Hewlett-packard Company

Sharon E LaTourrette

Kay C Lannen

Kamran Firooz

Vance R Harwood

Amanda L Constant

Ted T Turner

Katherine Z Withers-Miklos

David W Webb

Amos H-k Leong

Jay Stepleton

Jeffrey C Myers

Matt Snook

A system and method for testing an electronic circuit is disclosed. The system includes a circuit board test platform having multiple electronic test capabilities and multiple hardware resources, and a pay-per-use module that is coupled to the circuit board test platform. The pay-per-use module is adapted for monitoring use of the multiple electronic test capabilities and the hardware resources of the circuit board test platform, and for debiting a number of usage credits from a usage credit pool based on the use of the multiple electronic test capabilities and the tester hardware resources.

Pay-per-use access to multiple electronic test capabilities and tester

The present invention provides a circuit board tester for performing functional and in-circuit tests on one or more circuit boards. The circuit board tester includes a testhead for interfacing with one or more circuit boards and supplying the resources for the testing thereof. The testhead includes a plurality of modules with each module having a defined amount of resources and a processor for use in executing a test plan to test the circuit board. The circuit board tester further includes a high-speed link for coordinating the execution of a test plan by two or more modules when the resources of one module are insufficient to test a particular circuit board. Each module in the testhead can be selectively connected or disconnected from the high-speed link. Consequently, two or more modules can be connected to the high-speed link to test a first circuit board while another module, that is disconnected from the high-speed link, can concurrently test a second circuit board. The circuit board tester also, preferably, includes a controller that determines whether the resources of more than one module are required to test a particular circuit board and generates a test plan accordingly.

Modular/concurrent board tester

Growing community of inventors

Loveland, CO, United States of America

Sharon E LaTourrette