JPH0347734B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an IC handler, and in detail,
The present invention relates to an IC handler that can reduce the size of an IC supply mechanism when the IC is supplied to a measuring section using a horizontal forced transport mechanism.

[Prior Art] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the basic configuration of a conventional IC handler.

In the figure, A is a loader section that stores untested ICs and sequentially sends them out, and generally has IC magazines 1 stacked on top of each other. Inside this IC magazine 1, individual ICs are continuously arranged.

The ICs in the IC magazine 1 are successively guided by their own weight by guide rails into the preheating treatment section B and are pretreated at a temperature that meets predetermined inspection conditions. Preliminary treatment in this case includes preheating, precooling, etc.

The ICs that have passed through the preheating treatment section B are similarly guided by guide rails and are sequentially lowered vertically downward through the measurement section C, where they are inspected by an automatic measuring device (inspection head, not shown).

After the inspection, the IC is placed in the unloader section D.
Along the way, they are sorted and distributed by classification section E according to the inspection results, slide down under their own weight through multiple parallel lanes, and are set in unloader section D. Multiple rows of magazines 1a, 1b, 1c, 1e, 1f, 1g,
1h.

[Problem to be solved] In the case of a self-fall method in which the IC slides down by its own weight on a guide rail and descends, it is necessary to hold down the IC itself for heat treatment, measurement processing, etc. Because it is necessary to stop the IC and change the direction of the IC itself according to the falling direction, there is a drawback that IC pins are prone to bending or jamming. In addition, when testing multiple ICs in parallel using guide rails, it is necessary to install guide rails corresponding to the number of ICs in parallel, which makes it difficult to control the timing of ICs flowing in parallel, and the equipment It has the disadvantage of being large.

Therefore, in order to avoid such a problem, an IC transport method using a horizontal forced transport mechanism may be considered.
However, since the IC has a large number of terminals and the pitch between the terminals is narrow, it is difficult to bring each terminal of the IC into contact with the contacts of the measurement unit from the horizontal transport mechanism. If an accurate positioning mechanism is used to supply the IC to the measuring section, the supply mechanism becomes complicated and the portion becomes large.

[Purpose of the Invention] The present invention solves the problems of the prior art, and is capable of accurately bringing each terminal of an IC into contact with the contacts of the measurement unit, and reducing the size and size of the measurement mechanism of the device. The purpose is to provide an IC handler that can be

[Means for solving the problem] The present invention for achieving the above purpose
The feature of the IC handler is that it uses a horizontal forced transport mechanism to transport ICs to the measuring section using a bucket. A push-up mechanism is provided below the horizontal conveyance mechanism,
The push-up member of the push-up mechanism passes through the storage opening of the bucket and pushes up the IC in the bucket so that each terminal of the IC comes into contact with the contacts of the measuring section.

[Function] In this way, a storage opening is provided that passes through the bucket, and the IC is pushed up from the bottom with the push-up member to supply the IC to the measurement section, and the contact is
By making the IC terminals contact each other,
When pushing up the IC, the storage opening of the bucket acts as a guide, allowing the IC to be pushed up and supplied to the exact position relative to the measuring section.

In other words, when the IC is pushed up by the push-up member, since it is inside the storage opening, this serves as a guide and the IC is pushed up.
The device can be pushed up in an accurate state without shifting, and since the push-up member of the push-up mechanism passes through the IC storage opening, it also serves as a guide to prevent the push-up member itself from shifting. As a result, the pushed-up IC is accurately positioned with respect to the contacts of the measurement part, and the IC
Each terminal can be brought into contact with almost no deviation.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

Figure 1 shows an IC of an embodiment to which this invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the handler, FIG. 3 a and b are explanatory diagrams of its IC storage rack, FIG. From the loader section to the bucket transport section
Explanatory diagram of handling operation for supplying IC, No. 6
Figures a and b are side sectional views and front sectional views of the bucket transport mechanism, Figures 7a, b and c are explanatory views of the bucket cart, and Figure 8 is an explanatory view of its chain.

Note that in each of these figures, the same parts are indicated by the same reference numerals.

1 and 2, 10 is an IC handler, 2 is an IC loader section thereof, 3 is a bucket transport mechanism section that receives IC supply from the IC loader section, stores and transports the ICs, and 4 is an IC handler. Bucket transport mechanism section 3
5 is a measurement unit that receives parts from the bucket transport mechanism section 3 and inspects the parts; 6 is a measurement section that receives the inspected ICs from the bucket transport mechanism section 3 and is placed almost horizontally; a sorting unit that transports and stores it in a rack in the storage unit 7 according to the test results;
8 is a rack that is attached to the loader section 2 and the storage section 7 and stores the inspection parts (ICs in this case);
A is a test head which is provided in the measurement section 5 and measures the electrical characteristics of the IC.

Here, the loader section 2 is provided below a rack mounting table 21, a linear feeder 22, a pick-up arm 23 (see FIG. 5), and a rack mounting table 21, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4a. ,
A plurality of IC loading mechanisms 20 (three in the figure) are installed in parallel, each equipped with an elevator mechanism 24 that moves the rack mounting table 21 up and down. 8 are installed respectively.

As shown in Figure 3a and b, the rack 8 has a plurality of IC storage grooves 8 stacked vertically in multiple stages.
1, 81,... are formed continuously, and each groove 8
1 contains individual ICs (in this case, PGA type ICs and hybrid ICs) 9, which are continuously arranged in the groove direction and in the vertical direction, with their pins facing upward.

The push-out claw 82 seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4b
is moved horizontally along the groove 81 by a claw feed mechanism 83 at a pitch corresponding to the width of one component.
The groove 81 in which the pawl 82 moves is located at a position that coincides with the feeding surface of the rail 22a of the linear feeder 22. The movement of the push-out claw 82 by one pitch is controlled by a control signal from a control section (not shown) each time the push-out claw 82 is sent out. The claw feeding mechanism 83, as shown in FIG. 4b, holds a crank-shaped push-out claw 82, and is driven by a pulley 86 via a belt 85, as shown in FIG. It slides on the shaft 84 and moves horizontally.

Therefore, the IC supplied to the bucket transport section 3 side
9, as the push-out claw 82 moves by one pitch, the one on the tip side touches the rail 2 of the linear feeder 22.
2a, and is transported by this linear feeder 22 to a pick-up position P at its tip. As a result, the delivered IC 9 is set at the tip part pickup standby position.

Here, the rack 8 is the rack mounting table 21.
It is removably attached to the rack mounting table 21.
is moved up and down by the elevator mechanism 24, the rack 8 is moved up and down, and the IC9 of the groove 81 is moved up and down.
When all of them are discharged, the grooves 81 above and the grooves 81 below are successively positioned so that their bottom surfaces match the feeding surface of the rail 22a of the linear feeder 22. Reference numerals 25 and 25 refer to pins to prevent components from falling out, which vertically penetrate both ends of the rack 8, and are held suspended, with their tips positioned at positions that match the surfaces of the rails 22a of the linear feeder 22. The groove 81 is not blocked (the length of the component falling-off prevention pin 25 corresponds to this).

The IC loading mechanism 20 includes such a rack 8, its elevator mechanism 24, a pawl feeding mechanism 83, and a rack mounting state detection/positioning guide mechanism 2.
It consists of 6 etc., and here 3 are arranged in parallel in the loader section 2. In the initial state, the rack 8 of the IC loading mechanism 20 has the bottom surface of the bottom groove 81 aligned with the rail 22.
When the IC is sent out from this groove 81 and the groove 81 becomes empty, it is lowered by the stacked pitch (1 pitch) of the groove 81.
That is, when the IC in the groove 81 of a certain rack 8 becomes empty, the rack 8 is moved downward by the elevator mechanism 24, and the bottom surface of the groove 81 above it is positioned at the top surface of the rail 22a. .

Now, IC9 is sent out from rack 8 and is waiting at the tip of rail 22a of linear feeder 22.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6a, the claws 231 of the pick-up arm 23 are lowered in an open state, and are gripped by being closed, and the rails are moved to each storage position of the bucket cart 31 of the bucket transport mechanism section 3. 22a and are sequentially conveyed. and nail 2
31 is opened and IC9 is placed in each storage opening 3.
It is set to 2. Here, the storage opening 32 is 1
Four buckets are provided in each bucket 31, and as shown in FIG.
The IC 9 is stored in the storage opening 32.

Therefore, the four ICs 9 are intermittently delivered one by one from the rack 8 at a timing that matches the handling time of the pick-up arm 23, and are transported to the standby position P at the tip of the linear feeder 22, where they are picked up by the pick-up arm 23. The four ICs 9 are picked up one by one from the linear feeder 22 and transported individually to the bucket 31.

Note that 232 is a spring that biases the claw 231 of the pick-up arm 23 in the closing direction;
3,233 and 234,234 are cam surfaces and rollers that rotate the claw 231 in the opening direction;
35, 235 are pivot points of each of the two claw pieces of the claw 231.

When four ICs are set in one bucket 31 in this way, the bucket 31 moves forward by one, and the next empty bucket 31 is placed on the linear feeder 22.
located at the IC supply position corresponding to Here, when all the ICs in the rack 8 of a certain IC loading mechanism 20 become empty, the elevator mechanism 24 is controlled to rise in response to a control signal from the control section, and the rack 8 moves upward to return to its original initial state. Returning, the pick-up arm 23 moves to the position of the next IC loading mechanism 20, ICs are supplied from the rack 8 of that IC loading mechanism 20, and the empty rack 8 is removed. A new rack 8 filled with ICs is then newly attached to the removed IC loading mechanism 20.

By the way, this bucket 31 is shown in Fig. 6 a and b.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of them are connected at both ends by endless chains 32a and 32b at predetermined intervals. As shown in FIG. 2, the chains 32a, 32a mesh with sprockets 33a, 33b provided at both ends of the bucket conveyance mechanism 3, and are conveyed in sequence. That is,
These constitute a chain transmission mechanism. Therefore, the bucket 31 has chains 32a, 32
The front sprocket 33a is intermittently driven by a motor 34 via a timing belt 35, and each bucket 31 is intermittently fed at a predetermined pitch.

Here, the bucket bag 31 is made of a member such as a metal with good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, and has a rectangular bar shape as shown in FIG. 7a, and has four storage compartments. Openings 32 are provided at predetermined intervals, and screw holes 311, 311, 312, 311, 312, and 312 are provided at both ends of the openings 32, which are fixed to the chains 32a and 32b via screw pins.
312 are opened on both end sides. This bucket bag 31 is fixed to each link 321 constituting the chains 32a, 32b shown in FIG. The portion 32 is fixed in a vertical position.

The storage opening 32 is shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 7a shown in FIG.
As shown in the cross-sectional view, a double stepped recess 310 and a cross groove 315 into which the component handling arm claw 231 is inserted are provided on both sides of the recess 310. It passes through the bucket 31 vertically.

The upper recess 31 of the recesses 310
3 and the lower recess 314 are formed with openings corresponding to the planar shapes of the parts of different sizes, and each opening extends to the surface. As seen in Figure 6b, they are attached to the chains 32a, 32b with their openings facing upward. Then, different types of ICs are stored in either the upper recess 313 or the lower recess 314. Specifically, in this embodiment, the lower recess 314 is
It is sized to accommodate a SOJ type IC, and the upper recess 313 is a storage portion sized to accommodate a PGA type IC, especially a hybrid IC.

Note that the cross groove 315 penetrating these depressions 313 and 314
A presser pin 37, which will be described later, enters from below the cross groove 315 penetrating the bucket, presses and lifts the IC9 to be measured, and lifts it upward. Get out. This is the holding pin passage hole for this purpose.

Now, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bucket transport mechanism 3, including the chains 32a and 32b, is housed in a bucket constant temperature bath 4, and is heated by a heater 41 provided at the bottom of the constant temperature bath 4. be done. Therefore, IC9 stored in bucket 31 is
During this feeding process, it is heated to a predetermined temperature.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6b, when the bucket belt 31 is sent to the bottom of the measuring section 5 and is located in the measuring section 5, the sprocket 33a is stopped in the driving state, which corresponds to the stopped state in which the intermittent feeding is stopped. At the beginning of this stop period, the holding pin 3 with a chuck is activated by a pin pushing mechanism 36 using a direct-acting cam 36a disposed below the bucket 31 corresponding to the measuring section 5.
7 is driven upward, passes through each storage opening 32, grips the IC 9 toward the measuring section 5, and presses it upward. The pin push-up mechanism 36 and the holding pins 37 are located below each storage opening 32, and four of them are arranged in parallel, and the tip of the holding pin 37 has a chuck similar to the claw 23 of the pick-up arm. It has a shape.

Here, contact units 51 (or sockets 51) fixed downward from the ceiling side of the measuring section 5 are provided so as to correspond to the positions of the respective storage openings 32, as shown in FIG. It is pushed up by the holding pin 37 as shown by the dotted line in b.
IC9 contacts the contacts of this contact unit and is electrically connected. The test head 5a connected to the contact unit 51 then pushes up and makes contact with the IC 9, which is then measured.

In this way, the IC9 is supplied to the measuring section 5,
The measurement unit 5 measures each IC 9, and when the measurement is completed, the pin push-up mechanism 36 moves the linear motion cam 36
The return movement of a causes the lowering operation and the holding pin 37
is lowered and the connection with the contact unit 51 is broken. Then, each IC 9 is returned to the original storage opening 32 of the bucket 31. Note that, at this point, the chuck at the tip of the holding pin 37 is located below the bottom surface of the bucket bag 31.

After that, the stop period of intermittent feeding ends and the next feeding state is entered, and the bucket 31 moves to the chain 32.
a, 32b. Then, the next bucket 31 is positioned below the measuring section 5, and the terminal of the next IC 9 is brought into contact with the contact of the contact unit 51, and the same measurement is performed. In this way
Supply processing to the measurement unit 5 of the IC is performed.

Next, the IC9 whose measurement has been completed is again stored in the bucket 31, and the four ICs are transported together.
When the part pick-up position near the front sprocket 33a is reached, the parts shown in FIGS. 2 and 6b
As shown in the figure, the pick-up arm 6 of the sorting section 6
1 makes each of the four IC9 buckets 31
It is taken out from the belt 62a and conveyed onto the belt 62a.
The pick-up arm 61 has the same configuration as the pick-up arm 23, and the pick-up arm 611 has the following features:
It's that claw.

Here, the pick-up arm 61 of the classification section
are placed in each storage opening 32 of the bucket 31.
The working time for setting the ICs and the working time for taking out each of the four ICs 9 from each storage opening 32 of the bucket bag 31 are shorter than the IC measuring time in the measuring section 5, and the working time is shorter than the IC measuring time in the measuring section 5. This is performed while the feeding of the bucket 31 is stopped.

The sorting section 6 consists of a pick-up arm 61, a belt conveying mechanism 62, and a plurality of IC extrusion mechanisms (not shown) corresponding to the number of classifications built into the sorting section 6. Conveyance mechanism 62
has a grooved belt 62a with transverse grooves 62b perpendicular to the conveying direction. And in the groove 62b of this belt 62a
After storing the IC9 and placing the IC9 in the position of the corresponding rack 8, actuate the IC pushing mechanism corresponding to the classification and extend the pushing pin to push the IC9 into the groove 81 of the rack 8 using the groove 62b of the belt as a guide. It's crowded. As a result, IC9 is classified according to the test results. In this case, this grooved belt 62a
Alternatively, a bucket cart having a transverse groove corresponding to the groove of the storage opening 32 of the bucket cart 31 may be used for transportation. The bucket belts in this case may be connected by a chain like the bucket belt 31, or may be directly fixed on the belt.

In addition, the operation control of the vertical movement of the elevator mechanism 24 and its timing, the pick-up arm 2
Control and timing of the opening/closing operation of the pawl 231 of No. 3 and the pawl of the pick-up arm, and the classification section.
The forward and backward movement control and timing of the pushing pin of the IC pushing mechanism and the reciprocating movement control and timing of the direct-acting cam 36a of the pin pushing mechanism 36 are determined by electrical signals from a control section with a built-in microprocessor, respectively. , is something that is controlled.

By the way, the rail 22a of the linear feeder 22
The groove has a stepped groove shape similar to that shown in FIG. The opening width of the groove is compatible with parts such as SGO type ICs. Therefore, by simply replacing the rack 8 with the IC loading mechanism 20, different parts can be supplied to the bucket 31.
It is possible to inspect different parts. In addition,
In this case, the contact unit 51 of the measuring section is
To make sure that these different parts can be connected, the contact unit 51 is replaced each time according to the part to be measured.

As explained above, the transport mechanism of the bucket transport mechanism section is not limited to a chain.
A so-called endless winding transmission mechanism using a belt or the like can be used. In addition to such a winding transmission mechanism, an intermittent feed mechanism may be used in which the bucket is placed on a horizontal rail using parallelogram links and the bucket is fed by claws. Alternatively, the belt may be provided with claws to directly feed buckets or parts intermittently.

In the embodiment, the entire IC transport mechanism is placed in a constant temperature bath, but it is not necessary to place the entire IC in a constant temperature bath. Note that it is preferable that a part of the conveyance path is inside a constant temperature bath. Further, although heating with a heater is used as the heat treatment, it goes without saying that cooling may also be used.

[Effects of the Invention] As can be understood from the above description, in the present invention, a storage opening is provided that passes through the bucket, and the IC is supplied to the measurement section by pushing up from the bottom with a push-up member. Since the storage opening of the bucket acts as a guide, ICs can be accurately supplied to the measuring section with a simple mechanism, and this mechanism can be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 shows an IC of an embodiment to which this invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the handler, FIG. 3 a and b are explanatory diagrams of its IC storage rack, FIG. From the loader section to the bucket transport section
Explanatory diagram of handling operation for supplying IC, No. 6
Figures a and b are side sectional views and front sectional views of the bucket transport mechanism, Figures 7 a, b and c are explanatory diagrams of the bucket transport mechanism, Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram of its chain, and Figure 9 is a conventional IC handler. FIG. 1...IC handler, 2...IC loader section, 3...
... Bucket transport mechanism section, 4 ... Constant temperature chamber, 5 ... Measurement section, 6 ... Classification section, 7 ... Storage section, 8 ... Measurement section, 8 ... Rack, 9 ... IC, 10 ... IC Handler, 20... IC loading mechanism, 21... Rack mounting table, 22... Linear feeder, 23...
...Pickup arm, 24...Elevator mechanism, 31...Bucket, 32...Storage opening, 8
1...Groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A loader section that stores a plurality of ICs, a measurement section for the ICs, and a horizontal transport mechanism section that has a bucket that stores the ICs supplied from the loader section and transports them to the measurement section. The horizontal conveyance mechanism section has an endless winding transmission mechanism and performs intermittent feeding operation, and the measurement section has a contact that comes into contact with a terminal of the IC, and the contact is electrically connected. The horizontal conveying mechanism is disposed on the upper side of the conveying mechanism so as to face the conveying mechanism, and the horizontal conveying mechanism is disposed on the opposite side of the contact across the conveying path, and the extrusion member is moved forward and stored in the bucket. Said
The bucket has an IC extrusion mechanism for extruding an IC toward the contact, and the bucket has an IC storage opening that is a vertically penetrating hole for storing the IC, and the IC storage opening is a size through which the extrusion member passes, and when the horizontal conveyance mechanism part is in a stopped state of conveyance, the extrusion member is advanced by the IC extrusion mechanism and the extrusion member is moved forward.
The IC is inserted into the IC storage opening, and the IC stored in the bucket corresponding to the position of the contact is pushed out from the IC storage opening to the measurement section, and the IC is inserted or pressed into the contact to make electrical contact. and the measured value in the measuring section.
The IC handler is characterized in that the IC is returned from the measurement section to the IC storage opening of the bucket by retracting the pushing member and retracting the IC from the IC storage opening. 2. The IC handler according to claim 1, wherein the IC storage opening of the bucket is formed with a stepped portion for storing components of different shapes.