JP2001351708A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric connector capable of providing a relatively large amount of compression with a small load, while inhibiting or preventing deterioration of high frequency transmission characteristic and limiting a decrease in the range of permissible amounts of compression. SOLUTION: A group 4 of elastically deformable connecting elements are aligned and supported, while they are passed through a retaining plate 1, with the upper and lower ends of the group 4 protruding respectively from the front and back faces of the retaining plate 1. The connecting elements 5 of the group 4 are isolated from one another, each connecting element 5 comprising an insulating columnar elastic body 6 passing through the retaining plate 1, and a plurality of axially extending metallic filaments 7 approximately spirally built into the elastic body 6, with the upper and lower ends of each filament 7 protruding respectively from the upper and lower end faces of the body 6. Because both ends of each element 5 protrude from the plate 1, compression load concentrates on each element 5 of compression time, whereby a large amount of compression can be obtained readily high a small load.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrical connector for electrically connecting a semiconductor package, such as a surface mount package, to various circuit boards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a surface mount type semiconductor package has been developed.
(E.g., BGA) have emerged and are spreading rapidly,
Along with this, electrical connectors are also being actively developed and commercialized. This electrical connector is classified into a type using a butting plate spring, a type using a sandwiching leaf spring, a type using a spring probe, a type using a circuit sheet, and the like. The circuit board is electrically connected.

FIG. 18 shows a conventional electric connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-19926. This electric connector includes an insulating holding plate 1 and a penetrating terminal arranged side by side on the holding plate 1 as a connector. Multiple supported coil springs 30
It is composed of The coil springs 30 are interposed between a semiconductor package (not shown) and a circuit board for inspection or a practical circuit board, and are compressed in a direction in which they approach each other. The circuit board is electrically connected.

[0004]

The conventional electrical connector is constructed as described above, and the holding plate 1 is provided with a coil spring 30.
Are simply arranged side by side and are supported in a row, so that in order to obtain a large amount of compression with a low load, the number of turns of the coil spring 30 must be increased. To solve this problem, if the number of turns of the coil spring 30 is increased,
Although a large amount of compression can be obtained with a low load, the inductance increases and the high-frequency transmission characteristics deteriorate. In order to eliminate the deterioration of the high-frequency transmission characteristics, the number of turns of the coil spring 30 may be reduced. However, in this case, the load at the time of connection increases and the range of the allowable compression amount may be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to obtain a relatively large amount of compression with a low load, suppress deterioration of high-frequency transmission characteristics, and reduce the range of allowable compression. An object is to provide an electrical connector that can be regulated.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a holding plate supports a connector group, and both ends of the connector group project from front and back surfaces of the holding plate. Wherein the connector group is independently separated for each connector, and each connector is provided with an insulating elastic body penetrating through the holding plate, and a shaft spirally built into the elastic body. And a plurality of conductive wires extending in the direction, and both end portions of each conductive wire are exposed from both end surfaces of the elastic body.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 2, the holding plate supports the connector group,
Each end of the connector group is projected from the front and back surfaces of the holding plate. The connector group is divided and separated into a plurality of connector groups, and the plurality of connector groups are separated from each other. The child group is composed of a plurality of connectors and a connection plate that is supported through the holding plate and connects the plurality of connectors at a predetermined interval.
An insulating elastic body and a plurality of conductive wires that are substantially spirally built in the elastic body and extend in the axial direction, and both ends of each conductive wire are exposed from both end surfaces of the elastic body. It is characterized by that.

Here, the holding plate in the claims may be a flat rectangular shape or a square shape. This holding plate may be a single layer or a multilayer. The connector may be in the shape of a cylinder, a prism, a polygon, or the like. The electrical connector is BGA or LG
A semiconductor package such as A is mainly electrically connected to a circuit board for inspection, a practical circuit board, or the like, but is not limited thereto. For example, a circuit board for high-frequency and high-speed signal processing may be used instead of the semiconductor package. In addition, various electric joints suitable for connection with electric connectors, specifically, electric joints used in workstations, servers, and the like are included.

According to the present invention, an electric connector is attached to a first electric joint composed of various circuit boards and the like, and a number of electrodes of the first electric joint are connected to a group of protruding connectors of the electric connector. Then, the protruding connector group of the electric connector is opposed to a large number of electrodes of the second electric joint composed of a semiconductor package and the like, and the first and second electric joints are brought closer to each other, so that the conductive wire is built-in. Each of the connected connectors deforms and conducts in an independent state, so that the first and second electrical joints can be electrically connected.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. An elastically deformable connector group 4 is provided on the plate 1.
Are arranged side by side and supported so that the upper and lower ends of the connector group 4 project from the flat front and back surfaces of the holding plate 1 respectively.

The holding plate 1 is formed into a single-layer, thin (for example, 0.4 mm thick) cross-sectional plate using a predetermined material having an insulating property. A pair of positioning holes 3 are formed on both sides at a predetermined interval to penetrate therethrough (see FIGS. 2 and 3). As a material of the holding plate 1, for example, polyether ether ketone (P
EEK), polyamide imide (PAI), aromatic polyester (liquid crystal polymer / LCP), polyether imide (P
EI), polyethersultone (PES), sheet-shaped highly durable engineering plastics made of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and the like. As described above, the material of the holding plate 1 is appropriately selected from the above-mentioned materials, and in consideration of workability, environmental characteristics, heat resistance, electric characteristics, flame retardancy, and the like, polyetherimide is optimal.

The material of the holding plate 1 is not limited to a highly durable engineering plastic. For example, an insulating composite made of metal and resin,
Insulating metal alone (for example, alumite-treated aluminum or the like) can also be used. If these materials are used, it is possible to obtain the holding plate 1 having excellent strength, rigidity and heat resistance.

The thickness of the holding plate 1 is set in a range of about 20 to 50% of the height of the connector group 4 and the connector 5. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and FIG. 8B, a large number of insertion ports 2 are arranged in a matrix apart from each other and are perforated in the thickness direction of the holding plate 1. Each insertion opening 2 is perforated with a predetermined size (for example, φ0.48 mm) in a round shape.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the connector group 4 is composed of a large number of connectors 5 which are inserted through the insertion opening 2 of the holding plate 1 and are separated from each other. Independently supported by Both ends of the connector group 4 project from the holding plate 1 by a projection amount of about 20 to 60% of the height of the connector 5. Both ends of the connector group 4 may project from the holding plate 1 by the same amount, or may project by different amounts.

As shown in FIG. 1, each connector 5 is provided with an insulating elastic body 6 penetrating through the insertion opening 2 of the holding plate 1 and a spirally wound vertically inside the elastic body 6. A plurality of (four in the present embodiment) metal wires 7 extending in the axial direction, and the upper and lower ends of each metal wire 7 are flat from both ends of the elastic body 6, in other words, from the contact surface. It protrudes and functions as a contact part. The elastic body 6 has a slightly larger diameter (for example, φ0.5) than the insertion port 2 using a predetermined material.
0 mm), and is formed into a column shape or a string shape that can be elastically deformed, and the Shore A hardness after curing is set in the range of 10 to 80 ° H, preferably 20 to 50 ° H.

The material of the elastic body 6 is a material having such hardness.
It is selected from the foam or a composite thereof, but in consideration of high-frequency transmission characteristics, the selection of silicone rubber having a small dielectric constant is optimal. Specifically, a two-component silicone rubber (trade name: KE-109A / B, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) is preferable.

The plurality of thin metal wires 7 are used in a range of about 2 to 10, and each of the thin metal wires 7 is formed to have a diameter of 25 to 100 μm. Each metal thin wire 7 is made of a material having a low volume resistivity, not corroded by the elastic body 6 and having a high spring property.
It is formed by cutting to a predetermined length. Specifically, a metal wire plated with Cu, Au, Ni, Al, brass, or gold is used as the thin metal wire 7. Preferably, fine metal wires 7 plated on beryllium copper, phosphor bronze,
A thin metal wire named YCut (registered trademark of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.) containing Cu or Ti as a chemical component is used.

The gold-plated metal wire is replaced with a thin metal wire 7.
In the case of using as the contact surface, the contact surface of the connector 5 is cut, so that the end surface of the metal wire also becomes a cut surface and a non-gold plated portion is exposed. Since the connection is ensured, when the metal wire is cut to a predetermined length, whether or not to perform electroless gold plating on the entire cut surface of the metal wire depends on the reliability level required for the connection. What is necessary is just to select suitably.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and the like, each of the thin metal wires 7 is wound around the elastic body 6 coaxially and built therein. On this occasion,
Each metal thin wire 7 has a winding number of 0.2 to 7.5 or less, preferably 0.3 to 1 or less, a winding diameter of 0.1 to 1 mm, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 mm, and a height of 1 to 1. It is spirally wound in the same direction under conditions appropriately selected experimentally from 5 mm. Thus, each metal wire 7 is made as short as possible,
Deterioration of high frequency characteristics is suppressed and prevented.

Next, a method of manufacturing the electrical connector will be described. First, an elastic body 6 having a circular cross section is elongated and extruded using a predetermined molding material (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). A plurality of fine metal wires 7 are spirally wound around the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body 6 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B), and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body 6 is coated with an unvulcanized similar molding material. Coating a plurality of thin metal wires 7
(See FIGS. 7A and 7B). After covering the plurality of metal wires 7 in this manner, the elastic body 6 is cut into a predetermined length to form a plurality of connectors 5 in a divided manner (see FIG. 8A). A contact portion is obtained by projecting both ends of each thin metal wire 7.

Then, the connectors 5 are respectively supported through the large number of insertion openings 2 of the holding plate 1, and the upper and lower ends of each connector 5 are projected from the front and back surfaces of the holding plate 1, respectively. (See FIG. 8B). Means for supporting the connector 5 in the insertion opening 2 of the holding plate 1 include:
As shown in FIG. 9, a method of press-fitting the connector 5 into the insertion opening 2 of the holding plate 1 or supporting the connector 5 through a plurality of ribs 8 is exemplified. Also, a step portion 9 is formed in a part of the connector 5 with an enlarged diameter, and the connector 5 is fitted into the insertion port 2 of the holding plate 1 using the step portion 9, or the insertion port 2 of the holding plate 1 is used. The method of bonding the connector 5 with the adhesive 9A is also used.

After the electrical connector is manufactured, as shown in FIG. 4, the positioning pins 11 of the frame-shaped positioning holder 10 are inserted into the pair of positioning holes 3 of the holding plate 1 from the front side, respectively. A pair of penetrating positioning pins 1
1 is fitted with a spacer 12 from the back side. After assembling the electrical connector, the positioning holder 10 and the spacer 12, the electrical connector is fitted and mounted on the surface of the inspection circuit board 13 via the positioning holder 10, and electrically connected to the many electrodes 14 on the surface of the inspection circuit board 13. A number of connectors 5 of the connector are positioned and connected, and a surface-mount type semiconductor package (BGA in FIG. 1, LGA in FIG. 4) 15 is fitted in a positioning holder 10, and a number of connectors of the electrical connector are fitted. 5 and a large number of electrodes 16 of the semiconductor package 15 are positioned and opposed to each other.

Thereafter, when the semiconductor package 15 is strongly pressed down, the connectors 5 which are conductive portions are compressed and deformed to conduct, and the semiconductor package 15 and the inspection circuit board 13 are electrically connected. Can be inspected.
At this time, 70% or more of the repulsive force of the electrical connection depends on the elastic body 6 of each connector 5.

According to the above configuration, since a large number of coil springs 30 are not arranged and built in the elastic body 6 but both ends of each connector 5 protrude from the holding plate 1 respectively, The load at the time of compression is concentrated on the substrate, and a large amount of compression can be obtained very easily with a low load. In particular, the semiconductor package 1 in which the electrode 16 is made of a flat LGA
Even when the connecting member 5 is connected, there is no need to compress the portion other than the connector 5, that is, the holding plate 1, so that the load during compression does not increase.

Further, a large number of coil springs 30 are provided in the elastic body 6.
Are not arranged side by side, but a large number of connectors 5 forming the connector group 4 are separated from each other and function independently, so that there is no adverse effect from the adjacent connectors 5,
The semiconductor package 15 and the inspection circuit board 13 can be connected in an extremely good state. In particular, the electrode 16
When the semiconductor package 15 composed of BGAs having irregular heights (see FIG. 1) is connected, the connector 5 does not greatly compress in conjunction with the large compression of the adjacent connector 5, so that the repulsive force is reduced. Insufficiency and instability of connection can be extremely effectively suppressed and prevented. Further, the connector 5 does not move in the horizontal direction due to the compression at the time of connection.

Further, since a plurality of thin metal wires 7 are spirally wound in the elastic body 6 without increasing the number of windings to form a composite and improve high frequency characteristics, a 1 GHz signal can be transmitted. A plurality of thin metal wires 7 can be easily bundled. Explaining this effect, if the repulsive force relies solely on the thin metal wire 7, the conventional problem cannot be solved at all. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the number of turns of each thin metal wire 7 is reduced, and the characteristics of the insufficient load at the time of connection and the range of the allowable compression amount are supplemented by the rigid elastic body 6, so that the high-frequency transmission characteristics are reduced. It is possible to obtain the connector 5 which is actually good, has a low load at the time of connection, and has a wide range of allowable compression amount. Further, since the thin metal wires 7 are not inclined obliquely, there is no need to position the semiconductor package 15 and the circuit board 13 for inspection in front, rear, left and right, and the connection work is facilitated, simplified, and speeded up. , Can be expected much easier.

Next, a preferred embodiment of the invention according to claim 2 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 10 to 14, the electric connector according to the present embodiment comprises a plurality of connector groups (connectors). In this embodiment, the connector groups 20 are divided and separated into three groups 20), and the plurality of connector groups 20 are arranged at predetermined intervals so as to be mutually independent.

Each of the connector groups 20 includes a plurality (three in this embodiment) of connectors 5 arranged in a line at a predetermined interval.
And a connection plate 21 which is supported through the slit 2A of the holding plate 1 and connects the plurality of connectors 5. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the connection plate 21 is basically formed in a plate shape using an insulating thin film sheet (for example, silicone or the like is used), and a plurality of holding portions 22 The connector 5 is fitted and connected to the plurality of holding portions 22 in series at predetermined intervals via an adhesive at a predetermined interval. The thickness of the connecting plate 21 is 10 to 50 in the width direction of the connector 5.
%.

Each connector 5 is composed of an insulating elastic body 6 and a plurality of fine metal wires 7 spirally built in the elastic body 6 and extending in the axial direction. Both ends protrude from the flat end faces of the elastic body 6 respectively. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Next, a method of manufacturing the electrical connector will be described. First, a plurality of elastic bodies 6 having a circular cross section are elongated and extruded using a predetermined molding material, and a plurality of elastic bodies 6 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of each elastic body 6. The metal wire 7 is spirally wound, and the outer peripheral surface of each elastic body 6 is coated with a similar unvulcanized molding material to cover the plurality of metal wires 7. After covering a plurality of metal wires 7,
The elastic body 6 is attached to the plurality of holding portions 22 of the connection plate 21.
To form a flat cable (FIG. 13 (a),
(see FIG. 14 (b)), and cut them into predetermined lengths to form a plurality of connectors 5 held by the connecting plate 21, ie, a connector group 20 (see FIG. 14 (a)). The contact portions are obtained by projecting both ends of each of the fine metal wires 7 from the flat end surfaces of the terminal 5. If the connection plates 21 of the connector group 20 are closely fitted and supported (see FIG. 14B) in the plurality of slit holes 2A, an electric connector can be manufactured.

In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those in the above embodiment can be expected. Further, since the connecting plate 21 holds a plurality of connectors 5 at a time, the electric connector can be compared with the case where the connectors 5 are independent. It is clear that the above can be easily assembled to simplify, speed up, and facilitate the work.

Next, FIGS. 15 and 16 show the second embodiment of the present invention.
In this case, the elastic body 6 of each connector 5 is formed into a tubular shape or a cylindrical shape. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those in the above embodiment can be expected. Further, since each connector 5 is formed into a hollow cylinder and the volume is reduced only in the hollow portion, the load at the time of connection can be greatly reduced. . Further, when connecting the semiconductor package 15 made of BGA, the hole at the center of the connector 5 exhibits a guide function of the ball-shaped electrode 16, so that extremely high precision and good connection can be obtained by the alignment effect. .

Next, FIGS. 17A and 17B show the third embodiment of the present invention.
In this case, in this case, of the plurality of thin metal wires 7, some of the thin metal wires 7 are
For example, while spirally winding in the forward direction, the remaining thin metal wire 7 is spirally wound around the elastic body 6 in the other direction, for example, in the opposite direction, and a plurality of the thin metal wires 7 are superposed to form a substantially mesh structure. Like that. The other parts are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the same operation and effect as those in the above embodiment can be expected. Further, since the plurality of fine metal wires 7 have a substantially mesh structure, the transmission path can be greatly shortened as compared with a simple one-way spiral structure. Can lower the resistance,
And good high-frequency transmission characteristics can be obtained.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a relatively large amount of compression with a low load and to suppress or prevent deterioration of high-frequency transmission characteristics. In addition, it is possible to restrict a decrease in the range of the allowable compression amount.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a state of use of an electric connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the electric connector according to the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view showing another state of use of the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of the electric connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein FIG. 5 (a) is a view showing a state where an elastic body is extruded long, and FIG. It is a front view of a figure.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 6 (a) shows a state in which a plurality of thin metal wires are spirally wound around an outer peripheral surface of an elastic body. FIG. 2B is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 7 (a) shows a state in which the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body is coated to cover a plurality of thin metal wires. FIG. 2B is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 8 (a) shows a case where an elastic body is cut into a predetermined length to divide and form a plurality of connectors. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which connectors are supported by a large number of insertion ports of the holding plate, and both ends of each connector are projected from both surfaces of the holding plate.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view showing various fixing methods of the connector in the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the electrical connector according to the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the electrical connector according to the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a connecting plate and its connector in the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of the electrical connector according to the second aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 13 (a) is a view showing a state in which elastic bodies are respectively bonded to a plurality of holding portions of the connection plate; (b) is a front view of (a).

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing method in the embodiment of the electric connector according to the second aspect of the present invention, and FIG. 14 (a) is a view showing a state in which a plurality of connectors held by a connecting plate are divided and formed; FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a state in which the connecting plate is supported by the plurality of slit holes of the holding plate.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the electrical connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory sectional view showing a use state of the electric connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory view showing a method of manufacturing an electrical connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG.
(b) is a front view of (a).

FIG. 18 is an explanatory sectional view showing a conventional electrical connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holding plate 4 Connector group 5 Connector 6 Elastic body 7 Fine metal wire (conductive wire) 13 Inspection circuit board 15 Semiconductor package 20 Connector group 21 Connecting plate 22 Holding part

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An electrical connector in which a connector group is supported by a holding plate, and both ends of the connector group project from front and back surfaces of the holding plate, wherein the connector group is independently separated for each connector. Each of the connectors is composed of an insulating elastic body penetrating the holding plate, and a plurality of conductive wires embedded in the elastic body in a substantially spiral shape and extending in the axial direction. Are exposed from both end surfaces of the elastic body. 2. An electrical connector for supporting a connector group on a holding plate and projecting both ends of the connector group from the front and back surfaces of the holding plate, wherein the connector group is divided into a plurality of connector groups. Then, the plurality of connector groups are made independent of each other, and each connector group is connected to the plurality of connectors at a predetermined interval by being supported through the holding plate. A connecting plate, and each connector is composed of an insulating elastic body and a plurality of conductive wires that are substantially spirally built into the elastic body and extend in the axial direction, and both ends of each conductive wire. The electrical connector, wherein portions are exposed from both end surfaces of the elastic body.