Pylon Company, Inc.

Augat Inc.

Michael C Boyle

Guido Bertoglio

James S Cooney

Robert E Staples

William B Walkup

Joseph A Ierardi

Willis E Golder

A leadless component socket comprises a socket body of electrically insulative material and planar, substantially parallel, top and bottom surfaces, and a plurality of openings between the surfaces in an array to provide an intended contact pattern. A two-piece spring contact assembly is retained in respective openings, with one element retained within the opening and having an outwardly extending lead for soldering or other connection to a circuit board on which the socket is mounted, and the other element extending above the upper socket surface in a position to engage the confronting terminals of a leadless component or device, such as a leadless chip carrier.

Leadless component socket

Improved spring-stops for a bi-level test fixture of the type that includes an electronic circuit device receiving face moveable between in-circuit and functional testing levels of a probe support plate are disclosed. A spring-loaded plate is provided below the probe support plate, and a plurality of elongated rods that extend between the electronic circuit device receiving face and the spring-loaded plate are provided for transferring the resilient force of the spring-loaded plate to the electronic circuit device receiving face. The transferred resilient force opposes the force exerted on the electronic circuit device receiving face from either operator or automatic testing equipment selectable vacuum levels such that the electronic circuit device receiving face moves to a selected one of the incircuit and functional testing levels. The rods are individually friction-fit for reciprocating motion in a low coefficient of friction and low compressive strength bushing. Each bushing is friction-fit into a corresponding opening provided therefor in the probe support plate. The low compressive strength and low coefficient of friction material of the bushings normalizes reciprocating rod motion induced strain in such a way as to substantially eliminate rod seizing while maintaining an air-tight seal.

Spring-stops for a bi-level test fixture

A test fixture for selectively electrically connecting an electronic circuit device for in-circuit and functional testing by automatic testing equipment. First and second pluralities of spring-loaded probes are fastened to the test fixture for respectively providing an in-circuit contact array on a first level and a functional contact array on a second level. An electronic cicuit device receiving face is mounted to the test fixture for movement to the first level for electrically connecting the electronic circuit device to the in-circuit contact array, and for movement to the second level for electrically connecting the electronic circuit device to the functional contact array. Means including a bi-level vacuum controller are disclosed for selectively moving the electronic circuit device receiving face to the first and second levels. Means coupled to the bi-level vacuum controller are disclosed for venting the test fixture to ambient during transitions from higher to lower vacuum pressures and to the unactuated condition. The bi-level vacuum controller may be locally actuated by a system operator or remotely actuated by the automatic testing equipment.

Vacuum actuated bi-level test fixture

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Norton, MA, United States of America

Michael C Boyle