Patent ID: 7818085

Claim:
A computer control system for a back-end assembly line for IC assembly comprising: a plurality of integrated substations comprising a front-of-line portion, an end-of-line portion, a test portion, and a finish portion, each substation operable to process a die-strip in an in-line and pipelined fashion such that a first substation processes a first die-strip while a second substation processes a second die-strip, wherein each die-strip comprises a strip and a plurality of dies attached to said strip; a plurality of automated vision camera systems disposed at said plurality of substations for automatically examining each die-strip, wherein a first automated vision camera system is disposed at said front-of-line portion, a second automated vision camera system is disposed at said end-of-line portion, and a third automated vision camera system is disposed at said finish portion; a central computer system coupled to said plurality of automated vision camera systems and coupled to said plurality of substations, said central computer system for collecting information from said plurality of automated vision camera systems and for controlling traversal and processing of each die-strip through said plurality of substations in an in-line and pipelined fashion using a common communication protocol; and a database coupled to said central computer system, wherein said database stores said collected information from said plurality of automated vision camera systems, and wherein said database stores a map representation of each die-strip for maintaining details of each die of each die-strip.