The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 29, 2002
Filed:
Oct. 25, 2000
William Y. Sinclair, Frenchtown, NJ (US);
Aries Electronics, Inc., Frenchtown, NJ (US);
Abstract
A connector assembly is provided for solderlessly connecting an integrated circuit package to a printed circuit board. In the first embodiment of the invention, a plurality of generally cylindrical resilient electrical contacts are disposed in through holes formed in a non-conductive substrate. The contacts are formed from a single conductor that is coiled in a helical fashion to form a contact which resembles a spring. Each spring-like contact is formed to begin with an annular rim defining a contact point. The conductor is then coiled in such a manner to form diametrically equal rings which are spaced equidistant apart. The spring-like contact is then concluded with a similar annular rim as to the beginning contact point. An intermediate portion equidistant from beginning and concluding rims is formed so that a small portion of coiled turns have a diameter which is larger than the other diameters defined by the annular rim. The enlarged intermediate portion of the spring-like contact engages the inner surface of the through holes in an interference fit. The beginning annular rim defines a contact point for receiving and electrically engaging a ball lead or land of a grid array package, while the concluding rim is for engagement with an underlying printed circuit board or semi-conductor device. Additionally, as a second embodiment, a resilient electrical contact formed from spring to resemble two cones joined at their bases is provided within each of the through holes.