PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority from Italian

Application No. 102017000004579 filed on January 17, 2017, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a flying probe electronic board tester, and test method thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

As is known, for testing electronic boards on line so- called testing machines known as "flying probes" are frequently used.

In these machines, the boards are loaded/unloaded into and from the testing station of the machine by means of a conveying device, usually consisting of motorized belts that cooperate with opposite side edges of the boards.

In the testing station, the board is blocked and contacted by a plurality of flying probes, each able to contact the board in a succession of pre-established contact points, thus allowing the machine control unit to exchange with the board the necessary signals for testing the same in as short a time as possible.

Since a full functional test of the board is normally possible only if the board is powered, in addition to the flying probes the testing machines normally also envisage the use of a fixed connector, i.e. configured to contact the board in a fixed position during the test cycle.

In addition to the power supply current, the fixed connector is normally configured to cooperate with a plurality of fixed contacts of the board, arranged in a known manner, with a diagnostic function.

The fixed connector typically comprises a plurality of contact needles, spring loaded, each of which exerts on the board a non-negligible load (typically to the order of 100 g) . As a result, the number of contacts is necessarily limited, to avoid unacceptable deformations of the board.

According to another known technique, the power supply and the diagnostic contacts can be managed by means of a needle bed solution, typically arranged under the board; this solution, however, prevents the use of flying probes on both sides of the board, and has high fitting costs.

Another possibility is to use a manually connected fixed connector. However, this solution cannot be used in fast, on-line applications.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine with flying probes for testing electronic boards, which is free of the drawbacks associated with the known testing machines.

The present invention also relates to a testing method using the above testing machine.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is described below, purely by way of a non-limiting example and with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of a machine for testing electronic boards made according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a board conveyor in the machine in figure 1;

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of a testing station of the machine in Figure 1, in a first operating position;

Figure 4 shows a detail of Figure 3 on an enlarged scale and in a second operating position;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a contacting device of the testing station of Figures 3 and 4; and

Figure 6 shows an example of an electronic board suitable to be tested in a machine according to the present invention .

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to Figure 1, reference numeral 1 globally denotes a flying probe testing machine for testing electronic boards 2, shown schematically in Figures 3 and 4 and in an exemplary embodiment in Figure 5. It should be noted hereto that the term "electronic board" is broadly understood here, in particular also including so-called "board panels", i.e. sets of identical boards joined together by frangible portions so as to allow their separation after testing.

The machine 1 comprises a testing station 3 (figures 3, 4) and a belt conveyor 4 suitable to load/ unload the boards 2, in succession, into / from the testing station 3.

The conveyor 4 comprises (Fig. 2) three pairs of belts, globally denoted by reference numeral 5, arranged longitudinally at opposite sides of the station 3. More precisely, the conveyor 4 comprises a pair of feed belts 5a, a pair of intermediate belts 5b and a pair of unloading belts 5c, which are selectively operated, as will be better described below, to load or unload the boards 2 into / from the testing station 3. Conveniently, the belts 5 are borne by respective longitudinal supports 6 mounted on transversal guides 7 to allow the transverse distance between the belts 5a, 5b, 5c to be adapted and thus adapt the conveyor 4 to different sizes of the boards 2 to be tested .

The boards 2 rest on the belts 5 with their side edges 8; in particular, the contact between the belts 5 and the boards 2 takes place on a bottom side of the side edges 8. Conveniently, the upper branches 17 of the belts 5 slide on fixed support inserts 18 (Figure 3), having the purpose of absorbing the vertical loads and preventing the downward bending of said branches.

The testing machine 1 comprises, in a known manner, a plurality of flying probes 9 able to interact with the boards 2, from above and below, in a conventional manner (Figure 1) .

According to the present invention, in addition to the flying probes 9, the machine 1 comprises at least one contact device 10 suitable to interact with at least one side edge 8 of the board 2, where contact areas 11 are provided on a side of the board opposite the one cooperating with the belts 5. In the example illustrated, the machine 1 comprises a plurality of contacting devices 10 on each side of the machine 1, suitable to cooperate with respective side edges 8 opposite the boards 2, provided for the purpose with contact areas 11 aligned along said edges.

These contact areas 11, conveniently made in the form of longitudinally spaced rectangular pads, can be used to supply power to the board 2 and to exchange diagnostic signals with the machine 1. Each contact device 10 (Figure 5) essentially comprises a casing 12 in which electric needle contacts 13 are vertically housed, for example of the type known as Pogo® Pin. The needle contacts 13 have an upper end 14 connected to a board (not shown) forming part of the machine, and a lower end 15 suitable to come into contact with the boards 2. The ends 14, 15 are spring loaded, in a known manner, in opposite directions towards the outside of the casing 12.

The contacting devices 10 are conveniently fixed on supports 16, arranged one on each side of the testing station, which are movable vertically with respect to the supports 6 of the belts 5. In particular, the supports 16 are movable between a raised position (Figure 3) which allows insertion of the board 2 conveyed by the belts 5, and a lowered position in which the contacting mechanisms cooperate with the side edge 8 of the board 2 and lock it to the relative belt 5b.

The operation of the testing machine 1, already partly evident from the above, is as follows.

When a board 2 is loaded into the testing station 3 by the conveyor 4, by operating the belts 5a, 5b, the contacting devices 10 are raised. As soon as the board 2 reaches the testing position, the belts 5a, 5b are stopped, the supports 16 are lowered and the contacting mechanisms 10 block the side edges 8 of the board 2 onto the relative belts 5b. At the same time, the needle contacts 13 cooperate elastically with the respective contact areas 11, enabling the power supply to the board 2 and the performance of diagnostic procedures.

In parallel to the above procedure, the flying probes 9 of the machine 1 can interact in a conventional manner with prefixed points of the board 2, according to a predetermined test cycle, since the contact areas 11 are formed on the side edges 8 of the boards 2 and the contacting mechanisms 10 are arranged externally to the working volume of the flying probes 9.

At the end of the test, the contacting devices 10 are raised, leaving the boards 2 free, and are discharged from the testing station 3 by operating the intermediate belts 5b and the unloading belts 5c.

From an examination of the characteristics of the machine 1 and of the relative operating method, the advantages that it achieves are evident.

The machine 1 allows the board 2 to be contacted on specific contact areas 11 located on one or both the side edges 8 of the said board, by means of one or more contacting mechanisms 10 provided with needle contacts 13. Since the board 2 rests on the side edges 8, the mechanical load exerted by the needle contacts 13 is absorbed by the conveyor 4, and in particular by the support inserts 18, and does not produce deformations on the board itself.

The problems associated with fixed connectors of the conventional type are thus eliminated.