RU2811335C1 - Method and device for monitoring contacts of connector sockets installed on printed circuit board - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electronic equipment.

SUBSTANCE: production and control of electronic equipment using an inter-board connector, such as SP388, installed on a printed circuit board using the “press-fit” method. A device for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets installed on a printed circuit board, containing a base, a board table, a control unit, an optical-electronic reading device and mechanisms for its longitudinal and transverse movement. The moving mechanisms are configured to stop the camera in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts, and the camera is configured to automatically focus on the contact being examined. The printed circuit board is placed on the table. The carriage with the camera installed on it is moved with stops in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts. The contact is recognized and the contact is compared with an image from the memory of the control unit and a protocol is generated in which the faulty contacts are identified.

EFFECT: increasing the productivity and reliability of determining the performance of sockets.

8 cl, 1 dwg

Description

Technical field

The group of inventions relates to the field of production and control of electronic equipment using an inter-board connector, such as SP388, installed on a printed circuit board using the “press-fit” method, the contacts of which must be carefully controlled for reasons of high positioning accuracy when connecting the plug and socket.

State of the art

From the prior art (RU 12470 U1, G01R 31/02, publ. 01/10/2000, priority from 06/15/1999) a device for monitoring connections of multilayer printed circuit boards is known, containing a contact block, which is connected through an interface block to a PC, into which a unified software is introduced security. In this case, the board under test in the contact block is pressed against spring-loaded contacts installed in the template in accordance with the topology of the outer layers of the board. The disadvantage of this device is the impossibility of assessing the technical condition of connectors with a high contact density, such as SP388, since the device does not have the necessary means for monitoring and identifying defects in contact plugs.

From the prior art (RU 2569911 C2, G01R 31/02, publ. 12/10/2015, priority from 02/10/2014) an automated system for monitoring and diagnosing electrical circuits of complex technical products is known, containing a computer and a measuring device and a switch connected to the computer via an interface backbone . The switch contains two independent switch fields. Two corresponding technological harnesses are connected to the contacts of the switching channels. The number of channels of each field of the switch and the number of electrical circuits of the technological harness connected to it correspond to the maximum number of contacts that the standard connector of the controlled product has. The disadvantage of this system is the limited range of devices being diagnosed, as well as the impossibility of accurately establishing the state of the socket contacts. The disadvantages are due to the fact that to assess the condition of the device, the harnesses are connected to connectors. Moreover, if one or more contacts had any damage (bending, creasing, oxide film, etc.), then it is impossible to say unambiguously where the malfunction occurred: in the contacts of the connector socket, in radio components or in the device board. In addition, an attempt to install switching fields in sockets with bent contacts can lead not only to failure of individual sockets, but also to damage to the switching fields themselves.

From the prior art (RU 2717361 C1, G01R 31/28, publ. 03/23/2020, priority from 07/14/2017) a test system is known for monitoring electrical connections between the electronic elements of the controlled printed circuit board and the printed circuit board. The test module of the system may contain a camera that can perform the following functions: performing orientation and determining the position of the board relative to the test table, monitoring the presence of elements with which the board should be equipped, checking for the presence of soldering, and reading board barcodes. The disadvantage of the system is the impossibility of examining the state of the contacts of inter-board connectors, since the camera is not adapted for reading the topology of sockets and automated decision-making about the suitability of sockets for further use. This system was chosen as a prototype.

The essence of the invention

The proposed invention is aimed at eliminating the shortcomings of the prototype and the analogues listed above.

The technical objective of the present invention is to provide inspection of the state of contacts of connector sockets, in particular, connectors with a high contact density, such as SP338, which is expressed in the creation of a device for examining contacts and a method for identifying defective contacts using this device.

The technical result of the use of the present invention is to increase the productivity and reliability of determining the performance of sockets.

The claimed technical result is provided by a device for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets installed on a printed circuit board. The device contains a base, a board table, a control unit, a carriage with an optical-electronic reading device (hereinafter OSU) and mechanisms for its longitudinal and transverse movement. In this case, the moving mechanisms are configured to stop the camera in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts, and the camera is configured to automatically focus on the contact being examined. Stepper motors can be used as movement mechanisms, which will ensure accurate and simple positioning of the video camera over the contact being examined.

In this case, the determination of the suitability of the examined contact occurs in the control unit by comparing a three-dimensional image from an optical-electronic reading device (hereinafter OSU) with a reference image of the controlled object. The control unit also generates a protocol indicating the location of faulty contacts. Faulty contacts can, for example, be graphically marked on the board and/or socket diagram, or indicated in the form of a digital code that indicates the location of the faulty contact, for example, in the following form: XX-YY-ZZ, where XX is the number of the socket on the board , in which a faulty contact is detected; YY – number of the row in which the faulty contact is located; ZZ – number of the faulty contact in the row.

If necessary, the claimed device can be used to control the filling of a printed circuit board with components. To do this, the corresponding information about the content of the circuit and methods for monitoring it using a video camera is entered into the control unit.

In addition, the claimed technical result is achieved in a method for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets installed on a printed circuit board. The method involves placing a printed circuit board on a table. The carriage with the camera installed on it, according to commands from the control unit, is moved with stops in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts. The contact is recognized and the contact image is compared with the image from the control unit memory. After examining all contacts, a protocol is generated in which faulty contacts are identified. The protocol is displayed on the monitor. Based on a visual inspection of faulty contacts, a decision is made about the suitability of the connector and board.

The task for moving the carriage is generated in the control unit based on the image of a working contact and the topology of the board under test, which includes information about the number of sockets being tested, the number of contacts in the sockets and the location of the sockets.

Brief description of drawings

Figure 1 shows a general view of the device for examining socket contacts.

The following positions are indicated on the figure: 1 – base; 2 – board table; 3 – board with sockets; 4 – sockets; 5 – mechanism for longitudinal movement of the video camera; 6 – mechanism for transverse movement of the video camera; 7 – optoelectronic reading device (OSU); 8 – longitudinal movement guides; 9 – transverse movement guides; 10 – stepper motors for transverse movement; 11 – stepper motors for longitudinal movement.

Carrying out the invention

The device for examining socket contacts consists of a base 1 on which a table 2 is placed for installing the board 3 to be examined with sockets 4. The OSU 7 is installed in the transverse movement guides 9, which, in turn, are installed on the longitudinal movement guides 8. Mechanisms are installed on the guides longitudinal 5 and transverse 6 movements. Stepper motors are used as drives for transverse 10 and longitudinal 11 movement.

The board 3 is oriented on the table 2 so that the OSU 7 can examine all the sockets 4 located on the board 3.

The OSU contains a front camera with a lens directed along the contact axis, as well as several peripheral cameras with a lens located obliquely around the central lens, which allows you to see the working contact area from different viewing angles, and all existing defects will be noticed. At the same time, the OSU is designed to work in modes: only with the central lens, central and peripheral lenses, as well as separately with peripheral cameras forming a three-dimensional image. Thus, the combination of video information from several lenses makes it possible to form a three-dimensional image, which is compared with reference images stored in the information base of the computer included in the control system, which ensures a high degree of reliability in the analysis of the quality of the working surfaces of the connector contacts.

If necessary, the orientation of the board 3 on the table 2 can be automated, while the OSU 7 generates instructions for the control unit, on the basis of which the manipulators can accurately install the board being examined.

After installing board 3 on table 2, the operator enters into the control unit a task containing the topology of the board under test, information about the location and number of sockets, and also indicates the number of contacts in the socket, the step between them, and selects a reference image of a working contact. During the examination, the carriage with the video camera moves with stops in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts to perform recognition of the test object and comparison with images stored in the memory of the control unit. As a result of the examination, the control unit generates a protocol indicating the location of faulty contacts on the board. The protocol is displayed on the operator’s monitor and stored in the memory of the control unit.

Based on the protocol, a visual inspection of the contacts that are indicated as faulty is carried out, and a conclusion is made about the operability of the board.

This makes it easier to identify defects in sockets, especially on boards that have high-density connectors (for example, up to 15,000 pins on a single board). The labor intensity of assessing the condition of contact boards is reduced and the speed of assessing the condition of contacts is increased. There is no need to hire highly qualified specialists who can examine the board using microscopes or other optical means.

Claims (8)

1. A device for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets installed on a printed circuit board, containing a base, a board table, a control unit, characterized in that it additionally contains an optoelectronic reading device containing a front camera with a lens directed along the contact axis, peripheral cameras with a lens, installed at an angle around the central lens, light sources and mechanisms for longitudinal and transverse movement of the OSU, made with the ability to stop the optoelectronic reading device (OSU) in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts, while the OSU is made with the ability to automatically focus on the contact being examined, as well as operate in mode of operation of only the central camera, central and peripheral cameras, as well as separately peripheral cameras, forming a three-dimensional image. 2. A device for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is designed to compare the three-dimensional image of the video camera with the reference image of the controlled object. 3. A device for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets according to claim 2, characterized in that the control unit is configured to generate a protocol indicating the location of faulty contacts on the control board, as well as monitoring the filling of the printed circuit board with components. 4. A device for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets according to claim 1, characterized in that stepper motors are used as moving mechanisms. 5. A method for monitoring the contacts of connector sockets installed on a printed circuit board, which consists in placing the printed circuit board on a table, moving the carriage with an optoelectronic reading device (OSD) installed on it with stops in places corresponding to the centers of the contacts, contact recognition and comparison are carried out images of the contact with an image from the memory of the control unit, and form a protocol in which faulty contacts are indicated. 6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the protocol is displayed on the monitor. 7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the task for moving the carriage is generated in the control unit. 8. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the task in the control unit is formed based on the image of a working contact and the topology of the board under test, which includes information about the number of sockets being tested, the number of contacts in the sockets and the location of the sockets.