JP2516335B2 - Test head cooling mechanism - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a cooling mechanism for a test head for an IC test device. More specifically, the present invention relates to a cooling mechanism for a test head having a high intake effect.

[Prior art]

A large number of circuit boards are mounted in the test head of the IC test apparatus, and the amount of heat generated by the mounted components is considerably large. Therefore, conventionally, a circuit board is cooled by providing a fan inside the test head, sucking the outside air through an opening provided on the bottom surface of the test head, passing it through the inside of the test head, and discharging it from the side surface of the test head. I have to.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

FIG. 5 is a schematic partial sectional view of a conventional cooling mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional cooling mechanism has a perforated cylindrical body 100 for taking in cooling air and an intake fan 110 disposed adjacent to the cylindrical body. The bottomed cylindrical body 100 is a housing
It is joined to 120, and the intake fan 110 is also fixed to the housing by a mounting plate 112.

However, as the number of circuit boards mounted in the test head has increased with the high integration of the ICs to be tested, and the mounting density has also increased, the conventional cooling structure as described above is sufficient. It is becoming difficult to achieve the cooling effect.

Arranging a large fan to increase the cooling air volume is not a realistic solution because the volume of the housing is limited.

[Object of the Invention]

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling mechanism for a test head capable of increasing the cooling air volume without changing the volume of the housing and the size of the fan.

[Means for solving problems]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems and achieving this object, the present invention provides a test head, which is provided with a perforated cylindrical body for intake of cooling outside air and a peripheral surface of the cylindrical body. In a cooling mechanism for a test head for an IC test device, comprising: a plurality of intake fans provided with an outer casing arranged so as to surround the cylindrical body, the test just below and / or directly above the intake fan. An air intake hole is formed in a housing portion of the head, and an air flow passage is provided between the housing portion of the test head in which the intake hole is formed and an outer housing of the intake fan. And a test head cooling mechanism.

[Action]

During repeated experiments on the cooling mechanism for the test head,
The inventor has discovered that a negative pressure is generated between the fan and the housing portion adjacent to the fan. Based on this finding, an opening was made in the case where negative pressure was generated.

As a result, it was confirmed that when the fan was rotated, the outside air was drastically sucked also from this opening. Thus, the cooling effect can be enhanced by increasing the cooling air volume without changing the volume of the housing and the size of the fan at all.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial sectional view of a test head cooling mechanism of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of an IC test apparatus equipped with a test head having the cooling mechanism of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a test head II-. It is a schematic sectional drawing along the II 'line. FIG. 4 is a top view having a partially cutaway cross section of the test head.

As shown in FIG. 1, the test head cooling mechanism of the present invention includes a perforated cylindrical body 10 for taking in cooling outside air, and an intake fan 20 arranged adjacent to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body. . The perforated cylindrical body 10 is joined to the upper and lower casings 30, 30 of the test head, and the intake fan 20 is also fixed to the upper and lower casings 30, 30 of the test head by the mounting plate 22. .

An intake hole 40 is formed in a portion of the casing 30 of the test head, which is directly below the intake fan 20. Specifically, as shown in the drawing, the intake hole 40 is provided in the housing portion at a position between the propeller of the fan 20 and the mounting plate 22.
To drill. Similarly, an intake hole can be provided directly above the fan.

When the fan is rotated, the outside air is sucked in the direction indicated by the chain double-dashed line.

As shown in FIG. 2, the IC test device 50 includes a main body 52.
And a test head 60. The main body 52 accommodates a power source for circuits inside the test head 60, and is movably installed on the floor by the leveling bolts 54.

The test head 60 is at least rotatably supported by the support portion 56. When the IC test device 50 is used in combination with the IC handler, the test head 60 is rotated vertically as shown in the figure, and the socket 62 provided on the upper surface side of the test head 60 and the connection pin of the IC handler are combined. To be done. In the case of hand-selecting ICs, the test head 60 is tilted to the horizontal position. 58a is a lock pin for fixing the test head 60 in the upright position, and 58b is a lock pin for fixing the test head 60 in the horizontal position.

The signal cable between the main body 52 and the test head 60 and other parts not directly related to the cooling structure are omitted in the drawing.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a structure related to the cooling of the test head 60 will be described. This figure shows test head 60 II
6 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line -II ′ in which portions of the test head 60 that are not directly related to cooling are omitted or simplified.

As shown in this figure, a large number of circuit boards 64 are radially arranged inside the test head 60. The cylindrical body 10 is provided in the center portion in a direction perpendicular to the lower surface of the test head 60. The lower end of the cylindrical body 10 is open. In addition, a large number of air holes or net windows are formed on the side surface of the cylindrical body 10 for taking in outside air for cooling. Therefore, the outside air passes through the side surface of the cylindrical body 10 and flows into the mounting space of the circuit board 64. A filter for removing dust can be attached to the lower end opening of the cylindrical body 10.

An intake fan 20 is arranged adjacent to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 10. Four intake fans 20 are provided so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body 10. The fan 20 is attached to the housing 30 below the test head 60 by the plate 22. (The fan 20 is also attached to the upper housing 30 in the same manner.) As shown by the dotted line, an intake hole 40 is provided immediately below the fan 20.

An exhaust fan 20a is arranged near the side plate 66 of the test head 60. The side plate 66 is provided with a mesh window 68, as shown in FIG. Exhaust fan 20
It is preferable that a is provided so as to face the mesh window 68.

Therefore, the cooling outside air sucked by the fan 20 from the air hole of the cylindrical body 10 and the intake hole 40 of the housing is sent outward through the circuit board mounting space to cool the circuit board 64, and then the exhaust fan. It is discharged to the outside through the mesh window 68 by 20a.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the test head, and a part of the housing 30 is cut away so that the inside can be seen. In addition, in FIG. 4, the second part is shown in order to simplify and clarify the illustration.
The upper surface of the test head is shown with the socket 62 shown in the figure omitted. Here, I- in FIG.
The cross section taken along line I'corresponds to the cross sectional view of FIG.

〔The invention's effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the IC
In a cooling mechanism of a test head for a test apparatus, a cooling head has a cylindrical body for taking in outside air for cooling, and an intake fan arranged adjacent to the cylindrical body, and a casing part adjacent to the intake fan is provided. There is provided a test head cooling mechanism characterized in that an intake hole is provided.

A fan arranged adjacent to the perforated cylinder is rotated. Negative pressure is generated between the fan and the housing portion adjacent to the fan. When an opening portion is bored in the housing portion where negative pressure is generated, the fan is rotated so that the outside air is strongly sucked from the opening portion. Thus, the cooling effect can be enhanced by increasing the cooling air volume without changing the volume of the housing and the size of the fan at all.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic partial sectional view of a test head cooling mechanism of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of an IC test apparatus equipped with a test head having the cooling mechanism of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a test head II-. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view taken along line II ′, FIG. 4 is a top view having a partially cutaway sectional view of the test head, and FIG. 5 is a schematic partial sectional view of a conventional test head cooling mechanism. 10 …… Cylindrical body with holes, 20 …… Intake fan, 20a …… Exhaust fan, 30 …… Enclosure, 40 …… Intake hole, 50 …… IC test device, 52 …… Main body, 54 …… Leveling Bolts, 56 ... Supports, 58a and 58b ... Lock pins, 60 ... Test head, 62 ... Sockets, 64 ... IC board, 68 ... Side plate, 68
...... Mesh window

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A test head is provided with a perforated cylindrical body for taking in cooling air and an outer casing disposed adjacent to an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body so as to surround the cylindrical body, in a substantially central portion of the test head. In a cooling mechanism for a test head for an IC test device, which has a plurality of intake fans, an intake hole is formed in a housing portion of the test head immediately below and / or immediately above the intake fan. A test head cooling mechanism comprising an air flow passage between a housing portion of the test head that is punched and an outer housing of the intake fan.