Identifying A Signal On A Printed Circuit Board Under Test

• US 20110279138A1
• Filed: 05/14/2010
• Published: 11/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Mutnury, Bhyrav M., Pham, Nam H., Rodrigues, Terence
• Granted Patent: US 8,558,567 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/755.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2806 Apparatus therefor, e.g. test stations, drivers, analysers, conveyors G01R31/2805, G01R31/281, G01R31/2818 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2834 Automated test systems [ATE]; using microprocessors or computers G01R31/317 takes precedence; ATE for detection of defective computer hardware G06F11/2736
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2839 using signal generators, power supplies or circuit analysers G01R31/2879 takes precedence; multimeters G01R15/12, network analysers G01R27/28
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2843 In-circuit-testing
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3025 Wireless interface with the DUT

Abstract

Identifying a signal on a printed circuit board (‘PCB’) under test, including a test probe with a radio transmitter and transmitter antenna, the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB, the test probe transmitting a radio signal; at least two radio receivers, each receiver having a receiver antenna, each receiver antenna positioned at predetermined, separate physical locations with respect to the PCB, the receivers coupled to at least one signal strength meter, each receiver receiving the transmitted radio signal; and a signal-identifying controller connected to the signal strength meter, the signal-identifying controller reading, from the signal strength meter, signal strengths of the transmitted radio signal as received at the radio receivers; determining, in dependence upon the read signal strengths, a test signal identifier; and displaying the test signal identifier.

Claims

1. A method of identifying a signal on a printed circuit board (‘

PCB’

) under test, the method comprising;

transmitting a radio signal from a test probe, the test probe comprising a radio transmitter and transmitter antenna, the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB;

receiving the transmitted radio signal by at least two radio receivers, each receiver comprising a receiver antenna, each receiver antenna positioned at predetermined, separate physical locations with respect to the PCB, the receivers coupled to at least one signal strength meter;

reading, by a signal-identifying controller from the at least one signal strength meter, signal strengths of the transmitted radio signal as received at the radio receivers, the signal-identifying controller comprising a module of automated computing machinery;

determining, by the signal-identifying controller in dependence upon the read signal strengths, a test signal identifier; and

displaying, by the signal-identifying controller, the test signal identifier.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the signal-identifying controller further comprises a list of signal strengths associated with test signal identifiers, and determining a test signal identifier further comprises looking up, by the signal-identifying controller in the list, a test signal identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the test signal identifier comprises one or more of:

a component name, a pin name, a schematic symbol name, and a signal name.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB further comprises the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a predetermined calibration test point on the PCB; and

the method further comprises calibrating the transmitted radio signal by adjusting, through a feedback loop between the signal-identifying controller and the radio transmitter, the transmitted radio signal to a predetermined calibration power.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB further comprises the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a predetermined calibration test point on the PCB; and

the method further comprises calibrating the radio receivers by adjusting, through feedback loops between the signal-identifying controller and the radio receivers, the read signal strengths to a predetermined calibration signal strength.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the radio receivers further comprise Radio Frequency Identification (‘

RFID’

) transceivers, and the probe further comprises an RFID tag.

7. Apparatus for identifying a signal on a printed circuit board (‘

PCB’

) under test, the PCB comprising a plurality of electronic test points, a plurality of the test points characterized by a conducting of test signals, the apparatus comprising;

a test probe comprising a radio transmitter and transmitter antenna, the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB, the test probe transmitting a radio signal;

at least two radio receivers, each receiver comprising a receiver antenna, each receiver antenna positioned at predetermined, separate physical locations with respect to the PCB, the receivers coupled to at least one signal strength meter, each receiver receiving the transmitted radio signal; and

a signal-identifying controller comprising a module of automated computing machinery, the signal-identifying controller connected to the at least one signal strength meter and also connected to a display, the signal-identifying controller reading, from the at least one signal strength meter, signal strengths of the transmitted radio signal as received at the radio receivers;

determining, in dependence upon the read signal strengths, a test signal identifier; and

displaying the test signal identifier through the display.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the signal-identifying controller further comprises a list of signal strengths associated with test signal identifiers, and determining a test signal identifier further comprises looking up a test signal identifier in the list.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the test signal identifier comprises one or more of:

a component name, a pin name, a schematic symbol name, and a signal name.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein:

the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB further comprises the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a predetermined calibration test point on the PCB; and

the apparatus further comprises the signal identifying controller calibrating the transmitted radio signal by adjusting, through a feedback loop between the signal-identifying controller and the radio transmitter, the transmitted radio signal to a predetermined calibration power.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein:

the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB further comprises the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a predetermined calibration test point on the PCB; and

the apparatus further comprises the signal identifying controller calibrating the radio receivers by adjusting, through feedback loops between the signal-identifying controller and the radio receivers, the read signal strengths to a predetermined calibration signal strength.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the radio receivers further comprise Radio Frequency Identification (‘

RFID’

) transceivers, and the probe further comprises an RFID tag.

13. A computer program product for identifying a signal on a printed circuit board (‘

PCB’

) under test, the computer program product disposed upon a computer readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable, when executed, of causing an automated signal-identifying controller to function by;

reading, from at least one signal strength meter, signal strengths of a transmitted radio signal as received from a test probe by at least two radio receivers, the test probe comprising a radio transmitter and transmitter antenna, the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB, each receiver comprising a receiver antenna, each receiver antenna positioned at predetermined, separate physical locations with respect to the PCB, the receivers coupled to the least one signal strength meter;

determining, in dependence upon the read signal strengths, a test signal identifier; and

displaying the test signal identifier.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the signal-identifying controller further comprises a list of signal strengths associated with test signal identifiers, and determining a test signal identifier further comprises looking up a test signal identifier in the list.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the test signal identifier comprises one or more of:

a component name, a pin name, a schematic symbol name, and a signal name.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein:

the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB further comprises the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a predetermined calibration test point on the PCB; and

the computer program product further comprises computer program instructions capable of causing the signal-identifying controller to function by calibrating the transmitted radio signal by adjusting, through a feedback loop between the signal-identifying controller and the radio transmitter, the transmitted radio signal to a predetermined calibration power.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein:

the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a test point on the PCB further comprises the test probe positioned with the transmitter antenna at a predetermined calibration test point on the PCB; and

the computer program product further comprises computer program instructions capable of causing the signal-identifying controller to function by calibrating the radio receivers by adjusting, through feedback loops between the signal-identifying controller and the radio receivers, the read signal strengths to a predetermined calibration signal strength.

18. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the radio receivers further comprise Radio Frequency Identification (‘

RFID’

) transceivers, and the probe further comprises an RFID tag.