Patent ID: 6802720
Filing Date: 2004-10-12
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
A pin-array, separable, compliant electrical contact member for separably, electrically interconnecting a first electrical device having electrical contacts to a second electrical device having electrical contacts, comprising:a probe housing having a thickness, and defining a plurality of openings through the thickness; one or more pin probes, each pin probe located in and protruding from an opening in the probe housing, and each defining an enlargement larger than the opening in which the pin is located, to inhibit lateral pin motion, and also prevent the pins from being removed from their openings vertically in at least one direction; and a layer of Anisotropic Conductive Elastomer (ACE) adjacent to the probe housing and comprising a plurality of conductive chains of particles through the layer thickness and aligned generally perpendicularly to the layer's major surfaces; wherein one end of the pin probes are in contact with the electrical contacts of the first electrical device, and the other ends of the pin probes are in compressive contact with a major surface of the ACE layer, and wherein the other major surface of the ACE layer is in contact with the electrical device, such that electrical signals are passed between the two electrical devices through the pin probes and the ACE layer.