Patent Application
20170194179
This disclosure relates to the field of integrated circuits. More particularly, this disclosure relates to an improved magazine holder for packaged integrated circuits.
Integrated circuit (IC) magazines such as are illustrated in
A cross sectional view of the open end of the conventional IC magazine 100 is depicted in
A cross sectional view of the closed end of the conventional IC magazine 100 is depicted in
IC chips typically are loaded into conventional IC magazines after they have been molded into a dual inline package (DIP). The DIPs may then be transported in the IC magazine to testing equipment to verify functionality. The testing equipment typically unloads the DIPs from the IC magazine, plugs them into an IC socket, and tests them. After testing the DIPs are typically loaded back into the IC magazine and transported to another machine which packages the DIPs for use in automated pick and place circuit board manufacturing equipment. For example, the IC magazine may be inserted into a tape and reel packaging machine which attaches the packaged ICs to reels of tape which are used in automated circuit board manufacturing equipment.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of one or more aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention, and is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention, nor to delineate the scope thereof. Rather, the primary purpose of the summary is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that is presented later.
An IC magazine with retractable stop pins at both ends of the IC magazine. An IC magazine with retractable stop pins on both ends of the IC magazine. The retractable stop pins project into the magazine slot through an opening from a cavity in the base of the IC magazine. The long segment of an L-shaped push rod projects through an opening from the cavity through the magazine rail. The short segment of the L-shaped push rod is coupled to the bottom of the retractable stop pin inside the cavity. A spring inside the cavity between the underside of the short segment and the bottom of the cavity holds the retractable stop pin in an up position. An IC magazine with retractable stop pins at both ends of the IC magazine. The retractable stop pins project into the magazine slot through an opening from a cavity in the base of the IC magazine. A stop collar surrounding the retractable stop pin inside the cavity. A spring inside the cavity that pushes up on the underside of the stop collar and pushes down on the bottom of the cavity.
Embodiments of the disclosure are described with reference to the attached figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and they are provided merely to illustrate the disclosure. Several aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide an understanding of the disclosure. One skilled in the relevant art, however, will readily recognize that the disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other methods. In other instances, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the disclosure. The embodiments are not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordance with the present disclosure.
One problem that arises when using conventional IC magazines is illustrated in
Frequently the DIPs 114 are not in the orientation required by the electronic testing equipment or the tape and reel machine or some other DIP packaging machine. When this occurs typically an empty IC magazine is manually placed end-to-end with the full IC magazine and the DIPs 114 are transferred from the full IC magazine to the empty one using gravity. This transfer adds time to the operation and typically results in a several percent yield loss due to DIPs being damaged during the extra handling.
An IC magazine with embodiment retractable stop pins 130 at both ends of the IC magazine 100 is illustrated in
As shown in
As shown in
As is illustrated in
One method of forming retractable stop pins at both ends of the IC magazine is illustrated in
As shown in
While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the disclosure should be defined in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
