MULTIFUNCTIONAL SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND METHODS

"Electronic circuits and electronic components are electronic devices that are widely used in several fields. Particularly, an electronic circuit usually has a series of electrical or electronic components which are connected with each other to generate, carry and modify electronic signals. A printed circuit board (PCB) provides physical support for the components and includes electrical connections among the components. Usually, the PCB with the installed components is inspected for detecting failures. Inspection can be performed during manufacturing or during PCB repair. Simple or high-production PCB layouts allow mounting, soldering and/or inspection tasks to be standardised, either manually or automatically. This means that operation is relatively simple to carry out. However, the current trend in PCB manufacturing involves increasingly complex and purpose-specific layouts. This may mean that several electronic circuit designs are produced at the same site, and with relatively small production runs. A relatively short series of electronic circuits may not have a predetermined operation plan. This may complicate the tasks to be performed on the PCBs. In the case of repair or recovery of PCBs in service, there is usually no information on the components and the inspection has to be done manually. In a first aspect, a multifunctional system for electronic devices is provided. The system comprises a main frame having a receiving portion to removably receive an auxiliary frame, the auxiliary frame comprising a supporting region to support the electronic device. The system comprises an image sensor configured to obtain a first image of at least a portion of the supporting region. Furthermore, the system comprises a controller configured to receive the first image obtained by the image sensor. The system comprises a driving arm configured to drive a head assembly over the supporting region, the head assembly having a tool in data communication with the controller; wherein the controller is configured to generate a plurality of first copies of the first image wherein at least one of the first copies has a different pixel density value than the rest of the first copies, apply a first neural network for detecting electronic components based on the first copies, and determine presence and position of an electronic component on the supporting region from the output of the first neural network. According to this aspect, the auxiliary frame may be changed depending on the operation to be performed on the electronic device. This may provide a quick and easy solution to perform different tasks on the same station. According to this aspect, the auxiliary frame may be changed to suit the PCB model to be operated. This may mean an enhanced flexibility. The system of this aspect may involve an artificial intelligence-assisted workflow that may avoid having to configure the system by the user and allows it to be used by nonexpert staff. The system may be used for design and manufacturing tasks, as well as for repairing tasks. A relatively easy operation of the system may be achieved. The system according to this aspect may be used for reverse engineering a printed circuit board. This may be useful for generating the necessary documentation to repair boards that are not electronically documented. Components may be identified by the neural network and presence and position information of each component may be generated to obtain the layout in CAD tools. In some examples of the system, the head assembly may comprise an electrical probe, and the controller may be configured to compute a layout of a printed circuit board from the output of the first neural network and determine a test to be performed on the printed circuit board by comparing the layout of the printed circuit board with pre- determined layouts and associated tests. The system according to this example, may be used for repairing a printed circuit board during manufacturing. A faulty component may be located by the processor and thus removed from the board."