Method and apparatus for the temperature regulation of components, for example semiconductor circuits, printed circuit boards and the like

• US 6,223,975 B1
• Filed: 10/22/1999
• Issued: 05/01/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seho Systemtechnik GmbH
• Original Assignee: Seho Systemtechnik GmbH
• Inventors: Diehm, Rolf, Ullrich, Rudolf, Blohmann, Johann Alfred
• Primary Examiner(s): Ryan, Patrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): JOHNSON, JONATHAN J
• Application Number:
  US09/422,656
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 228/232, 219/385, 219/386, 219/388, 219/428, 432/132, 432/126, 432/137, 432/122, 432/120, 432/239, 432/246, 392/417, 392/416, 392/408, 414/331.14, 414/331.17, 414/331.16, 414/157, 414/172, 414/176
• US Class Current: 228/232
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 1/008 Soldering within a furnace B23K1/012 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/40 Semiconductor devices
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 37/047 moving work to adjust its position between soldering, welding or cutting steps B23K37/053 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F26B 15/10 with movement in a path composed of one or more straight lines, e.g. compound , the movement being in alternate horizontal and vertical directions
• CPC Class Codes: F27B 9/142 the charge moving along a vertical axis

Abstract

A method and apparatus for the temperature regulation of components such as semiconductor circuits, printed circuit boards and the like. The components are conveyed on carriers through an inlet slot into a temperature regulating housing provided with temperature regulating members and are convey out through an outlet slot opposite the inlet slot. In the housing, the carriers are loaded on a magazine provided with adjacently arranged holders. After the first holder is loaded in the starting position, the magazine is displaced progressively in one direction into successive positions in which the remaining holders of the magazine are loaded one after the other. Once all the holders are loaded, the magazine is filled and in an end position. Thereupon the magazine is displaced back to its starting position in a fast reverse run in the opposite direction. Back in the starting position, a new carrier is conveyed in through the inlet slot thereby causing the temperature regulated carrier occupying the holder to be conveyed out through the outlet slot. Successive loading of the holders in the magazine causes off-loading of the temperature regulated carriers. By this process a temperature regulated carrier is replaced by a new carrier and the residence time of each carrier in the magazine corresponds to the period of time between two reverse runs until all the holders are loaded again and in the end position.

Claims

1. Method for the temperature regulation of components, for example semiconductor circuits (18), printed circuit boards, in which the components are conveyed on carriers (4, 17, 21, 22, 24, 27, 34, 42) through an inlet slot into a temperature-regulating housing (1) provided with temperature-regulating members (11, 12) and are conveyed out through an outlet slot (19) opposite the inlet slot (15), characterized in that the carriers (4, 17, 21, 22, 24, 27, 34, 42) are accommodated by a magazine (2) in the housing (1), which magazine is provided with adjacently arranged holders (3) and, after the first holder (3) has been loaded, is displaced progressively in one direction from a starting position into successive accommodating positions in which the individual holders of the magazine (2) are loaded one after the other, whereupon, after all the holders (3) have been loaded, the magazine thus filled is displaced, from the end position that has been reached in the process, back to its starting position in a fast reverse run in the opposite direction, in which starting position a carrier (4, 17, 21, 22, 24, 27, 34, 42) is conveyed in through the inlet slot (15) and, with the magazine (2) having been filled, the first temperature-regulated carrier in the magazine (2) is conveyed out through the outlet slot (19) and, with the successive loading of the individual holders (3) of the magazine (2), the individual temperature-regulated carriers are conveyed out successively, a temperature-regulated carrier (22) being replaced by a non-temperature-regulated carrier (21) and the residence time of the carriers in the magazine (2) corresponding, for all of the carriers, to the period of time between to two reverse runs, until all the holders (3) of the magazine (2) are loaded again in the end position reached by the said magazine, whereupon, after the reverse run of the magazine (2) to the starting position, the magazine (2) is progressively loaded again.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the displacement of the magazine (2) from the starting position to the end position is effected in the vertical direction from the bottom to the top.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the displacement of the magazine (2) from the starting position to the end position is effected in the vertical direction from the top to the bottom.