US Patent 7337534 SMD chip handling apparatus

The apparatus is for securely fetching and positioning an SMD chip on a printed circuit board and soldering the same to the board. Two spring plates form the clasping fingers which are wedged apart to a width larger than the width of the SMD chip by an expander formed on an elongated rod slidably mounted within a vertical tubular housing. An SMD chip may be safely fetched by pressing the rod on the top of the SMD with a continuous depressing motion until the fingers clasp the SMD chip safely therebetween. A soldering unit with a bifurcate soldering head located juxtaposed to the fingers is operative to solder the SMD chip to the printed circuit board while the SMD chip is safely held in place.