Programmable tester
First Claim
1. A testing apparatus for testing electrical properties of a circuit under test formed by a plurality of components interconnected at nodes comprising,a plurality of selectable connection switches having switch outputs for connection to selected nodes of the circuit under test,connection switch controller means for controlling said connection switches to connect said switch outputs to said selected nodes,controllable measurement unit means connected to receive said switch outputs for measuring electrical properties of the circuit under test with predetermined tests,measurement unit controller means for controlling said measurement unit means to perform predetermined tests,program controlled processor means for processing a program of instructions, including subroutines of instructions correlated to predetermined tests in said measurement unit, said processor connected to said connection switch controller to cause said switch outputs to be connected to said selected nodes and said processor connected to said measuring unit controller for controlling said measurement unit to perform a selected one of the predetermined tests in accordance with a correlated subroutine.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for automatic, programmed, in-circuit component testing and functional testing. A multi-mode measurement unit having an exciter circuit, computing circuit, and a converter circuit is provided for measuring electrical signals. The measurement unit is controlled by a program-commanded measurement unit controller. A plurality of device connection switches are provided for connecting, by a program-commanded switch controller, the computing circuit to selected nodes of a circuit under test. The switch controller and the measurement unit controller receive commands from a programmed processor which executes stored programs of instruction. The programs contain subroutines which correlate with commanded measurement parameters and sequences within the measurement unit.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A testing apparatus for testing electrical properties of a circuit under test formed by a plurality of components interconnected at nodes comprising,
a plurality of selectable connection switches having switch outputs for connection to selected nodes of the circuit under test, connection switch controller means for controlling said connection switches to connect said switch outputs to said selected nodes, controllable measurement unit means connected to receive said switch outputs for measuring electrical properties of the circuit under test with predetermined tests, measurement unit controller means for controlling said measurement unit means to perform predetermined tests, program controlled processor means for processing a program of instructions, including subroutines of instructions correlated to predetermined tests in said measurement unit, said processor connected to said connection switch controller to cause said switch outputs to be connected to said selected nodes and said processor connected to said measuring unit controller for controlling said measurement unit to perform a selected one of the predetermined tests in accordance with a correlated subroutine.
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21. An apparatus for the in-circuit measuring of electrical properties of components connected in an electrical circuit comprising,
program commanded connection means for making electrical connection to nodes of a selected component, program commanded exciter means for providing a selected excitation signal, program commanded computing means connected to said selected component and responsive to said excitation signal to provide a measurement signal, program commanded converter means responsive to said measurement signal to provide an output proportional to the electrical property being measured, processor means for processing stored instructions for commanding said connection, exciter, computing and converter means; - said processor means operable during the execution of said instructions to call subroutines for commanding said computing means and said converter means as a function of the type of electrical property under test for said selected component.
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22. A tester apparatus for testing for shorts in a circuit under test formed by a plurality of components interconnected at N nodes comprising,
a plurality of selectable connection switches having switch outputs for connection to selected nodes of the circuit under test, said connection switches including a first connection switch having means for selecting one of said N nodes as a first one of said switch outputs, and including a second connection switch having means for selecting (N-P-1) of said N nodes in common as a second one of said switch outputs where P is an integer less than N, connection switch controller means for controlling said connection switches to connect said switch outputs to said selected nodes, controllable measurement unit means connected to receive said switch outputs for measuring the resistance between said first one and said second one of said switch outputs as shorts tests, measurement unit controller means for controlling said measurement unit means to perform said shorts test, program controlled processor means for processing a program of instructions, including a shorts subroutine for commanding a shorts tests, said processor connected to said connection switch controller to cause said switch outputs to be connected to said selected nodes and said processor connected to said measuring unit controller for controlling said measurement unit to perform said shorts test in accordance with said shorts subroutine.
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23. In a testing apparatus for the in-circuit measuring of electrical properties of components connected in an electrical circuit, the method comprising the steps of,
connecting, under program command, nodes of a selected component to a measurement unit, exciting, under program command, said selected component and said measurement unit to provide a measurement signal unique to an electrical property of said selected component, converting, under program command, said measurement signal to provide an output signal proportional to the electrical property being measured, processing stored instructions for commanding said connecting step, said exciting step, and said converting step; - said processing including the execution of a subroutine as a function of the type of electrical property being measured for said selected component,
repeating said connecting step, said exciting step, said converting step and said processing step for a number of selected components in said electrical circuit. - View Dependent Claims (24)
- said processing including the execution of a subroutine as a function of the type of electrical property being measured for said selected component,
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25. A testing apparatus for testing electrical properties of an electrical circuit formed by a plurality of components interconnected at nodes comprising,
a program controllable in-circuit tester including selectable connection switches having switch outputs for connecting selected nodes of a selected component of said circuit to a program controllable measurement unit operable to measure electrical properties of said selected component, a program controllable functional tester including selectable signal sources for providing excitation signals to said circuit to produce measurement signals; - including selectable measuring devices for measuring said measurement signals and including switch means for connecting selected ones of said signal sources and said measuring devices to said circuit,
program controllable transfer switch means for connecting selected ones of said switch outputs in said in-circuit tester to said switch means in said functional tester whereby said in-circuit tester and said functional tester are interactively connected for concurrent operation, processor means for processing instructions for controlling said in-circuit tester, said functional tester and said transfer switch means.
- including selectable measuring devices for measuring said measurement signals and including switch means for connecting selected ones of said signal sources and said measuring devices to said circuit,
Specification