KR20060068675A - Loader hand of test handler - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a loader hand of a test handler which reduces the weight of the loader hand and stabilizes the spacing control of the pickers mounted on the loader hand.

The loader hand of this test handler includes a plurality of pickers for picking each object; A ball spline shaft for guiding a horizontal movement in the x-axis direction between the pickers; A plurality of rings connected between neighboring pickers in the horizontal direction to limit a maximum distance between the pickers; A plurality of stoppers fitted in each of the pickers to limit the minimum spacing between neighboring pickers in the horizontal direction; And a guide shaft passing through each of the stoppers to guide the direction of horizontal movement of the stopper.

Description

Loader hand of test handler {LOADER HAND OF TEST HANDLER}             

1 is a plan view schematically showing a test handler according to the present invention.

2 is a perspective view of the loader handler of the test handler according to the present invention when the distance between the pickers is maximized in the x-axis direction.

3 is a partially exploded perspective view of a loader hand of a test handler according to the present invention when the distance between pickers in the x-axis direction is minimized.

4 is a view illustrating a coupling state of the stopper and the center alignment bar.

5 is a perspective view of a picker.

6 is a side view of the picker.

7 is a front view showing the surface contact of the stoppers when the gap between the pickers is minimal.

8 is a front view showing the separation of the stoppers when the distance between the pickers is maximum.

FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating a state in which a ring is coupled to the picker rows shown in FIG. 8.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: Picker 1a: Guide protrusion

2: base plate 3: LM guide

4: drive cylinder for y-axis pitch conversion 5: ball spline shaft

6, 7: X-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder 8: Ring

9: y-axis movable plate 10: connecting bar

11: reference bar 12, 13: side wall plate

14: stopper fixing block 15: stopper

16: x-axis guide shaft 17: center alignment bar

17a: projection of center alignment bar 18: cylinder fixing plate

100: loader hand 200: device loading unit

210: test tray 220: Cartesian coordinate robot

300: user tray

The present invention relates to a test handler capable of automatically testing semiconductor devices, and more particularly, to a loader hand of a test handler that reduces the weight of the loader hand and stabilizes the spacing control of the pickers mounted to the loader hand.

After completion of the manufacturing process, the semiconductor device is judged as good or defective by the test process for the finished product. In this test process, an automated inspection apparatus commonly called a "test handler" is used.

The test handler automatically transfers the semiconductor device from the user tray to the test tray, and then performs a test after contacting the input / output terminals of the semiconductor device with the test head, and classifies and loads the semiconductor devices according to the test results. . The test handler includes a stacker unit including a user tray supply / discharge unit, a device loading unit for loading a semiconductor device stored in the user tray into a test tray, a chamber unit for testing a semiconductor device, and a semiconductor device from the chamber unit. A device unloading unit for loading and a classification unit for classifying semiconductor devices according to the test results.

Here, the loader hand is equipped with a plurality of pickers. Since the picker of the loader hand is different from the semiconductor device mounting space and the pitch of the user tray and the semiconductor device mounting space and the pitch of the test tray, it is necessary to adjust the distance therebetween.

As the loader hand of the conventional test handler has a lot of parts directly or indirectly connected to the cam plate or camshaft, the drive cylinder for driving the cam plate or the camshaft, the LM guider, other gage plates and the camshaft, as disclosed in Patent No. 248704, etc. Is inevitably heavy, and it is difficult to control the moving speed of the pickers when adjusting the distance between the pickers, and there is a problem that the distance control between the pickers is unstable because there are many shakes of the pickers.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a loader hand of a test handler which reduces the weight of the loader hand and stabilizes the spacing control of the pickers mounted on the loader hand.

In order to achieve the above object, the loader hand of the test handler according to the present invention comprises a plurality of pickers for picking each object; A ball spline shaft for guiding a horizontal movement in the x-axis direction between the pickers; A plurality of rings connected between neighboring pickers in the horizontal direction to limit a maximum distance between the pickers; A plurality of stoppers fitted in each of the pickers to limit the minimum spacing between neighboring pickers in the horizontal direction; And a guide shaft passing through each of the stoppers to guide the direction of horizontal movement of the stopper.

The loader hand of the test handler includes a rectangular coordinate robot; A base plate fixed to the rectangular coordinate robot; A pair of connecting bars extending from both sides of the base plate; A reference bar fixed to an end of the pair of connection bars; An LM guide installed on the connection bar; A y-axis movable plate fastened to a slider of the LM guide and installed to be transported along the connection bar; a set of back row side wall plates fixed to both sides of the y-axis movable plate; A pair of heat transfer side wall plates on both sides of the reference bar; A ball spline shaft coupled to each of the front and rear side wall plates in the x-axis direction; And a y-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder fixed to the reference bar and fixed to the y-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder.

The pickers include electrothermal pickers including a plurality of pickers, the horizontal movement of which is guided by the ball spline shaft fastened to the electrothermal side plate; And electrothermal pickers including a plurality of pickers, the horizontal movement of which is guided by the ball spline shaft fastened to the rear row side plate.

Each of the pickers has a built-in drive cylinder for lifting the vacuum pad.

The loader hand of the test handler further restricts the position of the center pickers in each of the electrothermal pickers and the post-row pickers and further comprises a center alignment bar for aligning the pickers near the center when the distance of the pickers in the horizontal direction is narrowed. Equipped.

The rings and the stoppers are replaceable.

Other objects and advantages other than the above object will become apparent from the description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

Referring to FIG. 1, a test handler according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a device loading unit 200.

The device loading unit 200 loads the semiconductor devices stored on the user tray 300 to the test tray 210 while reciprocating between the user tray 300 and the test tray 210.

The device loading unit 200 includes a loader hand 100 and a rectangular coordinate robot 220.

The loader hand 100 is equipped with pickers in the front and rear rows in which the distance between each other is controlled by a ring method.

Cartesian coordinate robot 220 serves to move the loader hand 100 in the two axis direction of the x-axis and y-axis.

2 and 3 are perspective views of the loader hand 100, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the stopper assay and the center alignment bar disassembled in the loader hand 100.

Referring to FIG. 2, the loader hand 100 has a y-axis direction (or an axis) for adjusting the pitch between the front and rear pickers 1 and the front and back pickers 1 and the rear and back pickers 1. Front and rear direction) gap adjustment unit and the x-axis direction (or left and right direction) gap adjustment unit for adjusting the pitch between the pickers (1) neighboring in the x direction in each of the front and rear rows.

The y-axis spacing adjusting unit includes a base bar 2, a pair of connecting bars 10 extending in the y-axis direction from both sides of the base plate 2, and a reference bar fixed to the ends of the pair of connecting bars 10 ( 11), the y-axis movable plate 9 provided to be transported to the connecting bar 10 with the LM guide 3 interposed therebetween, and the y-axis movable plate 9 installed at the reference bar 11 to drive the y-axis movable plate 9. A drive cylinder 4 for shaft pitch conversion is included.

The base plate 2 is fixed to the rectangular coordinate robot 220 and supports the loader hand 100 as a whole.

A pair of post-heat sidewall plates 13 is fixed to both sides of the y-axis movable plate 9, and a set of heat transfer sidewall plates 12 is fixed to both sides of the reference bar 11. Two ball spline shafts 5 are mounted on each of the front and rear side wall plates 12 and 13 in the x-axis direction. Eight pickers are fastened in the x-axis direction to each other to the ball spline shafts 5 in the front and rear rows.

The body of the drive cylinder 4 for y-axis pitch conversion is fixed to the reference bar 11, and the end of the rod that can move back and forth in accordance with the air pressure is fixed to the y-axis movable plate 9. The y-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder 4 advances and retracts the y-axis movable plate 9 by the air pressure controlled according to a control program (not shown). Therefore, when the drive cylinder 4 for y-axis pitch conversion is driven, the y-axis space | interval between the front pickers 1 and the back pickers 1 is adjusted. FIG. 2 shows the maximum spacing between the electrothermal pickers 1 and the post-row pickers 1 when the rod of the y-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder 4 is advanced forward. FIG. 3 shows the y-axis pitch drive cylinder ( When the rod of 4) is fully retracted, the minimum distance between the heat transfer pickers 1 and the heat transfer pickers 1 is shown.

The x-axis direction adjusting part is provided between the x-axis pitch conversion drive cylinders 7 and 8 installed in each of the reference bar 11 and the y-axis movable plate 9, and pickers 1 neighboring in the x-axis direction. Hooks 8 installed in and partially overlapping each other, a stopper 15 fitted in each of the pickers 1, and a central alignment bar 17.

The pair of driving cylinders 7 and 8 for converting the x-axis pitch is fixed to the center of the reference bar 11 and the y-axis driving plate 9 so that each rod can move back and forth in the x-axis direction. It is fixed at 18. The first x-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder 6 has the rod end fixed to the first picker 1 on the left side, while the second x-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder 7 has the rightmost number 8 The end of the rod is fixed to the picker 1. The pair of drive cylinders 6 and 7 for the x-axis pitch conversion are moved back and forth by air pressure controlled in accordance with a control program (not shown), so that the left and right sides of the front and rear pickers 1 are rotated at the same speed. The first picker 1 and the rightmost eight picker 1 are transferred in opposite directions in the x-axis direction to provide a driving force for adjusting the gap between the pickers 1. In this way, when the rods of the drive cylinders 7 and 8 for the x-axis pitch conversion advance and retreat, the pickers 1 move in the x-axis direction stably without shaking along the two upper and lower ball spline shafts 5. By adjusting to each other's spacing. The transport of the pickers 1 in the x axial conveyance of the pickers 1 is stably guided by a ball spline shaft 5 which is horizontally installed in two vertically.

Each of the rings 8 is machined into a strip so that there is an opening in the center. These rings 8 are rotatably fastened to one of the pickers on the left side of the pickers 1 adjacent in the x-axis direction, and a guide protrusion 1a formed on the right picker 1 is inserted in the opening. These rings 8 have a maximum spacing between the pickers 1 neighboring in the x-axis direction when the rod of the drive cylinders 6 and 7 for the x-axis pitch conversion is advanced at the maximum. At this time, it serves to limit the distance between the pickers 1 neighboring in the x-axis direction. These rings 8 can be replaced according to the pitch in the x-axis direction. That is, if the pitch between the semiconductor devices accommodated in the test tray in the x-axis direction is different, it is possible to replace the rings 8 designed according to the pitch. 2 and 9 show that when the distance between neighboring pickers 1 in the x-axis direction is maximum, each of the guide protrusions 1a of the pickers 1 is rotated counterclockwise. It shows the state located at the end of long side of opening hole.

The stoppers 15 are composed of eight pieces in each of the front and rear rows so as to correspond to each of the pickers 1 in the front and rear rows, respectively, and are fastened to the pickers 1 by 1: 1 so that the transfer of the pickers 1 is performed. It is transported with the respective pickers 1. The stoppers 15 are formed with an arm 15b surrounding the picker 1 as shown in FIG. 4. The stoppers 15 are fitted to be transported to the x-axis guide shaft 16, the stopper fixing block 14 is fixed to both sides of the x-axis guide shaft 16, the stopper fixing block 14 on both sides is It is secured to the side wall plates 13 at the front and back rows, respectively. These stoppers 15 are transported with the picker 1 along the guide shaft 16 when the pickers 1 are transported, limiting the minimum spacing between neighboring pickers 1 in the x-axis direction. Play a role. That is, the minimum spacing between the pickers 1, which are spaced apart from each other when the rods of the drive cylinders 7 and 8 for x-axis pitch conversion retreat, is defined. These stoppers are replaced correspondingly when the pitch of the semiconductor device accommodated in the user tray is changed in the x-axis direction. 3 and 7 show a state in which the adjacent stoppers 15 are in surface contact and the distance between the pickers 1 is minimized in the x-axis direction.

The center alignment bar 17 passes through both ends of the center alignment bar 17 formed on both sides and the stopper fixing block 14, and is fixed to the front / rear side wall plates 13 by side screws 13. Is fixed to. The central portion of the center alignment bar 17 is formed with a projection 17a. The projections 17a of the center alignment bar 17 are located at the center of the stoppers 15 when the distance between the pickers 1 becomes narrower. Alignment in the center of 17) serves to align all the pickers 1 in the center. To this end, grooves 15a are formed at one side of the stoppers 4 and 5 to be joined with the protrusions 17a of the center alignment bar 17 as shown in FIG.

5 is a perspective view of the picker 1, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing a vacuum pressure path in the picker 1.

5 and 6, the picker 1 is fixed to the guide block 51 and the guide block 51 on which the guide holes 511 are formed, through which the upper and lower ball spline shafts 5 pass. A picker body 52 having a shaft drive cylinder 521 therein, a vacuum port 53 passing through the picker body 52, a vacuum pad 54 mounted at a lower end of the vacuum port 53, and a guide protrusion ( 1a).

The vacuum port 53 is moved up and down by the built-in z-axis drive cylinder 521 which is driven by the picker 1 according to the air pressure controlled by a control program.

The vacuum pad 54 adsorbs the semiconductor device at a vacuum pressure when the vacuum port 52 descends to contact the semiconductor device.

The operation of such a loader hand will be described as follows.

First, the present invention transfers the entire loader hand toward the user tray by the Cartesian coordinate robot 220 and retracts the rod of the drive cylinder 4 for the y-axis pitch conversion on the user tray to move y between the front and rear pickers 1. In addition to narrowing the axial pitch, the rods of the driving cylinders 6 and 7 for converting the x-axis pitch are retracted to narrow the pitch between the pickers 1 adjacent in the x-axis direction. At this time, the minimum spacing between neighboring pickers 1 in the x direction is limited by the small toppers 7. In addition, the present invention drives the built-in z-axis driving cylinder 521 in the picker 1 on the user tray to lower the 16 pickers 1 to vacuum-absorb the semiconductor device housed in the user tray with the vacuum pads 54. Then, 16 pickers 1 are raised. Next, the present invention transfers the entire loader hand, which vacuum-adsorbs semiconductor devices by the rectangular coordinate robot 22, to the test tray, and then advances the rod of the drive cylinder 4 for y-axis pitch conversion to move the front and rear pickers. In addition to widening the y-axis pitch between the teeth 1, the rods of the driving cylinders 6 and 7 for converting the x-axis pitch are advanced to broaden the pitch between the pickers 1 adjacent in the x-axis direction. At this time, the maximum spacing between neighboring pickers 1 in the x direction is limited by the long side openings in the rings 8. Finally, the present invention drives the built-in z-axis driving cylinder 521 in the picker 1 to lower the 16 pickers 1, and then releases the vacuum of the vacuum pad 54 so that the semiconductor device is placed in the test tray. After seating, the built-in z-axis driving cylinder 521 in the picker 1 is driven again to raise the 16 pickers 1 to complete the one-time load operation.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the loader hand in the embodiment, the annular gap adjusting method is equally applicable to the unloader hand for unloading the semiconductor device from the chamber unit.

As described above, in the loader hand of the test tray according to the present invention, the force of pulling the pickers with each other in a direction horizontal to the ball spline by a ring in the state in which the picker widening operation is completed acts conventionally. Compared to the camshaft or cam plate method of the effect is significantly improved. For example, in the conventional cam plate loader hand, since the cam plate is stopped with the vertical drive, the force in the direction perpendicular to the ball spline shaft is applied but not in the horizontal direction. While swings occur in the horizontal direction within the tolerances of the plates themselves and within the tolerances of the respective pickers, the present invention provides tension in the horizontal direction between the pickers by the loops, with the x-axis pitch between the pickers being maximized by the loops. This action stabilizes the picker's posture. As a result, according to the present invention, since the force in the direction perpendicular to the ball spline shaft does not act, the phenomenon in which the ball spline shaft is not bent occurs. In contrast, in the conventional cam plate method, as the frequency of use accumulates, the ball spline gradually bends, thereby changing the dimensions of the wider and narrower of the picker.

In addition, in the loader hand of the test handler according to the present invention, since each stopper acts as a surface for the narrowing operation of the picker, the shaking and fixing accuracy of the picker is remarkably improved. On the other hand, in the conventional cam plate loader hand because the plate is driven vertically, there is no choice but to shake in the horizontal direction.

In addition, since the loader hand of the test handler according to the present invention replaces the stoppers for limiting the narrowing operation of the picker to one guide shaft and replaces it with one pair, the narrowing dimension of the picker can be variously and simply selected. On the other hand, in the conventional cam plate method, since the cam plate is expensive, it is burdensome to replace by dimensions. Stoppers can be made from low-cost injection moldings.

In addition, the conventional cam plate loader hand requires two thin drive cylinders, two vertical guide LM guiders, two extensions, and one cam plate, but the loader hand of the test handler according to the present invention is looped. By adopting this, all the expensive and heavy components necessary for the cam plate method can be removed, so that the manufacturing cost of the loader hand can be reduced, and the weight of the loader hand of the test handler can be reduced.

The loader hand of the test handler according to the present invention can stably control the speed since the two horizontal drive cylinders directly drive the picker horizontally when the distance between the pickers is widened or narrowed. In contrast, the conventional cam plate loader hand moves the pickers horizontally by vertically operating the cam plate, that is, by changing the amount of momentum by adjusting the horizontal spacing (x-axis pitch) between the pickers in an indirect driving manner. And the impact of the picker's operation is unstable.

As a result, the test handler according to the present invention can reduce the weight of the loader hand and stabilize the spacing control of the pickers mounted on the loader hand by adopting the loop system.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (4)

A plurality of pickers for picking each subject; A ball spline shaft for guiding a horizontal movement in the x-axis direction between the pickers; A plurality of rings connected between neighboring pickers in the horizontal direction to limit a maximum distance between the pickers; A plurality of stoppers fitted in each of the pickers to limit the minimum spacing between neighboring pickers in the horizontal direction; And a guide shaft penetrating each of the stoppers to guide the direction of horizontal movement of the stopper. The method of claim 1, Rectangular coordinate robot; A base plate fixed to the rectangular coordinate robot; A pair of connecting bars extending from both sides of the base plate; A reference bar fixed to an end of the pair of connection bars; An LM guide installed on the connection bar; A y-axis movable plate fastened to a slider of the LM guide and installed to be transported along the connection bar; a set of back row side wall plates fixed to both sides of the y-axis movable plate; A pair of heat transfer side wall plates on both sides of the reference bar; A ball spline shaft coupled to each of the front and rear side wall plates in the x-axis direction; And A y-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder fixed to the reference bar and fixed to the y-axis pitch conversion drive cylinder; The pickers, Electrothermal pickers including a plurality of pickers, the horizontal movement of which is guided by the ball spline shaft fastened to the electrothermal side plates; Electrothermal pickers including a plurality of pickers, the horizontal movement of which is guided by the ball spline shaft fastened to the rear row side plate; Each of the pickers has a built-in drive cylinder for lifting the vacuum pad. The method of claim 2, And a central alignment bar for limiting the position of the center pickers in each of the heat transfer pickers and the back heat pickers to align the pickers near the center when the distance between the pickers in the horizontal direction is narrowed. Loader hand of handler. The method of claim 2, And the hooks and the stoppers are replaceable.

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