TWI779895B - Antenna testing method and system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An antenna testing method includes establishing, based on a two-dimensional coordinate system, a position parameter of at least one noise element in a to-be-tested device; measuring a radiation signal from the to-be tested device to generate a three-dimensional gain information, wherein the three-dimensional gain information includes a plurality of three-dimensional coordinate parameters; converting the three-dimensional coordinate parameters into a plurality of two-dimensional coordinate parameters and a plurality of gain parameters under the two-dimensional coordinate system, wherein the two-dimensional coordinate parameters correspond to the gain parameters respectively; generating a gain variation diagram according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain parameters; matching the position parameter with the gain variation diagram to obtain a noise interference level respectively corresponding to at least one noise element; and determining, according to the noise interference level, whether the to-be-tested device is a radiation-defective device or not.

Description

Antenna testing method and system thereof

The present invention relates to an antenna technology, in particular to an antenna testing method and system thereof.

There are many wireless communication devices in today's life, and these devices are generally provided with antennas to realize the function of wireless communication. However, the radiated signal of the antenna is easily affected by noise, which will cause the degradation of wireless communication performance. Therefore, when the product leaves the factory or is repaired, the manufacturer will use some test instruments to test and adjust the radiation signal of the antenna of the wireless communication device (ie, the device under test), so as to prevent the radiation signal of the antenna from being affected by noise. However, since the device under test may have various components that may affect the radiation signal, it is impossible to determine the location of the noise source and fundamentally eliminate the noise source when testing the radiation signal of the antenna. Furthermore, certain test instruments (such as spectrum analyzers) may also increase the cost of testing.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an antenna testing method and system thereof. According to some embodiments, the present invention can analyze the location where the noise originates from the device under test and the interference degree of the noise source to the radiated signal of the antenna. According to some embodiments, the antenna test can be realized through simple test equipment, thereby reducing the test cost.

According to some embodiments, the antenna testing method includes establishing a position parameter of at least one noise element in a device under test based on a two-dimensional coordinate system; measuring a radiation signal from the device under test to generate a three-dimensional gain information, wherein The 3D gain information includes complex 3D coordinate parameters; converting these 3D coordinate parameters into complex 2D coordinate parameters and complex gain parameters under a 2D coordinate system, and these 2D coordinate parameters correspond to the gain parameters respectively; According to these two-dimensional coordinate parameters and these gain parameters, generate a gain variation diagram; match the position parameters in the gain variation diagram to obtain noise interference levels respectively corresponding to at least one noise element; and according to the noise interference degree , to determine whether the device under test is a poor radiation device.

According to some embodiments, an antenna testing system includes an antenna testing chamber, a network analyzer, and a computing device. The antenna testing room is used for accommodating a device under test and receiving a radiation signal from the device under test. A network analyzer is coupled to the antenna test chamber. The network analyzer is used to measure the radiation signal and generate analysis information. The computing device is coupled to the network analyzer. The calculation device is used to establish a position parameter of at least one noise component in the device under test based on a two-dimensional coordinate system; generate a three-dimensional gain information according to the analysis information, wherein the three-dimensional gain information includes complex three-dimensional coordinate parameters; convert the three-dimensional coordinates The parameters are complex two-dimensional coordinate parameters and complex gain parameters under the two-dimensional coordinate system, and the two-dimensional coordinate parameters correspond to the gain parameters respectively; according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain parameters, a gain Variation diagram; matching the position parameter with the gain variation diagram to obtain noise interference levels respectively corresponding to at least one noise component; and judging whether the device under test is a poor radiation device according to the noise interference level.

To sum up, according to some embodiments, by matching the position parameter of the noise element of the DUT with the gain variation diagram of the radiation signal associated with the DUT, the position of the noise source and the noise source can be obtained from the gain variation diagram. The interference degree of the signal source to the radiated signal. According to some embodiments, since the gain change graph can be a visualized graph, the user can quickly determine the location of the noise source and the degree of interference. According to some embodiments, since antenna testing can be implemented with simple testing equipment, the testing cost can be reduced. For example, only passive antenna test instruments (such as antenna test chambers and network analyzers) can be used to measure radiation signals, and the calculation device can be used to obtain gain variation diagrams and noise interference levels, thereby reducing the cost of antenna test instruments.

Referring to FIG. 1 , it is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna testing system 10 according to some embodiments of the present invention. The antenna testing system 10 includes an antenna testing room 12 , a network analyzer 14 and a computing device 16 . The network analyzer 14 is coupled to the antenna testing room 12 . The computing device 16 is coupled to the network analyzer 14 . The antenna testing room 12 is used for accommodating a device under test 20 and receiving a radiation signal from the device under test 20 . For example, the antenna test room 12 includes a body 121 and a measurement antenna 123 . The body 121 is used for accommodating the device under test 20 . The measurement antenna 123 is used for receiving the radiation signal from the device under test 20 and transmitting the radiation signal to the network analyzer 14 . In some embodiments, antenna test chamber 12 includes absorbing element 125 . The wave-absorbing element 125 is used to absorb electromagnetic waves in the antenna testing room 12 to eliminate the mixing effect of radiation signal reflection and superimposition, thereby simulating an open field. The measurement antenna 123 may be a horn antenna (Horn antenna). The antenna test chamber 12 may be an electromagnetic anechoic chamber. The device under test 20 may be a device having an antenna for emitting radiation signals, such as a notebook computer, a TV box, and the like. The network analyzer 14 is used for measuring radiation signals and generating analysis information for the computing device 16 to perform calculations. The computing device 16 may be computing devices such as computers, microprocessors, and embedded systems.

Referring to FIG. 2 , it is a schematic flowchart of an antenna testing method according to some embodiments of the present invention. The antenna testing method is suitable for execution by the computing device 16 . First, the computing device 16 establishes a position parameter of at least one noise component in the device under test 20 based on a two-dimensional coordinate system (step S201 ). The noise components may be high-frequency components in the device under test 20 , such as a central processing unit, a graphics processing unit, a memory, and the like. Wherein, the high frequency refers to the measurable bandwidth range of the measurement antenna 123 , for example, the high frequency ranges from 500 MHz (megahertz) to 26.5 GHz (gigahertz). The two-dimensional coordinate system can be a spherical coordinate system under the unit vector, and the position parameter can be represented by (θ, φ).

The device under test 20 is a notebook computer as an example for illustration. As shown in FIG. 1 , the antenna test room 12 includes a test frame 127 . The test bracket 127 is used for setting the test device 20 (such as a notebook computer). The keyboard, input/output port, circuit board and noise components of the notebook computer are arranged on the first cut plane formed by the first dimension X and the second dimension Y of the bracket 127 to be tested. The display screen of the notebook computer is arranged on the second cut plane formed by the third dimension Z and the first dimension X of the bracket 127 to be tested. The angle between the first dimension X and the second dimension Y is defined as the φ angle in the two-dimensional coordinate system, between the third dimension Z and the first dimension X (or between the third dimension Z and the second dimension Y ) is defined as the angle θ in the two-dimensional coordinate system. The computing device 16 establishes position parameters of the noise element according to the position of the noise element in the two-dimensional coordinate system.

Refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 . FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the position of the noise element of the device under test 20 on the first cut plane according to some embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the position of the noise element of the device under test 20 on the third cut plane according to some embodiments of the present invention. Wherein, the third cut plane is formed by the third dimension Z and the second dimension Y. The device under test 20 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 is an example of a notebook computer, and the noise components are an example of a CPU 31 , a graphics processor 33 and memories 35A-35B. It can be seen from Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 that the computing device 16 obtains the central processing unit 31, the graphics processing unit 33 and the memory according to the positions of the central processing unit 31, the graphics processing unit 33 and the memories 35A~35B in the two-dimensional coordinate system. The φ angles of 35A~35B are 15∘ (degrees), 145∘, 45∘, and 80∘ respectively, and the θ angles of the central processing unit 31, graphics processing unit 33, and memory 35A~35B are all 105∘, so that The location parameters of the CPU 31, the graphics processor 33 and the memories 35A-35B are established.

來表示。在一些實施例中，如圖1所示，待測支架127包含一旋轉軸1271及一旋轉盤1273。旋轉軸1271用以使待測裝置20在第一切面上沿著第一旋轉方向RD1轉動。旋轉盤1273用以使待測裝置20在第二切面上沿著第二旋轉方向RD2轉動。其中，旋轉軸1271及旋轉盤1273的轉動角度可以是由計算裝置16控制。透過轉動待測裝置20，以使計算裝置16透過網路分析儀14所量測到的輻射訊號可以為一三維天線場型。 Referring again to FIG. 2 , the computing device 16 measures the radiation signal from the device under test 20 through the network analyzer 14 to generate three-dimensional gain information (step S203 ). Specifically, the computing device 16 generates three-dimensional gain information according to the analysis information of the network analyzer 14 . Wherein, the 3D gain information includes complex 3D coordinate parameters. The three-dimensional coordinate parameters are coordinate parameters under the Cartesian coordinate system, and can be

To represent. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 , the test frame 127 includes a rotating shaft 1271 and a rotating disk 1273 . The rotation shaft 1271 is used to rotate the device under test 20 along the first rotation direction RD1 on the first sectional plane. The rotating disc 1273 is used to rotate the device under test 20 along the second rotating direction RD2 on the second sectional plane. Wherein, the rotation angles of the rotating shaft 1271 and the rotating disk 1273 may be controlled by the computing device 16 . By rotating the device under test 20, the radiation signal measured by the computing device 16 through the network analyzer 14 can be a three-dimensional antenna pattern.

表示。 Next, the computing device 16 converts the three-dimensional coordinate parameters into complex two-dimensional coordinate parameters and complex gain parameters under the two-dimensional coordinate system (step S205 ). Wherein, the two-dimensional coordinate parameters correspond to the gain parameters respectively. Afterwards, the computing device 16 generates a gain variation map according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain parameters (step S207 ). The gain variation graph may present the variation of the gain in a visually identifiable manner, for example, a position with a higher gain has a darker color, and a position with a lower gain has a lighter color. In some embodiments, the gain parameter may be antenna gain, that is, the absolute gain obtained by comparing the antenna's ground pattern and omnidirectional pattern. In some embodiments, the same two-dimensional coordinate system is used for establishing the position parameter and converting the three-dimensional coordinate parameter. For example, the computing device 16 converts the three-dimensional coordinate parameters into two-dimensional coordinate parameters and gain parameters according to formulas 1 to 3, wherein the two-dimensional coordinate parameters can be represented by (θ, φ), the gain parameters can be represented by γ, and the three-dimensional coordinate parameters parameters can be as described above

express.

……………………………………（式1）

……………………………………(Formula 1)

……（式2）

... (Formula 2)

………（式3）

……… (Formula 3)

After the gain variation map is generated, the calculation device 16 matches the position parameters with the gain variation map to obtain noise interference levels respectively corresponding to at least one noise element (step S209 ). Since the gain change graph is generated based on the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain parameters, and the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the position parameters are generated based on the same two-dimensional coordinate system, the calculation device 16 can be based on the θ angle and the φ angle of the position parameters, The position parameter is matched to the gain variation diagram, and the gain parameter in the matching position of the position parameter in the gain variation diagram is used as the noise interference degree. For example, when the gain parameter in the matching position is larger (or presented in a darker color), it means that the degree of noise interference is greater; otherwise, it means that the degree of noise interference is smaller. In this way, the user can quickly know the degree of noise interference of the noise element, and can determine the source of the noise, so as to eliminate the noise fundamentally.

Referring to FIG. 5 , it is a schematic diagram of a gain variation diagram according to some embodiments of the present invention. It can be seen from FIG. 5 that the gain change graph uses the angle θ and angle φ as coordinate axes for matching position parameters. Gain parameters are represented by numerical values or color shades, and the position parameters of noise components (such as central processing unit 51, graphics processing unit 52, memory 53, universal serial bus (USB) 54, solid state hard disk 55) The gain parameter in the matching position of the gain variation diagram is larger or deeper (that is, the degree of noise interference is larger or deeper), so these noise components can be regarded as noise sources . That is to say, the user can judge the position and size of the noise source through the gain change graph and the degree of noise interference.

Referring again to FIG. 2 , after obtaining the degree of noise interference, the computing device 16 determines whether the device under test 20 is a poor radiation device according to the degree of noise interference (step S211 ). In some embodiments, when the degree of noise interference is not greater than a noise threshold, the computing device 16 determines that the device under test 20 is a radiation-qualified device. When the degree of noise interference is greater than the noise threshold, the computing device 16 determines that the device under test 20 is a poor radiation device, and notifies the user (for example, notifying the user by color prompts, flashing prompts, vibration prompts, ringtone prompts, etc.), and Allow users to improve the noise source. The noise threshold may be pre-stored or entered into the computing device 16 .

In some embodiments, since the degree of noise interference is calculated by the computing device 16 , it can reduce the influence of human variables to improve the stability of the analysis. In some embodiments, through simple test equipment (such as the antenna test room 12 and the network analyzer 14), energy consumption can be reduced, so that the degree of noise interference obtained from the analysis is the same as the noise received by the device under test 20 when it is actually used. The degree of signal interference may be substantially consistent. In some embodiments, since the steps of the antenna testing method are relatively simple, the time required for analyzing the degree of noise interference can be reduced.

Referring to FIG. 6 , it is a schematic flowchart of an antenna testing method according to some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the computing device 16 obtains the image file of the device under test 20 before or after generating the gain variation map (step S601 ). For example, the computing device 16 can obtain the image file of the device under test 20 from its external or internal storage device. The image file may be a structural image file or a photo of the device under test 20 . Next, the computing device 16 combines the gain change map with the image file based on the two-dimensional coordinate system (step S603 ). In this way, the gain variation graph can further present the component distribution of the device under test 20 . In this embodiment, the same two-dimensional coordinate system is used when establishing position parameters, converting three-dimensional coordinate parameters and combining image files. For example, the computing device 16 performs image recognition on the image file to identify each component of the computing device 16 (such as a noise component), and according to the position of each component in the two-dimensional coordinate system, each component After the image in the image file is faded, it will be superimposed on the corresponding position in the gain change graph. In this way, the user can know the distribution of components corresponding to the device under test 20 while knowing the magnitude of the gain through the processed gain variation map.

Referring to FIG. 7 , it is a schematic flowchart of an antenna testing method according to some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, before generating the gain change map, the computing device 16 divides the gain parameters into a plurality of different gain levels (step S701 ). For example, as shown in Table 1, each different gain level corresponds to a plurality of different gain parameters. Next, the computing device 16 generates a gain variation map according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain levels (step S703 ). Referring to FIG. 5 together, it can be seen that by using the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain level 60 to generate the gain variation diagram, the information presented on the gain variation diagram can be simplified. For example, the gain values presented on the gain variation graph are simplified and presented with gain levels 60 instead.

[Table 1] is a comparison table of gain stages 60 and gain parameters according to some embodiments of the present invention. Gain class Gain parameter 5 dBi 5~3dBi 3 dBi 3~1dBi 1 dBi 1~-1 dBi -1 dBi -1~-3 dBi -3 dBi -3~-5dBi -5 dBi -5~-7dBi -7 dBi -7~-9 dBi

In some embodiments, before distinguishing the gain level 60, the computing device 16 may delete gain parameters that exceed the upper critical limit and the lower critical limit according to an upper critical limit and a lower critical limit, and keep them at the critical upper limit. Gain parameters within the upper limit and critical lower limit. Afterwards, the computing device 16 distinguishes different gain levels 60 according to the retained gain parameters (step S701 ). In this way, the amount of data of the gain parameters can be simplified to reduce the calculation burden of the calculation device 16 . In some embodiments, the upper critical limit and the lower critical limit may be pre-stored or input into the computing device 16 .

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5 , the calculation device 16 performs calculation processing on the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain levels 60 according to a contour function, so as to generate a result formed by the gain levels 60 A contour map, and use the contour map as a gain change map. In this way, the gain change diagram can be presented in a continuous distribution and gradually changing manner, and the user can quickly obtain the position and size of the noise source.

To sum up, according to some embodiments, by matching the position parameter of the noise element of the DUT with the gain variation diagram of the radiation signal associated with the DUT, the position of the noise source and the noise source can be obtained from the gain variation diagram. The interference degree of the signal source to the radiated signal. According to some embodiments, since the gain change graph can be a visualized graph, the user can quickly determine the location of the noise source and the degree of interference. According to some embodiments, since antenna testing can be implemented with simple testing equipment, the testing cost can be reduced. For example, only passive antenna test instruments (such as antenna test chambers and network analyzers) can be used to measure radiation signals, and the calculation device can be used to obtain gain variation diagrams and noise interference levels, thereby reducing the cost of antenna test instruments.

10: Antenna test system 12:Antenna test room 121: Ontology 123: Measuring Antenna 125: absorbing element 127: Stent to be tested 1271:Rotary axis 1273: rotating disk 14: Network Analyzer 16: Computing device 20: Device under test 31, 51: CPU 33, 52: graphics processor 35A, 35B, 53: memory 54:Universal serial bus 55: SSD 60: Buff class RD1: First direction of rotation RD2: Second direction of rotation X: first dimension Y: second dimension Z: the third dimension S201~S211, S601~S603, S701~S703: steps θ: angle φ: angle

[ FIG. 1 ] is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna test system according to some embodiments of the present invention. [ FIG. 2 ] is a schematic flowchart of an antenna testing method according to some embodiments of the present invention. [ FIG. 3 ] is a schematic diagram of the position of the noise element of the device under test according to some embodiments of the present invention on the first cut plane. [ FIG. 4 ] is a schematic diagram of the position of the noise element of the device under test according to some embodiments of the present invention on the third cut plane. [ FIG. 5 ] is a schematic diagram of a gain variation diagram according to some embodiments of the present invention. [ FIG. 6 ] is a schematic flowchart of an antenna testing method according to some embodiments of the present invention. [ FIG. 7 ] is a schematic flowchart of an antenna testing method according to some embodiments of the present invention.

S201~S211: steps

Claims (10)

An antenna testing method, comprising: based on a two-dimensional coordinate system and according to the position of at least one noise element in a device under test in the two-dimensional coordinate system, establishing a position of the at least one noise element in the device under test Parameters; measuring a radiation signal from the device under test to generate a three-dimensional gain information, wherein the three-dimensional gain information includes complex three-dimensional coordinate parameters; transforming the three-dimensional coordinate parameters into a complex number two under the two-dimensional coordinate system One-dimensional coordinate parameters and complex gain parameters, and these two-dimensional coordinate parameters are respectively corresponding to these gain parameters; according to these two-dimensional coordinate parameters and these gain parameters, a gain change map is generated; matching the position parameter to the gain changing the graph to obtain a noise interference degree respectively corresponding to the at least one noise element; and judging whether the device under test is a poor radiation device according to the noise interference degree. The antenna testing method as described in Claim 1, further comprising: dividing these gain parameters into multiple different gain levels; and the step of generating the gain change diagram is, according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain levels, The gain variation map is generated. The antenna testing method as described in claim 2, wherein, according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain levels, the step of generating the gain change map is to further use a contour function to form the gain levels One of the contour maps is used as the gain variation map. The antenna testing method according to claim 1, wherein when the noise interference degree is greater than a noise threshold, it is determined that the device under test is the poor radiation device. The antenna testing method as described in claim 1 further includes: Obtaining an image file of the device under test; and combining the gain change map with the image file based on the two-dimensional coordinate system, so that the gain change map further presents the component distribution of the device under test. An antenna test system, comprising: an antenna test room for accommodating a device under test and receiving a radiation signal from the device under test; a network analyzer coupled to the antenna test room for measuring the Radiation signal, and generate an analysis information; and a computing device, coupled to the network analyzer, to be based on a two-dimensional coordinate system and according to the at least one noise component in the device under test in the two-dimensional coordinate system position, establishing a position parameter of the at least one noise element in the device under test; generating a three-dimensional gain information according to the analysis information, wherein the three-dimensional gain information includes complex three-dimensional coordinate parameters; transforming the three-dimensional coordinate parameters into the two Complex two-dimensional coordinate parameters and complex gain parameters under the three-dimensional coordinate system, and these two-dimensional coordinate parameters correspond to these gain parameters respectively; according to these two-dimensional coordinate parameters and these gain parameters, a gain change map is generated; matching The position parameter is used in the gain change diagram to obtain noise interference levels respectively corresponding to the at least one noise element; and according to the noise interference levels, it is judged whether the device under test is a poor radiation device. The antenna test system as described in Claim 6, wherein the calculating device divides the gain parameters into multiple gain levels, and generates the gain change diagram according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters and the gain levels. The antenna test system as described in Claim 7, wherein the calculation device generates a contour map formed by the gain stages according to the two-dimensional coordinate parameters, the gain stages and a contour function, so as to as the gain variation graph. The antenna testing system according to claim 6, wherein when the noise interference degree is greater than a noise threshold, the computing device determines that the device under test is the poor radiation device. The antenna test system as described in claim 6, wherein the computing device obtains an image file of the device under test, and combines the gain change map with the image file based on the two-dimensional coordinate system, so that the gain change map The component distribution of the device under test is further presented.

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