Low resistance low wear test pin for test contactor
AssigneeJohnstech International Corporation
InventorMichael Andres
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A contact for use in a test set which can be mounted to a load board of a tester apparatus. The contact, which serves to electrically connect at least one lead of a device being tested with a corresponding metallic trace on the load board, has a first end defining multiple contact points. As the test pin is rotated about an axis generally perpendicular to a plane defined by the contact, successive contact points are sequentially engaged by a lead of the device being tested. The test pin has a hard stop edge which engages a hard stop wall which limits its rotation movement. The bottom of the pin has a shallow convex curvature preferably with a flat region and the tip of the test pin has a chisel edge.
Claims16
A test set including a test pin for use in a test housing, which connects a load board to at least one contact lead of a device under test (DUT) with a corresponding metallic trace on the load board, when the DUT is in test position, comprising:
- said test pin mounted slidably within said housing,
- each test pin having a first tip end defining a contact point, said contact point configured to engage a contact of the DUT, said test pin having a bottom having an edge in engagement with the metallic trace;
- said test pin including a vertically oriented planar hard stop edge, and said housing including an aperture permitting said tip to protrude therethrough,
- said aperture including a generally vertically planar wall including a hard stop wall, said hard stop wall located to engage said hard stop edge in planar to planar contact when the DUT moves from an in-test to out-of-test position;
- at least one bias element engaging said pin and biasing said stop edge toward said hard stop wall;
- wherein said hard stop wall is located such that when said hard stop edge is engaged therewith.
A method of making a chip test fixture which limits lateral movement of a test pin tip during chip test, having a load board, a housing, a plurality of test pins vertically confined within the housing and a receiver for a device under test (DUT) having contact leads, the test pins having a tip and an adjacent stop edge, the housing having a stop wall adjacent said stop edge on the housing, comprising the steps of:
- a. mounting the test pins to rotate around an axis,
- b. biasing the test pins upwardly toward the receiver for the DUT,
- c. forming the test pins with a chisel shaped tip to contact said contacts leads
- limiting the rotational movement of said test pins tips by positioning the stop edge adjacent the stop wall and forming said wall and edge as mating planar surfaces, such that said planar stop edge and planar stop wall are in plane to plane contact at all times during use by biasing the test pins such that said stop edge against said stop wall
- so that when the DUT is inserted into the receiver, the pin will sharply engage the contacts leads and its lateral movement cross the contact leads will be constrained by the plane to plane contact.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.