Test Plate for Electronic Component Handler
Test plates with improved test pockets are described herein. One embodiment is a circular test plate comprising a plurality of test pockets, each test pocket being a quadrilateral hole in the test plate, and each quadrilateral hole having four sides and four corners located at the intersections of the sides. Each of the four corners comprises at least one corner having a corner relief that extends from and intersects each of the at least one corner's two intersecting sides, and any remaining corners not having a corner relief. The test plate can be incorporated into a component handler.
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This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/741,921, filed Apr. 30, 2007.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to a test plate including pockets that increase the loading efficiency for an electronic component handler.
BACKGROUNDElectronic components are handled by a variety of different electronic component handlers. These different handlers include but are not limited to products sold by Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. of Portland, Oreg., the assignee of the present patent application. Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. sells a variety of electronic component handlers including but not limited to a high volume multi-layer ceramic chip (MLCC) capacitor tester sold as the Model 3300.
Commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,579 entitled Electrical Circuit Component Handler describes an electronic component handler. With reference to
With continued reference to
With reference to
Each test pocket 22 includes a loading area 26 as shown in
With reference to
A need has arisen to increase the loading efficiency of electronic components into test pockets on electronic component handlers. A test plate for use such a handler is provided where the test plate includes a plurality of test pockets wherein at least one of the test pockets includes at least one corner relief. In one embodiment the test pocket may include multiple corner reliefs that may be circular in their configuration.
Other applications of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
A test plate for an electronic component handler is provided that includes test pockets. The test pockets are apertures in the test plate. Electronic components are delivered to an area near the test pockets and fall into or are pulled into the test pocket. At least one corner relief is provided for a test pocket to increase loading efficiency.
With reference to
With reference to
Corner reliefs may be positioned in a number of different fashions in order to improve the loading efficiency of components into a testing machine. These alternate embodiments are shown in
Test pockets taught herein, including pockets 30 in the example of
Corner reliefs may be drilled out using known micro drilling techniques. While the corner reliefs have been illustrated as being semi-circular, the corner reliefs may be any number of different shapes including any polygon.
While the invention has been described in connection with certain embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, which scope is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.
Claims
1. A circular test plate comprising:
- a plurality of test pockets, each test pocket being a quadrilateral hole in the test plate, each quadrilateral hole having four sides and four corners located at the intersections of the sides, each of the four corners comprising:
- at least one corner having a corner relief that extends from and intersects each of the at least one corner's two intersecting sides, and
- any remaining corners not having a corner relief.
2. The test plate of claim 1, wherein the test plate is installed in an electronic component handler at an inclined angle.
3. The test plate of claim 2 wherein each test plate has a loading efficiency, whereby the loading efficiency of the test plate having test pockets with corner reliefs is greater than a test plate having test pockets without corner reliefs, due to the addition of the corner reliefs.
4. The test plate of claim 1 wherein at least one corner relief comprises an arcuate hole extending from a top surface of the test plate to a bottom surface of the test plate beyond the intersecting sides of the corner relief's corner.
5. The test plate of claim 1 wherein:
- the test plate has a thickness, a top surface and a bottom surface;
- each of the test pockets includes side walls that are contiguous and flat between the top surface and the bottom surface of the test plate and the corners of its test pocket; and
- each side wall is perpendicular to at least one of the top surface or the bottom surface of the test plate.
6. The test plate of claim 5 wherein each corner relief includes at least one side wall, the at least one side wall being contiguous between the top surface of the test plate, the bottom surface of the test plate, and the intersections between the corner relief and the intersecting sides of the corner relief's corner.
7. The test plate of claim 1 wherein the at least one test pocket includes two corners having a corner relief and two corners not having a corner relief.
8. The test plate of claim 7 wherein the test plate is installed in an electronic component handler about an axis of rotation and wherein the two corner reliefs are situated at radially-outer corners of a test pocket.
9. The test plate of claim 1 wherein the plurality of test pockets are arranged in a plurality of concentric rings on the surface of the test plate.
10. A test plate including a plurality of test pockets wherein:
- the test plate is circular, has a thickness, a top surface and a bottom surface;
- each of the plurality of test pockets is a quadrilateral hole through the test plate having a radially-inner surface, a radially-outer surface and two side surfaces;
- the surfaces of each test pocket are perpendicular to at least one of the top surface or the bottom surface of the test plate;
- the surfaces of each test pocket meet to form four interior edges at corners of the test pocket;
- the surfaces of each test pocket are each contiguous between the top surface and the bottom surface of the test plate; and
- each test pocket includes at least one corner relief at an interior edge thereof, each corner relief extending the test pocket beyond at least one of the surfaces of the test pocket.
11. The test plate of claim 10 wherein the at least one corner relief comprises an arcuate hole extending from one of the side surfaces and one of the radially-inner or the radially-outer surface.
12. The test plate of claim 10 wherein:
- the surfaces of each test pocket extends between one of two of the interior edges, one of the interior edges and a corner relief, or two corner reliefs; and
- each test pocket is contiguous between those extents.
13. The test plate of claim 10 wherein:
- the test pocket includes two corner reliefs adjacent a respective one of the interior edges; and
- the test pocket includes rounded corners at the remaining interior edges.
14. The test plate of claim 13 wherein:
- the test plate is rotatably mounted in a electronic component handler; and
- the each of the two corner reliefs is situated about the interior edge at the intersection between the radially-outer surface and a respective one of the two side surfaces.
15. In a method of testing electronic components using a rotatable test plate installed in an electronic component handler at an inclined angle and having a plurality of test pockets extending through the rotatable test plate, the improvement comprising:
- rotating the test plate so that each of a plurality of electronic components resting on a top surface of the rotatable test plate is guided into a respective test pocket of the plurality of test pockets by a corner relief, each test pocket being a quadrilateral hole in the rotatable test plate, each quadrilateral hole having four sides and four corners located at the intersections of the sides, at least one corner of the four corners having the corner relief that extends from and intersects each of the at least one corner's two intersecting sides, and any remaining corners of the four corners not having a corner relief
16. The method of testing electronic components of claim 15, further comprising:
- arranging the corner relief so that a loading efficiency of the electronic component handler is greater than a loading efficiency of the electronic component handler without the corner relief.
17. The method of claim 15 wherein the corner relief comprises at least two corner reliefs, one corner relief situated at a first radially-outer corner of the test pocket and another corner relief situated at a second radially-outer corner of the test pocket.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 17, 2011
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2011
Applicant: ELECTRO SCIENTIFIC INDUSTRIES, INC. (Portland, OR)
Inventor: Gerald F. Boe (Newberg, OR)
Application Number: 13/163,563
International Classification: G01R 31/00 (20060101);