WO2008066335A1

WO2008066335A1 - Apparatus of transferring semiconductor package

Info

Publication number: WO2008066335A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/006091
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ssang-Gun Im; Sang-Yun Lee; Seung-Gyu Ko; Sung-Yong Kang
Original assignee: Intekplus Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-11-29
Filing date: 2007-11-29
Publication date: 2008-06-05
Also published as: KR100785329B1; TW200834791A; TWI344190B

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package in which includes a plurality of picker modules to pick up and invert the semiconductor package for the transfer of the semiconductor package. Each picker module includes a vertical bracket, a cylinder block attached to a lower end portion of the vertical bracket, a cylinder rod penetrated through the cylinder block and having a lower end inserted into a cylinder rod mount, to vertically move the cylinder rod mount by upward and downward movements thereof, and a picker penetrated through the cylinder block and integrally coupled with the cylinder rod mount, to be vertically moved according to the vertical movement of the cylinder rod mount, so as to pick up and rotate the semiconductor package. A rotating device is integrally mounted on the top of the cylinder block, to rotate the picker by operation of a motor.

Description

APPARATUS OF TRANSFERRING SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package, and more particularly, to an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package, in which a picker lifting device and a picker rotating device of a picker module are integrated with each other, to simultaneously perform the pick-up and rotation of a semiconductor package, and a picker can be rotated at various angles by operation of a motor.

Description of the Related Art

Generally, the manufacture of a semiconductor package is basically carried out by a fabrication process (hereinafter, referred to as a "FAB" process) and an assembling process. In the FAB process, an integrated circuit is designed on a silicon wafer, to form a semiconductor chip. In the assembling process, a lead frame is attached to the semiconductor chip, a wire bonding is formed or a solder ball is formed by soldering for the sake of an electric communication between the semiconductor chip and the lead frame, and a molding operation using, for example, resin such as epoxy is performed, to obtain a semiconductor strip.

The obtained semiconductor strip is transferred to a cutter by operation of a strip picker, and the cutter cuts the semiconductor strip into several semiconductor packages independent with one another.

The semiconductor packages are sorted through a variety of tests, and undergo a packing process. A problem of the semiconductor package is that the lead frame or ball is easily deformed or damaged even by a slight external shock, and results in a poor contact during a subsequent electric inspection or in the course of being mounted on a substrate. For this reason, it is necessary to keep the semiconductor package in a casing such as a tray during handling, the tray having pockets suitable for the arrangement of leads and the shape and size of the semiconductor package.

Once being kept in the tray, the semiconductor package is picked up and transferred by a handler, for a vision inspection, sorting of perfect/defective products, and packing of products. The technology concerning a picker module of a handler used to pick up and transfer a semiconductor package is disclosed in Korean Registered Patent No. 0580816 entitled "PIVOTALLY-ROTATABLE PNEUMATIC PICKER FOR IN-LINE TRANSFER OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE, PICKER MODULE USING THE PICKER, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE TRANSFER METHOD". FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a picker module having a pivotally-rotatable pneumatic picker as disclosed in the above Korean Registered Patent No. 0580816. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pivotally-rotatable pneumatic picker shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A' shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, the conventional picker module includes a plurality of cylinder bodies 10 each having a pivot shaft 20, cylinder guides 30 to guide a vertical movement of the respective cylinder bodies 10, a module body 40, and a servo motor 50. The module body 40 has a plurality of vertical bars 42 provided at a front surface thereof in a horizontally movable manner. Each cylinder guide 30 is coupled to the corresponding vertical bar 42. A distance between the neighboring vertical bars 42 is adjustable by operation of the servo motor 50.

Also, the pivotally-rotatable pneumatic picker includes the cylinder body 10, the pivot shaft 20, first and second pivot pneumatic ports 11 and 12 formed in the cylinder body 10 for the introduction of compressed air providing the pivot shaft 20 with a rotation drive force, a first guide shaft 31 penetrated vertically through the cylinder body 10 and having a first pneumatic passage 32 therein, a second guide shaft 33 penetrated vertically through the cylinder body 10 and having a second pneumatic passage 34 therein, and the cylinder guide 30 coupled with the first and second guide shafts 31 and 33 to guide the vertical movement of the cylinder body 10. The pivotally-rotatable pneumatic picker, having the above described configuration, is moved vertically by the compressed air supplied into the first and second pneumatic passages 32 and 34 defined, respectively, in the first and second guide shafts 31 and 33.

The pivot shaft 20, as shown in FIG. 3, is located inside a ball retainer 13. The ball retainer 13 has a sealing portion 13a to separate first and second pivot pneumatic chambers 11a and 12a from each other, and ball holder holes 13b to receive balls 14 therein. The ball retainer 13 is surrounded by a ball rectilinear guide 15. The ball rectilinear guide 15 has rectilinear guide grooves 15a formed at positions thereof corresponding to the respective ball holder holes 13b of the ball retainer 13. The first and second pivot pneumatic chambers 11a and 12a are connected with the first and second pivot pneumatic ports 11 and 12, respectively, so that the compressed air is supplied into the first and second pivot pneumatic chambers 11a and 12a through the first and second pivot pneumatic ports 11 and 12. The pivot shaft 20 is provided at a lower end thereof with a sucking pad 22 used to suck a semiconductor package 60.

The pivot shaft 20 has pivot guide grooves (not shown) formed at a surface thereof. The balls 14, received in the ball holder holes 13b of the ball retainer 13, are vertically movable under the guidance of the rectilinear guide grooves 15a.

With the above described configuration, if the compressed air is supplied into the cylinder body 10, the balls 14 received in the ball holder holes 13b of the ball retainer 13 are vertically moved along the rectilinear guide grooves 15a. With the vertical movement of the balls 14, the pivot shaft 20 rotates in place while passing the path of the rectilinear guide grooves 15a.

A problem of the above described prior art is that the first and second guide shafts 31 and 33 having the first and second pneumatic passages 32 and 34 should be essentially provided in the cylinder body 10, in order to vertically move the cylinder body 10 by supplying the compressed air into the cylinder body 10. This makes it impossible to provide the cylinder body 10 with a slim configuration.

Another problem is that the pivot shaft 20 has a rotation angle determined based on a predetermined angular interval between the ball holder holes 13b and the balls 14 arranged on the circumference of the ball retainer 13, and cannot rotate at various angles.

In other words, since a great number of balls 14 and ball holder holes 13b should be provided to rotate the pivot shaft 20 at various angles, the above described prior art has the problem of a complicated device configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package, in which a picker is integrated with a cylinder rod so as to be vertically moved by upward and downward movements of the cylinder rod while being rotated by operation of a motor, whereby the picker can be rotated at various angles by controlling the operation of the motor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package, in which the rotation and vertical movement of a picker is guided by use of stroke linear bushes closely surrounding a picker shaft without requiring a pneumatic pressure introduction gap of the prior art, whereby much leaner and lighter equipment than the prior art can be accomplished, and the rotation and vertical movement of the picker can be performed simultaneously, resulting in a high-speed operation of the picker.

In accordance with the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package comprising: a plurality of picker modules to pick up and invert the semiconductor package for the transfer of the semiconductor package, wherein each of the picker modules comprises: a vertical bracket; a cylinder block attached to a lower end portion of the vertical bracket; a cylinder rod penetrated through the cylinder block and having a lower end inserted into a cylinder rod mount, to vertically move the cylinder rod mount by upward and downward movements thereof; and a picker penetrated through the cylinder block and integrally coupled with the cylinder rod mount, to be vertically moved according to the vertical movement of the cylinder rod mount, so as to pick up and rotate the semiconductor package, wherein a rotating device is integrally mounted on the top of the cylinder block, to rotate the picker by operation of a motor.

The picker may comprise: a picker shaft having a through-bore formed therein for the introduction and discharge of air; and a rotating joint mounted to the upper part of the picker shaft, and wherein the rotating device may comprise: a motor shaft serving as a drive shaft of the motor; a rotating shaft configured to surround the motor shaft while being surrounded by a bearing mounted on a motor mount, so as to be rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the motor shaft; a first timing pulley installed to surround the rotating shaft, so as to be rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the rotating shaft; a second timing pulley installed to surround the picker shaft; and a timing belt connected with the first timing pulley and the second timing pulley, so as to rotate the second timing pulley simultaneously with the rotation of the first timing pulley.

The picker may comprise: a first rotating bearing inserted in the cylinder rod mount and configured to surround the picker shaft so as to guide a rotation of the picker shaft; a second rotating bearing inserted in the motor mount and configured to surround the picker shaft so as to guide the rotation of the picker shaft; a first stroke linear bush configured to surround the picker shaft and inserted in the cylinder block through a lower end of the cylinder block, so as to guide the simultaneous rotation and upward and downward movements of the picker shaft; and a second stroke linear bush configured to surround the picker shaft and inserted in the cylinder block through an upper end of the cylinder block, so as to guide the simultaneous rotation and upward and downward movements of the picker shaft.

The vertical bracket may comprise a sensor to sense an upward movement of the picker.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional picker module having pivotally-rotatable pneumatic pickers as disclosed in Korean Registered Patent No. 0580816; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pivotally-rotatable pneumatic picker shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A' shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a semiconductor package transfer apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a picker module body of the semiconductor package transfer apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a picker module shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings.

The following description related to the preferred embodiments will be written in detail to allow those skilled in the art to easily understand and realize the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a part of a semiconductor package transfer apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a picker module body, having pickers, of the semiconductor package transfer apparatus according to the present invention.

The semiconductor package transfer apparatus includes a picker module body 100 to pick up and invert a semiconductor package so as to be ready for the horizontal transfer of the semiconductor package. In turn, the picker module body 100 includes a plurality of picker modules 200 mounted thereto by the same interval. As will be obviously understood, the picker module body 100 further includes an interval adjusting device 110 to adjust the interval between the picker modules 200.

FIG. β is a perspective view illustrating a picker module shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 6. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, each of the picker modules

200 according to the present invention includes a vertical bracket 210. Also, the picker module 200 includes a cylinder block 220, a cylinder rod mount 230, a cylinder rod 240, and a picker 250, which are mounted to each of the vertical brackets 210. The vertical bracket 210 is located at a surface of the picker module body 100, and the cylinder block 220 is attached to the lower end of a surface of the vertical bracket 210.

The cylinder rod mount 230 is connected to a lower end of the cylinder block 220. The cylinder rod mount 230 is integrally coupled with the cylinder rod 240 and the picker 250.

The cylinder rod 240 penetrates through the cylinder block 220 and has a lower end inserted into and fixed to the cylinder rod mount 230. The cylinder rod 240 is movable upward and downward within the cylinder block 220 under the influence of a pneumatic pressure, to vertically move the cylinder rod mount 230.

To cause the upward and downward movements of the cylinder rod 240, the cylinder block 220 has a first pneumatic port 221 and a second pneumatic port 222 formed in a side surface thereof.

The picker 250 is integrally coupled with the cylinder rod mount 230 and the cylinder rod 240, and can be moved vertically by the upward and downward movements of the cylinder rod 240. Therefore, the picker module 200 according to the present invention has no need for lifting means to vertically move the picker 250, and has a slim configuration.

To pick up a semiconductor package by suction, the picker 250 includes a picker shaft 251 having a through-bore therein for the introduction and discharge of air, a rotating joint 252 coupled to the upper part of the picker shaft 251, and a suction nozzle 253 coupled to a lower end of the picker shaft 251 and used to pick up and seat the semiconductor package under the influence of a vacuum suction force. The picker shaft 251 is vertically moved in the cylinder block 220 according to the upward and downward movements of the cylinder rod 240.

The rotating joint 252 is used to connect an air hose (not shown) for supplying air into the through-bore of the picker shaft 251 or discharging the air from the picker shaft 251. To eliminate a twisting problem of the air hose (not shown), the rotating joint 252 has a fixed upper part and a rotatable lower part. In a characteristic aspect of the present invention, a rotating device 270 to rotate the picker 250 by operation of a motor 260 is integrally mounted on the top of the cylinder

J block 220.

Although not shown in the drawings, preferably, the motor 260 receives an encoder to sense the revolutions per minute of the motor 260.

The rotating device 270 includes a motor shaft 271, a rotating shaft 272, a first timing pulley 273, a second timing pulley 274, and a timing belt 275. The motor shaft 271 serves as a rotating shaft of the motor 260, and has a slender shape. The rotating shaft 272 is used to surround the slender motor shaft 271, to provide the slender motor shaft 271 with a sufficient rotating force. The rotating shaft 272 is surrounded by a bearing 276 disposed on a motor mount 261. That is, the rotating shaft 272 serves to intensify a rotating force of the motor 260.

The first timing pulley 273 is configured to surround the rotating shaft 272, and is rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the rotating shaft 272. The second timing pulley 274 is configured to surround the picker shaft 251. The second timing pulley 274 is connected with the first timing pulley 273 by means of the timing belt 275, and is rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the first timing pulley 273. With the above described configuration, if the motor shaft 271 is rotated by operation of the motor 260, the rotating shaft 272 is rotated simultaneously.

Thereby, the first timing pulley 273 surrounding the rotating shaft 272 is rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the rotating shaft 272, and the second timing pulley 274 connected with the first timing pulley 273 by the timing belt 275 is rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the first timing pulley 273. As a result, the picker shaft 252 surrounded by the second timing pulley 274 is rotated. In the present invention, with the provision of the rotating device 270 to rotate the picker shaft 251 by operation of the motor 260, the picker 250 can be controlled to have various rotation angles.

As previously described above in Description of the Related Art, the conventional picker shaft is rotated pneumatically at a predetermined angle, and has a limit in rotation angle. Further, since the picker shaft is rotated by a general gear mechanism, it has a low accuracy in the control of a rotation position. On the other hand, according to the present invention, the rotation of the picker 250 is controlled by operation of the motor 260, and the picker 250 can be rotated at various angles.

To be rotated at various angles under the operation of the motor 260, the picker 250 further includes a first rotating bearing 254, a second rotating bearing 255, a first stroke linear bush 256, and a second stroke linear bush 257.

The first rotating bearing 254 is inserted in the cylinder rod mount 230, and the second rotating bearing 255 is inserted in the motor mount 261. Both the first rotating bearing 254 and the second rotating bearing 255 are configured to surround the picker shaft 251, to guide the rotation of the picker shaft 251. Accordingly, while the picker shaft 251 is rotated by the second timing pulley 274, the first rotating bearing 254 and the second rotating bearing 255 support the weight of the picker shaft 251 so as to guide the rotation of the picker shaft 251.

The first stroke linear bush 256 and the second stroke linear bush 257 are configured to surround the picker shaft 251, and are used to guide upward and downward movements of the picker shaft 251 as well as the rotation of the picker shaft 251. The first stroke linear bush 256 is inserted in the cylinder block 220 through the lower end of the cylinder block 220, and the second stroke bush 257 is also inserted in the cylinder block 220 through an upper end of the cylinder block 220.

With the use of the first stroke linear bush 256 and the second stroke linear bush 257 to simultaneously guide the rectilinear movements and rotation of the picker shaft 251, the picker shaft 251 can achieve an increased contact area and consequently, improved rotation accuracy. Moreover, the picker shaft 251 can be moved vertically simultaneously with the rotation thereof, resulting in a high-speed operation of the picker shaft 251.

In addition, the above described conventional picker shaft to be rotated pneumatically has a need for a pneumatic- pressure introduction gap, and thus, suffers from a low rotation accuracy and increased equipment size. On the other hand, according to the present invention, with the use of the stroke linear bushes surrounding the picker shaft to guide the upward and downward movements as well as rotation of the picker shaft, the resulting picker can be much leaner and lighter than the prior art.

Meanwhile, the vertical bracket 210 may include a sensor 211 to sense the upward movement of the picker 250. Hereinafter, the operation of the semiconductor package transfer apparatus according to the present invention will be described in brief.

First, on the basis of the kind of a semiconductor package 300 to be picked up, the interval between the plurality of picker modules 200 is adjusted by use of the interval adjusting device 110 provided at the picker module body 100. Then, the picker module body 100 is horizontally moved to a pickup position for the semiconductor package 300.

Subsequently, the supply of compressed air into the first and second pneumatic ports 221 and 222 is controlled, to move downward the cylinder rod 240 within the cylinder rod

240, thereby causing the cylinder rod mount 230 to be moved downward.

With the downward movement of the cylinder rod mount 230 closely surrounding an outer circumference of the picker shaft 251, the picker shaft 251 is moved downward until it reaches a desired pickup height.

Thereafter, the picker 250 can pickup the semiconductor package 300 by sucking air into the through-bore defined in the downwardly moved picker shaft 251. Meanwhile, in the case where it is necessary to change the direction of the picked-up semiconductor package 300, the rotation angle of the picker shaft 251 can be controlled by controlling the operation of the motor 260. The technology of a subsequent transfer operation is known, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides an apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package having the following effects. Firstly, according to the present invention, a picker is integrally formed with a cylinder rod, so as to be vertically moved according to upward and downward movements of the cylinder rod while being rotated by operation of a motor. As a result, the picker can be rotated at various angles by controlling the operation of the motor.

Secondly, according to the present invention, stroke linear bushes closely surrounding the picker shaft are provided to guide the rotation and vertical movement of the picker without requiring a gap that has been conventionally provided to apply a pneumatic pressure. This has the effect of achieving much leaner and lighter equipment than the prior art. Moreover, since the rotation and vertical movement of the picker can be performed simultaneously, a high-speed operation of the picker is possible. Thirdly, when guiding the vertical movement and rotation of the picker by use of the double stroke linear bushes, the rotation accuracy of the picker can be improved by virtue of an increased close contact area between the picker shaft and the double stroke linear bushes. Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus of transferring a semiconductor package comprising: a plurality of picker modules to pick up and invert the semiconductor package for the transfer of the semiconductor package, wherein each of the picker modules comprises: a vertical bracket; a cylinder block attached to a lower end portion of the vertical bracket; a cylinder rod penetrated through the cylinder block and having a lower end inserted into a cylinder rod mount, to vertically move the cylinder rod mount by upward and downward movements thereof; and a picker penetrated through the cylinder block and integrally coupled with the cylinder rod mount, to be vertically moved according to the vertical movement of the cylinder rod mount, so as to pick up and rotate the semiconductor package, wherein a rotating device is integrally mounted on the top of the cylinder block, to rotate the picker by operation of a motor.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the picker comprises: a picker shaft having a through-bore formed therein for the introduction and discharge of air; and a rotating joint mounted to the upper part of the picker shaft, and wherein the rotating device comprises: a motor shaft serving as a drive shaft of the motor; a rotating shaft configured to surround the motor shaft while being surrounded by a bearing mounted on a motor mount, so as to be rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the motor shaft; a first timing pulley installed to surround the rotating shaft, so as to be rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the rotating shaft; a second timing pulley installed to surround the picker shaft; and a timing belt connected with the first timing pulley and the second timing pulley, so as to rotate the second timing pulley simultaneously with the rotation of the first timing pulley.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the picker comprises: a first rotating bearing inserted in the cylinder rod mount and configured to surround the picker shaft so as to guide a rotation of the picker shaft; a second rotating bearing inserted in the motor mount and configured to surround the picker shaft so as to guide the rotation of the picker shaft; a first stroke linear bush configured to surround the picker shaft and inserted in the cylinder block through a lower end of the cylinder block, so as to guide the simultaneous rotation and upward and downward movements of the picker shaft; and a second stroke linear bush configured to surround the picker shaft and inserted in the cylinder block through an upper end of the cylinder block, so as to guide the simultaneous rotation and upward and downward movements of the picker shaft.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vertical bracket comprises a sensor to sense an upward movement of the picker.