Parts manipulation, inspection, and replacement system and method
First Claim
1. A machine vision system for inspecting a tray populated with a plurality of devices, the machine vision system comprising:
- a first output station having a first output elevator configured to hold a plurality of trays each of which has a plurality of devices that have passed the machine-vision inspection; and
a first inspection station, wherein the first inspection station is configured to perform a machine-vision inspection of a plurality of devices in an imaged area of a first tray held at a top position of the first output elevator above a plurality of other trays each of which has a plurality of devices all of which have been inspected;
wherein upon completion of the machine-vision inspection, the system operates to then lower the first tray and the plurality of other trays such that trays, each having a plurality of devices that have been inspected, are held at the first output elevator of the first output station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Manufacturing lines include inspection systems for monitoring the quality of parts produced. Manufacturing lines for making semiconductor devices generally inspect each fabricated part. The information obtained is used to fix manufacturing problems in the semiconductor fab plant. A machine-vision system for inspecting devices includes a flipper mechanism. After being inspected at a first station, a tray-transfer device moves the tray from the first inspection station to a flipper mechanism. The flipper mechanism includes two jaws, a mover, and a rotator. The flipper mechanism turns the devices over and places the devices in a second tray so that another surface of the device can be inspected. A second tray-transfer device moves the second tray from the flipper to a second inspection station. The mover of the flipper mechanism removes the tray from the first inspection surface and places a tray at the second inspection surface.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A machine vision system for inspecting a tray populated with a plurality of devices, the machine vision system comprising:
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a first output station having a first output elevator configured to hold a plurality of trays each of which has a plurality of devices that have passed the machine-vision inspection; and a first inspection station, wherein the first inspection station is configured to perform a machine-vision inspection of a plurality of devices in an imaged area of a first tray held at a top position of the first output elevator above a plurality of other trays each of which has a plurality of devices all of which have been inspected;
wherein upon completion of the machine-vision inspection, the system operates to then lower the first tray and the plurality of other trays such that trays, each having a plurality of devices that have been inspected, are held at the first output elevator of the first output station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A machine-vision method for inspecting trays each populated with a plurality of devices, the machine-vision method comprising:
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providing a first output station having a first output elevator; holding a first tray at a top position of the first output station above a plurality of other trays, each of which has a plurality of devices that have been inspected; machine-vision inspecting a plurality of devices in the first tray held at the top position of the first output elevator; and upon completion of the machine-vision inspecting of the plurality of devices in the first tray, lowering the first tray and the plurality of other trays in the first output elevator and moving another tray having a plurality of devices to the top position above the first tray. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A machine vision system for inspecting a tray populated with a plurality of devices, the machine vision system comprising:
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a first output station having a first output elevator; means for holding a first tray at a top position of the first output station above a plurality of other trays, each of which has a plurality of devices that have been inspected; means for machine-vision inspecting a plurality of devices in the first tray held at the top position of the first output elevator; and means for, upon completion of the machine-vision inspecting of the plurality of devices in the first tray, lowering the first tray and the plurality of other trays in the first output elevator and moving another tray having a plurality of devices to the top position above the first tray. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification