Functional tester for printed circuit boards, and associated systems and methods
AssigneeCheckSum, LLC
InventorsJonathan Allen Feucht, Peter Andrew Pias, Daniel Benjamin Carson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for testing printed circuit boards (PCBs) are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a tester for printed circuit boards (PCBs) includes a test fixture having a plurality of electrical contacts for contacting the PCBs that are units under test (UUTs). The test fixture carries a remote test peripheral master (RTPM) module, and a remote test peripheral slave (RTPS) module. The RTPM module and the RTPS module are connected through a remote test peripheral (RTP) bus.
Claims22
A tester for printed circuit boards (PCBs), comprising:
- a test fixture having a plurality of electrical contacts for contacting the PCB s that are units under test (UUTs), wherein the test fixture carries:
- a remote test peripheral master (RTPM) module, and
- a plurality of remote test peripheral slave (RTPS) modules, wherein the RTPM module and the RTPS modules are connected through a remote test peripheral (RTP) serial bus to form a master/slave chain, and wherein the RTPM module is configured for communicating with the UUTs exclusively through the plurality of the RTPS modules of the master/slave chain, and wherein the plurality of RTPS modules are configured to communicate through the RTP serial bus with the RTPM module of their master/slave chain only.
A method for testing printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are units under test (UUTs), the method comprising:
- establishing a data channel between at least one remote test peripheral slave (RTPS) module of a plurality of RTPS modules and at least one UUT of the UUTs;
- establishing a control channel between a remote test peripheral master (RTPM) module and the plurality of the RTPS modules of a master/slave chain through a remote test peripheral (RTP) serial bus, wherein the RTPM module and the RTPS module are carried by a test fixture, and wherein the RTPM module is configured for communicating with the UUTs exclusively through the RTPS modules of the master/slave chain, and wherein the plurality of RTPS modules are configured to communicate through the RTP serial bus with the RTPM module of their master/slave chain only;
- applying a test program to the at least one UUT;
- and
- collecting test data by the at least one RTPS module, wherein the test data are generated in response to applying the test program to the UUT.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.