Abstract:
A tray to tube manual exchanger is disclosed herein. The manual exchanger includes a tray-fastening module and a bi-axle-rotating module. The tray-fastening module includes a tray-fastening member, a buffer-rail substrate, and a tube-inserting member. The buffer-rail substrate having a plurality of rails is disposed under the tray-fastening member, and the tube-inserting member is disposed at the outlets of the plurality of rails for respectively receiving tubes. The bi-axle-rotating module is pivotally connected to the tray-fastening module. The tray-fastening module clips a tray carrying a plurality of packaged semiconductor devices at a horizontal position, followed by rotating 180 degrees around a second rotating axle of the bi-axle-rotating module, thereby falling the packaged semiconductor devices of each row of the tray onto each rail. Subsequently, the tray-fastening module is inclined to a specified angle around a first rotating axle of the bi-axle-rotating module to make the packaged semiconductor devices of each rail slide into tubes inserted to the tube-inserting member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to a manual exchanger, and more particularly to a tray to tube manual exchanger for quickly transferring packaged semiconductor devices from tray to tube. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Semiconductor wafers after design and manufacture still need tester to make sure if the functions of packaged semiconductor devices are normal. The packaged semiconductor devices after packaged are usually transported by tray. However, during the testing the packaged semiconductor devices are often tested by a tube handler. Therefore, it is necessary to transfer the packaged semiconductor devices from tray to tube to perform testing. Besides, when some semiconductor devices transported by tray are tested by tray handler, but they will be shipped by tubes, it is also necessary to transfer the packaged semiconductor devices from tray to tube. Traditionally, the packaged semiconductor devices are transferred only by hand, and therefore not only the demand of the manpower is huge, and transfer rate is slow, but also it is easy to damage products. 
         [0005]    In view of the drawbacks of the traditional method to transfer semiconductor devices, there is a need for providing a new tray to tube manual exchanger, by which the semiconductor devices can effectively be transferred from tray to tube. Moreover, it can be operated easily, and has a cheaper price, and has a tiny volume, and can be removed easily, etc. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    One object of the present invention is to provide a tray to tube manual exchanger, by which a tray carrying a plurality of packaged semiconductor devices is rotated to make the packaged semiconductor devices fall onto the buffer-rail substrate, and then the tray-fastening module is inclined to make the packaged semiconductor devices slide into the tubes, and therefore the packaged semiconductor devices are transferred from tray to tube. 
         [0007]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a tray to tube manual exchanger, by which a tray at a horizontal position can be rotated 180 degrees to make the packaged semiconductor devices on the tray fall onto the buffer-rail substrate, and then the operator can check if the packaged semiconductor devices are oblique by opening the tray-fastening member. 
         [0008]    Further another object of the present invention is to provide a tray to tube manual exchanger, by which the incline angle of the tray-fastening module is adjustable by the size of the packaged semiconductor devices to make packaged semiconductor devices in the buffer-rail substrate slide smoothly into tubes. 
         [0009]    According to the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a tray to tube manual exchanger. The manual exchanger includes a tray-fastening module and a bi-axle-rotating module. The tray-fastening module includes a tray-fastening member, a buffer-rail substrate, and a tube-inserting member. The buffer-rail substrate having a plurality of rails is disposed under the tray-fastening member, and the tube-inserting member is disposed at the outlets of the plurality of rails for respectively receiving tubes. The bi-axle-rotating module is pivotally connected to the tray-fastening module. The tray-fastening module clips a tray carrying a plurality of packaged semiconductor devices at a horizontal position, followed by rotating 180 degrees around a second rotating axle of the bi-axle-rotating module, thereby falling the packaged semiconductor devices of each row of the tray onto each rail. Subsequently, the tray-fastening module is inclined to a specified angle around a first rotating axle of the bi-axle-rotating module to make the packaged semiconductor devices of each rail slide into the tube inserted to the tube-inserting member. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a tray to tube manual exchanger according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is an explosive view illustrating a tray-fastening module of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view and a cross-sectional view of a buffer-rail substrate of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  are cross-sectional views illustrating a tube-inserting member according to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  show operation process of a tray-fastening module rotating around a second rotating axle, in which  FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  are front views respectively illustrating a tray to tube manual exchanger at a first horizontal position and at a second horizontal position according to the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a side view illustrating part of a bi-axle-rotating module dismantled a base wing according to  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  show operation process of a rotating base rotating around a first rotating axle, in which  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  are front views respectively illustrating the rotating base at a horizontal position and at an incline according to FIG.  1 &#39;s embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0017]    Some embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the present invention can be practiced in a wide range of other embodiments besides those explicitly described, and the scope of the present invention is expressly not limited except as specified in the accompanying claims. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a tray to tube manual exchanger  2  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The tray to tube manual exchanger  2  includes a tray-fastening module  20  and a bi-axle-rotating module  21 .  FIG. 2  is an explosive view of components of a tray-fastening module  20 . The tray-fastening module  20  is used to clip a tray  33 . The tray  33  can be a general tray used in the testing of packaged semiconductor devices (such as packaged integrated circuit), and the tray  33  has a plurality of receive fillisters  331 , each of which is used to receive a packaged semiconductor device. The tray-fastening module  20  includes a buffer-rail substrate  28 , a tray-fastening member  27 , and a tube-inserting member  29 . The buffer-rail substrate  28  has a surface (such as bottom surface) on which there is a plurality of rails  281 , as shown in the bottom view of  FIG. 3  and the cross-sectional view in A-A direction of  FIG. 3 . These rails  281  are corresponding to each row of receive fillisters  331  of the tray  33 . The tray-fastening member  27  disposed at the other surface (such as bottom surface) of the buffer-rail substrate  28  is used to clip the tray  33 . The tube-inserting member  29  is serially connected to the buffer-rail substrate  28  inserted by tubes  31 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 4A  and  FIG. 4B  are cross-sectional views illustrating a tube-inserting member  29  according to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . The tube-inserting member  29  includes a top housing  291  having a plurality of tube-inserting grooves  293  respectively corresponding to each rail  281 , each tube-inserting groove  293  inserted by a tube  31 ; a bottom housing  292  disposed at bottom surface of the top housing  291 ; a plurality of stop block  294  respectively corresponding to tube-inserting grooves  293 , one end of each stop block  294  pivotally connected to the top housing  291 ; a plurality of elastic component  295 , one end of each elastic component  295  connected to the stop block  294  and the other end of the elastic component  295  connected to the top housing  291 ; whereby each stop block  294  can block the corresponding tube-inserting groove  293 . Furthermore, when tubes  31  are inserted into tube-inserting grooves  293 , tubes  31  can push away the stop blocks  294  to make the rails  281  of the buffer-rail substrate  28  communicate with the tubes  31 . Meanwhile, the stop blocks  294  can push the tubes  31  to prevent the tubes  31  from loosing. Of course, when the tubes  31  are pulled away, the stop blocks  294  pushed by the elastic components  295  can block the tube-inserting grooves  293 . 
         [0020]    Referring to  FIG. 2  again, the above-mentioned tray-fastening member  27  includes a tray-fastening board  271 ; a hand wheel  272  disposed on the tray-fastening board  271 ; a plurality of belt wheels  275  respectively pivotally penetrating the tray-fastening board, one end of each belt wheel  275  having a crook  279  (as shown in  FIG. 7A ) assembled cooperatively with the tray  33 ; and a belt  273  to serially interconnect the hand wheel  271  and the other end of the belt wheels  275 ; whereby when the hand wheel  272  is rotated corresponding to the tray-fastening board  272 , the belt  273  will drive the plurality of belt wheels  275 , and the plurality of belt wheels  275  will be rotated relative to the tray-fastening board  271  to make each crook  279  able to fix or loose the tray  33 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 1  again, the bi-axle-rotating module  21  includes a base  22  and a rotating base  23 , in which the base  22  includes a baseplate  221  and at least one base wing  222  disposed on the baseplate  221 . The rotating base  23  includes at least one first wing  233  and at least one second wing  234 . Furthermore, the base  22  further includes a bolt  223  which is able to be penetrably inserted into a base wing  222  and a first wing  233  so that the rotating base  23  can be fixed relative to the base  22 , wherein the first wing  233  has a locating hole (not shown in the figure) to allow the bolt  223  to be inserted into, and then the rotating base  23  can be fixed relative to the base  22 . 
         [0022]    In the embodiment, the tray to tube manual exchanger  2  includes two rotating axes: a first rotating axle  24  by which the rotating base  23  is pivotally connected to the base  22 , that is, the base wing  222  is pivotally connected to the first wing  233  by the first rotating axle  24 ; a second rotating axle  26  by which the tray-fastening module  20  is pivotally connected to the rotating base  23 . 
         [0023]    In the embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned manual exchanger  2  for transferring packaged semiconductor devices from tray  33  to tube  31  mainly follows the following two operation procedures. First, the tray-fastening module  20  is rotated around the second rotating axle  26  to make the packaged semiconductor devices inside the tray  33  fall onto the corresponding rails  281 . Then, the rotating base  23  is rotated and inclined around the first rotating axle  24  relative to the base  22  to make the packaged semiconductor devices slide into tubes  31 . The following description will cooperate with the drawings to illustrate the two operation procedures. 
         [0024]      FIG. 5A  and  FIG. 5B  are front views respectively illustrating a tray to tube manual exchanger  2  at a first horizontal position and at a second horizontal position according to the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . The tray to tube manual exchanger  2  further includes a switch board  235 , one end of the switch board  235  firmly connected to the tray-fastening module  20 , the other end of the switch board  235  pivotally connected to the rotating base  23  by the second rotating axle  26 , wherein the switch board  235  is firmly connected to the tray-fastening board  271 . Furthermore, the second rotating axle  26  pivotally interconnects the second wings  234  and the switch board  235 . Therefore, the tray-fastening module  20  can be rotated counterclockwise 180 degrees around the second rotating axle  26  from a first horizontal position ( FIG. 5A ) to a second horizontal position ( FIG. 5B ). At the same time, the semiconductor devices inside the tray  33  will fall onto the corresponding rails  281 . 
         [0025]      FIG. 6  is a side view illustrating part of a bi-axle-rotating module  21  dismantled a base wing  222  according to the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 6  cooperating with  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B , the following will describe how the rotating base  23  is rotated, inclined relative to the base  22  around the first rotating axle  24  so that each packaged semiconductor device falls slides into tubes  31 , wherein  FIG. 7A  and  FIG. 7B  respectively illustrate the horizontal position and incline position of the rotating base  23 . The base wing  222  having at least one first limit block  225  and at least one second limit block  226  thereon is assembled cooperatively with a first wing  233  to limit the rotating angle of the rotating base  23  relative to the base  22 . That is, when the bolt  223  is pulled away, the rotating base  23  is rotated relative to the base  22 , and meanwhile the first limit block  225  can stop the first wing  233  of the rotating base  23  to prevent the rotating base  23  from be rotated counterclockwise around the x-axis. In another word, the rotating base  23  only can be rotated clockwise around the first rotating axle  24 . 
         [0026]    Furthermore, a first wing  233  has a switch tapped hole  255  into which a buffer cylinder  251  is inserted. When the buffer cylinder  251  collides with a second limit block  226 , the rotating base  23  can be slowly inclined to a predetermined angle because the buffer cylinder  251  has a buffer effect and can release huge impact force. Moreover, the other end of the buffer cylinder  251  has an adjustable component  253  capable of being rotated to remove the buffer cylinder  251  relative to the switch tapped hole  255  and therefore to adjust the position of the buffer cylinder  251  relative to the first wing  233 . Hence, the adjustable component  253  can be rotated to control the buffer cylinder  251  moving forward or backward and therefore to adjust the position of the buffer cylinder  251  relative to the first wing  233  so that the incline angle of the rotating base  23  can be adjusted. Consequently, when the rotating base  23  is rotated clockwise around the first rotating axle  24  from the horizontal position (as shown in  FIG. 7A ), the buffer cylinder  251  will collides with the second limit block  226  to make the rotating base  23  incline slowly to a predetermined position (as shown in  FIG. 7B ) so that each row of packaged semiconductor devices inside each rail  281  can slide into each tube  31 . Hence, the purpose of quickly transferring packaged semiconductor devices from tray  33  to tube  31  is achieved. Therefore, the incline angle of the buffer-rail substrate  28  can be adjusted according to the size of packaged semiconductor devices so that the packaged semiconductor devices on the buffer-rail substrate  28  can slide smoothly into tubes  31 . 
         [0027]    According to the abovementioned descriptions of the embodiment of the present invention, the tray to tube manual exchanger  2  has the following advantages:
       1. In order to make the packaged semiconductor devices slide smoothly from the buffer-rail substrate  28  into tubes  31 , the slide angle of the buffer-rail substrate  28  can be adjusted according to the size and weight of the package semiconductor devices to make the packaged semiconductor devices slide smoothly into tubes  31 .   2. In the embodiment, the tray to tube manual exchanger  2  is designed by modules. In order to transfer packaged semiconductor devices with different types and weights, and according to their types and sizes, only the buffer-rail substrate  28  and the tube-inserting member  29  need to be changed. Therefore, the tray to tube manual exchanger  2  has the advantages of being changed quickly and easily.   3. When the tray-fastening module  20  is rotated 180 degrees around the second rotating axle  26  and meanwhile the plurality of packaged semiconductor devices inside the tray  33  fall onto the rails  281 , the tray-fastening member  27  can be opened to check the position and orientation of the packaged semiconductor devices inside the buffer-rail substrate  28 . Then, the bolt  223  is pulled away to make the rotating base  23  and the tray-fastening module  20  incline, and then the packaged semiconductor devices slide smoothly into tubes  31 .   4. In the embodiment, the tray  33  is fastened closely to the buffer-rail substrate  28  so that when the packaged semiconductor devices fall onto the buffer-rail substrate  28 , the packaged semiconductor devices can be free from being oblique or rotating 90 degrees.   5. In the embodiment, the tray to tube manual exchanger  2  has the advantages of having a tiny volume and being transported easily. Besides, owing to being designed by modules, the tray to tube manual exchanger  2  also can be decomposed and then transported.       
 
         [0033]    Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.