Patent ID: 7944200

Claim:
A probe apparatus for testing electrical characteristics of a target chip of a substrate by bringing probes formed on a lower surface of a probe card into contact with electrical pads of the target chip, in which the probe card is mounted in an opening formed in a ceiling plate of a main body of the apparatus and a test head is arranged above the probe card, the apparatus comprising: a pivot mechanism for pivoting the test head, about its horizontal rotary shaft, between a horizontal position at which a lower surface of the test head is horizontally located above the probe card and a separated position at which the test head is separated from the ceiling plate of the main body; a holding frame connected to the rotary shaft and holding the test head through a biasing unit biasing the test head when the test head is horizontally located; an annular member rotatably mounted in a peripheral portion of the opening in its circumferential direction; cam followers provided at the annular member along its circumferential direction to be rotatable about their horizontal axes extending toward a rotational center of the annular member; an intermediate connecting member provided in a lower surface of the test head, for bringing the test head into electrical contact with an upper surface of the probe card; and protrusions provided corresponding to the cam followers at an outer periphery of the intermediate connecting member in its circumferential direction, the protrusions serving as guideways for guiding the cam followers when the test head is horizontally located, upper surfaces of the protrusions being inclined along a circle concentric with the annular member, wherein the cam followers are moved relatively upward along the respective inclined surfaces of the guideways by rotating the annular member so that the intermediate connecting member is pushed downward against a biasing force of the biasing unit to bring the test head into press-contact with the probe card.