Guide and support member for a device for testing electronic components

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention come up from a guide and support member within a device for testing electronic components, which guide and support member can be moved into a feeding position and into a testing position, the guide and support member with a base body for accommodating an electronic component to be tested, with at least one support for supporting contact springs of the electronic component to be tested, and with at least one stopper that stops the movement of the electronic component to be tested at one of its contact springs once the electronic component to be tested is in an exact position. According to the invention, the at least one support comprises a ceramic material, wherein the stopper is anchored in the base body.

Claims

1. A guide and support member for a device for testing electronic components, which guide and support member can be moved into a feeding position and into a testing position, the guide and support member comprising: a base body for accommodating an electronic component to be tested, at least one support for supporting contact springs of the electronic component to be tested, and at least one stopper that stops movement of the electronic component to be tested at one of its contact springs once the electronic component to be tested is in an exact position, wherein the at least one support comprises a ceramic material and is inserted into a channel-shaped receptacle of an attachment module of the base body, and wherein the stopper is anchored in the base body.

2. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the base body comprises a base and at least one attachment module made from an electrically insulating plastic for the at least one support.

3. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 2, wherein the stopper is anchored in the at least one attachment module.

4. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 1, wherein the stopper is aligned so that the adjoining contact spring of the electronic component to be tested is supported by the at least one support.

5. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 2, wherein the at least one support is joined with the at least one attachment module in a positive fitting manner.

6. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 5, wherein the at least one support is adhesively bonded with the at least one attachment module.

7. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 5, wherein the positive fitting manner is established by means of two seams at diagonally opposing longitudinal edges of the at least one support and by means of springs of the at least one attachment module.

8. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 7, wherein the height of the seam is given larger dimensions than the height of the springs.

9. A guide and support member for a device for testing electronic components, which guide and support member can be moved into a feeding position and into a testing position, the guide and support member comprising: a base body for accommodating an electronic component to be tested, at least one support for supporting contact springs of the electronic component to be tested, and at least one stopper that stops movement of the electronic component to be tested at one of its contact springs once the electronic component to be tested is in an exact position, wherein the at least one support comprises a ceramic material and is inserted into a channel-shaped receptacle of an attachment module of the base body, wherein the stopper is anchored in the base body, and wherein the stopper is aligned so that the adjoining contact spring of the electronic component to be tested is supported by the at least one support.

10. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 9, wherein the base body comprises a base and at least one attachment module made from an electrically insulating plastic for the at least one support.

11. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 10, wherein the at least one support is joined with the at least one attachment module in a positive fitting manner.

12. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 11, wherein the at least one support is adhesively bonded with the at least one attachment module.

13. A guide and support member for a device for testing electronic components, which guide and support member can be moved into a feeding position and into a testing position, the guide and support member comprising: a base body for accommodating an electronic component to be tested, at least one support for supporting contact springs of the electronic component to be tested, and at least one stopper that stops movement of the electronic component to be tested at one of its contact springs once the electronic component to be tested is in an exact position, wherein the at least one support comprises a ceramic material and is inserted into a channel-shaped receptacle of an attachment module of the base body, wherein the stopper is anchored in the base body, and wherein the base body comprises a base and at least one attachment module made from an electrically insulating plastic for the at least one support, and wherein the at least one support is joined with the at least one attachment module in a positive fitting manner.

14. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 13, wherein the at least one support is also adhesively bonded with the at least one attachment module.

15. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 13, wherein the positive fitting manner is established by means of two seams at diagonally opposing longitudinal edges of the at least one support and by means of springs of the at least one attachment module.

16. The guide and support member as set forth in claim 15, wherein the height of the seam is given larger dimensions than the height of the springs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(1) Additional details and advantages of embodiments of the invention result from the description of an exemplary embodiment, which is explained in depth based on the drawing.

(2) Shown in:

(3) FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a guide and support member according to an embodiment of the invention,

(4) FIG. 2 is the completely assembled guide and support member according to FIG. 1,

(5) FIG. 3 is an attachment module with support in an exploded view,

(6) FIG. 4 is a top view of the completely assembled attachment module according to FIG. 3,

(7) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a testing device with the guide and support member in the feeding position,

(8) FIG. 6 is the testing device according to FIG. 5 in the testing position, and

(9) FIG. 7 is the testing device according to FIGS. 5 and 6 in the ejecting position.

(10) The guide and support member according to an embodiment of the invention will here be explained based on the example of a lead backer of the kind that can be used in so-called gravity handlers. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 4, the lead backer 1 essentially consists of a base body with a base 2 and two attachment modules 3.

(11) The attachment modules 3 each have a receptacle for the supports 4. In addition, spacer plates 6 are mounted between the base 2 and attachment modules 3, so that the distance of the supports 4 can be precisely adjusted to the electronic components to be tested.

(12) The base 2 comprises two coupling flanges 7, to which the attachment modules 3 are attached with the help of screws 10. To this end, two threaded holes are provided in each of the coupling flanges 7, and two holes concentric to the threaded holes are provided in each of the attachment modules 3.

(13) A centrally arranged centering bolt 22 is provided at each coupling flange 7. The spacer plate 6 can be plugged on the centering bolt 22. To this end, the spacer plate 6 comprises an opening not specified in any greater detail, through which the centering bolt 22 can extend. The centering bolt 22 is used to easily assemble the spacer plates 6, and, together with the shape of the spacer plates 6 and the shape of the base 2 adjusted thereto, ensures that the spacer plates 6 are already situated in the correct position relative to the coupling flanges 7 before the attachment modules 3 are attached. The spacer plates 6 further comprise within the two opposing edge areas two bores, which align with the threaded bores of the coupling flange 7, so that the screws 10 can be passed through.

(14) The spacer plates 6 comprise a lower, semicircular viewing region 23 that remains visible under the bolted attachment modules 3 after the lead backer 1 has been installed. In this way, the measured value displayed in the viewing region 23 remains readable even after assembly. The measured value indicates the thickness of the spacer plate 6, so that the distance of the two ceramic supports 4 can be determined even without a disassembly and without a precise measurement. In this way, the displayed measured value provides information about the types (widths) of electronic components 11 for which the lead backer 1 installed in this way can be used.

(15) The attachment modules 3 incorporate a type of channel with a rectangular cross section for accommodating the ceramic supports 4. Two directly adjoining boundary walls of the channel are completely shaped by the attachment modules 3. The remaining two boundary walls are only formed by individual springs 9. In the region of the springs 9, the ceramic supports 4 each comprise a seam 8 along their longitudinal edges. The height of the springs 9 is kept somewhat lower than the height of the seam 8. This ensures that all regions that come into contact with an electronic component to be tested or its contact springs have a ceramic surface. This is guaranteed, since the surface of the attachment modules 3 made from plastic lies everywhere deeper than the surface of the ceramic supports 4.

(16) The supports 4 are provided with a chamfer or some other shape adjusted to the shape of the contact springs 12 at a longitudinal edge between the two seams 8. This lowers the risk of damage to the contact springs 12 of the electronic components to be tested. Varying shapes can be provided at diagonally opposing longitudinal edges, so that the supports 4 can be mounted at the attachment modules 3 in two different positions. This enables an even better adjustment to varying components to be tested, without having to fabricate different supports 4.

(17) In order to assemble the supports 4, the latter are pushed in a simple manner from the open side into the channel-shaped receptacles of the attachment modules. The supports 4 can also be adhesively bonded to secure the supports 4 in the channel-shaped receptacles of the attachment modules 3. However, it is also possible for a tight fit, and hence for a clamping, to limit the degree of freedom in the direction of insertion taken from the positive fit by the seam and springs. In this case, making a replacement becomes significantly easier given the necessity to replace the supports.

(18) The so-called stopper pins 5 form a stop for exactly positioning the electronic components to be tested. These stopper pins 5 are advantageously made from metal, and are anchored in the attachment modules 3. They are secured at an inclination, so that the area forming the stop protrudes until above the support 4. In this way, the stopper pins 5 can be attached in the readily processable plastic of the attachment module 3, while still allowing the contact springs 12 to be held in the region of the hard ceramic support 4, and not damaging the softer plastic of the attachment module 3.

(19) Even the exact positioning of the stopper pins 5 is more easily accomplished in the plastic than if the stopper pins were to be anchored directly in the ceramic material of the supports 4 or had to be integrated into the ceramic support 4 as a mold. The stopper pins 5 act directly on the front contact springs 12 of the electronic components 11 to be tested (as viewed in the direction of movement of the electronic components), and keep the latter in the exact position during the test. As a result, the ceramic supports 4 need not be precisely positioned in the direction of their longitudinal edges. Bolting the attachment modules 3 with the base 2 couples the position of the stopper pins 5 directly to the position of the lead backer 1, so that only the lead backer 1 has to be exactly positioned in the system.

(20) The use and function of the lead backer 1 according to an embodiment of the invention will be described in the following based with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

(21) The lead backer 1 can be regarded as a movable partial section of the gravity handler guide, in which the electronic components to be tested 11 slide downward under the force of gravity. Located above the lead backer 1 there is provided a separating device, which always allows only one electronic component to be tested 11 to slide into the lead backer 1.

(22) However, there is also possible an embodiment in which the electronic components to be tested are not moved by gravity, but rather by a streaming fluid, such as air or some other gas, for example. In this case, the lead backer can be provided in any desired position. The focus will here be placed on a gravity handler with gravitational conveyance as the specification continues, however.

(23) In the lead backer 1, the downwardly sliding electronic component 11 to be tested is stopped when the lower contact springs 12 hit the two stopper pins 5. The stopper pins 5 are adjusted in such a way that the electronic component 11 to be tested is now located in the correct position. This feeding position is depicted in FIG. 5. The electronic component 11 to be tested is held in the lead backer 1 by the retaining part 18, which is formed by a horizontally movable section of the guide.

(24) The actual testing device comprises a test socket 15 and a so-called load board 16. The test springs 13 are arranged in the test socket 15. The test tips 14 of the test springs 13 are pre-stressed in the direction of the electronic component to be tested 11. The test socket 15 comprises a depression that accommodates the retaining part 18 during the test to an extent where the test tips 14 of the test springs 13 can rest on contact springs 12 of the electronic component to be tested.

(25) The load board serves to relay the test signals from a test head (not shown here) to the test springs and in the reverse direction so as to relay the response signals of the electronic components 11 to be tested to the test head. The contact sockets 17 are provided for connecting the test head to the load board 16.

(26) The base 2 of the lead backer 1 is attached to the stamp 19 that can move in the direction of the double arrow 20. Further provided is an ejector 21, which is immovably mounted. The free end of the ejector 21 extends through an opening in the base 2 of the lead backer 1 and, in the feeding position of the device, ends directly at the rear side of the electronic component 11 to be tested in the lead backer 1.

(27) When an electronic component 11 to be tested is located in the correct position, the stamp 19 will move towards the left until the test tips 14 of the test springs 13 press against the contact springs 12 of the electronic component 11 to be tested. The retaining part 18 is here also moved, and pressed into the opening of the test socket 15 provided for this purpose. The electronic component 11 can now be tested. This test position is shown on FIG. 6.

(28) After the test has been finished, the already tested electronic component must be conveyed further, and the lead backer 1 must be filled with the next electronic component to be tested. To this end, the stamp 19 pulls the lead backer 1 with the already tested electronic component back until it reaches the feeding position depicted on FIG. 5. Both the retaining part 18 and the electronic component participate in this movement.

(29) The lead backer 1 is now pulled back even further by the stamp 19. In the process, the electronic component 11 hits the free end of the ejector 21, and can thus no longer continue to move together with the lead backer 1. Also the retaining part 18 is now not moving along as well.

(30) The lead backer 1 is pulled back by the stamp 19 until the contact between the lower contact spring 12 of the electronic component 11 and the stopper pins 5 is lost. At this moment, the contact springs 12 are released, and the tested electronic component can continue to move downwardly and out from the lead backer, once again under the force of gravity.

(31) This ejecting position is shown in FIG. 7. As soon as the lead backer 1 is free, it is again moved back into the feeding position depicted in FIG. 1 by the stamp, and ready to accommodate the next electronic component to be tested.

(32) The ceramic supports 4 with their hard surface are subjected to hardly any wear, and must therefore only be changed out after long intervals. Since the stopper pins 5 are mounted not in the supports 4 themselves, but in the attachment modules 3, the supports 4 can be more easily replaced, without a readjustment being required thereafter. For the same reason, the supports 4 can also be cost effectively fabricated, since this case involves simple molds without any parts to be adjusted.

(33) Of course, several test sockets with several guides and a corresponding number of load backers can also be operated in parallel in a gravity handler to increase the throughput. However, several test sockets can also be arranged among each other, which are operated by several lead backers in just a single guide. In order to fill the lead backer, the lowermost lead backer is in the feeding position, while the lead backers arranged above the latter are in the ejecting position. In this way, an electronic component released from the separating device slides until into the lowermost lead backer, and only there is stopped by the stopper pins.

(34) After the lowermost lead backer has been filled, the lead backer situated above it is moved into the feeding position. This makes it possible to consecutively fill all lead backers, and then simultaneously test the corresponding number of electronic components. After the test, all lead backers return to the feeding position, and then one by one into the ejecting position from the bottom up, so that the tested electronic components are also ejected from the lead backers in this sequence.

(35) In general, an enormous cost-based production advantage is obtained by configuring the lead backer 7 according to an embodiment of the invention with the simple, standardized mold for the ceramic supports 4, and in particular with the stopper pins 5 transferred in the attachment modules 3. 1 Lead backer 2 Base 3 Attachment module 4 Support 5 Stopper pin 6 Spacer plate 7 Coupling flange 8 Seam 9 Spring 10 Screw 11 Electronic component 12 Contact spring 13 Test spring 14 Test tip 15 Test socket 16 Load board 17 Contact socket 18 Retaining part 19 Stamp 20 Double arrow 21 Ejector 22 Centering bolt