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US5452368A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Method of detecting defects in semiconductor package leads

Assignee: NXP USA Inc
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Filing: 1993-08-02
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Granted: 1995-09-19
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Expires: 2013-08-02
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Abstract

Abstract A method of detecting defects (14, 16, 17, 44, 47, 49, and 51) in objects is presented. A first grey level image (18) of a first object (10) is formed and a second grey level image (19) of a second object (12) is formed. The first (18) and second (19) grey level images are converted to a first (21) and a second (22) edge feature image, respectively. The first edge feature image is dilated (26) and the second edge feature image is skeletonized (27). The dilated (26) and skeletonized images (27) are compared. An alternate method includes forming a grey level image (40) of an object. A principal axis of the grey level image is identified, and a shifted grey level image is formed by shifting the grey level image a distance along the principal axis. The grey level image (40) is then compared to the shifted grey level image.

Inventors

  • 👤 Christopher J. Lebeau

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 16:23
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T7/00; G06T7/0002; G06T7/0004; G01; G01R; G01R31/00; G01R31/28; G01R31/302; G01R31/308; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/30; G06T2207/30108; G06T2207/30141; G06T2207/30148

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim 179 words
A method of detecting defects in leads of a semiconductor package comprising: providing a first semiconductor package having a first conductive line; acquiring a first grey level image of the first conductive line; providing a second semiconductor package having a second conductive line; acquiring a second grey level image of the second conductive line; converting the first grey level image to a first edge feature image; converting the second grey level image to a second edge feature image; skeletonizing the first edge feature image to form a first skeletonized image; dilating the second edge feature image to form a first dilated image; comparing the first skeletonized image to the first dilated image; detecting shapes in the first skeletonized image that are not contained within the first dilated image; skeletonizing the second edge feature image to form a second skeletonized image; dilating the first edge feature image to form a second dilated image; comparing the second skeletonized image to the second dilated image; and detecting shapes in the second skeletonized image that are not contained within the second dilated image.
Claim 2
Independent Claim 179 words
A method of detecting defects in leads of a semiconductor package comprising: providing a first semiconductor package having a first conductive line; acquiring a first grey level image of the first conductive line; providing a second semiconductor package having a second conductive line; acquiring a second grey level image of the second conductive line; converting the first grey level image to a first edge feature image; converting the second grey level image to a second edge feature image; skeletonizing the first edge feature image to form a first skeletonized image; dilating the second edge feature image to form a first dilated image; comparing the first skeletonized image to the first dilated image; detecting shapes in the first skeletonized image that are not contained within the first dilated image; skeletonizing the second edge feature image to form a second skeletonized image; dilating the first edge feature image to form a second dilated image; comparing the second skeletonized image to the second dilated image; and detecting shapes in the second skeletonized image that are not contained within the second dilated image.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 14 words
The method of claim 1 wherein detecting shapes includes sorting the shapes by size.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 1 wherein comparing the first skeletonized image to the first dilated image includes subtracting the first skeletonized image from the first dilated image.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 1 wherein comparing the second skeletonized image to the second dilated image includes subtracting the second skeletonized image from the second dilated image.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 25 words
The method of claim 1 wherein skeletonizing the first edge feature image includes reducing a width of the first edge feature to approximately one pixel.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 1 wherein dilating the first edge feature image includes increasing a width of the first edge feature by approximately 10 to 50 percent.
Claim 8
Independent Claim 126 words
A method of detecting defects in an object comprising: converting a first grey level image of a first object to a first edge feature image; converting a second grey level image of a second object to a second edge feature image; skeletonizing the first edge feature image to form a first skeletonized image; dilating the second edge feature image to form a first dilated image; comparing the first skeletonized image to the first dilated image; skeletonizing the second edge feature image to form a second skeletonized image; dilating the first edge feature image to form a second dilated image; comparing the second skeletonized image to the second dilated image; and detecting shapes in the first skeletonized image that are not contained within the first dilated image.
Claim 9
Independent Claim 126 words
A method of detecting defects in an object comprising: converting a first grey level image of a first object to a first edge feature image; converting a second grey level image of a second object to a second edge feature image; skeletonizing the first edge feature image to form a first skeletonized image; dilating the second edge feature image to form a first dilated image; comparing the first skeletonized image to the first dilated image; skeletonizing the second edge feature image to form a second skeletonized image; dilating the first edge feature image to form a second dilated image; comparing the second skeletonized image to the second dilated image; and detecting shapes in the first skeletonized image that are not contained within the first dilated image.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 14 words
The method of claim 7 wherein detecting shapes includes sorting the shapes by size.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 7 wherein comparing the first skeletonized image to the first dilated image includes subtracting the first skeletonized image from the first dilated image.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 25 words
The method of claim 7 wherein skeletonizing the first edge feature image includes reducing a width of the first edge feature to approximately one pixel.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 27 words
The method of claim 7 wherein dilating the second edge feature image includes increasing a width of the first edge feature by approximately 10 to 50 percent.

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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1998-09-18 1999-03-20 1999-09-19 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
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