Abstract: A circuit board testing apparatus includes a plurality of contact elements located in a contact array plane. The contact elements are connected to an electronic control and test structure and during testing are connected through longitudinally rigid test pins to contact portions of a connection carrier or circuit board to be tested. The contact elements are mounted to yield resiliently and are supported against the contact pressure applied during testing. The contact elements are in the form of electrically conductive compression springs located and guided directly in bores in a spring array body formed of an electrically insulating material. The rigid test pins seat directly on the compression springs.

Abstract: A printed circuit board having thereon a plurality of conductors including onnection points is tested for insulation resistance between the conductors by measuring current flowing between one conductor and the other conductors in an arrangement whereby each connection point is connectable to a first potential through a first transistor and to a second potential through a second transistor and a current measuring device. During testing, only a single connection point of each conductor is connected to the second potential, and all other transistors of that conductor are mechanically isolated from electrical connection with respective connection points. This prevents leakage current through the transistors associated with the other connection points of a given conductor.

Abstract: A circuit board testing apparatus includes a plurality of contact elements located in a contact array plane. The contact elements are connected to an electronic control and test structure and during testing are connected through longitudinally rigid test pins to contact portions of a connection carrier or circuit board to be tested. The contact elements are mounted to yield resiliently and are supported against the contact pressure applied during testing. The contact elements are in the form of electrically conductive compression springs located and guided directly in bores in a spring contact array body formed of an electrically insulating material. The rigid test pins seat directly on the compression springs.

Abstract: A circuit board having conductor tracks is optically tested for functional aults by use of a computer controlled testing apparatus including at least one camera. The surface of the circuit board is scanned in a point-by-point manner by the camera to establish for each point scanned an image respresentative indicative of a conductor track area or a non-conductor track area. The surface of the circuit board is divided into a predetermined plurality of windows of predetermined size, and the image representations are associated with respective windows. For each window a determination is made of the sum of only the points of the window corresponding to a conductor track area or the sum of only the points of the window corresponding to a non-conductor track area. This establishes an identification value descriptive of the particular window. The identification values of the windows of the circuit board being tested are compared with predetermined values of corresponding respective windows of a reference master.

Abstract: An apparatus for electronically testing printed circuit boards or the like includes a plurality of substantially parallel test pins for making electrical contact between resilient contact elements in an array plate or the like and contact areas on a printed circuit board. A mask plate extends at right angles to the test pins and has through-bores through which the test pins extend in a manner such that one end of each test pin projects therethrough to engage a respective contact area of a circuit board placed in a testing position. Spaced from the mask plate is an elastic plate which is substantially parallel to the mask plate and which receives test pins, which are non-yielding or rigid longitudinally, in a manner such that such pins are retained in the elastic plate due to the elasticity of the material thereof.

Abstract: A mechanically operable suction device for lifting and holding objects indes a housing having therein an intake chamber adapted to be connected to a vacuum source, an intake orifice opening into the intake chamber from the surrounding atmosphere, and a cylinder chamber. A valve member within the intake chamber is movable between a ready position sealing the intake orifice and a suction position spaced from and opening the intake orifice. A plunger is connected to the valve member and extends therefrom through the orifice. Abutting the plunger on an object to be lifted moves the valve member from the ready position to the suction position. A control piston connected to the valve member extends into and seals the cylinder chamber from the intake chamber. The control piston is movable with the valve member between first and second positions when the valve member is in the ready and suction positions thereof, respectively.

Abstract: An apparatus for changing the contact pitch of a contact array of a first density to a contact array of a second density includes first and second pluralities of cards, with the cards having a first row of contacts disposed along one edge thereof having a mutual spacing therebetween equal to the pitch of one of the arrays and a second row of contacts along another edge having a mutual spacing equal to the pitch of the other one of the arrays. The cards in their respective pluralities are arranged parallel with one another with the two pluralities of cards facing each other and disposed at a right angle to each other. The first rows of contacts of the first plurality of cards provide a contact array having the first density while the second rows of contacts of the second plurality of cards define a contact array of the second density.

Abstract: A contact array assembly for use with a computer-controlled printed circuit oard testing apparatus includes an array of contacts into segments individually and releasably supported by supporting rods resting in a base plate. The space so created is utilized for accommodating the electronic circuitry components associated with these contact array segments and connected through plug-type connectors to a two-dimensional addressing and control logic on the base plate. These constructional units, referred to as modules or driver plates, are identical and may replace each other in any of the positions on the base plate. The invention results in a printed circuit board testing apparatus which may be designed for a very large number of contacts, but can be operated initially with a reduced amount of electronic circuitry and may be expanded later on, as desired.