Patent Publication Number: US-2007118779-A1

Title: Intelligent Test System and Related Method for Testing an Electronic Product

Description:
Background of the Invention  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an intelligent test system, and more particularly, to an intelligent test system and related method for testing an electronic product.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      To ensure the stability of the normal functional operation and durability of an electronic device, the electronic device receives various types of tests according to each given situation as the product is being manufactured or before the product is shipped. A power on-and-off test is a good example. The power test is performed by repeatedly switching the electronic device on and off. This tests its durability when a user utilizes the electronic device over a long period of time. The test results help ensure that the electronic device functions normally after continued use. Numerous test apparatus have been developed to replace labor for performing automated electronic device tests. The replacement of human labor is attractive because the electronic device test otherwise requires huge time and labor resource consumption.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  illustrates a diagram of a conventional test apparatus  100 . The conventional test apparatus  100  includes a control device  110  (such as a computer), and a signal converter  120 . A test sequence of the control device  110  is setup by utilizing software to transmit a control signal to the signal converter  120 . The signal converter  120  then converts the control signal transmitted from the control device  110  into a test signal (such as a switch signal) recognizable by the electronic device  130  to be transmitted to the electronic device  130 . In this way the electronic device  130  can be tested.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 2  illustrates a diagram of another conventional test apparatus  200 . The test apparatus  200  is a test box that operates independently and therefore differs from the test apparatus  100  in that way. A microprocessor  210  of the test apparatus  200  has preset test procedures, a user is only required to input the number of tests or other conditions on a user interface  220  of the test apparatus  200 , the microprocessor  210  then generates a test signal, and the test signal is then outputted through an output end  222  to the electronic device  230 , thus the electronic device  230  can be tested.  
      However, when a problem occurs in the test apparatus  100 ,  200  of the above-mentioned, the apparatus simply records only the number of the test failure and then the apparatus continues testing, or alternately can stop testing until a researcher is present to solve the problem. However, the test completion requires a long period of time and the testing process must be perform continuously. If the researcher is unable to immediately discover and solve the problem of the test failure, then test time is delayed resulting in an even longer test completion time period. The scenario described here can even affect the scheduled launching of an electronic device to the market. Also, the test apparatus  100 ,  200  of the above-mentioned is unable to record the situation of the test failure, thus researchers are not able to discover the cause of the test failure, hence this increases the difficulty of problem solving for the researchers. Even worse, as a result, the test may need to be restarted.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The claimed invention discloses an intelligent test system for testing an electronic device. The intelligent test system comprises a control device for generating control data, and a test device for testing the electronic device. The test device comprises a processor for transmitting a test signal to the electronic device according to the control data generated by the control device, and for controlling the intelligent test system according to the control data generated by the control device and feedback data generated by the electronic product in response to the test signal; and a memory for storing the feedback data generated by the electronic device.  
      The claimed invention discloses a method of testing an electronic device by an intelligent test system. The method comprises editing a control data generated by a control device or a remote control device; transmitting a test signal generated by a test device to the electronic device according to an edited control data; executing the test to the electronic device after receiving the test signal generated by a test device; recording the feedback data while executing the test; and controlling the intelligent test system according to the control data generated by the control device and the feedback data generated by the electronic product in response to the test signal.  
      These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a diagram of a conventional test apparatus.  
       FIG. 2  illustrates a diagram of another conventional test apparatus.  
       FIG. 3  illustrates a diagram of an intelligent test system according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  illustrates a flow chart according to the present invention. 
    
    
     Detailed Description  
      Please refer to  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  illustrates a diagram of an intelligent test system  300  according to the present invention. The intelligent test system  300  includes a local control device  310 , a remote control device  340 , and a test device  320 . The local control device  310  and the remote control device  340  can be a computer or other types of control interface. The test device  320  includes a local control end  321 , a remote control end  322 , a test end  323 , a feedback end  324 , a processor  326 , and a memory  328 . The local control end  321  is coupled to the local control device  310 , the remote control end  322  is coupled to the remote control device  340  via a network  342 . A researcher can generate control data through the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340  according to test procedures, and the control data is transmitted to the test device  320 . The processor  326  is coupled among the local control end  321 , the remote control end  322 , the test end  323 , the feedback end  324 , and the memory  328 . After the processor  326  receives the control data from the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340 , the processor  326  will generate a test signal (such as a power on-and-off signal) recognizable by the electronic device  330  according to the control data transmitted from the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340 . Next, the test signal is transmitted to the electronic device  330  through the test end  323 . The electronic device  330  will execute the corresponding operation according to the received test signal; for example, a power-on self-test (POST) of a BIOS is executed to check whether each component of the electronic device  330  is functioning normally. The feedback end  324  is coupled to an output end of the electronic device  330 , such as USB port or VGA port, therefore the electronic device  330  can generate the control data through the feedback end  324  when it is executing the POST, such as, providing as feedback, monitor image data or parameter data of each chip to the processor  326  (a preset program can be implanted into the electronic device  230  to output test data through designated input and output ends, and feedback data is transmitted back to the processor  326  through the feedback end  324 ). The processor  326  can analyze the feedback data to determine whether an error message has occurred.  
      If the test is successful, the processor  326  can store the feedback data or the test result into the memory  328  as reference for the researcher. If a problem is detected during the test, then the processor  326  can execute a corresponding operation according to the control data preset by the researcher. For example, when the processor  326  detects an error message in the received feedback data, the processor  326  determines whether the problem can be solved by the processor  326  itself according to the control data, if the problem can be solved by the processor  326 , then the processor  326  will generate a debug signal according to the control data, and the debug signal is then transmitted to the electronic device  330  through the test end  323  to solve the problem, the processor  326  then stores the problem feedback data into the memory  328  as a reference for the researcher, and the test continues to prevent discontinuation which can effect the test schedule. If the processor  326  is unable to solve the problem itself, the processor  326  determines whether the test should be continued according to the control data, if the test should be continued, then the processor  326  stores the problem feedback data into the memory  328  and the test continues, if the test should be stopped, then the processor  326  will terminate the test and transmits a short text message, such as an email, to the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340 , or can even transmit a short text message to a mobile phone to notify the researcher to solve the problem immediately. After the researcher acknowledges the problem, the researcher can control the test device  320  to solve the problem, in this way the problem can be solved quickly to prevent the test from falling behind schedule.  
      To explain the method of testing the electronic device  330  by the intelligent test system  300 ,  FIG. 4  illustrates a flow chart  400  according to the present invention. Please refer to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 3  at the same time. The flowchart  400  of  FIG. 4  includes the following steps:  
      Step  412 : a user transmits control data to the test device  320  through the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340 ;  
      Step  414 : the test device  320  transmits the test signal to the electronic device  330  for executing the test;  
      Step  416 : record the feedback data generated by the electronic device into the memory  328 ;  
      Step  418 : is error being detected? If so execute step  420 , if not execute step  422 ;  
      Step  420 : is the test procedure completed? If not execute step  414 , if so execute step  422 ;  
      Step  422 : the test device  320  transmits a test complete message to the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340  to notify the user;  
      Step  424 : wait for the user to execute the latter process through the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340 ;  
      Step  426 : analyze the error message according to the control data;  
      Step  428 : determine whether the problem can be solved? If not execute step  430 , if so execute step  434 ;  
      Step  430 : determine whether to terminate the test? If so execute step  432 , if not execute step  436 ;  
      Step  432 : the test device  320  transmits a test failure message to the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340  to notify the user, then execute step  424 ;  
      Step  434 : the test device  320  transmits a debug signal to the electronic device  330  to solve the problem and records to the problem feedback data into the memory  328 , and execute step  414 ; and  
      Step  436 : the test device  320  records the problem feedback data into the memory  328 , and execute step  414 .  
      To achieve the above results, the steps of the flowchart  400  do not require a sequential execution. Because steps need not be adjacent to each other, other steps can be inserted thereby adding to and changing the execution sequence of the above-mentioned steps. Furthermore, the memory  328 , other than storing test data, can also provide memory space for the processor  326  during operation, such as for storing the control data generated by the local control device  310  or the remote control device  340 , therefore the test device  320  can operate independently after receiving the control data. The present invention can be realized by utilizing any of three components: a software, a firmware, a hardware, or any combination of said three components.  
      In comparison with the prior art, the intelligent test system  300  can detect a problem during a test and self-analyze the error message to determine whether the problem can be solved by the system itself or the test should be continued such that the problem test data will be recorded, hence a test interruption can be avoided and also the problem message can be provided to the researcher for further analysis and product modification. Also, when the intelligent test system  300  of the present invention cannot solve the problem by itself, the intelligent test system  300  can transmit a short text message to notify the researcher to process the problem quickly. In this way, regardless of when the test failure occurs, for example, on a public holiday, the researcher may still respond to solve the problem through the remote control device  340  so that the test can proceed. Therefore the intelligent test system  300  of the present invention allows the electronic device test to execute smoothly without any interruption thereby reducing the time and cost of developing the electronic device.  
      Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.