Active solid-state devices (e.g. – transistors – solid-state diode – Housing or package – With housing mount
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-29
2004-08-10
Chaudari, Chandra (Department: 2813)
Active solid-state devices (e.g., transistors, solid-state diode
Housing or package
With housing mount
C257S685000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06774485
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present relates to apparatus for and a method of packaging semiconductors devices, and, more particularly, to a packaging apparatus and methods for plural devices which are manufactured and then placed in a package in a first orientation, but which customers to whom the packages are furnished desire to remove from the package in a different orientation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One type of prior art semiconductor device is a ball grid array (“BGA”) device
10
, generally depicted in
FIG. 1. A
BGA device
10
typically includes a substrate
12
carrying electrical conductive paths
14
and
16
on opposed surfaces
18
and
20
thereof, and electrical paths
22
formed within through-holes
24
through the substrate
12
. The surface
18
of the substrate
12
also carries a semiconductor chip
30
that includes thereon and therein a variety of transistors and other devices.
The transistors and other devices of the chip
30
are rendered electrically continuous with selected ones of the paths
14
by wires
32
which are bonded to external transistor-connected pads on the chip
30
and selected paths
14
. Selected paths
14
are connected to selected paths
16
via the through-hole paths
22
. Eutectic solder balls
34
on the paths
16
permit the ultimate connection of the chip
30
to terminals or pads of utilization circuitry. The chip
30
, the wires
32
and other portions of the device
10
may be covered with or encapsulated in insulative material
36
of selected formulations.
During and after the production of the BGA device
10
, it is subjected to various visual, electrical and other inspections and tests. Ultimately, the completed device
10
is delivered to a packaging station, generally depicted by the reference numeral
38
in
FIGS. 1 and 2
, where the device
10
is packaged for delivery to and use by a customer.
The bonding of the wires
32
, the encapsulation with the insulative material
36
and other operations utilized to produce the device
10
are typically carried out so that when the completed device
10
arrives at the packaging station
38
, a first or upper surface
40
of the device
10
is oriented upwardly, while a second or lower surface
42
of the device
10
is oriented downwardly. This positioning of the device
10
orients the balls
34
downwardly.
Typically, and referring now to
FIG. 2
, large numbers of devices
10
are continuously delivered to the packaging station
38
oriented with their balls
34
down. Selected quantities of the devices
10
are then conveniently placed into multiple pockets
48
, one device
10
per pocket
48
, formed in a tray
50
, sometimes referred to as a waffle pack, with their balls
34
down. A cover
52
may then be placed over and removably secured to the waffle pack
50
to retain the devices
10
therein. The waffle pack
50
and the contained devices
10
are then shipped to a customer.
Customers object to receiving the devices
10
in the waffle packs
50
ball-side-down. One reason for this objection is that customers' utilization of the devices—typically removal from the waffle pack
50
and placement in and connection to other circuitry—requires that the devices
10
be ball-side-up. Absent intervention by the device manufacturer, a customer must invert each device
10
into a ball-side-up orientation after its removal from the waffle pack
50
.
Prior manufacturer intervention in this area has taken the following form: After a quantity of devices
10
have been loaded into an uncovered waffle pack
50
, a second inverted waffle pack
52
is placed and held thereover so that the pockets
48
in each waffle pack
50
,
52
are aligned. At this point, the waffle pack
50
is below the superjacent waffle pack
52
. The waffle pack
50
,
52
“sandwich” is then inverted reversing the upper and lower positions of the waffle packs
50
,
52
so that the waffle pack
50
originally holding the devices is now upside-down. This inversion allows the devices
10
to fall from the pockets
48
of the waffle pack
50
ball-side-up into the pockets
48
of the now lowermost, right-side-up waffle pack
52
. The waffle pack
52
is then covered and shipped to a customer, who is able, as desired, to remove the devices
10
therefrom ball-side-up.
Typically, waffle packs
50
,
52
for BGA devices
10
contain numerous pockets. Aligning these pockets in the waffle packs
50
,
52
can be difficult and time-consuming. It is likely that some of the devices
10
will not drop into the pockets
48
of the waffle pack
52
upon inversion of the packs
50
,
52
because of misalignment of the pockets
48
,
48
or because of a device
10
“cocking” in the pockets
48
of one or the other pack
50
,
52
. It has also been found that the application of force to the packs
50
,
52
during the inversion—such as may occur when the packs
50
,
52
are tapped to encourage the devices
10
to fall or due to the impact of the devices
10
against the pockets
48
in the pack
52
incident to falling—may damage the devices
10
.
One aim of the present invention is the provision of a method and apparatus which simplify orienting devices
10
according to customers' wishes, which method and apparatus obviate the shortcomings of the prior method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The premise for the method and apparatus of the present invention is that articles, which may be BGA semiconductor devices or the like, are presented at a work station, such as a packaging station, in a certain orientation that is caused by or results from prior operations such as manufacturing or testing. In the case where the article is a BGA device, the orientation at the work station results in ball contacts thereon being downward, that is, the devices are presented to the station ball-side-down. It is desired to present multiple articles to customers in a pocketed container in a different or inverted orientation, in the case of the BGA devices ball-side-up. Further, it is desired to achieve inversion of the articles without dropping the articles from a first container into a second aligned container by inverting the two containers so the articles drop from the first to the second container in an inverted orientation.
Instead of using a pocketed container at the work station, a member or transfer body is secured which has apertures formed therethrough, that is, all the way through the member as open apertures. The apertures are conformal with the periphery of the articles so that once an article is therein, it cannot rotate and is securely held therein. One end of the apertures is closed to render them blind apertures. Conveniently this may be achieved by fixing a first removable cover to the side of the member at which the ends of the apertures are located.
Next, the articles are inserted into the apertures at the work station, using, in effect, the first removable cover as a “bottom” against which the articles abut. In the case of BGA devices, the balls thereof abut and are supported by the first cover and the opposed surface of the BGA devices are exposed at the work station. Now the other ends of the blind apertures are closed, conveniently by a second removable cover. This renders the apertures closed apertures. Thereafter, the member is inverted. This inverts the articles converting the first cover into a “top” cover and the second cover a “base” which supports the devices in their inverted orientation. This inverted orientation in the case of BGA devices is ball-side-up. Removal of the first cover, now the “top” cover, exposes the inverted articles, specifically the BGA device balls, the orientation preferred by customers.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4456359 (1984-06-01), Turner
patent: 5427492 (1995-06-01), Tanaka et al.
patent: 5848702 (1998-12-01), Pakeriasamy
patent: 6273310 (2001-08-01), Gregory
Chaudari Chandra
Vesperman William
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