Patent ID: 6737873
Filing Date: 2004-05-18
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
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 swinging arm portion, a contact portion with a contact edge and an engaging portion, said terminal base portion being a lower part of said terminal and retained in said terminal-retaining member, said swinging arm portion extending upward from said terminal base portion and being capable of undergoing elastic deformation to swing in the back and forth direction in the plane of the terminal, said contact portion being located at an upper end of said swinging arm portion, and said engaging portion being also located at the upper end of said swinging arm portion; said terminal-retaining member comprises a terminal-retaining portion and a counter portion having a flat surface, said terminal-retaining portion retaining said terminal base portions of said terminals and said counter portion being connected to said terminal-retaining portions and located in front of and with the surface therof in engagement with contact edges of said contact portions of said terminals; said swing member, which has pivotally engaging portions to engage with engaging portions of said terminals, is positioned behind and against said contact portions of said terminals; when said swinging member is tilted in a direction that causes said pivotally engaging portions of said swing member to move away from said contact portion, said swinging arm portions of said terminals which are engaged through said engaging portion of said terminal to said pivotally engaging portions, undergo an elastic deformation to bring said contact edges of said contact portions of said terminals away from said surface of said counter portion of said terminal-retaining member thereby creating a gap between said contact edges of said contact portions and said surface of said counter portion; and after contact terminals of an electronic part are inserted into said gap, when said tilted swinging member is released to allow said swinging arm portions in said elastic deformation to resume original positions, said contact portions of said terminals and said swinging member are returned toward said counter portion of said terminal-retaining member, 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 surface of said counter portion.