Circuit pin positioning structure, fabrication method of soldered circuit elements, and method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package

Abstract

The invention provides a circuit pin positioning structure, a fabrication method of soldered circuit elements and a method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package, applicable to a semiconductor package structure. A positioning rack and a plurality of conductor elements are used. A plurality of positioning holes are provided on a bottom surface of the positioning rack to form a conductor positioning area, and an operational portion is formed on an opposing surface away from the conductor positioning area, for being mounted with pick and place equipment. The conductor elements are positioned in the positioning holes. When the pick and place equipment loads and moves the positioning rack to preformed circuit contacts of the stacked package, the conductor elements are soldered to the preformed circuit contacts and then the positioning rack is removed.

Claims

1. A method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package, including the steps of: (A1) providing at least one stacked package having a plurality of preformed circuit contacts; (B1) providing a circuit pin positioning structure including a positioning rack and a plurality of conductor elements, wherein the plurality of conductor elements are formed by cutting a material and respectively positioned in the positioning rack; (C1) providing pick and place equipment for picking and placing the positioning rack; (D1) using the pick and place equipment to pick and place the positioning rack carrying the plurality of conductor elements, and soldering the plurality of conductor elements respectively to the plurality of preformed circuit contacts of the stacked package so as to form circuit pins of the stacked package; and (E1) allowing the pick and place equipment to remove the positioning rack from the stacked package.

2. The method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of conductor elements are respectively embedded and positioned in a plurality of positioning holes formed in the positioning rack.

3. The method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package according to claim 2, wherein the positioning rack is made of a plastic material.

4. A fabrication method of soldered circuit elements for a semiconductor package structure, the fabrication method including the steps of: (A) providing at least one stacked package having a plurality of preformed circuit contacts; (B) providing pick and place equipment and a circuit pin positioning structure for being mounted with the pick and place equipment, the circuit pin positioning structure including a positioning rack and a plurality of conductor elements, wherein the positioning rack is formed with a plurality of positioning holes, and the plurality of conductor elements are respectively positioned in the plurality of positioning holes of the positioning rack; (C) using the pick and place equipment to place the circuit pin positioning structure on the stacked package in a manner that the plurality of conductor elements of the circuit pin positioning structure are respectively in contact with the plurality of preformed circuit contacts of the stacked package; (D) providing heating equipment and placing the stacked package and the circuit pin positioning structure in the heating equipment, and having the heating equipment heat to a solder-material melting temperature so as to solder the circuit pin positioning structure to the stacked package; (E) removing the soldered circuit pin positioning structure and stacked package from the heating equipment; and (F) using the pick and place equipment to remove the positioning rack of the circuit pin positioning structure from the stacked package.

5. The fabrication method of soldered circuit elements according to claim 4, further including: repeating the above steps (A) to (F) until a package structure having a plurality of stacked packages is formed.

6. The fabrication method of soldered circuit elements according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of conductor elements to be respectively positioned in the plurality of positioning holes abuts against and presses on the positioning rack in a manner of causing material deformation of the positioning rack.

7. The fabrication method of soldered circuit elements according to claim 6, wherein the positioning rack is heated by the heating equipment to release internal stress generated between the positioning rack and the plurality of conductor elements.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The above and other aspects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention.

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view from another angle of the first embodiment of the invention.

(4) FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the first embodiment of the invention.

(5) FIG. 4 is a front view of a conductor element of the first embodiment of the invention.

(6) FIG. 5 is an assembly schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the invention.

(7) FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the first embodiment of the invention.

(8) FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention.

(9) FIG. 8 is a first state of use diagram of the first embodiment of the invention.

(10) FIG. 9 is a second state of use diagram of the first embodiment of the invention.

(11) FIG. 10 is a third state of use diagram of the first embodiment of the invention.

(12) FIG. 11 is a fourth state of use diagram of the first embodiment of the invention.

(13) FIG. 12 is a first flowchart of a fabrication method of soldered elements of the invention.

(14) FIG. 13 is a second flowchart of the fabrication method of soldered elements of the invention.

(15) FIG. 14 is a bottom view of a third embodiment of the invention.

(16) FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the invention.

(17) FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the invention.

(18) FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the invention.

(19) FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a conductor element of a seventh embodiment of the invention.

(20) FIG. 19 is a sectional view of an eighth of the invention.

(21) FIG. 20 is a sectional view of a ninth of the invention.

(22) FIG. 21 is a flowchart of a method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(23) Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the shapes and dimensions of elements may be exaggerated for clarity, and the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or like components.

(24) As shown in FIGS. 1 to 11, the invention provides a circuit pin positioning structure 1 for use on a semiconductor package structure to form circuit pins of a stacked package 4. The stacked package 4 includes a plurality of preformed circuit contacts 40. The circuit pin positioning structure 1 can be picked and placed by pick and place equipment 5, and includes a positioning rack 2 and a plurality of conductor elements 3.

(25) The positioning rack 2 has a bottom surface 203 and a top surface 204 corresponding and opposing to the bottom surface 203, wherein the bottom surface 203 has a conductor positioning area 21. The conductor positioning area 21 is formed with a plurality of positioning holes 22 for respectively positioning the plurality of conductor elements 3. Each of the positioning holes 22 has an opening 220 at an end thereof for putting a corresponding one of the conductor elements 3 therein. The positioning rack 2 has an operational portion 20 formed on a side away from the conductor positioning area 21, allowing the pick and place equipment 5 to be mounted on the operational portion 20 (as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9). Particularly, the operational portion 20 is provided on the top surface 204 of the positioning rack 2, for being picked and placed by the pick and place equipment 5, so as to move the positioning rack 2 to the stacked package 4, and allow the plurality of conductor elements 3 to be soldered to the plurality of preformed circuit contacts 40 respectively and serve as circuit pins of the stacked package 4. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the plurality of positioning holes 22 are provided in a peripheral area of the bottom surface 203 and in two rows, and are rectangular holes. It should be understood that, the positioning holes 22 are not limited to rectangular holes, but can be circular holes, polygonal holes, irregularly shaped holes or other shapes of holes. The bottom surface 203 of the positioning rack 2 is dented inwardly to form a receiving space 23 for receiving a chip (not shown), a resistor (not shown) or other electronic components. The operational portion 20 is formed with at least one operational slot 200 penetrated from the top surface 204 to the bottom surface 203. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the operational portion 20 is formed with four L-shaped operational slots 200, and a gripping area 202 is provided at the center of the top surface 204 and for being picked and gripped by the pick and place equipment (not shown). In FIG. 1, a thickness of the positioning rack 2 between the top surface 204 and the bottom surface 203 is marked X.

(26) The plurality of conductor elements 3 can be fabricated by cutting a single line material to form individual conductor elements. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the conductor elements 3 can be cylinders, each of which includes an interfering portion 30 and a contact portion 31. The interfering portion 30 of each of the conductor elements 3 is embedded into a corresponding one of the positioning holes 22 and positioned in the corresponding positioning hole 22 in an interference manner. The interference manner can be achieved by close engagement between the corresponding conductor element 3 and positioning hole 22 or by using an elastic arm 24 shown in FIG. 7 to clamp the conductor element 3. The conductor element 3 is inserted into the positioning hole 22 through the opening 220 until the contact portion 31 is exposed from a contact region 210 of the conductor positioning area 21 of the positioning rack 2.

(27) In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6, the conductor element 3 has a length defined as Y. The thickness X of the positioning rack 2 is larger than or equal to the length Y of the conductor element 3, such that the positioning rack 2 has a sufficient thickness to sustain heat and minimize its deformation by heat and also prevent from being cracked by pressure from the conductor element 3. The conductor element 3 is inserted into the corresponding positioning hole 22 of the positioning rack 2 through the opening 220, with the contact portion 31 being exposed from the bottom surface 203 of the positioning rack 2. The conductor element 3 in the positioning hole 22 abuts against and presses on the positioning rack 2 in a manner of causing material deformation of the positioning rack 2, such that the positioning rack 2 generates interference internal stress on the conductor element 3 and makes the conductor element 3 firmly positioned in the positioning hole 22. It should be noted that, the larger the contact area between the conductor element 3 and an inner wall of the positioning hole 22, the more the interference between the conductor element 3 and the positioning rack 2. Accordingly, the positioning rack 2 would more easily generate interference internal stress on the conductor element 3, and assures the conductor element 3 not easy to be detached from the positioning hole 22.

(28) The interference internal stress generated by the positioning rack 2 can be adjusted in magnitude by controlling interference between the conductor element 3 and the positioning rack 2. Interference at different contact parts between the conductor element 3 and the positioning rack 2 may be same or different. The controlling of interference between the conductor element 3 and the positioning rack 2 can be achieved by adjusting a substantial length or width of the inner wall of the positioning hole 22 or by adjusting a substantial length or width of the contact portion 31 of the conductor element 3.

(29) In the embodiment of FIGS. 8 to 11, when the pick and place equipment 5 on a production line picks or grips the circuit pin positioning structure 1, it may place the circuit pin positioning structure 1 on the stacked package 4 of the production line. The stacked package 4 can be a circuit substrate, a stacked packaging component or any other component applicable for stacked packages. Heating equipment 6 is then used to melt a solder material provided on the contact portions 31 of the conductor elements 3 or on the stacked package 4 so as to solder the contact portions 31 to the stacked package 4. When the soldering process is finished, the circuit pin positioning structure 1 and the stacked package 4 are removed from the heating equipment 6. The melted solder material is allowed to cool down, and then the positioning rack 2 is removed by using the pick and place equipment 5. This thus completes a single time of fabrication of soldered circuit elements according to the invention.

(30) As shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, a circuit pin positioning structure 1 of the invention is applied on a package structure to fabricate soldered circuit elements. This fabrication method includes the following steps.

(31) In step S701, a production line provides a stacked package 4 preformed with a plurality of circuit contacts 40 thereon. The stacked package 4 can be delivered to the production line by a conveyor belt, or gripped and moved to the production line.

(32) In step S702, pick and place equipment 5 and the circuit pin positioning structure 1 are provided. The pick and place equipment 5 mounts the circuit pin positioning structure 1 on the production line. The circuit pin positioning structure 1 includes a positioning rack 2 and a plurality of conductor elements 3. The conductor elements 3 are positioned in the positioning rack 2 in a manner that, the positioning rack 2 (for example, made of a plastic material) subject to pressure from the conductor elements 3 is deformed and generates interference internal stress. Particularly, the conductor elements 3 are squeezed into positioning holes 22 of the positioning rack 2 and press on inner walls of the positioning holes 22, such that the positioning rack 2 is deformed and generates the interference internal stress, making the conductor elements 3 firmly positioned in the positioning holes 22.

(33) In step S703, the pick and place equipment 5 places the circuit pin positioning structure 1 on the stacked package 4 of the production line, allowing the plurality of conductor elements 3 of the circuit pin positioning structure 1 to be respectively in contact with the plurality of circuit contacts 40 of the stacked package 4. Normally a solder material is provided in advance on the stacked package 4 or the conductor elements 3 of the circuit pin positioning structure 1.

(34) In step S704, the stacked package 4 and the circuit pin positioning structure 1 are both placed in heating equipment 6, which heats to a predetermined temperature at which the solder material melts, so as to melt the solder material provided on the stacked package 4 or the conductor elements 3 of the circuit pin positioning structure 1, and thereby solder the circuit pin positioning structure 1 to the stacked package 4.

(35) In step S705, when the soldering process is finished, the stacked package 4 and the circuit pin positioning structure 1 are removed from the heating equipment 6. The solder material between the stacked package 4 and the circuit pin positioning structure 1 is allowed to cool down for a period of time to cure.

(36) In step S706, the pick and place equipment 5 is used to remove and detach the positioning rack 2 of the circuit pin positioning structure 1 from the conductor elements 3 soldered to the stacked package 4. The removed positioning rack 2 may be discarded through the pick and place equipment 5. Further in this step, the conductor elements 3 can be checked to see if there is any of them being defectively soldered to the stacked package 4. It should be noted, the heating equipment 6 may heat the positioning rack 2 in order to release the interference internal stress in the positioning rack 2 generated in response to pressure from the conductor elements 3, such that the positioning rack 2 can be easily detached from the conductor elements 3.

(37) In step S707, the production line provides another stacked package 4 and stacks it on a side of the conductor elements 3 free of being soldered to the above stacked package 4. Then, the above steps S701 to S706 are repeated until a package structure having a plurality of stacked packages 4 being stacked is completed. This fabrication method allows a predetermined package structure to be formed in a time-effective, cost-effective, easy-operation and precise-alignment way.

(38) As shown in FIG. 21, a method of forming circuit pins of a stacked package according to the invention is provided, which includes the following steps.

(39) In step S801, a production line provides a stacked package 4 having a plurality of circuit contacts 40.

(40) In step S802, a circuit pin positioning structure 1 is provided, which includes a positioning rack 2 and a plurality of conductor elements 3 respectively positioned in the positioning rack 2.

(41) In step S803, pick and place equipment 5 is provided, for picking and placing the positioning rack 2.

(42) In step S804, the pick and place equipment 5 is operated to pick and place the positioning rack 2 that carries the plurality of conductor elements 3, and allow the plurality of conductor elements 3 to be respectively soldered to the plurality of circuit contacts 40 of the stacked package 4, so as to form circuit pins of the stacked package 4.

(43) In step S805, the pick and place equipment 5 is operated to remove the positioning rack 2 of the circuit pin positioning structure 1 from the plurality of conductor elements 3 soldered to the stacked package 4.

(44) As shown in FIG. 14, the positioning holes 22 of the positioning rack 2 have an irregular shape. It however should be understood that, the positioning holes 22 of the positioning rack 2 in the invention may be rectangular, circular, polygonal or have other shapes.

(45) As shown in FIGS. 15 and 20, the operational portion 20 of the positioning rack 2 includes at least one operational protrusion 201 extended outwardly from the top surface 204, for allowing the pick and place equipment (not shown) to clamp or hook the operational protrusion 201.

(46) As shown in FIG. 16, the operational portion 20 is formed on a side of the positioning rack 2 and includes at least one operational slot 200, for allowing the pick and place equipment to clamp and pick the operational slot 200.

(47) As shown in FIG. 17, the operational portion 20 is formed on a side of the positioning rack 2 and includes at least one operational protrusion 201, for allowing the pick and place equipment to clamp and pick the operational protrusion 201.

(48) As shown in FIG. 18, the conductor element 3 is a circular tube. It should be understood that in the invention, the conductor element 3 may also be a cylinder, a polygonal pillar, a polygonal tube, or a pillar or tube of any other shape.

(49) As shown in FIG. 19, the conductor positioning area 21 is extended outwardly from the bottom surface 203 to form the contact region 210.

(50) The examples above are only illustrative to explain principles and effects of the invention, but not to limit the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection range of the rights of the invention should be as defined by the appended claims.