IE980260A1

IE980260A1 - Test board mount/dismount apparatus

Info

Publication number: IE980260A1
Application number: IE980260A
Authority: IE
Inventors: Yoshinao Kamo
Original assignee: Ando Electric
Priority date: 1997-04-30
Filing date: 1998-04-07
Publication date: 1998-11-04
Also published as: KR100318955B1; GB9807480D0; SG65062A1; GB2325357A; JPH10300816A; GB2325357B; JP3324445B2; KR19980081806A

Abstract

A test board can be easily and quickly mounted on or dismounted from a test head and it can be easily maintained. The test board mount/dismount apparatus comprises a cover (3) for covering the test board (2), fixed rails in which only the test board can be inserted and from which the test board can be extracted, and elevating rails (16) for moving the test board (2) up and down while placing the test board (2) thereon. The test board can be mounted or dismounted from the test head (1) by placing the test board on the fixed rails (11) while the cover (3) is engaged in the test board (2), and moving only the test board (2) by way of the fixed rails (11) and the elevating rails (16) in a state where the cover (3) remains placed on the fixed rails (11). The cover (3) is engaged in or disengaged from the test board (2) only when the test board (2) is mounted on or dismounted from the test head (1). Since the cover (3) is engaged in the test board (2) upon completion of the mounting and dismounting of the test board relative to the test head (1), the test board (2) remains stored. <Fig.1>

Description

LODGED I DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a test board mount/dismount apparatus, particularly to a test board mount/dismount apparatus capable of mounting a test board provided with specified types of IC sockets on a test head or dismounting the test board from the test head in a state where the test board can be easily maintained.

An IC tester generally comprises, as shown in Fig. 5, a test head 100 formed of a housing 119 in which a measuring circuit such as a pin electronic circuit is housed, and a test board 200 to be connected with the test head 100.

The test head 100 has connecting parts 118 on an upper surface of the housing 119, and it is connected with an automatic supply device of ICs to be tested, for example, an autohandler 400 which carries the test head 100 horizontally.

The test board 200 includes a chassis 270 and a holding plate 220 wherein IC sockets 280 are implemented on the chassis 270 by way of a printed board 290. The ICs which are to be tested are mounted on the IC sockets 280.

In case that a variety of ICs are tested, the test board 200 on which the specified IC sockets 280 meeting the variety of ICs are implemented is needed, the test board 200 needs to be mounted on or dismounted from the test head 100.

The test board 200 on which the IC sockets 280 are implemented is conventionally mounted on the test head 100 in the following manner.

First of all, an operator moves the test head 100 horizontally from the autohandler 400 until the test head 100 reaches within the operator's reach, _______ -.TUi -·,·/·· '1C I i i ;; I tfi : 3I/2S-( | SEC Π3,;; «ΛΪ 23 I then the test board 200 on which the IC sockets 280 are implemented is mounted on the test head 100.

On the other hand, when the test board 200 is removed or dismounted from the test head 100, the test head 100 is moved horizontally within the operator's reach, then the test board 200 on which the IC sockets 280 are implemented is removed or dismounted from the test head 100.

Meanwhile, when the test board 200 is not used while it is not connected with the test head 100, connecting parts 210 corresponding to the connecting parts 118 of the test head 100 are stored while they remain unprotected.

The conventional test board mount/dismount apparatus has however the following problems. (1) It is troublesome to mount the test board 200 on or dismount the test board 200 from the test head 100. When the test board 200 on which the IC sockets 280 are implemented is mounted on or dismounted from the test head 100, the test head 100 per se must be horizontally moved as set forth above. As a result, it is troublesome to mount the test board 200 on or dismount the test board 200 from the test head 100, leading to the deterioration of rate of operation. (2) It is not easy to maintain the test board 200. Further, the connecting parts 210 of the test board 200 are stored while they are not protected when the test board 200 is not used. Accordingly, the connecting parts 210 are liable to be damaged when the test board 200 is not used.

Further, since the connecting parts 210 are implemented on the bottom surface of the test board 200, they are hardly confirmed visually, and hence the connecting parts 118 of the test head 100 corresponding to the connecting parts 210 are liable to be damaged when the connecting parts 210 of the test board 200 is connected with the connecting parts 118 of the test head 100 when the operator is not aware of the damage of the connecting parts 210.

To solve these problems, there is proposed a cover for covering the connecting parts 210 of the test board 200 by fastening members such as screws, but fastening operation has been troublesome. Accordingly, such a cover has not been used finally, thereby leading to the damage of the connecting parts, and to the deterioration of the maintenance efficiency.

It is an object of the invention to provide a test board mount/dismount apparatus capable of simply and quickly mounting the test board on the test head or dismounting the test board from the test head, and of easily maintaining the test board mount/dismount apparatus.

To solve these problems, the test board mount/dismount apparatus of the present invention comprises a cover 3 for covering connecting parts 21 of a test board 2, the cover 3 being engageable in the test board 2 or disengageable from the test board 2, pair of fixed rails 11 fixed to a test head 1 for placing the test board 2 thereon while the cover 3 is engaged in the test board 2, wherein the fixed rails 11 hold the cover 3 and only the test board 2 can be inserted into or extracted from the fixed rails 11, and elevating rails 16 disposed adjacent to and in series with the fixed rails 11 for moving the test board 2 up and down while placing the test board 2 thereon so as to connect the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 with or disconnect the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 from the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1.

According to the construction of the invention, when the test board 2 in which the cover 3 is engaged is placed on the fixed rails 11 (see Fig. 3), pins 14 of bars 15 for connecting both the fixed rails 11 are inserted into holes 31 of the cover 3 so that the cover 3 is supported by and held on the fixed rails 11.

Accordingly, when the test board 2 is pressed toward the elevating rails 16 which are flush with the fixed rails 11, only the cover 3 remains placed on the fixed rails 11 and only the test board 2 can be moved toward the elevating rails 16 (arrow C in Fig. 4) so that the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 can be connected with connecting parts 18 of the test head 1 when the elevating rails 16 are lowered. As a result, the test board 2 is mounted on the test head 1.

When the elevating rails 16 are moved upward to be flush with the fixed rails 11 after the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 are separated from the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1, the test board 2 can be moved toward the fixed rails 11 (arrow D in Fig. 4).

Accordingly, since the cover 3 which remains placed on the fixed rails 11 is engagedin the test board 2 because of the operation between the guide rails 23 and the magnet 24 respectively of the test board 2, the test board 2 can be removed with the cover 3 in a body, so that the test board 2 can be separated or dismounted from the test head 1 (see Fig. 4).

Since the cover 3 is engaged in the removed test board 2, the test board 2 can be stored as it is.

Further, since the test board 2 can be mounted on or dismounted from the test head 1 when the test board 2 alone is moved while the test head 1 remains fixed, the test board 2 can be easily and quickly mounted on or dismounted from the test head 1. Further, since the cover 3 can be engaged in or disengaged from the test board 2 while the cover 3 for protecting the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 remains placed on the test head 1 without requiring specific operation, the test board 2 can be easily stored when it is not used.

Fig. 1 is a view showing an entire construction of a test board mount/dismount apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a view showing the relation between a test board 2 and a cover 3; Fig. 3 is a hew showing the operation for mounting the test board 2 on or dismounting the test board 2 from the test head 1; Fig. 4 is a view showing the operation for inserting the test board 2 into or extracting the test board 2 from the test head 1; and Fig. 5 is a conventional test board mount/dismount apparatus.

A test board mount/dismount apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention will be now described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.

In Fig. 1 showing the entire construction of the test board mount/dismount apparatus, the test board mount/dismount apparatus comprises a test head 1, a test board 2 and a cover 3.

The test head 1 comprises a housing 19 in which a measuring circuit such as a pin electronic circuit (not shown) is housed, and it is connected with an IC tester body (not shown), and also it is placed on movable supporting legs (not shown).

A pair of fixed rails 11 which oppose each other are fixed to the upper portion of a front surface 19a of the housing 19 to direct outward from the housing 19.

The fixed rails 11 place the test board 2 thereon while the cover 3 is engaged in the test board 2 (see Fig. 1), and guide the test board 2 along track surfaces 11a in a state where the cover 3 is removed from the test board 2 (see Fig. 4).

Two fixed rails 11 are connected with each other by bars 15, and pins 14 are defined in the upper surface of the bars 15, wherein the pins 14 are inserted into holes 31 of the cover 3 when the test board 2 is placed on the fixed rails 11.

Blocks 13 are provided on the fixed rails 11 at the side opposite to elevating rails 16, described later, and plates 12 are provided on the fixed rails 11 at the side of the elevating rails 16.

The blocks 13 serve to position the test board 2 when the test board 2 is placed on the fixed rails 11 (arrow A in Fig. 3), and serve to stop the test board 2 when the test board 2 is extracted from the elevating rails 16 (arrow D in Fig. 4).

The plates 12 serve to stop the test board 2 together with the blocks 13 when the test board 2 is placed on the fixed rails 11 (arrow A in Fig. 3).

The elevating rails 16 are provided adjacent to the fixed rails 11 and in series with the fixed rails 11 at the inner sides of the housing 9 on the upper surface thereof, wherein the elevating rails 16 are secured to the housing 9 to be movable up and down in the directions of arrows E and F (see Fig. 4).

The elevating rails 16 place thereon the test board 2 which is moved from the fixed rails 11, move it up and down, then guide it along the track surfaces 16a thereof.

Piston rods 17c of cylinders 17 serving as driving means are fixedly secured to the elevating rails 16 at the substantially central portion of each bottom surface thereof, and the piston rods 17c penetrate the upper surface of the housing 19. The cylinders 17 are formed of, for example, air cylinders and housed in the housing 19. Guide rods 17a and 17b are secured to each bottom surface of the elevating rails 16 and they are disposed to oppose each other while interposing the piston rods 17c therebetween, and they penetrate the upper surface of the housing 19.

With such a construction, when the elevating rails 16 reach the uppermost position, the elevating rails 16 of the elevating rails 16 are flush with the fixed rails 11 of the fixed rails 11.

The connecting parts 18 are implemented on the upper surface of the housing 19 between two elevating rails 16.

The connecting parts 18 correspond to the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2, described later.

For example, if the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1 are female connectors, the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 are male connectors. If the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1 are contacts, which are so-called pogo pin, the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 are formed of a printed circuit board.

With such a construction, when the cylinders 17 are operated, the elevating rails 16 move up and down while they place thereon the test board 2 which is inserted into the elevating rails 16 by way of the fixed rails 11 so that the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 are connected with or disconnected from the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1.

On the other hand, the test board 2 is a board for mounting the ICs to be tested thereon as set forth hereinbefore, and it comprises a chassis 27 and a holding plate 22 as shown in Fig. 1.

The chassis 27 is rectangular parallelepiped, and a printed circuit board 29 is fixed to the upper surface of the chassis 27. IC sockets 28 are implemented on the printed circuit board 29.

The holding plate 22 holds the guide rails 23 and is rectangular as a whole, and the connecting parts 21 are implemented on the holding plate 22 at the lower surface thereof.

Wings 25 are fixed to the both sides of the holding plate 22, and handles 26 are provided on the upper surfaces of the wings 25. lE 980260 Guide rails 23 are provided on outermost both sides of the connecting parts 21 under the bottom surface of the holding plate 22, and a magnet 24 is provided in front of the connecting parts 21.

With such a construction, when the cover 3 can be engaged in or disengaged from the test board 2. That is, when the cover 3 is inserted into the test board 2 along the guide rails 23 and attracted by the magnet 24, the cover 3 is engaged in the test board 2 for covering and protecting the connecting parts 21. Although the test board 2 is stored in this state, the cover 3 is removed from the test board 2 and the test board 2 alone is moved along the fixed rails 11 when the test board 2 is mounted on or dismounted from the test head 1 (see Fig. 4).

The cover 3 has no one surface among 4 side surfaces, and collars 32 are provided at the opposing side surfaces through which the guide rails 23 of the test board 2 can be inserted.

The front side surface 3 serving as one side surface of the remaining surfaces of the cover 3 is attracted by the magnet 24 of the test board 2 to come into contact with the test board 2.

Holes 31 corresponding to the pins 14 of the bars 15 are defined in the cover 3, wherein the pins 14 are inserted into the holes 31 when the test board 2 is placed on the fixed rails 11 (see Fig. 3).

As a result, the cover 3 is held by the fixed rails 11, and hence the test board 2 can be removed or disengaged from the cover 3 (Fig. 4), and the test board 2 alone can be moved along the fixed rails 11 so that the test board 2 can be inserted into or extracted from the test head 1 (arrows C and D in Fig. 4).

The operation of the test board mount/dismount apparatus having the construction set forth above will be now described as follows.

(A) Storage of the test board 2: As shown in Fig. 2, when the collars 32 of the cover 3 are inserted between the guide rails 23 fixed to the lower surface of the holding plate 22 and the lower surface of the holding plate 22, the front surface 3a of the cover 3 is attracted by the magnet 24 fixed to the lower surface of the holding plate 22 owing to its magnetic force.

As a result, the cover 3 is engaged in the test board 2 so that the connecting parts 21 are covered with and protected by the cover 3, resulting in the storage of the test board 2 integrated with the cover 3 as a body.

(B) Mounting of the test board 2: (1) Placing of the test board 2 As shown in Fig. 3, the test board 2 in which the cover 3 is engaged is carried from the storage potion to the test head 1 while the handles 26 are gripped by hands, then it is placed on the fixed rails 11 which are secured to the test head 1 at the outside portion of the test head 1.

At this time, the test board 2 is positioned in the manner that the wings 25 of the test board 2 are accommodated between the plates 12 and the blocks 13 respectively provided on the upper surfaces of the fixed rails 11. In this case, the cover 3 engaged in the test board 2 is placed on the bars 15 which connect the fixed rails 11, and the pins 14 of the bars 15 are inserted into the holes 31 of the cover 3 so that the cover 3 is held by the bars 15 of the fixed rails 11. (2) Insertion of the test board 2 Subsequently, the wings 25 of the test board 2 are slid along the track surfaces 11a of the fixed rails 11 as shown in the arrow C in Fig. 4 so as to move the test board 2 from the fixed rails 11 toward the elevating rails 16. In this case, since the interval between the handles 26 are smaller than that between the plates 12, and the thickness of the wings 25 are respectively less than the distance between the plates 12 and the track surfaces 11a, the wings 25 of the test board 2 pass under the plates 12 and move from the fixed rails 11 to the elevating rails 16.

Further, when the pins 14 of the bars 15 are inserted into the holes 31 of the cover 3 as described hereinbefore, the cover 3 is held by the bars 15 of the fixed rails 11.

Accordingly, when the test board 2 is pressed toward the elevating rails 16, pressing force exceeds the magnetic force of the magnet 24 to move the magnet 24 away from the front surface 3a of the cover 3 so that the test board 2 is extracted from the cover 3, and the test board 2 alone can be moved toward the elevating rails 16.

When the test board 2 which is moved toward the elevating rails 16 are further pressed to strike against contact surfaces 16b of the elevating rails 16, the test board 2 alone can be inserted into the test head 1.

Subsequently, the cylinders 17 are operated to lower the elevating rails 16 on which the test board 2 is placed until they reach the lowermost position, so that the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 are connected with the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1. As a result, the test board 2 is mounted on the test head 1.

(C) Dismounting of the test board 2: (1) Extraction of the test board 2 When the cylinders 17 are operated to move the elevating rails 16 on which the test board 2 is placed upward in the arrow F in Fig. 4, the connecting parts 21 of the test board 2 are separated from the connecting parts 18 of the test head 1, and the elevating rails 16 reach the uppermost position so as to allow the track surfaces 16a of the elevating rails 16 to be flush with the track surfaces 11a of the fixed rails 11.

When the elevating rails 16 reach the uppermost position, the test board 2 placed on the elevating rails 16 are moved from the elevating rails 16 toward the fixed rails 11 as shown in the arrow D in Fig. 4, the wings 25 of the test board 2 strike against the blocks 13 of the fixed rails 11.

At this time, when the test board 2 is moved toward the fixed rails 11, the collars 32 of the cover 3 which remains placed on the fixed rails 11 are inserted between the guide rails 23 of the holding plate 22 of the test board 2 and the bottom surface of the holding plate 22, so that the wings 25 strike against the blocks 13 and the magnet 24 fixed to the holding plate 22 of the test board 2 is attracted by the front surface 3a of the cover 3. Accordingly, the cover 3 is engaged in the test board 2. (2) Taking out of the test board 2 When the cover 3 is engaged in the test board 2 (Fig. 3), the wings 25 of the test board 2 are positioned between the blocks 13 and the plates 12 of the fixed rails 11. (Fig. 3).

Accordingly, when the handles 26 of the test board 2 in which the cover 3 is engaged are gripped by hands to lift the test board 2 upward as shown in the arrow B, the test board 2 can be extracted or taken out from the test head 1 together with the cover 3 in a body.

As a result, the test board 2 can be dismounted from the test head 1 so that the test board 2 is stored while the cover 3 is engaged therein.

According to present invention as mentioned in detail above, since the test board mount/dismount apparatus comprises the cover for protecting the test board, the fixed rails through which the test board alone can be inserted or extracted, and the elevating rails which move up and down while they place the test board thereon, the test board alone can be moved by way of the fixed rails and the elevating rails while the cover remains placed on the fixed rails so as to allow the test board to be mounted on or dismounted from the test head. Further, the cover can be engaged in or disengaged from the test board without needing fastening operation utilizing special means such as screw’s only w’hen the test board is mounted on or dismounted from the test head.

There is another effect that the test board can be simply and quickly mounted on or dismounted from the test head and the test board mount/dismount apparatus can be easily maintained.

Claims

1. A test board mount/dismount apparatus comprising a cover (3) for covering connecting parts (21) of a test board (2), the cover (3) being engageable in the test board (2) or disengageable from the test board (2); pair of fixed rails (11) fixed to a test head (1) for placing the test board (2) thereon while the cover (3) is engaged in the test board (2), wherein the fixed rails (11) hold the cover (3) and only the test board (2) can be inserted into or extracted from the fixed rails (11); and elevating rails (16) disposed adjacent to and in series with the fixed rails (11) for moving the test board (2) up and down while placing the test board (2) thereon so as to connect the connecting parts (21) of the test board (2) with or disconnect the connecting parts (21) of the test board (2) from the connecting parts (18) of the test head (1).

2. The test board mount/dismount apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the test board (2) includes guide rails (23) at both sides thereof and a magnet (24) at the front thereof, and wherein a front surface (3a) of the cover (3) is attracted to by the magnet (24) when collars (32) of the cover (3) are inserted along the guide rails (23).

3. The test board mount/dismount apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein the fixed rails (11) are connected with each other by bars (15) having the pins (14) thereon, wherein the pins (14) are inserted into holes (31) of the cover (3) when the test board (2) in which the cover (3) is engaged is placed on the fixed rails (11).

4. A test board mount/dismount apparatus, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 - 4 of the

5. Accompanying drawings.