Patent Publication Number: US-2019200009-A1

Title: Test system and test method for audio-video device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 106145877 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Dec. 27, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     This invention relates to a test system and a test method for an audio-video device, and more particularly to a test system and a test method for an audio-video device with a function of automatically expanding test script. 
     2. Related Art 
     Audio-video devices, such as televisions, stereos, home cinema devices, etc., are commonly seen in households as home entertainment devices. The manufacturers of audio-video devices mostly have equality control departments or testing departments, which are responsible for various kinds of tests on the manufactured audio-video devices. The quality control departments or the testing departments usually perform manual or automation tests according to the pre-defined test scripts. 
     However, only the contents defined in the test scripts will be performed by testing equipment during the automation tests which may be very different from the actual operations performed by a real human. Thus, although the automation tests may be benefited by the advantages of automation and fast testing speed, user&#39;s operations often cannot be simulated realistically in such tests, which cause many extreme abnormal operations cannot be simulated and tested in this way. In contrast, when tests are performed manually, additional test steps other than those defined in the test scripts can be added and performed by a tester who may simulate the actual operations of a normal user, however, the testing operations are often non-repeatable when they are performed by a human. In other words, it is difficult for the tester to repeat the steps of testing operations that he or she has added on multiple audio-video devices. In addition, when an abnormality issue is detected in the additional testing steps added by the tester, the tester usually cannot reproduce exactly the same testing steps which cause the abnormality issue. These drawbacks in the testing processes often dramatically slow the product development and debug department of audio-video device manufacturers down during the following processes of finding and solving the issues. 
     SUMMARY 
     The test system for audio-video device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises an output control circuit, a sensing circuit, a storage medium, and a processor. The sensing circuit is adapted to detect sensible conditions of the AVDUT (audio-video device under test). The storage medium stores a test script and a verification data set related to the AVDUT, wherein the test script comprises a plurality of test instructions, and each of the test instructions comprises a plurality of test signals. The processor connects to the output control circuit, the sensing circuit and the storage medium, wherein the processor generates a test sequence related to the plurality of test instructions and outputs a plurality of control signals to the AVDUT through the output control circuit according to the test sequence, and the processor compares said at least one sensible condition and the verification data to determine whether an abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT. When the abnormal event occurs, the processor sequentially writes at least one of the test signals into the storage medium. The processor compares said at least one written test signal and the test signals of one of the test instructions and determines whether to update the test script according to a comparison result. 
     A test method for an AVDUT (Audio-Video Device Under Test) by a test system comprising: storing a test script and a verification data set related to the AVDUT, wherein the test script comprises a plurality of test instructions, and each of the test instructions comprises a plurality of test signals; generating a test sequence related to the plurality of test instructions by a processor; outputting a plurality of control signals to the AVDUT through an output control circuit according to the test sequence by the processor, with said plurality of control signals corresponding to the plurality of test instructions; detecting a plurality of sensible conditions of the AVDUT by a sensing circuit; receiving said sensible conditions through the sensing circuit by the processor; and determining whether an abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT according to said sensible conditions and the verification data set by the processor; wherein, when the abnormal event occurs, the processor sequentially writes at least one of the test signals, with said at least one written test signal corresponding to a part of the test sequence right before an occurrence of the abnormal event. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of the test system for audio-video device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram of the test system for audio-video device according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a test method for an AVDUT by the test system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawings. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  which is a functional block diagram of the test system for audio-video device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the test system for audio-video device  1000  according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises jig  1100 , output control circuit  1200 , sensing circuit  1300 , storage medium  1400  and processor  1500 . 
     The jig  1100  is configured to fix the AVDUT  2000 . In an embodiment, the output control circuit  1200  and the sensing circuit  1300  are substantially disposed on the jig  1100 . The output control circuit  1200  is thus adjacent to or connected to the AVDUT  2000  practically for transmitting control signals of the test to the AVDUT  2000 , and the sensing circuit  1300  thereby detects one or more sensible conditions generated by the AVDUT  2000  in response to the control signals. The appearance or structure of jig  1100  is not limited, that is, it is acceptable as long as the output control circuit  1200  and the sensing circuit  1300  can function normally while the AVDUT  2000  is fixed on the jig  1100 . In addition, the test system for audio-video device  1000  may not comprise the jig  1100  in other embodiments. For example, the AVDUT  2000  may be directly placed on other test equipment, such as a test platform or a conveyor belt, and not fixed by the jig  1100  during the test operations. However, the architecture with the jig  1100  according to an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in the following paragraphs as an example. 
     The output control circuit  1200  is coupled to the AVDUT  2000  so as to transmit control signals for test to the AVDUT  2000 . In an embodiment, the output control circuit  1200  has a GPIO (general purpose input/output) interface  1210 , an IR (infrared ray) output interface  1220 , a network control interface  1230 , an UART (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) interface  1240  and a relay control interface  1250 . The GPIO interface  1210  may be connected to the GPIO port of the AVDUT  2000  to transmit control signals conforming to a GPIO format to the AVDUT  2000 . 
     The output control circuit  1200  may transmit control signals in the form of infrared rays through the IR output interface  1220  to the receiving end of the AVDUT  2000  for test operations. The IR output interface  1220  is disposed at an appropriate position of the jig  1100 , so the infrared signal emitted by the IR output interface  1220  is capable to be transmitted to the receiving end of the AVDUT  2000 . 
     The network control interface  1230 , the UART interface  1240  and the relay control interface  1250  are also disposed at appropriate position of the jig  1100 , and each of these interfaces transmits control signals for test in corresponding format to the receiving interface of the corresponding format on the AVDUT  2000 . 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the AVDUT  2000  described above is a television or a home cinema device, which may only have an IR receiving interface and an Ethernet interface without any UART receiving interface or relay control receiving interface. The user may use an infrared remote control to send the operation signals to the IR receiving interface on the television or the home cinema device, or the user can download the video or related data from the network through the Ethernet interface on the television or the home cinema device. When such television or the home cinema device is the AVDUT  2000 , the output control circuit  1200  of the test system  1000  may only have an IR output interface  1220  and a network control interface  1230 . The test system for audio-video device  1000  in this embodiment focuses on testing the IR signals and network control functions of the AVDUT  2000 , thus more tests related to the IR signals and the network control can be performed in the same time compared to other embodiments. In another embodiment of the present invention, the output control circuit  1200  may have at least one of the GPIO interface  1210 , the IR output interface  1220 , the network control interface  1230 , the UART interface  1240  and the relay control interface  1250  optionally, and the present invention is not limited thereto. 
     When the AVDUT  2000  receives the aforementioned control signals for test, one or more sensible signals are generated by the AVDUT  2000  in response to the control signals. The sensing circuit  1300  is close enough or connects to the AVDUT  2000  through the jig  1100  in order to sense the sensible signals from the AVDUT  2000 . In an embodiment, the sensing circuit  1300  includes a temperature sensor  1310 , an ambient light sensor  1320 , an image sensor  1330  and an audio sensor  1340 . In another embodiment, the sensing circuit  1300  has at least an image sensor  1330  and an audio sensor  1340 . In further another embodiment, the sensing circuit  1300  has image sensor  1330  and at least one of other sensors. 
     In an embodiment, the temperature sensor  1310  has an IR image sensor adapted to extract an infrared image of the AVDUT  2000 , and said infrared image will be analyzed to obtain the temperature distribution of the AVDUT  2000  during the test process. The aforementioned infrared image sensor may continuously or periodically sense the infrared image of the AVDUT  2000 , so multiple sets of temperature data from the AVDUT  2000  can be obtained in one test. In another embodiment, the temperature sensor  1310  is, for example, a single-point infrared temperature sensor, which can accurately obtain the temperature data from a specific part of the AVDUT  2000 . In further another embodiment, the temperature sensor  1310  is, for example, a contact type (thermistor type) temperature sensor, which obtains temperature data of a specific part of the AVDUT  2000  by contacting the specific part of the AVDUT  2000 . 
     The ambient light sensor  1320  can capture the ambient light data of the AVDUT  2000 . Specifically, the ambient light sensor  1320  is, for example, a CCD (charge-coupled device) visible light sensor mounted on the jig  1100  for measuring the ambient light intensity of the environment (jig) where the AVDUT  2000  is located. 
     The image sensor  1330  can capture an image displayed by the AVDUT  2000 . The image sensor  1330  is, for example, a camera unit adapted to capture images from the display screen of the AVDUT  2000 . In an embodiment, the image picture captured by the image sensor  1330  is a grayscale image. In another embodiment, the image captured by the image sensor  1330  is a full-color image picture. 
     The audio sensor  1340  can capture the audio signal output by the AVDUT  2000 . 
     The audio sensor  1340  is, for example, an electronic device having a microphone and an analog-to-digital converter. Since the most important function of the AVDUT  2000  for a general user is to provide visual and auditory contents, the sensing circuit  1300  has at least an image sensor  1330  and an audio sensor  1340  in an embodiment of the present invention in order to perform the tests for video and audio functions. 
     The storage medium  1400  stores test scripts and verification data sets. The test scripts comprise a plurality of test instructions, and each of the test instructions comprises a plurality of test signals. For example, each of the test instructions corresponds to a possible operational behavior of a user. The verification data sets comprise, for example, a normal image picture, an abnormal image picture, a normal audio signal, and an abnormal audio signal. 
     The processor  1500  is coupled to the output control circuit  1200 , the sensing circuit  1300 , and the storage medium  1400 . The processor  1500  can obtain a plurality of test instructions from the storage medium  1400 , generate a test sequence corresponding to the obtained test instructions, and, according to the test sequence, output a plurality of control signals corresponding to the plurality of test instructions to the AVDUT  2000 . The AVDUT  2000  generates one or more sensible conditions when receiving the plurality of control signals of the plurality of test instructions. The processor  1500  then receives the sensed data from the sensing circuit  1300 , and compares the sensible conditions with the verification data sets in the storage medium  1400  to determine whether an abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT  2000 . When the processor  1500  determines the abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT  2000 , the processor  1500  sequentially writes at least one of the test signals of the previous tests into the storage medium  1400 , and sets said at least one written test signal in a new test instruction, wherein the at least one written test signal is corresponding to part of the test sequence processed right before the abnormal event occurs. In addition, the processor  1500  can also write the sensible condition corresponding to the abnormal event into the storage medium  1400 . The abnormal event described above could include an abnormal image picture or an abnormal audio signal occurring, where the abnormal image is taken as an example for the determination process. The verification data sets of the tests comprise the normal image pictures and the abnormal image pictures. When the image picture, which is displayed on AVDUT  2000 , extracted by the image sensor  1330  does not correspond to a normal image picture or the extracted image picture corresponds to an abnormal image picture in the verification data sets, the processor  1500  determines that the extracted image picture is abnormal. In contrast, when the displayed image picture extracted by the image sensor  1330  corresponds to a normal image picture or the extracted image picture does not correspond to an abnormal image picture in the verification data sets, the processor  1500  determines that the extracted image picture is normal. The determination process of the audio signal extracted by the audio sensor  1340  is substantially similar to determination process of the extracted image picture, which is thus not described further herein. 
     Although the sequential order of the control signals corresponding to each of the test instructions is pre-defined, a new or undefined test sequence of control signals may be generated by randomly arranging the sequential orders of the test instructions in an embodiment of the present invention in an embodiment of the present invention. Also, in an embodiment of the present invention, after the processor  1500  determines an abnormal event occurs (for example, an abnormal picture or an abnormal audio signal from the AVDUT  2000 ), the processor  1500  records the test sequence and all the currently executed test instructions of the test sequence in the storage medium  1400 . 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the abnormal event is usually caused by the last executed control signals, so the processor  1500  records and repeats the last N control signals in a sequential order in the storage medium  1400 , where N is a variable positive integer. For example, after 100 control signals are output in sequence to the AVDUT  2000  according to the test sequence and the processor  1500  determines that the AVDUT  2000  displays an abnormal picture according to the sensible condition and the verification data sets, which is an abnormal event, the processor  1500  first resets the entire test flow and then outputs the 100 th  control signal in the test sequence through the output control circuit  1200  to the AVDUT  2000  and determines whether the abnormal event is reproduced. If the abnormal event is reproduced, the processor  1500  determines that the abnormal event is caused by the 100 th  control signal. If the abnormal event is not reproduced, the processor  1500  determines that the abnormal event is not only caused by the 100 th  control signal. Therefore, the processor  1500  outputs the 99 th  control signal and the 100 th  control signal, which are the last two control signals, through the output control circuit  1200  to the AVDUT  2000 , and determines whether the abnormal event is reproduced. If the abnormal event is not reproduced, the processor  1500  outputs control signals from the 98 th  to the 100 th , which are the last three control signals, through the output control circuit  1200  to the AVDUT  2000  and determines whether the abnormal event is reproduced. The process is repeated until the abnormal event is reproduced and the control signals caused the abnormal event is determined by the processor  1500 . In this way, the set of control signals causing the abnormal event is checked automatically as hard as possible. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, when a set of control signals is confirmed that will cause an abnormal event on the AVDUT  2000 , the processor  1500  will define the aforementioned set of control signals as a new test instruction and store it in the storage medium  1400 , and this set of control signals is updated or added into the test scripts. Thus, at next time when the AVDUT  2000  or other AVDUT is tested with the updated test script, a verification test step of the abnormal event corresponding to the set of control signals will be performed. 
     In another embodiment, the processor  1500  determines whether the new test instruction is the same as one of the test instructions in the test scripts. When the new test instruction is different from any of test instructions previously stored in the storage medium  1400 , it means that there is no such new test instruction in this test script. The processor  1500  then updates or adds this new test instruction to the test script. In contrast, when the new test instruction is same as one of test instructions originally stored in the storage medium  1400 , the test script is pre-defined to verify this new test instruction causing the abnormal event. Therefore, it is not necessary to update or add this new test instruction to the test script. 
     Specifically, if a set of M test signals in such new test instruction can be found in any of test instructions previously stored in the storage medium  1400  and the founded set of test signals is identically the same, it means that the storage medium  1400  has already stored the set of control signals causing the abnormal event and the corresponding test will be performed. In contrast, if the set of M test signals in the new test instruction cannot be found in any of the test instructions previously stored in the storage medium  1400 , which means the set of M test signals does not exist in the previous stored test scripts, the test scripts need to be updated according to the set of M test signals. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2 , which is a functional block diagram of the test system for audio-video device according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the AVDUT  1000 ′ of  FIG. 2  further comprises a network connector  1600  compared to AUDUT  1000  in  FIG. 1 . The network connector  1600  is coupled to the processor  1500  and is configured to communicate with the remote cloud server  3000  through the internet. In this embodiment, the processor  1500  obtains test scripts from the remote cloud server  3000  and writes the test scripts into the storage medium  1400 . In other words, the test scripts in the storage medium  1400  are obtained, by the processor  1500 , from remote cloud server  3000  according to the models of the AVDUTs  2000 . 
     In another embodiment of  FIG. 2 , the processor  1500  further transmits the abnormal event, the sensible conditions related to the abnormal event and the new test instruction related to the abnormal event to the cloud server  3000  through the network connector  1600 . Therefore, the remote cloud server  3000  can analyze the abnormal event, sensible condition and new test instruction to determine the cause of the abnormal event. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3 , which illustrates a flowchart of a test method for an AVDUT  2000 , which is performed by the test system  1000  illustrated previously. Please refer to step S 0 , “Connecting an output control circuit to the AVDUT” for transmitting control signals to the AVDUT  200  via the output control circuit  1200 . Please refer to step S 1 , “Storing a test script and a verification data set related to the AVDUT, wherein the test script comprises test instructions”. Specifically, each of the test instructions comprises a plurality of test signals. In addition, test scripts and verification data sets may be stored in a storage medium  1400  or a remote cloud server  3000 . Please refer to step S 2 , “Generating a test sequence related to test instructions”. Specifically, the test sequence is generated by a processor  1500 . After step S 1  and S 2  are finished, step S 3  is performed next. The processor  1500  outputs a plurality of control signals to the AVDUT  2000  through the output control circuit according to the test sequence, with said plurality of control signals corresponding to the plurality of test instructions, then the sensing circuit  1300  detects the plurality of sensible conditions of the AVDUT  2000  when the AVDUT  2000  operates following the control signals. Please refer to step S 4 , “Receiving sensible conditions generated by the AVDUT”. Specifically, the sensible conditions of the AVDUT  2000  in test environment are received by the processor  1500 , and then the processor  1500  determines whether an abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT  2000  according to said sensible conditions and the verification data sets, as shown in step S 5 . Please refer to step S 6 , if an abnormal event does occur, the processor  1500  compares whether the test signal of previous tests are the same as the test signals of test instructions. If the comparison result is “yes”, the processor  1500  sequentially writes at least one of the test signals to the storage medium  1400  or the remote cloud server  3000 , as shown in step S 7 . On the other hand, if no abnormal event occurs, or the comparison result in step S 6  is “no”, the flow returns to step S 2 , continuing the next test of AVDUT  2000 . 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, in step S 1 , the test script is received from a cloud server based on the specification of AVDUT  2000 . Beside the test scripts, the test system for audio-video device  1000  also checks whether there is any update version or modification of the test script in during the test procedure. If there is an update version or modification of the test script, the test system for audio-video device  1000  perform the test steps following the updated or modified test script. If there is no update version or modification of the test script, the test system for audio-video device  1000  perform the test steps following the original test script and update or modify the original test script during the test procedure if necessary. In an embodiment of the prevent invention, the cloud server is an analysis platform with machine learning function. If an unexpected abnormal event occurs in step S 5 , the test system for audio-video device  1000  transmit the test record, the test script, the sensible conditions of the AVDUT  2000  in the test, and other information of the test environment to the analysis platform. The analysis platform performs analysis procedure with machine learning algorithm to create update version or modification of the test script, and all test systems for audio-video device  1000  connected to the analysis platform can access the update version or modification of the test script. 
     According to an embodiment of the present invention, in step S 5 , the test system for audio-video device  1000  transmit the test record, the test script, the sensible conditions of the AVDUT  2000  in the test, and other information of the test environment to an analysis platform. The analysis platform also performs analysis procedure with machine learning algorithm to determine whether there is an abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT  2000 . If the analysis platform determines there is an abnormal event, the analysis platform, the analysis platform sends commands to the test system for audio-video device  1000 . Following the commands, the processor  1500  sequentially writes at least one of the test signals to the storage medium  1400  or the remote cloud server  3000 , as shown in step S 7 . 
     In summary, the test system for audio-video device according to an embodiment of the present invention generates a new test sequence with multiple test instructions in the test scripts, wherein one or more new test sequences, which are randomly generated, do not exist in previous test scripts. Moreover, when an abnormal event occurs in the AVDUT during the test, the plurality of control signals that cause the abnormal event are sequentially recorded as a new test instruction, thereby the function of automatically expanding the test scripts is achieved.