Patent Publication Number: US-8123530-B2

Title: Lower profile electrical socket

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrical socket, and more particularly to an electrical socket having a lower profile structure thereby lowering and benefiting an overall height of the socket for compact application. 
     2. Description of Prior Art 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,634 issued to Liao on Apr. 29, 2003 discloses a conventional electrical contact and electrical socket for electrically connecting a pin of an electrical package and a PCB (printed circuit board). The electrical contact  1  of the electrical socket comprises a base portion  10  extending in a vertical direction, an engaging portion  11  extending from a top end of the base portion  10 , and a solder pad  12  extending from a bottom end of the base portion  10 . The engaging portion  11  and the solder pad  12  also extend along the vertical direction. 
     However, such conventional contact may not be fitted in certain application, such a thin and compact environment. The base portion, engaging portion and the solder pad are disposed at positions having different heights relative to a same horizontal plane. In other words, the three portions are disposed at different horizontal plane. Therefore, the whole height of the electrical contact is comparably bulky for the above-described application. Accordingly, it is inevitable that a socket incorporated with such contact will also be suffered with a bulky dimension not suitable for compact and thin application. 
     In view of the above, an improved electrical contact and electrical socket that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical socket benefited with low profile suitable for compact and thin applications. 
     To achieve the above-mentioned object, an electrical contact comprises an insulative housing having an upper surface extending along a first direction, a number of contacts received in the insulative housing, and a plurality of solder mass received in the housing and located aside a base portion of a contact, respectively. The contact comprises a base portion for retaining the contact received in the housing, a contacting portion extending from the base portion. The solder mass, the base portion and the contacting portion are disposed in a manner of one by one along the first direction. The electrical contact has a lower profile. The electrical socket is benefited with low profile suitable for compact and thin applications. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric view of an electrical socket in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the electrical socket as shown in  FIG. 1  and an IC package; 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric, exploded view of the electrical socket as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric view of an electrical contact of the electrical socket as shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical socket of  FIG. 1  taken along line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of an interconnecting assembly of the invention for using with the electrical socket for electrically connecting the electrical package shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the present invention in detail. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-7 , the electrical socket  1  of the present invention comprises an insulative housing  10  and a number of contacts  12 . The insulative housing  1  defines an upper surface  100 , a lower surface  102  opposite to the upper surface  100 , and a number of passageways  104  extending vertically between the upper surface  100  and the lower surface  102 . The passageway  104  is recessed from the lower surface  102  toward the upper surface  100 . The passageway  104  comprises a first part  1040  for receiving a solder mass  2 , a second part  1042  for receiving a retaining portion  120  of the contact  12  and a third part  1044  for receiving a solder ball  30  of an electrical component  30 . In the present invention, only the third part  1044  extends through both the lower surface  102  and the upper surface  100 . Those three parts are communicated with one another and disposed one by one along an extending direction of the upper surface  100 . 
     The number of contacts  12  is received in corresponding passageway  104 , respectively. The contact  12  further comprises a contacting portion  122  extending from the base portion  120 . In the present invention, the contacting portion  122  is a pair of arms  1220  extending toward the upper surface  100  of the housing  10  from an edge of the base portion  120 . Those two arms  1220  each define two hooks  1222  thereon, such that both the hooks  1222  forming a grasping space for nesting the solder ball  30  of the electrical component  3 . 
     According to the present invention, the solder mass  32  for connecting the contact  12  to a PCB (Printed Circuit Board not shown) is received in the first part  1040  of the passageway  104  and attached on the base portion  120  of the contact  12 . A lower end of the solder mass  2  arranged below the lower surface  102  of the housing  10 . The solder ball  30  is grasped and positioned by the hooks  1222  of the contact  12 . Thus, electrical connection between the electrical component  3  and the PCB will be established. 
     According to the present invention, those three parts of the passageway  104  are communicated with one another and disposed one by one along an extending direction of the upper surface  100 . Therefore, after the contact  12  and the solder mass  2  are received in the passageway, the solder mass  2 , base portion  120  and the contacting portion  122  are also disposed one by one along an extending direction of the upper surface  100 . Obviously, thickness of the housing  10  between the upper surface  100  and lower surface  102  will be reduced. Thus, the electrical socket of the present is benefited with low profile suitable for compact and thin applications. 
     While the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention has been shown and described, equivalent modifications and changes known to persons skilled in the art according to the spirit of the present invention are considered within the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.