Testing Equipment for Electric Components

The present invention relates to testing equipment for electric components and, more specifically, to a kind of testing equipment generally referred to as ageing equipment, "burn-in equipment" or "debugging equipment", in which the components to be tested are operated under the condition of being maintained at a constant high temperature.

There is known testing equipment of the kind mentioned above, which comprises: a high-temperature section including a homoiothermic chamber in which a plurality of components to be tested are contained and heated to a constant high temperature; a low-temperature section including a driving circuit generating signals for the operation of the components to be tested, and electric power sources for the driving circuit and the components to be tested; and connecting means for an electrical connection between the high-temperature and low-temperature sections.

In this known equipment, however, there is a problem in the electric connection between the high-temperature and low-temperature sections. Conventionally, these equipment sections are interconnected by using a cable or a printed board. In the construction wherein the cable is used, the cable is rather long and exerts a harmful influence upon the electrical characteristics of the equipment. Moreover, the connection and disconnection of the cable to and from the equipment sections requires a long working time. Accordingly, when either of the equipment sections has broken down, the repair thereof often requires a half or one whole day. In the case of using the printed board, on the other hand, the printed board performs both of the functions of feeding high-frequency signals and feeding the electric power. This fact makes maintenance of the equipment difficult. Moreover, the connection and disconnection of the printed board to and from the equipment sections also requires a long working time. Furthermore, the cable or the printed board is disposed in a space between the equipment sections and disturbs the ventilation for heat insulation between the equipment sections.

It is an object of the present invention to provide improved testing equipment for electric components of the aforementioned kind, in which the connection between the high-temperature and low-temperature sections is improved to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional equipment.

More specifically, the present invention provides testing equipment for electric components of the aforementioned kind, in which the high-temperature section comprises a first printed board contained in a homoiothermic chamber, on which the components to be tested are mounted, the low-temperature section comprises a second printed board on which the driving circuit is mounted, and the connecting means comprises a connecting unit including: a third printed board disposed outside the homoiothermic chamber, one of the surfaces of the third printed board facing the wall of the homoiothermic chamber with a space therebetween; a first connector jack mounted on the one surface of the third printed board through electrical conductor pins and attached to the wall of the homoiothermic chamber; and a second connector jack mounted on the other surface of the third printed board. The first and second printed boards are removably connected to the first and second connector jacks, respectively, and the electric power sources are connected to the third printed board.

Preferably, the third printed board of the connecting unit forms a wall of the low-temperature section, and the space between the third printed board and the homoiothermic chamber provides a ventilation passage for heat insulation between the high-temperature and low-temperature sections.

The present invention will now be described in detail based on a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings; in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of testing equipment for electric components according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged and partially sectional plan view of the portion designated by a reference "II" in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of a connecting unit, seen along a line "III--III" in FIG. 2.

Referring to the figures, the illustrated testing equipment generally comprises a high-temperature section H, a low-temperature or normal-temperature section L, and a connecting unit C for electrical connection between the sections H and L. The high-temperature section H comprises a homoiothermic chamber 10, in which a plurality of electric components 11 such as IC or LSI, which are to be tested, are contained and heated to a constant high temperature of about 150.degree. to 200.degree. C. The components 11 are mounted on first printed boards 12 contained in the homoiothermic chamber 10.

The low-temperature section L comprises a second printed board 13, on which is mounted a driving circuit which generates signals for the operation of the components 11 to be tested. For simplifying the drawings, only components 14 of this driving circuit only are illustrated in FIG. 2. Although not illustrated, the low-temperature section L also includes electric power sources for the driving circuit and the components 11 to be tested.

The connecting unit C generally comprises a third printed board 15, first connector jacks 16 and second connector jacks 17. The third printed board 15 is disposed outside the homoiothermic chamber 10, so that one of the surfaces of the printed board 15 faces the wall of the homoiothermic chamber 10 with a space 18 therebetween. The printed board 15 is removably secured to the wall of the homoiothermic chamber 10 by suitable fasteners 19, such as screws. The first connector jacks 16 are mounted on the surface of the third printed board 15, facing the wall of the homoiothermic chamber 10, through electrical conductor pins 20. The distance between the printed board 15 and the connector jacks 16 is for example, 20 to 30 mm. The connector jacks 16 are also attached to the wall of the homoiothermic chamber 10. The wall of the chamber 10 is provided with openings 10a, through which the edge portions of the first printed boards 12 pass and are connected to the connector jacks 16. The second connector jacks 17, on the other hand, are mounted on the other surface of the third printed board 15. The edge portion of the second printed board 13 is connected to the second connector jacks 17. Moreover, the third printed board 15 is connected to the electric power sources through connecting cables 21. The third printed board 15 is provided with printed conductor patterns (not illustrated) which provide electrical connections between the conductor pins 20, the connector jacks 18 and the cables 21, so that the electric power is fed to the components 11 to be tested and the driving circuit, and the high-frequency signals are fed from the driving circuit to the components 11 to be tested.

The printed board 15 of the connecting unit C forms a wall of the low-temperature section L, and the space 18 between the printed board 15 and the wall of the homoiothermic chamber 10 provides a ventilation passage, through which cool air is blown as illustrated by the arrows A, for heat insulation between the sections H and L.

In the above-described equipment according to the present invention, the length of the connection between the sections H and L is fairly small and, accordingly, the electrical characteristics of the equipment can be improved in contrast with conventional equipment.

Moreover, the conductor pins 20 disposed in the space or ventilation passage 18 have small cross sections and do not disturb the ventilation. Accordingly, the equipment of the present invention has good heat insulation characteristics.

Furthermore, the equipment according to the present invention is convenient. That is, the first and second printed boards 12 and 13 can be easily connected to and disconnected from the connecting unit C. In addition the connecting unit C can be attached to and detached from the homoiothermic chamber 10. Accordingly, when the equipment breaks down, the disassembly of the equipment, the discovery of malfunctioning portions, the repair of parts and the reassembly of the equipment can be easily performed.