Boundary tracking method and apparatus to find leads
US6035066A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 2, 1995 |
| Grant date | Mar 7, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 2, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/14
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A system to find wirebonded leads by obtaining an image of the crescent formed on a lead after wire bonding, or a difference image (taken from an image of the lead before bonding and the crescent and wire formed after bonding) to create an intermediate image having the desired rotation and registration characteristics. Using a caliper or other wire-finding tool, the invention locates the wire and generates a threshold value for a boundary tracker that will make the located wire the expected width. An alternative preferred embodiment uses the gray value of an edge of the wire as the threshold. An optional artificial boundary is created as a limit for a boundary tracker. The invention then applies a boundary tracker to the intermediate image using the threshold value generated and any artificial boundary created. It then applies a corner finder that restricts starting corner orientations and analyzes the boundary and its features to find crescent tips and extrema to obtain measurements for inspection.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.