The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 02, 1993
Filed:
Aug. 12, 1992
Gregory E Beers, Austin, TX (US);
Francis W Bogaczyk, Austin, TX (US);
Michael A Rubsam, Austin, TX (US);
Henry E Wattenbarger, Pflugerville, TX (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
The method and apparatus of the present invention permit the visual inspection of electronic component leads during the mounting thereof. A hot bar thermode or other mounting tool is provided having a plurality of thermally activatable blades. A vacuum chuck and associated vacuum pump are utilized to selectively mount an integrated circuit device such that the conductive leads of the device are disposed adjacent to the lower surfaces of the thermally activatable blades. A low angle light source is then utilized to illuminate the integrated circuit device conductive leads such that a high contrast is created between the conductive leads and the lower surface of the thermally activatable blades, in order to permit an accurate visual inspection of the conductive leads. In one embodiment of the present invention, the lower surfaces of the thermally activatable blades are given a uniform grain by lapping those surfaces in a single direction to minimize the specularity of these surfaces and the angle of illumination is adjusted to enhance the contrast between the conductive leads and the lower blade surfaces. A camera disposed below the hot bar thermode may then be utilized to permit remote visual inspection of the conductive leads of an integrated circuit device while it is present within the mounting tool.