CN105738746B

CN105738746B - Chip electronic component inspection and sorting device

Info

Publication number: CN105738746B
Application number: CN201510982119.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 藤田清久
Original assignee: Humo Laboratory Ltd
Current assignee: Humo Laboratory Ltd
Priority date: 2014-12-26
Filing date: 2015-12-24
Publication date: 2020-05-12
Anticipated expiration: 2035-12-24
Also published as: KR20160079702A; TW201640129A; JP2016125847A; TWI680304B; CN105738746A; KR102391849B1; JP6506552B2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a chip electronic component inspection and sorting device. A new connection switching system is provided to replace a connection switching system of an electrode terminal for inspection and an inspector used in a conventional chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus. A relay switch unit as a connection switching system between a group of inspection electrode terminals including a fixed electrode terminal and a movable electrode terminal and an inspection device of a chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus uses a MOS FET housed in a housing, the housing the MOS FET is disposed adjacent to each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal for inspection, and the MOS FET is connected to the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal via a connector.

Description

Chip electronic component inspection and sorting device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an improvement of a chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus used for inspecting electrical characteristics of a large number of chip electronic components at high speed and continuously.

Background

As the production of small electric products such as mobile phones, smart phones, liquid crystal televisions, and electronic game machines has increased, the production of minute chip electronic components incorporated in such electric products has increased significantly. Most of the chip electronic components are formed of a main body portion made of an insulating material and electrodes provided on the main body portion and on the opposite end surfaces of the main body portion. Examples of the chip electronic component having such a structure include a chip capacitor (also referred to as a chip capacitor), a chip resistor (including a chip varistor), and a chip inductor (chip inductor).

In recent years, in response to further miniaturization of electric appliances incorporating chip electronic components and an increase in the number of chip electronic components incorporated in electric appliances, chip electronic components have become extremely small. For example, as for chip capacitors, capacitors of extremely small size (for example, a size of 0.2mm × 0.2mm × 0.4mm called 0402 chip) have been generally used in recent years. Such a small chip electronic component is produced in a large number of units of several tens of thousands to several hundreds of thousands in one lot.

In order to reduce the reject rate of an electric product due to a defect of a chip electronic component in the electric product in which the chip electronic component is incorporated, it is common to perform a total number of inspections of chip electronic components manufactured in large quantities. For example, the chip capacitors are inspected for electrical characteristics such as electrostatic capacitance and leakage current for all of the chip capacitors.

Therefore, it is necessary to perform high-speed inspection of electrical characteristics of a large number of chip electronic components, and in recent years, as a device for automatically performing the high-speed inspection, an automated device (i.e., a chip electronic component inspection and sorting device) for inspecting and sorting the electrical characteristics of the chip electronic components, which is provided with a conveying disk (chip electronic component temporary holding plate) having many through holes formed therein, is generally used. In the transfer disk, a large number of through holes for temporarily storing chip electronic components to be inspected are formed in a state of being arranged in a plurality of rows of three or more rows along a circumference. When the chip electronic component inspection and sorting device is used, chip electronic components are temporarily stored and held in the through holes of the conveying disk in a rotating state, then a plurality of sets of a pair of electrode terminal sets (inspection contacts) consisting of a fixed electrode terminal and a movable electrode terminal, which are attached along a rotation path of the conveying disk, of the chip electronic components held in the conveying disk are brought into contact with the respective electrodes of the chip electronic components to measure predetermined electrical characteristics of the chip electronic components, and then, based on the measurement results, the chip electronic components are discharged from the through holes of the conveying disk so as to be stored in a predetermined container (sorting container) and sorted (or sorted).

That is, the automated recent inspection and sorting apparatus for chip electronic components can be referred to as a chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus including: the chip electronic component inspection apparatus includes a base, a chip electronic component conveying disk rotatably supported by the base (wherein the chip electronic component conveying disk is formed with three or more rows of through holes along a circumference thereof, the through holes being capable of temporarily accommodating chip electronic components having electrodes on opposite end surfaces, respectively), a chip electronic component supply and storage unit (supply and storage region) sequentially provided along a rotation path of the conveying disk, the chip electronic component supply and storage unit supplying the chip electronic components to the through holes accommodated in the conveying disk, a chip electronic component electrical characteristic inspection unit (inspection region) for inspecting electrical characteristics of the chip electronic components, and a chip electronic component sorting unit (sorting region) for sorting the inspected chip electronic components based on an inspection result.

For example, when the electrostatic capacitance of the chip capacitor is inspected, an inspection voltage having a predetermined frequency is applied to the chip capacitor from an inspection device (electrical characteristic measurement device) provided in the chip electronic component inspection and sorting device via an inspection electrode terminal in the electrical characteristic inspection unit. Then, the current value of the current generated in the chip capacitor by the application of the inspection voltage is detected by an inspector, and the electrostatic capacitance of the chip capacitor to be inspected is inspected based on the detected current value and the voltage value of the inspection voltage.

As an example of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, there is an apparatus described in patent document 1. That is, patent document 1 describes a chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus for continuously inspecting electrical characteristics of chip electronic components including the following steps using the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus having the above-described configuration: chip electronic components to be inspected, which are manufactured so as to show predetermined identical electrical characteristics based on the same specification, and a transfer disk are brought close to each other and temporarily accommodated in each of the through holes arranged in a plurality of rows, and then an inspector is electrically connected to each of the chip electronic components, and thereafter, an inspection voltage is applied from the inspector to each of the chip electronic components, and a current value generated in each of the chip electronic components by the application of the inspection voltage is detected by the inspector.

In a conventionally used chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, an electric current (or a voltage) is sequentially applied to each chip electronic component in a state where an inspection electrode terminal group including a fixed electrode terminal and a movable electrode terminal is simultaneously brought into contact with each of electrodes at both end portions of the chip electronic component arranged in a radial direction of a conveyor disc among chip electronic components accommodated in a plurality of rows of through holes provided along a circumference of the conveyor disc, thereby inspecting (measuring) electric characteristics of each chip electronic component. The application of current and the extraction of inspection values to the plurality of chip electronic components in sequence are performed using an inspector (for example, a capacitance measuring device), but since the structure of the inspection sorting apparatus needs to be simplified, an inspector for applying current and extracting inspection values to the chip electronic components is not prepared for every total number of inspection electrode terminal groups, and usually, one set of inspectors is prepared for a plurality of sets of inspection electrode terminal groups of 2 to 4 sets. These plural sets of inspection electrode terminal groups and the inspection device are connected via a connection switch (relay switch unit), and the connection between each chip electronic component and the inspection device is sequentially switched at high speed by the relay switch unit.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: WO2014/010623A 1.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Although not specifically described in patent document 1, a mercury relay switch capable of stable switching is generally used as a switch (relay switch unit) in a chip electronic component inspection and sorting device used in the related art. However, as described above, since the chip electronic components to be measured in recent years are extremely small, the size of the inspection electrode terminal group is also extremely reduced, and the volume of the mercury relay switch is relatively large, and therefore the mercury relay switch cannot be arranged at a position close to the inspection electrode terminal group. Therefore, the mercury relay switch is generally disposed at a position distant from each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal of the inspection electrode terminal group, and is connected to each other through a coaxial cable including a cable for applying an inspection current and a cable for extracting an inspection value.

In the conventional chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, the mercury relay switch used as the connection switching means of the electrical characteristic measuring tester and the inspection electrode terminal group is called an excellent connection switching means because it can perform highly reliable connection switching (switching), but there are problems of insufficient service life, a limit to high-speed connection switching, and a risk to the environment due to the use of mercury because of the mechanical connection switching means.

Therefore, the inventors of the present invention searched for a connection switching means that replaces the mercury relay switch. As a result, it was found that a MOS FET, which is one of semiconductor switching elements, can be used to perform high-speed connection switching without using mercury, and the service life can be extended.

However, as a result of further studies, it was also found that: when a MOS FET (and its drive circuit) is used as the connection switching means instead of the mercury relay switch, the accuracy of the measurement result of the electrical characteristics is degraded. For example, a conventional chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus (a mercury relay switch is used as a connection switching means, and the mercury relay switch is connected to an inspection electrode terminal group through a coaxial cable of about 1 m) is used to measure a capacitance (Cp) and a loss coefficient (Df) of a capacitor (capacitance) having a capacitance of 1pF, and when a standard deviation of the capacitance (Cp) and the loss coefficient (Df) is obtained, a standard deviation of Cp is about 0.000250pF, and a standard deviation of Df is about 0.000043. On the other hand, when the switching means including the inspection electrode terminal group and the MOS FET was connected by the same length of coaxial cable, and the capacitance and the loss coefficient of the capacitor having the capacitance of 1pF were measured in the same manner, and when the standard deviation thereof was obtained, the standard deviation of Cp was about 0.000455pF, and the standard deviation of Df was about 0.000082, and the standard deviation of the capacitance and the loss coefficient were both increased by about 2 times, and thus, it was found that the accuracy of the measured data was lowered.

In consideration of the above measurement results, the inventors of the present invention conducted research for searching for the cause of an increase in each of the standard deviation of the capacitance and the standard deviation of the loss coefficient that occurs when a MOSFET is used as the connection switching means. Then, in the course of the study, when the influence of the length of the coaxial cable connecting the connection inspection electrode terminal group and the switching unit was adjusted, it was found that: as shown in the graph of fig. 15, each standard deviation of the electrostatic capacitance and the loss coefficient, which is seen when the MOS FET is used as the connection switching means, has a strong correlation with the length of the coaxial cable, and when the length of the coaxial cable is set to 0 meter (that is, when the coaxial cable is not used), even when the MOS FET is used as the connection switching means instead of the mercury relay switch, there is almost no difference in the standard deviation of the electrostatic capacitance and the loss coefficient.

The present inventors have further discussed a method of installing a connection switching unit to a chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, which obtains highly accurate measurement data that is not less than the case of using a mercury relay switch, while using a MOS FET as the connection switching unit based on the above-described new knowledge. As a result of the discussion, the MOS FET is housed in the housing, and the housing the MOS FET is disposed adjacent to each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal of the inspection electrode terminal group, and then the MOS FET (and the drive circuit thereof) housed in the housing is directly connected to the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal via the connector, whereby the use of a coaxial cable connecting the MOS FET and the inspection electrode terminal group can be avoided, and as a result, it has been found that: the present invention has been achieved in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus capable of using MOSFETs as connection switching means between an electrical characteristic measurement checker and a group of inspection electrode terminals without causing practical problems.

Means for solving the problems

Therefore, the present invention provides an inspection and sorting apparatus for chip electronic components, comprising: a base station; a chip electronic component transfer disk rotatably supported by the base, wherein a plurality of rows of through holes capable of temporarily accommodating chip electronic components each having an electrode on the opposite end face are formed along the circumference of the chip electronic component transfer disk; and a chip electronic component supply storage section for supplying chip electronic components to the through holes contained in the conveying disc, an electrical characteristic inspection section for inspecting electrical characteristics of the chip electronic components, the electrical characteristic inspection section including a plurality of inspection electrode terminal groups each including a fixed electrode terminal and a movable electrode terminal, and a sorting section for sorting the inspected chip electronic components based on the inspection result, the electrical characteristic inspection section being connected to each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal via a relay switch unit, the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus being characterized in that a MOS FET contained in a frame is used as the relay switch unit, and the frame containing the MOS FET (and a drive circuit thereof) is disposed adjacent to each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal of the inspection electrode terminal group, the MOSFET is connected to the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal via a connector.

In the inspection and sorting apparatus for chip electronic components according to the present invention, it is preferable that the connector is provided on an end surface of the housing, and that the MOS FET is a MOS FET having an on-resistance of 500m Ω or less and an off-capacitance of 20pF or less.

Effects of the invention

In the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus of the present invention, the MOS FET and the drive circuit thereof, which are semiconductor switching elements, are used as connection means between the inspection electrode terminal group and the electrical characteristic inspection device instead of the mercury relay switch, and therefore, it is possible to avoid problems caused by the use of the mercury relay switch, that is, insufficient service life, a limit of speeding up of connection switching, and a risk to the environment due to the use of mercury.

Further, in the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus according to the present invention, there is an advantage that the connection operation between the electrical characteristic inspection tool for measuring the electrical characteristic of the chip electronic component and the inspection electrode terminal group becomes extremely easy, and the operation such as the installation and repair of the inspection electrode terminal group is simplified. That is, in the conventional chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, when three sets of electrode terminal groups and three sets of mercury relay switches are connected by using coaxial cables, for example, the total number of the coaxial cables connecting each of the fixed electrode terminals and the movable electrode terminals of each set to the three sets of mercury relay switches is 6. Further, when a problem occurs in the electrode terminal group, the coaxial cable needs to be temporarily detached from the electrode group and repaired or replaced, which requires a complicated operation. Further, since the size of the electrode terminal group is small as described above, when the coaxial cable is detached from one electrode terminal group, the coaxial cable often needs to be detached from the adjacent electrode terminal group, and therefore, the work of exchanging and repairing the electrode terminal group tends to be further complicated. It is needless to say that such a complicated operation is required even when the inspection electrode terminal group is incorporated into the sorting machine and the coaxial cable is connected. In the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to use a coaxial cable for connecting the inspection electrode terminal group and the connection switching means (means for switching the electrical connection between the electrode terminal group and the inspection device), the above-described complicated work is not necessary, and there is also an advantage that the assembly work and the repair work of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus become extremely simple.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a chip electronic component to be inspected, with a chip capacitor as an example.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing an example of the overall configuration of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus.

Fig. 3 shows a chip electronic component conveying disc of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, and a chip electronic component supply and storage section (supply and storage area), a chip electronic component electrical characteristic inspection section (inspection area), and a chip electronic component sorting section (sorting area) which are arranged in this order along the rotation direction of the conveying disc on the rotation path of the conveying disc.

Fig. 4 is a front view of the chip electronic component transfer tray and a sectional view of the transfer tray and a supporting structure behind the transfer tray.

Fig. 5 shows a front view and a side view of the chip electronic component supply and accommodation portion. The broken line is drawn in order to show the internal structure of the chip electronic component supply and storage unit.

Fig. 6 is a view showing an internal structure of a bucket (bucket) provided in the chip electronic component supply and storage unit, (a) is a front view showing the internal structure of the bucket, and (b) is a side sectional view of the bucket. The cross-sectional side view of the latter tub also shows a cross-section of the side of the transport disk and a substrate (reference table) provided behind the transport disk.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which chip electronic components are supplied to and accommodated in the through holes of the conveyor disk in the chip electronic component supply and accommodation unit, and a view showing a state in which the chip electronic components are accommodated in the through holes arranged in an arc-like shape along the circumference of the conveyor disk and conveyed. The arrow indicates the rotation direction of the conveyance disk (the moving direction of the through-hole).

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the inspection portion inspects the electrical characteristics of the chip electronic component accommodated in the through hole of the conveyance disk.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the chip electronic components accommodated in the through holes of the conveying disk are discharged by the sorting unit and the inspection in the inspection unit is completed.

Fig. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a wiring system including a mercury relay used as a switching unit in a known chip electronic component.

Fig. 11 is a circuit diagram showing an example of a wiring system including a MOS FET accommodated in a housing and used as a switching unit in a chip electronic component according to the present invention.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view showing a combination of a housing (with a connector) in which a MOS FET used in a chip electronic component of the present invention is housed and an inspection electrode group.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the housing (in which the MOS FET is housed) shown in fig. 12 is mounted on the inspection electrode group.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view showing a state in which the inspection of the chip electronic component is performed using the inspection electrode group in which the housing (in which the MOS FET is housed) shown in fig. 13 is mounted.

Fig. 15 is a graph showing a relationship between the length of the coaxial cable connecting the MOS FET and the inspection electrode terminal group in the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus and the accuracy (expressed by standard deviation) of the measured electrical characteristic values.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, a typical configuration of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 14 of the drawings. As is apparent from the description so far, the present invention is an improvement of a connection switching structure including a connection switching means (relay switch) of a known chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus, and therefore, first, a typical configuration of the known chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus will be described.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a structure of a chip electronic component to be inspected, with a chip capacitor as an example, and a chip electronic component (chip capacitor) 19 is configured by a capacitor main body 21 including a dielectric and a pair of

electrodes

22a and 22b provided to face each other at both ends thereof. The usual chip capacitor 19 is a chip ceramic capacitor using ceramic as a dielectric. Further, a solder layer for mounting on various substrates of the chip electronic component is provided on the surface of the electrode of the ordinary chip electronic component.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing a configuration example of the chip electronic component inspecting and sorting apparatus, and fig. 3 shows a chip electronic component conveying disc of the chip electronic component inspecting and sorting apparatus, and a chip electronic component supply and storage section (supply and storage area), a chip electronic component electrical characteristic inspecting section (inspection area), and a chip electronic component sorting section (sorting area) which are arranged in this order along a rotation direction of the conveying disc in a rotation path of the conveying disc. The chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus of fig. 2 is an apparatus in which a plurality of through holes are arranged in 6 rows along the circumference of a transfer disk. In the transport disk of fig. 3, for the sake of simplicity of illustration, the transport disk is shown as a structure having a large number of through holes arranged in 3 rows along the circumference of the transport disk. Fig. 4 (a) is a front view of the chip electronic component transfer tray shown in fig. 3, and fig. 4 (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the transfer tray and a supporting structure behind the transfer tray.

In the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus 10 shown in fig. 2, a chip electronic component transfer disk (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a transfer disk) 11 in which a large number of through holes 11a capable of temporarily storing chip electronic components (for example, chip capacitors) are formed so as to be arranged in a row along a circumference on a surface of a disk-shaped material is supported by a base 41 so as to be rotatable along a plane of the disk. As shown in fig. 3, a supply storage portion (supply storage area) 101 for chip electronic components, an inspection portion (inspection area) 102 for electrical characteristics of the chip electronic components, and a sorting portion (sorting area) 103 for the chip electronic components are set in the rotation path of the conveyor disc 11. The inspection unit 102 includes electrode terminals for measuring electrical characteristics at positions close to the two openings of the through holes 11a of the respective rows of the conveyor disc 11. The electrode terminals are electrically connected to the

testers

14a and 14b, and a controller 15 is provided to be electrically connected to the testers so as to supply signals related to the test process to the testers. The chip electronic components to be inspected enter the hopper 47 and are supplied from the chip electronic component supply port 31 to the through holes of the conveyor disk 11 through the barrel (see fig. 5 and 6).

The through holes 11a of the chip electronic component transfer tray 11 are generally arranged on the surface of the transfer tray, on a plurality of concentric circles, and at positions obtained by dividing the concentric circles, for example.

In the device 10 shown in fig. 2, a total of 6 through holes arranged in the radial direction between the center and the periphery of the conveyor disk 11 are provided, and the electrical characteristics of the chip electronic component are inspected for each of the total of 6 chip electronic components accommodated in each of the through holes. The number of through holes arranged in the diameter direction between the center and the periphery of the conveyor disk 11 is preferably in the range of 3 to 20, and more preferably in the range of 3 to 12.

The conveyance disc 11 is rotatably mounted (fixed) on the base 41 via a base plate (reference table) 45 and the center shaft 42, for example, and intermittently rotates around the center shaft 42 by operating a rotation drive device 43 disposed on the back surface side thereof.

The chip electronic component supply and storage unit 101 temporarily stores the chip electronic component to be inspected in the through hole 11a of the conveying disk 11 so as to inspect the electrical characteristics thereof.

Fig. 5 and 6 show a detailed structure of the chip electronic component supply and storage unit 101. The chip electronic component supply and storage unit 101 is also referred to as a barrel unit, and is a region for storing the chip electronic components supplied from the outside through the chip electronic component supply port 31 in the through holes 11a of the conveyor disk 11 via the barrel 32. In fig. 5 and 6, the barrel 32 is formed by separating 3 rows of grooves for lowering the chip electronic components in an arc shape by a partition wall 33 as a structure for supplying the chip electronic components to 3 rows (3 rows are shown for simplification in the same manner as in fig. 3) of through hole groups provided in the conveying disk 11. The chip electronic component supplied from the chip electronic component supply port 31 and descending along the partition wall 33 inside the barrel 32 is sucked and accommodated in the through hole 11a of the conveyance disk 11 by a strong suction force caused in the through hole 11a through the gas suction passage 45a formed in the substrate (reference stage) 45 in the vicinity of the bottom of the barrel 32. The suction and storage of the chip electronic component into the through hole 11a of the transfer disk 11 is usually performed with the transfer disk in a temporarily stationary state.

Fig. 7 shows a state where the chip electronic component is sucked and stored into the through hole 11a of the transfer disk 11. That is, the chip electronic components 19 collected near the bottom of the tub 32 are sucked and accommodated in the through holes 11a of the conveyor disk 11 by a strong suction force applied to the through holes 11a through the gas suction passage 45a formed in the substrate (reference stage) 45. Further, when the chip electronic components 19 collected in the vicinity of the bottom of the barrel 32 are sucked and stored into the through holes 11a, it is preferable that air is blown from the outside in the vicinity of the bottom of the barrel 32 to generate an air flow and the chip electronic components 19 are floated in a stirred state, since the chip electronic components are sucked and stored smoothly. For example, air can be blown from the outside into the vicinity of the bottom of the tub 32 by the air blow 37 shown in fig. 6.

As described above, the substrate 45 is disposed on the back side of the chip electronic component transfer tray 11 or the rear side of the apparatus (right side in fig. 7). A plurality of gas suction passages 45a that open to the surface of the substrate 45 on the side of the conveyance disk 11 are formed in each substrate 45. Each gas suction passage is connected to a gas suction device 46 that supplies a strong suction force to the through hole. When the gas suction device 46 is operated, the gas in the gas suction passage 45a is sucked by a strong suction force, and the gap formed between the conveyance disk 11 and the substrate 45 is depressurized.

The chip electronic components are supplied to the surface of the conveying disk via the chip electronic component supply port 31 and the barrel 32 while intermittently rotating the conveying disk 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow shown in fig. 7, and when the gas suction device 46 is operated to reduce the pressure in the gap between the conveying disk 11 and the substrate 45, the chip electronic components 19 are sucked into the respective through holes 11a of the conveying disk 11.

By the intermittent rotational movement of the conveyor disk 11, the chip electronic components 19 accommodated in the through holes 11a of the conveyor disk 11 are then conveyed to the inspection section 102 shown in fig. 2 and 3. After the chip electronic components 19 are accommodated in the through holes 11a, the transfer disk 11 is rotated to move the chip electronic components 19 accommodated in the through holes 11a to the inspection section 102 and further to the sorting section 103, and before that, the gap between the transfer disk 11 and the substrate 45 is brought into a weak decompression state. Therefore, the chip electronic components 19 accommodated in the through holes 11a of the conveyor disk 11 in the chip electronic component supply and storage unit 101 do not fall off from the through holes 11a until they reach the sorting unit 103 via the inspection unit 102 by the rotation of the conveyor disk 11.

As shown in fig. 8, in the inspection section, an inspector to which the chip electronic component is electrically connected is provided, and therefore, a combination of 12a and 13a (the former is a fixed electrode terminal and the latter is a movable electrode terminal, the same applies hereinafter), a combination of 12b and 13b, a combination of 12c and 13c, a combination of 12d and 13d, a combination of 12e and 13e, and a combination of 12f and 13f, which are respectively formed as a pair, are arranged at positions close to the two openings of the through hole 11a of the transfer disk 11.

As described above, one electrode terminal (12 a, the other electrode terminals) is fixed to the substrate 45 via the electrically insulating cylindrical body disposed around the one electrode terminal. The electrode terminals and the surface of the substrate 45 on the side of the transfer disk are generally formed into a smooth flat surface by polishing or the like. The other electrode terminal (13 a, others) is a movable electrode and is supported by the electrode terminal support plate 51 so as to be able to advance and retreat.

By moving the electrode terminal support plate 53 toward the conveyance disk 11, the movable electrode terminals (13 a, others) supported by the electrode terminal support plate 53 also move toward the conveyance disk 11 at the same time. By the movement of the movable electrode terminals (13 a, others), the chip electronic component is held between the paired electrode terminals (12 a, 13a, others) and brought into contact with each other. Therefore, the electrode 22a of the chip electronic component is electrically connected to the electrode terminal (12 a, others), and the electrode 22b is electrically connected to the electrode terminal (13 a, others). Thus, the chip electronic component is electrically connected to the tester via the paired electrode terminals (12 a, 13a, and others).

The "positions close to" the two openings of the through holes of the transfer disk in which the paired electrode terminals are arranged mean positions at which the electrode terminals are electrically connected to the electrodes of the chip electronic component when the chip electronic component is accommodated in the through holes, or positions at which the electrode terminals can be electrically connected to the electrodes of the chip electronic component by moving the electrode terminals when the electrode terminals are configured to be movable.

Then, the inspection unit 102 inspects predetermined electrical characteristics for each of the 6 chip

electronic components

19a, 19b, 19c, 19d, 19e, and 19f which are housed and arranged in a row in the radial direction of the conveyor disc 11.

The chip electronic components inspected for electrical characteristics are then sent to the sorting section 103 of the chip electronic components shown in fig. 2 and 3 by the intermittent rotational movement of the conveying disc 11.

As shown in fig. 9, in the sorting section 103, a tube support cover 61 formed with a plurality of through holes 61a is disposed on the front side of the conveyor disc 11 or the front surface side of the device (left side in fig. 9). The tube 62 constituting the discharge passage of the chip electronic component 19a is connected to each of the through holes 61a of the tube support cover 61. In fig. 2, only a part of the tubes 62 connected to the through holes 61a of the tube support cover 61 is shown.

Further, a plurality of gas supply passages 45b that open to the surface of the conveyance disk 11 side are formed in the region of the classification section 103 on the substrate 45 disposed on the back side of the conveyance disk 11 or on the rear side of the apparatus (on the right side in fig. 9). Each gas supply passage 45b is connected to a pressurized gas supply device 63.

When the pressurized gas supply device 63 is operated, the pressurized gas is supplied to the gas supply passage 45b and is ejected to the chip electronic component 19a accommodated in the through hole 11a of the transfer disk 11. Thereby, the chip electronic component is discharged to the tube 62.

The chip electronic component 19a passes through a total of 10 through holes 61a located on the outermost periphery side among the plurality of through holes 61a formed in the tube support cover 61 shown in fig. 2, for example. The 10 through holes 61a are connected to the chip electronic component storage container 64 via tubes 62, respectively.

Therefore, the chip electronic component discharged from the through hole by the sorting section 103 is stored in the predetermined chip electronic component storage container 64 via any one of the total 10 tubes 62 connected to the 10 through holes 61a of the tube support cover 61, and the electrical characteristics found based on the inspection result.

Next, a description will be given of a relay unit (switcher) used in the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus of the present invention, but before that, a description will be given of the arrangement of a mercury relay in a known chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus.

Although the arrangement of the mercury relays in the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus can be roughly understood from the description of patent document 1 and fig. 7, fig. 10 of the drawings accompanying the present specification shows a more detailed configuration. Fig. 10 is a circuit diagram showing a system in which three sets of combinations of the fixed

electrode terminals

12a, 12b, and 12c and the

movable electrode terminals

13a, 13b, and 13c in total can be electrically connected to the tester 14a via the mercury relay switch 20, respectively, by the four-terminal method. The tester 14a includes four terminals (Hcur, Hpot, Lcur, Lpot) electrically connected to the electrode terminals in contact with the chip

electronic components

19a, 19b, and 19c via the mercury relay switch 20.

Each mercury relay switch 20 switches the electrical connection between the checker 14a and each electrode terminal in accordance with instructions sent from the checker 14a and the controller 15. Although the information on the arrangement of the mercury relay switch 20 in the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus is not obtained from fig. 10, the mercury relay switch is not located near the electrode terminals because of its large size as described above, and is normally located near the tester 14a that is distant from the electrode terminal group, and the electrode terminals and the mercury relay switch are connected by coaxial cables.

Next, the MOS FET housed in the housing and the arrangement thereof used in the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 11 to 14.

As can be understood from fig. 11: the MOS FET24 housed in the housing 23 is connected at one end thereof to the tester 14a and at the other end thereof to a connector (connector for connection to an electrode terminal) 25 projecting to the outside of the housing 23. The connector may be attached to a recess provided in an end surface of the housing.

The MOS FET is a relay switch classified into semiconductor switching elements, and its configuration and characteristics are already known. As a MOS FET used as a switch (relay switch) of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus of the present invention, a MOS FET having an on-resistance of 500m Ω or less and an off-capacitance of 20pF or less is preferable.

As is apparent from fig. 12, the housing 23 in which the MOS FET is housed includes a coaxial cable connected to the tester on the left end face in the figure and a connector 25 on the right end face. Each of the connectors 25 is configured to be electrically connectable to each electrode terminal of the electrode terminal unit (integrated electrode terminal group, in the figure, the movable electrode terminal unit is shown) 26.

Fig. 13 shows a state in which the housing 23 in which the MOS FET shown in fig. 12 is housed and the electrode terminal unit (movable electrode terminal unit) 26 are connected via a connector. Since the movable electrode terminal unit 26 includes 6 electrode terminals, in combination with a corresponding fixed electrode terminal unit similarly including 6 fixed electrode terminals, the electrical characteristics of the 6 chip electronic components can be sequentially measured at high speed by using a connection switching mechanism (mechanism) of the MOS FET 24.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the following states: in order to measure the electrical characteristics of the chip electronic component 19 housed in the transfer disk 11, the unit (movable electrode terminal side unit) connecting the housing 23 housing the MOS FET and the movable electrode terminal unit shown in fig. 13 via the connector is brought into contact with the chip electronic component 19 via the electrode terminal, and similarly, the unit (fixed electrode terminal side unit) connecting the housing 23 housing the MOS FET and the fixed electrode terminal unit via the connector is brought into contact with the chip electronic component 19 via the electrode terminal.

In the present specification, the description has been given of the structure of the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus by taking as an example an apparatus in which the chip electronic component transfer disk described in patent document 1 is disposed and operated in the vertical direction, but the chip electronic component inspection and sorting apparatus of the present invention may be an apparatus in which the chip electronic component transfer disk is supported by a base in an inclined state.

Description of reference numerals

10 chip electronic component inspection and sorting device

11 chip electronic parts conveying disc

11a through hole

12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e, 12f fixed electrode terminals

13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e, 13f movable electrode terminals

14a, 14b checker

15 controller

19 chip electronic parts (chip capacitor)

19a, 19b, 19c chip electronic parts (chip capacitors)

19d, 19e, 19f chip electronic parts (chip capacitor)

20 mercury relay switch

21 capacitor body

22a, 22b electrode

23 frame (for electrode terminal connection)

24 MOS FET

25 connector

26 electrode terminal unit (Movable electrode terminal unit)

31 chip electronic component supply port

32 barrel

33 spacer wall

41 base station

42 central shaft

43 rotary driving device

45 base plate (Standard)

101 chip electronic parts supply container (supply container area)

102 chip electronic component electric characteristic inspection part (inspection area)

103 chip electronic component classification section (classification region).

Claims

1. An inspection and sorting apparatus for chip electronic parts, comprising: a base station; a chip electronic component transfer disk rotatably supported by the base, wherein a plurality of rows of through holes capable of temporarily accommodating chip electronic components each having an electrode on the opposite end face are formed along the circumference of the chip electronic component transfer disk; and a chip electronic component supply storage section which is provided in order along a rotation path of the conveying disc and supplies chip electronic components to the through holes contained in the conveying disc, an electrical characteristic inspection section which inspects electrical characteristics of the chip electronic components and is provided with a plurality of inspection electrode terminal groups composed of a fixed electrode terminal and a movable electrode terminal, and a classification section which classifies the inspected chip electronic components based on inspection results, wherein an electrical characteristic inspector is connected to each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal via a relay switch unit, the chip electronic component inspection and classification apparatus is characterized in that a MOS FET which is contained in a frame body and has an on-resistance of 500m omega or less and an off-capacitance of 20pF or less is used as the relay switch unit, and a connector which is connected to an output circuit of the MOS FET is provided in the frame body, the movable electrode terminals of the inspection electrode terminal group are connected via the connector, and the frame is disposed adjacent to each of the fixed electrode terminal and the movable electrode terminal.

2. The inspection and sorting apparatus for chip electronic components according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided on an end face of the housing.