JP2002031665A - IC device positioning device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To prevent a defect of a lead which occurs when an IC device is taken in and out of an intermediate pocket in an IC handler. An intermediate pocket has a tapered guide for guiding a side surface of a package of an IC device. An IC device including, between the loader unit and the intermediate pocket, a stage for mounting a package of the IC device, and a pair of claws sandwiching a side surface of the package of the IC device mounted on the stage;
A device centering stage for correcting a deviation of the center position of the device is provided. The deviation of the center position of each IC device is corrected at the device centering stage and transferred to the intermediate pocket.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a positioning device for an IC device used in an IC handler for loading and unloading an IC device into a test apparatus or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An IC handler takes out an IC device from a loader unit accommodating a plurality of IC devices and tests the electrical characteristics of the IC device. And the like, and after the test or the like is completed, the IC device is unloaded from the measurement socket or the like and accommodated in the unloader unit.
In the loader unit and the unloader unit, the IC device is stored on a tray having a large number of storage units (pockets). Usually, a transfer jig called an intermediate pocket is provided in the transfer path of the IC device from the loader section to the test apparatus and from the test apparatus to the unloader section. Then, using a robot having a vacuum suction pad or the like, transfer of the IC device from the tray to the intermediate pocket, transfer of the IC device from the intermediate pocket to the measurement socket, and the like are performed.

In such an IC handler, the pockets of the tray in the loader section have a margin so that the leads of the IC device do not come in contact with the tray when the card is taken in and out, and the center position of each IC device accommodated on the tray varies. I have. On the other hand, when the IC device is loaded into the measurement socket, the IC device must be accurately positioned so that the leads surely contact the contact portions of the measurement socket. Therefore, the conventional IC handler has a positioning function in the intermediate pocket so that the IC device can be positioned to some extent before the IC device is loaded into the measurement socket.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional lead guide type intermediate pocket. In FIG. 6, 1 is an IC device, 2
Is a main body (package) of the IC device 1, 3 is a lead of the IC device 1, and 20 is an intermediate pocket. The intermediate pocket 20 has a tapered guide 21 for bringing the IC device 1 into the pocket, and has a structure in which the tip of the lead 3 of the IC device 1 is brought into contact with the guide 21 to drop the IC device 1 into the pocket. ing. The width Xl of the tapered portion of the guide 21 is larger than the variation in the center position of each IC device housed on the tray of the loader portion, and is conventionally about 3 mm. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
JP-A-92447 and JP-A-7-111395.

[0005]

A conventional lead guide type intermediate pocket is bent when the lead comes into contact with the IC device when the IC device is put in and out, and the solder plating of the lead is peeled off at the joint between the guide and the pocket. Transfer to the printer could cause electrical trouble. In order to prevent such a problem, it is conceivable to stop the lead guide system and use a package guide system in which the intermediate pocket guides the main body (package) of the IC device itself.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a package guide type intermediate pocket. In FIG. 5, 1 is an IC device, 2 is a main body (package) of the IC device 1, 3 is a lead of the IC device 1, and 10 is an intermediate pocket. The intermediate pocket 10 is provided with a tapered guide 11 for guiding the side surface of the package 2 of the IC device 1. When the intermediate pocket is formed in the package guide system in this manner, I
Since the lead 3 of the C device 1 does not come into contact with the intermediate pocket 10, it is possible to prevent a defect of the lead that occurs when the IC device is taken in and out.

However, if the intermediate pocket is formed in the package guide system as described above, the width Xp of the tapered portion of the guide 11 can be only about 0.1 mm, and the center position of each IC device housed on the tray of the loader unit can be obtained. Is smaller than the variation of Therefore, if this state is not maintained, variations in the center position of each IC device accommodated on the tray cannot be absorbed, and the IC device cannot be moved from the tray to the intermediate pocket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a package guide system for an intermediate pocket and to prevent a defect of a lead which occurs when an IC device is inserted into or removed from the intermediate pocket.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IC device positioning apparatus comprising: a plurality of IC devices;
An IC handler comprising a loader unit for accommodating a device and an intermediate pocket for temporarily accommodating an IC device taken out of the loader unit, wherein the intermediate pocket includes a tapered guide for guiding a side surface of a package of the IC device. A device centering stage is provided between the section and the intermediate pocket. The device centering stage includes a stage on which the package of the IC device is mounted, and a pair of claws that sandwich the side surface of the package of the IC device mounted on the stage, and corrects a shift in the center position of the IC device. According to the present invention, the shift of the center position of each IC device can be corrected and transferred to the intermediate pocket by the device centering stage, so that the intermediate pocket is made to be a package guide system to prevent the occurrence of lead defects. Can be.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positioning device for an IC device according to the present invention, wherein a pair of claws move from an open position and stop at a predetermined reference position, and a pair of claws move from an open position to form an IC. The driven claw moves to a predetermined position in contact with the side surface of the package of the device and is urged by an elastic body in a direction to sandwich the side surface of the package of the IC device. According to the present invention, even if there is a product variation in the dimensions of the package of the IC device, the variation in the dimension can be absorbed by the driven claw urged by the elastic body.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IC device positioning apparatus according to the present invention, wherein the stage on which the package of the IC device is mounted has a rotation mechanism for reversing the direction of the IC device by 90 degrees or 180 degrees. . According to the present invention, the correction of the center position of the IC device and the inversion of the IC device can be performed in one stage, so that the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, the number of times of transferring the IC device can be reduced, and the processing can be speeded up. You.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a top view of a device centering stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment uses two device centering stages.
This shows a case where a set is provided. The two sets of device centering stages are respectively a stage 41 for mounting the package of the IC device 1 and an IC mounted on the stage 41.
A pair of claws 31 and 3 sandwiching the side of the package of the device 1
2 is provided. The pair of claws 31 and 32 are the reference claws 31.
And the driven claw 32. The reference claw 31 is fixed to the base 34a. The driven claw 32 is attached to a base 34b via a linear guide 33. The base 34a to which the reference claw 31 is attached and the base 34b to which the driven claw 32 is attached
5a, 35b, the linear guides 35a, 3
It can move along 5b. And belt 3
9 is attached to the bases 34a and 34b by the attachment 36, and the bases 34a and 34b open and close along the linear guides 35a and 35b as the belt 39 rotates by the rotation of the wheels 37 and 38. One of the wheels 37 and 38 is driven by a stepping motor (not shown), and the other is rotatable.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the driven claw side of the device centering stage of FIG. 1 taken along the line AA. The driven claw 32 is connected to the base 3 via the linear guide 33.
4b, and is movable along the linear guide 33 on the base 34b. Both ends of the spring 40 are attached to the driven claw 32 and the base 34b, and the driven claw 32 is urged by the spring 40 in a direction to sandwich the side surface of the IC device package.

Next, the operation of the device centering stage will be described. FIG. 3A is a top view of the device centering stage in an open state, taken from line AA.
FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the same. The IC device 1 is operated by a robot having a vacuum suction pad (not shown) or the like.
It is taken out of the tray of the loader section of the handler and is placed on the stage 41. In this state, which has just been taken out of the tray, the center position of the IC device 1 varies. The reference claw 31 and the driven claw 32 are the IC device 1
It is in an open position that does not touch the side of the package.

FIG. 4A is a top view of the device centering stage with the IC device package sandwiched between the AA line and FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the same.
4 and 1, the reference claw 31 moves from the open position in FIG. 3 along with the base 34a along the linear guide 35a and stops at a predetermined reference position. In addition, the driven claw 3
3 moves from the open position in FIG. 3 along with the base 34b along the linear guide 35b to a predetermined position where it contacts the side surface of the package of the IC device 1. Then, after the driven claw 32 contacts the side surface of the package of the IC device, it retreats along the linear guide 33 against the force of the spring 40, and presses the side surface of the package of the IC device 1 toward the reference claw 31. . Thus, the reference claw 31 and the driven claw 32 correct the displacement of the center position of the IC device 1 with the package of the IC device 1 sandwiched from the left and right. At this time, since the driven claw 32 retreats along the linear guide 33 against the force of the spring 40, no excessive force is applied to the IC device 1. Further, even if there is a product variation in the dimensions of the package of the IC device 1, the variation in the dimensions can be absorbed by the driven claw 32 urged by the spring 40.

After correcting the displacement of the center position of the IC device 1 in FIG.
The package of the C device 1 is vacuum-sucked and the stage 41 is held.
Temporarily. Then, the reference claw 31 and the driven claw 32 are returned to the open positions in FIG. 3, and the correction of the center position is completed. After the correction of the center position is completed, when the IC device needs to be inverted, the motor 43 rotates to rotate the stage 41 by 90 degrees or 180 degrees. This is because the direction of the measurement socket connected to the test head of the IC tester may be different from the direction of the IC device stored in the tray of the loader unit of the IC handler. When the correction of the center position of the IC device 1 or the reversal of the IC device 1 is completed, the vacuum suction by the suction hole 42 is released, and the robot is equipped with a vacuum suction pad or the like (not shown).
Is transferred to the intermediate pocket 10 in FIG.

In the embodiment described above, two sets of device centering stages are provided. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the center positions of two IC devices can be simultaneously corrected using one drive source. However, the positioning device of the IC device of the present invention is not limited to this.
More than one set may be provided.

[0018]

According to the IC device positioning device of the present invention, the center position of each IC device can be corrected and shifted to the intermediate pocket by the device centering stage. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of lead defects.

Further, the provision of the reference claw and the driven claw enables the driven claw urged by the elastic body to absorb the variation in size even if the package of the IC device has a product variation.

Further, by providing a rotation mechanism for inverting the direction of the IC device by 90 degrees or 180 degrees,
Since the correction of the center position of the C device and the inversion of the IC device can be performed in one stage, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, the number of times of transferring the IC device can be reduced, and the processing can be sped up.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of a device centering stage according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the driven claw side of the device centering stage of FIG. 1 taken along line AA.

FIG. 3A is a top view of the device centering stage in an open state, taken from line AA, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 4A is a top view of the device centering stage with the IC device package sandwiched therebetween, taken from line AA, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a package guide type intermediate pocket.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional lead guide type intermediate pocket.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... IC device, 2 ... Package, 3 ... Lead, 10 ... Intermediate pocket, 11 ... Guide, 31 ... Reference nail, 32 ... Follower nail, 33 ... Linear guide, 34a, 34b ... Base, 35a, 35b ... Linear guide, 40: Spring, 41: Stage

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Kasai 3-16-3 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo F-term in Hitachi Electronics Engineering Co., Ltd. 2G003 AA07 AG11 AG16 AH04 AH07

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An IC handler comprising: a loader unit for accommodating a plurality of IC devices; and an intermediate pocket for temporarily accommodating an IC device taken out from the loader unit, wherein the intermediate pocket is provided on a side surface of a package of the IC device. A stage for mounting a package of an IC device between the loader portion and the intermediate pocket; and a pair of claws for sandwiching a side surface of the package of the IC device mounted on the stage. An apparatus for positioning an IC device, comprising a device centering stage for correcting a deviation of the center position of the IC device. 2. The pair of claws move from an open position and stop at a predetermined reference position, and a pair of claws move from the open position and move to a predetermined position abutting on a side surface of a package of the IC device. 2. The IC device positioning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driven claw urged by an elastic body in a direction sandwiching a side surface of the IC device package. 3. The stage on which the package of the IC device is mounted may be such that the orientation of the IC device is 90 degrees or 180 degrees.
The positioning device for an IC device according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation mechanism for reversing the degree.