Test station

Abstract

A station for testing electrical devices under elevated and depressed temperature conditions, said devices being transported through and tested in the station while held in coordinated planar sets. The planarly arranged sets of devices are sequentially placed upon a platen movable along three mutually orthogonal axes. A test head has a plurality of electrical device contactors in planar arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the devices sets. At least one axis along which the platen moves is orthogonal to a general plane of the contactors for establishing parallel contact between the devices and the contactors. During testing each of the leads of the devices resting upon the platen are electrically contacted by a contactor. The leads of the full set of electrical devices can be contacted simultaneously, or the leads can be contacted in subsets depending upon the capacity of the test head. The test head energizes and stimulates the electrical devices, and the responses of the devices are communicated to a tester via the test head. Prior to being deposited upon the platen, the planarly arranged sets of electrical devices are conveyed through a chamber which elevates or depresses the temperature of the devices to a selected testing temperature. Following testing, the sets of electrical devices are conveyed through a chamber which brings the temperature of the devices back to or near equilibrium with the temperature ambient to the test center.