Test fixture alignment system
US5321351A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 31, 1991 |
| Grant date | Jun 14, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 31, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/2891
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A test fixture for testing printed circuit boards includes an array of test probes held in contact with a pattern of test points in a circuit array printed on the circuit board. The circuit array is positioned on the board with respect to a fiducial mark on the board, and a tooling pin hole on the board is aligned with the circuit array. The fixture includes a tooling pin inserted in the tooling pin hole to hold the circuit array in a fixed position relative to the test probes during testing. The fiducial mark is sensed, and an optical reading shows the alignment or misalignment of the test points on the board relative to the probes. The tooling pin is adjusted on the fixture to move the board relative to the probes to correct misalignment. The optical reading indicates movement of the tooling pin and board to a corrected position necessary to align the circuits on the board to the probe field. The alignment of the board on the fixture can be optically sensed by a lens system, fiber optic image conduit, light source, an image enlarger and video probe, removable from the fixture base, that produces images of the fiducial mark and a known zero reference point on a TV monitor. The zer…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.