Testing apparatus for testing electrical circuit board having electrical connectors thereon

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9817055-B2
Application number	US-201414572398-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 16, 2014
Priority date	May 19, 2014
Publication date	Nov 14, 2017
Grant date	Nov 14, 2017

Abstract

A testing apparatus for testing a circuit board is disclosed, which includes an upper plate, a lower plate, and an adaptor circuit board. A plurality of positioning units is received in the lower plate. Each positioning unit has a plurality of length-variable test probes secured therein. Each test probe has a shell and upper and lower probe ends at opposite ends of the shell. In test, the circuit board is put on the lower plate and the upper plate is lowered to push the circuit board and the lower plate toward the adaptor circuit board. The upper ends of the test probes engage with electrical connectors of the circuit board and the lower ends thereof engage with the adaptor circuit board whereby test of the circuit board can be automatically performed by the testing apparatus.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A testing apparatus for testing an electrical circuit board having at least one electrical connector thereon, comprising:
an adaptor circuit board configured to transmit electrical signals between the testing apparatus and the electrical circuit board;
a lower plate defining a plurality of voids therethrough;
a plurality of positioning units each having at least one test probe fixed therein received in a corresponding void of the lower plate, wherein the at least one test probe comprises an electrically insulating shell; a first probe end and a second probe end respectively located at two opposite ends of the electrically insulating shell, and a resilient member received in the electrically insulating shell and interconnecting the first and second probe ends, the first and second probe ends being retractable into the electrically insulating shell when subjected to a pushing force, and wherein the first and second probe ends and the resilient member are made of electrically conductive materials;
a fixed plate located between the adaptor circuit board and the lower plate, the fixed plate being connected to the lower plate with a gap therebetween, a distance of the gap being variable, lower ends of the plurality of positioning units being firmly secured to the fixed plate; and
an upper plate vertically movable relative to the lower plate;
wherein when the electrical circuit board is mounted on the lower plate, the upper plate moves downwardly to press the electrical circuit board and the lower plate toward the adaptor circuit board to cause the at least one test probe to electrically engage the adaptor circuit board and the at least one electrical connector.

2. The testing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the resilient member is a helical spring made of metal.

3. The testing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first and second probe ends are made of metal.

4. The testing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lower plate defines a recess in a side thereof facing the upper plate, the recess being configured to receive the electrical circuit board therein when the electrical circuit board is tested by the testing apparatus.

5. The testing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a frame and a pneumatic cylinder having at least one vertically movable piston rod, the upper plate being secured to the at least one vertically movable piston rod and movable therewith by a driving of the pneumatic cylinder.

6. The testing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fixed plate and the lower plate are connected together by at least one connecting post which has a resilient member surrounding therearound.

7. The testing apparatus of claim 6 , wherein when the lower plate and the electrical circuit board are pressed by the upper plate to test the electrical circuit board, the fixed plate engages with the adaptor circuit board.

8. The testing apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a support defining a second recess facing the fixed plate, the adaptor circuit board being received in the second recess.

9. The testing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the positioning units comprises a body, a protrusion protruding from a face of the body toward the upper plate, two positioning studs extending from a face of the protrusion toward the upper plate, and a plurality of through holes being defined through the body and the protrusion and located between the two positioning studs, the at least one probe comprising a plurality of test probes and each through hole receiving one of the test probes therein.

10. The testing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the positioning units comprises a body, a protrusion protruding from a face of the body toward the upper plate, a positioning cavity defined in a face of the protrusion facing the upper plate, and a plurality of through holes being defined through the body and the protrusion and having top ends exposed to the positioning cavity, the at least one probe comprising a plurality of test probes and each through hole receiving one of the test probes therein.

11. A testing apparatus, comprising:
a frame having an activating device mounted thereon;
an upper plate driveably connected to the activating device whereby the upper plate is movable upwardly and downwardly;
a lower plate defining a recess in a top thereof, the lower plate further having a plurality of first positioning units and a plurality of second positioning units mounted therein, wherein each of the first and second positioning units has at least one length-variable test probe mounted therein, the length-variable test probe comprising a shell secured in each of the first and second positioning units, an upper probe end located at a top end of the shell, a lower probe end located at a bottom end of the shell and a spring located in the shell and interconnecting the upper and lower probe ends, the upper probe ends of the test probes being received in the recess; and
an adaptor circuit board located below the lower plate;
wherein when an electrical circuit board to be tested is received in the recess, the upper plate is lowered by a driving of the activating device to press the electrical circuit board and the lower plate toward the adaptor circuit board, the length-variable test probes of the first positioning units electrically engage with a first electrical connector of the electrical circuit board and the adaptor circuit board, and the length-variable test probes of the second positioning units electrically engage with a second electrical connector of the electrical circuit board and the adaptor circuit board.

12. The testing apparatus of claim 11 , wherein each of the first positioning units comprises a first body, a first protrusion protruding upwardly from a top of the first body, two positioning studs extending upwardly from a top of the first protrusion and a plurality of first through holes extending through the first body and the first protrusion and located between the two positioning studs, the at least one length-variable test probe in each of the first positioning units comprising a plurality of length-variable test probes each being received in a corresponding first through hole.

13. The testing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein each of the second positioning units comprises a second body, a second protrusion protruding upwardly from a top of the second body, a positioning cavity defined in a top of the first protrusion, and a plurality of the second through holes extending through the second body and the second protrusion with top ends of the second through holes being exposed to the positioning cavity, the at least one length-variable test probe in each of the second positioning units comprising a plurality of length-variable test probes each being received in a corresponding second through hole.

14. The testing apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a fixed plate located between the adaptor circuit board and the lower plate, the fixed plate being connected to the lower plate with a gap therebetween, a distance of the gap being variable, lower ends of the first and second positioning units being firmly secured to the fixed plate, upper ends of the first and second positioning units being slideably received in the lower plate.

15. The testing apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the fixed plate and the lower plate are connected together by at least one connecting post which has a resilient member surrounding therearound.

16. The testing apparatus of claim 15 , wherein when the lower plate and the electrical circuit board are pressed by the upper plate to test the electrical circuit board, the fi

Assignees

• Hongfujin Prec Electronics (Zhengzhou) Co Ltd
• Hon Hai Prec Ind Co Ltd

Inventors

• Liu Yu-Ching
• Su Po-Lin
• Yang Fu-Chi
• Wang zhi-jun
• Chen Shun-Tung
• Zhang li-quan
• Yang wei-da
• Kang Jie-Peng

Classifications

• G01R31/68 Primary

  Testing of releasable connections, e.g. of terminals mounted on a printed circuit board · CPC title

• G01R31/2808 Primary

  Holding, conveying or contacting devices, e.g. test adapters, edge connectors, extender boards (probe, multiprobe, probe manipulator or probe fixture G01R1/067) · CPC title

• G01R1/0408

  Test fixtures or contact fields; Connectors or connecting adaptors; Test clips; Test sockets (G01R1/067 takes precedence; mass production testing systems G01R31/59; testing of connections G01R31/66; for testing printed circuit boards G01R31/2808) · CPC title

• G01R31/043 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic