Placement machine

Claim 2

A machine comprising: a base; a holder for removably mounting a magazine mounted on said base; a magazine mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of a film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame mounted on the segment and an IC chip bonded to inner portions of the leads of each lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, a predetermined number of said fixures being stacked in said magazine; a punch press for blanking an IC chip and its leads from a segment, for forming the leads, said chip and its formed leads constituting a flic, for removing the flic from its segment and for holding the flic, said punch press being mounted on the base; means for disposing of a fixture, transfer means mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from a magazine mounted on said holder to the punch press and for transferring a fixture from the punch press to said means for disposing of a fixture; positioning means mounted on said base; means for removably mounting a multilayer substrate on said positioning means; a substrate having a plurality of flic sites, the locations of said flic sites on said substrate being predetermined; said substrate being positioned on said positioning means; control means for causing the transfer mechanism to transfer a fixture from the magazine to the punch press; for causing the punch press to blank a chip and its leads from their segment, to form the leads, to remove the flic from its segment and fixture and to retain the flic; for causing the transfer mechanism to move the fixture from the punch press to the means for disposing of a fixture to dispose of the fixture, for causing the positioning means to place the substrate with respect to the punch press so that the flic from the disposed fixture retained by the punch press is directly above a predetermined flic site on the substrate; for causing the punch press to place the flic substantially on its predetermined flic site; and for causing the positioning means to move the substrate away from the punch press to clear the punch press for the next blanking and forming operation.

Claim 3

The machine of claim 1 in which the control means include a digital computer.

Claim 4

The machine of claim 2 in which the positioning means is an X-Y table.

Claim 5

A machine comprising; a base, a holder for removably mounting a magazine; a magazine mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame mounted on the segment and an integrated circuit chip of a given type bonded to inner portions of the leads of the lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, said fixtures holding predetermined numbers of predetermined types of chips and being stacked in said magazine; a punch press for blanking an IC chip and its leads from a segment held by a fixture, for forming the leads of the chip, for removing the chip and its formed leads from their segment by lifting the chip clear of its fixture, and for holding said chip, said punch press being mounted on the base; means for disposing of a fixture, a transfer mechanism mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from the magazine to the punch press and for moving said fixture from said punch press to said means for disposing of a fixture; an X-Y table having a movable plate mounted on said base; mounting means formed on the movable plate of the X-Y table for removably mounting a multilayer substrate; a multilayer substrate having a plurality of chip pads, each chip pad having a plurality of chip lead pads associated therewith, the locations of said pads on the substrate being predetermined, said substrate being positioned on said mounting means; transfer a fixture from the magazine to the punch press; for causing the punch press to remove a chip and its leads from their segment, to form the leads, to remove the chip and its formed leads from its segment and fixture, to lift the chip clear of the fixture, and to retain the chip; for causing the transfer mechanism to move the fixture to the means for disposing of a fixture to dispose of the fixture; for causing the X-Y table to place its movable plate with respect to the punch press so that a chip and its leads blanked from the disposed of fixture and held by the punch press is directly above a predetermined chip pad and its associated chip lead pads on the substrate, for causing the punch press to place the chip substantially on its chip pad with said chips leads substantially on their respective chip lead pads, and to release the chip; and for causing the positioning means to move the movable plate to clear the punch press.

Claim 6

A machine comprising; a base, a holder for removably mounting a magazine; a magazine mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame mounted on the segment and an integrated circuit chip of a given type bonded to inner portions of the leads of the lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, said fixtures holding predetermined numbers of predetermined types of chips and being stacked in said magazine; a punch press for blanking an IC chip and its leads from a segment held by a fixture, for forming the leads of the chip, for removing the chip and its formed leads from their segment by lifting the chip clear of its fixture, and for holding said chip, said punch press being mounted on the base; means for disposing of a fixture, a transfer mechanism mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from the magazine to the punch press and for moving said fixture from said punch press to said means for disposing of a fixture; an X-Y table having a movable plate mounted on said base; mounting means formed on the movable plate of the X-Y table for removably mounting a multilayer substrate; a multilayer substrate having a plurality of chip pads, each chip pad having a plurality of chip lead pads associated therewith, the locations of said pads on the substrate being predetermined, said substrate being positioned on said mounting means; transfer a fixture from the magazine to the punch press; for causing the punch press to remove a chip and its leads from their segment, to form the leads, to remove the chip and its formed leads from its segment and fixture, to lift the chip clear of the fixture, and to retain the chip; for causing the transfer mechanism to move the fixture to the means for disposing of a fixture to dispose of the fixture; for causing the X-Y table to place its movable plate with respect to the punch press so that a chip and its leads blanked from the disposed of fixture and held by the punch press is directly above a predetermined chip pad and its associated chip lead pads on the substrate, for causing the punch press to place the chip substantially on its chip pad with said chips leads substantially on their respective chip lead pads, and to release the chip; and for causing the positioning means to move the movable plate to clear the punch press.

Claim 7

The machine of claim 4 in which the control means include a digital computer.

Claim 8

The machine of claim 5 in which the fixtures are stacked in the magazine in a predetermined order.

Claim 9

The machine of claim 6 in which the punch press have a movable punch and a fixed die, and the chip after it is blanked from its fixture and its leads are formed is lifted by the punch and is retained by retaining means formed in the punch.

Claim 10

The machine of claim 7 in which the retaining means formed in the punch is a central bore in the punch which is connected to a source of less than atmospheric pressure.

Claim 11

The machine of claim 8 in which the movable plate of the X-Y table has a projection on which is formed the mounting means for a multilayer substrate.

Claim 12

The machine of claim 9 in which the punch press is provided with means for precisely positioning a chip mounted in a fixture with respect to the die prior to the chip and its leads being blanked from their fixtures.

Claim 13

A machine comprising: a base; a holder for removably mounting a magazine, said holder being mounted on said base; a magazine, said magazine being mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of a film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame mounted on it and having an IC chip bonded to inner portions of the leads of the lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, said fixtures being stacked in said magazine; first means for blanking an IC chip and a portion of the chips thin flexible ductile leads from a segment of film, for forming the portions of the leads still attached to the chip, and for separating said chip from its fixture and holding said chip, said means for blanking and forming being mounted on the base; means mounted on said base for disposing of fixtures after its IC chip has been removed; a transfer mechanism mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from the magazine to the first means, and for transferring the fixture from the first means to the means for disposing of the fixture; positioning means mounted on said base having an initial position in which the positioning means is clear of said first means; means for removably mounting a multilayer substrate on said positioning means; a multilayer substrate, said substrate having a plurality of chip pads, each chip pad having a plurality of chip lead pads associated therewith, the locations of said chip pads on said substrate being at predetermined locations and the location of the chip lead pads with respect to their associated chip lead pads being predetermined, said substrate being positioned on said positioning means; and control means for causing; the transfer mechanism to transfer a fixture from the magazine to the first means; for causing the first means to blank a chip and its leads from the segment mounted in the fixture, for forming the leads of the chip, for causing the first means to lift said chip and its formed leads away from the fixture and to hold said chip; for causing the transfer mechanism to move said fixture to the means for disposing fixtures to cause the fixture to be disposed; for causing the positioning means to move from its first position to a second position so that the substrate in which the chip and its leads held by the first means are directly above a predetermined chip pad and the chip pad's associated chip lead pads; for causing the first means to release said chip, whereby the chip is placed on said predetermined chip pad and each of the leads of the chip is placed on a predetermined chip lead pad associated with said predetermined chip pad; and for causing said positioning means to move to a position in which it is clear of said first means.

Claim 14

A machine comprising: a base; a holder for removably mounting a magazine, said holder being mounted on said base; a magazine, said magazine being mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of a film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame mounted on it and having an IC chip bonded to inner portions of the leads of the lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, said fixtures being stacked in said magazine; first means for blanking an IC chip and a portion of the chips thin flexible ductile leads from a segment of film, for forming the portions of the leads still attached to the chip, and for separating said chip from its fixture and holding said chip, said means for blanking and forming being mounted on the base; means mounted on said base for disposing of fixtures after its IC chip has been removed; a transfer mechanism mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from the magazine to the first means, and for transferring the fixture from the first means to the means for disposing of the fixture; positioning means mounted on said base having an initial position in which the positioning means is clear of said first means; means for removably mounting a multilayer substrate on said positioning means; a multilayer substrate, said substrate having a plurality of chip pads, each chip pad having a plurality of chip lead pads associated therewith, the locations of said chip pads on said substrate being at predetermined locations and the location of the chip lead pads with respect to their associated chip lead pads being predetermined, said substrate being positioned on said positioning means; and control means for causing; the transfer mechanism to transfer a fixture from the magazine to the first means; for causing the first means to blank a chip and its leads from the segment mounted in the fixture, for forming the leads of the chip, for causing the first means to lift said chip and its formed leads away from the fixture and to hold said chip; for causing the transfer mechanism to move said fixture to the means for disposing fixtures to cause the fixture to be disposed; for causing the positioning means to move from its first position to a second position so that the substrate in which the chip and its leads held by the first means are directly above a predetermined chip pad and the chip pad's associated chip lead pads; for causing the first means to release said chip, whereby the chip is placed on said predetermined chip pad and each of the leads of the chip is placed on a predetermined chip lead pad associated with said predetermined chip pad; and for causing said positioning means to move to a position in which it is clear of said first means.

Claim 15

The machine of claim 11 in which the control means include a digital computer.

Claim 16

The machine of claim 12 in which the fixtures hold predetermined number of predetermined types of IC chips and said fixtures are stacked in a predetermined order.

Claim 17

The machine of claim 13 in which the first means is a punch press.

Claim 18

The machine of claim 14 in which the positioning means is an X-Y table.

Claim 19

The machine of claim 15 in which the digital computer is provided with the location of the chip pads onto which chips are to be placed in a predetermined order corresponding to the order in which the fixtures holding predetermined types of chips are stacked in the magazine.

Claim 20

A machine comprising: a base; a holder mounted on said base for removably mounting a magazine, a magazine, said magazine being mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of a film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame made of a ductile metal mounted on the segment and an IC chip of a given type being bonded to inner portions of the leads of the lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, predetermined numbers of said fixtures holding predetermined types of IC chips, said fixtues being stacked in said magazine; a punch press for blanking an IC chip and a portion of the chips thin flexible ductile leads from a segment of film, for forming the portion of the leads still attached to the chip, for lifting the chip above its fixture, said punch press having means for temporarily holding a chip, said punch press being mounted on the base; means mounted on said base for disposing of fixtures, transfer mechanism mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from the magazine to the punch press and for transferring a fixture from the punch press to the means for disposing of a fixture; an X-Y table having a movable plate mounted on said base; means for removably mounting a multilayer substrate on the movable plate, a multilayer substrate, said substrate having a plurality of chip pads, each chip pad having a plurality of chip lead pads associated therewith, the locations of said chip pads on said substrate being at predetermined locations and the location of the chip lead pads with respect to their associated chip pads being predetermined, said substrate being positioned on said positioning means; control means; for causing the transfer mechanism to transfer a fixture from the magazine to the punch press; for causing the punch press to blank a chip and its leads fom their segment, for forming the leads of the chip, for causing the punch press to lift said chip and its formed leads away from the fixture and to hold said chip; for causing the transfer mechanism to move said fixture to the means for disposing fixtures to dispose of the fixture; for causing the X-Y table to move its movable plate so that a predetermined chip pad and the chip lead pads associated with said chip pad are under the chip and its leads held by the punch press; for causing the punch press to release the chip, whereby the chip is placed on said predetermined chip pad and each of the leads of the chip is placed on predetermined chip lead pads associated with the chip pad; and for causing the X-Y table to move its movable plate clear of the punch press.

Claim 21

A machine comprising: a base; a holder mounted on said base for removably mounting a magazine, a magazine, said magazine being mounted on said holder; a plurality of segments of a film strip, each segment having a flexible beam lead frame made of a ductile metal mounted on the segment and an IC chip of a given type being bonded to inner portions of the leads of the lead frame; a plurality of fixtures, each fixture holding one of said segments, predetermined numbers of said fixtures holding predetermined types of IC chips, said fixtues being stacked in said magazine; a punch press for blanking an IC chip and a portion of the chips thin flexible ductile leads from a segment of film, for forming the portion of the leads still attached to the chip, for lifting the chip above its fixture, said punch press having means for temporarily holding a chip, said punch press being mounted on the base; means mounted on said base for disposing of fixtures, transfer mechanism mounted on the base for transferring a fixture from the magazine to the punch press and for transferring a fixture from the punch press to the means for disposing of a fixture; an X-Y table having a movable plate mounted on said base; means for removably mounting a multilayer substrate on the movable plate, a multilayer substrate, said substrate having a plurality of chip pads, each chip pad having a plurality of chip lead pads associated therewith, the locations of said chip pads on said substrate being at predetermined locations and the location of the chip lead pads with respect to their associated chip pads being predetermined, said substrate being positioned on said positioning means; control means; for causing the transfer mechanism to transfer a fixture from the magazine to the punch press; for causing the punch press to blank a chip and its leads fom their segment, for forming the leads of the chip, for causing the punch press to lift said chip and its formed leads away from the fixture and to hold said chip; for causing the transfer mechanism to move said fixture to the means for disposing fixtures to dispose of the fixture; for causing the X-Y table to move its movable plate so that a predetermined chip pad and the chip lead pads associated with said chip pad are under the chip and its leads held by the punch press; for causing the punch press to release the chip, whereby the chip is placed on said predetermined chip pad and each of the leads of the chip is placed on predetermined chip lead pads associated with the chip pad; and for causing the X-Y table to move its movable plate clear of the punch press.

Claim 22

The machine of claim 17 in which the control means include a digital computer.

Claim 23

The machine of claim 18 in which the fixtures are stacked in the magazine in a predetermined order.

Claim 24

The machine of claim 19 in which the punch press is provided with means to position accurately the IC chip in the punch press prior to said chip being blanked therefrom.

Claim 25

The machine of claim 19 in which the digital computer is provided with the locations of the centers of the chip pads onto which each chip is to be placed in a predetermined order which is the same order that the fixtures are stacked in the magazine.