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Method and apparatus for pin assignment in automatic circuit testers

  • US 5,548,525 A
  • Filed: 12/29/1995
  • Issued: 08/20/1996
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1993
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method of making electrical connections between board probes and system contacts of a test fixture associated with a given type of circuit board that includes board components to be tested, the test fixture including board probes so positioned with respect to each other as to enable them simultaneously to contact predetermined test nodes respectively associated therewith on a circuit board of the given circuit-board type, the test fixture also including a corresponding plurality of system contacts so positioned with respect to each other as to enable them simultaneously to contact respective system pins associated therewith in a multiplexed automatic circuit tester that includes system resources and the system pins, which are organized into pin groups, in each of which less than all of the pins in the pin group can be connected to separate system resources simultaneously, the method comprising the steps of:

  • A) generating, independently of the results of test generation for the circuit-board type, a conflict list for each of a plurality of board components to be tested;

    B) employing the lists thus generated as inputs to a pin-assignment program to generate connection lists that pair board probes with system contacts; and

    C) wiring the board probes to the system pins in accordance with the connection lists.

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