Electricity: measuring and testing – Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components – Of individual circuit component or element
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-19
2004-07-27
Karlsen, Ernest (Department: 2829)
Electricity: measuring and testing
Fault detecting in electric circuits and of electric components
Of individual circuit component or element
C324S758010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06768330
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IC component test socket assembly; and more particularly, to an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During the functionality test process of an IC component, the IC component is usually manually placed into a test socket for relevant tests. As placing an IC component into the test socket, it is necessary to take the orientation, position, and exactness of the placement into account. Many widely-used IC components, such as the central processing units (CPUs) are square. There are four different but symmetric orientations for matching the square IC component with the square socket. Each two adjacent orientations of the four orientations differ by 90 degrees on the matching plane. However, only one orientation is correct for matching, i.e., only when the IC component is inserted into the test socket in the correct one orientation, the functionality test can be performed correctly without damage to either the test equipment including the test socket or the tested IC components. The reason is that each of the contacts in test has been defined for a specific use according the specification of the tested IC component. Incorrect insertion of the tested IC component into the test socket can lead to mechanical and/or electrical damages. When an IC component is rectangular, there are two different but symmetric orientations for matching the IC component and test socket. They differ by 180 degrees on the matching plane. Therefore, it is also necessary to take the wrong orientation, if happens, into account. For IC components with other shapes, the problem of course needs to be considered if they are rotationally symmetrical in shape.
As shown in
FIG. 1
, an IC component
10
is placed into a conventional test socket
20
a
in a wrong orientation. For a correct placement, an orientation mark (first mark)
11
on the IC component
10
has to be aligned with an orientation mark (second mark) on the test socket
20
a
. In the figure, however, the first mark
11
is not aligned with the second mark
22
a.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the IC component
10
is not placed into the conventional test socket
20
a
in a matched manner from a horizontal viewpoint. For a correct placement, the IC component
10
should be completely inserted into the groove
21
a
without any horizontal tilt. In the figure, however, the IC component
10
is not completely inserted into the groove
21
a
of the test socket
20
a.
Because there are a vast number (ten thousands to millions each month) of the IC components
10
to be tested, it is inevitable that some of the IC components
10
are slantingly placed into the test socket
20
a
due to some inadvertences. If an operator slantingly places the IC component
10
into the test socket
20
a
inadvertently and then performs corresponding functionality tests for the IC component
10
, erroneous test results will be obtained, therefore increasing the possibility of misjudgment. The worst scenario is the burnout of the IC component
10
or damage to the test socket
20
a
or even the test equipment due to component misplacement, thus increasing the total cost and reducing the throughput of products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first objective of the present invention is to provide an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device, so as to avoid burnout of the IC component or destruction of the test equipment when the IC component is incorrectly inserted into a test socket due to some inadvertences.
A second objective of the present invention is to provide an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device, so as to prevent an IC component from being inserted into a test socket with an incorrect orientation, thereby letting the IC component be correctly tested by the test equipment.
A third objective of the present invention is to provide an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device, so as to prevent an IC component from being placed in a test socket in a horizontal imbalance situation, thereby letting the IC component be tightly in electrical connection to the test socket and correctly tested by the test equipment.
A fourth objective of the present invention is to provide an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device, thereby to stop the electric functionality test of an IC component if the IC component is erroneously inserted into a test socket, so as to avoid the burnout of the IC component or damage of the test equipment.
A fifth objective of the present invention is to provide an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device, sending out a signal to inform an operator of checking and correcting the error so as to facilitate subsequent operations when an IC component is erroneously placed into a test socket
A sixth objective of the present invention is to provide an IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device, which is applicable to semi-automatic or completely automatic system level test equipments, which perform electric functionality tests for an IC component in a semi-automatic or completely automatic testing way, to ensure that the IC component is accurately tested by the test equipment.
To achieve the above objects, the present invention relates to an error protection device used in detecting the orientation and position of an IC component. The present invention comprises a test socket, a first detection device, set, a second detection device set, a control unit, and a first mark disposed on the IC component. The first detection device set comprises a first signal emission unit and a first signal reception unit. The second detection device set comprises a second signal emission unit and a second signal reception unit. The first and the second detection device set are fixedly mounted onto the test socket. The IC component will be inserted into the test socket for tests. The first signal emission unit of the first detection device set serves to emit out a signal to let the corresponding first reception unit receive the signal, thereby determining whether the IC component is inserted into the test socket in a horizontally balanced manner. Simultaneously, the first mark on the IC component is utilized to let the signal emitted out by the second signal emission unit be reflected and then received by the second signal reception unit, thereby determining whether the IC component is inserted into the test socket with the correct orientation. The control unit serves to integrate detection results of the first and the second detection device sets, thereby determining whether further electric functionality tests for the IC component are going to be performed or not. The IC component test socket assembly having an error protection device is applicable to semi-automatic or completely automatic system level test equipments, so as to avoid damage of both the IC components and the test equipment during electric functionality tests.
The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
REFERENCES:
patent: 4405233 (1983-09-01), Grau
patent: 6218849 (2001-04-01), Kiyokawa
patent: 6388457 (2002-05-01), Loh et al.
patent: 6466045 (2002-10-01), Tran
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Karlsen Ernest
VIA Technologies Inc.
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