Apparatus for testing electronic devices

Abstract

An apparatus for testing electronic devices, comprising: a base platform; a cover plate disposed on the base platform and defining, together with the base platform, a test chamber array and at least one gap separating the plurality of test chambers from each other, wherein the cover plate has, at each of the plurality of test chambers, a top opening for placing an electronic device within the test chamber and a sidewall around the opening for separating the test chamber from the at least one gap; an array of test boards, each disposed under one of the array of test chambers, where each test board includes a socket connectable with the electronic device placed within the test chamber for testing; and an electromagnetic absorbing material disposed within the at least one gap and attached to the cover plate to absorb electromagnetic interference between the plurality of adjacent electronic devices when the adjacent electronic devices are placed within the test chamber array for testing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to electronic testing technology, and more particularly, to an apparatus for testing electronic devices. Background Art

[0002] Ultra-wideband (UWB) devices that use high-frequency electromagnetic waves (e.g., 5 to 9 GHz) as a means of communication are currently widely used. In order to test the performance and quality of UWB devices, a test board is provided to apply test signals to the UWB devices connected to the test board and receive results from the UWB devices. Generally speaking, multiple UWB devices are placed in a single test device to allow parallel testing. However, it is noted that interference may occur between adjacent UWB devices, thereby reducing the accuracy of the test results.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the existing testing equipment. Summary of the invention

[0004] An object of the present application is to provide an apparatus for testing electronic devices with reduced interference between the devices under test.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, a device for testing electronic devices is disclosed. The device includes: a base platform; a cover plate, which is placed on the base platform and defines a test chamber array and at least one gap separating the multiple test chambers from each other together with the base platform, wherein the cover plate has a top opening for placing an electronic device in the test chamber and a side wall around the opening for separating the test chamber from the at least one gap at each of the multiple test chambers; an array of test boards, each of which is placed under one of the test chamber arrays, wherein each test board includes a socket that can be connected to the electronic device placed in the test chamber for testing; and an electromagnetic absorption material, which is placed in the at least one gap and attached to the cover plate to absorb electromagnetic interference between the multiple adjacent electronic devices when the adjacent electronic devices are placed in the test chamber array for testing.

[0006] It should be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and do not limit the present invention. In addition, the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The drawings referred to herein form part of the specification. The features shown in the drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present application, rather than all embodiments of the present application, unless the specific implementation method clearly indicates otherwise, and the reader of this specification should not make an inference to the contrary.

[0008] Figure 1 Describes common equipment used to test electronic devices.

[0009] Figure 2 A device for testing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application is described.

[0010] Figure 3 An apparatus for testing an electronic device according to an alternative embodiment of the present application is described.

[0011] Figure 4 and Figure 5 A device for testing an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present application is described.

[0012] Figure 6 A cover plate of an apparatus for testing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application is described.

[0013] The same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present application refers to the accompanying drawings that form a part of the description. The drawings illustrate specific exemplary embodiments that can practice the present application. The detailed description including the drawings describes these embodiments in sufficient detail to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the present application. A person skilled in the art may further utilize other embodiments of the present application and make logical, mechanical and other changes without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the reader of the following detailed description should not interpret the description in a limiting sense, and only the appended claims define the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0015] In this application, unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of the singular includes the plural. In this application, unless otherwise stated, the use of "or" means "and / or". In addition, the use of the term "including" and other forms such as "includes" and "included" is not restrictive. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, terms such as "element" or "component" cover both elements and components that contain one unit and elements and components that contain more than one subunit. In addition, the section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and should not be understood to limit the subject matter described.

[0016] As used herein, for ease of description, spatially relative terms such as "under," "below," "above," "above," "up," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "side," and the like may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the drawings. The device may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein may likewise be interpreted accordingly. It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, the element may be directly connected to or coupled to the other element, or there may be intermediate elements.

[0017] Figure 1 A conventional apparatus 10 for testing electronic devices is illustrated. In some embodiments, the test apparatus 10 may be used to perform electrical performance testing on wireless devices or other similar devices.

[0018] like Figure 1 As shown, the test apparatus 10 includes a base platform 12 in which a plurality of test boards 14 are placed. Each test board 14 may be a printed circuit board or other similar base having a socket 16 and a connector 18. The socket 16 is used to connect an electronic device 20 to be tested (device under test, DUT), and the connector 18 is connected to a host device (not shown) such as a controller, a tester, a personal computer, a server, etc., through a lead or cable 19. The socket 16 and the connector 18 are electrically coupled to each other via the test board 14 (e.g., wiring, traces, or similar conductive structures in the test board 14), so that a test signal can be applied from the host device to the electronic device 20, and a test result can be received from the electronic device 20 to the host device.

[0019] In addition, the cover plate 22 is placed above the base platform 12 to prevent electromagnetic interference between two adjacent electronic devices 20 and from the external space. However, the inventors of the present application found that even if there is a side wall 24 for separating the test chamber 26 in the test chamber 26 where the side wall 24 is located, the interference between the two adjacent electronic devices 20 is still quite large. The inventors further found that the strong penetration power of the parasitic wireless signal radiated by the electronic device 20 causes interference, which cannot be effectively eliminated or reduced by the side wall 24. In order to solve the above problems, a test device with better electromagnetic isolation between adjacent test chambers of the test device is provided. In addition, electromagnetic isolation can be implemented using an electromagnetic absorption tape, which can be filled between adjacent test chambers, which is simple but effective.

[0020] Figure 2 An apparatus 100 for testing an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application is described.

[0021] like Figure 2 As shown, the test apparatus 100 includes a base platform 102 in which other components of the test apparatus 100 are placed. For example, a plurality of test boards 104 may be placed on the base platform 102. The test boards 104 may be connected to each other so that they may be placed as a whole on the base platform 102. However, in order to allow wiring of the test boards 104 to a host device (not shown), corresponding openings may be formed through the base platform 102 and between adjacent test boards 104.

[0022] Each test board 104 may be a printed circuit board or other similar substrate having a socket 106 and a connector 108. The socket 106 may be connected to an electronic device 120 to be tested, and the connector 108 is connected to a host device (not shown), such as a controller, a tester, a personal computer, a server, etc. The socket 106 and the connector 108 are electrically coupled to each other via the test board 104, so that a test signal can be applied from the host device to the electronic device 120, and a test result can be received from the electronic device 120 to the host device.

[0023] The test device 100 further includes a cover plate 110. The cover plate 110 may be made of metal or other similar conductive materials. The cover plate 110 may be placed on the base platform 102 so that it can define an array of test chambers 114 with the base platform 102. Each of the test chambers 114 is used to accommodate an electronic device 120 and is above the test board 104. The test chambers 114 may be separated from each other by at least one gap 116. In the present embodiment, a plurality of gaps 116 are formed by the cover plate 110 and the base platform 102. These gaps 116 provide space for accommodating some components of the test device 100. For example, a portion of the test board 104 and the connector 108 and wire 109 attached thereto are accommodated in the gap 116. In addition, the gap 116 may be connected to the respective openings of the base platform 102 so that the wire 109 may extend from the connector 108 to the host device and pass through the gap 116 and the opening. In some embodiments, the gaps 116 of the cover plate 110 may be connected together. In some other embodiments, the gaps 116 may be separated from one another, for example, by additional support walls extending between the cover plate 110 and the substrate platform 102 .

[0024] The cover plate 110 has a top opening at each of the plurality of test chambers 114, and the electronic device 120 can be placed in the test chamber via the top opening. For example, the cover plate 110 can have a main frame 122 that is the topmost portion of the cover plate 110. The main frame 122 can define the top opening of the cover plate 110. It can be appreciated that the top opening should have a size larger than the electronic device 120 being tested to facilitate placement and movement of the electronic device 120. Since these openings provide access to the test board for the electronic device being tested, the cover plate 110 can be fixed to the base platform via fasteners, threads, or the like, rather than being removably supported on the base platform 102.

[0025] In addition, the cover plate 110 may have a side wall 112 around the top opening to separate the test chamber 114 from the adjacent gap. It can be seen that the gap 116 can provide space between adjacent test chambers 114 so that additional interference elimination components can be deployed. Specifically, electromagnetic absorption material 118 can be placed in the gap 116 and attached to the cover plate 110 to absorb electromagnetic interference between adjacent electronic devices when the adjacent electronic devices are placed in the test chamber 114 for testing. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic absorption material 118 can be attached to the bottom surface of the main frame 122, such as Figure 1 In some alternative embodiments, the electromagnetic absorption material 118 may be attached to the inner surface of the side wall 112, or to both the main frame 122 and the side wall 112.

[0026] In some embodiments, the electromagnetic absorption material 118 may be in the form of a tape that can be easily attached to the cover plate 110. For example, the electromagnetic absorption material 118 may be a laminate of a metal layer, an electromagnetic absorption layer, and an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer may be used to attach the electromagnetic absorption material 118, while the metal layer and the electromagnetic absorption layer may serve as a layer to prevent the penetration of electromagnetic waves between two adjacent test chambers. In an example, the electromagnetic absorption material 118 may be a W-Absorber absorption tape available from Withwave. The W-Absorber absorption tape is a microwave absorption tape in a sheet format made of a mixture of polymer resin and metal magnetic powder, which can suppress electromagnetic noise from electronic devices for a broadband microwave frequency range and reduce surface currents and surface reflections in cavity resonance applications. However, it can be understood that any other suitable material can be used.

[0027] It can be understood that the electromagnetic absorption material 118 is not disposed in the test chamber 114, for example, not disposed on the outer surface of the side wall 114 (the outer surface is a side surface close to the device under test in the figure). Since the test chamber 114 is used to receive different electronic devices and the electromagnetic absorption material 118 is generally soft, if the electromagnetic absorption material 118 is placed in the test chamber 114 instead of filling the gap 116, it may be easily worn.

[0028] In some embodiments, the cover plate 110 may include at least one support wall 124 in the gap 116. For example, each support wall 124 may be disposed between two adjacent test chambers 114. The support wall 124 may extend between the main frame 122 and the substrate platform 102 to support the cover plate 110 on the substrate platform 102 together with the sidewall 112. The support wall 124 provides additional structure between the test chambers 114 to which the electromagnetic absorbing material may be attached. Figure 3 As shown, which is an alternative embodiment of the present application, two pieces of electromagnetic absorption material 218 are attached to both sides of the support wall 224 of the cover plate 210. The electromagnetic absorption material 218 can better suppress electromagnetic interference between adjacent electronic devices, because the vertically extending absorber material 218 significantly increases the electromagnetic path therebetween.

[0029] Electromagnetic absorbing materials may be attached to or filled in other locations of the test device. Figure 4 An apparatus 300 for testing an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present application is described.

[0030] like Figure 4 As shown in , the base platform 302 and the cover plate 310 of the test device 300 define a gap between two adjacent test chambers. Inside the gap, a support wall 324 stands between the cover plate 310 and the platform 302. A portion 318 of the electromagnetic absorption material is attached to the side surface of the support wall 324 for interference suppression. In addition, the connector 308 of the test board is disposed inside the gap. Another portion 330 of the electromagnetic absorption material is also disposed between the connector 308 and the cover plate 310. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic absorption material 318 may be attached to the bottom surface of the cover plate 310 and the inner surface of the side wall of the cover plate 310. In some alternative embodiments, the electromagnetic absorption material 318 may be attached to the top surface of the connector 308 and optionally the top surface of the test board. Preferably, a protective tape 326 may be installed above the connector 308, and the electromagnetic absorption material 330 is attached to the connector 308 via the protective tape 326. The protective tape 326 can protect the connector 308 from undue damage by the electromagnetic absorbing material 330, especially damage caused by pressure applied by the electromagnetic absorbing material 330 when the cover plate 310 is assembled with the base platform 302. The protective tape 326 can be formed of a softer material than the electromagnetic absorbing material 330. Therefore, the portion of the electromagnetic absorbing material 330 provides improved electromagnetic isolation between two adjacent test chambers.

[0031] In some embodiments, the support wall 324 can be fixed to the substrate platform 302. For example, Figure 5As shown, the support wall 324 may first be assembled with the substrate platform 302, wherein the two portions of the electromagnetic absorption material 318 and the electromagnetic absorption material 330 are attached to the support wall 324 and the connector 308. Next, the cover plate 310 may be loaded onto the substrate platform 302 and assembled with the substrate platform, wherein the support wall 324 extends between the cover plate 310 and the substrate platform 302.

[0032] In some alternative embodiments, the support wall 324 may be integrally formed with the cover plate 310 , such as being fixed to the cover plate 310 via fasteners, or being molded together with the cover plate 310 . Figure 6 4 shows a bottom view of the cover plate 410 with support walls. Figure 6 As shown, the cover plate 410 has a plurality of test chambers, each of which is enclosed by a side wall 412. In addition, the cover plate 410 includes a plurality of gaps 416, each of which encloses a corresponding side wall 412. The gaps 416 are separated from each other by support walls 424. The support walls 414 are connected to each other as a support frame and are formed integrally with the cover plate 410. An electromagnetic absorption material 418 is attached to the bottom surface of the cover plate 410 to fill the space between the support wall 424 and the side wall 412, as shown in FIG. Figure 6 In some embodiments, another top cover made of metal or similar conductive material may be provided and assembled with a cover plate to cover the top opening of the cover plate, and thus the test chamber of the electronic device may form a substantially confined space.

[0033] The test equipment according to the embodiment of the present application has been used for calibration and radio frequency performance testing of electronic devices. According to the test results, calibration and performance testing can be performed more reliably due to the reduction of interference between test points. The test failure rate can be greatly reduced from 10% (tests performed using conventional test equipment) to less than 1.5%, which improves the productivity of electronic devices.

[0034] Although an exemplary apparatus for testing electronic devices according to the present application has been described in conjunction with the corresponding drawings, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications and adaptations may be made to the method without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0035] Various embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it will be appreciated that various modifications and variations may be made thereto, and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from the broader scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. In addition, other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art by consideration of the specification and practice of one or more embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. Therefore, it is intended that the present application and the examples herein be considered exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the list of the appended exemplary claims.

Claims

1. A device for testing electronic devices, characterized in that The device comprises: Base platform, a cover plate disposed on the base platform and defining, together with the base platform, an array of test chambers and at least one gap separating the plurality of test chambers from each other, wherein the cover plate has, at each of the plurality of test chambers, a top opening for placing an electronic device in the test chamber and a side wall around the opening for separating the test chamber from the at least one gap; an array of test boards each disposed beneath one of the array of test chambers, wherein each test board includes a socket capable of connecting to the electronic device placed within the test chamber for testing; and An electromagnetic absorption material is disposed within the at least one gap and attached to the cover plate to absorb electromagnetic interference between the plurality of adjacent electronic devices when the adjacent electronic devices are placed within the test chamber array for testing.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The electromagnetic absorbing material is attached to a plurality of the side walls.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The cover plate has a main frame in which the plurality of openings are formed, and the electromagnetic absorbing material is attached to the main frame.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The cover plate has a main frame in which the plurality of openings are formed, at least one supporting wall extending between the main frame and the base platform, and the electromagnetic absorption material is attached to the at least one supporting wall.

5. The device according to claim 4, characterized in that The electromagnetic absorbing material is further attached to the plurality of side walls.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that Each of the array of test boards further includes a connector disposed within the at least one gap and electrically coupled to the socket, and wherein the connector is configured for connecting the socket with a host device for testing the plurality of electronic devices.

7. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that Each of the array of test boards further includes a protective tape mounted over the connector, and the electromagnetic absorbing material is attached over the protective tape.

8. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The electromagnetic absorbing material is in the form of a tape.

9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that The electromagnetic absorption material is a laminate of a metal layer, an electromagnetic absorption layer and an adhesive layer.

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