JPS6338862B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention is directed to
The present invention relates to an inspection device that measures and inspects conductivity, etc. by contacting test points of circuit boards such as ICs and LSIs, and particularly relates to an inspection device that can easily measure and inspect multiple types of circuit boards, etc. at once.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Conventionally, as a device for inspecting whether a proper conduction state is formed on a circuit board, etc., multiple groups of probes consisting of a large number of contact probes are arranged in a desired arrangement on a probe support plate, and each contact probe is It is generally known that the tip is brought into contact with a land or the like of a circuit board corresponding to each probe group (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7835/1983).

By the way, in this type of inspection equipment, as circuit patterns become finer and more dense, contact probes need to be made smaller in diameter, and their positions must be set with high density and accuracy, which takes a lot of time to manufacture the equipment. It is becoming more and more expensive. In order to reduce the diameter of the contact probe, it has recently been proposed to form the probe with a simple metal wire and obtain contact pressure by curving the probe (for example, (See Publication No. 58-2755).

However, in conventional testing equipment, the array of probes arranged on the probe support plate is configured each time according to the circuit pattern to be tested. Even if it is necessary to change the arrangement, a new probe support plate must be manufactured that differs only in the probe arrangement of the probe group, which poses problems such as poor inspection efficiency and uneconomical results.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made in view of the current situation, and even if it is necessary to change the probe arrangement of a required probe group, it is possible to easily change only the probe arrangement of the probe group without manufacturing a new probe support plate. It is possible to significantly improve measurement and inspection efficiency and reduce inspection costs.
Furthermore, multiple types of circuit boards and the like can be measured and inspected simultaneously. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inspection device having a probe of the type that obtains contact pressure by bending.

[Summary of the invention]

As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention comprises a probe support plate composed of an upper support plate and a lower support plate arranged vertically at a required interval, and that the probe support plate is aligned with the upper and lower support plates in the vertical direction. A probe unit consists of a support structure in which a plurality of pairs of stepped holes having mutually opposing step portions are formed and a group of many contact probes are supported in a penetrating state. At least a portion of a plurality of probe groups can be exchanged using a connecting member that is held between both support plates while being locked to the part, and that connects the probes removably at required intervals between the support plates. The invention is characterized by making it possible to replace the parts and making the replacement work easy.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an inspection device according to the present invention, and in the same figure, 1 and 2 are upper and lower support plates arranged vertically at required intervals via connecting members 3 arranged at the four corners. Between these support plates 1 and 2 is a probe unit 4 which will be described in detail later.
For example, 56 units are clamped and fixed in a predetermined arrangement so that they can be replaced. By moving both support plates 1 and 2 up and down by a guide device (not shown) with a large number of probe units 4 held and fixed between both support plates 1 and 2, for example, 56 IC board (not shown)
It is now possible to perform multiple inspections at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 2, each probe unit 4 is interposed between an upper support board 5 and a lower support board 6 that are shaped like rectangular plates, and regulates the vertical distance between them. For example, a cylindrical or square rod-shaped unit support 7 and a screw 8 connecting this unit support 7 and the upper support board 5
and a screw 10 that connects the unit support column 7 and the lower support board 6 via a washer 9. Square hole 1
a from the lower surface side, and the lower support board 5 is fitted and locked from the upper surface side into a stepped rectangular hole 2a bored in the lower support plate 2 and having an upwardly facing stepped portion 2a1. It's summery. and,
By tightening the connecting member 3, the probe unit 4 closes the stepped portions 1a of the stepped rectangular holes 1a, 2a.
It is designed to be clamped and fixed while being positioned between 1 and 2a1. The connecting member 3 is a connecting column 3a that is arranged to penetrate from the lower surface side of the lower support plate 2.
and a fixing screw 3b screwed into the upper end of the connecting column 3a from the upper surface side of the upper support plate 1. By tightening the fixing screw 3b, each probe unit 4 is fixed between the support plates 1 and 2. Fixed.

Further, the probe unit 4 includes both the support boards 5 and 6, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Equipped with, for example, 172 pin-shaped contact probes 11 arranged in a rectangular shape through the periphery of the
The upper end of each contact probe 11 is fixed to the upper support board 5, and the lower end of each contact probe 11 is inserted into the lower support board 6 so as to be slidable up and down. The diameter of the contact probe is, for example, about 0.4 mm, and the pitch of the probe is, for example, about 0.9 mm.

Each contact probe 11 is made of a small-diameter pipe material, particularly as shown in FIG. 4, and a solid tip contact 11a is fixed to the lower end thereof by laser welding or the like. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, an insulating tube 12 is fitted in a portion between the support boards 5 and 6 of this contact probe 11, and two insulating tubes 12 are fitted in the middle of this portion in the longitudinal direction. is slidably supported by two rectangular plate-shaped probe pressure adjustment plates 13. The portion of the contact probe 11 located between both adjustment plates 13 is a portion that curves when contact pressure is applied to the probe, and the tip contact 11a is in contact with a land of an IC board (not shown) below the lower support plate 2. When this occurs, this portion between both adjustment plates curves to alleviate the impact upon contact, and the spring back ensures reliable contact.

The two probe pressure adjustment plates 13 are fixed in position by three cylindrical positioning spacers 14 that are removably attached to the outer periphery of the unit support 7, and these positioning spacers 14 can be removed and replaced. By doing so, the vertical position, especially the vertical distance between both probe pressure adjusting plates 13, can be arbitrarily selected. By widening this vertical interval, the contact probe 11 becomes easier to bend, and the probe pressure, that is, the contact pressure of the tip contact 11a, decreases, and at the same time, by narrowing the vertical interval, the contact probe 11 becomes difficult to bend. Probe pressure is increasing.

Each contact probe 1 configured in this way
A tip protection plate 15 that slidably guides the lower end portion of the contact probe 11 is disposed at the lower end portion of the contact probe 11 so as to be vertically displaceable.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this tip protection plate 15 has a hole 15a in the center and has a rectangular plate shape that is slightly smaller than the reduced lower part of the stepped square hole 2a of the lower support plate 2. A large number of guide holes 16 (Fig. 4) are formed on the periphery of the hole.
The lower end portions of the contact probes 11 are accommodated within the contact probes 11 in a loosely fitted state, thereby effectively preventing bending of the tip-side portions of the contact probes 11 and displacement of the tips due to external forces.

The tip protection plate 15 also includes a guide pin 18 inserted from above into four slide holes 17 provided in the lower support board 6, and a screw threaded into the lower end of the guide pin 18 from the bottom side of the tip protection plate 15. Coil springs 20 are connected to the lower support board 6 via screws 19 to be vertically displaceable, and are provided around each guide pin 18.
is constantly pressed downward.

Next, the effect will be explained.

During measurement and inspection, the upper and lower support plates 1 and 2, in which the probe units 4 having a predetermined probe arrangement are installed, are connected to a large number of probe units arranged in a predetermined arrangement.
It is positioned above an IC board (not shown) and lowered with a predetermined stroke. Then, the lower surface of the tip protection plate 15 comes into contact with the IC board, and by further lowering both the support plates 1 and 2, the tip protection plate 15 is relatively raised against the biasing force of the coil spring 20. And each contact probe 1
The tip contact 11a at the lower end of 1 contacts an inspection point such as a land on the IC board. Therefore, a continuity test is performed via each contact probe 11.

By the way, when the tip contactor 11a comes into contact with the inspection point, the tip contactor 11a is pushed upward, but the portion of the upper end of the contact probe 11 that penetrates the upper support board 5 is fixed to the upper support board 5. Therefore, contact probe 1
1 is buckled at its longitudinal central portion to absorb the impact upon contact, and its spring back provides a constant contact pressure. At this time, the distance between the adjustment plates 13 is determined so that the longitudinal center portion of the contact probe 11 is most likely to buckle (so that the span is the longest) compared to other portions. Further, the contact pressure can be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the adjustment positions 13 by replacing each positioning spacer 14. By localizing the buckling portion in this way, it is possible to prevent the drawback of conventional devices in which a particularly large buckling force tends to act on the support portions at both ends of the contact probe.

In addition, since the contact probe 11 is made of pipe material, it has a strong elastic restoring force after buckling and is less likely to break, and when the outer diameter is the same, it is less likely to buckle than solid material. It has the effect of being easy.

Further, the lower end portion of the contact probe 11 is
Since it is loosely fitted into the guide hole 16 of the tip protection plate 15, it is possible to effectively prevent the bending of the tip-side portion of the contact probe 11, where the small diameter tends to bend, and the displacement of the tip contact 11a. The tip contact 11a is connected to the guide hole 1.
Since the contact probe 11 is constantly guided by the guide hole 16, even if the contact probe 11 should be bent, the positional deviation of the tip contact 11a due to the bending can be corrected by the guide hole 16.

After conducting the continuity test in this way, when both support plates 1 and 2 are raised, the contact pressure on the tip contact 11a is released, so each contact probe 11 returns to the state before the test. become.

Thereafter, the same operation is repeated to continue testing multiple IC boards, etc. at the same time.

Some of the types of IC boards to be inspected at the same time have changed, and the probe unit 4
If you need to change the probe sequence of
First, the connecting members 3 at the four corners of both support plates 1 and 2 are removed to separate the upper support plate 1 and the lower support plate 2. Then, the probe unit 4 to be changed is removed and replaced with a new probe unit 4 having a different probe arrangement, and both support plates 1 and 2 are integrally connected by the connecting member 3 by the reverse operation to the above.

At this time, since each probe group is unitized as a probe unit 4 and can be freely attached and detached, the probe arrangement can be changed without newly manufacturing the entire device. Also,
It becomes possible to inspect many types of IC boards and the like at the same time.

In addition, each probe unit 4 has both support plates 1 and 2.
It is clamped and fixed between them, and can be attached and detached at the same time by releasing the connection between both support plates 1 and 2.
Replacement work is easier than in the case where each probe unit 4 is removably attached to both support plates 1 and 2 using separate fixing means.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the vertical distance between a pair of upper and lower probe compression adjustment plates 13 can be adjusted without disassembling the probe unit 4.

That is, each adjustment plate 13 is integrally fixed via a lock nut 22 to a slide member 21 that is slidable along the unit support column 7 having a square bar shape, for example.
The unit support 7 can be temporarily fixed at any position by means of a set screw 24 whose tip is fitted into a guide groove 23 provided in the unit support 7. The configuration in other respects is exactly the same as the previous embodiment.

In this embodiment, the vertical distance between the adjustment plates 13 can be adjusted very easily, so that insufficient contact pressure can cause contact failure, or conversely, too much contact pressure can damage the circuit pattern. be able to.

Furthermore, even if the contact pressure is initially set to the optimal contact pressure, the elastic restoring force of the contact probe 11 will weaken due to repeated buckling, and therefore the optimal contact pressure will not be obtained. can be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, the probe support plate is composed of a pair of upper and lower support plates, and each probe group arranged in a predetermined arrangement on the probe support plate is formed into a unit with its support structure and can be attached and detached. Since the probes are clamped and fixed between the support plates so that they can be replaced, if you prepare multiple types of units with different probe arrangements in advance, even if the pattern of some circuits is changed, this section can be easily replaced. You can work around this by simply replacing the unit with another.

Therefore, a wide variety of probe arrays can be easily obtained as a whole of the probe support plate, and a plurality of types of circuit boards, etc. can be tested simultaneously without any problems.

In addition, since each unit is clamped and fixed between both support plates, all units can be replaced by simply separating both support plates, and all units can be replaced by simply connecting both support plates. Therefore, even if a large number of units need to be replaced, the work is easy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a partial cross-sectional view showing details of the probe unit.
3 is a bottom view of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the tip protection plate portion of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1...Top support plate, 1a, 2a...Stepped square hole,
1a1, 2a1...Step part, 2...Lower support plate, 3...
... Connection member, 4 ... Probe unit, 5 ... Upper support board, 6 ... Lower support board, 7 ... Unit support column, 11 ... Contact probe, 11
a...Tip contact, 13...Probe pressure adjustment plate,
15... Tip protection plate, 16... Guide hole,
18...Guide pin, 20...Coil spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A support plate movably provided facing the circuit board to be inspected is provided with a large number of pin-shaped contact probes of a type that obtains contact pressure by bending, which are passed through the circuit board in parallel toward the circuit board. In an inspection device for a circuit board, etc., which performs a conduction state measurement test by bringing the tip of each contact probe into contact with a test point on a circuit board by moving a support plate, the support plates are arranged vertically at a required interval. The upper support plate and the lower support plate are formed with a plurality of pairs of stepped holes having step portions aligned in the vertical direction and facing each other. A probe unit consisting of a support structure supporting a contact probe in a penetrating state is held between both support plates with its upper and lower ends locked in the stepped portions of the stepped hole, and the probe unit is sandwiched between both support plates. An inspection device characterized in that a connecting member is interposed to removably connect the components at the required intervals. 2. The support structure of the probe unit that supports the contact probe is made up of an upper support board that fixedly supports the upper end of the contact probe, a lower support board that slidably supports the tip of the contact probe, and both support boards are arranged in a predetermined manner. An inspection device for circuit boards, etc., as set forth in claim 1, comprising unit supports that are connected and fixed at intervals.