Circuitry testing method and circuitry testing device

• US 8,106,946 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2007
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Original Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Inventors: Yan, Shuo-Ting
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder, Patrice
• Application Number:
  US11/821,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20080094469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,681 Days
• Field of Search: 348/126, 348/129, 348/130, 348/147, 702/117
• US Class Current: 348/126
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/002 for television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/33 Transforming infrared radiation cameras or camera modules for generating image signals from infrared radiation H04N23/20; circuitry of SSIS for transforming infrared radiation into image signals H04N25/20

Abstract

A circuitry testing method, comprising: providing a circuit board needing testing; applying a potential (160) to the circuit board needing testing so that the circuit board works and operating elements of the circuit board needing testing emit infrared rays; testing an intensity of radiation of the infrared rays using an infrared sensor (110); converting the radiation intensity to RGB (red, green, blue) data signals in order to form a diagnostic infrared image, using a processor (130); providing a standard infrared image; comparing the diagnostic infrared image with the standard infrared image; and determining whether the circuit board is defective according to the comparison.

Claims

1. A circuitry testing method, comprising:

providing a circuit board needing testing;

applying a potential to the circuit board needing testing so that the circuit board works and operating elements of the circuit board needing testing emit infrared rays;

testing an intensity of radiation of the infrared rays using an infrared sensor;

converting the radiation intensity to RGB (red, green, blue) data signals in order to form a diagnostic infrared image, using a processor;

providing a standard infrared image;

comparing the diagnostic infrared image with the standard infrared image; and

determining whether the circuit board is defective according to the comparison;

wherein if the diagnostic infrared image is the same as the standard infrared image, the circuit board is determined to have no defect; and

if the diagnostic infrared image is different from the standard infrared image, the circuit board is determined to have at least one defect in at least one area thereof corresponding to at least one difference between the diagnostic infrared image and the standard infrared image.

2. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising displaying the infrared image and the standard infrared image on a display.

3. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein providing a standard infrared image comprises:

providing a standard circuit board which works normally;

applying a potential to the standard circuit board so that the standard circuit board works and operating elements of the standard circuit board emit infrared rays;

testing an intensity of radiation of the infrared rays using the infrared sensor; and

converting the radiation intensity to RGB data signals in order to form the standard infrared image, using the processor.

4. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the radiation intensity of the infrared rays is represented by the density of the infrared image.

5. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising calculating a difference between the density at each of predetermined regions of the infrared image and a corresponding region of the standard infrared image, by the processor.

6. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 5, wherein if the difference between the density at one of the predetermined regions of the infrared image and a corresponding region of the standard infrared image is positive, the circuit board is determined to be in a short-circuit condition;

and if the difference between the density at one of the predetermined regions of the infrared image and a corresponding region of the standard infrared image is negative, the circuit board is determined to be in a open-circuit condition.

7. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the radiation intensity of the infrared rays is displayed in a plurality of colors.

8. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 7, wherein if the color in a region of the diagnostic infrared image is different from that of a corresponding region of the standard infrared image, the circuit board is determined to have at least one defect area corresponding to the region of the diagnostic infrared image that has the different color.

9. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising providing a constant temperature and radiation-free environment after providing the circuit board needing testing.

10. A circuitry testing method, comprising:

providing a circuit board needing testing;

applying a potential to the circuit board needing testing so that the circuit board works and operating elements of the circuit board needing testing emit infrared rays;

testing an intensity of radiation of the infrared rays, and converting the radiation intensity to voltage signals using an infrared sensor;

storing the voltage signals as a first data array, using a processor;

providing voltage signals converted by an intensity of radiation of the infrared rays emitted from a standard circuit board corresponding to the circuit board, and defining the voltage signals as a second data array;

calculating any differences and any equivalences between respective values in the first data array and the second data array, using the processor;

converting any differences and any equivalences found to RGB (red, green, blue) data signals using the processor in order to form a colored image;

displaying the colored image using a display; and

determining whether the circuit board is defective according to one or more colors of the colored image displayed.

11. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 10, wherein a first color is displayed on the display when one of the voltage signals of the circuit board is greater than the corresponding voltage signal of the standard circuit board.

12. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 10, wherein a second color is displayed on the display when one the voltage signals of the circuit board is equivalent to the corresponding voltage signal of the standard circuit board.

13. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 10, wherein a third color is displayed on the display when one of the voltage signals of the circuit board is less than the corresponding voltage signal of the standard circuit board.

14. The circuitry testing method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising providing a constant temperature and radiation-free environment after providing the circuit board needing testing.

15. A circuitry testing device, comprising:

an infrared sensor configured to test radiation intensity of infrared rays emitted from a circuit board needing testing having a particular operating voltage, and convert the radiation intensity to voltage signals;

a processor electrically connected to the infrared sensor, the processor configured to store voltage signals obtained by conversion from an intensity of radiation of infrared rays emitted from a standard circuit board corresponding to the circuit board, and configured to process the voltage signals of the circuit board and the voltage signals of the standard circuit board in order to obtained at least one group of RGB (red, green, blue) data signals; and

a display used to show corresponding images formed by the at least one group of RGB data signals in order to determine whether the circuit board is defective.

16. The circuitry testing device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the infrared sensor comprises at least one infrared unit used to test the radiation intensity of infrared rays emitted from corresponding areas of the circuit board.

17. The circuitry testing device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the at least one infrared unit has a selected one of the following forms:

a plurality of infrared units arranged in a matrix, a plurality of infrared units arranged in a line, and a single infrared unit.

18. The circuitry testing device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the processor respectively converts the voltage signals of the circuit board to a first group of RGB data signals and the voltage signals of the standard circuit board to a second group of RGB data signals, and the display shows two corresponding images according to the two groups of RGB data signals.

19. The circuitry testing device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the processor calculates differences between respective values in the voltage signals of the circuit board and the voltage signals of the standard circuit board and converts the differences to RGB data signals, and the display shows a corresponding image formed by the RGB data signals.

20. The circuitry testing device as claimed in claim 15, further comprising an I/O (input/output) interface providing a communicate channel between the infrared sensor and the processor.