Electricity: measuring and testing – Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components – Of individual circuit component or element
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-14
2003-10-21
Cuneo, Kamand (Department: 2829)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components
Of individual circuit component or element
C324S765010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06636060
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic devices testing apparatus for testing a variety of electronic devices, such as semiconductor integrated circuit devices (hereinafter also simply referred to as an “IC” or “ICs”), a tray and an insert used therefor, more particularly relates to an insert, a tray and an electric devices testing apparatus superior in holding ICs under test and precisely positioning of the ICs under test with respect to a contact portion, wherein components are superior in being used widely.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic devices testing apparatus called a “handler” conveys a large number of ICs held on a tray to the inside of a testing apparatus where the ICs are electrically contact a test head, then the IC testing apparatus body (tester) is made to perform the test. When the test is ended, the ICs are conveyed out from the test head and reloaded on trays in accordance with the results of the tests so as to classify them into categories of good ICs and defective ones.
In an electric devices testing apparatus of the related art, there are some types wherein trays for holding the ICs to be tested or the tested ICs (hereinafter also referred to as “customer trays”) and trays conveyed circulating inside the electric devices testing apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as “test trays”) are different, therefore, in such types of electric devices testing apparatus, the ICs are switched between the customer trays and the test trays before and after the test, and in the testing processing wherein tests are carried out by pressing the ICs against the test head while being carried on the test trays.
In a test tray of an electric devices testing apparatus of the related art, for example
64
of IC mounting devices called inserts are provided, and the insert
16
, as shown in
FIG. 27
, has a lever plate
162
approaching and receding from the insert body. The lever plate
162
is mechanically connected to a latch
163
to hold ICs (to prevent the ICs from jumping out), and the latch
163
becomes a closed state under unloaded condition as shown in an upper figure of
FIG. 27
due to an elasticity of a not illustrated spring so as to prevent the ICs from jumping out while being conveyed. On the other hand, when the lever plate
162
is pulled down from the outside, the latch
163
opens as shown in the lower figure of FIG.
27
and the ICs can be carried in and carried out.
The contact portion of the test head is comprised by a plurality of retractable contact pins
51
provided by springs, and the tip is, when testing an IC of a ball grid array (BGA) type, made to be a conical indentation mating with the ball-shaped input-output terminal.
In an electric devices testing apparatus of the related art, positioning of ICs under test with the contact pins is carried out by using an outer circumferential shape of a package mold of the IC, but in an IC of a chip size package (CSP), etc., size precision of the package mold is extremely rough and positional accuracy of the outer circumferential shape and the solder balls is not always guaranteed. Therefore, when determining a position by the outer circumference of the IC package mold, the solder ball ends up being pressed in an deviated state against the contact pin and a sharp tip of the contact pin is liable to damage the solder ball.
Thus, the present inventors have developed an apparatus wherein a position is determined not by a package mold but by a solder ball itself. As a result, not only damaging, etc. of the solder ball is prevented, but an insert can be used in common even when an outer shape is different as far as an arrangement matrix of the solder balls is the same.
When mounting two kinds of ICs having different outer shapes but in the same arrangement matrix are mounted on one kind of inserts as shown in
FIG. 28
, however, holding by the above latch
163
becomes difficult.
Namely, when determining a position of an IC with respect to the insert
16
by the solder ball, since a height of the solder ball itself is extremely low, the IC may be out of a guide even by small vibration. Accordingly, it is required that a clearance z in the vertical direction between the latch
163
and the IC is made as small as possible, and it can be realized only by making the tip of the latch
163
shown in
FIG. 27
a little longer.
However, when making the tip of the latch
163
longer, an opening/closing amount x becomes small at the time of opening the latch
163
as shown in a lower figure of
FIG. 27
, consequently, an IC of a large outer shape and an IC of a small outer shape as shown in
FIG. 28
can not be held by a same latch
163
.
Although, when a rotation angle of the latch
163
, that is an amount of pulling down the lever plate
162
, is made larger, the opening/closing amount x of the latch
163
also becomes large, it is difficult to increase the pulling down amount of the lever plate
162
due to a limitation of a test procedure of the handler. Also., the opening/closing amount x of the latch
163
becomes large by moving the rotation center of the latch
163
downward in the figure, however, when the rotation center of the latch
163
is lowered, the insert itself becomes larger downwardly, so it may interfere with other mechanisms while being conveyed to the test procedure, etc.
On the other hand, when testing a ball grid array (BGA) type IC, as shown in
FIG. 29
, the contact portion of the test head
104
is comprised of a plurality of retractable contact pins
51
provided by springs (not shown). The ends, as shown by the part B in
FIG. 30
, are formed with conical indentations
51
a
mating with the ball-shaped input-output terminals of the ICs (hereinafter also referred to as the “solder balls HB”). In an electric devices testing apparatus of the related art, positioning of the IC to be tested with the contact pin
51
was performed by using an outer circumferential shape of a package mold PM of the IC under test.
However, in an IC of a chip size package (CSP) etc., size precision of the package mold PM is extremely rough and positional precision of the outer circumferential shape and the solder balls HB is not always guaranteed. Therefore, when determining a position by the outer circumference of the IC package mold PM, as shown in C portion in
FIG. 30
, the solder ball HB ends up being pressed in a deviated state against the contact pin
51
and a sharp tip of the contact pin
51
is liable to damage the solder ball HB.
Even an IC with a precise size of the outer circumferential shape of the package mold PM is positioned by using the outer circumferential shape and even if the ICs have the same matrix of the solder balls, if the outer circumferential shapes are different, inserts of the test tray also have to be changed and the test cost is increased.
Furthermore, even in a case of ICs other than the chip size package, since the ICs under test are detached at a socket portion and temporarily positioned before being pressed against the contact pins
51
of the test head so as to prevent the contact pins
51
from damaging the solder balls HB, there has been a disadvantage that an index time of the IC testing apparatus becomes long.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an insert, a tray and an electric devices testing apparatus superior in holding electric devices under test.
Also, another object of the present invention is to provide an insert for an electric devices testing apparatus superior in precisely positioning the ICs under test to a contact portion and having components able to be widely used.
To attain the above first object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, an insert is provided in a slightly movable state on a tray and is loaded with electric devices to be tested inside an electric devices testing apparatus, the insert comprising:
a latch portion for moving between a first position and a second position, the first position for holding the electric devices
Advantest Corporation
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Cuneo Kamand
Tang Minh N.
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