Rear-mounted gimbal for supporting test head

1. A manipulator for a test system, comprising:

a body; and

an interface for supporting a test head, including a first portion coupled to the body and a second portion fixedly attached to a rear surface of the test head, one of the first and second portions of the interface comprises a section and the other of the first and second portions comprises low-friction contacts attached thereto; the low friction contacts each having direct low-friction contact with the section and coupled to the section for allowing rotation of the first portion of the interface with respect to the second portion of the interface,

wherein the first and second portions of the interface are rotatably coupled together to allow rotation of the test head about its approximate center of mass in at least one of a theta and tumble direction.

2. The manipulator of claim 1 wherein the low-friction contacts comprises thrust bearing assemblies.

3. The manipulator of claim 1 wherein the section has an inner surface and an outer surface, and

wherein at least one low-friction contact is coupled to the inner surface of the section and at least one low-friction contact is coupled to the outer surface of the section.

4. The manipulator of claim 3 wherein the inner surface is concave substantially facing the test head and the outer surface is convex.

5. The manipulator of claim 3 wherein the inner surface comprises a first region and the outer surface comprises a second region lower than the first region, and

wherein at least one low-friction contact is coupled to the first region and at least one low-friction contact is coupled to the second region.

6. The manipulator of claim 3 wherein the low-friction contacts are constrained to move along arc-shaped paths.

7. A manipulator for a test system, comprising:

a body; and

an interface for supporting a test head, including a first portion coupled to the body and a second portion fixedly attached to a rear surface of the test head, one of the first and second portions of the interface comprises a section and the other of the first and second portions comprises low-friction contacts attached thereto; the low friction contacts each having direct low-friction contact with the section and coupled to the section for allowing rotation of the first portion of the interface with respect to the second portion of the interface,

wherein the first and second portions of the interface are rotatably coupled together to allow rotation of the test head about its approximate center of mass in at least one of a theta and tumble direction and wherein the section has an inner surface and an outer surface that are substantially spherical and substantially concentric.

8. The manipulator of claim 7 wherein the low-friction contacts comprises at least one low-friction bearing assembly coupled to an upper region of the inner surface of the section and at least one low-friction assembly coupled to a lower region of the outer surface of the section.

9. The manipulator of claim 7 wherein the assembly includes an aperture for conveying electrical cables between the test head and other portions of the automatic test system.

10. The manipulator of claim 7 wherein the interface further comprises:

a support plate; and

at least one substantially U-shaped bracket fixedly attached to an upper region of the support plate,

wherein at least one of the low-friction contacts is fixedly attached to the at least one substantially U-shaped bracket and positioned in contact with the inner surface of the section.

11. The manipulator of claim 7 wherein the low-friction contacts comprises thrust bearing assemblies.

12. The manipulator of claim 7 wherein the low-friction contacts are constrained to move along arc-shaped paths.

13. A manipulator for a test system, comprising:

a body; and

an interface for supporting a test head, including a first portion coupled to the body and a second portion fixedly attached to a rear surface of the test head, one of the first and second portions of the interface comprises a section and the other of the first and second portions comprises low-friction contacts attached thereto; the low friction contacts each having direct low-friction contact with the section and coupled to the section for allowing rotation of the first portion of the interface with respect to the second portion of the interface,

wherein the first and second portions of the interface are rotatably coupled together to allow rotation of the test head about its approximate center of mass in at least one of a theta and tumble direction and wherein the low-friction contacts are constrained to move along arc-shaped paths.

14. The manipulator of claim 13 wherein the low-friction contacts are cam followers and the arc-shaped paths are defined by channels within which the cam followers can move.

15. The manipulator of claim 13 wherein four arc-shaped paths are provided for rotation about a first axis of rotation, the four arc-shaped paths being provided in two pairs, each pair having a common center.

16. The manipulator of claim 15 wherein the first axis is one of a theta and a tumble axis.

17. The manipulator of claim 15 wherein four additional arc-shaped paths are provided for rotation about a second axis of rotation, the four additional arc-shaped paths being provided in two pairs, each pair having a common center.

18. The manipulator of claim 17 wherein the first axis is one of a theta and a tumble axis, and the second axis is the other of the theta and the tumble axis.

19. The manipulator of claim 13 wherein the first portion of the interface includes first and second frame sections,

a first frame section fixedly attached to the body of the manipulator and rotatably attached to the second frame section to allow rotation of the test head about a first axis, and

a second section rotatably attached to the second portion of the interface to allow rotation of the test head about a second axis.

20. The manipulator of claim 13 wherein the low-friction contacts comprises thrust bearing assemblies.