Patent Publication Number: US-2023144924-A1

Title: System and method for confirming mounted state of picker mounts

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to technology for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts provided for each type according to sizes of types of transfer target objects such as semiconductor elements and mounted on pickers of a variable picker module. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     In general, after semiconductor elements are manufactured through a semiconductor process, the semiconductor elements are tested before shipment. That is, when there are an internal defect of a semiconductor element wrapped with a package as well as an external defect thereof, the performance thereof is fatally affected. Accordingly, various tests including external defect inspections as well as electrical operation tests are performed on semiconductor elements. 
     After semiconductor elements are accommodated in a test tray and tested using test equipment, the semiconductor elements may be classified into good products and defective products according to a test result and transferred to an unloading tray and a reject tray. In this case, pickers of a picker module pick up the semiconductor elements from the test tray and put down the semiconductor elements to the unloading tray and the reject tray according to good products and defective products. 
     The picker module may be configured to supply negative pressure to the pickers to adsorb the semiconductor elements and to supply positive pressure to the pickers to desorb the semiconductor elements. Picker mounts may be mounted on pneumatic actuating ends of the pickers in a state of being arranged in a line. Accordingly, the picker mounts may be mounted on the pickers in a line to adsorb or desorb the semiconductor elements. 
     Meanwhile, sizes of the semiconductor elements may vary for each type, and accordingly, the tray may be configured to accommodate the semiconductor elements having various sizes according to a Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) standard. In the tray, since an interval between tray pockets for accommodating semiconductor elements is changed according to the sizes of the semiconductor elements, a picker module may also be formed in a variable type in which an interval between the pickers is adjusted according to the interval between the tray pockets. In addition, the picker mounts may be provided for each type and replaced according to sizes of types of the semiconductor elements. 
     However, in a case in which the picker mount is erroneously mounted because the picker mount cannot be replaced on the picker according to a change in type of a semiconductor element, when the semiconductor element is transferred, the semiconductor element may be damaged due to the use of an inappropriate picker mount. 
     In particular, in a state in which a picker mount used for transferring the relatively large semiconductor element is not replaced in time even though a semiconductor element is changed from a relatively large type to a relatively small type, when an interval between the pickers is adjusted to be narrow, the picker mount may interfere with picker mounts positioned in the vicinity to damage the picker. In addition, when the picker mount is not mounted, an error in transferring the semiconductor element between trays may occur. 
     DISCLOSURE 
     Technical Problem 
     The present invention is directed to providing a system and a method for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts in which, before an operation of transferring a transfer target object, whether picker mounts are properly installed on pickers is identified in advance, thereby preventing damage to the transfer target object, damage to the picker, or a transfer error. 
     Technical Solution 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a system for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts is a system for identifying a mounted state of picker mounts provided for each type according to sizes of types of transfer target objects and mounted on pickers of a variable picker module, the system including barcodes, a barcode reader, and a system controller. 
     The barcodes may include information for identifying types of the picker mounts and may be formed on the picker mounts. The barcode reader may be disposed at one side of the variable picker module to sequentially read the barcodes of the picker mounts moving in an arrangement direction of the pickers in a state of being mounted on the pickers. The system controller may identify positions and types of the picker mounts based on information provided from the barcode reader and then compare the identified positions and types with a validation criteria to identify whether the picker mounts are erroneously mounted or are not mounted 
     According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method of confirming a mounted state of picker mounts is a method of identifying a mounted state of picker mounts provided for each type according to sizes of types of transfer target objects and mounted on pickers of a variable picker module. First, barcodes, which include information for identifying types of the picker mounts, are formed and provided on the picker mounts. Next, while the picker mounts mounted on the pickers are moved in an arrangement direction of the pickers, the barcodes of the picker mounts are sequentially read by a barcode reader. Then, a system controller identifies positions and types of the picker mounts based on information provided from the barcode reader and then compares the identified positions and types with a validation criteria to identify whether the picker mounts are erroneously mounted or are not mounted. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     According to the present invention, before an operation in which a variable picker module transfers a transfer target object, whether picker mounts are properly installed on pickers can be identified in advance to operate the variable picker module for a transfer operation, thereby preventing damage to the transfer target object, damage to the picker, or a transfer error. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a system for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view illustrating a picker mount taken from FIG. 
         FIG.  3    is a perspective view illustrating the front of a picker module in  FIG.  4    is a perspective view illustrating the rear of the picker module in  FIG.  5    is a view for describing a process of confirming a mounted state of the picker mount in a process of moving the picker module. 
         FIG.  6    is a view illustrating an example in which the picker mount is erroneously mounted. 
         FIG.  7    is a view illustrating another example in which the picker mount is erroneously mounted. 
         FIG.  8    is a view illustrating an example in which the picker mount is not mounted. 
     
    
    
     MODES OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows. The same elements are assigned the same reference numerals. Repeated descriptions and descriptions of known functions and configurations which have been deemed to make the gist of the present invention unnecessarily obscure will be omitted below. The embodiments of the present invention are intended to fully describe the present invention to a person having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains. Accordingly, the shapes, sizes, and the like of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated to make the description clear. 
       FIG.  1    is a view of a configuration of a system for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts according to one embodiment of the present invention.  FIG.  2    is a perspective view illustrating a picker mount taken from  FIG.  1   .  FIG.  3    is a perspective view illustrating the front of a picker module in  FIG.  1   .  FIG.  4    is a perspective view illustrating the rear of the picker module in  FIG.  1   .  FIG.  5    is a view for describing a process of confirming a mounted state of the picker mount in a process of moving the picker module. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  5   , a system  100  for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts according to one embodiment of the present invention is for identifying a mounted state of picker mounts  20  provided for each type according to sizes of types of transfer target objects  1  and mounted on pickers  11  of a variable picker module  10 . The system  100  includes barcodes  110 , a barcode reader  120 , and a system controller  130 . 
     Here, the transfer target objects  1  may correspond to semiconductor elements or the like that are tested while accommodated in tray pockets  2   a  of a tray  2 . The variable picker module  10  may include the pickers  11 , an interval adjustment mechanism  12 , a lift mechanism  13 , and a horizontal movement mechanism  14 . 
     The pickers  11  are arranged in a line. Each picker  11  may receive negative pressure from a pneumatic supply to adsorb the transfer target object  1  and may receive positive pressure from the pneumatic supply to desorb the transfer target object  1 . 
     When an interval between the tray pockets  2   a  is changed according to a size of each type of the transfer target object  1 , the interval adjustment mechanism  12  adjusts an interval between the pickers  11  according to the interval between the tray pockets  2   a . The interval adjustment mechanism  12  includes horizontal moving bodies  12   a , a horizontal screw  12   b , and a rotation motor  12   c.    
     The horizontal moving bodies  12   a  are fixed to the pickers  11  moving to adjust an interval among the pickers  11 . When an odd number of pickers  11  are provided, the horizontal moving body  12   a  may be provided to be fixed to other pickers  11  except for one picker  11  in the middle. When an even number of pickers  11  are provided, the horizontal moving body  12   a  may be provided to be fixed to all of the pickers  11 . The pickers  11  may be supported on a picker support  11   b  by a linear guide  11   a  to be horizontally movable. 
     The horizontal screw  12   b  is horizontally disposed to extend in an arrangement direction of the pickers  11  to be rotatably supported on the picker support  11   b . The horizontal screw  12   b  is screw-coupled to each of the horizontal moving bodies  12   a  fixed to the pickers  11 . The horizontal screw  12   b  may move the horizontal moving bodies  12   a  toward or away from each other at the same pitch in a rotation direction to widen or narrow the interval between the pickers  11 . 
     The rotation motor  12   c  provides a forward or reverse rotational force to the horizontal screw  12   b . The forward or reverse rotational force of the rotation motor  12   c  may be transmitted to the horizontal screw  12   b  by a power transmitter  12   d . The power transmitter  12   d  may include a driving pulley coaxially fixed to a driving shaft of the rotation motor  12   c , a driven pulley coaxially fixed to the horizontal screw  12   b , and a belt disposed over the driving pulley and the driven pulley to transmit the rotation of the driving pulley to the driven pulley. 
     The interval adjustment mechanism  12  and the power transmitter  12   d  may have various known configurations. A position of any one of the horizontal moving bodies  12   a  may be detected by a position sensor, and the rotation motor  12   c  may controlled and be driven to adjust the pickers  11  at a set interval according to information provided from the position sensor. 
     The lift mechanism  13  elevates the picker support  11   b  with respect to a module base  10   a  to elevate the pickers  11 , thereby picking up or putting down the transfer target objects  1 . The lift mechanism  13  may include a lift block  13   a  and a lift actuator  13   b.    
     The lift block  13   a  is supported on the module base  10   a  by the linear guide to elevate in a state of being fixed to the picker support  11   b . The lift actuator  13   b  elevates the lift block  13   a  with respect to the module base  10   a . The lift actuator  13   b  may include a vertical screw and a rotation motor. 
     The vertical screw is disposed to vertically extend and rotatably supported on the module base  10   a . The vertical screw is screw-coupled to the lift block  13   a . The vertical screw may elevate the pickers  11  by elevating the lift block  13   a  in a rotation direction. The rotation motor provides a forward or reverse rotational force to the vertical screw. The lift actuator  13   b  may be provided as various known actuators such as a linear motor. 
     The horizontal movement mechanism  14  allows the pickers  11  to horizontally reciprocate by allowing the module base  10   a  to horizontally reciprocate. The horizontal movement mechanism  14  includes a column  14   a  and a linear actuator  14   b . In a state of being fixed to an equipment base  10   b  of test equipment or the like, the column  14   a  supports the module base  10   a  to be slidably moved in a horizontal direction by a linear guide. 
     The linear actuator  14   b  allows the module base  10   a  to horizontally reciprocate. The linear actuator  14   b  may include a screw and a rotation motor or may be provided as various known actuators such as a linear motor. 
     An upper portion of the picker mount  20  is detachably mounted on a pneumatic actuating end of the picker  11  so that the picker mount  20  is replaceable. The picker mount  20  may be coupled to the pneumatic actuating end of the picker  11  through a screw coupling method or the like. The picker mount  20  includes a plurality of nozzles  22  at a lower portion thereof. 
     The picker mount  20  transmits negative or positive pressure supplied to the picker  11  to the nozzles  22  through a flow path in a mount body  21  via an upper portion of the mount body  21 . Accordingly, the picker mount  20  may adsorb the transfer target object  1  using the negative pressure acting on the nozzles  22  and may detach the transfer target object  1  using the positive pressure acting on the nozzles  22 . Except for the upper portion of the picker mount  20 , sizes of the remaining portions thereof may be set according to sizes of types of the transfer target objects  1  which are to be transferred between the trays  1 , and thus the picker mount  20  may be provided for each type. 
     The barcodes  110  include information for identifying types of the picker mounts  20  and are formed on the corresponding picker mounts  20 . That is, the barcode  110  may be read by the barcode reader  120  so that the type of the corresponding picker mount  20  can be identified. The barcode  110  may be a two-dimensional barcode. The two-dimensional barcode is a barcode in the form of a two-dimensional matrix and is also used as a name of a quick response (QR) code. 
     The barcode  110  may be engraved and formed in the assigned picker mount  20  with a laser. The barcodes  110  may be formed on side surfaces exposed in the same direction in a state in which the picker mounts  20  are mounted on the pickers  11 . Accordingly, the barcodes  110  may be read by the barcode reader  120  in a process in which the corresponding picker mounts  20  move in the arrangement direction of the pickers  11  in a state of being mounted on the pickers  11 . 
     The barcode reader  120  is disposed around the variable picker module  10  to sequentially read the barcodes  110  of the picker mounts  20  moving in the arrangement direction of the pickers  11  in a state of being mounted on the pickers  11 . The barcode reader  120  may be positioned and fixed to the equipment base  10   b  to sequentially read the barcodes  110  of the picker mounts  20  that move relative to each other. 
     The barcode reader  120  may be configured to read a form of the barcode  110  with an optical barcode sensor and provide a read result to the system controller  130  as digital data. When the barcode  110  is the two-dimensional barcode, the barcode reader  120  is configured to read the two-dimensional barcode. 
     The system controller  130  identifies positions and types of the corresponding picker mounts  20  based on information provided from the barcode reader  120  and then compares the identified positions and types with a validation criteria to identify whether the picker mounts  20  are erroneously mounted or are not mounted. Here, the validation criteria criterion is data for setting a criterion for a type of the picker mount  20  to be mounted on the pickers  11  according to a type of the transfer target object  1 . 
     In a state in which the system controller  130  receives data about an initial position of the pickers  11  with respect to the barcode reader  120  in advance, the system controller  130  may identify positions and types of the picker mounts  20  according to moving positions of the pickers  11  based on information provided from the barcode reader  120 . The system controller  130  may identify a type of the corresponding picker mount  20  and whether the corresponding picker mount  20  is mounted for each picker  11  and may store identified information as data. 
     The system controller  130  may compare identified position and type data of the picker mounts  20  with validation reference data that is input in advance, thereby identifying whether the picker mounts  20  are erroneously mounted or are not mounted for each picker  11 . When the system controller  130  identifies that the picker mounts  20  are erroneously mounted or not mounted before an operation in which the variable picker module  10  transfers the transfer target objects  1 , the system controller  130  may output error information to a picker controller (not shown) of the variable picker module  10  to stop the operation of the variable picker module  10  and notify an operator of the error information. 
     Here, when a mounting error of the picker mount  20  occurs, the system controller  130  alerts an operator through an alarm or a monitoring screen or transmits contents of the mounting error of the picker mount  20  to a mobile terminal of the operator through a messenger service, thereby allowing the operator to correct the error. 
     The system controller  130  may identify in advance a state in which a wrong type of the picker mount  20  is mounted on the picker  11  and may notify an operator of error information, thereby allowing the operator to correct an error. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a problem in which the transfer target object  1  is damaged due to the use of an inappropriate picker mount  20  when the transfer target object  1  is transferred by the variable picker module  10 . 
     In particular, as shown in  FIG.  6   , the system controller  130  may identify in advance a state in which a picker mount  20 ′ used for transferring a relatively large transfer target object  1  is not replaced in time even though the transfer target object  1  is changed from a relatively large type to a relatively small type, thereby notifying an operator of error information to allow the operator to correct an error. 
     Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem in which, since the interval between the pickers  11  is adjusted to be narrow in a state in which the picker mount  20  used for transferring the relatively large transfer target object  1  is not replaced in time, the picker mount  20  interferes with the picker mount  20  positioned in the vicinity to damage the picker  11 . 
     In addition, as shown in  FIG.  7   , when the picker mounts  20  are intermittently mounted and arranged on the pickers  11  according to a type of the transfer target object  1 , for example, when the picker mounts  20  are mounted and arranged on every other pickers  11 , the system controller  130  may identify whether a picker mount  20 ″, which should not be present, is mounted. As described above, the system controller  130  may identify in advance whether there is an error in an arrangement state of the picker mount  20  to notify an operator of error information, thereby allowing the operator to correct the error. 
     As shown in  FIG.  8   , the system controller  130  may identify in advance a state in which there is no picker mount  20  to be mounted on the corresponding picker  11  and may notify an operator of error information, thereby allowing the operator to correct an error. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem in which, when the variable picker module  10  transfers the transfer target object  1 , an error in transferring the transfer target object  1  between the trays  2  occurs because the picker mount  20  to be mounted on the corresponding picker  11  is not mounted. 
     As described above, according to the system  100  for confirming a mounted state of picker mounts according to the present embodiment, before an operation in which the variable picker module  10  transfers the transfer target object  1 , whether the picker mounts  20  are properly mounted on the pickers  11  is identified in advance, and then the variable picker module  10  is operated for a transfer operation, thereby preventing damage to the transfer target object  1 , damage to the picker, or a transfer error. 
     A mounted state of the picker mounts according to one embodiment of the present invention is identified as follows. 
     First, the barcodes  110  including information for identifying types of the picker mounts  20  are formed and provided on the corresponding picker mounts  20 . The picker mounts  20  are mounted or replaced for each type according to a type of the transfer target object  1  which is to be transferred between the trays  2 . 
     In this state, before an operation in which the variable picker module  10  transfers the transfer target object  1 , while the picker mounts  20  mounted on the pickers  11  are moved in the arrangement direction of the pickers  11 , the barcode  110  of the picker mounts  20  are sequentially read by the barcode reader  120 . 
     Then, the system controller  130  identifies positions and types of the corresponding picker mounts  20  based on information provided from the barcode reader  120  and then compares the identified positions and types with a validation criteria to identify whether the picker mounts  20  are erroneously mounted and are not mounted. 
     When the system controller  130  identifies that the picker mounts  20  are erroneously mounted or not mounted, the system controller  130  may output error information to the picker controller of the variable picker module  10  to stop the operation of the variable picker module  10  and notify an operator of the error information, thereby allowing the operator to appropriately correct an error. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, the embodiments are merely examples, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.