Electronic part inspection device

An electronic- part inspection device comprising a plurality of vertically extending terminals made of an electrically conductive plate material and being planar, having opposite major faces and edges extending between the opposite major faces, a terminal-retaining member made of an electrically insulative material, which retains said terminals in a laterally extending alignment, and a separately formed swinging member made of an electrically insulative material, which also extends laterally and is connected pivotally on said terminal retaining member so that said swinging member can be swung in a back and forth direction with respect to said terminal-retaining member;

• wherein:
• each of said terminals comprises a terminal base portion, a first swinging arm portion, a contact portion with a contact edge and a second swinging arm portion, said terminal base portion extending in a front and rear direction in lower part of said terminal and being retained in said terminal-retaining member, said first swinging arm portion extending upward from an upper front of said terminal base portion and being capable of undergoing elastic deformation for swinging, said contact portion being located at an upper end of said first swinging arm portion, and said second swinging arm portion extending upward from an upper rear end of said terminal base portion and being capable of elastic deformation for swinging;
• said terminal-retaining member comprises a terminal-retaining portion to retain said terminal base portions of said terminals;
• said swinging member comprises holding and pressing portions having flat, front surfaces, which are positioned behind and against said contact edges of said contact portions of said terminals, and rear surfaces positioned in front of and against said second swinging arm portions;
• when said swinging member is tilted in a direction that causes said holding and pressing portions of said swinging member to move away from said first swinging arm portions of said terminals, said second swinging arm portions of said terminals, which are pushed by said rear surfaces of said holding and pressing portions of said swinging member, undergo an elastic deformation to bring said front surface of said holding and pressing portions away from said contact edges of contact portions of said terminals thereby creating a gap between said holding portions and said contact portions;
• and
• after contact terminals of an electronic part are inserted into said gap, when said tilted swinging member is released to allow said second swinging arm portions in said elastic deformation to resume original positions, said swinging member, whose holding and pressing portion is pushed by said second swinging arm portions toward said contact edges of said contact portions of said terminals, is returned toward said first swinging arm portions of said terminals, whereby said contact terminals of said electronic part are sandwiched between and directly engaged by said contact edges of said contact portions of said terminals and said front surfaces of said holding and pressing portions of said swinging member.