Abstract:
An automatic testing equipment, an automatic testing system, an a method for controlling automatic testing thereof are disclosed. The automatic testing equipment is used for receiving a control signal to test a durability of a connecting port of a device under test (DUT). The automatic testing equipment includes a testing platform, a testing unit, and a power control unit. The testing platform is used for disposing the DUT. The testing unit includes a main body, an assembly unit, and a height adjustment unit. The assembly unit is used for assembling a test connector. The height adjustment unit is connected with the main body and works with the assembly unit to adjust a height of the assembly unit. The power control unit drives the testing unit to test the connecting port via the test connector after receiving the control signal.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an automatic testing equipment, an automatic testing system, and a method for controlling the automatic testing equipment and system, and more particularly, to an automatic testing equipment, an automatic testing system, and a method for controlling the automatic testing equipment and system which can automatically test a device under test (DUT) and record a test history. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Various electronics products emerge in our daily life and comprise a variety of connecting ports which are fitting in with specifications such as USB, network connection terminals, audio jacks, video terminals, HDMI, or IEEE 1394. Users tend to plug and pull these connecting ports frequently, thus it is important for electronics product manufacturers to test and verify the durability of these connecting ports before shipping out their products. In prior art techniques, these connecting ports are plugged and pulled several times manually by technicians to test their durability. However, this kind of process is time consuming and labor intensive, and is also inefficient to do so. 
     In another embodiment of the prior art, a testing equipment can use a pneumatic means to automatically plug and pull a device under test (DUT). Although the testing equipment can test the DUT automatically, it is still necessary to dismantle and then assemble a testing unit of the testing equipment to adjust a height and a position of the testing unit before doing a new test. Therefore, it is complicated to perform a new test and to adjust the testing unit. Besides, the prior art testing equipment can&#39;t be controlled by a computer system to receive instructions and record a test process automatically, which means a technician must perform some of the tasks in the test process manually, so the prior art testing equipment fails to save labor. 
     Therefore, it is necessary to provide an automatic testing equipment, an automatic testing system, and a method for controlling the automatic testing equipment and system to test the DUT in a more convenient and automatic way to solve the problem of the prior art techniques. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic testing equipment which can automatically test a device under test (DUT). 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide an automatic testing system which can automatically record a test history of the DUT. 
     It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling the automatic testing equipment and the automatic testing system of the present invention. 
     In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an automatic testing equipment for receiving a control signal to test a durability of a connecting port of a device under test (DUT). The automatic testing equipment comprises a testing platform, a testing unit, and a power control unit. The testing platform disposes the DUT. The testing unit comprises a main body, an assembly unit, and a height adjustment unit. The assembly unit makes contact with the main body to assemble a test connector. The test connector is fitting in with the connecting port. The height adjustment unit is connected to the main body and cooperates with the assembly unit to adjust a height of the assembly unit. The power control unit is connected to the testing unit, the power control unit drives the testing unit to test the connecting port via the test connector after receiving the control signal. 
     The automatic testing system tests a durability of a connecting port of a device under test (DUT). The automatic testing system comprises a computer system, a controller, and the automatic testing equipment. The computer system generates a control parameter. The controller is electrically connected to the computer system for receiving the control parameter. The controller comprises a buffer module and a control module. The buffer module stores the control parameter. The control module is electrically connected to the buffer module to generate a control signal according to the control parameter. The automatic testing equipment is electrically connected to the controller for receiving the control signal. The automatic testing equipment comprises the testing platform, the testing unit, and the power control unit. The testing platform disposes the DUT. The testing unit comprises the main body, the assembly unit, and the height adjustment unit. The assembly unit is connected to the main body to assemble a test connector. The test connector is fitting in with the connecting port. The height adjustment unit is connected to the main body and cooperates with the assembly unit to control the elastic element to adjust a height of the assembly unit. The power control unit is connected to the testing unit; the power control unit drives the testing unit to test the connecting port via the test connector after receiving the control signal and stores a test history in the buffer module via the controller, wherein the test history is to be read by the computer system. 
     The present invention provides a method for controlling automatic testing, comprising the following steps: providing an automatic testing equipment for disposing a DUT; generating a control parameter by a computer system; generating a control signal by the controller according to the control parameter; driving a testing unit by a power control unit according to the control signal to automatically test the connecting port; and storing a test history. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a structural view of an automatic testing system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 1A  illustrates a circuit diagram inside a controller of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates an exterior view of the automatic testing equipment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates a view of the automatic testing equipment connecting with a DUT; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a structural view of a testing unit of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a flowchart of a method for controlling automatic testing of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The advantages and innovative features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  for a structural view of an automatic testing system of the present invention. 
     The present invention provides an automatic testing system  1  which can automatically test a durability of a connecting port of a DUT  40  (as shown in  FIG. 2B ). The DUT  40  can be a notebook PC, a tablet PC, a mobile phone, or any other electronics products having a connecting port. However, the present invention can also test other kinds of connecting ports. In an embodiment of the present invention, the automatic testing system  1  comprises a computer system  10 , a controller (such as a single chip microcontroller)  20 , and an automatic testing equipment  30 . 
     The computer system  10  can be a desktop PC, a notebook PC, or any other kinds of systems. The computer system  10  comprises a user interface  11  and a recording module  12 . The user interface  11  is constructed by a software for a user to set up a control parameter, wherein the control parameter can be used to choose one of the testing units  32  in the automatic testing equipment  30  to perform the test process or to set up the frequencies of plugging/pulling of the DUT  40 , or the control parameter can be used to control other test related functions. The computer system  10  can use the control parameter to control the automatic testing equipment  30 . The recording module  12  can record the control parameter and a test history of the automatic testing equipment  30  for the user to read later. Besides, the recording module  12  can record a serial number of the DUT  40 , the name of the connecting port, a test time/date, or so on. 
     The controller  20  can be a single-chip microcomputer implemented in a hardware structure and electrically connected to a serial data communication interface  60  and a computer system  10  to receive a control parameter. The serial data communication interface  60  can be RS232. The controller  20  comprises a buffer module  21 , a control module  22 , and a switching circuit  23 . The buffer module  21  is implemented in a hardware structure to store the control parameter transmitted by the computer system  10 . The control module  22  can be implemented in a hardware structure or a hardware structure combining firmware. The control module  22  is electrically connected to the buffer module  21  to generate a control signal according to the control parameter stored in the buffer module  21 . 
     It is noted that a signal comparing process is performed between the computer system  10  and the controller  20  to avoid signal transmission error. Particularly, when the computer system  10  is a notebook computer, the computer system  10  can electrically connect the USB port to the serial data communication interface  60  (such as RS232) for signal transmission. In this case, a possible signal conversion problem could lead to transmission error. Therefore, when the controller  20  receives the control parameter, the controller  20  can send a contact signal back to the computer system  10  via a half duplex communication channel or the like. When the computer system  10  determines that a content of the contact signal matches the control parameter, then the controller  20  generates the control signal. Since this process is known in the art, therefore it will not be further described for the sake of brevity. 
     The switching circuit  23  is implemented in a hardware structure and electrically connected to the control module  22  to control the power control unit  34  of the automatic testing equipment  30  according to the control signal so as to let the automatic testing equipment  30  tests the DUT  40  automatically. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1A  for the circuit diagram of the controller illustrating how the switching circuit  23  controls the power control unit  34 . 
     In this embodiment, the power control unit  34  can drive the testing unit  32  pneumatically. The power control unit  34  comprises an electromagnetic valve  341 , a cylinder  342 , and a vent pipe  343 , the cylinder  342  is connected to the electromagnetic valve  341  and the testing unit  32 , and the cylinder  342  communicates with the vent pipe  343 . The switching circuit  23  can comprise a first transistor Q 1 , a second transistor Q 2 , and other circuit components such as resistors R 1 , R 2 , an inductor L, and the diode D 1 ; wherein these circuit components mutually connect to each other. The resistors R 1 , R 2 , the inductor L, and the diode D perform voltage regulating and rectifying function, since they are widely adopted and known in the art, therefore, their operating principles will not be further described. 
     The first transistor Q 1  and the second transistor Q 2  can be regarded as a switch module. In this embodiment, the first transistor Q 1  and the second transistor Q 2  are metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFET), or any other kinds of transistors. The first transistor Q 1  has a source terminal S 1 , a drain terminal D 1  and a gate terminal G 1 . Similarly, the second transistor Q 2  has a source terminal S 2 , a drain terminal D 2 , and a gate terminal G 2 . The source terminal S 1  and source terminal S 2  are electrically connected to the ground terminal G, the drain terminal D 1  and drain terminal D 2  are electrically connected to the power input V, the gate terminal G 1  is electrically connected to the control module  22 , the drain terminal D 1  is electrically connected to gate terminal G 2 , and then drain terminal D 2  is also electrically connected to the electromagnetic valve  341  of the power control unit  34 . 
     When the control module  22  outputs a control signal having a high voltage level, which will turn on the first transistor Q 1  and pull down the voltage level of drain terminal D 1  to a low voltage level, which will also pull down the voltage level of the gate terminal G 2  of the second transistor Q 2  to cut off the second transistor Q 2 . Therefore, the drain terminal D 2  remains its high voltage level to turn off the electromagnetic valve  341 . On the other hand, when the control module  22  outputs a control signal having a low voltage level, which will cut off the first transistor Q 1  and pull up the voltage level of the drain terminal D 1  to the high voltage level, which will also pull up the voltage level of the gate terminal G 2  of the second transistor Q 2  to turn on the second transistor Q 2 . Therefore, the drain terminal D 2  drops to the low voltage level to turn on the electromagnetic valve  341 . 
     Since the switching modes of the first transistor Q 1  and the second transistor Q 2  are widely adopted and known in the art, they will not be further described. It is noted that the switching circuit  23  is not limited to the circuit structure shown in  FIG. 1A , the switching circuit  23  can have any other kinds of circuit structure as long as it can turn on/off the electromagnetic valve  341 . 
     As described above, the control module  22  outputs control signals having high or low voltage levels to turn on/off the electromagnetic valve  341 , which in turn uses the pressurized air provided by the vent pipe  343  to drive the cylinder  342 , thereby controlling operations of the testing unit  32 . Meanwhile, the control module  22  can use a plurality of switching circuits  23  to control operations of a corresponding number of testing units  32 . 
     The automatic testing equipment  30  is electrically connected to the controller  20  to test the DUT  40  according to the control signal. The automatic testing equipment  30  comprises a testing platform  31 , the testing unit  32 , a position adjustment unit  33 , and the power control unit  34 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2A  to  FIG. 2B  for detailed structures of the automatic testing equipment  30 , wherein  2 A illustrates an exterior view of the automatic testing equipment  30 ; and  FIG. 2B  illustrates a view of the automatic testing equipment  30  connecting with the DUT  40 . 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the testing platform  31  of the automatic testing equipment  30  is provided for disposing the DUT  40 , and a positioning device  311  is used for fixing the DUT  40  to the testing platform  31 . A plurality of positioning openings  312  can be disposed on the testing platform  31 , wherein the positioning device  311  can be mounted on any positioning opening  312  according to the specification or size of the DUT  40  to fix the DUT  40  to the testing platform  31 . However, the DUT  40  can be fixed to the testing platform  31  with any other fixing means. 
     The automatic testing equipment  30  can have one or more testing units  32  and can have any number of testing units  32  according to requirements. The testing unit  32  is provided for disposing a test connector  50 , which is fitting in with the connecting port of the DUT  40 . The testing unit  32  is connected to the cylinder  342  of the power control unit  34  to have the connecting port plugged or pulled along with the movements of the cylinder  342 . The structure of the testing unit  32  will be described later. 
     The position adjustment unit  33  is connected to the cylinder  342  of the power control unit  34  to adjust positions of the cylinder  342  and the testing unit  32  connected to the cylinder  342  at the same time, thereby allowing the testing unit  32  to correspond with a position of the connecting port of the DUT  40 . The position adjustment unit  33  comprises a first track  331 , a first fixing element  332 , a second track  333 , and a second fixing element  334 . The cylinder  342  of the power control unit  34  is disposed on the first track  331  to drive the testing unit  32  to slide along the first direction. The first fixing element  332  cooperates with the first track  331 . When the cylinder  342  slides on the first track  331  to a fixed point, the first fixing element  332  fixes the first track  331  to let the testing unit  32  stay fixed at the fixed point. Meanwhile, the first track  331  is disposed on the second track  333  and is substantially perpendicular to the second track  333  with a part of the first track  331  overlapping with the second track  333 . The cylinder  342  and the first track  331  can slide together on the second track  333  along the second direction. Since the first track  331  is substantially perpendicular to the second track  333 , therefore, the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction. The second fixing element  334  is connected to the first track  331  and cooperates with the second track  333  to fix the first track  331  to a position, thereby fixing the testing unit  32  to the fixed point. Hence, the position adjustment unit  33  can slide on the tracks to conveniently adjust a position of the testing unit  32 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a structural view of a testing unit of the present invention. 
     In this embodiment, the testing unit  32  comprises a main body  321 , an assembly unit  322 , a height adjustment unit  323 , and a housing  324 . The assembly unit  322  cooperates with the main body  321  and makes contact with the main body  321  to assemble test connector  50 . The assembly unit  322  comprises a first assembly element  322   a  and a second assembly element  322   b ; the first assembly element  322   a  is connected to the main body  321 , the second assembly element  322   b  is formed in a U shape. When the first assembly element  322   a  and the second assembly element  322   b  combine, a gap between the first assembly element  322   a  and the second assembly element  322   b  clamps and holds the test connector  50 , then at least one fastening element  325  is used for fastening the first assembly element  322   a  and the second assembly element  322   b  with each other. When test connector  50  is formed in a flat and rectangular shape, such as USB, network connection terminals, HDMI or other video terminals, the first assembly element  322   a  and the second assembly element  322   b  can clamp and hold the test connector  50  directly. If the test connector  50  is formed in a circular shape, such as an audio jack, a recess  322   c  of the second assembly element  322   b  can be used to clamp the test connector  50 . The shape of the recess  322   c  corresponds to that of the test connector  50  to help the first assembly element  322   a  and the second assembly element  322   b  clamp the test connector  50  more stably. 
     The height adjustment unit  323  is connected to the main body  321  and cooperates with the assembly unit  322 . The height adjustment unit  323  comprises a rotating element  323   a  and an elastic element  323   b . The rotating element  323   a  can be a long screw going through the main body  321  and the first assembly element  322   a , wherein the first assembly element  322   a  comprises a corresponding screw thread (not shown) to cooperate with the rotating element  323   a . The elastic element  323   b  is connected to the main body  321  and is placed in a containing portion  322   d  of the first assembly element  322   a . When the rotating element  323   a  rotates, the elastic element  323   b  helps to adjust a height of the assembly unit  322 . For example, when the rotating element  323   a  rotates downward along the screw thread of the first assembly element  322   a , the first assembly element  322   a  moves up relatively. When the rotating element  323   a  rotates upward along the screw thread of the first assembly element  322   a , an elasticity of the elastic element  323   b  helps the first assembly element  322   a  move downward. 
     Finally the testing unit  32  can cover a part of the main body  321 , the assembly unit  322 , and the height adjustment unit  323  with the housing  324  and uses the fastening element  325  to fix the housing  324  onto the main body  321 . Therefore the appearance of the testing unit  32  can look pleasing and integrated. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the testing unit  32  can conveniently adjust the height of the test connector  50  with the height adjustment unit  323 , and uses the position adjustment unit  33  to adjust a position of the testing unit  32  so as to be fitting in with the specification and the size of the DUT  40 . 
     Consequently, the control module  22  outputs the control signal to turn on or off the electromagnetic valve  341  of the power control unit  34  so as to let the electromagnetic valve  341  use the pressurized air provided by the vent pipe  343  to drive the cylinder  342 ; thereby allowing the testing unit  32  to use the cylinder  342  to plug and pull the connecting port of the DUT  40  for multiple times until the predetermined number of times is reached. The control module  22  of the controller  20  can store a test history in the buffer module  21 . The computer system  10  can read the test history from the buffer module  21  and store it in the recording module  12  for the user to analyze it. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 4  for a flowchart of a method for controlling automatic testing of the present invention. It is noted that although the automatic testing system  1  having the computer system  10 , the controller  20 , and the automatic testing equipment  30  is illustrated to describe the present invention, the method can be applied for controlling any other devices. 
     First the process goes to step  400 : providing an automatic testing equipment for disposing the DUT. 
     The automatic testing system  1  provides the automatic testing equipment  30  for disposing the DUT  40  and adjusting the position and height of the testing unit  32  to correspond with the specification of the DUT  40 . The position and height adjustment of testing unit  32  has already explained and will not be further described. 
     Then the process goes to step  401 : generating a control parameter by the computer system. 
     The computer system  10  provides a user interface  11  for the user to set up the control parameter. The control parameter can be used to choose one of the testing units  32  in the automatic testing equipment  30  to perform the test process or to set up the number of times the DUT  40  is plugged/pulled. The computer system  10  transmits the control parameter to the controller  20  via a serial data communication interface  60  and stores the control parameter in the recording module  12 . 
     Then the process goes to step  402 : executing a signal comparing process. 
     When the controller  20  initiates, it clears all the data in the buffer module  21 . As the controller  20  receives the control parameter from the computer system  10 , it stores the control parameter directly in the buffer module  21  and sends a contact signal back to the computer system  10  via a half duplex channel. When the computer system  10  determines that a content of the contact signal matches the control parameter, then the controller  20  proceeds to the next step. 
     After the signal comparing process is executed, the process goes to step  403 : generate a control signal according to the control parameter. 
     The control module  22  of the controller  20  generates different control signals according to the control parameter stored in the buffer module  21  for different electromagnetic valves  341  and transmits the control signal to the power control unit  34  of the automatic testing equipment  30 . 
     Then the process goes to step  404 : driving a testing unit by a power control unit according to the control signal to automatically test the connecting port. 
     When the power control unit  34  receives the control signal, the power control unit  34  turns on or off the electromagnetic valve  341  so as to let the electromagnetic valve  341  use the pressurized air provided by the vent pipe  343  to drive the cylinder  342 , thereby allowing the testing unit  32  to use the cylinder  342  to plug and pull the connecting port. 
     Finally the process goes to step  405 : storing the test history. 
     The automatic testing equipment  30  transmits a number of times the DUT is plugged/pulled to the buffer module  21  of the controller  20  and stores it as a test history. Then the computer system  10  reads the test history from the buffer module  21  and stores the test history in the recording module  12 . 
     When the automatic testing process is over, the user can observe the appearance of the DUT or tests the functionality of the connecting port in real application, and obtains a durability report of the connecting port according to the test history of the recording module  12 . 
     It is noted that the method of the present invention can be executed in a different order as long as it achieve the object of the present invention. 
     Therefore, the present invention provides the automatic testing system  1  which can fully automatically test the DUT  40 , and the present invention also provides the automatic testing equipment  30  which can be adjusted to conform with the specifications of each different DUT  40  and provides better capabilities than the prior art testing equipment. 
     It is noted that the above-mentioned embodiments are only for illustration. It is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents. Therefore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.