Method for automatic guard selection in automatic test equipment
US4774455A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 1986 |
| Grant date | Sep 27, 1988 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 14, 2006 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/2813
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
During the testing of circuit boards with Automatic Test Equipment in some circuit configurations the performance of a component may not be as expected even though it is sound due to the influence of surrounding components. In such a situation guards may be placed, that is further signals via probes contacting nodes other than those to which the component is connected, so that such disruption may be minimized. A method for defining guards during the operation of automatic test equipment so that a selected component of a circuit may be tested includes establishing a measurement of the selected component in a known to be good circuit of the type to be tested. A circuit node associated with the selected component is identified and a guard is applied to the node. A second measurement is established with the selected guard in place. If the guard results in an improvement, it is retained during subsequent automatic testing.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.