Test System Health Score via Simulation Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current test and measurement systems for electrical devices are expensive and labor-intensive, often requiring significant manual effort and repeated redesigns when devices fail to meet performance standards.
Innovation Solution
A test and measurement system that includes a margin tester and a server-based database analysis system, which analyzes test results from devices under test (DUTs) in relation to historical data, generating health scores and providing design feedback to reduce rework and improve compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional test and measurement systems (BERT/VNA) are used to test device compliance, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses simulation data as a copy or model of actual device performance, comparing simulated electrical characteristics against target specifications. This allows compliance assessment without requiring complex physical test equipment like BERT or VNA, thereby maintaining measurement reliability while reducing system complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces simulation software as an intermediary between the device under test and the compliance assessment. The simulation acts as a mediator that translates physical device characteristics into comparable electrical parameters, enabling compliance testing through computational models rather than direct complex measurement systems.
2Measurement precision
If manual testing procedures are used to ensure device performance, then measurement precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to significant manual labor requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically comparing simulated electrical characteristics against target specifications without requiring manual intervention. The simulation software autonomously evaluates device compliance, generates pass/fail determinations, and provides feedback, thereby maintaining measurement precision while dramatically increasing productivity and reducing manual labor requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements automated feedback loops where simulation results are immediately compared against targets, and compliance determinations are automatically generated. This feedback mechanism eliminates manual analysis steps, maintaining measurement precision while accelerating the testing process and improving overall productivity.
3Manufacturing precision
If repeated redesign and retesting are performed when devices fail compliance, then manufacturing precision is improved, but loss of time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary compliance assessment through simulation before actual device manufacturing or physical testing. By evaluating electrical characteristics computationally in advance, the system identifies potential compliance issues early, allowing designers to make corrections before committing to manufacturing cycles. This preliminary action reduces the need for repeated redesign and retesting, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while minimizing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables skipping of lengthy physical testing and iterative redesign cycles by using simulation to rapidly evaluate compliance. The simulation approach allows designers to quickly assess device performance, identify issues, and iterate designs without undergoing time-consuming manual testing loops, thus maintaining compliance adherence while dramatically reducing the time required for design validation.
Data Source
AI summary
A test and measurement system has a test and measurement instrument having an adaptor with an interface configured to communicate through one or more communications links with a new device under test to receive new test results, a memory configured to store a database of test results and a database of analyzed test results related to tests performed with one or more prior devices under test, a data analyzer connected to the test and measurement instrument through the one or more communications link, the data analyzer configured to analyze the new test results based on the stored test results, and a health score generator configured to generate a health score for the new device under test based on the analysis from the data analyzer.