JP3147685B2 - Empty magazine collection device for IC handler - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a test apparatus for testing and measuring the electrical characteristics of an IC device.
The present invention relates to an empty magazine collection device of an IC handler that supplies a device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An IC device test apparatus is divided into an IC tester and an IC handler according to its mechanism. This IC
The device test apparatus is configured as schematically shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a loader unit for supplying an IC device D. The IC device D supplied from the loader unit 1 slides by its own weight along the inclined chute 2 and is vertically moved by a direction change unit 3 on the way. The posture is corrected so as to face the direction, and is sent to the contact / separation mechanism unit 4. Contact / separation mechanism 4
A test head 5 of an IC tester faces the IC device D. The IC device D sent to the contact / separation mechanism 4 has its package clamped and is displaced toward the test head 5 so that the lead is moved to the test head 5. Of the IC device D, the connection test is performed. After the test, the IC device D is released from being clamped by the contact / separation mechanism unit 4, slid under its own weight, and turned again by the direction changing unit 6 so as to face diagonally downward.
It is sent to the unloader section 7. Here, the unloader unit 7 is provided with a sorting shuttle 8, and the sorted shuttle 8 sorts and stores the tested IC devices D.

Here, the supply of the IC device D in the loader unit 1 and the IC device D in the unloader unit 7
A magazine M as shown in FIG. The IC devices D for performing the test are housed in a line in the magazine M, and when the magazine M is inclined downward with the exit portion, the IC devices D are sequentially discharged from the exit portion by its own weight. . Further, when the magazine M is inclined such that its entrance is upward, the IC device D can be housed in the magazine M from this entrance.

In the loader section 1, as shown in FIG. 6, a so-called actual magazine M containing an IC device D to be tested is piled up on a magazine post 10, and the magazine post 10 is piled up. The actual magazines M are dropped one by one from 10, loaded on the transporting means 11 on the supply side, and sent to the loading position 12. Although not shown, a mechanism for tilting the magazine M is provided at the load position 12, and when the magazine M is tilted by this mechanism, the internal IC device D is paid out. When the payout of the IC device D is completed, the magazine M becomes empty. After the empty magazine M is returned to the horizontal state, the magazine M is carried out to the transporting means 13 on the discharge side, and shifts from the load position 12 to the discharge position 14. . The discharge position 14 is
When the next empty magazine M moves to the discharge position 14 while facing a position adjacent to the drop opening 15, the transporting means 1 on the discharge side is used.
The cartridge 3 is pushed out toward the opening 15 for dropping, and is housed in a collection box 16 for collecting a magazine provided below the opening 15 for dropping. Here, the transport means 11 and 13 on the supply side and the discharge side perform a rectangular motion, respectively, as indicated by arrows in FIG.
In the drawing, reference numeral 17 denotes an attachment arm to which the collection box 16 is detachably attached.

[0005]

The collection box 16
Is arranged at a lower position to allow the collected empty magazine M to be taken out, and has a predetermined depth and depth so that as many magazines M as possible can be collected. There is a need. When the collection box 16 is set at a deep bottom, the drop from the dropping opening 15 in the loader unit 1 becomes considerably large. For this reason, the magazine that falls by its own weight collides violently with the bottom surface or another magazine already collected in the collection box, causing damage and generating a loud noise. In particular, in the case of a metal magazine, an extremely loud noise is generated when the magazine is dropped onto the collection box 16 because of the hollow cylindrical shape. Also, when the magazine M falls and collides with a magazine already stored in the collection box 16, extremely large noise is generated and the collision may jump up,
As a result, the attitude and direction of the magazine are greatly disturbed, and the number of magazines M that can be accommodated in the collection box 16 is reduced. Since the removal of the empty magazine from the collection box 16 is performed manually, this collection box 1 is used.
6 is made deep and deep, and many magazines M
If they are stored in different directions, there is a problem that it is extremely difficult to take them out.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to minimize impact when collecting an empty magazine in a collection box by its own weight. It is an object of the present invention to prevent damage and deformation of the magazine, suppress noise, and facilitate removal of the empty magazine collected in the collection box.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a magazine for accommodating IC devices is arranged in a loader section of an IC handler, and the IC devices are sequentially paid out from the magazine. An apparatus for storing an empty magazine in a collection box by its own weight, wherein an impact member made of an elastic member such as rubber for reducing a falling speed is disposed on a fall path of the magazine, and the collection is performed. In the box, a magazine receiving portion formed of an elastic member such as rubber is disposed at a position where the empty magazine is dropped, and a transport belt for transporting the magazine from the magazine receiving portion toward the magazine receiving position is provided . Of accommodation
At the front position, the driving means of the conveyor belt
Moved and empty magazines are stacked in the magazine storage section.
Direction by providing a stacking drive member
The empty magazines are stacked so as to be stacked in the magazine storage section .

[0008]

When the empty magazine is dropped, the falling speed of the empty magazine can be reduced by not dropping the empty magazine directly to the collection box but dropping it while hitting the abutting member on the way. Moreover, since the magazine is not directly housed in the bottom of the collection box but is received by a magazine receiving portion formed of an elastic member such as rubber, the impact is eliminated, and the magazine is reliably prevented from being damaged or deformed. There is no noise. Since the empty magazine dropped in the magazine receiving section is transported to the transport belt, there is no danger of collision with the next falling magazine, which reduces the damage to the magazine and reduces noise, as well as the attitude and direction of the magazine. Disturbance can be minimized. Then, the magazine is transported to the magazine storage position by the transport belt, and is stacked so as to be sequentially stacked.In this magazine storage position, the magazines are stacked in an aligned state, and a hand is put in from the outside. The magazine can be taken out very easily.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of the empty magazine collecting device, FIG. 2 shows a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 shows the configuration of an operation mechanism.

In these figures, reference numeral 20 denotes a collection box, and the outer diameter of the collection box 20 is not particularly different from that of the prior art described above. That is, the top is open and the bottom wall 20 is open.
a and the front and rear side walls 20b and 20c and the left and right side walls 20
d, 20e, the left and right side walls 2
The interval between 0d and 20e is somewhat wider than the length of the magazine M. The collection box 20 is detachably attached to a support member 22 provided at the lower portion of the loader stage 21 with its rear side wall 20c in a cantilevered state by a pair of mounting arms 23, and the upper end of the collection box 20 and the support member. 22
There is a certain distance between them. Collection box 20
Is disposed at a position below the dropping opening 21a of the magazine M in the loader section stage 21. In the loader section, the IC device D is paid out, and the empty magazine M is emptied from the dropping opening 21a by its own weight. It is intended to accommodate falling.

A pair of support brackets 25 and 26 are provided between the left and right side walls 20e and 20f of the collection box 20, and each of the support brackets 25 and 26 has a pair of abutting members 27 and 28, respectively. Is attached. Here, the abutting members 27 and 28 are formed by forming an elastic member such as rubber into a rod shape.
5, 26 extend obliquely downward from opposite directions. The striking members 27 are located above the striking members 28, and their respective tip portions alternately face the region where the magazine M falls.

The upper abutting member 27 has its tip directed toward the front side wall 20b, and the lower abutting member 28 faces the rear side wall 20c. Therefore, the magazine M is dropped by the lower striking member 28 so as to face the rear side wall 20c, and the magazine receiving portion 29 is arranged in the extension direction of the inclination direction of the striking member 28. The magazine receiving portion 29 is formed by bending an elastic member such as rubber into a substantially L-shape, and the magazine M eventually falls toward the magazine receiving portion 29. Further, a magazine passage detecting means including a light emitting element 30a and a light receiving element 30b is provided at a position halfway along the falling path of the magazine M.

A transport belt 31 for transporting the magazine M is provided at a position forward of the magazine receiving section 29. The conveyor belt 31 is provided as a pair of left and right
And idlers 33a and 33b and a tension roller 34
It is provided to be wound around. The drive roller 32 is driven to rotate by a motor 35, and is located near the rear side wall 20c of the collection box 20 and close to the bottom wall 20a. One idler 33a is located above the drive roller 32, the idler 33b is located near the bottom wall 20a of the front side wall 20b, and the tension roller 34 is
And the idler 33a. Here, the portion between the idlers 33a and 33b in the transport belt 31 is a transport area for transporting the magazine M in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1, and in this transport area, the transport belt 31 is inclined downward in the transport direction. It is inclined. Further, a roller 36 for preventing loosening, which is in sliding contact with the lower portion of the conveyor belt 31, is provided at a substantially intermediate portion of the conveyance area.

The magazine M is conveyed by the conveyor belt 31 to the front side wall 20b side. At the winding portion of the conveyor belt 31 around the idler 33b, the magazine M rises parallel to the front side wall 20b from the inclination direction of the conveyor belt 31. Is provided with the magazine accommodation portion 37 curved as described above. Therefore, the magazine M is ultimately accommodated in the magazine accommodating portion 37 so as to be stacked.

As described above, the magazine M falls to the magazine receiving portion 29. In order to forcibly feed the magazine M dropped to the magazine receiving portion 29 to the conveyor belt 31, the carry-out drive piece 38 is sent to the idler 33a. Are provided at three positions outside the two conveyor belts 31 and at an intermediate position (or two outside the two conveyor belts 31), and the horizontal driving portion 3a of the magazine receiving portion 29 has
A notch 29b through which 8 passes is formed. Accordingly, when the transport belt 31 travels, the idler 33a rotates following the travel of the transport belt 31.
The idler 33a is rotated by the rotation of the idler 33a so as to rise from the notch 29b of the magazine receiving portion 29, and is moved onto the conveyor belt 31 so as to scrape out the magazine M dropped into the magazine receiving portion 29. It can be made to be.

The idler 33b also has a carry-out drive piece 38.
Similarly, three (or two) stacked driving pieces 39 are provided at the same positions. A notch 37a similar to the unloading drive piece 38 is also provided in the magazine accommodating section 37, and the stacking drive piece 39 rotates with the rotation of the idler 33b, so that the magazine M which has already been fed into the magazine accommodating section 37. Is pressed against the rising wall of the magazine storage part 37 to correct its posture and direction,
At the same time, the magazine M is pushed upward and the transported magazine M is sunk under the magazine M. As a result, in the magazine storage section 37, the magazines M are aligned in the same direction,
The rising surface of the magazine housing portion 37, that is, the front side wall 20
It is piled up along b. A magazine detection sensor 41 is provided at a predetermined height position in the magazine accommodating section 37. When the magazine M is stacked up to the position of the magazine detection sensor 41, the magazine is alarmed by a lamp or a buzzer. A predetermined number of magazines M are accommodated in the accommodating portion 37, and an operator or the like is notified so as to prompt the user to take out the magazines. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 42 denotes a front side wall 20b of the collection box 20.
And an opening through which a hand or the like is inserted.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and its operation will now be described. First, the magazine M is emptied by paying out the internal IC device D on the loader section stage 21 of the loader section. The empty magazine M is dropped into the drop opening 21a provided in the loader stage 21. The dropped magazine M first strikes against the striking member 27. The striking member 27 is formed of an elastic member such as rubber.
Since the magazine 7 faces obliquely downward, the magazine M is decelerated, changes its angle in the inclined direction, falls toward the other abutting member 28, and abuts against the abutting member 28. The striking member 28 is also formed of an elastic member, and is inclined in the opposite direction to the striking member 27, so that the magazine M is further decelerated and the falling direction has an opposite angle. Thus, the two-stage striking member 27,
By hitting 28, the falling speed of the magazine M is considerably reduced.

The magazine M is received by the magazine receiving portion 29 in a state in which the falling speed is reduced by hitting the hitting members 27 and 28. This magazine receiver 2
9 is made of an elastic member such as rubber, so that the impact is alleviated in combination with the decrease in the falling speed of the magazine M, and the generation of noise and the damage and deformation of the magazine M can be reliably prevented.

The motor 35 operates only for a predetermined time after detecting that the magazine M has fallen by the magazine passage detecting means including the light emitting element 30a and the light receiving element 30b. In the stopped state, the rotation angle of the idler 33a is maintained at a position where the carry-out drive piece 38 is retracted from the magazine receiving portion 29. by this,
When the magazine M falls into the magazine receiving portion 29, it does not hit the carry-out drive piece 38. Then, when it is detected that the magazine M has dropped, the motor 35 is started, the transport belt 31 runs, and the idler 3 is moved.
The carry-out drive piece 38 attached to 3a rotates. As a result, the magazine M that has fallen into the magazine receiving portion 29 is scraped toward the transport belt 31 when the carry-out drive piece 38 is lifted from the notch 39, and moves to the transport belt 31. Therefore, the magazine M is immediately conveyed by the conveyance belt 31, and when the magazine M next falls, the magazine M that has dropped earlier does not exist in the magazine receiving portion 29. Therefore, when the magazines M fall, the magazines M do not collide with each other, so that noise, damage, and deformation do not occur. Absent.

The magazine M transferred onto the conveyor belt 31
Reaches the winding portion around the idler 33b. Here, since the stacked drive pieces 39 are attached to the idler 33b, the magazine M transferred to the magazine accommodating portion 37 by the rotation of the idler 33b is used as the stacked drive pieces 39.
As a result, the posture and direction of the magazine M are adjusted so as to be pressed against the wall surface of the magazine accommodating portion 37, and the magazine M that has been newly fed by being lifted upward is already positioned in the magazine accommodating portion 37. Since the magazines M are sunk downward, the magazines M are housed in an organized manner so that all the magazines M are stacked in a substantially parallel state, and a large number of magazines M can be housed in a relatively narrow space.

When the above operation is continued to reach the height position where the magazine detection sensor 41 is provided in the magazine storage portion 37, the magazine detection sensor 41
The warning is issued based on the signal from the user, the operator inserts his hand from the front side wall 20b side, grasps the magazine M, and opens the opening 4 formed in the front side wall 20b of the collection box 20.
The user can insert the hand from 2 and take it out between the collection box 20 and the support member 22. Almost all the magazines M in the collection box 20 are moved to the front side wall 20b side, and are all oriented substantially in the same direction, and are arranged without any gaps.
All magazines M can be taken out in a very short time.

In the above-described embodiment, the transport belt is divided into two, but may be constituted by one belt. In addition, although the two abutment members are provided, three or more abutment members may be provided, and a pair of abutment members is mounted on each stage, but the number may be further increased.
Furthermore, the magazine receiving portion 29 is provided with a horizontal surface portion. However, if this portion is made to coincide with the inclination direction and angle of the transport belt, it is not always necessary to provide an unloading drive piece. Furthermore, the carry-out drive piece and the stacking drive piece are configured to be directly attached to the idler, but are provided independently of the idler, and are driven by following the rotation of the idler or driven by an independent drive mechanism. It may be. When an independent drive mechanism is used, operations such as arc motion and vibration may be performed without necessarily performing rotational motion.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the empty magazine is collected in the collection box by its own weight, the empty magazine is decelerated by the abutting member made of the elastic member, and the empty magazine is placed on the magazine receiving portion made of the elastic member. As it falls, the impact is minimized to prevent damage and deformation of the magazine and noise, and the empty magazine is transported to the transport belt.
And stacked so empty magazines are stacked in the magazine housing portion with the driving member, an effect such that easy to removal of collected empty magazine in the collection box.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an empty magazine collecting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a mechanism in the empty magazine collecting device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a test device for an IC device.

FIG. 5 is an external view of a magazine and an IC device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a loader unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 collection box 21 loader stage 21a drop opening 24 opening 27,28 abutment member 29 magazine receiving unit 31 transport belt 32 drive roller 33a, 33b idler 37 magazine storage unit 38 carry-out drive piece 39 stacking drive piece D IC device M magazine

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H05K 13/00-13/04 B65G 57/00-57/32 B65G 60/00-61/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A magazine for accommodating an IC device is disposed in a loader section of an IC handler.
In an apparatus for sequentially paying out the C devices and storing empty magazines in a collection box by their own weight, an abutting member made of an elastic member such as rubber for reducing a falling speed is arranged on a falling path of the magazine. Further, in the collection box, a magazine receiving portion formed of an elastic member such as rubber is arranged at a position where the empty magazine is dropped, and a transport belt for transporting the magazine from the magazine receiving portion toward the magazine storing position is provided. Provided , and a hand of the magazine storage unit
At the front position, it is rotationally driven by the drive means of this conveyor belt.
And stacking empty magazines in the magazine storage section
By providing a stacking drive member that operates in the
An empty magazine collection device for an IC handler, wherein empty magazines are stacked so as to be stacked in the magazine storage section. 2. The empty magazine collecting device for an IC handler according to claim 1, wherein the transport belt is inclined obliquely downward from the drop position toward a magazine storage position. 3. The magazine accommodating section further includes the magazine.
It is driven to rotate by the belt drive means, provided out drive member to push the empty magazine in the direction of the conveyor belt
2. The empty magazine collection device for an IC handler according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured.