Test tray positioning stopper mechanism for automatic handler

Abstract

A mechanism for positioning IC devices to be tested aligned in a test tray of an automatic handler for an IC test system capable of reducing a time for transferring the test tray from a supply area to a test head area which has a plurality of test contactors and from a test head area to a discharge area is disclosed. The mechanism includes a stopper which determines the first stop position of the test tray when said test tray contacts with the outer surface of the test tray and the second stop position of the test tray when said stopper contacts with the end surface of a groove being provided with on its side portion of the test tray to receive and engage with the projection of the stopper. The distance between the adjacent test contactors is adjusted to be equal to two times or integer multiple of the distance between the adjacent IC devices to be tested aligned in the test tray and the distance between the first position and the second position is adjusted to be equal to the distance between the adjacent IC devices to be tested so that minimizing the index time for transferring the test tray becomes possible.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an automatic handler for an IC test system that transfers IC devices to be tested, from a supply area to a test head area and then to a discharge area, which is capable of minimizing a time for transferring test trays having the IC devices thereon and replacing the test trays, and more particularly, a test tray positioning stopper mechanism for automatic handler to increase flexibility and a choice of a number of IC devices to be tested simultaneously.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, an IC test system performs an IC device test by electrically contacting IC devices to be tested with test contactors in pin electronics or pin cards provided in a test head area to supply test signals to the IC devices and receive the resulted outputs from the IC devices. The resulted signals are compared with expected signals to determine whether the outputs from the IC devices are acceptable or not.

Hence, an automatic handler transfers IC devices to be tested from a supply area to a test head area. After the test, IC devices that have been tested are transferred from the test head area to a discharge area and are sorted according to the test results. During these times required for transferring the IC devices, the test cannot be performed since IC devices to be tested cannot determine their position with respect to contactors in the test head and thus they cannot be electrically contacted. Reducing this transfer time, i.e., an index time, is desirable since the index time is useless for the IC device testing. Hence, there is a need to minimize the index time in an automatic handler.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional automatic handler for an IC test system. As shown, test trays 20 are used as means of transferring IC devices 16 to be tested in the IC test system. A plurality of carrier modules 30 are maintained in a floating state in each test tray 20. An IC device 16 is mounted on each-carrier module 30. The test trays 20 having the IC devices 16 are arranged at the supply area SU. IC devices 16 are then transferred to the test head area TH while being maintained on the test tray 20. At the test head area TH, the test tray 20 is carried on a belt conveyer 18 by a driving power of a motor 17 until the test tray is stopped by a projection of a stopper 11.

At the test head area TH, the test tray 20 is positioned and fixed by the stopper 11. Then, the IC devices 16 are pushed downward, for example, for the electric connection with the test contactors of the pin electronics (not shown) provided at the test head in the IC test system. The IC devices 16 keep electronic contact with the pin electronics in the IC test system during the- testing. Recently, a plurality of test head areas are provided for performing simultaneous testing of IC devices mounted on a plurality of test trays. The test tray 20 is then transferred to the discharge area DI where the IC devices 16 are classified depending on the test results.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of test process in a conventional automatic handler. In the example shown in FIG. 8A, there are four (4) IC devices 16 seated in the test tray 20. In recent years, smaller devices are widely used and thus a larger number of IC devices, such as eight (8) IC devices can be arranged in the test tray 20 according to the actual density of IC devices as shown in FIG. 8A. However, a distance between the IC devices is limited to x in FIG. 8A because of the limitation in a packaging density such as in the contactors of the pin electronics in the test heads. Namely, since the test contactors in the pin electronics of the IC test system consist of mechanical and electronics parts and thus require a certain size and space which determines the minimum distance x.

Hence, in the example of FIG. 8A, four IC devices 16 are arranged in a length L of the test tray 20. The test tray 20 is shifted from the supply area SU to the test head area TH. After the test tray 20 is transferred to the stopper 11 in the test head area TH, each IC device 16 is electrically contacted by the pin electronics (not shown) as shown in FIG. 8B and the test is initiated. After the test, the projection of the stopper 11 withdraws so that the test tray 20 transfers to the discharge area DI. As a result, the test for the IC devices in the next test tray can be ready. In the above procedure, when the transfer speed of the test tray 20 is s, the index time per device is expressed

t1=L/4s Since the IC test system of FIG. 8 has one test head, the index time per device per automatic handler is also t01=L/4s.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of test process of IC device testing in another conventional automatic handler. In the example of FIG. 9, the IC test system includes two test heads TH1 and TH2. As shown in FIG. 9, eight (8) IC devices 16 are arranged in the test tray 20. The spacings between the IC devices to be tested are y where it is assumed that x/2<y<x. The IC devices 16 to be tested are arranged in the way that the spacing y between the IC devices 16 to be tested are minimized to the limit of the packaging density of the IC devices 16 in the length L of the test tray 20. In contrast, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 8, the distance x is determined by the density of the test contactors in the pin electronics which is larger than that of the IC devices.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the test tray 20 is transferred from the supply area SU to the first test head TH1 by the transfer system such as shown in FIG. 7. The position of the test tray is determined by the stopper 11.sub.1 provided at the first test head TH1 by the transfer system. Then, the IC devices 16 on the test tray are electrically contacted with the pin electronics in the test head area so that the test is initiated. Since there is a limitation in the density such as in the pin electronics or pin cards in the test heads, and thus the plurality of test contactors in the pin electronics have a greater spacing x than the spacing y of the IC devices 16 to be tested, not all IC devices 16 in the test tray 20 can be simultaneously tested. Therefore, for example, at the first test head TH1, only the IC devices 16 of odd lines in the test tray 20 are electrically contacted and tested. This is shown in FIG. 9B by the shades of the corresponding IC devices 16 in the test tray 20.

After finishing the test for the IC devices 16 in the odd lines, the projection of the stopper 11.sub.1 at the test head TH1 is detracted and the test tray 20 is transferred to the second test head TH2 as shown in FIG. 9C. The test tray 20 is positioned accurately at the second test head TH2 by the stopper 11.sub.2. At the test head area TH2, this time, only the IC devices 16 of even lines in the test tray 20 are electrically contacted by the pin electronics in the second test head TH2 as shown by the shaded lines in FIG. 9C.

Since there are two (2) test heads TH1 and TH2 are provided in this example and both test heads can perform the test simultaneously, it is possible for the second test head TH2 to test the IC devices in the even lines in the test tray 20 while the first test head TH1 simultaneously tests IC devices in the odd lines in the next test tray. Thus, all eight (8) IC devices 16 to be tested in the test tray 20 can be tested in the manner described above by allocating the IC devices to the first test head TH1 and the second test head TH2. After the test, the projection of the stopper 11.sub.2 at the second test head TH2 pulls back, and the test tray 20 is transferred to the discharge area DI as shown in FIG. 9D.

In this situation, when the transfer speed of the test tray 29 is expressed as s, the index time per device in the simultaneous testing performed continuously as above is:

t2=L/8s. The index time per device per automatic handler is: t02=L/4s.

As shown above, the index time per automatic handler needs L/4s for either t01 or t02 cases. Hence, whichever conventional means of FIGS. 7 or 9 are performed, the time length for the transfer of the test tray is limited to the index time above and cannot be decreased any further.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic handler for an IC test system which is capable of minimizing the index time required for transferring the test trays having IC devices to be tested by uniquely arranging a plurality of stoppers for positioning the test trays.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic handler for an IC test system which is capable of minimizing the index time for transferring the test trays by providing a plurality of stoppers corresponding to a single test head of the IC test system to determine a plurality of positions in the test head area.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic handler which is capable of increasing the number of test positions for the test tray by providing a groove on the test tray which receives and engages with projections of the stoppers.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automatic handler for an IC test system which is capable of minimizing the index time without increasing mechanical parts or spacing in the handler.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, IC devices to be tested are arranged in the length of the test tray to a limit of their density. After being transferred to a test head area by a transfer system, the test tray is positioned by a first positioning stopper. The IC devices in a predetermined line in the test tray are electrically contacted with contactors in pin electronics of the test head area and the IC test is performed. At this point, only the IC devices of odd lines, for example, are electrically contacted and tested at this first step since the spacing of the contactors in the test head is larger than that of the IC devices in the test tray.

After the test for the IC devices in the odd lines, a projection of the first positioning stopper is retracted so that the test tray is transferred to the next position where it is positioned by a second stopper. At this second step, only IC devices of even lines in the test tray are electrically contacted with the contactors in the pin electronics to proceed the IC test. Thus, when the test tray transfers from the first step to the second step, the test tray transfers the distance D which is the distance between the first stopper and the second stopper. This distance D is also identical to the spacing between the IC devices in the test tray.

After the test, a projection of the second stopper at the test head area is retracted and the test tray advances to a discharge area. In this case, the transfer distance of the test tray is (L-D). Thus, the transfer distance of the test tray is reduced compared to the conventional arrangement, which contributes to a reduction of the index time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a groove is provided on the test tray to receive the positioning stoppers therein. The groove has a predetermined length including an end surface the distance of which is an integer multiple, for example, twice as long as the distance between the positioning stoppers.

There can be several grooves on the test tray and at least one stopper is needed. Consequently, the number of possible test positions for the test tray is increased to the number of grooves multiplied by the number of stoppers.

Thus, by setting the distance between a flat surface in the front of the test tray and the end surface of the groove as twice as long as the distances between two stoppers, the total test positions for the test becomes four.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing the second embodiment of the automatic handler in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an automatic handler for explaining a situation where test trays stop at four (4) positions in a test head area in the second embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the first embodiment of the automatic handler in accordance with the present invention showing a situation where test trays stop at two (2) positions in a test head area.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a test procedure of IC devices in accordance with the automatic handler of the first embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a plain view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the relationship between the test tray and the positioning stopper in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of conventional automatic handler for an IC test system.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a test process for IC devices in the conventional automatic handler of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a test process for IC devices in another example of conventional automatic handler.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 shows the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an automatic handler corresponding to a test head area TH of an IC test system. The test tray 20 having the IC devices 16 to be tested is placed on the belt conveyer 18 which is driven by the motor 17 as in the same manner shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 5, in addition to the conventional stopper 11, the second stopper 12 is also provided in the test head TH along a moving direction of the test tray 20. The distance D between the second stopper 12 and the first stopper 11 is adjusted to be equal to the distance y between the adjacent IC devices 16 to be tested in the test tray 20. The IC devices 16 to be tested in the test tray 20 is arranged in a manner discussed with respect to FIG. 9 where the spacing y between the IC devices is decreased to the minimum possible value. An operation of extension and withdrawal of the projection in each stopper is controlled independently.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a test process of the IC devices 16 to be tested according to the automatic handler of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 4, eight (8) IC devices 16 to be tested are arranged in the test tray 20. Namely, the IC devices 16 to be tested are aligned in the test tray 20 such that the spacing between the adjacent devices is reduced to the minimum in terms of packaging density of the IC devices 16 to be tested. Thus, the IC devices 16 to be tested are aligned with the spacing y in the test tray 20 whose length is L.

The test tray 20 is moved from the supply area SU to the test head area TH until it is stopped by the stopper 11 provided in the test head area TH as shown in FIG. 4A. Then the test tray 20 is pressed downward, for example, for accomplishing the electrical contact between the test contactors in the pin electronics of the IC test system and the IC devices 16 to be tested as shown in FIG. 4B. At this time, only the IC devices of the odd lines in the test tray 20 are electrically connected and tested as shown by the shaded lines of FIG. 4B. This is because the test contactors in the pin electronics in the test head TH have the minimum distance x which is different from the minimum distance y of IC devices in the test tray 20. Usually, the distance x between the adjacent test contactors is greater than the distance y between the adjacent IC devices 16 aligned in the test tray 20. Therefore, in this example, the distance x in the test head is adjusted to be x=2y to that the IC devices in the every other lines in the test tray 20 can be electrically connected with the test head.

After finishing the test for the IC devices in the odd lines, the protrusion of the first stopper 11 is pulled in and the test tray 20 is transferred to the right hand side until it is stopped by the second stopper 12 as shown in FIG. 4C. The test tray 20 is then fixed by the projection of the second stopper 12 in the appropriate position in the test head area TH. As stated above, the spacing between the first stopper 11 and the second stopper 12 is D which is the same as distance y between the IC devices 16 in the test trays 20. Thus, when the test tray 20 transfers from the first step (FIG. 4B) to the second step (FIG. 4C), the IC devices in the even lines are positioned to contact with the contactors in the test head TH.

At this position, the IC devices in the even lines in the test tray 20 are electrically connected with the test contactors of the pin electronics in the IC test system and tested thereby. Therefore, in the first position which is determined by the first stopper 11, the IC devices 16 in the odd lines in the test tray 20 are tested and in the second position which is determined by the second stopper 12, the IC devices 16 in the even lines in the test tray 20 are tested. As a result, all of the eight (8) IC devices in the test tray 20 can be tested after the process of FIG. 4C. Then, the projection of the second stopper 12 is withdrawn and the test tray 20 is transferred to the discharge area DI.

In this process, the transfer distance of the test tray 20 between the second position and the discharge area DI is (L-D) as shown in FIG. 4D. When the transfer speed of the test tray 20 is s, the index time per device is:

t3=(D/s+(L-D)/s)/8=L/8s The index time per device per automatic handler is t03=L/8s Hence, the index time in this example can be reduced to a half of that in the conventional automatic handler of FIGS. 7 or 9 in which the index time is L/4s.

In the above example, the IC test is performed in two steps, i.e., by dividing the IC devices in the odd lines and in the even lines in the test tray 20. However, based on the inventive features of the present invention, the test can be divided into three steps when even smaller IC devices to be tested are arranged in the test tray. In such a situation, the number of stoppers to be provided will be increased to three each of which is apart from one another by the distance the same as that of the IC devices in the test tray.

Further, the number of steps or the stoppers can be increased arbitrarily according to the relationship between the spacing in the IC devices in the tray and the spacing of the pin electronics in the test head. Even if the number of stoppers and thus the steps for testing the IC devices to be tested is altered, the index time can be increased in the same manner as describe in the foregoing. The only limitation in increasing the number of the stoppers is that the stoppers have to be aligned in the direction to which the test tray is transferred.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the test tray 20 and the positioning stoppers 11 and 12. In this example, the stopper 11 and the stopper 12 are distanced by a pitch D and are arranged on a stopper body 13. The projections P.sub.11 and P.sub.12 on the end of the stoppers 11 and 12, respectively, are driven independently from each other.

The test tray 20 is provided with, for example, 64 carrier modules 30 so that 64 IC devices to be tested can be loaded in the seats of the carrier modules 30. The test tray 20 has a flat surface 14 and is transferred to the moving direction Q in FIG. 6. In the test area, the flat surface 14 meets with the projection P.sub.11 of the stopper 11 or the projection P.sub.12 of the stopper 12 so that the appropriate positions of the IC devices to be tested is determined with respect to the pin electronics in the test head.

Thus, the test tray 20 can be stopped at two positions distanced by the pitch D on the test head area. The first positioning can be accomplished when the projection P.sub.11 of the stopper 11 touches the flat surface 14. Then, after testing the predetermined lines of IC devices on the test tray 20, the projection P.sub.11 is retracted in the stopper 11 so that the test tray 20 can further advances to the direction Q. The flat surface 14 of the test tray 20 then meets with the projection P.sub.12 of the stopper 12, which determined the second position of the test tray 20 on the test head area.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of an automatic handler for use with an IC test system having two test heads (test chambers) TH1 and TH2 for testing the IC devices. In this arrangement, the automatic handler includes stoppers 11.sub.1 and 12.sub.1 for the first test head TH1, and stoppers 11.sub.2 and 12.sub.2 for the second test head TH2. In each pair of the stoppers, one stopper is separated by a distance D from the other. A pair of plural position sensors 15.sub.1 and 15.sub.2 are also provided in each test head for monitoring the movement of the test trays 20. In this example, although not shown, the test contactors of the pin electronics in each of the test heads TH1 and TH2 have a spacing with respect to the adjacent contactors by a distance which is four times larger than the distance D between the IC devices 16.

Thus, in the first test head TH1, four lines (A, C, A, C) of IC devices in the test tray 20 are first tested at the position determined by the stopper 11.sub.1 as shown in FIG. 3a. Then, also in the test head TH1, another four lines (B, D, B, D) of IC devices in the test tray 20 are tested at the position determined by the stopper 12.sub.1 as shown in FIG. 3b, which is shifted by the distance D from the previous position. Namely, in this example, 32 IC devices are tested in the first test head TH1.

The test tray 20 is then transferred to the second test head TH2 as shown in FIGS. 3c and 3d. In the second test head TH2, four lines (E, G, E, G) of IC devices in the test tray 20 are first tested at the position determined by the stopper 11.sub.2 as shown in FIG. 3c. Then, also in the second test head TH2, another four lines (F, H, F, H) of IC devices in the test tray 20 are tested at the position determined by the stopper 12.sub.2 as shown in FIG. 3d, which is shifted by the distance D from the previous position. Thus, in this example, a total of 64 IC devices are tested in the first and second test heads TH1 and TH2.

In the example of FIGS. 3 or 5, when more devices are attempted to be tested in each test head or when the spacing difference between the IC devices to be tested and the pin electronics is greater than the example of FIG. 3, the IC test can be carried out in a similar manner by increasing the number of stop positions in each test head. Such an increase of stop positions is possible by providing the corresponding number of stoppers in the direction where the test tray advances. However, the following problem occurs in such modification. Namely, the number of stop positions may be limited since the number of stoppers have to be increased accordingly. One of the reasons is that the increase in the number of stoppers causes an increase of corresponding mechanical parts and drive mechanism which will increase the overall size of the automatic handler.

FIG. 1 shows the second embodiment of the present invention which is able to increase the number of stop positions without increasing the number of stoppers. FIG. 1 shows an example in which four (4) stop positions are established for each test head. In this example, the positioning stoppers 11 and 12 are the same as the one used in the first embodiment and may be mounted on the stopper body 13 as discussed with reference to FIG. 6. The major difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is that, in this embodiment, it is provided with a groove 21 on the test tray 20 to receive the stoppers 11 and 12 therein. The groove 21 is positioned on the side of the test tray 20 which is in parallel to the tray moving direction. The end surface 22 of the groove 21 has an accurate distance D from the flat surface 14 of the test tray 20, which is, for example, two time as long as the distance between D the stoppers 11 and 12.

With further reference to FIG. 1, the operation of positioning the test tray at the 4 positions is explained. In the following, the state where the projections of the stopper 11 or 12 expands to stop the test tray 20 is regarded as ON, while the state where the projection of the stopper 11 or the stopper 12 retracts to allow the test tray 20 go forward is regarded as OFF.

Position A

The stopper 11 and the stopper 12 are both turned ON as shown in FIG. 1a. The projection of the stopper 11 contacts the flat surface 14 of the test tray so as to fix the position A of the test tray 20.

Position B

The projection of the stopper 11 is turned OFF at the position A so that the test tray 20 advances in the right hand direction until the flat surface 14 contacts with the projection of the stopper 12. The test tray 20 then stops at the position B which is a distance D from the position A.

Position C

At the position B, the stopper 11 is turned ON while the stopper 12 is turned OFF. Thus, the projection of the stopper 11 is in the groove 21 of the test tray 20. The test tray 20 moves in the transfer direction until the end surface 22 of the groove 21 meets with the projection of the stopper 11. The test tray 20 then stops at the position C which is a distance D from the position B.

Position D

At the position C, the stopper 12 is turned ON while the stopper 11 is turned OFF. Thus, the projection of the stopper 12 is in the groove 21 of the test tray 20 while the projection of the stopper 11 withdraws from the groove 21. The test tray 20 moves in the transfer direction until the end surface 22 of the groove 21 contacts the projection of the stopper 12. The test tray 20 then stops at the position D which is a distance D from the position C.

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 1, the four test positions each of which is apart from the other by the distance D are realized by the two stoppers 11 and 12. The IC devices in the corresponding positions in the test tray 20 will be tested in each position. After the test, the stopper 11 and the stopper 12 are turned OFF in order to transfer the test tray 20 to the next test head or the discharge area of the automatic handler.

FIG. 2 shows an example of automatic handler where the stoppers and the groove in test tray shown in FIG. 1 are used in the IC test system having two test heads (test chambers) TH1 and TH2 for testing the IC devices. In this arrangement, similar to the example of FIG. 3, the automatic handler includes stoppers 11.sub.1 and 12.sub.1 for the first test head TH1 and stoppers 11.sub.2 and 12.sub.2 for the second test head TH2. In each pair of the stoppers, one stopper is separated by a distance D from the other. The IC devices to be tested in the test tray 20 are also apart from one another by the distance D.

The test tray 20 is provided with a groove 21 and a end surface 22 of the groove as shown in FIG. 1. The end surface is distanced from the flat surface 14 of the test tray 20 by 2D. A pair of plural position sensors 15.sub.1 and 15.sub.2 are also provided in each test head for monitoring the movement of the test trays 20. Although not shown, the pin electronics in each of the test heads TH1 and TH2 has a spacing with respect to the adjacent pin electronics by a distance which is eight times larger than the distance D between the IC devices.

Thus, in the first test head TH1, the IC devices in the two lines (A, A) in the test tray 20 are first tested at the position A determined by the stopper 11.sub.1 as shown in FIG. 2a. Then, also in the test head TH1, another two lines (B, B) of IC devices are tested at the position B determined by the stopper 12.sub.1 as shown in FIG. 2b, which is shifted by the distance D from the previous position. Further, the IC devices in two lines (C, C) are tested at the position C which is determined by the stopper 11.sub.1 and the groove 21. Moreover, the IC devices in two lines (D, d) are tested at the position D which is determined by the stopper 11.sub.2 and the groove 21. Namely, in this example, 32 IC devices are tested in the first test head TH1.

The test tray 20 is then transferred to the second test head TH2 wherein the IC devices in each two lines in the test tray 20 are tested in the same manner in the first test head TH1 as described above as shown in FIGS. 2e-2h. Thus, in the test head TH2, the test tray 20 is positioned in the four positions by the pair of stoppers 12.sub.1 and 12.sub.2 in each position of which the IC devices of each two lines in the test tray are tested. Therefore, in this arrangement of FIG. 2, a total of 64 IC devices are tested in the first and second test heads TH1 and TH2.

In the above example, it is disclosed that a single groove is provided on the test tray to increase the number of test positions. However, the present invention can be applied to a situation where two or more grooves are provided on the test tray 20 to further increase the number of test positions without increasing the number of stoppers. Namely, the number of positions for the test tray 20 can be increased by the numbers of grooves multiplied by the numbers of stoppers.

The distance E that is from the flat surface 14 of the test tray 20 to the end surface 22 of the groove 21 in FIG. 1 can be made twice as long as D which is the distance between the stopper 11 and the stopper 12. Then, the test tray 20 can stop at each position spaced by the distance D. Also, the test tray 20 can be stopped at different intervals by changing the distances D and E.

According to the present invention, when the first embodiment is performed, the following advantages are obtained. The index time is decreased to a half of the conventional ones since an automatic handler for an IC test system is comprised of a plurality of stoppers 11 and 12 provided along the moving direction of the test tray 20 in a test head area. Thus, the present invention provides an automatic handler for an IC test device which is able to reducing the index time required when devices to be tested are transferred from the supply area to the test head area or from the test head area to the discharge area in the IC test system.

When the second embodiment is implemented, the number of test positions for the test tray per test head can be increased without increasing mechanical components or spaces in the automatic handler. Consequently, IC devices to be tested at one position can be reduced and the number of stops can be the same as conventional ones. Hence, an automatic handler of the present invention allows flexibility of IC test where the number of devices to be tested at a time is increased and freely selectable.

Claims

1. A mechanism for positioning IC devices to be tested aligned in an automatic handler for an IC test system which transfers the IC devices from a supply area to a test head area which has a plurality of test contactors and further transfers the tested IC devices from said test head area to a discharge area, comprising:

a test tray for carrying said IC devices to be tested and transferring said IC devices from said supply area to said test head area and then to said discharge area by a transfer system, said test tray being provided with a flat outer surface at one end thereof and a groove of a predetermined length on a surface of said test tray other than said flat outer surface, said IC devices to be tested being aligned in said test tray with a distance between two adjacent IC devices which is shorter than a distance between two adjacent test contactors in said test area; and

a stopper which determines a first stop position of said test tray when said stopper contacts with said flat outer surface of said test tray and a second stop position of said test tray when said stopper contacts with an end surface of said groove;

wherein said distance between said test contactors is adjusted to be equal to or integer multiple of said distance between said IC devices to be tested aligned in said test tray, and a distance between said first stop position and said second stop position of said test tray is adjusted to be equal to said distance between said IC devices aligned in said test tray.

2. A mechanism for positioning a test tray as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said stopper is comprised of two stopper mechanisms independently operable from one another, said two stopper mechanisms being separated by a distance equal to said distance of said IC devices in said test tray;

said distance between said flat outer surface of said test tray and said end surface of said groove is equal to two times of said distance between said two stopper mechanisms;

whereby said test tray is adjusted in four positions each of which is apart by said distance between said two stopper mechanisms.

3. A mechanism for positioning a test tray as defined in claim 2, wherein said stopper is comprised of three or more stopper mechanisms, and said test tray includes two or more grooves, thereby realizes more than five test positions for said IC devices to be tested.