US 5,399,982 AGranted

Printed circuit board testing device with foil adapter

AssigneeMania GmbH & Co.

InventorsHubert Driller, Paul Mang

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Printed circuit board testing device includes contacts arranged in a pre-determined basic grid pattern, and a pressure device for urging a printed circuit board into engagement with an adapter arrangement for electrically connecting test specimen-specific test points of the printed circuit board to be tested to grid-oriented contacts of the basic grid pattern of the printed circuit board testing device. The adapter arrangement includes a flexible adapter foil that carries on the side facing the basic grid pattern preferably regularly-arranged lands and on the side facing the test specimen test specimen-specific lands that are in direct contact with the test points of the printed circuit board to be tested. The mutually-assigned lands are electrically interconnected on both sides of the adapter foil by plated-through holes and, if necessary, associated printed conductors. In order to provide compensation for manufacturing deviations of the very small test points from a reference position, provision is made for the adapter foil and the printed circuit board to be retained in the adapter arrangement and displaced relative to each other in their plane. The adapter foil can also be elastically elongated or stretched in its plane.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A device for testing a printed circuit board having plural electrical contacts arranged in a first pattern on a surface thereof, said device comprising:

a basic grid having plural test contacts arranged in a predetermined second pattern which is different from the first pattern of the printed circuit board to be tested and connectable to a computer which executes a predetermined printed circuit board test procedure;
an adapter assembly for electrically connecting said plural test contacts of said basic grid to said plural electrical contacts of the printed circuit board to be tested, said adapter assembly including a flexible adapter foil having a first surface which faces towards said basic grid and a second surface which faces towards the printed circuit board to be tested, said first surface of said adapter foil having fixed thereto a first plurality of lands arranged in a predetermined third pattern and said second surface of said adapter foil having fixed thereto a second plurality of lands arranged corresponding to and in direct contact with the respective plural electrical contacts on the surface of the printed circuit board to be tested, each of said first plurality of lands being electrically connected to a corresponding one of said second plurality of lands;
and
a pressure device for urging the printed circuit board to be tested into operative contact with said adapter assembly;
wherein said first plurality of lands arranged in said predetermined third pattern of said adapter foil are electrically connected to a respective one of said plural test contacts arranged in said second predetermined pattern of said basic grid;
and
wherein said adapter foil and the printed circuit board to be tested are displaceable relative to each other in their respective planes while the printed circuit board to be tested is retained in said device.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/056,767Filed 4 May 1993 · continuation in part
Priority: DE 42 37 591.66 Nov 1992
Granted: 21 Mar 1995
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

H01R 12/52
For rigid printed circuits or like structures: connecting to other rigid printed circuits or like structures
G01R 1/07378
With provisions for altering position, number or connection of probe tips; Adapting to differences in pitch: using an intermediate adapter, e.g.…
H01R 11/18
End pieces or tapping pieces for wires, supported by the wire and for facilitating electrical connection to some other wire, terminal or…: end…
H01R 31/06
Coupling parts supported only by co-operation with counterpart: intermediate parts for linking two coupling parts, e.g. adapter

Family

Serial433,833Parent of this continuation · filed 13 Nov 1989
Serial818,091Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 8 Jan 1992
US 5,228,189 AParent of this continuation-in-part
US 5,109,596 AParent of this continuation
US 5,399,982 AThis patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.