TWI870949B - Circuit testing device and method of using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A circuit testing device is provided for testing a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes a plurality of terminals and a component region for arranging components. The circuit testing device includes a pin-type testing unit used to test a first conducting state between two of the plurality of terminals; and a sensor-type testing unit used to test a second conducting state between one of the plurality of terminals and a testing point in the component region.

Description

Circuit testing device and method of using the same

The present invention relates to a circuit detection device and a method for using the same, in particular to a circuit detection device and a method for using the same for connecting a large number of circuit units in series or in parallel.

In the prior art, there are two methods for detecting whether a circuit has an open circuit or a short circuit: a pin to pin detection method and a pin to sensor detection method, wherein the pin is connected to the circuit to be tested by contact, and the sensor is connected to the circuit to be tested by non-contact. If the pin contacts the area inside the circuit to be tested where the component is embedded, there is a possibility of damaging the component area and thus reducing the reliability of the product made from the circuit to be tested. Therefore, the pin-to-pin detection method is not applicable to detecting whether there is an open circuit defect inside the circuit (a short circuit is caused by connecting the two ends of the power supply with a component or wire with very small resistance, so the short circuit can definitely be detected by placing two pins at two ends through the pin-to-pin detection method); the sensor must be placed above or below the plane where the circuit to be tested is located. The detection point of the sensor cannot accurately correspond to a circuit end point in space like a pin. Therefore, the pin-to-sensor detection method is not applicable to detecting whether the circuit between the ends has an open circuit or short circuit defect.

In recent years, glass circuit boards (GCBs) have high thermal conductivity, high temperature resistance, high flatness, and high light transmittance, and have extremely high value in backlight module applications. Therefore, they have attracted many companies to invest in production capacity. Therefore, testing whether the circuits on GCBs are defect-free has become a necessary issue for the development of the backlight module industry.

However, compared to the typical circuit boards in the prior art: printed circuit boards (PCBs) and flexible circuit boards (FCBs), GCBs are larger in size. When used to make backlight modules, GCBs are connected in series or in parallel with multiple circuit units, and each circuit unit is used to embed at least one light-emitting diode (LED), where a circuit unit refers to the basic component unit of a circuit. A circuit may have more than one type of circuit unit, and the circuit structure of the same type of circuit unit is exactly the same. For a typical GCB, its size is about 750mm×620mm, and the number of circuit units can be as high as more than one hundred. The pin-to-sensor detection method used for PCBs and FCBs can only detect one circuit unit at a time. If the known pin-to-sensor detection method is used to detect an internal open circuit of a GCB, it will be quite time-consuming and labor-intensive. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a circuit detection device suitable for GCB and its use method.

In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the applicant of the present invention has finally conceived the present invention after careful experiments and research, and with a spirit of perseverance. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by mixing two circuit detection methods, setting pins and sensors at appropriate positions, and making and using appropriate types and numbers of sensors according to the type of circuit to be tested. The following is a brief description of the present invention.

One of the main purposes of the present invention is to provide a circuit detection device and its use method, so as to detect all types of circuit defects without damaging the component area, including: open circuit between terminals, short circuit between terminals, and internal open circuit, so as to ensure the quality of the product made using the circuit.

Another main purpose of the present invention is to provide a circuit detection device and a method of using the same to facilitate the detection of defects in a circuit to be tested (e.g., a circuit on a GCB) composed of a large number of circuit units connected in series or in parallel.

According to the above concept, the present invention provides a circuit detection device for detecting a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes N circuit units and M terminals, and each of the N circuit units has a component area for setting components, and N and M are positive integers greater than 0 and 1 respectively. The circuit detection device includes: M pins, which are electrically connected to the M terminals of the circuit to be tested one by one; a sensor, which is set one by one just above/just below the component area of the N circuit units, wherein each of the sensors has at least one detection terminal and the component area of each of the N circuit units has at least one test point correspondingly, and the at least one detection point forms at least one capacitor one by one with the at least one test point just below/just above it; and a voltage resistance meter, which has a complex A plurality of switch elements are selectively electrically connected to two of the M pins or one of the M pins and one of the N sensors by switching the plurality of switch elements, so as to measure a resistance between the terminals of the circuit to be tested or at least a voltage across the at least one capacitor formed by each sensor and one of the N circuit units corresponding thereto, so as to determine whether the circuit to be tested has an open circuit/short circuit between the terminals or an internal open circuit within the N circuit units.

According to the above concept, the present invention provides a method for using the above circuit detection device, comprising the following steps: (a) performing at least one measurement (i) and at least one measurement (ii), wherein the measurement (i) is to measure the resistance between the corresponding terminals by two of the M pins, and the measurement (ii) is to measure the at least one voltage across the at least one capacitor formed by one of the N sensors and the corresponding N circuit units by one of the M pins and one of the N sensors; (b) outputting the measured at least one resistance value and at least one voltage value; and (c) judging whether there is a terminal between the M terminals according to the measured at least one resistance value and the measured at least one voltage value. The method comprises the steps of: determining whether the terminals of two of the M pins are open or short-circuited, and determining whether there is an internal open circuit in the N circuit units, wherein: when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be connected according to the circuit layout, when a first resistance value among the at least one resistance value corresponding to the two pins is greater than a first resistance threshold value, determining that there is an open circuit between the terminals corresponding to the two pins; and determining whether there is an internal open circuit in the N circuit units. When two of the corresponding endpoints should be disconnected according to the circuit layout, when a second resistance value among the corresponding at least one resistance value is less than a second resistance threshold value, it is determined that there is a short circuit between the corresponding endpoints; and when one of the at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value, it is determined that there is an internal open circuit in one of the corresponding N circuit units.

According to the above concept, the present invention provides a circuit detection device for detecting a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes a plurality of circuit units and M terminals, and each of the plurality of circuit units has a component area for setting components, and M is a positive integer greater than 1. The circuit detection device includes: M pins, one-to-one electrically connected to the M terminals of the circuit to be tested; a sensor, movably arranged directly above or below the component area of one of the plurality of circuit units, wherein the sensor has at least one detection point and the component area of each of the N circuit units has at least one test point correspondingly, and the at least one detection point forms at least one capacitor with the at least one test point directly below or directly above it in a one-to-one manner; and a voltage resistance meter, selectively electrically connected to two of the M pins or one of the M pins and the sensor, so as to measure a resistance between the terminals of the circuit to be tested, or at least a voltage across the at least one capacitor formed by the sensor and one of the corresponding circuit units, so as to determine whether the circuit to be tested has an open circuit/short circuit between the terminals or an internal open circuit in one of the circuit units.

According to the above concept, the present invention provides a method for using the above circuit detection device, comprising the following steps: (a) performing at least one measurement (i) and at least one measurement (ii), wherein the measurement (i) is to measure the resistance between the corresponding terminals by two of the M pins, and the measurement (ii) is to measure the resistance between the sensor and the corresponding circuit single points by one of the M pins and the sensor. (a) measuring the at least one voltage of the at least one capacitor formed by one of the plurality of circuit units, and after performing one of the at least one measurement (ii), moving the sensor to directly above or directly below at least one of the plurality of circuit units that is not measured to perform another of the at least one measurement (ii) until all of the at least one measurement (ii) are completed; and (b) outputting the measured at least one resistance value and at least one voltage. voltage value; and (c) judging whether there is an open circuit or a short circuit between the M terminals and judging whether there is an internal open circuit in the plurality of circuit units according to the measured at least one resistance value and the at least one voltage value, wherein: when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be connected according to the circuit layout, when a first resistance value of the at least one resistance value corresponding to the two of the M pins is greater than a first resistance threshold value, judging whether the terminals corresponding to the two of the M pins are open circuit or a short circuit between the M terminals and the plurality of circuit units. There is an open circuit between the terminals; when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be disconnected according to the circuit layout, when a second resistance value of the at least one resistance value corresponding to it is less than a second resistance threshold value, it is judged that there is a short circuit between the corresponding terminals; and when one of the at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value, it is judged that there is an internal open circuit in one of the corresponding plurality of circuit units.

According to the above concept, the present invention provides a circuit detection device for detecting a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes a plurality of terminals and a component area for setting components. The circuit detection device includes: a pin-type detection unit, used to detect a first conductive state between two points of the plurality of terminals; and an inductive detection unit, used to detect a second conductive state between one of the plurality of terminals and a test point of the component area.

Therefore, the present invention provides a circuit detection device and a method of using the same, which solves the problem that the pin-to-pin detection method and the pin-to-sensor detection method in the prior art cannot detect all types of circuit defects and are not applicable to GCB.

100: Circuit testing device

10, 11: Pins

12: Sensor

13: Voltage resistance meter

2: Circuit to be tested

2’: Circuit layout

20: Open circuit between terminals

21: Internal open circuit

22: Short circuit

23: Endpoint

24: Endpoint

25: Endpoint

26: Endpoint

27: Endpoint

28: Endpoint

29: Endpoint

3A, 3B, 3C: connecting wires

200: Circuit testing device

10S, 11S: Pins

10S1: Pins

10S2: Pins

11S1: Pins

300: Circuit testing device

10F, 11F: Pins

2F: Circuit to be tested

2F1: Circuit unit

2F2: Circuit unit

2F3: Circuit unit

2F4: Circuit unit

2F5: Edge

2F6: Edge

400: Circuit testing device

10L, 11L: Pins

12A: Detection point

12L:Sensor

12L1: First sensor

12L2: Second sensor

2L: Circuit to be tested

2L1: Circuit unit

2L2: Circuit unit

500: Circuit testing device

500A: Combination

600: Circuit testing device

600A: Combination

10G, 11G: Pins

12G:Sensor

2G: Circuit under test

4A: Combination

4: Structural parts

41: Top

42: Back

43: Connector

5: Circuit board

6: Placement platform

61: Groove

The above-mentioned objects and advantages of the present invention will become more immediately apparent to those having ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field after referring to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1A: is a schematic diagram of the first use state of the circuit detection device of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 1B: is a schematic diagram of the second use state of the circuit detection device of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2: is a schematic diagram of the corresponding circuit layout of the circuit to be tested in Figure 1A or Figure 1B;

Figure 3: is a schematic diagram of the circuit detection device of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4A: is a schematic diagram of the first use state of the circuit detection device of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4B: is a schematic diagram of the second use state of the circuit detection device of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5: is a schematic diagram of the circuit detection device of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6: is a three-dimensional exploded view of the circuit detection device of the fifth and sixth preferred embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 7: is a three-dimensional diagram of the structural components of the circuit detection device of the fifth and sixth preferred embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 8: is a schematic diagram of the sensor assembly method of the circuit detection device of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 9: is a three-dimensional diagram of the circuit detection device of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10: is a front view of the circuit detection device of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 11: is a schematic diagram of the sensor assembly method of the circuit detection device of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12: is a three-dimensional diagram of the circuit detection device of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 13: is a front view of the circuit detection device of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention;

The invention proposed in this case can be fully understood by the following embodiments, so that those with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can complete it accordingly. However, the implementation of this case is not limited by the following embodiments. Those with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can still deduce other embodiments based on the spirit of the disclosed embodiments, and these embodiments should all belong to the scope of this invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, which are schematic diagrams of the first and second use states of the circuit detection device 100 of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the circuit detection device 100 of the present invention includes: two pins 10, 11, a sensor 12 and a voltage resistance meter 13, wherein the sensor 12 has at least one detection point (not shown in the figure) and the voltage resistance meter 13 includes a voltmeter and a resistance meter (not shown in the figure). Furthermore, the two pins 10, 11 and the resistance meter are combined into a pin-type detection unit; and the pin 10 or the pin 11, the sensor 12 and the voltage meter are combined into an inductive detection unit, and the pin-type detection unit and the inductive detection unit share a pin. The definition of circuit defects is based on the circuit layout of the manufacturer. In the circuit layout, the non-conductive state of the circuit disconnection that should not exist is an open circuit, and the conductive state of the circuit connection that should not exist is a short circuit. Therefore, for a circuit to be tested, which includes a plurality of terminals and a component area for setting components, when the circuit detection device 100 is used to detect the circuit to be tested, the pin-type detection unit is used to detect a first conductive state between two points of the plurality of terminals; and the inductive detection unit is used to detect a second conductive state between one of the plurality of terminals and a test point of the component area to determine whether the circuit to be tested is open or short. The method of implementing the circuit detection device 100 of the present invention is described in detail as follows. For example, the circuit testing device 100 is used to test the circuit 2 to be tested, wherein as shown in FIG1A , the circuit 2 to be tested includes a single circuit unit and seven terminals: terminal 23, terminal 24, terminal 25, terminal 26, terminal 27, terminal 28 and terminal 29 (circuit ends on two parallel edges for inputting or outputting signals) and three defects: open circuit 20 between terminals, internal open circuit 21 and short circuit 22. By removing the open circuit 20 between terminals, the internal open circuit 21 and the short circuit 22, the corresponding circuit layout of the circuit 2 to be tested can be obtained, i.e., the circuit layout 2' shown in FIG2 .

In FIG. 1A , pins 10 and 11 are used to contact terminals 23 and 24, respectively, to detect an open circuit 20 between the terminals. The arrangement shown in FIG. 1A forms an electrical connection between pins 10 and terminals 23 and between pins 11 and terminals 24. In addition, pins 10, 11, and sensor 12 are connected to a voltage resistance meter 13 through wires 3A, 3B, 3C, or any other method that opens the possibility of electrical communication. Furthermore, the voltage resistance meter 13 has a plurality of switch elements that selectively electrically connect pins 10 and 11 or pins 10 and sensor 12. When the voltage resistance meter 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect the pin 10 and the pin 11, the voltage resistance meter 13 measures the resistance between the terminal 23 and the terminal 24 with its resistance meter and judges whether the circuit between the terminal 23 and the terminal 24 is open according to the resistance value (in the circuit layout 2' shown in FIG2, the terminal 23 and the terminal 24 should be connected, so it is judged that there is an open circuit therebetween): if the measured resistance value is as high as 10MΩ (unit MΩ: megaohm), it is judged to be an open circuit. In this embodiment, the circuit 2 to be tested has an open circuit 20 between the terminals 23 and the terminals 24, so a resistance value of up to 10MΩ can be measured in the first use state shown in FIG1A.

The difference between the second use state shown in FIG1B and the first use state shown in FIG1A is that FIG1B uses pins 10 and 11 to contact terminals 23 and 26 respectively to detect short circuit 22. The arrangement shown in FIG1B forms electrical connections between pins 10 and terminals 23 and between pins 11 and terminals 26. When the voltage resistance meter 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect pins 10 and 11, the voltage resistance meter 13 measures the resistance between terminal 23 and terminal 26 with its resistance meter and determines whether there is a short circuit between terminal 23 and terminal 26 according to the resistance value (in the circuit layout 2' shown in FIG. 2, terminal 23 and terminal 26 should be disconnected, so it is determined that there is a short circuit between them): if the measured resistance value is as low as 100Ω (unit Ω: ohm), it is determined to be a short circuit. In this embodiment, the circuit 2 to be tested has a short circuit 22 between terminal 23 and terminal 26, so a resistance value as low as 100Ω can be measured in the second use state shown in FIG. 1B.

Furthermore, the two pins can be contacted to other terminals: two of the terminals 24, 25, 27, 28 and 29 to detect whether the circuit between the contacted terminals is in a normal state (i.e., there is no circuit defect between the terminals): if the contacted terminals should be connected according to the circuit layout 2' shown in FIG2, an open circuit between the terminals is detected; and if the contacted terminals should be disconnected according to the circuit layout 2' shown in FIG2, a short circuit is detected. For example, according to the circuit layout 2' shown in FIG2, the terminals 24 and 25 should be disconnected, so a short circuit is detected. If the resistance value is in the order of 10MΩ, the circuit between them is in a normal state; and if the resistance value is as low as 100Ω, the circuit between them has a short circuit. The circuit 2 to be tested is in a normal state between terminal 24 and terminal 25, so a resistance value of the order of 10MΩ can be measured. For example, according to the circuit layout 2' shown in Figure 2, terminal 28 and terminal 29 should be connected, so the open circuit between the terminals is detected. If the resistance value is in the order of 100Ω, the circuit is in a normal state; and if the resistance value is as high as 10MΩ, the circuit has an open circuit between the terminals. The circuit 2 to be tested is in a normal state between terminal 28 and terminal 29, so a resistance value of the order of 100Ω can be measured.

On the other hand, regardless of which two terminals the two pins are in contact with, the sensor 12 is configured in a non-contact manner just above/below the component area where the components are set inside the circuit 2 to be tested to detect the internal open circuit 21. Since the sensor 12 does not directly contact the circuit 2 to be tested, it is represented by a dotted line. As shown in FIG. 1A or FIG. 1B, the area where the sensor 12 is projected just below/above the circuit 2 to be tested (that is, the area framed by the dotted line) is the component area. The inspector can define the component area based on the manufacturer's circuit layout and the quality of the product made based on the maintenance of the circuit, based on his knowledge and judgment of the range of the internal area of the circuit that needs to be tested. When it is not possible to simply determine the scope of the circuit internal area that needs to be tested, the complete area of a circuit unit can also be directly used as a component area. Corresponding to at least one detection point of the sensor 12, the component area has at least one test point, and the at least one test point is located one-to-one directly below or directly above the at least one detection point. The at least one detection point forms at least one capacitor one-to-one with the at least one test point directly below or directly below it. Regardless of the state in which the two pins are in contact with the two terminals, when the voltage resistance meter 13 switches the plurality of switch elements to electrically connect the pin 10 or the pin 11 and the sensor 12, the voltage resistance meter 13 uses its voltmeter to measure at least one voltage across the at least one capacitor and judges whether there is an open circuit in the single circuit unit according to the at least one voltage value: if one of the measured at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value (for example: 0.2V is commonly used, where the unit V is volt), it is judged to be an open circuit, otherwise, it is judged to be a normal state. In this embodiment, the circuit 2 to be tested has an internal open circuit 21 in its single circuit unit, so a voltage value less than 0.2V can be measured.

In addition, for a circuit to be tested having multiple circuit units, the circuit testing device 100 of the present invention can detect the circuit unit to be tested by moving the two pins 10, 11 and the sensor 12 to the circuit unit to be tested and using the above-mentioned detection method of a single circuit unit to detect the circuit unit to be tested, so as to detect each circuit unit of the circuit to be tested to determine whether the circuit to be tested is open or short circuited.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a schematic diagram of a circuit testing device 200 of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. The difference between this embodiment and the first preferred embodiment is that this embodiment uses M pins 10S, 11S to be fixed on M terminals of the circuit 2 to be tested. As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit testing device 200 of the present invention includes: M pins 10S, 11S, a sensor 12 and a voltage resistance meter 13. Similar to the circuit detection device 100 in the first preferred embodiment, in terms of functional definition, the circuit detection device 200 can be regarded as including a pin-type detection unit and a sensing detection unit, wherein the pin-type detection unit is used to detect a first conductive state between the terminals of the circuit to be tested; and the sensing detection unit is used to detect a second conductive state between an terminal of the circuit to be tested and a test point of the component area (the pin-type detection unit and the sensing detection unit throughout this article are defined in the same way). Therefore, for the circuit detection device 200, the corresponding pin-type detection unit includes M pins 10S, 11S and a resistance meter in the voltage resistance meter 13; and the corresponding inductive detection unit includes one of the M pins 10S, 11S, the sensor 12 and the voltage meter in the voltage resistance meter 13, wherein the pin-type detection unit and the inductive detection unit share a pin.

In FIG3 , M pins 10S, 11S are electrically connected to M terminals of the circuit 2 to be tested one by one, and the sensor 12 is arranged in a non-contact manner just above or just below the component area of the circuit 2 to be tested (the area framed by the dotted line is the component area), and each of the M pins 10S, 11S and the sensor 12 is connected to the voltage resistance meter 13 through a wire (not shown) or any other method that opens the possibility of electrical communication. The voltage resistance meter 13 can switch its multiple switch elements electrically connected to two of the M pins 10S, 11S to use the same method as the above-mentioned embodiment to determine whether the circuit 2 to be tested has an open circuit or a short circuit between the terminals. For example, the voltage resistance meter 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect to the pin 10S1 and the pin 11S1 and measures the resistance between the terminal 23 and the terminal 24 and further determines whether the circuit between the terminal 23 and the terminal 24 is open according to the resistance value: if the measured resistance value is as high as 10MΩ, it is determined to be an open circuit. For example, the voltage resistance meter 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect to the pin 10S1 and the pin 10S2 and measures the resistance between the terminal 23 and the terminal 26 and further determines whether the circuit between the terminal 23 and the terminal 26 is shorted according to the resistance value: if the measured resistance value is as low as 100Ω, it is determined to be a short circuit. The voltage resistance meter 13 can switch its multiple switch elements to be electrically connected to one of the M pins 10S, 11S and the sensor 12 to determine whether the circuit 2 to be tested has an internal open circuit using the same method as the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the voltage resistance meter 13 switches multiple switch elements to be electrically connected to the first pin 10S1 and the sensor 12 and measures the voltage across the detection point 12A of the sensor 12 and the corresponding test point directly below/directly above it, and further determines whether there is an open circuit in a single circuit unit based on the voltage value: if the measured voltage value is less than 0.2V, it is determined to be an open circuit. If the sensor has other detection points, the voltage corresponding to the other detection points must also be measured. Here, for the sake of simplicity, only the detection point 12A is used as an example for explanation (same as the above embodiment, if the sensor 12 has at least one detection point, the component area of a single circuit unit has at least one test point correspondingly). There is an internal open circuit 21 between the test point directly below the detection point 12A and the terminal 23, so a voltage less than 0.2V can be measured. The difference between the circuit detection device 200 and the circuit detection device 100 is that the circuit detection device 200 completely switches a plurality of switch components by the voltage resistance meter 13 to change the desired detection terminal, omitting the step of moving the pin.

Please refer to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, which are schematic diagrams of the first and second use states of the circuit detection device 300 of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between this embodiment and the second preferred embodiment is that the circuit detection device 300 is used to detect a circuit 2F to be tested having a plurality of circuit units, including circuit unit 2F1, circuit unit 2F2, circuit unit 2F3 and circuit unit 2F4. The circuit 2F to be tested in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B has two parallel edges for inputting or outputting signals: edge 2F5 and edge 2F6 have a total of M terminals (not shown in the figure), that is, the number of terminals of circuit unit 2F1, circuit unit 2F2, circuit unit 2F3 and circuit unit 2F4 at edge 2F5 and edge 2F6 adds up to M. The circuit detection device 300 used to detect the circuit 2F to be tested includes: M pins 10F, 11F, sensor 12 and voltage resistance meter (not shown in the figure). The M pins 10F, 11F are electrically connected to the M terminals of the circuit 2F to be tested one by one. The sensor 12 can be movably arranged just above or just below the component area of one of the plurality of circuit units. Here, for the sake of simplicity, only the top is used as an example for explanation. However, as long as the settings shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are rotated 180 degrees, the implementation method of the bottom is obtained. Therefore, the orientation cannot be understood as a limitation of the circuit detection device 300 of the present invention. In addition, similar to the second embodiment, in this embodiment, the voltage resistance meter 13 is connected to the M pins 10F, 11F and the sensor 12 through wires or any other method that opens the possibility of electrical communication. The voltage resistance meter 13 can be electrically connected to two of the M pins 10F, 11F by switching a plurality of switch elements to judge whether the circuit 2F to be tested has an open circuit or a short circuit between the terminals using the same method as the aforementioned embodiment. The voltage resistance meter 13 can switch its multiple switch elements to be electrically connected to one of the M pins 10F, 11F and the sensor 12 to determine whether the circuit unit directly below the sensor 12 has an internal open circuit using the same method as the aforementioned embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG2A, the sensor 12 is disposed directly above the circuit unit 2F1, and the voltage resistance measurement 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect to one of the M pins 10F, 11F and the sensor 12 and measures at least one voltage of at least one capacitor formed across at least one detection point of the sensor 12 and at least one test point of the component area of the circuit unit 2F1, and further determines whether there is an open circuit in the circuit unit 2F1 based on at least one voltage value: if one of the at least one voltage value measured is less than 0.2V, it is determined that there is an internal open circuit in the circuit unit 2F1. For example, as shown in FIG2B , the sensor 12 is disposed directly above the circuit unit 2F2, and the voltage resistance meter 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect to one of the M pins 10F, 11F and the sensor 12 and measures at least one voltage of at least one capacitor formed across at least one detection point of the sensor 12 and at least one test point of the component area of the circuit unit 2F2, and further determines whether there is an open circuit in the circuit unit 2F2 based on at least one voltage value: if one of the at least one voltage value measured is less than 0.2V, it is determined that there is an internal open circuit in the circuit unit 2F2. Then, move the sensor to the top of circuit unit 2F3 and circuit unit 2F4, and detect circuit unit 2F3 and circuit unit 2F4 in the same way as circuit unit 2F1 and circuit unit 2F2 to determine whether circuit unit 2F3 and circuit unit 2F4 have internal open circuits. In this way, all circuit units are detected. If detailed analysis of the conductivity of the circuit to be tested is required, the measured resistance value and voltage value can be output after all measurements are completed, and then these values can be used to determine whether there is an open short circuit and other conductive states, such as the spatial distribution of open short circuits.

According to the second and third embodiments, a method for using a circuit detection device comprises the following steps: (a) performing at least one measurement (i) and at least one measurement (ii), wherein: the measurement (i) is to measure the resistance between the corresponding terminals by two of the M pins; the measurement (ii) is to measure the resistance between the sensor and the corresponding circuits by one of the M pins and the sensor. (a) measuring the at least one voltage of the at least one capacitor formed by one of the at least one measurement unit; and after performing one of the at least one measurement (ii), moving the sensor to directly above or directly below at least one of the unmeasured circuit units in the plurality of circuit units to perform another of the at least one measurement (ii) until all of the at least one measurement (ii) are completed; and (b) outputting the measured at least one resistance value and at least one voltage value; and (c) judging whether there is an open circuit or a short circuit between the M terminals and judging whether there is an internal open circuit in the plurality of circuit units according to the measured at least one resistance value and the at least one voltage value, wherein: when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be connected according to the circuit layout, when a first resistance value of the at least one resistance value corresponding to the two of the M pins is greater than a first resistance threshold value, judging whether the terminals corresponding to the two of the M pins are open circuit or short circuit. There is an open circuit between the terminals; when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be disconnected according to the circuit layout, when a second resistance value of the at least one resistance value corresponding to it is less than a second resistance threshold value, it is judged that there is a short circuit between the corresponding terminals; and when one of the at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value, it is judged that there is an internal open circuit in one of the corresponding plurality of circuit units.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of a circuit detection device 400 of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between this embodiment and the third preferred embodiment is that this embodiment uses N sensors 12L to be fixed directly above or directly below the circuit 2L to be tested having N circuit units (hereinafter, only directly above is used as an example for explanation, however, as with the third embodiment, the orientation cannot be understood as a limitation of the circuit detection device 400 of the present invention). As shown in FIG. 5, the circuit detection device 400 of the present invention includes: M pins 10L, 11L, N sensors 12L and a voltage resistance meter (not shown). Correspondingly, for the circuit detection device 400, the pin-type detection unit includes M pins 10L, 11L and a resistor in the voltage resistance measuring instrument 13; and the inductive detection unit includes one of the M pins 10L, 11L, N sensors 12L and a voltmeter in the voltage resistance measuring instrument 13, wherein the pin-type detection unit and the inductive detection unit share one pin. In addition, if the circuit 2L to be tested has a plurality of circuit units, the N sensors 12L used must also have a plurality of sensors correspondingly. As shown in FIG5 , the circuit to be tested 2L has two types of circuit units: its N circuit units can be divided into N-1 first circuit units 2L1 and a second circuit unit 2L2; the N sensors 12L are correspondingly divided into N-1 first sensors 12L1 and a second sensor 12L2; and the N-1 first sensors 12L1 are arranged one-to-one directly above the component area of the N-1 first circuit units 2L1 and the second sensors 12L2 are arranged directly above the component area of the second circuit unit 2L2.

In FIG5 , M pins 10L and 11L are electrically connected to M terminals of the circuit 2L to be tested one by one; N sensors 12L are arranged one by one directly above the component area of a plurality of circuit units; and a voltage resistance meter is connected to the M pins 10L and 11L and the N sensors 12L through wires or any other means that opens the possibility of electrical communication. The voltage resistance meter 13 can switch a plurality of switch elements electrically connected to two of the M pins 10L and 11L to determine whether the circuit 2L to be tested has an open circuit or a short circuit between the terminals using the same method as the above-mentioned embodiment. The voltage resistance meter can switch its multiple switch elements to be electrically connected to one of the M pins 10L, 11L and one of the N sensors 12L to determine whether there is an internal open circuit in the N circuit units using the same method as the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the voltage-resistance measurement 13 switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect to one of the M pins 10L, 11L and the second sensor 12L2 and measures at least one voltage of at least one capacitor formed across at least one detection point of the second sensor 12L2 and at least one test point of the component area of the second circuit unit 2L2, and further determines whether there is an open circuit in the second circuit unit 2L2 based on at least one voltage value: if one of the measured at least one voltage value is less than 0.2V, it is determined that there is an internal open circuit in the second circuit unit 2L2. Then, the voltage resistance meter switches a plurality of switch elements to electrically connect to the N-1 first sensors one by one and judges whether the N-1 first circuit units 2L1 have internal open circuits one by one in the same way as the second circuit unit 2L2. The difference between the circuit detection device 400 and the circuit detection device 300 is that the circuit detection device 400 completely changes the circuit unit to be detected by switching a plurality of switch elements by the voltage resistance meter, omitting the step of moving the sensor. If a detailed analysis of the conductivity of the circuit to be tested is required, the measured resistance value and voltage value can be output after all measurements are completed, and then based on these values, it can be judged whether there is an open short circuit and other conductive states, such as: open short circuit spatial distribution.

According to the fourth embodiment, a method for using a circuit detection device includes the following steps: (a) performing at least one measurement (i) and at least one measurement (ii), wherein: the measuring device (i) measures the resistance between the corresponding terminals through two of the M pins; and the measurement (ii) measures the at least one voltage across the at least one capacitor formed by one of the N sensors and the corresponding N circuit units through one of the M pins and one of the N sensors; (b) outputting the measured at least one resistance value and at least one voltage value; and (c) judging whether there is an open circuit between the M terminals based on the measured at least one resistance value and the measured at least one voltage value. The method comprises the steps of: determining whether the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins are connected according to the circuit layout, and determining whether there is an internal open circuit between the terminals; determining whether there is an open circuit between the terminals when a first resistance value among the at least one resistance value corresponding to the two of the M pins is greater than a first resistance threshold value; and determining whether there is an internal open circuit between the terminals when a first resistance value among the at least one resistance value corresponding to the two of the M pins is greater than a first resistance threshold value. When the two corresponding endpoints should be disconnected according to the circuit layout, when a second resistance value among the corresponding at least one resistance value is less than a second resistance threshold value, it is determined that there is a short circuit between the corresponding endpoints; and when one of the at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value, it is determined that there is an internal open circuit in one of the corresponding N circuit units.

According to all the above embodiments, when the number of terminals and circuit units of the circuit to be tested is small, the circuit detection device 100 is used to save the device manufacturing cost; when the number of terminals of the circuit to be tested reaches a certain amount (about dozens or more), the circuit device 200 or the circuit device 300 is used to save detection time and labor; when the number of circuit units of the circuit to be tested also reaches a certain amount (about dozens or more), it is necessary to use the circuit device 400 to save detection time and labor. A typical GCB has more than a hundred circuit units. The circuit device 400 of the present invention can solve the difficulty of detecting GCB in the prior art.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the circuit detection device of the fifth and sixth preferred embodiments of the present invention. The main difference between these two embodiments and the second preferred embodiment is that the circuit detection device of the fifth and sixth preferred embodiments further includes a structural member 4 and a placement platform 6. As shown in FIG. 6, the circuit detection device of the fifth and sixth preferred embodiments of the present invention includes: M pins 10G, 11G, a structural member 4, N sensors 12G, a voltage resistance meter 13 and a placement platform 6, wherein the M pins 10G, 11G are fixed on the top surface 41 of the structural member 4 to form an assembly 4A, the placement platform 6 includes a groove 61, and the N sensors 12G can be made on the same circuit board 5. In addition, the back side 42 of the structural member 4 may have a connector 43 (as shown in FIG. 7 ) for plugging in wires to connect to the voltage resistance meter 13. The main difference between the fifth preferred embodiment and the sixth embodiment is that the assembly method is different so that the relative positions of the N sensors 12G and the circuit to be tested are different, as described below.

Please refer to FIG8, FIG9 and FIG10, which are respectively a schematic diagram, a three-dimensional diagram and a front view of the sensor assembly method of the circuit detection device of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG8, N sensors 12G are fixed to the area on the top surface 41 of the structure 4 that is not occupied by the M pins 10G and 11G to form an assembly 500A. As shown in FIG9, the circuit detection device 500 includes an assembly 500A and a placement platform 6. In the circuit detection device 500, the assembly 500A is placed on the placement platform 6 in a manner that the top surface 41 of the structure 4 faces downward, and the space between the assembly 500A and the placement platform 6 is used to place the circuit 2G to be tested. In this setting, as shown in FIG10 , the circuit 2G to be tested is placed on the placement platform 6, the N sensors 12G on the structure 4 are located above the circuit 2G to be tested, and the pins 10G and 11G on the structure 4 contact the end points of the circuit 2G to be tested.

Please refer to Figures 11, 12 and 13, which are respectively a schematic diagram, a three-dimensional diagram and a front view of the sensor assembly method of the circuit detection device of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 11, N sensors 12G are placed in the groove 61 of the placement platform 6 to form an assembly 600A. As shown in Figure 12, the circuit detection device 600 includes an assembly 600A and an assembly 4A having a structure 4 and M pins 10G, 11G (not shown). In the circuit detection device 600, the assembly 4A is placed above the assembly 600A, wherein the back side 42 of the structure 4 of the assembly 4A faces upward and the N sensors of the assembly 600A face upward, and the space between the assembly 4A and the assembly 600A is used to place the circuit 2G to be tested. In this setting, as shown in FIG13 , the circuit 2G to be tested is placed on the placement platform 6, the N sensors 12G in the groove 61 are located below the circuit 2G to be tested, and the M pins 10G and 11G on the structure 4 contact the end points of the circuit 2G to be tested.

The above-mentioned circuit detection device 500 and circuit detection device 600 may further include an optical positioning system for positioning the relative positions of N sensors and the circuit to be tested. When the N sensors are made on a transparent circuit board (e.g., GCB), the circuit detection device 500 can be used. However, when the N sensors are made on a non-transparent circuit board, the device 600 must be used for correct positioning.

In addition, it should be emphasized that the circuit detection device of the present invention can be applied to various types of circuits to be tested, regardless of the number of defects, defect distribution and number of circuit units. The circuits to be tested in all the above embodiments are only examples to facilitate the description of the implementation of the circuit detection device of the present invention, and cannot be understood as a limitation on the circuit detection device of the present invention.

In summary, the present invention can indeed reliably detect all types of circuit defects by setting pins and sensors at appropriate positions and using a pin-to-pin and pin-to-sensor hybrid method to solve the problem that the known pin-to-pin method and pin-to-sensor method have their own shortcomings and further use multiple types of sensors to quickly and efficiently detect GCB circuits and improve the inconvenience of applying known technology to GCB circuits.

This invention is a rare innovative invention with great industrial value, and is applied for in accordance with the law. In addition, this invention can be modified by a person with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field, but it does not deviate from the scope of protection as specified in the attached patent application.

100: Circuit testing device

10, 11: Pins

12: Sensor

13: Voltage resistance meter

2: Circuit to be tested

20: Open circuit between terminals

21: Internal open circuit

22: Short circuit

23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29: Endpoints

3A, 3B, 3C: connecting wires

Claims (11)

A circuit detection device is used to detect a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes N circuit units and M terminals, and each of the N circuit units has an internal part thereof having a component area for setting components, N and M are positive integers greater than 0 and 1 respectively, and the circuit detection device includes: M pins, one-to-one electrically connected to the M terminals of the circuit to be tested; N sensors, one-to-one arranged directly above or directly below the component area of the N circuit units, wherein each of the N sensors has at least one detection point and the component area of each of the N circuit units correspondingly has at least one test point and the at least one detection point is connected to the M terminals of the circuit to be tested; At least one capacitance is formed for at least one test point directly below or directly above it; and a voltage resistance meter, which has a plurality of switch elements and selectively electrically connects to two of the M pins or one of the M pins and one of the N sensors by switching the plurality of switch elements, so as to measure a resistance between the terminals of the circuit to be tested, or at least one voltage of the at least one capacitance formed by each of the N sensors and one of the N circuit units corresponding thereto, so as to determine whether the circuit to be tested has an open circuit/short circuit between the terminals or an internal open circuit within the N circuit units. The circuit detection device as described in claim 1, wherein the N circuit units are divided into P types of circuit unit subsets, the N sensors are correspondingly divided into P types of sensor subsets, and each of the sensor subsets is respectively arranged directly above or directly below the component region of each of the circuit unit subsets, and P is a positive integer greater than 1. The circuit detection device as described in claim 1 further includes a structural member on which the M pins are fixed. The circuit testing device as described in claim 1, 2 or 3 further includes a placement platform for placing the circuit to be tested thereon. A circuit detection device as described in claim 4, wherein the N sensors are fixed on the structure and placed directly above the circuit to be tested. The circuit detection device as described in claim 4, wherein the placement platform further includes a groove for placing the N sensors therein, so that the N sensors are located directly below the circuit to be tested. A method for using a circuit detection device as described in claim 1, comprising the following steps: (a) performing at least one measurement (i) and at least one measurement (ii), wherein: the measurement (i) is to measure the resistance between the corresponding terminals by two of the M pins; and the measurement (ii) is to measure the at least one voltage of the at least one capacitor formed by one of the N sensors and the N circuit units corresponding thereto by one of the M pins and one of the N sensors; (b) outputting the measured at least one resistance value and at least one voltage value; and (c) judging whether there is an open circuit between the M terminals based on the measured at least one resistance value and the at least one voltage value. or short circuit, and judge whether there is an internal open circuit in the N circuit units, wherein: when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be connected according to the circuit layout, when a first resistance value among the at least one resistance value corresponding thereto is greater than a first resistance threshold value, it is judged that there is an open circuit between the terminals; when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be disconnected according to the circuit layout, when a second resistance value among the at least one resistance value corresponding thereto is less than a second resistance threshold value, it is judged that there is a short circuit between the terminals; and when one of the at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value, it is judged that there is an internal open circuit in one of the N circuit units corresponding thereto. A circuit detection device is used to detect a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes a plurality of circuit units and M terminals, and each of the plurality of circuit units has a component area for setting components, M is a positive integer greater than 1, and the circuit detection device includes: M pins, one-to-one electrically connected to the M terminals of the circuit to be tested; a sensor, which can be movably arranged just above or just below the component area of one of the plurality of circuit units, wherein the sensor has at least one detection point and the component area of each of the N circuit units has at least A test point and the at least one detection point forms at least one capacitor with the at least one test point directly below or directly above it; and a voltage resistance meter, selectively electrically connected to two of the M pins or one of the M pins and the sensor, so as to measure a resistance between the terminals of the circuit to be tested, or at least a voltage across the at least one capacitor formed by the sensor and one of the corresponding circuit units, so as to determine whether the circuit to be tested has an open circuit/short circuit between the terminals or an internal open circuit in one of the multiple circuit units. A method for using a circuit detection device as described in claim 8, comprising the following steps: (a) performing at least one measurement (i) and at least one measurement (ii), wherein: The measurement (i) is to measure the resistance between the corresponding terminals by two of the M pins; the measurement (ii) is to measure the resistance between the sensor and the corresponding circuit units by one of the M pins and the sensor. (a) measuring at least one voltage of the at least one capacitor formed; and after performing one of the at least one measurement (ii), moving the sensor to directly above or directly below at least one unmeasured circuit unit among the plurality of circuit units to perform another of the at least one measurement (ii) until all of the at least one measurement (ii) are performed; and (b) outputting the measured at least one resistance value and at least one voltage value; and (c) determining whether there is an open circuit or a short circuit between the M terminals and determining whether there is an internal open circuit in the plurality of circuit units according to the measured at least one resistance value and the at least one voltage value, wherein: when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be connected according to the circuit layout, when a first resistance value among the corresponding at least one resistance value is greater than a first resistance threshold value, determining whether the corresponding one of the two terminals is open or short circuited. There is an open circuit between the terminals; when the terminals corresponding to two of the M pins should be disconnected according to the circuit layout, when a second resistance value of the at least one resistance value corresponding to it is less than a second resistance threshold value, it is determined that there is a short circuit between the corresponding terminals; and when one of the at least one voltage value is less than a voltage threshold value, it is determined that there is an internal open circuit in one of the corresponding plurality of circuit units. A circuit detection device is used to detect a circuit to be tested, wherein the circuit to be tested includes a plurality of terminals and a component area for setting components. The circuit detection device includes: a pin-type detection unit for detecting a first conductive state between two points of the plurality of terminals; and a sensing detection unit for detecting a second conductive state between one of the plurality of terminals and a test point of the component area; and a voltage resistance meter selectively electrically connected to the pin-type detection unit and the sensing detection unit to measure the first conductive state or the second conductive state to determine whether the circuit to be tested has an open circuit/short circuit between the terminals. A circuit detection device as described in claim 10, wherein the pin-type detection unit and the inductive detection unit share a pin.

Images