Device handling system and method
An apparatus and method for handling devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories are disclosed. The apparatus includes an elevator adapted to move a stack of trays along a vertical path, a locking mechanism adapted to selectively engage a tray in the stack of trays and to support the engaged tray and additional trays positioned above the engaged tray, and a tray load arm positioned at a fixed vertical position and having a support mechanism for supporting one or more trays, the tray load arm being adapted to move horizontally into and out of the vertical path.
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This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/546,103, titled “MODULAR VERTICAL TRAY-SORTING APPARATUS WITH INTEGRAL OPERATOR LOAD/UNLOAD INTERFACE,” filed Feb. 18, 2004, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to the field of device handling. In particular, the invention relates to methods and systems for handling devices that are sorted into a plurality of categories.
Device handlers are typically used to supply electronic devices to a tester, which may perform any of a variety of tests upon the electronic devices. For example, the tester may determine the actual processor speed of a chip. Once the electronic device is tested, it may be categorized into one of a plurality of categories based on the tested characteristics. The device handler may then sort the electronic devices according to these categories.
Conventional handlers are very expensive and occupy a large amount of floor space in the manufacturing facility. In a conventional system for handling devices in a testing environment, the sort bins are horizontally located with respect to each other. In such a system, a pick-and-place head must move horizontally a great distance in order to place a tested electronic device in one of a plurality of bins corresponding to its performance characteristics. As the number of sort category bins increases, the travel time required for the second pick-and-place head to place an electronic device into a sort category bin increases to unacceptable levels. In addition, the size of the handling machine, known as a footprint, increases dramatically because each additional sort category increases the footprint.
Further, in conventional handling systems, an operator typically loads a stack of input trays containing electronic devices to be sorted. When the sorting of the stack is completed, the operator must manually remove the sorted stack and insert a new stack of input trays. While the operator is performing these tasks, the tester may be unable to operate, leading to substantial downtime.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne embodiment of the invention relates to an apparatus for handling devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories. The apparatus includes an elevator adapted to move a stack of trays along a vertical path, a locking mechanism adapted to selectively engage a tray in the stack of trays and to support the engaged tray and additional trays positioned above the engaged tray, and a tray load arm positioned at a fixed vertical position and having a support mechanism for supporting one or more trays, the tray load arm being adapted to move horizontally into and out of the vertical path.
Another embodiment of the invention relates to a method of sorting a tray of devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories. The method includes receiving a sorted tray of devices assigned to one of the categories, determining a sort position for the sorted tray in a stack of trays on a platform, vertically moving the platform to align a locking mechanism with an upper tray in the stack immediately above the sort position, locking the upper tray with the locking mechanism, vertically moving the platform to position a lower tray below a load arm having the sorted tray, the lower tray being immediately below the sort position; and placing the sorted tray on the lower tray on the platform.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and exemplary only, and are not restrictive of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to
In certain embodiments, the input and sort system 12 includes a plurality of horizontally arranged category tray locating stations in combination with a vertical binning load port 13. In this manner, the tested devices may first be placed in trays corresponding to various categories. When those trays are filled, the trays are transferred to an appropriate position in the vertical binning load port 13. One such embodiment is described below with reference to
In other embodiments, the input and sort system 12 is a vertical handling system similar to the binning load port described above. In this regard, the horizontally arranged category tray locating stations are not required. Instead, the devices are directly placed into an appropriate position in a stack of vertically sorted trays. One such embodiment is described below with reference to
Referring again to
The tester 20 may test each device, may then assign a sort category code to each of the devices based on the testing criteria, and may then return the devices for transport to the load station 16 through a queuing conveyor 22. In the case of electronic devices, the devices may be tested for various functional characteristics and then be sorted into a particular category based on, for example, the speed or the functionality of the particular electronic device. The invention is not limited to any particular type of testing system or any particular type of device.
The testing system 10 is preferably controlled by a processor 24 that may be connected to each of the systems within the testing system 10. The processor 24 may also be contained within the device handling system 11 or the input and sort system 12.
Referring now to
A tray handling shuttle 26 is provided to transport a tray between the tray locating stations and one or more vertical sort binning load ports (BLP's). Other embodiments may include additional tray handling shuttles at various stations. The tray handling shuttle 26 is positioned below or above the tray locating stations 28, but is shown outside the device handling system 11 in
The embodiment illustrated in
In operation of the system illustrated in
Once a tray in one of the tray locating stations 28 has been filled with tested devices, the filled tray can be removed by the tray shuttle 26 and inserted into one of the BLP units 13.
In one embodiment, the tray is returned to the same BLP unit 13 from which it was removed. The BLP unit 13 places the tray in a vertically sorted position corresponding to the test category of the devices in the tray. Device processing may continue until all devices from a single BLP unit 13 have been tested and sorted back into the same BLP unit 13. At this time, the device testing system 10 may start processing devices from the next available BLP unit.
As an alternative to using a single BLP, the incoming trays can be distributed between multiple BLP units and the tray handling system will retrieve and sort trays to all associated BLP units as necessary.
Once all devices in a particular BLP unit 13 have been completely tested and sorted, that BLP unit can now be available for unload and reload by an operator. Any time a BLP unit is open for operator interaction it may be interlocked such that the tray shuttle 26 will not be able to enter an enclosure of that particular BLP unit 13.
The automated conveyor 35 may include a conveyor belt adapted to transport a stack of trays between devices. The conveyor belt can be driven by a motor adapted to turn drive rollers positioned under the conveyor belt. Such conveyor systems are well known to those skilled in the art.
A set of lower vertical tray guides 42 is provided to limit lateral displacement of the trays during various operations. In this regard, the guides 42 ensure proper alignment of the trays for engagement by various components, as described below with reference to
The elevator 38 is moved in the vertical direction by a drive motor 48. The drive motor 48 may be an electric motor. In the illustrated embodiment, a ball-screw assembly is provided to transfer energy from the drive motor 48 to the elevator 38. The elevator 38 may be supported by an elevator-bearing rail 50 which allows movement of the elevator 38 in the vertical direction.
As described in
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
In certain embodiments, a number of trays may be included in a stack carried by the tray load arm 34. In this regard, in certain embodiments, a full complement of input trays may require multiple input cycles. In these cases, as shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
It is noted that, although
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
It is important to note that the separator plates 64a-d provide a visual guide of the categories of various trays. The separator plates 64a-d are not required for operation of the embodiments of the invention. In certain embodiments, the separator plates 64a-d may be eliminated, and a processor may track the boundaries between various categories. In such an arrangement, the plate lock mechanism 40 is capable of supporting the trays, rather than the separator plates.
The description of
The foregoing includes description of certain embodiments of the BLP. Those skilled in the art will recognize that BLP's may be configured in a variety of ways. For example, as noted above, BLP's may be configured with any type of trays having any number of devices, lot separator plates or empty trays, for example. Such variations are contemplated within the scope of the invention.
The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variation are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modification as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
Claims
1. An apparatus for handling devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
- an elevator adapted to move a stack of trays along a vertical path; and
- a locking mechanism adapted to selectively and directly secure a tray in said stack of trays and to support said engaged tray and any additional trays positioned above said engaged tray.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trays in said stack of trays include device trays and separator plates.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a tray load arm positioned at a fixed vertical position and having a support mechanism for supporting one or more trays, said tray load arm being adapted to move horizontally into and out of said vertical path.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tray load arm is adapted to provide trays to and receive trays from an operator for unloading and loading the apparatus.
5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tray load arm is adapted to provide trays to and receive trays from an external device for unloading and loading the apparatus in an automated manner.
6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tray load arm is adapted to provide trays to and receive trays from an external device for processing of the trays.
7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the external device is a device handler having a tray-handling shuttle.
8. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the tray load arm is adapted to position a desired tray to provide access to individual devices on said desired tray to an external device.
9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the external device includes a pick-and-place mechanism.
10. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:
- a processor adapted to control said elevator, said locking mechanism and said tray load arm to sort devices in said trays according to a plurality of categories.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- a modular interface adapted to allow the apparatus to modularly interface with an external device.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the modular interface comprises:
- one or more mechanical couplings adapted to mechanically align the apparatus with the external device; and
- one or more subsystem couplings, each subsystem coupling being adapted to couple a subsystem of the apparatus with a corresponding subsystem of the external device.
13. An apparatus for handling devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
- means for moving a stack of trays along a vertical path; and
- means for selectively and directly securing a tray in said stack of trays and for supporting said engaged tray and any additional trays positioned above said engaged tray.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the trays in said stack of trays include device trays and separator plates.
15. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:
- means for moving a stack of trays horizontally into and out of said vertical path, said means for moving being positioned at a fixed vertical position and having a support mechanism for supporting one or more trays.
16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the means for moving a stack of trays horizontally is adapted to provide trays to and receive trays from an operator for unloading and loading the apparatus.
17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the means for moving a stack of trays horizontally is adapted to provide trays to and receive trays from an external device for unloading and loading the apparatus in an automated manner.
18. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the means for moving a stack of trays horizontally is adapted to provide trays to and receive trays from an external device for processing of the trays.
19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the external device is a device handler having a tray-handling shuttle.
20. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the means for moving a stack of trays horizontally is adapted to position a desired tray to provide access to individual devices on said desired tray to an external device.
21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the external device includes a pick-and-place mechanism.
22. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:
- means for modularly interfacing the apparatus with an external device.
23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for modularly interfacing comprises:
- means for mechanically aligning the apparatus with the external device; and
- means for coupling a subsystem of the apparatus with a corresponding subsystem of the external device.
24. A method of sorting a tray of devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
- receiving a sorted tray of devices assigned to one of said categories;
- determining a sort position for said sorted tray in a stack of trays on a platform;
- vertically moving said platform to align a locking mechanism with an upper tray in said stack, said upper tray being immediately above said sort position;
- locking said upper tray with said locking mechanism;
- vertically moving said platform to position a lower tray below a load arm having said sorted tray, said lower tray being immediately below said sort position; and
- placing said sorted tray on said lower tray on said platform.
25. The method according to claim 24, wherein at least one of said upper tray and said lower tray is a separator plate.
26. A program product, comprising machine readable program code for causing a machine to perform the following method steps:
- receiving a sorted tray of devices assigned to one of said categories;
- determining a sort position for said sorted tray in a stack of trays on a platform;
- vertically moving said platform to align a locking mechanism with an upper tray in said stack, said upper tray being immediately above said sort position;
- locking said upper tray with said locking mechanism;
- vertically moving said platform to position a lower tray below a load arm having said sorted tray, said lower tray being immediately below said sort position; and
- placing said sorted tray on said lower tray on said platform.
27. The program product according to claim 26, wherein at least one of said upper tray and said lower tray is a separator plate.
28. A system for sorting a tray of devices adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
- means for receiving a sorted tray of devices assigned to one of said categories;
- means for determining a sort position for said sorted tray in a stack of trays on a platform;
- means for vertically moving said platform to align a locking mechanism with an upper tray in said stack, said upper tray being immediately above said sort position;
- means for locking said upper tray with said locking mechanism;
- means for vertically moving said platform to position a lower tray below a load arm having said sorted tray, said lower tray being immediately below said sort position; and
- means for placing said sorted tray on said lower tray on said platform.
29. A method of sorting a device adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
- receiving a sorted device assigned to one of said categories;
- determining a sort tray for said sorted device in a stack of trays on a platform;
- vertically moving said platform to align a locking mechanism with an upper tray in said stack immediately above said sort tray;
- locking said upper tray with said locking mechanism;
- vertically moving said platform to position said sort tray in a loading position; and
- placing said sorted tray on said lower tray on said platform.
30. A system for sorting a device adapted to be assigned to one of a plurality of categories, comprising:
- means for receiving a sorted device assigned to one of said categories;
- means for determining a sort tray for said sorted device in a stack of trays on a platform;
- means for vertically moving said platform to align a locking mechanism with an upper tray in said stack immediately above said sort tray;
- means for locking said upper tray with said locking mechanism;
- means for vertically moving said platform to position said sort tray in a loading position; and
- means for placing said sorted tray on said lower tray on said platform.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 12, 2004
Publication Date: Aug 18, 2005
Applicant:
Inventors: Kenneth Uekert (Ramona, CA), Samer Kabbani (San Marcos, CA), Larry Stuckey (San Diego, CA)
Application Number: 10/916,626