JPH08292228A - Apparatus for testing ic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To quickly stabilize the connecting relation between a contact pin and a socket when a connection substrate is connected with a contact board. CONSTITUTION: In order to electrically connect a contact pin 8 projecting down from a carrier substrate 1 to a socket 24 of a socket unit 21 set at a contact board 11, the carrier substrate 1 is provided with a lift rod using an air cylinder as a driving means and having a holding member. The contact board 11 is provided with two front and rear projecting positioning pins 25. Moreover, a through hole 26 with a bush 27 is formed in the carrier substrate 1. A pressing force of the air cylinder can be released and the positioning pins 25 can be moved up and down by a lift cylinder 28. After the carrier substrate 1 is positioned by the positioning pins 25 and the contact pin 8 is fitted into the socket 24 by the pressing force of the lift rod, the pressure of the air cylinder is freed and the positioning pins 25 are removed from the bush 27 of the carrier substrate 1 by the lift cylinder 28, thereby turning the carrier substrate 1 in a free state to follow the contact board 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC device testing apparatus for testing and measuring the electrical characteristics of IC devices (integrated circuit elements).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In testing and measuring the electrical characteristics of an IC device (hereinafter simply referred to as "device"), the device is connected to a test head of the IC tester to conduct an energization test. An IC handler is used to feed the device to the connection to the test head and to eject the device after conducting the energization test. The IC handler includes a loader unit that supplies devices and an unloader unit that stores the classified devices based on the test results of the devices that have completed the energization test. Here, as a method of transporting the device from the loader section to the test position where the test head is provided and from the test position to the unloader section, there is a method in which an inclined chute is provided to allow the device to slide by its own weight. However, depending on the package method of the device and the shape of the lead pin, such as a so-called SOP type device in which leads extending from both sides of a thin package part are bent outward, and an SOJ type device in which leads are bent inward. Some are not suitable for self-weighting.

A forced transport means is used to transport a device of this type, but in order to efficiently test and measure the device, the device is placed and positioned vertically and horizontally. It is conventionally known that a large number of transfer substrates are provided and contact pins are vertically provided, and the transfer substrates are transferred using horizontal transfer means. In addition, one device from the transfer substrate
Instead of taking them out individually and connecting them to the test head, by providing a contact head on the test head and connecting the transfer board to this contact board,
A device configured to test a large number of devices at the same time is also conventionally used.

Here, each device is provided with a large number of leads at a minute pitch interval, and each of these leads must be connected to an electrode on the side of the test head. Therefore, the leads are provided on the carrier substrate. An enormous number of contact pins corresponding to the number of leads in all the devices on the device mounting table are vertically provided. For example, in the case of a transport substrate provided with 32 device mounting tables on which devices each having 80 leads are mounted, 2560 contact pins are required. Further, the contact board provided on the test head is provided with the same number of sockets as the contact pins for connecting the contact pins of the carrying substrate.

All contact pins and sockets must be reliably contacted. Of course, the contact pins on the transfer board and the sockets on the contact board are accurately aligned with each other, but it is not possible to completely prevent the occurrence of an assembly error or the like. In consideration of such a minute positional deviation, in order to make accurate contact between the enormous number of contact pins and the socket, the socket is bent by a conductive member made of an elastic member,
The contact pin is elastically inserted and formed by forming the tip into a clip shape with a widened end.
Further, in order to accurately align the transfer board with the contact board, the contact board is provided with a plurality of positioning pins, and the transfer board is provided with through holes through which the positioning pins are inserted. The carrying substrate is aligned with the contact board by inserting the positioning pin into the through hole. Then, in order to surely push the contact pin into the socket, a pressing force is applied to the transfer substrate from above.

[0006]

As described above, since the contact pin is connected to the socket made of an elastic member, even if there is a relative displacement between the contact pin and the socket, If the number is small, it does not interfere with the fitting of the contact pin into the socket. However, a force is applied in a direction in which the socket is pressed and deformed by a part of the contact pins, and an elastic force is generated in the socket made of the elastic member. The elastic force of the socket may act in various directions, which may result in instability of the contact state of the contact pin with the socket. As a result, a situation of poor connection between the contact pin and the socket occurs, which hinders the energization test for the device. After a certain amount of time, the engagement state between the contact pin and the socket will eventually become stable for the current test to be possible, but after connecting the connection board to the contact board, the current is actually applied until it stabilizes. Since the test cannot be performed, there is a problem that the test / measurement time becomes longer accordingly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to quickly stabilize the connection relationship between a contact pin and a socket when a connection board is connected to a contact board. To do so.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is provided with a plurality of device mounting bases on which IC devices are mounted, and has the same number as the leads of the IC devices of each device mounting base. It consists of a board for transportation with vertical contact pins, and a contact board with elastic clip-shaped sockets into which each contact pin is elastically inserted. At least two positioning pins are provided on the contact board for transportation. A through hole through which the positioning pin is inserted is bored on the board side, and the transfer board is pressed against the contact board side by the pressing means, thereby electrically connecting the contact pin and the socket to each IC device. An electrical characteristic test / measurement is performed, wherein the pressing means includes a contact pin of the transfer board and a contact board device. It is an its features that are driven by an air cylinder capable of releasing the pressing force when connected to the mounting table.

[0009]

When the transfer board is connected to the contact board, the pressing means is used to press the transfer board from above. When this pressing means presses the transfer board to a predetermined position, a part of the transfer board is pressed. The socket becomes elastically deformed. Since the elastic recovery of the socket is delayed due to the balance with the pressing force acting on the transfer substrate, a considerable time is required until the connection state between them is stabilized. Then, the transfer board is pressed, and after the contact pin is engaged with the socket, the pressing force on the transfer board is released. By the release of the pressing force on the transfer board, the elastically deformed socket is promptly restored and the connection state between the contact pin and the socket is immediately stabilized. As a result, when the transfer substrate is completely connected to the contact board and the pressure applied by the pressing means is released, the electrical characteristics of the device can be tested and measured immediately.

When the transfer board is connected to the contact board, relative positioning must be performed. For this reason, the contact board is provided with positioning pins, and the positioning pins are inserted into the through holes of the transfer board. It is configured to let. For this reason, the horizontal position of the transfer substrate is restricted by the positioning pin, which also causes a delay in the restoration of the elastically deformed socket. When the carrier board is positioned relative to the contact board and the contact pins are inserted into the socket, it is not always necessary to regulate the carrier board by the positioning pins, but rather the stability of the contact pin and the socket is negative. Is. Therefore, if the positioning pins can be moved up and down, and the positioning pins are removed from the carrying substrate after the carrying substrate is positioned relative to the contact board, the carrying substrate will be in a substantially completely free state. , The engagement between the contact pin and the socket is stabilized more quickly.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of the transfer board, and FIG. 2 shows a socket provided on the transfer board. The IC device shown in these figures has a thin package portion P
There is shown a so-called SOJ type device D in which a large number of leads L extending from the inside are bent inward. The IC device to be tested / measured is not limited to this SOJ type, and is it possible to perform sliding under its own weight?
Alternatively, it is effective in the case of an SOP type or other IC device which is not suitable for self-weight sliding.

In this device D, a large number of device mounting tables 2 are provided on a carrier substrate 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the device mounting table 2 includes an open top type casing 3 having a pedestal 3a on which the device D is mounted.
The number of elastic electrodes 4 corresponding to the leads L of the device D is provided. Further, in order to press the lead L into contact with the elastic electrode 4, a pressing finger piece 5 for pressing the package portion P of the device D is provided, and the pressing finger piece 5 is brought into contact with the package portion P by the spring 6. Being energized.
A pushing piece 7 is slidably attached to the casing 3 to separate the pushing finger piece 5 from the package portion P against the spring 6. Further, the elastic electrode 4 is connected to the carrying substrate 1, and the electrode 4 is electrically connected to a contact pin 8 vertically provided on the lower surface of the carrying substrate 1.

A large number of contact pins 8 are vertically provided on the carrier substrate 1. For example, as shown in FIG.
When two device mounting bases 2 are provided and the number of leads L of the device D mounted on the device mounting base 2 is 80, 2560 are provided. The transfer substrate 1 is taken out from the loader section and transferred by a transfer means such as a conveyor in a state where the device D is placed on each device mounting table 2, and as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, Contact board 1 provided on the test head 10 side
The device D, which is connected to No. 1 and placed on the transfer substrate 1, is simultaneously tested for energization. The transfer robot 12 has a substantially U-shaped holding member 13a for holding the substrate 1 at its tip in order to handle the substrate 1 for transportation.
It has an elevating plate 14 on which four elevating rods 13 provided with are mounted, and each elevating rod 13 is inserted into a slide guide 15 provided on the robot 12. Also, the lifting rod 13
A rotary actuator 16 is connected to the rotary actuator 16.
3 can be rotated about its axis. Therefore, by rotating the elevating rod 13, the holding member 13a can be rotationally displaced between a state in which the holding substrate 13 is held and a state in which the holding member 13a is detached from the holding substrate 1. Become.

The elevating rod 13 provided with the holding member 13a constitutes a pressing means, and a rack 17 is provided on the elevating plate 14 for elevating and lowering it, and a pinion 18 is meshed with the rack 17. And this pinion 1
By rotating 8, the elevating plate 14 and the elevating rod 13 are displaced in the vertical direction. An air cylinder 19 is provided to rotate the pinion 18, a lever 20 is connected to the air cylinder 19, and a rotary shaft 18a of the pinion 18 is connected to the other end of the lever 20. When the lever 20 is rotated by the air cylinder 19, the rotation shaft 18a of the pinion 18 is rotated.
Will follow it and rotate.

The contact board 11 includes a substrate 1 for transportation.
A socket unit 21 connected to each contact pin 8 is provided. This socket unit 21
As can be seen from FIG.
3 is provided, and by bending a conductive metal having elasticity in the space 23, a receiving portion 24a having a large open end is formed, and a constricted portion 24b having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the contact pin 8 is formed in the middle portion. A clip-shaped socket 24 is formed. Since the pitch interval of the leads L in the device D is extremely narrow, the contact pins 8 and the sockets 24 are arranged in two rows, that is, in a staggered pattern, with the pitch intervals being shifted to facilitate the arrangement. be able to.

When the transfer board 1 is brought close to the contact board 11, a large number of contact pins 8 are accurately engaged with the sockets 24, respectively, and the transfer board 1 must be positioned so as to follow the contact board 11. There is. For this purpose, the contact board 11 has two positioning pins 25 projecting forward and backward.
A through hole 26 into which the positioning pin 25 is inserted is formed, and a bush 27 is attached to the through hole 26. Here, the positioning pin 25 is not fixedly provided, but can be moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 28.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and is taken out from the loader section with the device D placed on each device placing table 2 on the carrying substrate 1.
It is transported to a predetermined position. At this position, the transfer robot 12 is arranged, and the holding member 13a provided at the tip of the elevating rod 13 of the transfer robot 12 is rotated to hold the transfer substrate 1. Let it handle. Then, the transfer robot 12 is driven to move to the position of the test head 10, and is held in a state in which a predetermined space is provided with respect to the contact board 11. In this state, by operating the air cylinder 19, the pinion 18 is rotated via the lever 20. The rack 1 mounted on the lifting plate 14 is attached to the pinion 18.
Since 7 is meshed, the elevating plate 14 descends, and along with this, the elevating rod 13 slides along the slide guide 15, and the carrier substrate 1 descends.

Positioning pins 2 are provided on the contact board 11.
5 is provided, and the positioning pin 25 can be moved up and down by a lifting cylinder 28. By holding it in a protruding state, when the transfer substrate 1 is lowered, the positioning pin 25 is first provided. Fits into the bush 27 of the carrier board 1 and inserts it into the contact board 1
Position adjustment is performed so as to follow 1. In this state, when the transfer board 1 is further lowered, the contact pins 8 vertically hung on the board 1 are fitted into the sockets 24, and by further driving the air cylinder 19, the contact pins 8 are narrowed in the sockets 24. After passing through 24a, the two are connected.

Here, if all the contact pins 8 enter from the center of the receiving portion 24a of the socket 24 and pass through the constricted portion 24b, this is not a special problem, but a huge number of contact pins 8 and sockets 24 are provided. Therefore, not all the contact pins 8 may be reliably inserted into the socket 24. That is, FIG.
As shown in, when the contact pin 8 is inserted at a position displaced from the constricted portion 24b, the socket 24 is elastically deformed. As a result, a force for pushing the contact pin 8 in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure is stored in the socket 24. By this force, the contact pin 8 is pushed back to the central portion of the socket 24, and the stable fitting state is restored.
Until the fitted state of the contact pin 8 and the socket 24 becomes stable, a state of electrical connection failure occurs between them.

Therefore, the contact pin 8 and the socket 24
In order to promptly eliminate the unstable state of the fitting state with, the restriction force on the transfer board 1 is released. That is, a pressing force by the elevating rod 13 acts on the transfer substrate 1, and the transfer substrate 1 is restricted in the vertical direction by this. The transfer board 1 is the contact board 1.
The positioning pin 25 is inserted into the bush 27 so as to be aligned with the position No. 1 and is also regulated in the horizontal direction. The restriction of the transfer board 1 by the elevating rod 13 and the positioning pin 25 is necessary when connecting the transfer board 1 to the contact board 11, but after the contact pin 8 is fitted into the socket 24, Regulation is not necessary.

From the above, immediately after the contact pins 8 are fitted in the sockets 24, the carrier board 1 is actuated by the elevating cylinder 28 to lower the positioning pins 25 so that they are pulled out from the bushes 27. With
The pressure of the air cylinder 19 for vertically moving the lifting rod 13 as the pressing means is set to substantially zero. As a result, the substrate 1 for transportation is in a free state, so even if the socket 24 is elastically deformed by the contact pins 8, the substrate 1 for transportation is slightly moved and the socket 24 is immediately restored. .

Here, in order to reduce the pressure of the air cylinder 19 to 0, for example, the structure shown in FIG. 7 may be used. That is, a switching valve 33 is provided in the air pipes 32a and 32b connected to the chambers 31a and 31b on both sides of the piston 30 in the air cylinder 19, and one of the air pipes 32a and 32b serves as a pressure air source 34. When the chamber 31a is connected to the atmosphere and the chamber 31b is connected to the compressed air source 34, the rod 35 is extended so that the chamber 31a is connected to the compressed air source 34 by connecting the chamber 31a to the atmosphere. The chamber 31
Connecting b to the atmosphere causes rod 35 to contract. A second valve is provided between the switching valve 33 and the chambers 31a and 31b.
Of the air pipes 32a and 32b directly connected to the changeover valve 33 through the changeover valve 36 of FIG.
It is possible to switch to a state in which a and 32b are in communication. As a result, when the two air pipes 32a and 32b are communicated with each other by the second switching valve 36, both chambers 3
The pressure difference between 1a and 31b becomes substantially 0, and the pressing force on the transfer substrate 1 can be released.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the pressing means is driven by the air cylinder, and the pressing force is applied when the contact pin of the transfer substrate is connected to the device mounting base of the contact board by the air cylinder. Since it is configured such that it can be released, when the connection board is connected to the contact board, it is possible to quickly stabilize the connection relationship between the contact pin and the socket.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a transfer substrate.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a device mounting table mounted on a transfer substrate.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a connection mechanism of a transport substrate to a test head.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a connecting portion between a contact pin and a socket.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a socket and a mechanism for aligning a carrying substrate with a contact board.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view showing a fitted state of the contact pin and the socket.

FIG. 7 is a pneumatic circuit diagram of an air cylinder for raising and lowering a transfer substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transport Substrate 2 Device Placement Table 8 Contact Pin 10 Test Head 11 Contact Board 13 Elevating Rod 13a Holding Member 14 Elevating Plate 15 Slide Guide 17 Rack 18 Pinion 19 Air Cylinder 21 Socket Unit 24 Socket 25 Positioning Pin 26 Through Hole 27 Bushing 28 Lifting Cylinders 32a, 32b Air Piping 33 Switching Valve 34 Pressure Air Source 36 Second Switching Valve

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A carrier substrate provided with a plurality of device mounting bases on which IC devices are mounted, and the same number of contact pins as the leads of the IC devices of each device mounting base are suspended, and each contact pin is elastic. The contact board is equipped with an elastic clip-shaped socket that is inserted into the contact board. Positioning pins are provided on at least two places on the contact board, and through holes are formed on the side of the board for carrying the positioning pins. In the one in which the contact pins and the socket are electrically connected by pressing the transfer substrate to the contact board side by the pressing means to test / measure the electrical characteristics of each IC device, the pressing means comprises: An air cylinder that can release the pressing force when the contact pins of the transfer board are connected to the device mounting table of the contact board. An IC device test apparatus characterized by being driven further. 2. The IC device testing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning pin is vertically movable.