ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER AND CONTACT PROBE

• US 20110128025A1
• Filed: 08/10/2009
• Published: 06/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NHK Spring Company Limited
• Original Assignee: NHK Spring Company Limited
• Inventors: Kazama, Toshio, Takamura, Noritoshi, Kawarabayashi, Tomohiro
• Application Number:
  US12/737,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20110128025A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/754.03
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/06722 Spring-loaded
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/07314 the body of the probe being perpendicular to test object, e.g. bed of nails or probe with bump contacts on a rigid support on an elastic support, e.g. a film, G01R1/0735
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 1/023 having a noble metal as the basic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/03 characterised by the material, e.g. plating, or coating materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/2421 using coil springs
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49204 Contact or terminal manufacturing

Abstract

An electrical contact member and a contact probe that are durable and economical are provided. For this purpose, an outer peripheral portion, which has a symmetrical shape with respect to a central axis in a longitudinal direction and has a hollow portion, and a core portion, which has an approximate bar shape extending in the longitudinal direction and filling the hollow portion, are included. One of the outer peripheral portion and the core portion is made of a noble metal alloy, and the other is made of a conductive material other than the noble metal alloy. The one of the outer peripheral portion and the core portion, which is made of the noble metal alloy, projects further than the other at one end portion in the longitudinal direction.

Claims

1-3. -3. (canceled)

4. A pencil-shaped workpiece, of which outer peripheral side is made of a noble metal alloy and of which core portion on the inner peripheral side is made of a conductive material different from the noble metal alloy.

5. The workpiece according to claim 4, wherein the conductive material is copper or aluminum.

6. An electrical contact member that is formed by lathe machining the workpiece according to claim 4, the electrical contact member comprising:

an outer peripheral portion that has a symmetrical shape with respect to a central axis in a longitudinal direction and has a hollow portion, the outer peripheral portion being made of the noble metal alloy; and

a core portion that has an approximate bar shape extending in the longitudinal direction and filling the hollow portion, the core portion being made of the conductive material.

7. The electrical contact member according to claim 6, wherein the conductive material is copper or aluminum.

8. The electrical contact member according to claim 6, wherein the outer peripheral portion projects at one end portion in the longitudinal direction further than the core portion.

9. A contact probe comprising:

the electrical contact member according to claim 8;

a spring member which is made of a conductive material extendable in an axis direction and of which one end portion in the axis direction is attached to the electrical contact member; and

a second electrical contact member to which the other end portion of the spring member is attached.

10. A method for manufacturing an electrical contact member, which includes an outer peripheral portion that has a symmetrical shape with respect to a central axis in a longitudinal direction and has a hollow portion, the outer peripheral portion being made of a noble metal alloy, and a core portion that has an approximate bar shape extending in the longitudinal direction and filling the hollow portion, the core portion being made of a conductive material different from the noble metal alloy, wherein

the electrical contact member is formed by lathe machining a pencil-shaped workpiece, of which outer peripheral side is made of the noble metal alloy and of which core portion on the inner peripheral side is made of the conductive material different from the noble metal alloy.