Rotator for a module integrated circuit (IC) handler

Details Rotator for a module integrated circuit (IC) handler Rotator for a module integrated circuit (IC) handler

1999-11-29

2002-11-12

Sherry, Michael (Department: 2829)

Electricity: measuring and testing

Measuring, testing, or sensing electricity, per se

With rotor

C324S758010

Reexamination Certificate

active

06479982

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotator for a module IC (Integrated Circuit) handler, and more particularly to a rotator for a module IC handler having a loading side rotator for 90-degree changing of direction of a carrier and supplying it to the inside of a heating chamber, and an unloading side rotator for 90-degrees changing of direction of the carrier after vertically contacting the module ICs contained in a test site and for transferring it to the unloading location.
2. Background of the Related Art
Typically, a module IC refers to a structure provided with a substrate whose one side or both sides thereof are used for fixedly mounting a plurality of ICs and electric components, for example, by soldering, and has a function for extending a capacity when it is coupled to a mother substrate.
In the prior art, there has been no apparatus for automatically loading the module ICs as final products into a test. socket, testing the same, classifying into respective categories depending upon the test results and then unloading the classified modules into the customer trays (not shown).
For this reason, to test the final product of the module IC, the operator manually has to pick up one piece of the module IC from the test tray in which the module ICs are contained, load it into a test socket, conduct the tests for a preset time period, and finally classify the module IC depending upon the test results in order to put it into the customer tray. This results in lower productivity due to manual work. Further, such tedious repeated manual work contributes to lower productivity.
However, since the modules ICs are held by the pick-up means and then transferred to the test socket, such a module IC handler has the following drawbacks.
Firstly, since the module ICs are held by the pick-up means and then loaded or unloaded to or from the test socket and the handling of the module ICs by the pick-up means is not possible within a sealed chamber, the module ICs are inevitably tested only under a room temperature.
The module ICs produced are tested at a room temperature and then distributed when they are determined to be good, but an actual use of the distributed module ICs when applied to an electric products generates heat under which the module ICs are driven. Thus, difference between conditions at the test for the module IC and conditions at an actual use thereof occurs and thus reduces reliability of the product distributed.
Finally, since the pickup means loads the module ICs contained in the test socket horizontally located in the test site, the test socket is inevitably, horizontally installed in the test site. Thus, inconvenient exchange work of the socket assembly mounted on a bottom surface of the test site is accompanied whenever the module IC is changed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to further improve reliability of distributed module IC products by conducting the performance tests for module ICs under a predetermined constant temperature.
Another object of the present invention is to, in the test site, vertically contact the module ICs contained in the carrier to the test socket by enabling transfer of the carrier, whose direction is 90-degrees changed, to the inside of the heating chamber.
Further, another object of the present invention is to, in the unloading location, enable unloading of the tested module ICs by returning the carrier vertically contacted with the test socket in the test site to a horizontal state thereof.
To accomplish the above object, there is provided a rotator for a module IC handler, the rotator comprising: a loading side rotator, and an unloading side rotator, the loading side rotator including a driving means, a transferring member, a first holding means for holding or releasing the carrier, a first rotating plate, and a first removal/insertion means for introducing or discharging the transferring member into or from the first rotating plate, and the unloading side rotator including a second rotating plate, an unloading side driving means, and a second holding means.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5906472 (1999-05-01), Nakarmura
patent: 5944475 (1999-08-01), Bonora et al.
patent: 6019564 (2000-02-01), Kiyokawa et al.
patent: 6089635 (2000-07-01), Lee

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