 is received in a passageway 102, and has a base portion 120 for securing the contact 12 in the passageway 102, a resilient arm 122 extending from one side of the base portion 120 and a soldering portion 124 extending from a lower end of the base portion 120. The resilient arm 122 extends along a direction of away the base portion 120 at first and then toward the base portion 122 along a direction near the base portion. The soldering portion 124 extends out of the passageway 102 and rests on a lower surface (not labeled) of the base 10. The resilient arm 122 and the soldering portion 124 are arranged on two sides of the base portion 120, respectively.
It is needed to point out; an actuator (not shown) will be arranged between the base 10 and the cover 14. As a conventional PGA socket, the actuator may be an eccentric cam or an operating lever. The actuator is used for driving the cover 14 to slide relative to the base 10 from a first position to a second position, which is well know to a people having ordinary skill in the art.
The IC package 2 is mounted upon the upper surface 142 of the cover and has a plurality of pins 20 corresponding to the through holes 146.
Referring to the
During the movement of the cover 14 from the first position to the second position, the IC package 2 is also moved from the first position to the second position along a direction shown as arrow X in
Generally, the contact 12 of the present invention only needs one resilient arm, thus be of a simple structure. Moreover, a predetermined space between resilient arm of a contact of a PGA socket and inner wall of passageway of base of the PGA socket is generally required, the direction of the pins moving is opposite to the normal force Fn of the resilient arm due to resiliently deformation. Therefore, the resilient arm and the pins will move nearly completely toward the predetermined space without in other direction and efficiency of using the predetermined space is increased.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various alterations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without in any way departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention as defined in the appended claims. Such modifications and alterations that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined in by the accompanying claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007 2 0045422 | Aug 2007 | CN | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20090053914 A1 | Feb 2009 | US |