Test socket for electronic device packages

Claim 2

A socket for testing an electronic device package, said socket comprising: (a) a frame; (b) terminals formed of resilient material secured in said frame; (c) mounting means supported by said frame and movable relative to said terminals for carrying an electronic device package and aligning pins of the package proximate to edges of corresponding terminals; and (d) a cam mechanism rotatable from an open position to a closed position, wherein pins of an electronic device package carried by the mounting means are proximate to the corresponding terminal edges when the cam mechanism is in the open position and wherein the pins are in contact with corresponding terminal edges when the cam mechanism is in the closed position, and wherein said terminals bend from a rest state to a flexed state as the pins are forced into contact with the terminals so that the terminals provide a force in the flexed state tending to hold the cam mechanism in the closed position.

Claim 3

A socket for an electronic device package having a flat generally rectangular body and a plurality of conductive pins extending downwardly from a lower major surface of the body, said socket comprising: (a) a frame having a generally rectangular base and walls at the periphery of said base; (b) an array of terminals extending through said base, each terminal having a portion secured in said base, a stud extending below said base for insertion into a circuit board, a flexible blade extending above said base and a head at the upper end of the blade, the head including a opening for receiving a pin of an electronic device package; (c) a lid slidably supported by the walls of said frame above said array of terminals, said lid having an array of holes, at least some of said holes being aligned above corresponding openings in the underlying heads of the terminals; and (d) cam means for urging the lid from a first position in which the contents of the holes in the lid are substantially aligned with the centers of the underlying openings of the heads to a second position in which the holes are offset from the centers of the underlying openings so that the pins of an electronic device package, when inserted through the holes of the lid while in the first position, are forced against the edges of the corresponding openings in the heads to make electrical contact therewith as the lid is urged into the second position by the cam means, said cam means including: (i) an arm rotatable in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of movement of the lid, the arm being rotatable from an open position corresponding to the first lid position to a closed position corresponding to the second lid position; (ii) a cam connected to said arm for forcing said lid rearward and forward relative to said frame in response to movement of said arm; and (iii) means for stopping the movement of said arm in the closed position to maintain contact between the pins and corresponding terminals, wherein said cam is positioned to force the lid forward to a maximum extent when the arm is in an intermediate position between the open and closed positions thereby flexing said terminals and creating a counteracting force tending to urge the lid rearward, whereby the position of said cam in the closed position retains the lid in a position such that the terminals continue to urge the lid rearward to apply a slight rotational force to the cam means tending to hold the arm against the stopping means.

Claim 4

A socket for an electronic device package having a flat generally rectangular body and a plurality of conductive pins extending downwardly from a lower major surface of the body, said socket comprising: (a) a frame having a generally rectangular base and walls at the periphery of said base; (b) an array of terminals extending through said base, each terminal having a portion secured in said base, a stud extending below said base for insertion into a circuit board, a flexible blade extending above said base and a head at the upper end of the blade, the head including a opening for receiving a pin of an electronic device package; (c) a lid slidably supported by the walls of said frame above said array of terminals, said lid having an array of holes, at least some of said holes being aligned above corresponding openings in the underlying heads of the terminals; and (d) cam means for urging the lid from a first position in which the contents of the holes in the lid are substantially aligned with the centers of the underlying openings of the heads to a second position in which the holes are offset from the centers of the underlying openings so that the pins of an electronic device package, when inserted through the holes of the lid while in the first position, are forced against the edges of the corresponding openings in the heads to make electrical contact therewith as the lid is urged into the second position by the cam means, said cam means including: (i) an arm rotatable in a plane substantially parallel with the plane of movement of the lid, the arm being rotatable from an open position corresponding to the first lid position to a closed position corresponding to the second lid position; (ii) a cam connected to said arm for forcing said lid rearward and forward relative to said frame in response to movement of said arm; and (iii) means for stopping the movement of said arm in the closed position to maintain contact between the pins and corresponding terminals, wherein said cam is positioned to force the lid forward to a maximum extent when the arm is in an intermediate position between the open and closed positions thereby flexing said terminals and creating a counteracting force tending to urge the lid rearward, whereby the position of said cam in the closed position retains the lid in a position such that the terminals continue to urge the lid rearward to apply a slight rotational force to the cam means tending to hold the arm against the stopping means.