Test head manipulator configured to handle uncontrolled rotation of the test head.

Abstract

An exemplary test head manipulator includes a tower having a base and a track, the track being perpendicular to the base, and an arm to provide support for the test head. The arms are connected to the track to move the test head perpendicular to the tower, and the arms are configured to control rotation of the test head. Each of the arms includes a rotatable cam and at least one plunger in contact with the cam and configured to contact the test head. Rotation of the cams is controllable to move the at least one plunger to counteract uncontrolled rotation of the test head.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification generally relates to a test head manipulator configured to address rotation of an uncontrolled test head.

Background Art

[0002] An automatic test equipment (ATE) includes a test head that houses test electronics for performing tests on a device under test (DUT). In some ATEs, multiple (DUTs) are connected to a device interface board (DIB). The test head mates with the DIB to establish electrical connections with the DUTs and performs various tests through these connections. A manipulator is a type of device that transports the test head within the test equipment.

Summary of the Invention

[0003] An exemplary test head manipulator includes a base, and a tower having a track that is perpendicular to the base, and an arm for enabling support for the test head. The arm is connected to the track to move the test head perpendicular to the tower, and the arm is configured to control the rotation of the test head. Each of the arms includes a cam that is rotatable, and at least one plunger that contacts the cam and is configured to contact the test head. The rotation of the cam is controllable to move at least one plunger to cancel out the rotation of the uncontrolled test head. The exemplary test head manipulator may include one or more of the following features, alone or in combination.

[0004] At least one plunger may include two plungers. The two plungers may be oriented in opposite directions relative to the test head, so that each of the two plungers is in contact with a different portion of the test head. The rotation of the cam may cause longitudinal movement of the two plungers, which is transmitted to the test head to counteract uncontrolled rotation. The cross section of the cam may have a radius that changes continuously along at least a portion of each cross section.

[0005] The two plungers may include a first plunger on the first side of the cam. The first plunger may include a first roller in contact with the cam. The two plungers may include a second plunger on the second side of the cam. The second plunger may include a second roller in contact with the cam. The first and second plungers may be separated by approximately 180° such that the first plunger faces towards the upper part of the arm of the test head manipulator and the second plunger faces towards the lower part of the arm. The cam may be located between the first and second plungers. The cam may be controllable to rotate relative to the first and second plungers such that different parts of the cam contact the first and second plungers at different angles of rotation.

[0006] The cam may include a first angle structure and a second angle structure that are rotatable about the same axis. The first angle structure may have a first radius that varies along a portion of the first angle structure, and the second angle structure may have a second radius that varies along at least a portion of the second angle structure. The first radius may increase in the first angle direction, and the second radius may increase in the second angle direction. The first angle direction may be opposite to the second angle direction. At the maximum radius of the first angle structure, the first angle structure may have a linear edge discontinuity connecting the maximum radius to the minimum radius of the first angle structure. At the maximum radius of the second angle structure, the second angle structure may have a linear edge discontinuity connecting the maximum radius to the minimum radius of the second angle structure. The first and second angle structures may each be constrained to rotations less than 360°. The first and second angle structures may each be constrained to rotations between 0° and 145°.

[0007] At least one plunger may include a ball configured to contact a portion of the test head. The ball may be rotatable in at least the tumble and theta directions relative to the arm of the test head manipulator. The ball may be supported by a plurality of balls, each of which is rotatable relative to the ball, and the ball may be rotatable relative to each of which is which.

[0008] At least one plunger may include a housing for housing a ball, a shaft to which the housing is connected, and at least one spring that is at least partially compressible to change the longitudinal dimension of at least one plunger. At least one plunger may include a roller for contacting a cam. The roller may be configured to transmit to the plunger the displacement caused by the rotation of the cam.

[0009] The test head manipulator may include a handle, at least part of which is located outside the arms of the test head manipulator. The handle may be mechanically connected to a cam. The handle may be controllable to manually rotate the cam. The cam may be controllable to rotate within ±1.5° or less, and to move at least one plunger to counteract the test head. There may be two arms and two plungers, with one plunger on each arm. The test head manipulator may include one or more motors to drive the movement of the arms along the track.

[0010] An exemplary test head manipulator for transporting a test head includes a tower having a base and a track, the track being perpendicular to the base, and arms for enabling support for the test head. The arms are connected to the track to move the test head perpendicular to the tower. The arms are configured to control the rotation of the test head. Each of the arms includes means for compensating for uncontrolled rotation of the test head. An exemplary test head manipulator may include one or more of the following features, individually or in combination:

[0011] Means for counteracting uncontrolled rotation may include two plungers facing in opposite directions, each configured to contact a different portion of the test head, and a rotatable cam. Each plunger may be configured to contact the cam. The rotation of the cam may cause longitudinal movement of the plungers transmitted to the test head to counteract uncontrolled rotation. The test head manipulator may also include a handle, at least part of which is outside the arms of the test head manipulator. The handle may be mechanically connected to the cam. The handle may be controllable to manually rotate the cam.

[0012] By combining any two or more of the features described herein, including the section on the summary of this invention, implementations not specifically described herein can be formed.

[0013] At least parts of the systems and technologies described herein may be configured or controlled by executing instructions stored on one or more non-temporary machine-readable storage media on one or more processing units. Examples of non-temporary machine-readable storage media include read-only memory, optical disk drives, memory disk drives, and random-access memory. At least parts of the systems and technologies described herein may be configured or controlled using a computing system comprising one or more processing units and memory storing instructions that can be executed by one or more processing units to perform various control operations. The systems and technologies described herein, as well as their components and variations thereof, may be configured, for example, through design, construction, configuration, arrangement, programming, operation, activation, deactivation, and / or control.

[0014] Details of one or more implementations are illustrated in the attached drawings and the following description. Other features and advantages will become apparent from those descriptions, drawings, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1] This figure shows an exemplary test head manipulator and a partially transparent perspective view of the test head. [Figure 2A] This figure shows a cross-sectional front view of an exemplary arm portion included within a test head manipulator. [Figure 2B] This figure shows a cross-sectional side view of the arm portion of Figure 2A. [Figure 3A] This is a photograph showing a perspective view of the arm portion of the test head manipulator. [Figure 3B] This figure shows a front view of the handle on the arm of Figure 2A at various rotational positions. [Figure 3C] This figure shows a front view of the handle on the arm of Figure 2A at various rotational positions. [Figure 3D] This figure shows a front view of the handle on the arm of Figure 2A at various rotational positions. [Figure 4] A perspective view of a ball assembly included in a plunger that is part of the arm of FIG. 2A is shown. [Figure 5A] A perspective view of components included in an exemplary cam assembly that is part of the arm of FIG. 2A is shown. [Figure 5B] A perspective view of components included in an exemplary cam assembly that is part of the arm of FIG. 2A is shown. [Figure 5C] An exploded view of components included in an exemplary cam assembly of FIGS. 5A and 5B is shown. [Figure 6A] A perspective view of an exemplary plunger that is part of the arm of FIG. 2A is shown. [Figure 6B] A cut-away side view of an exemplary plunger of FIG. 6A is shown. [Figure 6C] An exploded view of an exemplary plunger of FIG. 6A is shown. [Figure 7A] A cut-away front view of an exemplary portion of the arm of FIG. 2A is shown. [Figure 7B] Includes figures showing cut-away front views of the plunger and cam at various angles of rotation. [Figure 8] A perspective view of an exemplary manipulator and the controlled motion that can be performed thereby is shown.

[0016] Like reference numerals in different drawings indicate like elements.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] What is described herein is an exemplary implementation of a test head manipulator for transporting a test head. The test head is configured to hold a printed circuit board (PCB) and transport or manipulate the PCB with respect to a test system. For example, the manipulator can hold, transport, and manipulate a device interface board (DIB). In this regard, the DIB includes mechanical and electrical interfaces to one or more devices under test (DUTs) that are being tested or are to be tested by a test system, such as an automatic test equipment (ATE). An exemplary manipulator includes a base and a tower having a track that is perpendicular to the base, and an arm for enabling support for the test head. The arm is connected to the track to move the test head perpendicular to the tower. The arm is also configured to control the movement of the test head, such as rotation. Each arm includes a cam that is rotatable and at least one plunger that contacts the cam and is configured to contact the test head. The rotation of the cam can be uncontrolled rotation or can be controllable to move at least one plunger to counteract the test head.

[0018] As described above, the movement or operation that can be performed by the manipulator includes rotating the test head. Referring to FIG. 8, for example, a test head manipulator 5 is configured to move a test head 6 up and down, in and out, and left and right. The manipulator 5 is also configured to perform tumble rotation, theta rotation, twist rotation, and swing rotation for the test head 6. These movements are controlled and can be performed, for example, in response to commands or manual movements to position the test head in a desired location and orientation. For example, the test head can be rotated 90°, 180°, 270°, or 360°.

[0019] However, in some cases, uncontrolled angular rotation of the test head may occur. For example, the weight distribution of the DIB or other structures on the test head may be uneven, for instance, the DIB may have more weight on its leading edge 7 compared to its trailing edge 8. This additional weight can cause uncontrolled rotation of the test head. For example, in the orientation shown in Figure 8, such uneven weight distribution can cause small uncontrolled tumble rotational angular displacement of the test head. In an example where the test head is rotated 90°, the uneven weight distribution can cause small uncontrolled theta rotational angular displacement of the test head. To address these uncontrolled rotations, the cam and plunger are configured and controllable to adjust the rotation of the test head. In one example, the cam and plunger are configured to perform a controlled rotation of approximately ±1.5° to counteract or offset the uncontrolled rotation. However, the manipulators described herein are not limited to any specific values ​​for angular rotation correction enabled by the cam and plunger. The operation of the cam and plunger may be manually controlled. However, in some implementations, their operation may be computer-controlled.

[0020] Figure 1 shows an exemplary implementation of the test head manipulator 10. The manipulator 10 may, but is not required to, have the same structure and capabilities as the manipulator 5 in Figure 8. The manipulator 10 includes a tower 15, tracks 13a and 13b, and arms 14a and 14b. The tower 15 includes a base 11 and a track 12. In this example, the base 11 is connected to the track 12 and configured to move along the track 12.

[0021] As described above, the tower 15 includes two vertical tracks 13a and 13b, one on each side of the manipulator 10. As shown in Figure 1, the tracks 13a and 13b are arranged along the vertical length of the tower 15. In some implementations, the tracks 13a and 13b are arranged along the entire vertical length of the tower, and in some implementations, the tracks 13a and 13b are arranged along only a portion of the vertical length of the tower (e.g., less than the entire length). The arms 14a and 14b are mounted on the tracks 13a and 13b via a support structure 18. In this configuration, for example, the support structure 18 is connected to the tracks 13a and 14b, and the arms 14 are connected to the support structure. The support structure 18 is configured to move vertically along the tracks 13a and 13b, and therefore, the arms 14a and 14b are also configured to move vertically along the tower 15. The support structure 18 is also configured to perform the movement shown in Figure 8. In this regard, one or more motors (not shown) are configured and positioned to drive the movement of the support structure 18, and consequently the arm 14, along tracks 13a and 13b. In some implementations, the arms 14a and 14b are configured and controllable to rotate between 0° and 180° in the direction of arrow 17. In some implementations, the arms 14a and 14b are configured and controllable to rotate between 0° and 360° in the direction of arrow 17. One or more motors (not shown) are configured and positioned to control these rotations and other rotations as described with respect to Figure 8.

[0022] Arm 14 is configured and controlled to hold the test head 20. As described above, the test head 20 is part of the ATE and may include test electronics such as pin electronics, test instruments, or similar for testing the DUT. In this regard, as described above, in some implementations the DUT is connected to a DIB that provides electrical and mechanical connections between the DUT and the test head. As shown in Figure 8, the DIB 9 may be held by the test head. In some implementations, motor-driven vertical movement brings the test head 20 into contact with the DIB.

[0023] In some cases, the unevenly distributed weight of the DIB, or on it, may cause small, uncontrolled rotations of the test head, for example, relative to arms 14a and 14b, and around axis 21. These uncontrolled rotations are undesirable and can adversely affect the movement and subsequent positioning of the DIB within the test system. These uncontrolled rotations are referred to as "rotational errors." In the examples described herein, components within arms 14a and 14b of the manipulator 10 are configured and positioned to at least partially compensate for these rotational errors. In some implementations, the components are located within the forward section 22 of each arm 14a and 14b. In some implementations, the components may be located in the middle or rear of the arm.

[0024] Figure 2A shows a cross-sectional front view of the front section 22 of arm 14a from the direction of arrow 4 in Figure 1. Figure 2B shows a side view of the portion of the front section 22 of arm 14a from the direction of arrow 3 in Figure 1. Arm 14b may have a structure similar to or identical to that shown in Figures 2A and 2B. Therefore, only the structure of arm 14a is described herein. Arm 14a includes a cam 23. In this example, the cam 23 is part of a cam assembly that includes a rotatable object configured to transmit its rotational motion to plungers 24 and 25. This moves at least one or both portions of the plungers linearly in the direction of arrow 2. In some implementations, each arm 14a, 14b includes a cam and two plungers in the configuration shown in Figures 2A and 2B. In some implementations, each arm may include a cam and a single plunger (not shown in the figures).

[0025] In this example, the cam 23 is in contact with plungers 24 and 25 in a configuration where each plunger 24 and 25 is positioned on different sides of the cam 23. For example, plunger 24 is positioned at a 180° angle to plunger 25. Therefore, plungers 24 and 25 face opposite directions, and thus each plunger contacts different parts of the test head 20—for example, the upper 100 and lower 101 of the groove or recess 103 in the test head 20 shown in Figure 1. For example, as shown in Figures 2A and 2B, plunger 24 is facing the upper part of arm 14a and plunger 25 is facing the lower part of arm 14a. "Upper" and "lower" here refer to and are not intended to be limiting to parts of arm 14a in the configuration shown in Figure 1. The oppositely positioned plungers are used to compensate for rotational errors in different orientations of the test head—for example, when it is upside down.

[0026] As shown in the figure, the cam 23 is located between the plungers 24 and 25 in this example and is in direct physical contact with them. In this regard, plunger 24 includes a roller 26 that contacts the cam 23, and plunger 25 includes a roller 27 that contacts the cam 23. Plunger 24 also includes a roller 71 that contacts portion 100, the test head 20, and plunger 25 includes a roller 72 that contacts portion 101 of the test head 20. Each roller 26, 27 may include a ball assembly having the configuration shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, the exemplary roller 26 includes a ball 71 supported by a plurality of (six in this example) balls 69 within a housing 68—for example, in direct contact with them. Each of the plurality of balls 69 is rotatable relative to the ball 71, and the ball 71 is rotatable relative to each of the plurality of balls 68. Similarly, the ball 71 is in direct contact with the test head 20, but the contact is not fixed. That is, the ball 71 may rotate as the test head moves, allowing the plunger to correct the angular position of the test head 14a as described herein. For example, the plunger may apply a force to the test head via the ball 71. This force may cause angular movement of the test head, during which the ball 71 rotates to allow continuous angular movement of the test head.

[0027] Referring again to Figures 2A and 2B, the cam 23 is also mechanically connected to the handle 30, which is also shown in Figures 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D. Through this mechanical connection, the handle 30 controls the rotation of the cam 23, thereby allowing it to be manually rotated to control the tension in the plunger and the rotation of the test head 20. Therefore, by rotating the handle 30 to the various angles shown in Figures 3B to 3D, the cam 23 also rotates relative to the plunger, so that at different angles of rotation, different parts of the cam 23 contact the plunger, resulting in different longitudinal movements of the plungers 24 and 25. Since the plungers 24 and 25 are in contact with the test head 20, their longitudinal movement is transmitted to the test head 20, causing angular movement of the test head 20. In the configuration shown in Figures 3A to 3D, the handle 30 is located outside the arm 14a.

[0028] Figure 5A shows an exemplary configuration of the cam assembly. Figures 5B and 5C show the cam 23 in its assembled and disassembled positions, respectively, connected to the handle 30. As shown, the cam 23 includes an angular structure 28 that varies along a portion of the angular structure 28 and has a radius 31 reaching a maximum radius 31', and an angular structure 29 that varies along a portion of the angular structure 29 and has a radius 32 reaching a maximum radius 32'. As shown in Figures 5A to 5C, the radius 31 increases in the angular direction 33, and the radius 32 increases in the angular direction 34. In this example, the angular direction 33 is opposite to the angular direction 34. Thus, the cross-section of the cam 23 has a radius that varies continuously along the portion of each cross-section.

[0029] The angular structure 28 includes a linear edge discontinuity 38 connecting the maximum radius 31' to the minimum radius 31. The linear edge discontinuity 38 of the angular structure 28 is located at the maximum radius 31'. Similarly, the angular structure 29 includes a linear edge discontinuity 39 connecting the maximum radius 32' to the minimum radius 32. The linear edge discontinuity 39 of the angular structure 29 is located at the maximum radius 32'. The angular structures 28 and 29 are rotatable about the same axis 36. In some implementations, the angular structures 28 and 29 can each rotate between 0° and 360°. In some implementations, the angular structures 28 and 29 are constrained to rotate between 0° and 145°. In some implementations, the rotation is constrained so as not to pass through each linear edge discontinuity, i.e., so as not to fall through each discontinuity.

[0030] The cam 23 is connected to the handle 30 through a rod 35 and a plate 40. The rod 35 is a cylindrical structure 37, which includes a ring 43 connected to its end 42. The ring 43 is fixedly attached to the rod 35 at the end 42. In some implementations, the ring 43 is configured to move along an axis 36 on the outer surface of the cylinder 37. The rod 35 passes through a central tubular hole 41 that passes through the cam 23, so that the end 44 of the rod 35 passes through the central tubular hole 41, a hole 46 in the plate 40, and enters a through hole 45 in the handle 30. The central tubular hole 41 of the cam 23 is along a longitudinal axis 36 and may extend from an angle structure 28 through an angle structure 29. In this example, the plate 40 is positioned between the cam 23 and the handle 30 to connect the cam 23 and the handle 30 to an arm of a manipulator, such as arm 14a. The plate 40 includes a hole 48 for attaching the handle 30 to the arm 14a using a pin 53. As described above, to secure the handle 30 to the arm and also to the cam 23, the rod 35 passes through the through hole 41 in the cam 23, through the hole 46 in the plate 40, and into the through hole 45 in the handle 30. A pin 49 passes through the hole 50 in the handle 30 and also through the hole 51 in the rod 35 to secure the rod 35 to the handle 30.

[0031] Figures 6A to 6C show exemplary implementations of plungers 24 and 25. Each plunger 24 and 25 may have the same structure and function. Therefore, only one plunger 24 is described herein. Plunger 24 includes a housing 70 for housing the ball assembly described with respect to Figure 4. Referring also to Figure 1, the balls 71 of the ball assembly are configured to rotate in multiple degrees of freedom, including, but not limited to, the directions of arrows 17 and 19. Plunger 24 includes a shaft 72. The shaft 72 includes an upper end 77 and a lower end 78. The upper end 77 includes a shoulder portion 76 connected to the housing 70 by a rod 79. The rod 79 has an upper end 81 and a lower end 82. The upper end 81 includes a step 83 containing a hole 85. When plunger 24 is assembled, the step 83 is positioned within the housing 70. An O-ring 80 and a pin 84 pass through holes 90 and 85 in the housing 70 to secure the housing 70 to the rod 79 and the plunger 24. The housing 70' is connected to the lower end 78 of the shaft 72 by a structure 86. The structure 86 includes a rod and a ring 87 fixedly attached to the structure. The rod includes an upper portion 88 and a lower portion 89. The upper portion 88 has a larger radius than the lower portion 89. The ring 87 is located at the top of the rod, between the upper portion 88 and the lower portion 89. The lower portion 89 can be secured to the housing 70' by the O-ring 80' and a pin 84' inserted into through holes 85' and 90'. When the plunger 24 is assembled, the ring 87 is located on the end 78 of the shaft 72 near the cam 23, and the upper portion 88 is located inside the spring 74 along its longitudinal direction.

[0032] As shown in Figures 6A to 6C, the shaft 72 accommodates multiple springs 74—in this example, two springs. The springs 74 are at least partially compressible to change the longitudinal dimension of the plunger 24. The springs 74 are arranged along the longitudinal axis of the shaft 72. A plate 75 is positioned between the two springs 74. In the example of Figures 6A to 6C, the two springs 74 are identical in structure and length. In some implementations, the springs 74 are not identical. In some implementations, the plunger 24 contains only one spring 74 or more than two springs.

[0033] As described above, the tension on the handle 30 is transmitted to the cam 23. The cam 23 transmits the displacement caused by its rotation to the plunger 24 through its roller 26. Since the plunger 24 is in contact with the test head 20 through the ball 71, the transmitted displacement of the plunger 24 can move the test head through the spring 74. The floating connection between the ball 71 and the test head allows for rotation of the test head to counteract the uncontrolled / undesirable rotation described above.

[0034] Figure 7A is a front view of a test head manipulator arm containing components similar to those in Figure 2A. Figure 7B is a side view of the exemplary arm of Figure 7A, showing the different linear positions of plungers 24 and 25 at various rotation angles of cam components 23a and 23b, respectively, at various levels of torque applied to the handle. As described above, the tension / force on the handle 30 rotates the cam 23. As shown in Figure 7B, the loads on plungers 24 and 25 change at different rotation angles of the cam 23. Therefore, when the cam 23 is rotated to a particular angle, the load on plunger 24 is different from the load on plunger 25.

[0035] This specification describes exemplary implementations of “tests” and “test systems,” but the devices described herein can be used in any suitable system and are not limited to test systems or the exemplary test systems described herein.

[0036] Tests performed as described herein, including the control of at least a portion of the test head manipulator, can be implemented and / or controlled using hardware or a combination of hardware and software. For example, a test system as described herein may include various controllers and / or processing units located in various places. A central computer can coordinate the operation across the various controllers or processing units. The central computer, controllers, and processing units execute various software routines to bring about the control and coordination of the test and calibration.

[0037] Tests involving the control of a manipulator can be controlled, at least in part, using one or more computer program products, such as one or more computer program products tangibly embedded in one or more information carriers, such as one or more non-temporary machine-readable media, for execution by or control of one or more data processing devices, such as a programmable processor, a computer, multiple computers, and / or a programmable logical component.

[0038] Other embodiments not specifically described above can be formed by combining elements of the various implementations described herein. Elements described herein can be excluded from the structure without adversely affecting its operation. Furthermore, various distinct elements can be combined into one or more individual elements to perform the functions described herein.

Claims

1. A test head manipulator, A tower having a base and a track perpendicular to the base, An arm for enabling support for the test head, the arm being connected to the track to move the test head perpendicular to the tower; Equipped with, The arm is configured to control the rotation of the test head. Each of the arms includes a rotatable cam and at least one plunger that contacts the cam, The at least one plunger is configured to contact the test head, A test head manipulator in which the rotation of the cam can be controlled to move the at least one plunger so as to counteract the uncontrolled rotation of the test head.

2. The aforementioned at least one plunger includes two plungers, The two plungers are oriented in opposite directions relative to the test head, so that each of the two plungers contacts a different portion of the test head. The test head manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the cam causes longitudinal movement of the two plungers transmitted to the test head to counteract the uncontrolled rotation.

3. The test head manipulator according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of cross-sections of the cam have a radius that changes continuously along at least a portion of each cross-section.

4. The two plungers mentioned above are, A first plunger on the first side of the cam, comprising a first roller that contacts the cam, A second plunger on the second side of the cam, comprising a second roller that contacts the cam, and Includes, The cam is located between the first plunger and the second plunger. The test head manipulator according to claim 2, wherein the cam is controllable to rotate relative to the first plunger and the second plunger such that different portions of the cam contact the first plunger and the second plunger at different rotation angles.

5. The cam includes a first angle structure and a second angle structure that are rotatable about the same axis. The first angle structure has a first radius that varies along the portion of the first angle structure, The test head manipulator according to claim 4, wherein the second angle structure has a second radius that varies along at least a portion of the second angle structure.

6. The first radius increases in the first angular direction, The second radius increases in the second angular direction, The test head manipulator according to claim 5, wherein the first angular direction is opposite to the second angular direction.

7. In the first angular structure, at the maximum radius, the first angular structure includes a linear edge discontinuity connecting the maximum radius to the minimum radius of the first angular structure. The test head manipulator according to claim 6, wherein, at the maximum radius of the second angular structure, the second angular structure includes a linear edge discontinuity connecting the maximum radius to the minimum radius of the second angular structure.

8. The test head manipulator according to claim 7, wherein the first angle structure and the second angle structure are each constrained to rotations less than 360°.

9. The test head manipulator according to claim 7, wherein the first angle structure and the second angle structure are each restricted to rotations between 0° and 145°.

10. The test head manipulator according to claim 4, wherein the first plunger and the second plunger are separated by approximately 180° such that the first plunger faces the upper part of the arm of the test head manipulator and the second plunger faces the lower part of the arm.

11. The at least one plunger includes a ball configured to contact a portion of the test head, The test head manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the first ball is rotatable at least in the tumble and theta directions relative to the arm of the test head manipulator.

12. The aforementioned ball one is supported by multiple balls, Each of the aforementioned multiple balls is rotatable relative to the one ball, The test head manipulator according to claim 11, wherein the first ball is rotatable relative to each of the plurality of balls.

13. The at least one plunger is A housing for accommodating the aforementioned ball, The shaft to which the housing is connected, At least one spring that is at least partially compressible to change the longitudinal dimension of the at least one plunger A test head manipulator according to claim 11, including the following:

14. The at least one plunger includes a roller that contacts the cam, The test head manipulator according to claim 13, wherein the roller is configured to transmit the displacement caused by the rotation of the cam to the plunger.

15. The test head manipulator further comprises a handle, at least a portion of which is located outside the arm of the test head manipulator, The handle is mechanically connected to the cam, The test head manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the handle is controllable to manually rotate the cam.

16. The test head manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the cam is controllable to move the at least one plunger to counteract rotations of the test head of ±1.5° or less.

17. There are two arms and two plungers. The test head manipulator according to claim 1, wherein each of the arms is associated with one plunger.

18. The test head manipulator according to claim 1, further comprising one or more motors for driving the movement of the arm along the track.

19. A test head manipulator for transporting a test head, A tower having a base and a track perpendicular to the base, A plurality of arms enabling support for the test head, the arms being connected to the track to move the test head perpendicular to the tower, and Equipped with, The arm is configured to control the rotation of the test head. Each of the arms includes means for counteracting the uncontrolled rotation of the test head, The means for canceling out the uncontrolled rotation is, Two plungers facing in opposite directions, Rotatable cam and Includes, Each of the plungers is configured to contact a different portion of the test head. Each of the plungers is configured to contact the cam, A test head manipulator in which the rotation of the cam causes longitudinal movement of the plunger transmitted to the test head to counteract the uncontrolled rotation.

20. The test head manipulator further comprises a handle, at least a portion of which is located outside the arm of the test head manipulator, The handle is mechanically connected to the cam, The test head manipulator according to claim 19, wherein the handle is controllable to manually rotate the cam.

Images