Hi-Fix board clamping apparatus for use in test handler

Abstract

A clamping apparatus for clamping a plurality of Hi-Fix boards arranged in a row, includes at least one rotational clamping unit installed to clamp facing end sides of the two or more Hi-Fix boards together, and a plurality of clamping units installed to clamp end sides of the Hi-Fix boards other than the facing sides thereof. The rotational clamping unit includes a clamper installed to rotate about a fixed rotation point to clamp or release the claming of the facing end sides of the two or more Hi-Fix boards, and a driving unit for providing a rotational force to the clamper.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional test handler;

FIG. 2 sets forth a conceptual diagram of major components of the test hander of FIG. 1 viewed from above;

FIG. 3 provides a schematic perspective view of a conventional tester coupled to the test handler of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 depicts a schematic view of a conventional clamping apparatus employed in the test handler of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 presents a diagram for describing a problem of the conventional clamping apparatus of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a clamping apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 7 to 9 offer diagrams for describing operational status of the clamping apparatus of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, a Hi-Fix board clamping apparatus for use in a test handler will be described in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The clamping apparatus in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention is configured to clamp Hi-Fix boards vertically arranged in three levels, and FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic view thereof.

As shown in FIG. 6, the clamping apparatus includes twelve linear clamping units 610 and four rotational clamping units 620.

Each linear clamping unit 610 includes a cylinder 611; and a linear clamper 612 connected to a piston rod 611a of the cylinder 611 and linearly moved along with the piston rod 611a to clamp left or right end sides of corresponding one of Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c. Among the twelve linear clamping units 610, four of them serve to clamp or release the clamping of left and right end sides of the Hi-Fix board 271a; another four of them serve to clamp or release the clamping of left and right end sides of the Hi-Fix board 271b; and the rest four of them serve to clamp or release the clamping of left or right end sides of the Hi-Fix board 171c.

Further, two of the four rotational clamping units 620 serve to clamp or release the clamping of facing end sides of the Hi-Fix boards 271a, 271b and 271b, 271c together; and the other two of the four rotational clamping units 620 serve to clamp an upper end side of the Hi-Fix board 271a and a lower end side of the Hi-Fix board 271c, respectively. Specifically, each rotational clamping unit 620 includes a cylinder 621; a rotational clamper 622; and a connection link 623. The rotational clamper 622 is installed to rotate about a center ‘A’, and the connection link 623 is rotatably connected at its one end to a piston rod 621a of the cylinder 621 and at the other end to a rotational clamper 622's position ‘B’ deviated from the center ‘A’ of the clamper 622 by a preset interval. In this configuration, if the cylinder 621 is operated to move the piston rod 621a forward or backward, the linear movement is converted into a circular movement by a quadrangular link mechanism, making the rotational clamper 622 rotate about the center ‘A’.

Now, an operation of the clamping apparatus having the configuration as described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

Referring to FIG. 7, before the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c are loaded in their places, the piston rods 611a of the cylinders 611 and the piston rods 621a of the cylinders 621 are kept at their retrieved positions, maintaining a clamping release state.

Then, if the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c are loaded in their mounted position as shown in FIG. 8, the clamping units 610 and 620 are operated to clamp the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c as shown in FIG. 9.

As for the linear clamping units 610, their cylinders 611 are operated to make their piston rods 611a move forward, whereby the linear clampers 612 are allowed to move forward, while clamping the left or right end sides of corresponding one of the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c.

As for the rotational clamping units 620, their cylinders 621 are operated to make their piston rods 621a move forward. The linear movements of the piston rods 621a are converted into circular movements via the connection links 623 by the quadrangular link mechanism. As a result, the clampers 622 are made to rotate about their centers ‘A’, while clamping the facing end sides of the Hi-Fix boars 271a, 271b and 271b, 271c together or clamping the upper end side of the Hi-Fix board 271a and the lower end side of the Hi-Fix board 271c.

Thorough the above operations, it is possible to clamp the upper and the lower end sides of the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c as well as their left and right end sides. Thus, it is possible to prevent the problem that the portions of the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c near their central lines become unfastened from the test handler.

In the above explanation, though the linear clamping units 610 are adopted for clamping the left and the right end sides of the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c and the rotational clamping units 620 are employed clamping the upper and the lower end side of the Hi-Fix board 271a and 271c, respectively, either one of the linear clamping units and the rotational clamping units can be selectively employed for the clamping of the left and the right end sides of the Hi-Fix boards 271a to 271c and for the clamping of end side of the Hi-Fix board 271a. That is, for clamping the Hi-Fix boards, sides other than the facing sides therebetween, it is possible to selectively employ either one of the linear clamping unit or the rotational clamping unit.

In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention, all the end sides of the Hi-Fix boards can be clamped by the clamping apparatus of the present invention, and, thus, the central portions of the Hi-Fix boards can be prevented from being unfastened from the test handler. Thus, the enlargement of the size of the test trays is enabled, and the number of semiconductor devices that can be tested at one time can be increased.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing form the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A clamping apparatus for clamping two or more Hi-Fix boards arranged in a row, comprising: at least one rotational clamping unit installed to clamp facing end sides of the two or more Hi-Fix boards together; anda plurality of clamping units installed to clamp end sides of the two or more Hi-Fix boards other than the facing sides thereof,wherein the rotational clamping unit includes: a clamper installed to rotate about a fixed rotation point to clamp or release the claming of the facing end sides of the two or more Hi-Fix boards together; anda driving unit for providing a rotational force to the clamper.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the driving unit includes a cylinder.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of clamping units are linear clamping units or rotational clamping units.