Protective housing for a leadless chip carrier or plastic leaded chip carrier package

Claim 1

A universal protective housing for a leadless chip carrier (LCC) or plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC) package comprising: a square-shaped solid body having a central cavity for receiving a LCC or PLCC package, said solid body being formed of a top side portion, a bottom side portion, a left side portion and a right side portion, each of said portions having a dimension of approximately 1.200 inches in length and approximately 0.200 inches in height; an upper beam member extending between said left side portion and said right side portion and being spaced apart a predetermined distance below the interior surface of said top portion by a first gap, said upper beam member having its one end thereof being formed integrally with the interior surface of said left side portion, said upper beam member extending laterally toward said right side portion and terminating at a free end thereof, a downwardly extending arcuate section being formed integrally at the free end of said upper beam member and being spaced apart from the interior surface of said right side portion by a second gap; said upper beam member including a plurality of ribs disposed along its interior surface in an equally spaced apart relationship so as to form vertical slots therebetween extending upwardly from the bottom surface of said upper beam member to the top surface thereof; a lower beam member extending between said left side portion and said right side portion and being spaced apart a predetermined distance above the interior surface of said bottom portion by a third gap, said lower beam member having its one end thereof being formed integrally with the interior surface of said right side portion, said lower beam member extending laterally toward said left side portion and terminating at a free end thereof, an upwardly extending arcuate section being formed integrally at the free end of said lower beam member and being spaced apart from the interior surface of said left side portion by a fourth gap; said lower beam member including a plurality of ribs disposed along its interior surface in an equally spaced apart relationship so as to form vertical slots therebetween extending upwardly from the bottom surface of said lower beam member to the top surface thereof; each of said plurality of ribs of said upper and lower beam members including a finger extending inwardly from the top portion thereof; a first corner formed by the intersection of said top portion and said right side portion, said first corner being cut to form a first chamfered surface; a second corner formed by the intersection of said bottom portion and said left side portion, said second corner being cut to form a second chamfered surface; support means for supporting the lower surface of the chip package at the corners thereof, said support means being formed on the interior surfaces of said left and right side portions and on said downwardly extending and upwardly extending arcuate sections; said support means including a first support member formed integrally along the bottom surface of said downwardly extending arcuate section and extending inwardly toward the center of said housing, a second support member formed integrally on the interior surface of said left side portion along the bottom surface thereof and extending inwardly toward the center of said housing and being aligned with said first support member, a third support member being formed integrally along the bottom surface of said upwardly extending arcuate section and extending inwardly toward the center of said housing, and a fourth support member formed integrally on the interior surface of said right side portion along the bottom surface thereof and extending inwardly toward the center of said housing and being aligned with said third support member; and said downwardly extending and upwardly extending arcuate sections being moved outwardly from the central cavity into the respective first through fourth gaps when said first and second chamfered surfaces are squeezed toward each other so as to permit insertion or removal of the chip package from the central cavity.