Abstract:
A stand for supporting a probe includes a support mountable to the electronic device being probed, and a clamp coupled to the support and operable to hold the probe. With the stand, a technician no longer has to hold a probe to maintain contact between the probe and a circuit node being probed. Thus, a test/diagnosis of an electronic device that requires the probe to remain in contact with the node for a long period of time is more likely to be accurate; a technician may use his/her hands to operate an oscilloscope during the test/diagnosis; and a lone technician may probe a device with two or more probes. In addition, the stand may be adjustable to support the probe in a desired position and/or the clamp may be removable and may be positionable relative to the support to hold the probe in a desired position.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    Many electronic devices, such as computers and stereos, include a circuit board that contains the device&#39;s circuitry for operating the device. For example, a circuit board may include a microprocessor for executing instructions and a memory for storing data and application software that includes instructions to be executed by the microprocessor. When such devices malfunction or when the design or manufacture of such devices is not complete, a technician typically tests/diagnosis the device by probing nodes of the device&#39;s circuit board with a probe coupled to a measuring device, such as an oscilloscope. The nodes may be, e.g., pads on the circuit board or leads of components.  
           [0002]    To probe a circuit and/or component of a circuit board, the technician typically contacts a conductive lead of the probe to a node of the circuit and/or component and then holds the probe with his/her hand to maintain contact. Thus, probing a circuit and/or component of the circuit board typically requires the technician to use at least one of his/her hands to support the probe.  
           [0003]    Unfortunately, holding the probe with a hand while testing/diagnosing an electronic device is often clumsy and awkward. Frequently, testing/diagnosing requires a technician to probe a circuit and/or component for long periods of time, and thus, often requires the technician to hold the probe for a long period of time to complete the test/diagnosis. Holding the probe for a long period frequently tires the technician&#39;s hand, wrist and/or arm, which can cause loss of contact between the probe and the circuit and/or component. If proper contact is not maintained, the signal sensed by the probe may be degraded or lost, and the test/diagnosis may be inaccurate. In addition, testing/diagnosing an electronic device frequently requires a technician to operate the controls of the measuring device (oscilloscope) while probing the circuit node. This often causes the technician to lose his/her concentration on maintaining contact between the probe and the circuit node. Furthermore, testing/diagnosing an electronic device may require contacting two or more probes to respective nodes of the circuit board, and thus, may require two or more technicians to hold the probes, which may be difficult in a tight space and is often an inefficient use of resources.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0004]    In one aspect of the invention, a stand for supporting a probe includes a support mountable to the electronic device that is being probed, and a clamp coupled to the support and operable to retain a probe to the stand. With the stand, a technician no longer has to hold a probe to maintain contact between the probe and the circuit node. In addition, the support of the stand may be adjustable to support the probe in a desired position and/or the clamp may be removable and may be positionable relative to the support to retain the probe in a desired position. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0005]    [0005]FIG. 1 is a view of a probe and a probe stand according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the clamp of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an alternative clamp that may be used in the stand in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3A is a view of a support that may be incorporated by the stand of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3B is a view of an alternative support that may be incorporated in the stand of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a view of the stand of FIG. 1 incorporating a ground-lead support according to another embodiment of the invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0011]    The following discussion is presented to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a view of a probe stand  10  according to an embodiment of the invention. The stand  10  supports a probe  12  that is probing a node  15  of a circuit board  14  of an electronic device such as a computer. The probe  12  includes a conductive tip  13  that contacts the node  15  to sense an electrical signal generated in a circuit (not shown) in the board  14 . The probe  12  is also coupled to a second electronic device (not shown), such as an oscilloscope, via the cable  16  to provide the second electronic device the sensed signal. The stand  10  includes a support  18  that is mountable to the circuit board  14  of the electronic device, and a clamp  20  to retain the probe  12  to the stand  10 . By supporting the probe  12  with the stand  10  as the probe  12  senses an electrical signal, the technician does not have to hold the probe  12  with his/her hand. Thus, the technician may use his/her hand to operate the oscilloscope (not shown) coupled to the probe  12 .  
         [0013]    The stand  10  may support the probe  12  at any desired position relative to the circuit board  14  to facilitate access to the node  15  or to another node to be probed, and provides substantially stable support for the probe  12 . To support the probe  12  in a desired position, the support  18  may be bendable (as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 3A) and/or extendable (as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 3B). Furthermore, the clamp  20  may be positionable relative to the support  18 . For example, the clamp  20  may be positioned to retain the probe  12  at a substantially  450  angle to avoid a component (not shown) that may be mounted close to the node  15 . Alternatively, the clamp  20  may be positioned to retain the probe  12  substantially perpendicular to the support  18 . Thus, the orientation of the probe  12  to the circuit board  14  may be changed to allow access to a node that would otherwise be difficult to probe.  
         [0014]    Still referring to FIG. 1, in one embodiment, the support  18  includes a conventional universal joint  22  that allows positioning of the clamp  20  relative to the support  18  and that may be locked to maintain the clamp at the desired position. The universal joint  22  may include a ball (not shown) that slides within a socket  23  when the clamp  20  is positioned relative to the support  18 . To lock the clamp  20  at a desired position, a set screw (not shown) may be threaded through a portion of the socket  23  and forced against the ball to frictionally secure the ball in the socket  23 . In other embodiments, the support  18  may include another type of conventional joint or hinge.  
         [0015]    In addition, the clamp  20  may be releasably coupled to the support  18  to allow a technician to swap the clamp  20  with a different clamp (discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIG. 2B) or to substitute the support  18  with a different support (discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 3A and 3B). A technician may want to substitute the clamp  20  for a different clamp that can retain a probe having a different body size and/or shape than the probe  12 , and may want to swap the support  18  for a different support that allows one to mount the stand  10  to the circuit board  14  differently. In one embodiment, the clamp  20  may include a thread  24  that receives a thread  26  of the support  18  to releasably couple the clamp  20  to the support  18 .  
         [0016]    Still referring to FIG. 1, the clamp  20  may retain the probe  12  using any desired technique. In one embodiment (discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIG. 2A), the clamp  20  includes a “U”-shaped body  28  that receives the probe  12  between two sides  30  (only one shown) that steady the probe  12 . To retain the probe  12  when the clamp  20  is angled relative to the support  18 , the “U”-shaped body  28  may include a conventional, friction enhancing material (not shown) that contacts the probe  12 , or the sides  30  may pinch the probe  12 . In another embodiment of the stand  10 , such as the one discussed in FIG. 2B, the clamp  20  may retain the probe  12  with a strap that is adjustable to allow the clamp  20  to retain a probe having a different size and/or shape than the probe  12 .  
         [0017]    Still referring to FIG. 1, the support  18  may be mounted to the circuit board  14  using any desired technique. In one embodiment, the support  18  includes a foot  32  that includes a magnet  34  for mounting the stand  10  to magnetic material in the electronic device such as a metal component of the circuit board  14  or a metal housing (not shown). To minimize corruption of the electronic signal sensed by the probe  12  and other possible damage to the electronic device, the foot  32  may also include a magnetic shield (not shown). In addition, the foot  32  may include a pin (not shown) that may be inserted into a hole in the circuit board  14  to mount the stand  10  in a region of a circuit board  14  that may be adversely affected by the presence of a magnetic field. In another embodiment of the stand  10 , such as the embodiments discussed in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 3A and 3B, the foot  32  may include adhesive to help prevent the support  18  from slipping on the circuit board  14 , and/or the stand  10  may include two or more legs to mount the stand  10  without securing the stand to the circuit board  14 .  
         [0018]    Other embodiments of the support  18  are contemplated. For example the support  18  may include a foot having a vise that may be clamped around an edge of a circuit board or housing of the electronic device.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the clamp  20  of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The clamp  20  includes a post  36  to couple the clamp  20  to the support  18  (FIG. 1), and a “U”-shaped body  28  to retain the probe  12 . The post  36  includes an external thread  24  to receive the thread  26  (FIG. 1), and thus, allows a technician to remove the clamp  20  from the support  18 . The “U”-shaped body  28  includes a bottom  38  and two sides  30 , and may pinch the probe  12  to retain the probe  12 . The “U”-shaped body  28  may be made from any conventional material that can elastically deform, such as plastics and/or metals, when subjected to a force. When inserted between the sides  30 , the probe  12  forces the sides  30  away from each other. This deforms a portion of the elastic material—typically the material located at the transition of the side  30  to the bottom  38 —of the “U”-shaped body  28 . Because the material deformation is elastic, each side  30  generates a force toward the other side that pinches the probe  12 .  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a clamp  40  that may be used in place of the clamp  20  incorporated in the stand  10  in FIG. 1, according to another embodiment of the invention. The clamp  40  includes a strap  42  and mounting surface  44  to retain the probe  12  to the stand  10 . The clamp  40  also includes a cleat  46  extending from the post  48  to releasably attach the strap  42  to the post  48 . The strap  42  includes a first end  49  fastened to the mounting surface  44 , and a second end  50  having a hole  52  for receiving the cleat  46 . The strap  42  may be made of any conventional elastic material such as rubber to retain one or more probes  12  having a variety of sizes and shapes. To retain the probe  12  a technician inserts the strap  42  through a slot  54  in the mounting surface  44  and inserts the cleat  46  through the hole  52  in the second end  50 .  
         [0021]    In other embodiments, the strap  42  may be made of a material that is less elastic than rubber to more securely retain a probe to the stand  10 . In addition, the second end  50  of the strap  42  may include two or more holes  52  to allow adjustment of the strap  42  such that probes having a variety of shapes and sizes may be retained by the clamp  40 .  
         [0022]    Still referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, other embodiments of the clamps  20  and  40  are contemplated. For example, the strap  42  may include a buckle or Velcro® to allow adjustment of the strap&#39;s length. Furthermore, any conventional clamp suitable for holding the probe  12  may be used with the stand  10 .  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 3A is a view of a support  56  that may be used in place of the support  18  in the stand  10  of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. The support  56  includes conventional material that plastically deforms when bent, i.e., retains its new shape. Thus, a technician may bend the support  56  to support the probe  12  (FIG. 1) in a desired position. Bending the support may be desirable to avoid contact with a component (not shown) and/or circuit (not shown) of the circuit board  14  (FIG. 1) that a technician would be unable to avoid otherwise. For example, a technician may bend the support  56  over a component (not shown) and/or circuit (not shown) of the circuit board  14  that is adjacent the probed node  15  (FIG. 1). Or the technician may bend the support  56  to mount the stand  10  to another circuit board (not shown) or housing (not shown) of the electronic device (not shown) that is perpendicular to the probed circuit board  14  (FIG. 1).  
         [0024]    In one embodiment, the support includes two legs  58 , each made of conventional material that plastically deforms when bent and each including a foot  62  having an adhesive  64  to mount the support  56  to an electronic device to be probed. The adhesive  64  can be any desired adhesive. For example, the adhesive  64  can be a reusable adhesive and/or reusable putty that retains the support  56  to any desired location on an electronic device and that remains with the foot  62  when the foot  62  is removed from the electronic device. Alternatively, a permanent/nonreuseable adhesive or magnets may be used. In addition, the support  56  includes a body  60  having a universal joint  22  (as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1) to couple the clamp  20  (FIG. 1) or clamp  40  (FIG. 2B) to the support  56 , and an internal thread  26  (FIG. 1) to receive the thread  24  (FIGS. 1-2B) to releasably couple the clamp  20  or the clamp  40  to the support  56 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 3B is a view of another support  66  that may be used in place of the support  18  in the stand  10  of FIG. 1 according to another embodiment of the invention. The support  66  includes one or more telescoping legs  68  that may be extended away from and retracted toward a body  70  to adjust the position of the clamp  20  (FIG. 1) or  40  (FIG. 2B) relative to the circuit board  14  (FIG. 1). Thus, a technician may locate the probe in a desired position to facilitate probing of a circuit node  15  (FIG. 1) of an electronic device (not shown) and/or provide substantially stable support for the probe  12 .  
         [0026]    In one embodiment, the support  66  includes three legs  68  that are pivotally coupled to a body  70  and that may be extended away from the body  70 . The body  70  includes universal joint  22  (as discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1) to pivotally couple the clamp  20  (FIG. 1) or clamp  40  (FIG. 2B) to the support  66 , and an internal thread  26  to releasably couple the clamp to the support  66  by receiving the thread  24  (FIGS. 1-2B) of the clamp. Each leg  68  includes a first section  72  having a proximate end  74  pivotally coupled to the body  70 , a second section  76 , and a third section  78 . To allow each leg  68  to extend away from and retract toward the body  70 , the third section  78  may slide within the second section  76 , and the second section  76  may slide within the first section  72 . Thus, each leg  68  may have a minimal length substantially defined by the length of the first section  72  when the third and second sections  78  and  76 , respectively, are nested inside the respective second and first sections  76  and  72 , respectively. And each leg  68  may have a maximum length substantially defined by the sum of the lengths of the first, second and third sections  72 ,  76  and  78 , respectively.  
         [0027]    A technician may also adjust the position of the clamp  20  or  40  relative to the circuit board  14  by pivoting a leg  68  relative to the body  70 . In one embodiment, the proximate end  74  may be pivotally coupled to the body  70  using any desired technique, such as a pin  79  inserted into the body  70  proximate to end  74 . The pin  79  allows the body  70  and proximate end  74  to pivot relative to each other but does not allow the proximate end  74  to be moved away from the body  70 . Alternatively, the leg  72  may be attached to the body  70  with a universal-type joint. The support may also include a lock (not shown) to retain the first sections  72  at desired angles relative to the body  70 .  
         [0028]    Other embodiments of the support  66  are contemplated. For example, each leg  68  may include more or fewer than three telescoping sections.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a stand  80  that incorporates a ground-lead holder  82  according to another embodiment of the invention. Technicians often use an active probe  84 , i.e., a probe that includes circuitry (not shown) within the body  85  to probe a high-frequency node  83  on a circuit board  86 . The active probe  84  includes a primary tip  87  that receives the high-frequency signal from the node  83  and includes a ground lead  88  that contacts a ground node  89 . By including the ground lead  88  close to the tip  87 , the length of the high-frequency signal path from the tip  87  to the lead  88  is minimized, thus minimizing degradation of the probed signal due to noise pick up or path impedence.  
         [0030]    To maintain contact between the ground lead  88  and the node  89 , the stand  80  includes the ground-lead holder  82 . The stand  80  is similar to the stand  10  (FIG. 1) except that the stand  80  includes the ground-lead holder  82 , which may be coupled to the clamp  90  or the support  92  as desired and may be releasably coupled to the ground lead  88  as desired. For example, the ground-lead holder  82  may be coupled to the clamp  90  with conventional adhesive and may be releasably coupled to the ground lead  88  with a lockable jaw (not shown) that may be opened to insert a portion of the ground lead  88  into the jaw and then may be closed to retain the ground lead  88 . The ground-lead holder  82  may also be made of conventional, plastically deformable material to allow a technician to move the ground lead holder  82  as desired to support a ground lead of a variety of different active probes  84 .