Chip sorting machine and chip sorting method

Abstract

This invention discloses a chip sorting machine and a chip sorting method. The chip sorting machine includes at least two sets of discharge tracks, a first transfer module, a second transfer module, and a chip sorting device. Each set of discharge tracks includes a sorting area and a unloading area. The first transfer module is disposed on at least one set of discharge tracks and can move between the sorting area and the unloading area. The first transfer module has at least two carrying areas. The second transfer module is disposed on the remaining discharge tracks and can move between the sorting area and the unloading area. The second transfer module is used to carry and transport trays. The chip sorting device includes a chip picking and placing module, which can move between multiple sets of discharge tracks to sort chips in trays or buffer trays located in the sorting area of ​​the discharge track. The chip sorting machine of this invention reduces the size of the equipment (reduced number of tracks) and minimizes human intervention, thereby increasing the degree of automation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of sorting technology, and in particular to a chip sorting machine and a chip sorting method. Background Technology

[0002] In the semiconductor chip back-end packaging process, defects in chip function and appearance can occur due to factors such as production equipment or environment. As a process control step, chip appearance inspection is crucial to prevent defective products from continuing into subsequent production processes. Traditional manual inspection is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and consistency cannot be guaranteed. Semiconductor chip packaging appearance inspection equipment can replace manual labor, improve production efficiency, and save labor costs.

[0003] Sorting defective chips is a crucial step in the visual inspection of semiconductor chip packaging, separating good and defective chips into different trays. Because there are many types of defects, different types of defective chips must be placed in separate trays during sorting. Furthermore, different types of defective chips within the same tray need to be separated by empty rows or empty chip slots. This necessitates a buffer tray to hold excess chips. The buffer tray is an indispensable part of the sorting logic, and the way it is provided determines the ease of operation of the inspection equipment and affects its overall size.

[0004] Currently, the existing technical solutions provide cache disks in the following ways:

[0005] First, add an independent empty disk (buffer disk) feeding track to the semiconductor chip packaging appearance inspection equipment, which can automatically replenish the buffer disks needed during the sorting process.

[0006] Second, two trays are manually placed on the discharge track of the semiconductor chip packaging appearance inspection equipment: one material tray and one buffer tray. The buffer tray is at the back (with the discharge port as the front), and the material tray is at the front. Each time the material tray is full, it is moved to the discharge port, manually removed, and then a material tray is manually placed to replace it and transported back to the original sorting position.

[0007] However, both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of Option 1 is that both the material tray and the buffer tray are automatically fed, resulting in a high degree of automation; however, the disadvantage is also obvious: the additional track undoubtedly increases the overall size of the equipment. The advantage of Option 2 is that it does not add extra transport tracks, thus not increasing the equipment size; however, its disadvantage is also obvious: as the material tray needs to be changed frequently, it needs to be manually replaced many times, which undoubtedly reduces the automation level of the equipment.

[0008] The information disclosed in this background section is intended only to enhance the understanding of the overall background of the invention and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that the information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The purpose of this invention is to provide a chip sorting machine and chip sorting method that reduces the size of the equipment (by reducing the number of tracks) and minimizes human intervention, thereby increasing the degree of automation.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, embodiments of the present invention provide a chip sorting machine, comprising at least two sets of discharge tracks, a first transfer module, a second transfer module, and a chip sorting device. Each set of discharge tracks includes a sorting area and a unloading area; the first transfer module is disposed on at least one set of discharge tracks and is movable between the sorting area and the unloading area, and the first transfer module is provided with at least two carrying areas for carrying and conveying a tray and a buffer tray, respectively; the second transfer module is disposed on the remaining discharge tracks and is movable between the sorting area and the unloading area, and the second transfer module is used to carry and convey the tray; the chip sorting device includes a chip picking and placing module, which is movable between multiple sets of discharge tracks to sort chips located in trays or buffer trays within the sorting area of ​​the discharge track.

[0011] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each set of the discharge track has a discharge station in its discharge area. The discharge station is set higher than the discharge track, and the height between the discharge station and the discharge track is greater than the height of the material tray or buffer tray.

[0012] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the chip sorting machine further includes a lifting module disposed on the discharge track and located below the unloading station, the lifting module acting on the tray to lift it to the unloading station.

[0013] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, each set of the discharge tracks further includes a loading area; the chip sorting machine further includes a third transfer module, which is disposed on all the discharge tracks and can move between the loading area and the sorting area, and is used to carry and transport the tray to below the chip pick-and-place module.

[0014] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the chip sorting machine further includes a feeding track, on which a feeding station is provided, and the feeding station holds a plurality of trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted.

[0015] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, a tray sorting module is further provided on the feeding track. The tray sorting module is located at the feeding station and is used to convey trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted to the feeding track one by one.

[0016] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the chip sorting machine further includes a conveying device, the conveying device including a conveying module, the conveying module being movable between the feed track and the discharge track to convey a tray fully loaded with chips to be sorted.

[0017] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a chip sorting method based on the chip sorting machine described above. The method includes: providing multiple trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted to multiple discharge tracks, and simultaneously providing an empty buffer tray to the group of discharge tracks equipped with a first transfer module, wherein the buffer tray is located at the front end of the trays in the same group of discharge tracks in the unloading direction; the chip sorting device sorts good chips from all the trays into one of the trays and sorts defective chips into the remaining trays, while placing the redundant chips to be sorted in the buffer tray; the discharge tracks unload the trays fully loaded with good chips and / or unload the trays fully loaded with defective chips, and re-provide trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted, wherein the trays provided to the group of discharge tracks equipped with the first transfer module are located at the rear end of the buffer trays in the same group of discharge tracks in the unloading direction.

[0018] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, when the trays located on the set of discharge tracks provided with the first transfer module are sorted and fully loaded, the first transfer module simultaneously transfers the trays and the buffer trays to the area below the unloading station, and the lifting module drives the trays to rise to unload the trays.

[0019] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, when the first transfer module transfers a fully loaded tray for unloading, the third transfer module transfers the tray fully loaded with chips to be sorted to the area below the chip sorting device, whereby the chip sorting device performs chip sorting; after the tray on the first transfer module is unloaded, the first transfer module moves to the area below the chip sorting device to receive the sorted and fully loaded tray and unload it, wherein the tray is located at the rear end of the buffer tray in the unloading direction.

[0020] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, after a tray full of chips to be sorted is transferred by the third transfer module to the area below the chip sorting device, the third transfer module returns to the loading area to wait for a new tray full of chips to be sorted to be loaded.

[0021] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, before providing multiple trays full of chips to be sorted to multiple discharge tracks and conveying them to the chip sorting device, the method further includes a step of chip detection on the trays full of chips to be sorted in the storage position.

[0022] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the chip sorting device sorts good chips from all trays into one tray and sorts defective chips into the remaining trays, while placing redundant chips to be sorted in all trays into a buffer tray. This includes: the chip sorting device sorts good chips from all trays into one tray based on detection results; selects at least one row / column of storage space from the remaining one or more trays as an interval area; and sorts defective chips from all trays into storage spaces in the selected trays, which are divided by the interval area, according to defective chip category. Redundant chips to be sorted in all trays are placed in the buffer tray.

[0023] In one or more embodiments of the present invention, the chip sorting method further includes: when the buffer tray is full of chips to be sorted, providing an empty tray without chips to any of the discharge tracks, and the chip sorting device sorting the good or defective chips in the buffer tray into the empty tray according to regulations (the empty tray can be used to place defective products or good products, but is generally used to place defective products); then a new round of normal chip sorting steps begins.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the chip sorting machine of the present invention can be used for loading trays on its discharge tracks. At the same time, by setting a first transfer module on one of the discharge tracks, it can be used for loading both trays and buffer trays, and buffer tray loading can be achieved without increasing the size of the equipment.

[0025] The chip sorting machine of this invention, since the material trays need to be replaced frequently, can automatically unload the material trays on all the discharge tracks through the lifting module, thereby minimizing the need for manual replacement of the material trays and improving the automation level of the equipment.

[0026] The chip sorting method of this invention controls the buffer disk to always be located at the front end of the material tray in the discharge direction. This eliminates the need to manually adjust the relative position of the buffer disk and the material tray when the first transfer module receives the material tray, thereby improving the degree of automation and reducing human intervention. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip sorting machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a chip sorting method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments.

[0030] Unless otherwise expressly stated, throughout the specification and claims, the term "comprising" or its variations such as "including" or "comprises" shall be understood to include the stated elements or components without excluding other elements or other components.

[0031] In the semiconductor chip back-end packaging process, defective chip sorting is a crucial step in the visual inspection of semiconductor chip packages. It separates good and defective chips into different trays. Defective chips also need to be sorted into different categories based on their defects to identify the specific type of defect. This allows operators to perform different processing steps on the defective chips in subsequent operations, thereby improving their defects. During chip sorting, the trays need to be partitioned—divided into A and B sections with an empty row or column between them. Therefore, a tray initially full of chips will inevitably have redundant chips with nowhere to go during sorting. Thus, a buffer tray for storing redundant chips is needed during the sorting process.

[0032] As mentioned in the background section, existing semiconductor chip packaging appearance inspection equipment typically adds a loading track for loading buffer trays during chip sorting. However, this undoubtedly increases the overall size of the inspection equipment and the moving distance of the chip sorting device, reducing sorting speed and efficiency. Alternatively, the material trays and buffer trays may be placed manually. However, given the established logic that the material trays needed for sorting defective products are replaced more frequently, while the buffer trays used to store excess chips are replaced less frequently, manually picking up and placing material trays and buffer trays will significantly reduce sorting speed and decrease the automation level of the equipment.

[0033] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention proposes a chip sorting machine and chip sorting method based on the established logical fact that the turnover rate of material trays is high and the turnover rate of buffer trays is low. Without increasing the size of existing equipment, it achieves automated chip sorting, automatic unloading of all material trays, and automatic or manual unloading of buffer trays.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, one embodiment of the present invention provides a chip sorting machine, including a discharge track 10, a first transfer module 20, a second transfer module 30, a third transfer module 40, a lifting module, and a chip sorting device 60.

[0035] Multiple sets of discharge tracks 10 are arranged side by side. Each set of discharge tracks 10 includes a loading area A, a sorting area B, and a unloading area C in the unloading direction. Each set of discharge tracks 10 has an unloading station in the unloading area C. The unloading station is set higher than the discharge track 10, and the height between the unloading station and the discharge track 10 is greater than the height of the tray or buffer tray. A first transfer module 20 is set on at least one set of discharge tracks 10 and can move between the sorting area B and the unloading area C. The first transfer module 20 has at least two carrying areas, which are arranged one after the other in the unloading direction, and are used to carry and transport the buffer tray and the sorted and fully loaded tray, respectively. A second transfer module 30 is set on the remaining discharge tracks 10 and can move between the sorting area B and the unloading area C. The second transfer module 30 is used to carry and transport the sorted and fully loaded tray. The third transfer module 40 is disposed on all the discharge tracks 10 and can move between the loading area A and the sorting area B. The third transfer module 40 is used to carry and transport the trays to the area below the chip sorting device 60. The lifting module is disposed on the discharge track 10 and located below the unloading station. The lifting module acts on the trays to lift them to the unloading station. The chip sorting device 60 includes a chip pick-and-place module 61, which can reciprocate and stop between the sorting areas B of the multiple sets of discharge tracks 10 to sort the chips in the trays or buffer trays on the discharge tracks 10.

[0036] In the above technical solution, the material tray is placed on the third transfer module 40, and is first transferred by the third transfer module 40 from the loading area A of the discharge track 10 to below the chip pick-and-place module 61 in the sorting area B. The buffer tray is placed on the first transfer module 20, and is located in the bearing area at the front end of the first transfer module 20 in the unloading direction. The chip pick-and-place module 61 moves in a direction parallel to the arrangement of the discharge track 10 to sort the chips located in the sorting area B. Since one set of discharge tracks 10 contains both material trays and buffer trays, and the chip pick-and-place module 61 can only accommodate one placement position directly below it, when the chip pick-and-place module 61 is placing redundant chips, the controller (which can be an external controller or a controller built into the machine) controls the third transfer module 40 on that discharge track 10 to immediately return to the loading area A after transferring the material tray to the sorting area B. Then, the first transfer module 20 moves to receive the material tray located in the sorting area B, placing it in the first loading area A. A transfer module 20 is located in the bearing area at the rear end of the feeding direction, and controls the first transfer module 20 to move back and forth, adjusting the position of the material tray and the buffer tray so that the buffer tray is located directly below the chip pick-and-place module 61, allowing the chip pick-and-place module 61 to place redundant chips; when the chip pick-and-place module 61 performs chip sorting, the controller also controls the first transfer module 20 to move, adjusting the position of the material tray and the buffer tray so that the material tray is located directly below the chip pick-and-place module 61, allowing the chip pick-and-place module 61 to sort chips.

[0037] Since at least one tray is needed to store good chips and one tray to store defective chips during the chip sorting process, in this embodiment, the number of discharge tracks 10 is at least two sets. In other embodiments, the number of discharge tracks can be adjusted according to the types of defective chips. For example, if there are four types of defective chips (A, B, C, and D), and each tray for placing defective chips is divided into at most two placement areas, then one tray for good chips and two trays for defective chips are needed, requiring three sets of discharge tracks. Of course, a tray for placing defective chips can also be divided into three, four, or more placement areas, with adjacent placement areas separated by a row / column of storage positions. The number of placement areas is equal to the number of types of defective chips and can be adjusted as needed.

[0038] In this embodiment, the discharge track 10 is equipped with a discharge station on one side of the discharge area C (specifically, the side away from the sorting area B). The discharge station is set higher than the discharge track 10, and the height between the discharge station and the discharge track 10 is greater than the height of the tray or buffer tray. This design allows the buffer tray to pass smoothly through the gap between the discharge station and the discharge track when the first transfer module 20 moves the buffer tray and the tray simultaneously, so that the tray is directly below the discharge station, making it easy for the lifting module to lift it onto the discharge station. When trays full of good or defective chips on other discharge tracks 10 are transferred to the lifting module by the second transfer module 30, the lifting module also lifts them up, so that they reach their respective discharge stations. In other embodiments, the lifting module may also be disposed on the first transfer module 20 and the second transfer module 30, and move with the first transfer module 20 and the second transfer module 30. When the first transfer module 20 and the second transfer module 30 reach the designated position, the lifting module is activated to lift the material tray located thereon, so that it enters the unloading station above.

[0039] The chip sorting device 60 also includes a transverse track 62 horizontally mounted above multiple sets of discharge tracks 10, with the transverse track 62 located above the sorting area B of the discharge tracks 10. The chip pick-and-place module 61 can be controlled to move on the transverse track 62 to sort chips. It is understood that the chip pick-and-place module 61 includes a suction nozzle (not shown) and a first lifting module (not shown), the lifting module driving the suction nozzle to move up and down to pick up chips.

[0040] In order to transport each tray full of chips to be sorted to the discharge track 10, the chip sorting machine of the present invention also includes a feeding track 70, a tray sorting module and a conveying device 90.

[0041] The feeding track 70 is equipped with a feeding station, which holds multiple trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted. The tray sorting module is located at the feeding station of the feeding track 70 and is used to transport the trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted one by one to the feeding track 70.

[0042] In one specific embodiment, multiple trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted are stacked, and the tray sorting module transports the bottom tray fully loaded with chips to the feeding track 70.

[0043] The conveying device 90 includes a transverse track horizontally mounted above multiple sets of discharge tracks 10 and feed tracks 70, located above the loading area of ​​the discharge tracks 10. The conveying device 90 also includes a conveying module 91 movably mounted on the transverse track. The conveying module 91 can move between the feed tracks 70 and discharge tracks 10 to convey trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted to a third moving module 40. After the discharge tracks 10 unload their trays, the tray-separating module separates the bottom tray from the other trays and conveys the bottom tray to the transverse track, while simultaneously supporting the other trays; the conveying module 91 then conveys the tray to the unloaded discharge track 10 (located on the third transfer module 40). It is understood that the conveying module 91 includes an adsorption element (not shown) and a second lifting module (not shown), the second lifting module driving the adsorption element to rise and fall to adsorb the tray.

[0044] In the above embodiments, the tray division method of the tray division module can adopt existing technology, such as the tray division device in the invention application with publication number CN113210275A, which will not be described in detail here.

[0045] In this application, a first transfer module 20 can be set on any discharge track 10. A buffer tray (the buffer tray is at the front end of the discharge direction) is manually placed on the first transfer module 20. In the unloading area C (the area with the unloading station) of the discharge track 10, the tray is transported to the unloading station by lifting using a lifting module. The buffer tray needs to be manually placed on the first transfer module 20.

[0046] In the chip sorting machine of this application, since the buffer disk is replaced very infrequently, or even without replacement, the loading and unloading of the buffer disk can be done manually. Of course, to achieve fully automated sorting, the buffer disk can also be automatically loaded and unloaded, i.e., by adding a buffer disk loading robot.

[0047] Compared with the prior art, the chip sorting machine of the present invention can be used for loading trays on its discharge tracks. At the same time, by setting a first transfer module on one of the discharge tracks, it can be used for loading both trays and buffer trays, and buffer tray loading can be achieved without increasing the size of the equipment.

[0048] The chip sorting machine of this invention, since the material trays need to be replaced frequently, can automatically unload the material trays on all the discharge tracks through the lifting module, thereby minimizing the need for manual replacement of the material trays and improving the automation level of the equipment.

[0049] like Figure 2As shown, the present invention also provides a sorting method for the above-mentioned chip sorting machine, comprising: performing chip detection s1 on a tray full of chips to be sorted in a storage position; providing multiple trays full of chips to be sorted to multiple discharge tracks, and simultaneously providing an empty buffer tray s2 to the group of discharge tracks equipped with a first transfer module, wherein the buffer tray is located at the front end of the trays in the same group of discharge tracks in the unloading direction; the chip sorting device sorts the good chips in all trays into one tray and sorts the defective chips into the remaining trays, and simultaneously places the redundant chips to be sorted in all trays into the buffer tray s3; the discharge track unloads the tray full of good chips and / or unloads the tray full of defective chips, and re-provides a tray full of chips to be sorted s4, wherein the tray provided to the group of discharge tracks equipped with the first transfer module is located at the rear end of the buffer tray in the same group of discharge tracks in the unloading direction.

[0050] The chip sorting machine of the present invention is equipped with a chip detection device (not shown), which is located in the loading area of ​​the discharge track 10. Before entering the chip sorting step, the detection device first performs chip detection on the trays full of chips to be sorted in the storage position to determine whether the chips are good or defective, and to determine the type of defect in the defective chips. This detection process is completed in the loading area A of the discharge track 10. The transfer module 91 transfers the trays full of chips to be sorted on the feeding track 70 to the third transfer module 40 for detection by the detection device. After the inspection is completed, multiple sets of discharge tracks 10 transport multiple trays full of inspected chips to be sorted to the area below the chip pick-and-place module 61 via the third transfer module 40. Then, the third transfer module 40 returns to the loading area A to wait for a new tray full of chips to be sorted for loading and inspection. For the trays located in the sorting area B, the controller selects one tray as the tray for placing good chips and selects one or more remaining trays as the trays for placing defective chips. One row / column of the storage position in the one or more trays for placing defective chips is used as an interval area. Based on the inspection results of the inspection device, the chip pick-and-place module 61 sorts the good chips in all trays into the trays selected for placing good chips, and sorts the defective chips in all trays into the storage positions of the various placement areas formed by the interval areas in the remaining trays according to the defective product category. During the chip sorting process, some redundant chips will be generated. At this time, the first transfer module 20 carrying the buffer disk moves, and another carrying area on it receives the tray in the sorting area of ​​the discharge track 10, and drives the tray to continue moving until the buffer disk is directly below the chip pick-and-place module 61. The chip pick-and-place module 61 puts the chip that needs to be buffered into the buffer disk, and then the first transfer module 20 drives the buffer disk and the tray to move simultaneously, so that the tray is directly below the chip pick-and-place module 61. The chip pick-and-place module 61 continues to sort; the process is repeated.

[0051] When the tray containing good chips is full, the tray full of good chips is unloaded at the unloading station, and a tray full of chips to be sorted is provided to the detection device. That is, a tray is provided to the third transfer module on the unloaded discharge track 10. The detection device performs detection, and the chip pick-and-place module 61 continues to sort based on the detection results.

[0052] When the placement area of ​​the tray containing defective chips is full, the first transfer module 20 simultaneously transports the buffer tray (front) and the tray (rear) to the unloading area C (the tray is located directly below the unloading station). The tray is lifted by the lifting module and enters the unloading station. The first transfer module 20 moves, taking the buffer tray back to the sorting area B to receive the next tray full of chips to be sorted. The detection device performs detection, and the chip pick-and-place module 61 continues to sort based on the detection results.

[0053] To improve sorting efficiency, when the first transfer module 20 or the second transfer module 30 transfers a fully loaded tray for unloading, the third transfer module 40 moves the fully loaded tray of chips to be sorted below the chip sorting device 60, whereby the chip sorting device 60 performs chip sorting. After the tray on the second transfer module 30 is unloaded, the second transfer module 30 moves below the chip sorting device 60 to receive the sorted and fully loaded tray and unload it. Similarly, after the tray on the first transfer module 20 is unloaded, the first transfer module 20 moves below the chip sorting device 60 to receive the tray to be sorted and control its movement along with the buffer tray, facilitating the chip sorting device 60's sorting and unloading. The tray is located at the rear end of the buffer tray in the unloading direction.

[0054] When the buffer tray is full of chips to be sorted, an empty tray without chips is provided to any of the discharge tracks 10. The chip sorting device 60 sorts the good or defective chips in the buffer tray into the empty tray according to the regulations (the empty tray can be used to place defective or good chips, but it is generally used to place defective chips); then a new round of normal chip sorting steps begins.

[0055] In the above embodiments, the specific structures of the first transfer module 20, the second transfer module 30 and the third transfer module 40 can adopt the transfer modules in the prior art, as long as they can realize the transfer and transportation of the material tray.

[0056] In this embodiment, the number of good chips in a tray full of chips to be sorted is greater than the number of defective chips. Therefore, in this embodiment, the tray storing good chips will be full first, and after unloading, at least one tray full of chips to be sorted will be provided again. The tray storing defective chips will also be full of defective chips of different defective categories, and then unloading will be performed to provide a new tray full of chips to be sorted, and so on.

[0057] The chip sorting method of this invention controls the buffer disk to always be located at the front end of the material tray in the discharge direction. This eliminates the need to manually adjust the relative position of the buffer disk and the material tray when the first transfer module receives the material tray, thereby improving the degree of automation and reducing human intervention.

[0058] The foregoing description of specific exemplary embodiments of the invention is for illustrative and explanatory purposes. These descriptions are not intended to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and it will be apparent that many changes and variations can be made in accordance with the foregoing teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the specific principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling those skilled in the art to implement and utilize various different exemplary embodiments of the invention, as well as various different choices and variations. The scope of the invention is intended to be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A chip sorting machine, characterized in that, include: At least two sets of discharge tracks, each set of discharge tracks includes a loading area, a sorting area and a unloading area, and the unloading area of ​​each set of discharge tracks is provided with an unloading station. The unloading station is set higher than the discharge track, and the height between the unloading station and the discharge track is greater than the height of the material tray or buffer tray. A first transfer module is provided on at least one of the discharge tracks and can move between the sorting area and the unloading area. The first transfer module is provided with at least two carrying areas, which are used to carry and transport the material tray and the buffer tray respectively. The second transfer module is disposed on the remaining discharge track and can move between the sorting area and the unloading area. The second transfer module is used to carry and transport the material tray. A chip sorting device includes a chip picking and placing module, which can move between multiple sets of discharge tracks to sort chips in trays or buffer trays located in the sorting area of ​​the discharge track. A lifting module is disposed on the discharge track and located below the unloading station. The lifting module acts on the material tray to lift it to the unloading station. The third transfer module is disposed on all the discharge tracks and can move between the loading area and the sorting area. The third transfer module is used to carry and transport the tray to the bottom of the chip pick-and-place module.

2. A chip sorting method, based on the chip sorting machine as described in claim 1, characterized in that, include: Multiple trays fully loaded with chips to be sorted are provided to multiple discharge tracks, while an empty buffer tray is provided to the same group of discharge tracks equipped with a first transfer module, and the buffer tray is located at the front end of the trays in the same group of discharge tracks in the feeding direction. The chip sorting device sorts good chips from all the trays into one tray and sorts defective chips into the remaining trays. At the same time, it places the redundant chips to be sorted in all the trays into a buffer tray. The discharge track unloads a tray full of good chips and / or a tray full of defective chips, and then provides a tray full of chips to be sorted. The trays provided to the group of discharge tracks equipped with the first transfer module are located at the rear end of the buffer tray of the same group of discharge tracks in the unloading direction.

3. The chip sorting method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, When the trays on the discharge track equipped with the first transfer module are sorted and fully loaded, the first transfer module simultaneously transfers the trays and the buffer trays to the area below the unloading station, and the lifting module drives the trays to rise to unload them.

4. The chip sorting method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, When the first transfer module unloads a fully loaded tray, the third transfer module moves the tray full of chips to be sorted to the area below the chip sorting device, where the chip sorting device sorts the chips. After the tray on the first transfer module is unloaded, the first transfer module moves to the area below the chip sorting device to receive the sorted and fully loaded tray and unload it, wherein the tray is located at the rear end of the buffer tray in the unloading direction.

5. The chip sorting method as described in claim 4, characterized in that, After the tray full of chips to be sorted is moved to the bottom of the chip sorting device by the third transfer module, the third transfer module returns to the loading area to wait for a new tray full of chips to be sorted.

6. The chip sorting method as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Before supplying multiple trays full of chips to be sorted to multiple discharge tracks and conveying them to the chip sorting device, the process also includes a chip inspection step on the trays full of chips to be sorted in the storage location.

7. The chip sorting method as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The chip sorting device sorts good chips from all trays into one tray and defective chips into the remaining trays. Simultaneously, it places redundant chips awaiting sorting in all trays into a buffer tray, including: The chip sorting device sorts good chips from all the trays into one of the trays based on the detection results, selects at least one row / column of the remaining one or more trays as an interval area, and sorts defective chips from all the trays into the storage areas of the selected trays divided by the interval area according to the defective product category. The chips to be sorted that are redundant in all the trays are placed in the buffer tray.

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