Floating nest for a test socket
View Patent ↗A test socket for facilitating testing of a device under test (DUT) includes a holder comprising a mounting structure for attaching the holder to other components of the socket and a floating nest structure in which the DUT can be disposed. The floating nest structure can have a seat cavity sized and shaped to receive and hold the DUT such that at least some of the DUT terminals are in contact with corresponding contacts of a test board while the test socket is attached to the test board. A flexure located laterally between the mounting structure and the floating nest structure and can allow the nest structure to move relative to the mounting structure and thus float.
1. A test socket configured to hold a device under test (DUT) and be attached to and detached from a test board comprising elongated contacts for contacting terminals of the DUT, the test socket comprising a holder, the holder comprising:
a mounting structure comprising attachment features configured to facilitate attachment of the socket to and detachment of the socket from the test board;
a floating nest comprising a seat cavity sized and shaped to receive and hold the DUT with ones of the DUT terminals in contact with corresponding ones of the elongated contacts of the test board while the test socket is attached to the test board; and
a flexure disposed laterally between the mounting structure and the floating nest and allowing the floating nest to move relative to the mounting structure.
2. The test socket of claim 1 , wherein the flexure comprises flexure elements.
3. The test socket of claim 1 , wherein the mounting structure, the floating nest, and the flexure are portions of a single, unitary piece of material.
4. The test socket of claim 3 , wherein the material is a ceramic filled plastic.
5. The test socket of claim 3 , wherein the material comprises a metal base coated with an electrically insulating film.
6. The test socket of claim 3 , wherein the material is an electrical insulator.
7. The test socket of claim 3 , wherein:
the seat cavity comprises a seat configured to support the DUT, and
the seat comprises through holes sized and disposed in a pattern to receive the terminals of the DUT into the through holes at first ends of the through holes.
8. The test socket of claim 7 further comprising a lid that is moveable from an open position in which the DUT can be freely placed into and removed from the seat cavity and a closed position in which the lid is attached to the holder and secures the DUT in the seat cavity against the DUT seat.
9. The test socket of claim 8 , wherein the lid comprises an adjustable pusher configured to apply an adjustable level of force pressing the DUT against the DUT seat while the lid is in the closed position.
10. The test socket of claim 8 , wherein:
the lid comprises lid alignment features, and
the holder comprises holder alignment features configured to mate with the lid alignment features while the lid is in the closed position.
11. The test socket of claim 10 , wherein the holder alignment features are integral features formed in the single, unitary piece of material.
12. The test socket of claim 8 further comprising a pin assembly coupled to the holder, wherein the pin assembly comprises through holes corresponding to the through holes in the seat.
13. The test socket of claim 12 , wherein the pin assembly comprises pin assembly alignment features configured to mate with the lid alignment features such that, while the lid alignment features are mated with the holder alignment features and the pin assembly alignment features, the through holes in the pin assembly and the through holes in the seat are sufficiently aligned for the contact structures of the test board to extend through the through holes in the pin assembly and into the through holes in the seat where the contact structures contact the terminals of the DUT disposed in the seat cavity.
14. The test socket of claim 7 , wherein the through holes in the seat are also sized and disposed in the pattern to receive corresponding ones of the contacts of the test board at second ends of the through holes in the seat opposite to the first ends, while the test socket is attached to the test board.
15. The test socket of claim 14 , wherein the seat cavity comprises:
tapered sidewalls that taper from an upper opening in the seat cavity to an intermediate opening within the seat cavity,
substantially vertical sidewalls from the intermediate opening in the seat cavity to the DUT seat, and
wherein the upper opening is larger than the intermediate opening.
16. The test socket of claim 3 , wherein the flexure comprises regions of the unitary piece of material between through slots in the holder between the floating nest and the mounting structure.
17. The test socket of claim 16 , wherein the through slots comprise:
a first set of through slots disposed in greater proximity to the floating nest than to the mounting structure, and
a second set of through slots disposed in greater proximity to the mounting structure than to the floating nest.
18. The test socket of claim 17 , wherein the first set of through slots comprises:
a first one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that extends along a first side in the seat cavity, and
a second one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that extends along a second side in the seat cavity,
wherein the elongated portions of the first one and the second one of the through slots are substantially parallel.
19. The test socket of claim 18 , wherein the second set of through slots comprises:
a third one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that extends along a third side in the seat cavity, and
a fourth one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that extends along a fourth side in the seat cavity,
wherein the elongated portions of the third one and the fourth one of the through slots are substantially parallel to each other and substantially perpendicular to the first one of the through slots.
20. The test socket of claim 16 , wherein the floating nest comprises a plurality of the DUT cavities each sized and shaped to receive a DUT.
21. The test socket of claim 20 , wherein the through slots comprise:
a first set of through slots disposed in greater proximity to the floating nest than to the mounting structure, and
a second set of through slots disposed in greater proximity to the mounting structure than to the floating nest.
22. The test socket of claim 21 , wherein the first set of through slots comprises:
a first one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that extends along first sides of the plurality of the DUT cavities, and
a second one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that extends along second sides of the plurality of the DUT cavities,
wherein the elongated portions of the first one and the second one of the through slots are substantially parallel.
23. The test socket of claim 22 , wherein the second set of through slots comprises:
a third one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that is substantially perpendicular to the elongated portion of the first one of the through slots, and
a fourth one of the through slots comprising an elongated portion that is substantially parallel to the elongated portion of the third one of the through slots.