JPH05341007A - Printed wiring board inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an inspecting device for printed circuit boards embodied in high density with a high reliability, which is capable of easily generating tester connections with the inspecting circuit electrically with high efficiency despite its individual respond type. CONSTITUTION:An inspecting device for printed circuit boards is furnished with an off-grid adapter 10 and inspecting head 20 to be placed on the applicable board to be inspected 1. The head has an inspection electrode plate device 22 fitted with inspection electrodes 21 in lattice arrangement, wherein those of the inspection electrodes 21 in mutually mating positions in each of a plurality of functional regions are connected electrically with one another to form a common electrode. The off-grid adapter 10 and inspecting head 20 are positioned on both surfaces of the board, and two of such common electrodes consisting of inspection electrodes 21 positioned in those segment regions of inspection electrode plate device which are not overlapped one over the other are conected electrically with each other. The inspecting head 20 is installed on a pressing mechanism removably.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printed wiring board inspection device for inspecting the performance of a printed wiring board.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printed wiring board on which an integrated circuit or the like is mounted is electrically connected to the printed circuit board before mounting the integrated circuit or the like in order to confirm that the wiring pattern of the printed wiring board has desired performance. It is necessary to inspect the characteristics. Conventionally, the method of inspecting this printed wiring board is basically to have the inspection electrodes arranged according to the arrangement pattern of the electrodes to be inspected of the printed wiring board to be inspected. A method of using a test electrode device of an individual type electrically connected to a test circuit of a tester and a test electrode device called a universal type in which test electrodes are formed at standard grid point positions arranged vertically and horizontally are provided. There is known a method of combining an electrode to be inspected on an inspection printed wiring board with a connector for connecting an inspection electrode of this inspection electrode device, and the like.

At present, in the field of printed wiring boards,
There is a tendency that the degree of integration of elements and the densification of patterns are further promoted, and accordingly, the densification of test electrodes is also required in the test electrode apparatus. However,
In the individually-corresponding type inspection electrode device, since the inspection electrode having the pattern corresponding to the electrode to be inspected of the printed wiring board to be inspected is required, the inspection circuit can be efficiently used as compared with the universal type. On the other hand, in the end, it is necessary to form the densified test electrodes in the same manner as the test electrodes by using a spring probe or the like, so that it is difficult to manufacture the test electrode device and the cost is very high. There are serious problems.

Further, in the universal type inspection electrode device, the distance between the adjacent inspection electrodes forming a pair with the inspection circuit of the tester is constant, and the inspection electrode having the densified inspection electrodes is inspected. In order to inspect the printed wiring board, some of the electrodes to be inspected may be electrically connected to the inspection electrodes at the closest positions in the inspection electrode device. However, for some other electrodes to be inspected, it is often necessary to electrically connect them to the inspection electrodes at positions that are considerably separated from each other in the inspection electrode device. This is because the density of the electrodes to be inspected is considerably higher than the density of the inspection electrodes. And as a result,
It is necessary to increase the wiring density in the connector, but there is a limit to increasing the density. Further, in practice, there are many test electrodes that cannot be effectively used, and there is a problem that there is much waste in terms of efficiency and the device.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional printed wiring board inspection apparatus, it is difficult to sufficiently cope with the desired high density of the electrodes to be inspected. The structure of the inspection electrode device becomes complicated, and it is difficult to sufficiently achieve high density of the wiring pattern in the connector for achieving electrical connection, and highly reliable inspection cannot be performed.

The object of the present invention is basically an individualized inspection device, but it is possible to easily achieve electrical connection to the inspection circuit of the tester with high efficiency, and it is possible to achieve high reliability and high reliability. An object of the present invention is to provide a printed wiring board inspection device capable of inspecting a densified printed wiring board.

Another object of the present invention is to sufficiently achieve electrical connection to a test circuit of a tester with high efficiency even when the printed wiring board has electrodes to be inspected on both sides thereof. An object of the present invention is to provide a printed wiring board inspecting device capable of inspecting a highly densified printed wiring board with high reliability.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a printed wiring board inspection apparatus which can easily substitute and use a different inspection mechanism of an electrical connection system for an electrode to be inspected of a printed wiring board to be inspected. Especially.

[0009]

A printed wiring board inspection apparatus according to the present invention comprises an off-grid adapter arranged on a printed wiring board to be inspected, and an inspection head arranged on the off-grid adapter. Have
The off-grid adapter has a front surface electrode having a pattern corresponding to an electrode to be inspected of a printed wiring board to be inspected on the front surface, and a back surface arranged at a grid point position electrically connected to the front surface electrode on the back surface. A pitch conversion board having electrodes, and a first anisotropic conductive sheet disposed between the surface of the pitch conversion board and the printed wiring board to be inspected, and the inspection head includes a second anisotropic conductive sheet. And a test electrode plate device having a grid-like test electrode electrically connected to the back surface electrode of the pitch conversion board via the second anisotropic conductive sheet. The inspection electrode plate device has a plurality of functional regions having the same inspection electrode arrangement, and the inspection electrodes arranged at corresponding positions in each of the functional regions are electrically connected to each other. Common electrode is formed, characterized in that.

The printed wiring board inspecting apparatus of the present invention is provided with the above-mentioned off-grid adapter and the inspection head on both sides of the inspected printed wiring board. The common electrode in one inspection electrode plate device related to the inspection head is electrically connected to the common electrode in the other inspection electrode plate device related to the other inspection head on the other surface side of the printed wiring board to be inspected. , The inspection electrodes related to the two common electrodes electrically connected to each other are located in the partition regions that do not vertically overlap each other in one inspection electrode plate device and the other inspection electrode plate device. Is characterized by.

The printed wiring board inspection apparatus of the present invention further comprises a pressing mechanism including an off-grid adapter and a pressing plate for pressing the inspection head against the inspected printed wiring board, and the inspection head is pressed by the pressing mechanism. It is characterized in that it is detachably attached to the mechanism.

[0012]

According to the above-mentioned structure, the test electrode which is electrically connected to a certain test electrode of the test printed wiring board exists in each of the plurality of functional areas of the test electrode plate apparatus, and therefore the test electrode is inspected. And the tester inspection circuit can be electrically connected with a large degree of freedom, the number of terminals to be connected to the tester inspection circuit is greatly reduced, and the inspection electrodes in each functional area are shared electrodes. By doing so, the utilization efficiency of the entire inspection electrode is increased.

Further, one inspection is performed by electrically connecting the inspection electrodes related to the common electrodes in the partitioned areas that do not overlap each other in each of the inspection electrode plate devices provided on both sides of the inspected printed wiring board. Greater degree of freedom can be obtained in the electrical connection between the electrodes and the test circuit of the tester, and the number of connections to the test circuit can be reduced.

Further, since the inspection head is detachably provided in the pressing mechanism for pressing the inspection electrode plate device related to the inspection head, the inspection head and the off-grid adapter can be detached. It is possible to easily substitute and use a different inspection mechanism of the electrical connection system for the electrodes to be inspected of the inspection printed wiring board.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing the structure of the main part of an example of a printed wiring board inspection apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an inspected printed wiring board to be inspected, on which electrodes 2 to be inspected are formed. The inspection heads 20 are arranged on the upper surface side and the lower surface side of the inspected printed wiring board 1 via the off-grid adapters 10, respectively.

The off-grid adapter 10 comprises a pitch conversion board 13 and a first anisotropic conductive sheet 14 arranged between the pitch conversion board 13 and the printed wiring board 1 to be inspected. On the surface of the pitch conversion board 13 on the inspected printed wiring board 1 side, a surface electrode 11 having a pattern facing the inspected electrode 2 of the inspected printed wiring board 1 is formed. A back surface electrode 12 electrically connected to the front surface electrode 11 is formed on the back surface in a state of being arranged at lattice point positions.

The inspection head 20 includes an inspection electrode plate device 22.
The inspection electrode plate device 22 and the pitch conversion board 1
And a second anisotropic conductive sheet 23 disposed between the inspection electrode plate device 22 and the third anisotropic conductive sheet 23. That is, the inspection electrodes 21 are formed so as to be arranged at all the lattice point positions. In this inspection electrode plate device 22, as will be described later, in order to reduce the number of inspection points corresponding to the number of electrodes of the inspection circuit 30 of the tester, a wiring circuit 28 for making each inspection electrode 21 a common electrode is provided. The external lead-out terminal portion 29 is formed at one end of the inspection electrode plate device 22 by a part of the wiring circuit 28 while being formed in a multi-layered structure, and each terminal of the external lead-out terminal portion 29 is detachably connected. The connector 25 is connected to the test circuit 30 of the tester.

Reference numeral 31 is a pressing plate for pressing down the inspection electrode plate device 22 of the inspection head 20 on the upper surface side.
It is detachably attached to a pressing mechanism (not shown). The pressing plate 31 is provided so that the reference level in the pressing direction (downward in the drawing), that is, the reference level at which the pressing operation is not started, can be adjusted. A receiving plate 32 made of an elastic cushioning material is arranged on the lower surface of the inspection electrode plate device 22 on the lower surface side.

Inspection electrode plate device 2 in inspection head 20
2 will be specifically described. FIG. 2 shows an inspection electrode element 26 used as the inspection electrode plate device 22. The inspection electrode element 26 is formed by forming inspection electrodes p on one surface of a rectangular plate-shaped insulating substrate at standard grid point positions arranged vertically and horizontally according to a so-called universal arrangement. The inspection electrode element 26 has a total of four functional areas A, B, C, and D (upper left in FIG. 2, which is a rectangle in which one surface area is divided into two in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction as shown by a chain line and is equal to each other. Upper right, lower left, and lower right) are formed, and in each of the functional areas A to D, the inspection electrodes p arranged vertically and horizontally in the same arrangement as each other.
Have.

Now, in each of the functional areas A to D, the vertical m
In order to specify the inspection electrodes p arranged in rows and n columns in the horizontal direction, the inspection electrodes p in the position of the m-th row and the n-th column are specified.
In the case where the address display of (m, n) is specified and further up to the functional area is specified, symbols A to D indicating the functional area are added to the head of the address display. For example, the inspection electrode in the first row, first column in the functional area A is A (1,
It is represented by 1).

Functional areas A to D of the inspection electrode element 26
The inspection electrodes p at the corresponding positions in each of the above are electrically connected to each other by a connecting member. That is, there are a total of four test electrodes p having the same address display (m, n) in each of the functional areas A to D, but the four test electrodes p having the same address display are electrically connected to each other. To make a physical connection. The inspection electrodes electrically connected to each other are referred to as "common electrodes" in this specification,
It is represented by P (m, n). Therefore, a certain common electrode P (m, n) is a test electrode A (m, n), B (m, n) as four branched terminals that are electrically connected.
n), C (m, n) and D (m, n).

The electrical connection of the inspection electrodes having the same address indication (m, n) as described above may be achieved by an appropriate connecting member, and the specific configuration or means is not limited. .. In the inspection electrode plate device 22 in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the inspection electrode element 26 as described above is used.
Although the connecting member is formed by forming the wiring circuits 28 in multiple layers on the insulating substrate, it is also possible to form the connecting member by an appropriate lead wire. Then, the inspection electrode p of the inspection electrode element 26 forms the inspection electrode 21 of the inspection electrode plate device 22.

The first anisotropic conductive sheet 14 and the second anisotropic conductive sheet 23 in the illustrated example are both electrically conductive in the thickness direction of the sheet. The second anisotropic conductive sheet 23 is used as the inspection electrode 2 of the inspection head 20.
1. A large number of conductive path forming portions 24 arranged at positions corresponding to 1
Is formed in a protrusion shape in the thickness direction on at least one surface, and has a function of improving electrical contact stability.

In the printed wiring board inspecting apparatus having the above-described structure, the inspected printed wiring board 1 is provided between the pressing plate 31 and the receiving plate 32 of the pressing mechanism via the off-grid adapter 10 and the inspection head 20. By pressing, each of the electrodes 2 to be inspected of the printed wiring board 1 to be inspected is electrically connected to any of the inspection electrodes 21 of the inspection head 20, and thereby to the inspection circuit 30 of the tester. The desired inspection is performed. In this pressed state, since the receiving plate 32 on the lower surface side is made of the elastic cushioning material, the pressing force applied to the inspection head 20 and the off-grid adapter 10 by the pressing plate 31 has a uniform pressure distribution as a whole.

Thus, in the inspection electrode plate device 22 of the inspection head 20, the inspection electrodes 21 are formed in the same arrangement state in the plurality of functional regions, and the inspection is performed at the corresponding position in each functional region. Since the electrodes 21 are electrically connected to each other by the wiring circuit 28 and are used as a common electrode, the inspection electrode 21 that is electrically connected to a certain electrode 2 to be inspected is present in each of the functional areas, and therefore the inspected electrode 2 is in contact. The electrical connection between the electrode 2 and the tester inspection circuit 30 can be performed with a large degree of freedom, and the number of terminals to be connected to the tester inspection circuit 30 may be the number of common electrodes. Significantly reduced compared to the total number of.
As a result, even if the electrode 2 to be inspected on the inspected printed wiring board 1 is formed in a very high density at a specific location, a common electrode in a functional region separated from the location. By using the test electrodes at the positions dispersed by the common electrode, so to speak,
The required electrical connection can be easily achieved and a highly reliable test can be performed.

Further, in the inspection electrode plate device 22, the inspection electrode p in each functional region of the inspection electrode element 26 is made a common electrode, so that the inspection electrode element 26
Since the use efficiency of all the inspection electrodes p is high, the number of useless inspection electrodes is significantly reduced, and the inspection can be performed with extremely high efficiency.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, one inspection electrode plate device 50 arranged on the upper surface side of the inspected printed wiring board 1, the other inspection electrode plate device 60 arranged on the lower surface side of the inspected printed wiring board 1 and its related parts. Only shown. In this example, one inspection electrode plate device 50 is formed with two functional regions 50A and 50B arranged in one direction (X direction in the drawing), and the functional regions 50A and 50B are arranged in the same arrangement. The inspection electrode p is formed and each functional region 5
The inspection electrodes p at the same position in 0A and 50B, for example, the inspection electrodes 50A (1,1) in the functional region 50A.
And the inspection electrode 50B (1,1) in the functional region 50B are electrically connected by the connection member 51. In FIG. 3, the connecting member 51 is shown to be made of wire, but in practice it is preferable to use a multilayer wiring circuit as described above.

Also, in the other inspection electrode plate device 60, just as in the one inspection electrode plate device 50,
Two functional regions 60A and 60B arranged in the X direction are formed, and the inspection electrodes p located at the same position in each functional region 60A and 60B are electrically connected by the connection member 61.

The common electrodes of the one inspection electrode plate device 50 are further electrically connected to the common electrodes of the other inspection electrode plate device 60 by the second connecting member 70. In this way, the inspection electrodes related to the two common electrodes electrically connected to each other by the second connection member 70 are sections that do not overlap with each other in the inspection electrode plate device 50 on one side and the inspection electrode plate device 60 on the other side. It is located in the area.

For example, in FIG. 3, one inspection electrode plate device 50 is divided into two similar division regions 50a and 50b arranged in the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction, as indicated by the division line D. In addition to partitioning, the other inspection electrode plate device 60 is similarly partitioned into two similar partitioning regions 60a and 60b arranged in the Y direction. Here, in the example of the drawing, for the sake of explanation, it is assumed that there are 11 inspection electrodes p in each of the partitioned regions.

Then, the other inspection electrode plate device 6 which does not vertically overlap the partitioned area 50a of the one inspection electrode plate device 50.
0 and the divided area 60b, as well as the divided area 50b
In the partition area 60a, the inspection electrodes p related to the common electrode in the corresponding order are electrically connected to each other. In the figure, the inspection electrode 50B (1,1) belonging to the functional region 50B and the partitioned region 50a and the inspection electrode 60B (1,11) belonging to the functional region 60B and the partitioned region 60b are electrically connected by the connecting member 70A. Electrode 50A connected to the functional area 50A and belonging to the partitioned area 50b
(1,11) and the inspection electrode 60A (1,1) belonging to the functional area 60A and belonging to the partitioned area 60a are electrically connected by the connecting member 70B. Then, the other inspection electrodes p are also electrically connected by the second connecting member 70 in the same manner.

In this embodiment, each of the inspection electrode plate devices 50 and 60 has two functional areas, and corresponding inspection electrodes are electrically connected to each other between the functional areas. Between the inspection electrode plate device 50 and the other inspection electrode plate device 60, the inspection electrodes related to the common electrode in the partitioned areas that do not vertically overlap are electrically connected to each other. According to the same principle as in the case of the common electrode, a large degree of freedom can be obtained in the electrical connection between one test electrode p and the test circuit 30 of the tester, and the number of connections to the test circuit 30 can be reduced. it can.

In this example, since each of the test electrode plate devices 50 and 60 has two functional regions, the corresponding test electrodes are electrically connected to each other between the functional regions. The members 51 and 61 are easily arranged, and can be easily realized as a multilayer wiring circuit.

In the above, the actual second connecting member 70
The electrical connection by means of, for example, a tester inspection circuit 30
It can also be implemented in the wiring of the electric path leading to.
That is, the wiring from one inspection electrode plate device 50 to the tester inspection circuit 30 and the wiring from the other inspection electrode plate device 60 to the tester inspection circuit 30 may be connected at appropriate positions. Furthermore, this electrical connection can also be realized in the test circuit 30 of the tester. As described above, in the case of achieving the electrical connection by the second connecting member on the wiring, it is not necessary to actually provide the second connecting member between the inspection electrode plate devices, so that the upper and lower inspections are performed. Complicated construction in the space between the heads 20 is avoided.

Further, as described above, a pressing plate for pressing downward the inspection electrode plate device 22 relating to the inspection head 20 on the upper surface side constituting the inspection device is detachably provided in the pressing mechanism. Since the inspection head 20 and the off-grid adapter 10 can be removed, it is possible to easily substitute and use a different inspection mechanism of the electrical connection system for the electrodes to be inspected of the printed wiring board to be inspected. It is possible to effectively utilize the advantages of various inspection mechanisms.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the terminal holding plate 4
2, the spring probe 41 is arranged corresponding to the arrangement pattern of the electrodes 2 to be inspected of the printed wiring board 1 to be inspected, and the spring probe 41 is electrically connected to the inspection circuit 30 of the tester by the wire wiring 43 for use. Although the personalized inspection mechanism 80 is widely used, it is easy to replace and use the personalized inspection mechanism 80 instead of the inspection head 20 and the off-grid adapter 10. Uselessness or desolation of existing equipment is avoided.

As described above, when another inspection mechanism having a different electrical connection system is used as a substitute, the pressing plate 31 is provided so that the reference level in the pressing direction (downward in the drawing) can be adjusted. As a result, the pressing mechanism can be used with sufficient reliability even when the total thickness of the other inspection mechanism is different. Furthermore, by making the connector 25 also detachable, it is possible to commonly use the connection mechanism for the tester inspection circuit.

[0038]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the electrical connection between the electrodes to be inspected of the printed wiring board to be inspected and the inspection circuit of the tester is made highly efficient even though it is basically an individualized inspection device. In addition, it is possible to provide a printed wiring board inspection device that can be easily achieved with a large degree of freedom and that can inspect a printed wiring board having a high density with sufficiently high reliability.

Moreover, the inspection head uses the inspection electrode plate device in which the inspection electrodes are arranged in a universal arrangement, but the inspection head forms a common electrode, so that the inspection head is effectively used. Since the number of test electrodes that cannot be tested is reduced, it is possible to test the test electrodes in a test area having a larger area with respect to the test area having the same test electrode density, and to obtain anisotropic conductivity. The off-grid adapter that uses the sheet enables highly reliable inspection of the printed wiring board.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even when the printed wiring board has the electrodes to be inspected on both sides, the inspection electrode plate devices provided on both sides of the inspected printed wiring board do not overlap with each other in the vertical direction. By electrically connecting the inspection electrodes related to the common electrode in the partitioned area, a greater degree of freedom can be obtained in the electrical connection between the electrode to be inspected and the inspection circuit of the tester, and a connection terminal for the inspection circuit. The number can be reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the inspection head and the off-grid adapter can be removed by detachably providing the inspection head to the pressing mechanism for pressing the inspection electrode plate device related to the inspection head. As a result, it is possible to easily substitute and use a different inspection mechanism of the electrical connection system for the inspected electrodes of the inspected printed wiring board.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a main part in an embodiment of a printed wiring board inspection apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a test electrode element used as the test electrode plate device in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of two inspection electrode plate devices according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an example of an individualized inspection mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspected printed wiring board 2 Inspected electrode 10 Off-grid adapter 11 Front surface electrode 12 Back surface electrode 13 Pitch conversion board 14 1st anisotropic conductive sheet 20 Inspection head 21 Inspection electrode 22 Inspection electrode plate device 23 2nd anisotropic Conductive sheet 24 Conductive path forming portion 25 Connector 26 Inspection electrode element 28 Wiring circuit 29 External lead terminal portion 30 Inspection circuit 31 Pressing plate 32 Elastic cushioning material 41 Spring probe 42 Terminal holding plate 43 Wire wiring 50 One inspection electrode plate device 50A , 50B
Functional area 50a, 50b Partition area 60A, 60B
Functional area 60a, 60b Partition area 51 Connection member 60 Other inspection electrode plate device 61 Connection member 70, 70A, 70B Second connection member 80 Individualized inspection mechanism p Inspection electrode A, B, C, D Functional area

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An off-grid adapter arranged on a printed wiring board to be inspected to be inspected, and an inspection head arranged on the off-grid adapter, wherein the off-grid adapter is provided on a surface thereof. A pitch conversion board having a front surface electrode having a pattern corresponding to an electrode to be inspected of a printed wiring board to be inspected and having a back surface electrode arranged at a lattice point position electrically connected to the front surface electrode on the back surface, The first anisotropic conductive sheet is disposed between the surface of the pitch conversion board and the printed wiring board to be inspected, and the inspection head includes a second anisotropic conductive sheet and the second anisotropic conductive sheet. A test electrode plate device having a grid-like array of test electrodes electrically connected to the back electrode of the pitch conversion board via a unidirectional conductive sheet. Having a plurality of functional regions having the same inspection electrode arrangement, and the inspection electrodes arranged at corresponding positions in each of the functional regions are electrically connected to each other to form a common electrode, An inspection device for printed wiring boards. 2. The off-grid adapter and the inspection head according to claim 1 are provided on both sides of the inspected printed wiring board, respectively, and one inspection of one inspection head on one surface side of the inspected printed wiring board is performed. The common electrode in the electrode plate device is electrically connected to the common electrode in the other inspection electrode plate device related to the other inspection head on the other surface side of the printed wiring board to be inspected, and is electrically connected to each other. The test electrodes relating to the two common electrodes are located in partitioned areas that do not overlap with each other in one test electrode plate device and the other test electrode plate device. Inspection equipment. 3. A pressing mechanism including an off-grid adapter and a pressing plate for pressing the inspection head against the printed wiring board to be inspected, wherein the inspection head is detachably mounted on the pressing mechanism. The printed wiring board inspection device according to claim 1.