Patent US4773877A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4773877A
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US
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Contactor for an electronic tester
Assignee: Feinmetall GmbH
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Filing: 1987-08-17
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Granted: 1988-09-27
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Expires: 2007-08-17
Abstract
Abstract The contactor is used for an electronic tester for testing of electronic items such as printed circuit boards, integrated circuits or the like. It has at least one resilient contact pin which has a piston member and a spring. The piston member and the spring are formed in a single piece from a single piece of metal sheet.
Inventors
- 👤 Gustav Kruger
- 👤 Sven Hinnerwisch
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 06:28
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/02; H01R13/22; H01R13/24; H01R13/2407; H01R13/2428; G; G01; G01R; G01R1/00; G01R1/02; G01R1/06; G01R1/067; G01R1/06711; G01R1/06716; G01R1/06722; G01R1/06733
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
113 words
In a contactor for an electronic tester for testing an electronic device such as a printed circuit board, an integrated circuit and the like, said contactor having at least one resilient contact pin which is electrically conducting and engagable with a contact or terminal of said electronic device, each of said resilient contact pins having a plunger member whose plunger head is guided linearly in a slot, said plunger member being followed in the axial direction by a spring, the improvement wherein said plunger member and said spring of each of said resilient contact pins are jointly formed in one piece from a portion of metal sheet to form a resilient axial bar.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
113 words
In a contactor for an electronic tester for testing an electronic device such as a printed circuit board, an integrated circuit and the like, said contactor having at least one resilient contact pin which is electrically conducting and engagable with a contact or terminal of said electronic device, each of said resilient contact pins having a plunger member whose plunger head is guided linearly in a slot, said plunger member being followed in the axial direction by a spring, the improvement wherein said plunger member and said spring of each of said resilient contact pins are jointly formed in one piece from a portion of metal sheet to form a resilient axial bar.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said plunger member of said bar is flat.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said spring and/or said plunger head of said bar forms a planar region of said bar and said bar is entirely flat.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein the longitudinal direction of said bar is linear.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said spring has an undulating configuration with transverse undulations with respect to the longitudinal direction of said bar.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said spring formed by said portion of said metal sheet of said bar is generally transverse to a geometric width longitudinal central plane of said plunger member.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
The improvement defined in claim 6 wherein the wave plane of said transversely undulating spring is substantially parallel to the geometric width longitudinal central plane of said plunger member.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
The improvement defined in claim 6 wherein said spring formed by said portion of said metal sheet is oriented at least substantially approximately perpendicular to said geometric width longitudinal central plane of said plunger member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
The improvement defined in claim 7 wherein said peaks of said transversely undulating spring are formed by a plurality of flaps which are bent away through a plane defined by a cross piece connecting two opposing ones of said flaps.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The improvement defined in claim 9 wherein said flaps are planar and bent at right angles to said cross piece oriented approximately perpendicularly to said geometric width longitudinal plane.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said bar has at least one deformation for reinforcement, and said bar has a foot piece connected to said plunger member.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
48 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said resilient contact pin has a linear slider guide in which said plunger head of said plunger member is slidable axially and in which said spring is located and said resilient contact pin consists of said slider guide and said bar.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
The improvement defined in claim 12 wherein said slider guide is made of said metal sheet.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The improvement defined in claim 13 wherein said slider guide forms a linear bar with a channel cross section.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The improvement defined in claim 13 wherein said slider guide has at least one stop for said bar.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
26 words
The improvement defined in claim 15 wherein said slider guide has two of said stops between which said spring of said bar is located and compressed.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
53 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein a contact head acting as an internal contact for said electronic device is attached to said bar and a point of said resilient contact pin serving for internal contact with said electronic device is formed by a metal sheet forming the bar in a single piece.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said contactor has a support in which a plurality of slots are provided which provide slider guides for the plunger members of a number of contact pins whose bars are inserted in said slots.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
38 words
The improvement defined in claim 18 wherein a contact head formed as an attached member or in one piece with said bar is provided on said bar, said bar including said contact head forming said resilient contact pin.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein a maximum width of said plunger member is larger than a maximum height of said plunger member.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
20 words
The improvement defined in claim 20 wherein said maximum width is at least two times greater than said maximum height.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein a maximum width of said spring is greater than a maximum height of said spring.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
The improvement defined in claim 22 wherein said maximum width is at least twice as great as said maximum height.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
22 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein a maximum width of said bar is greater than a maximum height of said bar.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
20 words
The improvement defined in claim 24 wherein said maximum width is at least twice as great as said maximum height.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
25 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein a maximum width of said bar is greater than a thickness of said sheet metal forming said bar.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
18 words
The improvement defined in claim 26 wherein said width is at least twice as great as said thickness.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
19 words
The improvement defined in claim 26 wherein said width is at least three times as great as said thickness.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
17 words
The improvement defined in claim 26 wherein said width is about four to twenty times said thickness.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
17 words
The improvement defined in claim 26 wherein said width is about 4 to 10 times said thickness.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
20 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said spring comprises a flat ring provided with at least one hole therethrough.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
21 words
The improvement defined in claim 31 wherein said spring includes a plurality of said flat rings attached together in a row.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
31 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein said spring of said bar is guided in a slider guide which also at least partially guides said plunger head of said plunger member.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
32 words
The improvement defined in claim 14 wherein said bar has an embossing projecting into an intervening space existing between both of two legs of said slider guide having said C-shape cross section.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
33 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein a portion of a formed metal sheet is used for said bar, the thickness of said metal sheet forming said bar being about 0.05 to 0.40.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
The improvement defined in claim 35 wherein said thickness is between about 0.09 to 0.25 mm.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
46 words
The improvement defined in claim 35 wherein the ratio of the cross sectional width to the cross sectional height of the cross section of said metal sheet forming said spring is at least greater than 1:1 for a cross section acted on most strongly by bending.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
13 words
The improvement defined in claim 37 wherein said ratio is greater than 2:1.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
41 words
The improvement defined in claim 1 wherein both longitudinal end portions of said bar are formed by both longitudinal end regions of a metal sheet from which said bar is formed and said bar is said located in a slot therefor.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1991-09-27 | 1992-03-28 | 1992-09-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1995-09-27 | 1996-03-28 | 1996-09-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1999-09-27 | 2000-03-28 | 2000-09-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |