Electricity: measuring and testing – Measuring – testing – or sensing electricity – per se – With rotor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-27
2002-01-15
Metjahic, Safet (Department: 2858)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Measuring, testing, or sensing electricity, per se
With rotor
C324S755090
Reexamination Certificate
active
06339321
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device tray, an electronic device tray transporting apparatus, and an electronic device testing apparatus, more particular relates to an electronic device tray and electronic device tray transporting apparatus suitable for holding and conveying integrated circuit (IC) chips and other electronic devices for testing the electronic devices and to an electronic device testing apparatus having such a tray or tray carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the process of production of semiconductor devices etc., a tester for testing the finally produced IC chips and other electronic devices becomes necessary. In such a tester, a large number of IC chips carried on a tray are picked up by a suction apparatus and conveyed to over a test head of the tester. Each IC chip is brought into electrical contact with the test head for testing the IC chip. When the test is completed, the IC chips are conveyed out from the test head by a suction apparatus having suction pads and reloaded on trays in accordance with the results of the test so as to sort them into categories such as good chips and defective chips.
In this kind of tester, there is a type which is provided with trays for conveying the IC chips circulating in the tester (hereinafter referred to as “test trays”) in addition to the trays for holding the pre-test IC chips and holding the post-test IC chips (hereinafter referred to as “customer trays”). In this type of tester, the IC chips are reloaded between customer trays and test trays before and after testing, a plurality of IC chips are conveyed inside the tester in the state loaded on test trays, and the IC chips are protected during conveyance.
In this type of tester, since the plurality of IC chips are conveyed inside the tester in a state loaded on test trays, restraining mechanisms are provided for preventing them from jumping out from the test tray due to vibration or shock during conveyance (for example, see FIG. 7 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-43309).
In the tester of the related art, however, since restraining mechanisms are provided to hold each and every IC chip, the exact same number of restraining mechanisms as the IC chips becomes necessary. Not only is there a problem cost-wise, but also use of the same mechanisms is difficult when the ICs are different in shape. In this sense as well, the restraining mechanisms had to be specially designed.
There is also known a tester which covers the area above the test head by a chamber section to create an air-tight space inside, conveys the IC chips above the test head and there pushes the IC chips against the test head for connection, then tests them while making the inside of the chamber section a high temperature or low temperature state.
In this type of tester, the test trays are successively made to move in the substantially vertical direction inside the chamber section and thermal stress is applied gradually to the IC chips attached to the test trays. The test trays are made to move in the substantially vertical direction to gradually apply thermal stress to the IC chips since arrangement of a plurality of test trays in the substantially vertical direction helps make the chamber section compact.
In the tester of the related art, as a tray carrier for making the test trays move in the substantially vertical direction, use is made of a vertical carrier which detachably holds all of the trays arranged in the substantially vertical direction by separate holding members and makes them move successively downward one level at a time in the vertical direction.
In the tray vertical carrier in the tester of this related art, however, since the mechanism holds each of the trays in the vertical direction and makes them move successively downward, there is the problem that the mechanism becomes complicated. Further, the time required for a tray to be moved from the uppermost level holding member to the lowermost level holding member corresponded to the number of levels. There was the problem that even when the number of trays arranged in the vertical direction was small, the same amount of time was taken as when there were a large number of trays. Further, there was also the problem that it was not possible to increase the operating speed of the mechanism due to the design of the tray vertical carrier of the related art.
Further, inside the chamber section of the tester, it is necessary to not only make the test trays move in the substantially vertical direction, but also make them move in the substantially horizontal direction. A tray horizontal carrier is therefore also provided inside the chamber section.
The tray horizontal carrier of the related art, however, made the trays move in the horizontal direction by a belt conveyor system, so there was a problem in the mechanism for making the trays stop at predetermined positions. For example, in the tray horizontal carrier of the belt conveyor system of the related art, to make a tray stop at a predetermined position, a stopper member was made to abut against the tray conveyed by the belt conveyor to make the tray stop, the stopped tray was detected by a position sensor etc., then the belt conveyor was made to stop. Next, when making the tray move to another position, the stopper member was retracted, then the belt conveyor was driven, and, in the same way as explained above, a stopper member was used to make the tray stop at another stopping position.
Therefore, a stopper member and sensor became necessary for every one of the plurality of stopping positions. Further, an actuator member for driving the stopper members was required. The mechanism therefore become complicated. Further, since a tray was made to abut against a stopper member to make the tray stop, a shock was given to the tray due to its striking the member, the trays would slip against the belt until the conveyor was stopped, and trouble such as wear of the trays and belt would occur. Further, since a tray was made to strike a stopper member to stop it, the stopping position easily would become deviated and a mechanism for positioning the tray had to be separately provided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device tray for conveying for example an IC chip or another electronic device and having a particularly simple structure of a restraining mechanism.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device tray, an electronic device tray transporting apparatus, and an electronic device testing apparatus which, when a tray for conveying IC chips and other electronic devices is conveyed in the substantially vertical direction, are simple in mechanism, fast in operating speed, and enable a tray to be moved particularly quickly in the substantially vertical direction when there is a small number of trays.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device tray transporting apparatus and an electronic device testing apparatus which, when a tray for conveying IC chips or other electronic devices is conveyed in a substantially horizontal direction, use relatively simple mechanisms to easily make the tray accurately stop at a predetermined position, reduce the load acting on the tray, and suffer from less trouble.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an in-chamber member movement mechanism, and an electronic device testing apparatus using the same, which can easily make a tray carrier or other in-chamber movement member accurately stop at a predetermined stopping position by a relatively simple mechanism, reduce the load acting on the movement member, and suffer from less trouble, in particular an in-chamber member movement mechanism, and an electronic device testing apparatus using the same, which can effectively prevent condensation when holding the inside of the chamber section in a low temperature state.
To achieve the first object of the present invention, according to a fi
Nakamura Hiroto
Nemoto Shin
Yamashita Kazuyuki
Advantest Corporation
Metjahic Safet
Sundaram T. R.
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