Apparatus for efficient transfer of electronic devices

Abstract

An apparatus for the fast and efficient transfer of integrated circuits between three locations: an input location, a test site location, and an output location. The apparatus includes a front and a rear work press assembly for transferring integrated circuits between the locations and for applying pressure during testing. The work press assemblies is constructed of a variable length shaft coupled to an arm extension which is coupled to a work press. The work press assemblies can each move between three horizontal positions, a first horizontal position associated with the input location, a second horizontal position associated with the test site location, and a third horizontal position associated with the output location. The work press assemblies move independently of one another. While one work press assembly is applying pressure to an integrated circuit during testing at the test site location, the other work press assembly is transferring a tested integrated to the output location and then move back past the test site location to the input location to pick up an untested integrated circuit. The work press assemblies each move horizontally in a separate but parallel planes to one another so that they may pass each other without colliding.