Soldering station with automatic soldering connection validation
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
B23K-001/00
B23K-003/00
B23K-003/02
B23K-031/02
H05K-013/08
B23K-003/03
B23K-003/08
G01N-021/27
G01K-007/16
출원번호
US-0340384
(2016-11-01)
등록번호
US-9629295
(2017-04-18)
발명자
/ 주소
Marino, Kenneth D.
Nguyen, Hoa
출원인 / 주소
OK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
대리인 / 주소
Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
0인용 특허 :
16
초록▼
A soldering iron station and a method thereof for a soldering joint connection validation, the method including: identifying a type of the soldering cartridge being used; performing a preliminary validation by measuring the soldering tip temperature, after the soldering event has started; monitoring
A soldering iron station and a method thereof for a soldering joint connection validation, the method including: identifying a type of the soldering cartridge being used; performing a preliminary validation by measuring the soldering tip temperature, after the soldering event has started; monitoring the power level delivered to the soldering tip to detect liquidus occurrence; determining the thickness of an intermetallic component (IMC) of the soldering joint; determining whether the thickness of the IMC is within a predetermined range, within a predetermined cooling time period; and indicating that a reliable soldering joint connection is formed, when the thickness of the IMC is within the predetermined range, within the predetermined cooling time period.
대표청구항▼
1. A soldering station comprising: a soldering cartridge having a soldering tip;a power supply for delivering power to the soldering tip;an indicator; anda processor including associated circuits for determining a thickness of an intermetallic component (IMC) of a soldering joint formed by the solde
1. A soldering station comprising: a soldering cartridge having a soldering tip;a power supply for delivering power to the soldering tip;an indicator; anda processor including associated circuits for determining a thickness of an intermetallic component (IMC) of a soldering joint formed by the soldering tip performing a soldering operation, based on a temperature of the soldering tip, and determining whether the thickness of the IMC is within a predetermined range, whereinthe indicator indicates that a reliable soldering joint connection is formed, when the processor determines the thickness of the IMC is within the predetermined range. 2. The soldering station of claim 1, wherein the processor further performs a preliminary validation by measuring a temperature of the soldering tip. 3. The soldering station of claim 1, wherein the processor further monitors a power level delivered to the soldering tip to detect liquidus occurrence; and determines the thickness of the IMC based on detected liquidus occurrence. 4. The soldering station of claim 1, wherein determining whether the thickness of the IMC is within a predetermined range is performed within a predetermined cooling time period. 5. The soldering station of claim 1, further comprising a memory for storing data related to the cartridge, and wherein the processor identifies the type of the soldering cartridge being used and obtains information related to the identified cartridge by retrieving data from the memory. 6. The soldering station of claim 5, wherein data related to the cartridge stored in the memory includes one or more of a part number, lot code, a serial number, a total usage, a total point, a tip mass/weight, a tip configuration, an authentication code, a thermal efficiency, and a thermal characteristic. 7. The soldering station of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the soldering tip. 8. The soldering station of claim 1, wherein the processor detects the liquidus occurrence when the monitored power is declining from a peak. 9. A method performed by a soldering station for a soldering joint connection validation, the soldering station including a soldering cartridge having a soldering tip, the method comprising: determining that a soldering event has started by measuring a power level delivered to the soldering tip, within a predetermined time period;monitoring the power level delivered to the soldering tip to detect liquidus occurrence;determining a thickness of an intermetallic component (IMC) of the soldering joint as a function of soldering time and soldering tip temperature, after detecting the liquidus occurrence;determining whether the thickness of the IMC is within a predetermined range; andindicating that a reliable soldering joint connection is formed, when the thickness of the IMC is within the predetermined range. 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising identifying a type of the soldering cartridge being used by the soldering station and obtaining information related to the identified cartridge. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein identifying a type of the soldering cartridge being used and obtaining information related to the identified cartridge comprises retrieving data from a memory within the soldering station, or from a memory remote from the soldering station. 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising performing a preliminary validation by measuring a soldering tip temperature, after the soldering event has started. 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the soldering tip temperature is determined by measuring an impedance of the soldering tip and determining the soldering tip temperature as a function of the measured impedance. 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the soldering tip temperature is determined by defining a thermal efficiency factor for a geometry of the soldering tip and determining the soldering tip temperature as a function of the thermal efficiency and the powered delivered to the soldering tip. 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the liquidus occurrence is detected when the monitored power is declining from a peak. 16. The method of claim 9, wherein the predetermined range of the thickness of the IMC is 1 μm-4 μm. 17. A method performed by a soldering station for a soldering joint connection validation, the soldering station including a camera for capturing respective images of the soldering joint from different views, the method comprising: determining an amount of solder needed for the soldering joint by capturing a reference image of the soldering joint by the camera, before a soldering event for forming the soldering joint starts;capturing a current image of the soldering joint by the camera, after the soldering event starts to dispense solder at the soldering joint;comparing a value of each pixel in the current image to corresponding pixel values in the reference image to detect any color changes of the pixels to detect an occurrence of a liquidus of the dispensed solder;after detection of the occurrence of the liquidus, determining an amount of the dispensed solder from the current image;comparing the amount of the dispensed solder to the determined amount of solder needed;repeating the comparing of the amount of the dispensed solder until the dispensed solder has filled the soldering joint, within a predetermined tolerance; andactivating an indicator to indicate a good soldering joint connection, when the dispensed solder has filled the soldering joint within the predetermined tolerance. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining an amount of solder needed comprises of determining an amount of solder needed to fill in a barrel of a hole for a through hole component, or to fill in a surface of a barrel of a hole for a surface mount component. 19. The method of claim 17, wherein comparing the amount of the dispensed solder to the determined amount of solder needed comprises of comparing a color value of each pixel in the current image to corresponding pixel color values in the reference image, in relation to a known color pixel value of solder. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein detection of the occurrence of the liquidus of the dispensed solder is determined when all of the pixel color values in the last current image are equal to the known color pixel value of solder, within a tolerance range. 21. A soldering station with automatic validation of connection of a soldering joint comprising: a soldering tip;a power supply for delivering power to the soldering tip;a camera for capturing an image of the soldering joint;an indicator; anda processor including associated circuits for validating the connection of the soldering joint, wherein the camera captures a reference image of the soldering joint, before a soldering event starts,the processor determines an amount of solder needed for the soldering joint, from the reference image,the camera captures a current image of the soldering joint, after the soldering event starts,the processor compares a value of each pixel in the current image to corresponding pixel values in the reference image to detect any color changes of the pixels in the current image due to spread of a dispensed solder, as the soldering event progresses,the camera repeats capturing a current image and the processor repeats comparing a value of each pixel, until all the pixels in the current images are determined to be pixels of the dispensed solder to detect an occurrence of a liquidus of the dispensed solder,after detection of the occurrence of the liquidus, the processor determines how much of the dispensed solder is dissipated into the soldering joint; and an indicator to indicate a good solder joint connection, when the dispensed solder has filled the soldering joint within a predetermined tolerance. 22. The soldering station of claim 21, wherein the processor compares a color value of each pixel in the current image to corresponding pixel color values in the reference image, in relation to a known color pixel value of solder. 23. A soldering station comprising: a soldering cartridge having a soldering tip;a power supply for delivering power to the soldering tip;an indicator; anda processor including associated circuits for monitoring a power level delivered to the soldering tip by the power supply to detect liquidus occurrence and determining a thickness of an intermetallic component (IMC) of a soldering joint formed by the soldering tip performing a soldering operation, whereinthe indicator indicates that a reliable soldering joint connection is formed, when the processor determines the thickness of the IMC is within a predetermined range.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (16)
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Miller, Thomas W.; McDavid, Charles H.; Dunham, Paul Alan; Siegel, William Jordan; Siegel, Eric Stephen, Soldering station with built-in self-calibration function.
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