EP1322966A1

EP1322966A1 - Multicontact electric connector

Info

Publication number: EP1322966A1
Application number: EP01972188A
Authority: EP
Inventors: André Sabatier; Claude Chasserieau; Vincent Chasserieau
Original assignee: Probest SA
Current assignee: Technoprobe SpA
Priority date: 2000-10-05
Filing date: 2001-09-24
Publication date: 2003-07-02
Also published as: JP2004510986A; FR2815127B1; AU2001291977A1; US6869289B2; FR2815127A1; WO2002029423A1; US20040005792A1

Abstract

The invention concerns multicontact connectors comprising in particular a base (1), two pairs (2, 3) of input/output terminals (4, 6), two electrically conductive needles (11, 12), two electrically insulating plates (21, 22) comprising orifices (31-34), the needles being mounted sliding at least relative to the plate (22), and means for fixing the two plates (21, 22) relative to the base (1). The inventive connector is characterised in that it further comprises at least two other plates (23, 24) arranged between the two plates (21, 22), wherein are provided orifices (41-44), the needles being sliding in said orifices (41-44), and means (50) for controlling the displacement of said plates (23, 24) respectively in two substantially opposite directions so as to produce, on each needle, two opposite pre-buckling stresses (61-64) on either side of its neutral position. The invention is particularly applicable to connectors for providing electrical connection between, for instance, a testing apparatus and electronic components such as chips.

Description

ELECTRIC CONNECTOR WITH MULTIPLE CONTACTS

The present invention relates to electrical connectors with multiple contacts which find a particularly advantageous application in the field of devices used for testing electronic components such as, for example, micro-computer chips, these electrical connectors with multiple contacts making it possible to make contacts. mechanical in specific locations of these electronic components to ensure a continuous electrical connection between the input-output of these components and those corresponding to the test devices.

It is known that electronic components reach increasingly smaller dimensions and that their electrical contacts can have dimensions of less than fifty microns with spacings between two contiguous contacts of the order of sixty five microns. Currently, for an electronic component of the “electronic chip” type, the number of these contacts distributed over an increasingly reduced surface may exceed several hundred. In order to be able to electrically connect the inputs-outputs of these electronic components with those of the devices used to test them, it was therefore necessary to produce electrical connectors with specific multiple contacts.

Such a type of electrical connector with multiple contacts is for example described in FR-A-2 748 813 filed by one of the present Applicants and more particularly illustrated in FIG. 1 appended to this document.

This electrical connector with multiple contacts comprises a body delimiting a cavity in which are housed three plates respectively upper, intermediate and lower substantially parallel and made of an electrically insulating material. These plates have a multiplicity of through holes arranged to be capable of being crossed by contact needles made of an electrically conductive material, of a length greater than the distance separating the upper and lower plates so that they emerge from the side and others of these two plates. One of the ends of the needles, for example those emerging of the upper plate are wired to the inputs-outputs of the test devices, while the connector body is moved so that the ends of the needles emerging from the lower plate come into mechanical contact with the inputs-outputs of the electronic component to test. It is however quite obvious that it is impossible to determine with absolute precision the length of these needles so that their ends emerging from the lower plate come simultaneously into contact with the inputs-outputs of the electronic component to be tested.

For this, the connector further comprises means for moving the intermediate plate in at least one direction, in order to carry out a unidirectional pre-buckling of the needles. In this way, by exerting a stress on the body, it is possible to bring all the ends of the needles emerging from the lower plate into contact with the inputs-outputs of the electronic component to be tested, the differences in level of these inputs-outputs and the differences in length of the needles being compensated by a more or less significant deformation of the needles, this deformation being favored by their pre-buckling produced by the displacement of the intermediate plate as more fully described in this prior document, in particular with regard to the figure 5 attached to this document.

The electrical connector described in this document is satisfactory, but its structure does not always allow it to respond easily to the increasingly extensive miniaturization of electronic components and to the increasingly large increase in the number of electrical contacts to be made in increasingly reduced spaces.

The present invention therefore aims to provide an improvement to the electrical connector with multiple contacts of the type described above.

More specifically, the subject of the present invention is an electrical connector with multiple contacts comprising a receptacle in an electrically insulating material, at least two pairs of input-output terminals, two needles in an electrically conductive material connecting the two terminals respectively. inputs-outputs of each pair, a first and a second plate made of an electrically insulating material, these first and second plates having through holes, said needles being plugged in these holes so that they emerge from their ends on either side other of these first and second plates, the emerging ends of said needles constituting the terminals inputs / outputs of said two pairs, and means for fixing the first and second plates relative to the base, characterized in that it further comprises:

- at least two third and fourth plates, - means for positioning these third and fourth plates between said first and second plates, said second, third and fourth plates comprising through orifices of which at least one cross section has a minimum value substantially equal to the cross section of the needles, these orifices being made in the second, third and fourth plates so that the needles are slidably mounted in these orifices, and

- Means for controlling the movement of the third and fourth plates respectively in two substantially opposite directions so as to produce, on each needle, two pre-buckling in opposition on either side of its rest position. Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear during the present description given with reference to the drawing annexed by way of illustration, but in no way limiting, in which:

The single figure represents the block diagram of an embodiment of the electrical connector with multiple contacts according to the invention. It is specified that, when, according to the definition of the invention, the object of the invention comprises "at least one" element having a given function, the embodiment described may include several of these elements.

Similarly, if the embodiment of the object according to the invention as illustrated comprises several elements with identical function and if, in the description, it is not specified that the object according to this invention must necessarily include a particular number of these elements, the subject of the invention could be defined as comprising "at least one" of these elements.

It is also specified that the electrical connector with multiple contacts according to the invention constitutes an improvement to that which is described and illustrated in FR-A-2 748 813 recalled above. Consequently, the description of the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the present invention will be limited to that of the means constituting the essential characteristics of the invention. All the means entering into the structure of the connector which are known from the prior document will not be described in detail. This having been specified, the electrical connector with multiple contacts comprises a receptacle schematically represented in 1 made of an electrically insulating material, at least two pairs 2, 3 of input-output terminals 4-5, 6- 7, two needles 11 , 12 in an electrically conductive material respectively connecting the two input-output terminals 4-5, 6-7 of each pair 2, 3, and two first and second plates 21, 22 made of an electrically insulating material.

These two first and second plates 21, 22 have through holes 31-34, the needles 11, 12 being inserted in the holes 31-33 and 32-34 respectively of these two plates 21, 22 so that they emerge through their ends 35, 36, 37, 38 on either side of the two plates. The emerging ends 35-38 constitute the input-output terminals 4-7 of the two pairs of terminals 2, 3.

These two needles 11, 12 are advantageously, but not necessarily, mounted integral with the first plate 21 respectively in the through orifices 31, 33, while they are advantageously and necessarily mounted sliding with respect to the second plate 22, at least one cross section of the through holes 32, 34 produced in this second plate having a minimum value substantially equal to the cross section of the needles 11, 12

The connector further comprises means for fixing the two first and second plates 21, 22 relative to the base 1, and advantageously so that they are perpendicular to the directions, represented by the axes 71, 72, of the two needles 11 , 12 when they are in rectilinear rest position, that is to say without having undergone a buckling deformation as described below.

According to an essential characteristic of the invention, the connector further comprises at least two third and fourth plates 23, 24 and means for positioning them between the first and second plates 21, 22, advantageously so that these four plates are parallel between they. These third and fourth plates also have through holes 41-44 of which at least one cross section has a minimum value substantially equal to the cross section of the needles 11, 12 so that these needles can slide in the orifices with the least play. possible. By way of example, all of these plates made of an electrically insulating material can be made from one of the following materials: ceramic, plastic, silicon, silica.

In order to favor the coating of the needles 11, 12 in the orifices produced in particular in the second, third and fourth plates 22, 23, 24, the thickness of these plates, at least in their part which is in contact with the needles, is advantageously less than the cross section of the needles.

However, in order to obtain rigid plates, it is advantageous to give them a relatively large thickness. As the parts of plates in contact with the needles are advantageously of relatively very small thickness, it is advantageous, for example, to give the through orifices a frustoconical shape, as shown diagrammatically in Te in the single figure, the small base of this frustoconical shape having substantially the same section as the needles. This frustoconical shape given to the orifices made in the plates also promotes the guiding of the needles when they are threaded into these orifices. When the plates are made of a material such as silicon or the like, these orifices are obtained by the method known as deep etching, known in itself. The means for positioning the third and fourth plates between the first and second plates will be for example like those which have been described in the prior document cited above for mounting the intermediate plate relative to the body of the connector. Very schematically, these means are in fact of the slide type or the like. The electrical connector further comprises means 50 schematically represented by two arrows 51, 52 for controlling the movement of the third and fourth plates 23, 24 advantageously in two opposite directions so as to carry out, on each needle 11, 12, two pre-buckling 61-62, 63-64 substantially in opposition on either side of its rectilinear rest position represented by the lines of axes 71, 72 defined above. These means 50 can be of any type, in particular like those which have been described in the prior document cited above for the displacement of the so-called intermediate plate. The multi-contact electrical connector as described above works and is used as follows.

It is first assumed that this connector is intended to electrically connect the terminals Ai, A ₂ of an element A to the two terminals Bi, B ₂ of another element B. One of these two elements A, B is for example constituted by a test apparatus, the other constituted for example by an electronic component to be tested.

The connector is arranged between these two elements A, B, assuming for example that the element A is fixed in a given frame of reference. The connector, via its base 1, is held opposite the element A so that the output terminals 4, 6 come into contact with the two terminals Ai, A ₂ or are connected to them by all means such as, for example, electrically conductive wires. This latter solution is the one that is generally used for testing electronic components such as chips, since the testing device is always the same in this case.

The two third and fourth plates 23, 24 are then moved in opposition relative to each other so as to produce the two pre-buckling defined above of the two needles 11, 12. The element B is then brought so that its terminals Bi, B ₂ are positioned opposite the ends 36, 38 respectively of the needles 11, 12. As it is materially impossible for the ends 36, 38 of the needles 1 1, 12 emerging from the second plate 22 to be all in the same plane, as well as all the terminals Bi, B ₂ of the element B, pressure is then exerted on the element B so as to be certain that all the terminals Bi, B _{2 do} come into mechanical contact with the ends 36, 38 of the needles. In the case of a difference in level between the emerging ends of the needles 1 1, 12 and / or between the terminals Bi, B ₂ of the element B, there is an additional buckling of at least one needle, illustrated by the broken lines 73, 74 in the single figure. The additional buckling of each needle is distributed over the two pre-buckling in opposition to this needle. In this way, the overall overall dimensions of the needles having undergone buckling increases less significantly than in the case of the device described in the prior document, and it is thus possible to produce electrical connectors comprising a larger number of needles closer to each other and allowing testing of latest generation electronic elements whose input-output terminals are more and more numerous and more and more close to each other in more and more spaces more reduced. In the example described above with reference to the single figure, the connector has only two needles, in order to simplify the drawing and the description given with regard to this drawing. But it is understood that it will in reality comprise a large plurality of needles.

Likewise, in certain cases, more than two plates may be provided between the first and second plates 21, 22.

Claims

1. Electrical connector with multiple contacts comprising a base (1) of an electrically insulating material, at least two pairs (2, 3) of input-output terminals (4-6), two needles (11, 12) in one electrically conductive material respectively connecting the two input-output terminals of each pair, a first (21) and a second (22) plates made of an electrically insulating material, these first and second plates having through holes (31-34) , said needles being inserted in these orifices so that they emerge from their ends (35-37) on either side of these first and second plates, the emerging ends of said needles constituting the input-output terminals (4 -6) of said two pairs, and means for fixing the first and second plates relative to the base, characterized in that it further comprises:

- at least two third (23) and fourth (24) plates,

- Means for positioning these third (23) and fourth (24) plates between said first (21) and second (22) plates, said second, third and fourth plates having through holes (32, 34, 41-44) of which at least one cross section has a minimum value substantially equal to the cross section of the needles (11, 12), these orifices being made in the second, third and fourth plates so that the needles are slidably mounted in these orifices, and

- Means (50) for controlling the movement of the third (23) and fourth (24) plates respectively in two substantially opposite directions so as to produce, on each needle, two pre-buckling (61-64) in opposite opposition and else from its rest position.

2. Connector according to claim 1, characterized in that said needles (11, 12) inserted in the orifices (31, 33) made in the first plate (21) are integral with said first plate (21).

3. Connector according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the first (21), second (22), third (23) and fourth (24) plates are mutually parallel.

4. Connector according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the thickness of the part of the second, third and fourth plates (22, 23, 24) which is in contact with the needles is less than the cross section said needles (11, 12).

5. Connector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the through holes made in at least the second, third and fourth plates are of frustoconical shape.

6. Connector according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plates (21, 22, 23, 24) are made of one of the following materials: ceramic, plastic, silicon, silica.

7. Connector according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that said through orifices of frustoconical shape are produced by the process of deep etching.