Circuit board coupon tester
AssigneeAgilent Technologies, Inc.
InventorsChris R Jacobsen, John E Siefers, Dwight Fowler, Shion Chen Hung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit board coupon testing method and apparatus. A coupon tester uses a linear actuator to carry a test head and probe(s) for an LCR meter. The linear actuator accurately steps the probe(s) over a coupon of components arranged linearly adjacent an edge of the circuit board to measure the parameters of the component. The coupon tester can be integrated with an in-circuit tester to provide further functionality, with the coupon test being carried out simultaneously with a portion of the in-circuit test such as an unpowered portion of the in-circuit test.
Claims20
A circuit board coupon tester for testing a coupon forming a part of a circuit board, comprising:
- a test fixture for holding the circuit board in a prescribed position;
- a probe head with a probe for probing a coupon component terminal forming a part of the coupon;
- a linear actuator connected to the probe head;
- an LCR meter electrically coupled to the probe head;
- a test controller operating under program control to carry out a coupon test by:
- causing the linear actuator to move the probe head in a linear direction to a desired position;
- causing the probe to engage the coupon component terminal;
- and
- receiving a value associated with the coupon component from the LCR meter.
A circuit board coupon tester for testing a coupon forming a part of a circuit board, comprising:
- a test fixture for holding the circuit board in a prescribed position;
- a probe head with a probe for probing a coupon component terminal of a plurality of coupon component terminals forming a part of the coupon;
- a linear actuator connected to the probe head;
- an LCR meter electrically coupled to the probe head;
- a test controller operating under program control to carry out a coupon test by:
- causing the linear actuator to move the probe head in a linear direction to a desired position over each component of the coupon;
- causing the probe to engage each of the plurality of coupon component terminals;
- and
- receiving a value associated with each of the plurality of coupon components from the LCR meter.
A circuit board coupon tester for testing a circuit board, the circuit board having a coupon forming a part thereof, comprising:
- a test fixture for holding the circuit board in a prescribed position;
- a probe head with a probe for probing a plurality of coupon component terminals forming a part of the circuit board coupon;
- a linear actuator connected to the probe head;
- an LCR meter;
- a flexible cable connecting the probe head to LCR meter;
- an in-circuit tester;
- a test controller operating under program control to carry out a coupon test by:
- causing the linear actuator to move the probe head in a linear direction to a desired position over each component of the coupon;
- causing the probe to engage each of the plurality of coupon component terminals;
- and
- receiving a value associated with each of the plurality of coupon components from the LCR meter;
- and
- the test controller further operating to conduct an in-circuit test, wherein at least a portion of the in-circuit test and the coupon test occur simultaneously.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.