Spring-Loaded Removable Test Fixture for Circuit Board
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Solution Overview
Problem
Circuit board testers face challenges in accommodating varying heat sink heights, leading to mechanical damage or poor thermal contact, and existing solutions lack adjustable and removable thermal interfaces to ensure consistent testing results across different board configurations.
Innovation Solution
A spring-loaded, removable test fixture with adjustable linkages that can accommodate components of varying heights, allowing intimate contact regardless of the component's height, and interchangeable modules for thermal and electrical interfaces to ensure reliable testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed thermal interface is used in the circuit board tester, then the structure is simple, but it cannot accommodate varying heat sink heights leading to mechanical damage or poor thermal contact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing fixed thermal interfaces with spring-loaded mechanisms that can dynamically adjust to varying heat sink heights. The spring-loaded test jets and interchangeable modules enable the fixture to adapt its configuration based on the specific component being tested, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the thermal interface into interchangeable modules that can be selectively attached and removed. This segmentation allows different module configurations to be used for different heat sink heights, providing adaptability while keeping each individual module relatively simple in structure.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the thermal interface is permanently attached to accommodate one heat sink dimension, then manufacturing is simple, but retooling is required for design changes
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded, interchangeable module system allows the thermal interface to dynamically adapt to different heat sink dimensions without requiring permanent retooling. Modules can be quickly swapped to match different component configurations, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while enabling flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The interchangeable modules are designed with universal mounting interfaces that can accommodate various heat sink dimensions. A single module design can serve multiple testing configurations, reducing the need for specialized tools for each component type while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Adaptability or versatility
If fixed-length linkages are used in the fixture, then the structure is rigid and stable, but they cannot accommodate components of varying heights
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces fixed-length linkages with spring-loaded, adjustable linkages that can dynamically change their effective length to accommodate varying component heights. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the fixture to maintain stable contact force while adapting to different component configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable linkages enable parameter changes in the fixture configuration, specifically the distance between the thermal interface and the component. By allowing this parameter to vary based on component height, the system achieves adaptability while maintaining structural stability through the spring-loaded mechanism.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures reliable and consistent testing by accommodating varying component heights, preventing mechanical damage and ensuring proper thermal contact, while allowing for easy adaptation to different designs, thereby improving test accuracy and reducing the need for frequent retooling.
Implementation Method 1
length adjustable linkage capable of altering the distance between said contact element and said mounting element
Implementation Method 2
The UUT and the electrical probes are then brought into contact by evacuating the region between the vacuum box and the probe plate, forcing the vacuum box and the probe plate toward each other due to atmospheric pressure
Data Source
AI summary
A circuit board tester that uses an axial translation to bring a unit under test (UUT) into physical and electric contact with a series of electrical probes. The element on the tester that comes into contact with the UUT, on the side opposite the probes, is both spring-loaded and removable. For a first configuration in which a UUT has a heat sink, an internal heat sink snaps into the top of the tester. When the UUT is tested, the heat sink on the UUT contacts the internal heat sink and depresses it slightly into the top, under the influence of a spring-loaded support. For a second configuration in which the UUT has no heat sink, a block snaps into the top of the tester, and is spring-loaded through a series of receptacles to a module that contacts the UUT during operation.