Electronic device and printed circuit board testing method

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, and particularly, to an electronic device capable of testing a printed circuit board (PCB) automatically.

2. Description of Related Art

A common PCB testing method of the radio frequency (RF) employs a number of shielding boxes to receive a number of PCBs to be tested (hereinafter to-be-tested PCBs). However, before testing, it needs an operator to find an open shielding box, carry the to-be-tested PCB into the open shielding box manually, and close the shielding box. Then, the operator must manually operate a testing button on the computer to start a processing of testing the PCB. And after the testing is completed, the operator must manually open the shielding box and carry the tested PCB out from the shielding box, which is time consuming and manpower consuming. Accordingly, there is a need for an electronic device to resolve the above problems.

The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an electronic device controlling a robot to test the to-be-tested PCB in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electronic device of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a PCB testing method in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are now described in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1-2 show an embodiment of an electronic device 1 . The electronic device 1 is connected to a number of shielding boxes 2 in a wired mode, such as, USB connection mode, for example. Each shielding box 2 receives a PCB 3 to be tested (hereinafter to-be-tested PCB). Each shielding box 2 includes a unique identifier. In the embodiment, the electronic device 1 includes a storage unit 10 . The storage unit 10 stores the unique identifier of each shielding box 2 . The electronic device 1 determines to open and close which shielding box 2 according to the unique identifier. When the shielding box 2 is open, the electronic device 1 marks the unique identifier corresponding to the open shielding box 2 stored in the storage unit 10 to identify that the shielding box 2 corresponding to the marked unique identifier is open. The electronic device 1 is connected to a robot 4 by a wireless mode, to control the robot 4 to move and operate. In the embodiment, the electronic device 1 further connects to a camera 5 . A testing software 6 is embedded in the electronic device 1 . The electronic device 1 can utilize the testing software 6 to test the to-be-tested PCB 3 . Each PCB 3 includes a unique identifier. In the embodiment, the unique identifier of each PCB 3 is a series number. A preset position that each PCB 3 is placed in front of the camera 5 must make sure that the camera 5 can capture the unique identifier of the corresponding PCB 3 , thus the electronic device 1 can determine the unique identifier of the PCB 3 according to an image captured by the camera 5 . Before testing, the electronic device 1 determines the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 and transmits the determined unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 to the testing software 6 , thus the testing software 6 can generate a testing result corresponding to the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 , and a user can accordingly know which PCB is tested succeeded or failed. In the embodiment, the electronic device 1 determines the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 according to the captured image of the to-be-tested PCB 3 , controls the robot 4 to carry the to-be-tested PCB 3 into the open shielding box 2 , and controls the testing software 6 to test the to-be-tested PCB 3 to generate the testing result corresponding to the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 .

In the embodiment, the electronic device 1 further includes a processor unit 20 . A PCB testing system 30 is applied on the electronic device 1 . In the embodiment, the PCB testing system 30 includes a determining module 31 , a first control module 32 , an image analyzing module 33 , a second control module 34 , and a testing module 35 . One or more programs of the above function modules may be stored in the storage unit 10 and executed by the processor 20 . In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language. The software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as in an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) device. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other storage device. In the embodiment, the processing unit 20 can be a central processing unit, a digital processor, a single chip, for example.

In the embodiment, the storage unit 10 stores a first predetermined path. The first predetermined path indicates a path from a depot to a preset position in front of the camera 5 , thus the robot 4 can move from the depot to the preset position in front of the camera 5 along the first predetermined path. In the embodiment, the depot stores a number of to-be-tested PCBs 3 . The storage unit 10 further stores a number of second predetermined paths each corresponding to one of the shielding boxes 2 . Each second predetermined path indicates a path from the preset position in front of the camera 5 to the corresponding shielding box 2 , thus the robot 4 can move from the preset position in front of the camera 5 to the shielding box 2 along the second predetermined path.

The determining module 31 determines whether there is an open shielding box 2 every a time interval. In detail, the determining module 31 searches the storage unit 10 to determine whether a marked identifier of the shielding box is existed in the storage unit 10 . When a marked identifier of the shielding box is existed in the storage unit 10 , the determining module 31 determines that the shielding box 2 corresponding to the marked identifier is open. When no marked identifier of the shielding box is existed in the storage unit 10 , the determining module 31 determines that no shielding box 2 is open.

The first control module 32 transmits a first control signal including the first predetermined path to the robot 4 when there is an open shielding box 2 determined by the determining module 31 , to control the robot 4 to carry the to-be-tested PCB 3 from the depot to the preset position in front of the camera 5 along the first predetermined path. Thus, the camera 5 can accordingly capture the image of the to-be-tested PCB 3 .

The image analyzing module 33 obtains the image captured by the camera 5 , recognizes the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 in the obtained image, and transmits the recognized unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 to the testing software 6 .

The second control module 34 determines the second predetermined path corresponding to the marked unique identifier of the shielding box, and transmits a second control signal including the determined second predetermined path to the robot 4 , to control the robot 4 to carry the to-be-tested PCB 3 whose image has been captured by the camera 5 from the preset position in front of the camera 5 to the open shielding box 2 along the second predetermined path.

The testing module 35 closes the determined open shielding box 2 when a duration after the second control module 34 transmits the second control signal reaches a predetermined time, and controls the testing software 6 to test the to-be-tested PCB 3 , to generate the testing result corresponding to the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 . Here, the predetermined time is greater than or equal to a duration that the robot 4 carries the to-be-tested PCB 3 from the camera 5 to the open shielding box 2 .

In the embodiment, the PCB testing system 30 includes a third control module 36 . The third control module 36 determines the unique identifier of the closed shielding box 2 in which the PCB 3 is tested completed (hereinafter tested PCB), opens the closed shielding box 2 according to the determined unique identifier, and transmits a third control signal to the robot 4 , to control the robot 4 to carry the tested PCB 3 out from the open shielding box 2 .

In the embodiment, the testing module 35 further cancels the mark of the unique identifier of the closed shielding box 2 stored in the storage unit 10 when the testing module 35 closes the determined open shielding box 2 , and the third control module 36 further marks the determined unique identifier of the open shielding box 2 stored in the storage unit 10 when the third control module 36 opens the shielding box 2 .

In the embodiment, the testing module 35 further records the testing result corresponding to the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 in the storage unit 10 .

FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of a PCB testing method in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.

In step S 301 , the determining module 31 determines whether there is an open shielding box 2 every a time interval. If there is an open shielding box 2 , the procedure goes to step S 302 . If there is no open shielding box 2 , the procedure is ended. In detail, the determining module 31 searches the storage unit 10 to determine whether a marked identifier of the shielding box is existed in the storage unit 10 . When a marked identifier of the shielding box is existed in the storage unit 10 , the determining module 31 determines the shielding box 2 corresponding to the marked identifier is open.

In step S 302 , the first control module 32 transmits a first control signal including a first predetermined path to the robot 4 , to control the robot 4 to carry the to-be-tested PCB 3 from the depot to the preset position in front of the camera 5 along the first predetermined path.

In step S 303 , the image analyzing module 33 obtains an image captured by the camera 5 , recognizes the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 in the obtained image, and transmits the recognized unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 to the testing software 6 .

In step S 304 , the second control module 34 determines the second predetermined path corresponding to the marked unique identifier of the shielding box, and transmits a second control signal including the determined second predetermined path to the robot 4 , to control the robot 4 to carry the to-be-tested PCB 3 whose image has been captured by the camera 5 from the preset position in front of the camera 5 to the open shielding box 2 along the second predetermined path.

In step S 305 , the testing module 35 closes the determined open shielding box 2 when a duration after the second control module 34 transmits the second control signal reaches a predetermined time, and controls the testing software 6 to test the to-be-tested PCB 3 , to generate the testing result corresponding to the unique identifier of the to-be-tested PCB 3 .

In this way, the electronic device 1 can monitor the open and the close of the shielding box 2 and control the robot 4 to execute the test of the PCB 3 without manpower, which saves time and manpower.

Although the present disclosure has been specifically described on the basis of the exemplary embodiment thereof, the disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure.