Abstract:
A connector and an electronic component not damaged by connections to the connector are provided. The connector includes a pair of contacts attached to a base of the case, and an actuator. The actuator includes two slat members laid on one top of the other. Free ends of the pair of contacts are positioned in contact holes of the slat members. The contacts initially stand upright before an operation of the actuator. When the slat members are slid in opposite directions, the free ends of the contacts move further apart. After inserting the substrate terminal of the electronic component in between the free ends and releasing the actuator, the contacts try to resume their initial position because of their flexibility, and, as a result, securely hold the terminal.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to connectors and electronic components connectable to the connectors, and particularly relates to a connector and an electronic component connectable to the connector not damaged by repeated connections and disconnections therebetween. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     To efficiently transmit a large quantity of signals, rapid signal transmission and high-density mounting of electronic devices are becoming increasingly demanded in recent years. Associated with this trend, miniaturization and multipolarization of connectors are progressing. 
     To meet the above-mentioned demands, a conventional connector is arranged with electronic contacts (terminals) into which pillar-type signal pins (terminals) are inserted in the axis direction. The contacts are equipped with contact areas that compress the outside edges of the signal pins in the diameter direction. In this case, the contact pressure of each connector can be decreased. However, as the number of the signal pins increases, an increased amount of force is needed for installing and removing the connectors as a whole, thus making installation and removal of the connector difficult. 
     There is also a possibility that the connector itself may be damaged or a contacted electronic component such as an LSI device may be damaged during connector installation or removal. Therefore, it is required to substantially eliminate the force necessary for installing and removing the connector. 
     A connector shown in FIG. 1 is conventionally used to reduce the force required for connector installation and removal. 
     The connector  1  is made up of a base  3  including contacts  2 , an actuator  4  and a cover  5 . 
     The base  3  has the plurality of the contacts  2  supported in a cantilever formation. The actuator  4  has contact holes  4   a  into which free ends of contacts  2  are fitted. In addition, the actuator  4  includes a pair of slidable members, which can slide on the base  3  in lateral directions as indicated by the arrows. The cover  5  has an opening  5   a , which guides the outside edge of an LSI device  6 , and holds the actuator  4  slidably. 
     When pushed portions  4   b  of the actuator  4  are pressed in the directions indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1 to move the pair of slidable members of the actuator  4  closer to each other, the free ends of the contacts  2  fitted in the contact holes  4   a  of each member of the actuator  4  are pressed against a wall  4   c  defined by the contact holes  4   a  and move to dotted-lined positions in FIG. 1 from the regular positions. When the LSI device  6  is installed in the connector  1  in a such condition, signal pins  6   a  of the LSI device  6  fit into the connector  1  with little required force without rubbing against the contacts  2 . The contacts  2  resume their regular positions when the pushed portions  4   b  are released, and the contacts  2  contact the signal pins  6   a . Therefore the connector  1  and the LSI device  6  are electrically connected. 
     However, the conventional connector  1  is insufficient in providing a constant and stable electrical connection since each contact  2  is pressed against only one side of the signal pin  6   a  of the LSI device  6 . Even if the form and the material of the contact  2  are redesigned in order to increase contact pressure to stabilize the connection, there is a possibility of damaging the signal pins  6   a  of the LSI device  6  and the contact  2  itself of the connector  1  after repeating the connector installing and removing. 
     In general, with signal transmission, unbalanced transmission is widely adopted from a viewpoint of cost saving. However, due to the increasing trends of rapid signal transmission and high-density mounting of electronic devices, unbalanced transmission is likely to be affected by noise, particularly when rapid signal transmission is adopted. Therefore, there is a tendency to adopt balanced transmission. In this case, the conventional connector easily realizes the rapid signal transmission, but due to the structural characteristic of the connectors requiring two signal pins, the high-density mounting is sacrificed. 
     Typically, on a substrate of an electronic device, a common-use earth contact is provided besides a large quantity of signal pins. However, when each signal pin is arranged extremely close to one another to cope with the demands for the rapid signal transmission and high-density mounting of the electronic device, the connector tends to be influenced by noise. To solve the above-mentioned problem, a pair of an earth contact and a signal pin is introduced, but in this case, the high-density mounting of the electronic device is likely to be affected. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a connector and an electronic component connectable to the connectors, which can solve the problems described above. 
     It is another and more specific object of the present invention to provide a connector and an electronic component connectable the connector not damaged by repeated connections and disconnections therebetween. 
     The connector of the present invention includes at least one pair of adjacent contacts having flexible free ends, arranged so as to face each other, wherein the least one pair of the adjacent contacts holds a terminal of connected electronic component so as to form an electrical connection to the electronic component. 
     The present invention enables high-density mounting of electronic devices for rapid signal transmission. In particular, it is possible to provide a stable electrical connection since a pair of the adjacent contacts is holding the terminal of the electronic component from both sides. Also, there is reduced possibility of damaging either the electronic component terminal or the contacts themselves. 
     The connector of the present invention also includes an actuator for adjusting the distance between the free ends of the at least one pair of adjacent contacts. The actuator includes two slat members, arranged one on top of the other having holes through which the free ends of the at least one pair of the adjacent contacts are positioned. Contacting walls of the holes of the two slat members contact so as to push apart the free ends of the at least one pair of adjacent contacts when the two slat members are pushed in opposite directions. The present invention enables the connector to connect to and disconnect from the electronic device terminal with little force, thus protecting the contacts. 
     In addition, the free ends of the at least one pair of adjacent contacts are circular-arc shaped and slightly shifted high and low with respect to each other. Likewise, the contacting walls of the holes of the slat members are circular-arc shaped. Since the apex of the arc of the free ends of the at least one pair of contacts is aligned with the apex of the arc of the contacting walls of the slat members, force is applied only in a horizontal direction to the circular-arc-shaped free ends when the actuator is pressed. In short, the force is applied only in the slidable directions of the slat members. As the force is not applied in a vertical direction so as to increase the friction force between the two slat members, it is possible to operate the actuator smoothly. 
     When the at least one pair of the adjacent contacts is made up of an earth contact and a signal contact, it is possible to arrange electronic device terminals close to one another and thus realize high-density mounting of electronic devices for rapid signal transmission. 
     When the at least one pair of adjacent contacts is made up of a pair of parallel signal contacts, the influence of noise can be reduced and it is possible to arrange electronic device terminals close to one another and thus realize a more preferable high-density mounting of electronic devices for rapid signal transmission. 
     An electronic component related to the present invention is connectable to the connector described in the present invention. The component includes a triple-layered terminal formed of a pair of terminals with insulating material therebetween. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a cross section of a conventional connector; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram of a connector of an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the connector of FIG. 2 taken along a III—III line; 
     FIG.  4 A through FIG. 4C describe the function of the connector of the embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A shows a condition before operating the connector; FIG. 4B shows a condition while pressing an actuator and inserting a terminal of a substrate; and FIG. 4C shows a condition in which the connector is connected to the terminal when finishing an operation of the actuator; 
     FIG.  5 A through FIG. 5D explain a method of manufacturing the substrate terminal of the embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A shows a state in which insulating material is arranged on a patterned substrate; FIG. 5B shows a state in which the patterned substrate covered by a mask; FIG. 5C shows a state in which the terminal is being manufactured; and FIG. 5D shows a completed terminal after removing the mask; and 
     FIG. 6 is a supplementary explanation of a function of the connector of the embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A description will now be given, with reference to figures provided, of a connector and an electronic component of an embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective diagram and FIG. 3 shows a cross section of a connector  10  of the present invention. 
     The connector  10  includes a case  12 , contacts  14  and an actuator  16 . 
     The case  12  is made of an insulating material and has a base  20  and four walls,  22   a  to  22   d , extending from the base  20 . Two of the walls facing each other,  22   a  and  22   c , extend further upwards than the other two walls and form a guide section (mentioned hereinafter as  22   a  and  22   c ). 
     The base  20  supports three pairs of the contacts  14 , where each contact  14  comprises a contact  14   a  and a contact  14   b . As shown in FIG. 2, the contacts  14  are arranged in two rows. Each set of contacts  14   a  and  14   b  of each contact  14  have respective circular-arc-shaped free ends  24   b  and  24   a , which are arranged in facing positions slightly shifted to relatively higher and lower positions, respectively. In addition, the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  are electrically isolated, or insulated, from each other by the base  20 . 
     The slat members  16   a  and  16   b  each includes contact holes  26   a  surrounded by four flat walls and contact holes  26   b  of which one of the walls B in the X 1 -X 2  direction indicated in FIG. 3 is circular-arc-shaped. The contact holes  26   a  and  26   b  are arranged with a certain pitch. In addition, the contact hole  26   a  of one of the slat members  16   a ,  16   b  and the contact hole  26   b  of the other one of the slat members  16   a ,  16   b  are paired up so as to communicate with each other. The circular-arc-shaped free ends  24   a  and  24   b  of the respective contacts  14   a  and  14   b  are arranged to pass through the corresponding pair of respective contact holes  26   a ,  26   b.    
     On the X 1 -end of the slat member  16   a is an operating portion  28   a . Likewise, on the X 2 -end of the slat member  16   b  is an operation portion  28   b . When both operating portions  28   a  and  28   b  are pressed in the directions indicated by the respective, adjacent arrows in FIG. 3, the circular-arc-shaped wall B of the contact hole  26   b  of the slat member  16   b , pushes the top B in the X 1  direction. On the other hand, the contact hole  26   a  of the slat member  16   b  pushes a portion A of the contact  14   a  in the X 1  direction. At the same time, the circular-arc-shaped wall B of the contact hole  26   b  of the slat member  16   a  pushes the portion A of the contact  14   b  in the X 2  direction. As a result, the circular-arc-shaped free ends  24  of each pair of contacts  14   a  and  14   b  are moved further apart from each other. 
     A description of the operation of the connector  10  will now be given with reference to FIG. 4A to FIG. 4 C. 
     FIG. 4A shows a (“rest”) condition before operating the connector  10  in correspondence to FIG.  3 . Since the slat members  16   a  and  16   b  are not pushed towards each other, the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  stand upright. In this condition, tips  24   a  and  24   b  of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b , respectively, are separated by a distance L. 
     In FIG. 4B, a reference number  30  indicates a substrate of an electronic component related to the embodiment of the present invention, and a reference number  32  indicates a terminal attached to the substrate  30 . The terminal  32  is a triple-layered terminal made up of insulating material  32   a  held between a pair of terminals  32   b  and  32   c . The width W of the terminal  32  is sufficiently wider than the length L between the tips of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b.    
     As indicated in FIG. 4B, the operating portions  28   a  and  28   b  are pressed by a compressive force, causing the slat member  16   a  to slide in the X 2  direction and the slat member  16   b  to slide in the X 1  direction. By doing so, the portion A of the contact  14   b  is pushed in the X 2  direction by the wall B of the contact hole  26   b  of the slat member  16   a . On the other hand, the portion A of the contact  14   a  is pushed in the X 1  direction by the wall B of the contact hole  26   b  of the slat member. As a result, the free ends  24   a  and  24   b  of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b , respectively, are pushed to an actuated condition, further apart than the width W of the terminal  32 . In this actuated condition, the terminal  32  of the substrate  30  is inserted between the free ends  24  of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b , so that the terminal  32   b  faces the contact  14   a  and the terminal  32   c  faces the contact  14   b.    
     When the pressure applied to the operating portions  28   a  and  28   b  is slowly released, as indicated in FIG. 4C, the portions A of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  push against the walls B of the contact holes  26   b . As a result, the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  move closer together. The contacts  14   a  and  14   b  try to resume the separation length L, which is shorter than the width W. Therefore, there is enough pressure to hold the terminal  32 , and thus the electronic component and the connector  10  are securely electrically connected. 
     One example of a manufacturing method of the terminal  32  of the substrate  30  will now be described with reference to FIG. 5A to FIG.  5 D. 
     The insulating material  32   a  is placed, using an appropriate method, on top of the substrate  30 . Next, a pattern  40  is formed on the substrate  30 . (FIG. 5A) 
     The substrate  30  is covered with a mask  44  except for a certain space  42  on both sides of the insulating material  32   a . (FIG. 5B) 
     Then, the terminals  32   b  and  32   c  are formed in the space  42  so as to connect to the pattern  40 . (FIG. 5C) 
     The triple-layered terminal  32  with the insulating material  32   a  held between the pair of terminals  32   b  and  32   c  is manufactured by removing the mask  44  (FIG.  5 D). 
     With the above-described embodiment of the present invention related to the connector  10  and the substrate  30 , it is possible to realize a more efficient high-density mounting of an electronic device for the rapid signal transmission. Particularly, since a pair of contacts  14   a  and  14   b  holds the terminal  32  of the substrate  30  from both sides, it is possible to secure the electrical connection, and there is a reduced possibility of damaging the terminal  32  or the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  themselves. In addition, by pressing the actuator  16 , it is possible to connect the connector  10  to the terminal  32  of the substrate  30  with little force of installing and removing, and damage to the terminal  32  or the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  themselves is securely prevented. 
     FIG. 6 is a comparative example of the connector  10 . As indicated in FIG. 6, if all the walls of the contact holes  26   c  are flat evenly, and also if the top of the free ends of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  are curved, when the actuator  16  is pressed, a force is added in a diagonal direction, as indicated by the arrow X 1  in FIG. 6, to the slat member  16   c  and a force is added in a diagonal direction, as indicated by the arrow X 2  in FIG. 6, to the slat members  16   d . As a result, the slat members  16   c  and  16   d  experience an increased frictional force which prevents the actuator  16  from functioning smoothly in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG.  6 . On the other hand, with the connector  10  as indicated in FIG. 4B, force is only applied horizontally to the slat members  16   a  and  16   b . Therefore, it is possible to operate the actuator  16  smoothly. 
     The pair of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  of the connector  10  related to the above-described embodiment of the present invention can be combined together and considered as a single contact  14  that transmits signals. In addition, the pair of terminals  32   b  and  32   c  of the substrate  30  can be considered as a single terminal  32  that transmits signals. 
     As another alternative of the above, it is possible to apply the pair of the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  as an earth contact and a signal contact, and in correspondence, apply the terminals  32   b  and  32   c  of the terminal  32  as an earth terminal and a signal terminal. In this case, it is possible to arrange electronic terminals close to one another and to realize a more efficient high-density mounting of an electronic device for rapid signal transmission. 
     As another alternative, it is possible to apply the contacts  14   a  and  14   b  as a pair of parallel signal contacts, and in correspondence, apply the terminals  32   b  and  32   c  as parallel terminals. In this case, the influence of noise can be reduced. Also it is possible to arrange the electronic terminals close to one another and thus to realize a more efficient high-density mounting of an electronic device for rapid signal transmission. 
     Also the substrate  30  related to the preferred embodiments of the present invention is able to reduce the inductance. 
     The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiment, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The present application is based on Japanese Priority Application No. 2000-011964 filed on Jan. 20, 2000, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.