1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to the automatic test equipment field, in general, and to a new and unique contact/connector element to be used therewith, in particular.
2. Prior Art
The electronics industry is a rapidly growing industry. Virtually any type of operation can now be controlled by an electronic device of some kind. Many of these devices, from the smallest consumer product to giant main frame computers, use printed circuit boards or printed wiring boards. In fact, in most cases, these circuit boards are the working heart of the electronic devices. Needless to say, the value and usefulness of these electronic devices is dependent upon the verity and integrity of the circuits provided on the circuit board. Consequently, the circuits must be tested for continuity, opens, shorts, the ability to withstand high-voltage surges, and the like. Such testing has been increasingly performed by automatic testing equipment (ATE) as opposed to old-fashioned hand testing.
In point of fact, as new applications of circuit boards are developed, the circuits thereon become more complex and the testing becomes more difficult. Consequently, computer-based test equipment is now recognized as an economic necessity. The complexity of the boards (and the difficulty in testing) is a function of the density of the components placed on the circuit board as well as the use of multi-layered printed circuit boards.
In addition, testing is necessary on the bare board as well as the board after it has the multiplicity of components applied thereto. Also, testing of the entire system, i.e., systems with multiple boards therein, is required to establish proper functioning of the various elements and components in the operational environment.
The automatic testing equipment field is serviced by many manufacturers. These manufacturers produce various types of equipment to test printed circuit boards in various stages of fabrication. To date, several of these manufacturers have produced machines or devices which include a plurality of electro-mechanical contacts or test points. The number of test points in the respective devices may range from a few hundred to approximately 50,000. However, these test points have turned out to be the weak link in the testing apparatus. That is, the known test points generally comprise a multiple part element. For example, it is frequently found that the known test points comprise at least three or four components. The known test points include a first contact member which is inserted into the test equipment and permits electrical contact to be made thereto. A mating sleeve is inserted into the contact sleeve and serves to maintain a spring therein. The actual contact tip also is disposed in the second mentioned sleeve and is spring biased by the spring which is mounted within the sleeve combination. The spring biased tip is utilized inasmuch as circuit boards are frequently out of planar alignment wherein rigid contact tips or points can be broken. Nevertheless, the multi-part contact test point still suffers from problems insofar as reliability and sturdiness of construction are concerned. That is, the spring element frequently deteriorates or the tip can be broken despite the resilient construction. For these and other reasons, the currently available test points exhibit several shortcomings and improved test point contacts are desired.