High Strength, High Density Carrier Plate

Abstract

A carrier plate for supporting electronic components during processing includes hexagonally-arranged holes for supporting the components. Walls of the holes comprise a gripping resilient material. The hexagonal arrangement provides a strong carrier that improves production yield through an increase in per batch processing and improved locational accuracy over conventional carriers.

1 .- 11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A carrier plate for supporting a plurality of electronic components, comprising:
 a carrier core including:   a frame portion forming an outer peripheral edge of the carrier core;   a web portion surrounded by the frame portion and recessed from opposing surfaces of the frame portion; and   a plurality of hexagonally-arranged bores extending through the web portion; and   a resilient material lining the plurality of hexagonally-arranged bores and filling each recess formed between opposing surfaces of the web portion such that the resilient material is substantially flush with the opposing surfaces of the web portion.   
     
     
         13 . The carrier plate according to  claim 12  wherein the carrier core is rectangular in shape and has a finished thickness of approximately 0.35 inches. 
     
     
         14 . The carrier plate according to  claim 12  wherein a distance between a bore and its equidistantly-spaced neighboring bores is 0.07 inches and a spacing between adjacent aligned rows of bores is approximately 0.123 inches.