JPH1145324A - Method and device or video board inspection - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and speedily inspect a video board by directly inspecting objective screen information outputted from the video board installed on a computer. SOLUTION: Information which is signal-processed by the video board is directly inspected. Namely, the video board is connected to an analog/digital converter 28 and the color signal of an objective screen, which is obtained by signal-processing prescribed reference screen information by the video board, is inputted and is digitally converted. Then, objective screen information is obtained. The objective screen information is stored in a screen data storage medium 32. Reference screen information is previously stored in a reference screen data storage medium 31. A picture comparator 29 reads objective screen data with reference screen data so as to compare then. When the video board of an inspection object is normal, both data are matched. Thus, it can be judged whether the video board is normal or not in accordance with the result of comparison. Thus, an inspection operation which is always stable can be secured without being affected by the state and the ability of a monitor.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video board inspecting apparatus and an inspecting method, and more particularly, to inspecting a video board which is mounted on a computer and processes a video signal. The present invention relates to a video board inspection method and an inspection apparatus for directly comparing target screen information for a screen and preset reference screen information. The present invention also relates to a video board inspection method and an inspection apparatus for directly comparing inspection object information for one screen with predetermined reference information, and displaying a comparison result on a display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a video board for displaying various information on a monitor is mounted on a computer main body. The computer (mainly on the back) has a power input / output terminal for input / output of household power, a video port for input / output of video signals, an audio port for input / output of audio signals, a dedicated line, A modem port to which a telephone network is connected, a keyboard terminal to which a keyboard is connected, a joystick terminal to which a joystick is connected, a mouse terminal to which a mouse is connected, and a cooling fan are arranged. The computer having the above-described configuration is connected to a monitor by a cable, and is configured to transmit an image signal processed by a video board of the computer to the monitor and display the image on the monitor.

In the process of mounting such a video board on a computer, it is checked whether the video board operates normally. As an inspection method, there are a visual inspection method in which an operator directly inspects with an eye and a camera inspection method in which an inspection is performed using a video camera. In the case of the visual inspection method, since the operator directly checks the screen displayed on the monitor to make a judgment, the result of the judgment is subjective, and the inspection result depends on the physical rhythm of the worker or other surrounding environment. And the reliability of the test results is low.

For this reason, a camera inspection method is generally employed, and a conventional camera inspection method will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a schematic system diagram of a conventional video board inspection device, and FIG. 8 is a schematic internal block diagram of the inspection device of FIG.

[0005] As shown in FIG. 7, the camera inspection method displays a video screen imaged through a video board mounted in the computer main body 2 on a monitor 13, and displays the video screen displayed on the monitor 13 with a video camera. (Normal,"
An image is taken by a CCD camera 14), the imaged target screen information is compared with reference screen information set in advance by an inspector 15, and the result is output to another monitor 16 and an output device such as a printer 17. As shown in FIG. 8, when the target screen information captured by the video camera 14 is input to the inspection device 15, the controller 18 in the inspection device 15 sends the input target screen information to the inspection algorithm 19. After substitution and comparison with the reference screen information, the result is output to the monitor 16 and the printer 17. At this time,
The target screen information captured by the video camera 14 is converted by the controller 18 into target screen data of a color in which the pixel units R, G, and B are combined, and then divided by the colors of the dot units R, G, and B. This is compared with the reference screen information.

[0006]

However, the conventional video board inspection method has the following problems. 1. The target screen information is imaged on a screen basis and converted into data on a pixel basis, and then divided on a dot basis to detect the target screen data, which complicates the inspection process, slows the inspection speed, and slows down the comparison result. It takes a long time to confirm.

2. Since an image displayed on a monitor is captured by a video camera, and the captured target screen information is compared with reference screen information, an accurate inspection cannot be performed due to the influence of the operating state and performance of the monitor.

3. The screen resolution of a video camera is usually 6
Since the screen resolution is 40 × 480 pixels, if the screen resolution of the target monitor to be imaged is higher than the screen resolution of the video camera, it cannot sufficiently cope with this and the target screen information cannot be accurately detected.

[0009] 4. Since the video screen is used to image the target screen displayed on the monitor, it is difficult to synchronize the monitor and the video camera, and so-called “eclipsing” is applied to the captured target screen. And the accuracy of the inspection is reduced.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a video board inspection method capable of easily and quickly inspecting a video board.

A second object of the present invention is to directly inspect a video signal output from a video board, thereby improving the reliability of the inspection without being affected by the operation state and performance of the monitor. A board inspection method is provided.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a video board inspector capable of performing the above-described video board inspection method.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a video board inspection method for inspecting a video board mounted on a computer main body, wherein a predetermined reference screen information is signaled by the video board. A digital conversion step of digitally converting an analog screen signal obtained by processing to obtain target screen information; a comparing step of comparing the target screen information digitally converted in the digital conversion step with the reference screen information; A determining step of determining whether the video board is normal according to a result of the comparison in the comparing step.

In the video board inspection method according to the present invention, information processed by the video board is directly inspected. That is, predetermined reference screen information is signal-processed by the video board, the obtained analog screen signal is digitally converted, and the digitized target screen information is compared with the reference screen information. If the video board to be inspected is normal, they match, so it can be determined whether the video board is normal according to the result of the comparison.

In the digital conversion stage, the analog screen signal obtained by the signal processing by the video board is
The image data may be divided into 56 gradations and digitally converted into 8-bit target screen information. In the comparison stage, the 8-bit target screen data and the 8-bit reference image data are compared in dot units. At this time, preferably, after counting the vertical synchronizing signal and the horizontal synchronizing signal output from the video board and synchronizing the 8-bit reference screen data with the 8-bit target screen data, whether they are the same or not. To compare.

In the comparison step, the 8-bit reference screen data and the 8-bit target screen data are each sequentially exclusive-ORed one bit at a time to derive an 8-bit first result. The second result is derived by performing an OR operation, and it is determined whether or not both are the same based on the derived second result.

The reference screen information is screen information for displaying a pattern suitable for inspecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in the video board, and is, for example, a color test pattern for one screen of a still image. The screen information for one screen is screen information between one vertical synchronization signal and the next vertical synchronization signal.

According to the present invention, there is provided a video board inspection apparatus for inspecting a video board mounted on a computer main body for abnormalities. The video board inspection apparatus is connected to the video board and performs signal processing on predetermined reference screen information by the video board. The obtained analog screen signal (color signal) is input,
An analog / digital converter for digitally converting the target screen information into predetermined bits, a target screen data storage medium for storing the target screen information input from the analog / digital converter, and a reference screen storing the reference screen information in advance A data storage medium, an image comparator for comparing and judging whether or not the target screen data read from the target screen data storage medium is the same as the reference screen data read from the reference screen data storage medium; A video board including a result storage medium for temporarily storing comparison result data representing a comparison result determined by a storage device, and reporting means for reporting a comparison result based on the comparison result data temporarily stored in the storage medium. An inspection device was configured.

In the video board inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the screen information output from the video board is directly inspected. That is, a video board is connected to the analog / digital converter, and a color signal of a target screen obtained by subjecting predetermined reference screen information to signal processing by the video board is input and digitally converted to obtain target screen information. Can be This target screen information is stored in the target screen data storage medium. On the other hand, reference screen information is stored in the reference screen data storage medium in advance, and the image comparator reads out the target screen data and the reference screen data and compares them.
If the video board is normal, both are the same. The comparison result is temporarily stored in the result storage medium as comparison result data, and is reported through the reporting means.

Such an inspection apparatus can be constituted by a computer, for example, the process of image comparison is executed by a CPU, and each storage medium is constituted by one or more RAMs.

A VGA connector for connecting the video board and the inspection device is preferably arranged between the video board and the analog / digital converter, and a VGA connector is connected between the VGA connector and the analog / digital converter. A signal conditioner for removing a noise component included in the target screen information may be arranged.

The analog / digital converter converts the reference screen information having an arbitrary stage into a 8-bit target screen data for expressing the color signal of the target screen obtained by performing signal processing by a video board in 256 steps. Convert to digital. In this case, the image comparing unit compares the 8-bit reference screen data stored in advance in the reference screen data storage medium with the 8-bit target screen data converted by the analog / digital converter and stored in the target screen data storage medium. , And an OR circuit for comparing the entire 8-bit result data sequentially compared by the exclusive OR circuit. At this time, the apparatus further includes a clock and timing control unit that counts a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal output from the video board and controls a synchronization time point of the 8-bit reference screen data and the 8-bit target screen data. Can be

Further, the image processing apparatus may further include a data bus for transmitting the comparison result data from the image comparator to the reporting means, and a bus control unit for controlling the data bus. The reporting means includes at least one of a monitor for displaying the comparison result, a printer for printing the comparison result, and an alarm generation unit for generating a predetermined alarm signal so that the user can recognize when the comparison result is not the same. can do.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a video board inspection method and an inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram schematically showing one embodiment of a video board inspection apparatus according to the present invention.
2 is a schematic internal block diagram of the tester shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a detailed internal block diagram of the real-time image processor shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a comparison process of the image comparator shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram showing a vertical synchronization signal, a horizontal synchronization signal, and R, G, B color signals output from a GA connector.

As shown in FIG. 1, a video board inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment is an inspection device which receives an image signal output from a computer body 2 having a built-in video board and inspects the video board for defects. 20 and inspection device 20
A monitor 16 and a printer 17 for displaying or printing the result of the comparison by the inspection device 20;
Generating unit 21 for generating an alarm signal so that the user can easily recognize that the comparison result by the judgment is bad.
It is composed of

As shown in FIG.
The image signal transmitted from the computer main body 2 is inspected through a plurality of inspection processes. That is, the tester 20 uses the R, G, and B signals input from the video input / output terminal of the computer main unit 2 and the synchronizing signal to perform signal processing so that each of the R, G, and B image images can be reproduced. The image processors 22, 23, and 24 are connected to external devices so that the image data converted by the real-time image processors 22, 23, and 24 can be transmitted to various outputs such as the monitor 16, the printer 17, and the alarm generator 21. It is composed of an input / output board 25 for performing an interface.

Each real-time image processor 22, 23,
24, as shown in FIG.
VGA connector 26 for signal processing of each R, G, B signal
A signal adjuster 27 for removing a noise component included in any one of the R, G, and B color signals output from the VGA connector 26; and a 256-level color signal output through the signal adjuster 27. 8-bit analog / digital converter 28 for converting the target screen color data into
An image comparator 29 for comparing 8-bit target screen color data converted by the bit analog / digital converter 28 with predetermined reference screen color data, and vertical and horizontal signals included in the image signal output from the VGA connector 26 A clock and timing adjustment unit 30 for detecting a synchronization signal and adjusting the timing for signal processing of each component;
First memory 3 in which reference screen color data is stored in advance
1 and a second storing the target screen color data digitally converted by the 8-bit analog / digital converter 28.
A memory 32, a third memory 33 for storing the result data inspected by the image comparator 29, and an inspection device 20 for providing the comparison result to various display devices such as the monitor 16 and the printer 17 and the alarm generator 21. And display devices 16 and 17
And a bus controller 35 for controlling a data bus 34 connected to the alarm generator 21.

The operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. An apparatus that selects and inspects only one color signal from the R, G, and B signals that are output signals from the monitor can inspect three color signals simultaneously with the same configuration. is there. Therefore, in the following description of the operation, only the process of inspecting one color signal will be described. In this way, instead of using independent testers for R, G, and B, instead of using separate testers for hardware, simultaneous testing is performed through a single tester.
The inspection speed can be significantly improved as compared with the inspection method in which the entire G and B screens are photographed and disassembled. In addition, by inspecting each of the R, G, and B colors independently, the accuracy of inspection for a single color is improved, and a highly economical inspection apparatus can be obtained.

First, a color signal to be inspected is set as follows. It is assumed that the target screen color signal C of the target screen information to be inspected is any one of R, G, and B color signals. The target screen color signal C output to the monitor and the horizontal and vertical synchronization signals HSYNC,
The VSYNC is converted by the signal controller 27 and the clock and timing controller 30 into target screen color data that is 8-bit digital data. The display device displays one line of the image signal corresponding to the determined resolution starting from the upper left end of the screen, and outputs the horizontal synchronization signal HSY.
The display start position of the next line is synchronized with the start position of the previous line by the NC, and the video signal of the next line is displayed. When the above process is repeated and all the video signals for one screen are displayed, the display start position of the next screen is synchronized with the start position of the previous screen by the vertical synchronization signal VSYNC, and the display of the video signal for the next screen is started.

Therefore, by starting counting the horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC immediately after the input of the vertical synchronization signal VSYNC, the number of dot lines displayed on the screen can be confirmed, and one horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC and the next By digitally converting the color signal C with the horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC, all the display data of one line on the screen can be converted into digital data. At this time, since the input color signal C contains noise, the noise is usually removed using a signal controller 27 such as a low-pass filter.

The target screen color data that has been digitally converted is compared with the reference screen color data previously stored in the first memory 31 in the inspection device 20 for comparison inspection by exclusive OR operation (XOR, XOR, '0' through (see Fig. 4)
And the result value of '1' is output. Here, if the comparison data is the same, a result '0' is output, and if the comparison data is different, a result '1' is output. Further, by performing a logical OR operation (OR, see FIG. 5) on the comparison result for 8 bits, it is possible to check whether or not the data is identical for each byte.
If the comparison result is “0”, one byte indicates a normal state, and if the comparison result is “1”, one byte indicates an abnormal state.

The reference screen color data is stored in advance in the first memory 31 as data which is determined to be normal when a normal video board compares the reference screen information with target screen color data obtained by signal processing. It is also possible to convert a logically configured inspection screen in an output form, store it in the first memory 31, and then sequentially read it for comparison.

The (X, Y) coordinates of the data extracted from the first memory 31 are obtained by sampling the pixels displayed between the horizontal synchronizing signals HSYNC by dividing them by the frequency used in accordance with the screen resolution. Can be counted and determined.

The digitally converted 8-bit target screen color data is stored in the second memory 32 in the inspection device 20 and then output in R, G, B units through the monitor 16 connected to the inspection system. Thereby, it can be configured to enable visual inspection.

The VGA connector 26 uses the first R, the second G, the third B, the thirteenth HSYNC, and the fourteenth VSYNC among the 15-pin output terminals (not shown) as input sources of the inspection device 20. Things. In particular, the vertical synchronization signal VSYN
C and the horizontal synchronizing signal HSYNC utilize the characteristics transmitted in the form shown in FIG. 6, and the vertical synchronizing signal VSYNC is used.
Is recognized as data for one screen, and the period from the activation of the horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC to the next activation is regarded as data of one line. And the color signal C output at this time
Is recognized as a point displayed on the screen, and a comparison operation is performed.

The signal conditioner 27 removes a noise component included in the color signal C output from the computer through the VGA connector 26 so that the 8-bit analog / digital converter 28 accurately converts the color signal C input. To digital conversion.

The 8-bit analog / digital converter 28 converts the input color signal C into target screen color data of 256 gradations. Even if the number of colors to be displayed on the monitor of the computer on which the video board is mounted is a precise color such as 65536 gradations or 1048576 gradations, and the color signal C is an analog signal corresponding thereto, 2
The analog / digital converter is simplified to 8-bit data so that it can be recognized only by color data of 56 gradations.

The image comparator 29 includes one byte of reference screen color data stored in advance in the first memory 31 for inspecting the color signal C and the target screen input through the 8-bit analog / digital converter 28. After performing a comparison operation with the 1-byte data of the color data, the result is stored in the third memory 33. At this time, in the analog / digital converter 28, since the color signal C before digital conversion is an analog signal, the influence of noise cannot be ignored. Therefore, by setting an appropriate error tolerance, if the difference between the original reference screen color data and the converted symmetrical screen color data is within the error tolerance, the reference screen color data and the target screen color data are compared. Are preferably determined to be the same. As described above, by realizing the error correction by software through access to the memory in which the comparison result is stored, the flexibility of the determination can be secured even for a video board in which a minute error has occurred.

The clock and timing adjustment circuit 30
The dot display timing of the color signal C displayed on the screen is determined using the vertical synchronization signal VSYNC and the horizontal synchronization signal HSYNC. That is, an analog / digital conversion process, a dot inspection process, various memories 31 and 3
In the process of storing data in the data storage units 2 and 33, the reference timing is adjusted so that a smooth recording operation and a display operation are performed.

The first memory 31 is a data memory in which the reference screen color data is stored in advance to check whether the reference screen color data matches the target screen color data. In order to compare signals in the inspection device 20, it is necessary to previously store reference screen color data to be compared with the currently input target screen color data in a storage device. For example, when the power is turned on, the inspection device 20 is initialized. In this process, the reference screen color data stored in the storage device (not shown) is read into the first memory 31 area. In the present embodiment, the reference screen color data is 8 bits.

The second memory 32 stores the target screen color data digitally converted by the 8-bit analog / digital converter 28. The target screen color data digitally converted by the 8-bit analog / digital converter 28 is read, transmitted to the image comparator 29, and compared with the reference screen color data read from the first memory 31 only. Instead, it is temporarily stored in the second memory 32, and the inspection process is displayed on the monitor 16 connected to the inspection device 20, and compared with the display on the monitor (not shown) of the computer equipped with the video board. This allows the inspector to directly check the correlation between the reference screen information and the target screen information. Thereby, the automatic inspection and the passive inspection can be performed in parallel. The information stored in the second memory 32 is a maximum of one screen, and the vertical synchronizing signal VS
The data is updated in such a manner that new data is overwritten on the stored data by the input of the YNC.

The third memory 33 stores the result determined by the image comparator 29 in a memory position corresponding to the coordinate value of the screen, and performs comprehensive judgment based on the stored comparison result data for one screen. Provide materials.

The bus control unit 35 includes various data buses 34.
The data bus 34 is controlled to conform to the board configuration of the tester 20 for connection to the tester 20.

The data bus 34 is provided with a slot for connection to a personal computer or the like. By transmitting the comparison result to the personal computer or the like, the operator can easily confirm the comparison result. For example, data bus 3
4 is connected to a monitor 16 for displaying the comparison result, a printer 17 for printing the comparison result, and an alarm generator 21 for generating a predetermined alarm signal so that the user can recognize when the comparison result is not the same. be able to.

As described above, according to the video board inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment, by directly inspecting the target screen information output from the video board, the video screen inspection apparatus is not affected by the monitor state and performance. A stable inspection operation can always be ensured.

As described above, the preferred embodiments of the video board inspection method and the inspection apparatus according to the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and those modifications naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood to belong.

[0048]

As described above, according to the video board inspection method and the inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the target screen information output from the video board mounted on the computer is directly inspected, whereby the operation of the monitor of the computer is performed. Inspection results can be obtained quickly and accurately without being affected by conditions or performance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram schematically showing one embodiment of a video board inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic internal block diagram of the tester shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed internal block diagram of the real-time image processor shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a comparison process of the image comparator shown in FIG.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a comparison process of the image comparator shown in FIG.

6 is a waveform diagram showing a vertical synchronizing signal, a horizontal synchronizing signal, and R, G, B color signals output from the VGA connector of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a schematic system diagram of a conventional video board inspection apparatus.

8 is a schematic internal block diagram of the inspection device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Computer body 16: Monitor 17: Printer 20: Inspector 21: Alarm generator 22, 23, 24: Real-time image processor 25: I / O board 26: VGA connector 27: Signal controller 28: 8-bit analog / digital Converter 29: Image comparator 30: Clock and timing adjustment unit 31: First memory 32: Second memory 33: Third memory 34: Data bus 35: Bus control unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A video board inspection method for inspecting a video board mounted on a computer main body.
A digital conversion step of digitally converting an analog screen signal obtained by subjecting predetermined reference screen information to signal processing by the video board to obtain target screen information, and the target screen information digitally converted in the digital conversion step, A video board inspection method, comprising: a comparing step of comparing with reference screen information; and a determining step of determining whether the video board is normal according to a result of the comparison in the comparing step. 2. The video board inspection method according to claim 1, wherein in the comparing step, one screen of the target screen information and one screen of the reference screen information are compared. 3. The video board inspection method according to claim 1, wherein, in the comparing step, the target screen information and the reference screen information are compared in a predetermined dot unit. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing includes synchronizing the target screen information and the reference screen information based on a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal output from the video board. A video board inspection method according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 3. 5. A video board inspection apparatus for inspecting a video board mounted on a computer body for abnormalities, wherein the video board is connected to the video board and obtained by subjecting predetermined reference screen information to signal processing by the video board. An analog / digital converter for digitally converting an analog screen signal into target screen information of a predetermined bit, and an image comparator for comparing the target screen information with the reference screen information to determine whether or not they are the same. A video board inspection device, comprising: 6. The video board inspection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a signal conditioner for removing a noise component included in the analog screen signal is further provided at a front stage of the analog / digital converter. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a clock and timing controller for synchronizing the target screen information and the reference screen information based on a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal output from the video board. The video board inspection device according to claim 5. 8. The video board inspection apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a reporting unit for reporting comparison result data by said image comparator.