Test probe assembly, test system and test method

Abstract

According to the test probe assembly, the test system and the test method provided by the invention, in the test probe assembly, the active test probe is additionally provided with the power detector and / or the signal generator on the basis of the passive test probe, so that the transceiving performance test of the tested piece can be realized under the condition that a test instrument is not used, the test cost is reduced, and the test efficiency is improved. The total transmitting power or the total receiving power of the tested piece can be accurately obtained in one-time transmitting testing or one-time receiving testing, the testing efficiency is greatly improved, and the method is particularly suitable for rapid testing of a production line.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese patent applications with application number 202411513399.3 filed with the Chinese Patent Office on October 28, 2024, entitled “Multi-probe test system and method” and with application number 202411513401.7 filed with the Chinese Patent Office on October 28, 2024, entitled “Near-field coupled test probe assembly, test system and test method”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to the technical field of communications, and in particular to a test probe assembly, a test system and a test method. Background Art

[0004] Traditional test probes usually use passive probes to test the wireless performance of the device under test by connecting to a test instrument, while the probe itself is only used to send and receive signals.

[0005] Specifically, for the transmission performance test of the device under test, traditional technology usually adopts the following two test methods: testing the power value of the transmitted signal of the device under test in different directions (different azimuth and elevation angles), and then calculating the total power transmitted in all directions. This method only measures the signal in one direction in a single test. When measuring the signal in the next direction, it is necessary to rotate the device under test, or move the probe, or switch to other probes through the RF switch to perform the next test. This test method is more accurate, but because it requires rotating the device under test, or moving the probe, or switching different probes, the test speed is slow and the efficiency is low. In order to increase the test speed, multiple test probes can be used to simultaneously obtain the transmission signals of the device under test in different directions, and a phase shifter can be used to adjust the phase of the transmission signal received by each probe to the same, and then the signal is synthesized to obtain the total transmission power. This method requires the use of a more expensive phase shifter, and the phase adjustment process is time-consuming and inefficient.

[0006] To accurately measure the DUT's reception performance, it's necessary to consider the DUT's comprehensive reception performance when signals are transmitted from various directions in space. Therefore, a standard testing method involves evenly distributing multiple test probes in different directions on a sphere at a certain distance from the DUT. Each test probe transmits a signal in each direction, measuring the DUT's received power. The sum of these signals yields the DUT's total received power. This testing method is relatively accurate, but slow and inefficient. While ensuring a certain level of test accuracy, production line testing prioritizes efficiency. To increase test speed, another traditional testing method selects a direction with the DUT's best reception performance. A test signal is then transmitted through a single test probe, which the DUT receives to determine the received signal power in that direction. This "good reception direction" requires careful investigation during testing, making the test tedious and time-consuming. While testing performance in only one direction improves test efficiency, it fails to fully reflect the DUT's overall reception performance and can lead to significant test errors, especially for high-frequency testing. However, if multiple test probes are used to simultaneously send test signals from different directions of the DUT, when these test signals reach the DUT's receiving port, the test signals with the same frequency will interfere with each other, and the superposition result of the multiple test signals will be affected by their phase difference (for example, if the phase difference between the two test signals is 0 degrees, then the power of their composite signal is exactly equal to the sum of the powers of the single test signals. In another extreme case, if the phase difference between the two test signals is 180 degrees, the composite signals will cancel each other out). As a result, the total received power of the DUT cannot be accurately measured. Alternatively, other reasons (for example, antenna installation position, DUT placement position, and consistency issues of batch DUTs) may lead to different phase interference situations, which will significantly affect the test results and poor test repeatability.

[0007] In summary, traditional test solutions require the use of test instruments to test the transmit and receive performance of the DUT. This results in high test costs, and the inability to accurately obtain the total transmit power or total receive power of the DUT in a single transmit or receive test, resulting in low test efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a test probe assembly, a test system and a test method to alleviate the technical problems of high testing costs of traditional testing solutions and the inability to accurately obtain the total transmission power or total reception power of the device under test in a single transmission or reception test.

[0009] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a test probe assembly, comprising: a plurality of active test probes, and a main controller connected to the plurality of active test probes;

[0010] Each of the active test probes includes: a test probe, a power detector integrally connected to the test probe, and / or a signal generator integrally connected to the test probe;

[0011] The plurality of test probes are configured to be arranged at different directions of the device under test at preset intervals to receive a first test signal transmitted by the device under test and / or to transmit a second test signal to the device under test;

[0012] The power detector is used to perform power detection on the first test signal transmitted by the device under test and received by the corresponding test probe;

[0013] The signal generator is used to generate the second test signal and send it to the corresponding test probe;

[0014] The main controller is used to determine the total transmission power of the device under test based on the respective power detection results during the transmission performance test of the device under test, and / or to control each of the signal generators to generate the second test signals of different frequencies, with the interval between adjacent frequencies being greater than a preset value, during the reception performance test of the device under test, so as to determine the total reception power of the device under test.

[0015] Furthermore, each of the active test probes further includes: a controller;

[0016] The controller is connected to the power detector, and is used to receive the power detection result of the power detector and determine the transmission power according to the power detection result;

[0017] and / or

[0018] The controller is connected to the signal generator and is used to control the signal generator to generate a second test signal with a specific frequency and power.

[0019] Furthermore, the active test probe further comprises: a signal distributor;

[0020] The test probe is connected to the power detector and / or the signal generator via the signal distributor, and the signal distributor is used to control the branching or combining or transmission direction of the signal.

[0021] Furthermore, the signal distributor is also used to connect a test instrument in parallel, and the test instrument is used to analyze the first test signal to obtain a wireless performance test result of the device under test.

[0022] Furthermore, the test probe includes any one of the following: a single polarization probe, a single polarization probe with two different polarization directions, and a dual polarization probe.

[0023] Furthermore, the test probe is a dual-polarization probe.

[0024] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a test system, comprising the test probe assembly described in the first aspect, further comprising: a shielding body;

[0025] The test probe in the test probe assembly is arranged in the shielding body, and the shielding body is used to provide a test environment.

[0026] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a testing method, which is applied to the testing system described in the second aspect, and the method includes:

[0027] The device under test is placed in the shielding body of the test system to perform a wireless performance test, thereby obtaining the total transmission power and / or total receiving power of the device under test.

[0028] Furthermore, the method further comprises:

[0029] Placing a gold keypad in a shielded body of the test system to perform a wireless performance test, thereby obtaining the total transmit power, total receive power, and wireless performance test results of the gold keypad, wherein the gold keypad is the same device under test whose performance indicators meet preset requirements;

[0030] Determine whether the device under test is qualified according to the wireless performance test result of the device under test and the wireless performance test result of the gold machine.

[0031] Furthermore, the method further comprises:

[0032] If the device under test is qualified, the device under test is calibrated according to the wireless performance test result of the device under test and the wireless performance test result of the gold machine.

[0033] Furthermore, the method further comprises:

[0034] The gold machine is placed in a standard darkroom for testing to obtain a standard test result of the gold machine;

[0035] Calculate the correction value according to the standard test result of the gold machine and the wireless performance test result of the gold machine;

[0036] The wireless performance test result of the device under test is corrected according to the correction value to obtain a standard reference result of the device under test.

[0037] In an embodiment of the present invention, a test probe assembly is provided, comprising: multiple active test probes and a main controller connected to the multiple active test probes; each active test probe comprises: a test probe, a power detector integrally connected to the test probe, and / or a signal generator integrally connected to the test probe; the multiple test probes are configured to be arranged at preset intervals in different directions of a device under test to receive a first test signal transmitted by the device under test and / or to transmit a second test signal to the device under test; the power detector is configured to perform power detection on the first test signal transmitted by the device under test and received by the corresponding test probe; the signal generator is configured to generate a second test signal and send it to the corresponding test probe; the main controller is configured to determine the total transmission power of the device under test based on the respective power detection results during a transmission performance test of the device under test, and / or to control the respective signal generators to generate second test signals of different frequencies, with the interval between adjacent frequencies being greater than a preset value, during a reception performance test of the device under test, to determine the total reception power of the device under test. From the above description, it can be seen that in the test probe assembly of the present invention, the active test probe adds a power detector and / or a signal generator on the basis of the passive test probe, which can realize the receiving and transmitting performance test of the device under test without using a test instrument, thereby reducing the test cost. For the transmission performance test of the device under test, the present invention uses multiple test probes to simultaneously receive the first test signals in multiple directions in one test, obtains the power value of the first test signal through the power detector connected to the test probe, and then adds it through the main controller to obtain the total transmission power of the device under test. There is no need to rotate the device under test or move the test probe or switch different test probes, which greatly reduces the test time, does not require the use of a more expensive phase shifter, and avoids the time for phase adjustment. On the other hand, for the receiving performance test of the device under test, multiple test probes are used to simultaneously transmit the second test signals in multiple directions in one test, wherein the frequency of the second test signal of each test probe is within the test frequency. The multiple frequencies are within the same segment and do not overlap with each other, and the interval between adjacent frequencies is greater than a preset value. Therefore, the second test signal received by the device under test is not affected by the phase difference between the multiple second test signals, and the power of the received composite signal is always equal to the sum of the powers of the multiple second test signals, thereby achieving accurate power superposition and accurately measuring the total received power. That is, the total transmitted power or the total received power of the device under test can be accurately obtained in one transmission test or one reception test, which greatly improves the test efficiency. The system is particularly suitable for rapid testing of production lines and alleviates the technical problems of high testing costs and inability to accurately obtain the total transmitted power or the total received power of the device under test in one transmission or reception test in traditional test solutions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the specific embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0039] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a test probe assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of another test probe assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an active test probe provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of another active test probe provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another test probe assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another test probe assembly provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a test system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of another test system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a conventional test system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0048] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a test system provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0049] Figure 11 This is a graph showing gain versus frequency according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions of the present invention in conjunction with the embodiments. Obviously, the embodiments described are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0051] Traditional test solutions have high testing costs and cannot accurately obtain the total transmit power or total receive power of the device under test in a single transmit or receive test.

[0052] Based on this, in the test probe assembly of the present invention, the active test probe adds a power detector and / or a signal generator on the basis of the passive test probe, which can realize the receiving and transmitting performance test of the device under test without using a test instrument, thereby reducing the test cost. For testing the transmission performance of a device under test (DUT), the present invention uses multiple test probes to simultaneously receive first test signals from multiple directions in a single test. Power detectors connected to the test probes obtain the power values of the first test signals, which are then summed by a main controller to obtain the total transmission power of the DUT. This eliminates the need to rotate the DUT, move the test probes, or switch between different test probes, significantly reducing test time and eliminating the need for expensive phase shifters, which also avoids the time required for phase adjustment. Furthermore, for testing the reception performance of the DUT, multiple test probes are used to simultaneously transmit second test signals from multiple directions in a single test. The frequency of the second test signal from each test probe is within the test frequency band and does not overlap, and the interval between adjacent frequencies is greater than a preset value. Therefore, the second test signal received by the DUT is not affected by the phase difference between the multiple second test signals. The power of the received composite signal is always equal to the sum of the powers of the multiple second test signals, achieving accurate power superposition and accurately measuring the total received power. In other words, the total transmission power or total received power of the DUT can be accurately obtained in a single transmission test or a single reception test, greatly improving test efficiency and being particularly suitable for rapid testing on production lines.

[0053] To facilitate understanding of this embodiment, a test probe assembly disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention is first introduced in detail.

[0054] Example 1:

[0055] According to an embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment of a test probe assembly is provided. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a test probe assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as Figure 1 As shown, the test probe assembly includes: a plurality of active test probes, and a main controller connected to the plurality of active test probes;

[0056] Each active test probe includes: a test probe, a power detector integrally connected to the test probe, and / or a signal generator integrally connected to the test probe;

[0057] The plurality of test probes are arranged at different directions of the device under test at preset intervals to receive a first test signal transmitted by the device under test and / or transmit a second test signal to the device under test;

[0058] A power detector, configured to perform power detection on a first test signal transmitted by the device under test and received by a corresponding test probe;

[0059] a signal generator, configured to generate a second test signal and send the signal to a corresponding test probe;

[0060] The main controller is used to determine the total transmission power of the device under test based on the individual power detection results during the transmission performance test of the device under test, and / or to control each signal generator to generate a second test signal of a different frequency, with the interval between adjacent frequencies being greater than a preset value, during the reception performance test of the device under test, to determine the total reception power of the device under test.

[0061] In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned power detector is a device in the prior art that can directly or indirectly obtain signal power. As some examples, it can be: a detector (for example, a detector chip in the prior art), which is used to convert the radio frequency signal (i.e., the first test signal) into a voltage signal, thereby obtaining the power of the signal; a power meter, which can directly measure the signal power; an ADC (analog-to-digital converter), which can sample the radio frequency signal and calculate the power through digital processing; a thermocouple power sensor, which can measure the radio frequency signal power through the thermoelectric effect; a diode power sensor, which can use the nonlinear characteristics of the diode to measure the radio frequency signal power.

[0062] Specifically, the total transmission power is obtained: when the active test probe includes a controller, the main controller obtains the power detection results output by the controllers of each active test probe, and performs summation calculation to obtain the total transmission power (such as Figure 2 As shown); or, the main controller obtains the power detection results output by the power detectors of each active test probe, and performs sum calculation to obtain the total transmission power (as shown Figure 1 shown).

[0063] It should be noted that, in the related art, summing the power detection results output by the power detector may involve corresponding hardware devices. For example, for voltage values, a voltage accumulator can be used to synthesize multiple voltage values, and then an ADC can be used to convert the total voltage into a digital signal to obtain the total power. Alternatively, for digital signals, a digital chip such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) can be used to perform digital power superposition calculations. Generating second test signals of different frequencies: The frequencies of the second test signals generated by each signal generator are controlled to be within the signal bandwidth of the current test item, and the interval between adjacent frequencies is greater than a preset value. For example, according to the 3GPP definition, the maximum signal bandwidth of 5G NR FR1 is 100MHz, so the frequencies of each second test signal can be distributed within 100MHz. The signal bandwidth of most UWB channels is approximately 500MHz, so the frequencies of each second test signal can be distributed within 500MHz. The second test signal can be a single-frequency signal or a signal with a certain bandwidth. Accordingly, the interval between adjacent frequencies can be understood as the interval between single frequency points or the interval between center frequencies. It is understood that if the second test signal is a signal with a certain frequency bandwidth, overlapping between adjacent frequency bands should be avoided as much as possible. The frequency of the second test signal can be evenly distributed or unevenly distributed within the test frequency band.

[0064] In an embodiment of the present invention, a test probe assembly is provided, comprising: multiple active test probes and a main controller connected to the multiple active test probes; each active test probe comprises: a test probe, a power detector integrally connected to the test probe, and / or a signal generator integrally connected to the test probe; the multiple test probes are configured to be arranged at preset intervals in different directions of a device under test to receive a first test signal transmitted by the device under test and / or to transmit a second test signal to the device under test; the power detector is configured to perform power detection on the first test signal transmitted by the device under test and received by the corresponding test probe; the signal generator is configured to generate a second test signal and send it to the corresponding test probe; the main controller is configured to determine the total transmission power of the device under test based on the respective power detection results during a transmission performance test of the device under test, and / or to control the respective signal generators to generate second test signals of different frequencies, with the interval between adjacent frequencies being greater than a preset value, during a reception performance test of the device under test, to determine the total reception power of the device under test. From the above description, it can be seen that in the test probe assembly of the present invention, the active test probe adds a power detector and / or a signal generator on the basis of the passive test probe, which can realize the receiving and transmitting performance test of the device under test without using a test instrument, thereby reducing the test cost. For the transmission performance test of the device under test, the present invention uses multiple test probes to simultaneously receive the first test signals in multiple directions in one test, obtains the power value of the first test signal through the power detector connected to the test probe, and then adds it through the main controller to obtain the total transmission power of the device under test. There is no need to rotate the device under test or move the test probe or switch different test probes, which greatly reduces the test time, does not require the use of a more expensive phase shifter, and avoids the time for phase adjustment. On the other hand, for the receiving performance test of the device under test, multiple test probes are used to simultaneously transmit the second test signals in multiple directions in one test, wherein the frequency of the second test signal of each test probe is within the test frequency. The multiple frequencies are within the same segment and do not overlap with each other, and the interval between adjacent frequencies is greater than a preset value. Therefore, the second test signal received by the device under test is not affected by the phase difference between the multiple second test signals, and the power of the received composite signal is always equal to the sum of the powers of the multiple second test signals, thereby achieving accurate power superposition and accurately measuring the total received power. That is, the total transmitted power or the total received power of the device under test can be accurately obtained in one transmission test or one reception test, which greatly improves the test efficiency. The system is particularly suitable for rapid testing of production lines and alleviates the technical problems of high testing costs and inability to accurately obtain the total transmitted power or the total received power of the device under test in one transmission or reception test in traditional test solutions.

[0065] The above content briefly introduces the test probe assembly of the present invention, and the specific contents involved are described in detail below.

[0066] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, each active test probe further includes: a controller;

[0067] The controller is connected to the power detector and is used to receive a power detection result of the power detector and determine the transmission power according to the power detection result, wherein the power detection result includes: a power value or a voltage value;

[0068] and / or

[0069] The controller is connected to the signal generator and is used to control the signal generator to generate a second test signal with a specific frequency and power.

[0070] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, reference Figure 4 As shown, the active test probe further includes: a signal distributor;

[0071] The test probe is connected to the power detector and / or signal generator through a signal distributor, and the signal distributor is used to control the branching or combining or transmission direction of the signal.

[0072] Specifically, the signal distributor may be a radio frequency switch, a power splitter, a circulator, etc.

[0073] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, reference Figure 4 As shown,

[0074] The signal distributor is also used to connect the test instrument in parallel, and the test instrument is used to analyze the first test signal to obtain the wireless performance test result of the device under test.

[0075] Specifically, the test probes are connected in parallel to a channel via a signal distributor for connection to a test instrument. The parallel signal channel is used to: ① During a transmission performance test, send the first test signal received by the test probe to the test instrument for analysis of the signal, including but not limited to: signal power, frequency deviation performance, EVM, etc.; and / or, ② During a reception performance test, send the signal generated by the test instrument to the test probe, causing it to transmit the signal to the device under test.

[0076] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the test probe includes any one of the following: a single-polarization probe, a single-polarization probe with two different polarization directions, and a dual-polarization probe.

[0077] In an optional embodiment of the invention, the test probe is a dual-polarization probe. When used to test two orthogonally polarized signals, the dual-polarization probe can perform tests more accurately than a single-polarization probe with two orthogonal polarization directions. This is because the phase centers of the two polarization unit ports of the dual-polarization antenna are usually designed to be consistent or highly close. This consistency is crucial in wireless testing. The consistency of the phase center ensures that the two polarization units of the dual-polarization probe maintain the same position and angle with the device under test during the test, thereby accurately measuring the two polarization energies of the signal emitted by the device under test and arriving at the probe port. In addition, the internal design of the dual-polarization antenna optimizes polarization isolation and can reduce signal crosstalk.

[0078] As an optional embodiment, the structure of the test probe assembly can also be as follows: Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the structure shown, a preset test probe among the multiple test probes is connected to the input of the corresponding detector through a power splitter, and the other test probes are directly connected to the input of the corresponding detector. The output of the power splitter is also connected to the input of the RF switch, the output of the detector is connected to the input of the main controller, the output of the main controller is connected to the input of the RF switch, and the output of the RF switch is connected to the test instrument;

[0079] When performing a transmission test on the device under test, multiple test probes are used to receive the radio frequency signal (i.e., the first test signal) transmitted by the device under test, wherein a preset test probe sends the received radio frequency signal to a corresponding power splitter, and other test probes send the received radio frequency signal to a corresponding detector;

[0080] Each power splitter is used to split the received radio frequency signal into a first radio frequency signal and a second radio frequency signal, and send the first radio frequency signal to the corresponding detector and send the second radio frequency signal to the radio frequency switch;

[0081] Each detector is used to receive the radio frequency signal sent by the corresponding other test probe or the first radio frequency signal sent by the corresponding power splitter, perform power detection, and send the detection result to the main controller;

[0082] The main controller is used to receive the detection results sent by multiple detectors, and perform sum calculation based on the detection results to obtain the total transmission power of the device under test;

[0083] The RF switch is used to perform the switching action of the corresponding channel according to the control of the main controller, and send the second RF signal of the target channel to the test instrument so that the test instrument can analyze the second RF signal and obtain the test results of the device under test (including: frequency deviation performance, EVM, etc.).

[0084] Specifically, the above-mentioned first RF signal and the second RF signal are the same, and are both equal to the RF signal input to the power divider (i.e., the first test signal), that is, the power divider divides the received RF signal into two signals with the same energy. In order to distinguish them, the present invention refers to them as the first RF signal and the second RF signal, and the above-mentioned target channel is the channel corresponding to the second RF signal with the largest power among all the second RF signals.

[0085] Specifically, the detector converts the received radio frequency signal into a voltage signal, and sends the voltage signal to the main controller. That is, the above detection result can specifically be a voltage signal.

[0086] refer to Figure 5 The preset test probes are each test probe. That is, each test probe is connected to the input end of a detector through a power splitter, that is, the number of test probes is the same as the number of power splitters and detectors.

[0087] refer to Figure 6 The above-mentioned preset test probes are test probes distributed according to preset intervals.

[0088] In the above process, the main controller is further configured to: determine the signal channel with the largest power according to the detection result, and determine the signal channel with the largest power as the target channel.

[0089] Optionally, the main controller is further used to: switch the radio frequency switch in sequence, read the test instrument reading of each signal channel, determine the signal channel with the largest power according to the test instrument reading, and determine the signal channel with the largest power as the target channel.

[0090] Example 2:

[0091] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a test system embodiment is provided. The test system includes the test probe assembly of the above-mentioned embodiment 1, and further includes: a shielding body;

[0092] The test probe in the test probe assembly is arranged in a shielding body, and the shielding body is used to provide a test environment.

[0093] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 , further comprising: a signal conditioner;

[0094] The signal conditioner is respectively connected to the signal distributor and the power detector, and is used to select a target first test signal from multiple first test signals, and perform power adjustment on the target first test signal based on each power detection result to obtain the power-adjusted target first test signal, and then send the power-adjusted target first test signal to the test instrument, so that the test instrument analyzes the power-adjusted target first test signal to obtain the wireless performance test results of the device under test (including: total transmission power, frequency deviation performance, EVM, TRP, RSSI, etc.), wherein the power of the power-adjusted target first test signal is the total power of multiple first test signals.

[0095] refer to Figure 7 , the specific structure and function implementation of the test system can be:

[0096] A shielding body, a plurality of test probes disposed in the shielding body, a power splitter, a power detector, and a signal conditioner, wherein the number of the power splitters is the same as the number of the test probes;

[0097] Shielding body, used to provide a test environment;

[0098] Each test probe is connected to the first port of the corresponding power splitter, the second port of each power splitter is connected to the input port of the power detector, the third port of each power splitter is connected to the input port of the signal conditioner, the output port of the power detector is connected to the input port of the signal conditioner, and the output port of the signal conditioner is connected to the test instrument;

[0099] When performing a transmission test on the device under test, multiple test probes located in different directions of the device under test are used to receive the radio frequency signal (i.e., the first test signal) transmitted by the device under test, and send the received multi-channel radio frequency signals to the corresponding power splitter;

[0100] Each power splitter is configured to split a received radio frequency signal into a first radio frequency signal and a second radio frequency signal, and send the first radio frequency signal to a power detector and the second radio frequency signal to a signal conditioner;

[0101] a power detector, configured to detect the power of each of the first radio frequency signals sent by the multiple power splitters, and to detect the total power of the multiple first radio frequency signals, to obtain the power of a single radio frequency signal and the total power of the multiple radio frequency signals, and to send the power of the single radio frequency signal and the total power of the multiple radio frequency signals to the signal conditioner;

[0102] A signal conditioner is used to select a target second RF signal from multiple second RF signals (i.e., first test signals) sent by multiple power splitters, and power-regulate the target second RF signal based on the power of a single RF signal and the total power of multiple RF signals to obtain a power-regulated target second RF signal. The power-regulated target second RF signal is then sent to a test instrument so that the test instrument analyzes the power-regulated target second RF signal to obtain a wireless performance test result of the device under test, wherein the power of the power-regulated target second RF signal is the total power of the multiple RF signals.

[0103] Specifically, when testing a device under test, the device is placed on a test bench within the shield. The first and second RF signals are identical and equal to the RF signal input to the power splitter. That is, the power splitter splits the received RF signal into two signals of equal energy. To distinguish them, the present invention refers to these signals as the first and second RF signals.

[0104] Specifically, refer to Figure 7 , the power detector includes: a detector and an ADC sampling and controller, wherein the number of detectors is the same as the number of power dividers;

[0105] The input port of each detector is connected to the second port of the corresponding power divider, the output port of each detector is connected to the input port of the ADC sampling and controller, and the output port of the ADC sampling and controller is connected to the input port of the signal conditioner;

[0106] Each detector is used to convert the first radio frequency signal sent by the corresponding power divider into a voltage signal, and send the voltage signal to the ADC sampling and controller;

[0107] The ADC sampling and controller is used to synthesize the multiple voltage signals sent by multiple detectors, perform ADC sampling processing on each voltage signal and the synthesized voltage signal, and obtain the power of a single RF signal and the total power of the multiple RF signals. The power of the single RF signal and the total power of the multiple RF signals are then sent to the signal conditioner. The total power of the multiple RF signals obtained represents the sum of the powers emitted by the device under test in all directions where the test probes are located.

[0108] Specifically, refer to Figure 7 ,The signal conditioner includes: a radio frequency switch and a gain adjuster;

[0109] The input port of the RF switch is connected to the third port of the multiple power dividers, the output port of the RF switch is connected to the input port of the gain adjuster, the input port of the gain adjuster is also connected to the output port of the ADC sampling and controller, and the output port of the gain adjuster is connected to the test instrument;

[0110] a radio frequency switch, configured to select a target second radio frequency signal from among the multiple second radio frequency signals sent by the multiple power splitters, and send the target second radio frequency signal to the gain adjuster;

[0111] The gain adjuster is used to adjust the power of the target second RF signal based on the power of the single-channel RF signal and the total power of the multiple-channel RF signals to obtain the power-adjusted target second RF signal, and then send the power-adjusted target second RF signal to the test instrument so that the test instrument analyzes the power-adjusted target second RF signal to obtain the wireless performance test results of the device under test.

[0112] Specifically, the power of the above-mentioned single-channel RF signal is specifically the power of the RF signal of the same channel as the target second RF signal. The RF switch is used to switch the path of the output signal of each test probe, thereby selecting the target second RF signal from the multiple second RF signals sent by multiple power splitters. When the gain adjuster adjusts the power of the target second RF signal based on the power of the single-channel RF signal and the total power of the multiple RF signals, the power of the target second RF signal is adjusted N times, where N = total power of the multiple RF signals / power of the single-channel RF signal.

[0113] The inventors considered that in order to obtain the DUT's transmission performance in various directions, a multi-probe test system could be used to collect the DUT's transmission signals in multiple directions and calculate the total power of all signals. However, phase differences exist between different signal channels (i.e., different test probes). If the signals from each signal channel are directly combined into one channel through a combiner, this phase difference will cause power distortion in the combined signal. Only when the phases of the signal channels are consistent will the power of the combined signal equal the sum of the powers of the signals in each channel.

[0114] Based on this, the present invention obtains the total output power of each signal by power detection and summation calculation of each signal (that is, implemented by the detector and ADC sampling and controller), and accordingly adjusts the gain of one of the signals (that is, the target second RF signal) and outputs it to the test instrument, so that the power of the signal actually received by the test instrument is equal to the sum of the powers of the signals received by each probe, thereby achieving the purpose of accurately measuring the transmission performance of the device under test.

[0115] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the target second radio frequency signal is a second radio frequency signal with the highest signal strength among the multiple second radio frequency signals.

[0116] Specifically, the first RF signals of each signal channel can be compared through ADC sampling and the controller to obtain the first RF signal with the largest signal strength. The second RF signal corresponding to the first RF signal with the largest signal strength is the second RF signal with the largest signal strength. Stronger signals have larger dynamic ranges and better accuracy and stability during testing. For the same device under test, its maximum radiation direction may be different in different frequency bands or standards, so the signal channel selected during testing may also be different. It should be noted that the selected target second RF signal can also be the signal of the signal channel corresponding to other radiation directions of concern.

[0117] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the ADC sampling and controller includes: an ADC sampling module and a controller;

[0118] The ADC sampling module is used to perform ADC sampling processing on the multi-channel voltage signals sent by the multiple detectors, obtain the voltage value of each channel of voltage signal, and send the voltage value of each channel of voltage signal to the controller;

[0119] The controller is used to calculate a total voltage value according to the voltage values of the voltage signals of each channel, and determine the total power of the multiple radio frequency signals and the power of a single radio frequency signal according to the total voltage value and the voltage values of the voltage signals of each channel.

[0120] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, reference Figure 8 ,ADC sampling and controller includes: voltage accumulator and ADC sampling module;

[0121] The voltage accumulator is used to accumulate the multi-channel voltage signals sent by multiple detectors to obtain a total voltage value, and send the total voltage value to the ADC sampling module;

[0122] The ADC sampling module is used to perform ADC sampling processing on the multi-channel voltage signals sent by multiple detectors, obtain the voltage value of each voltage signal, and receive the total voltage value, and then determine the total power of the multi-channel RF signals and the power of a single RF signal based on the total voltage value and the voltage value of each voltage signal.

[0123] Specifically, the structure of the ADC sampling and controller no longer requires the controller to obtain the total voltage through digital calculation, but instead obtains the total voltage value through a voltage accumulator.

[0124] Example 3:

[0125] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a testing method is provided, which is applied to the testing system in the second embodiment above. The method includes:

[0126] The device under test is placed in a shielded body of the test system to perform a wireless performance test, thereby obtaining the total transmit power and / or total receive power of the device under test.

[0127] In an optional embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises:

[0128] The golden device is placed in the shielded body of the test system to perform wireless performance testing, thereby obtaining the total transmit power, total receive power and wireless performance test results of the golden device. The golden device is the device under test whose performance indicators meet the preset requirements among the same devices under test;

[0129] Determine whether the DUT is qualified based on the DUT's wireless performance test results and the Kingdee's wireless performance test results;

[0130] If the DUT is qualified, the DUT will be calibrated based on the DUT's wireless performance test results and the wireless performance test results of the gold machine;

[0131] Place the gold machine in a standard darkroom for testing to obtain the standard test results of the gold machine;

[0132] Calculate the correction value based on the standard test results of the gold machine and the wireless performance test results of the gold machine;

[0133] The wireless performance test results of the device under test are corrected according to the correction value to obtain the standard reference results of the device under test.

[0134] The following compares the standard test method in the prior art with the reception performance test method of the present invention to illustrate the test accuracy of the present method.

[0135] The antenna pattern of the device under test is a function of direction and frequency. The direction is (θ, φ), the frequency is f, and the gain is G(θ, φ, f). N test probes are distributed in N directions. The gain of the antenna of the device under test in the direction of the i-th test probe is recorded as G i (f), i = 1, 2, ..., N. For ease of calculation, all powers are expressed in units of 1 rather than dB.

[0136] Assuming that the power of the signal transmitted by the test probe to the receiver of the device under test is 1W, then for the Nth test probe, the receiving power of the antenna of the device under test is G i (f), compare the two test methods:

[0137] (1) Standard test method of existing technology: Reference Figure 9 , N test probes send broadband signals respectively, and the frequency range of the signal sent by each probe is (f1, f2). Then the average received power corresponding to the i-th test probe is

[0138] The sum of the received powers corresponding to N test probes is

[0139] (2) The receiving performance test method of the present invention: Figure 10 , N test probes simultaneously send out different single frequency signals, each frequency is evenly distributed in the range of (f1, f2), and the frequency sent by the i-th test probe is f i The sum of the received powers corresponding to the N test probes is

[0140] The difference between the results of the two test methods is

[0141] As long as the frequency division is reasonable (the number of frequency points and the frequency difference between adjacent frequency bands), so that the fluctuation of antenna gain between adjacent frequency points is controlled within a certain range, then

[0142] At this point, it is believed that the test accuracy of this method is close to the standard test method of the prior art. The difference is not small enough, as long as it is within the acceptable accuracy range, it is acceptable.

[0143] Figure 11 This is a curve showing the gain of the DUT antenna as it changes with frequency, with the horizontal axis representing frequency and the vertical axis representing the power of the DUT antenna. Here's another approximate comparison: within the 1 GHz to 7 GHz frequency range, the results obtained using the standard test method of the prior art can be understood as the area under the gain curve in the figure; the results obtained using the reception performance test method of the present invention can be understood as the sum of the rectangular areas at each frequency point. As can be seen from the figure, when the gain variation of the DUT antenna between adjacent frequency points is small, the results obtained by the two methods are very similar.

[0144] The present invention significantly improves the efficiency, cost-effectiveness and maintenance convenience of wireless terminal testing, and meets the needs of modern production lines for fast and accurate testing.

[0145] In addition, in the description of the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they may refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they may refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and they may refer to internal communication between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0146] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0147] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are intended solely to facilitate and simplify the description of the present invention. They are not intended to indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0148] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A test probe assembly, characterized in that: include: A plurality of active test probes and a main controller connected to the plurality of active test probes; Each of the active test probes includes: a test probe, a power detector integrally connected to the test probe, and / or a signal generator integrally connected to the test probe; The plurality of test probes are configured to be arranged at different directions of the device under test at preset intervals to receive a first test signal transmitted by the device under test and / or to transmit a second test signal to the device under test; The power detector is used to perform power detection on the first test signal transmitted by the device under test and received by the corresponding test probe; The signal generator is used to generate the second test signal and send it to the corresponding test probe; The main controller is used to determine the total transmission power of the device under test based on the respective power detection results during the transmission performance test of the device under test, and / or to control each of the signal generators to generate the second test signals of different frequencies, with the interval between adjacent frequencies being greater than a preset value, during the reception performance test of the device under test, so as to determine the total reception power of the device under test.

2. The test probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein: Each of the active test probes further includes: a controller; The controller is connected to the power detector, and is used to receive the power detection result of the power detector and determine the transmission power according to the power detection result; and / or The controller is connected to the signal generator and is used to control the signal generator to generate a second test signal with a specific frequency and power.

3. The test probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The active test probe further includes: a signal distributor; The test probe is connected to the power detector and / or the signal generator via the signal distributor, and the signal distributor is used to control the branching or combining or transmission direction of the signal.

4. The test probe assembly according to claim 3, wherein: The signal distributor is further used to connect a test instrument in parallel, and the test instrument is used to analyze the first test signal to obtain a wireless performance test result of the device under test.

5. The test probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The test probe includes any one of the following: a single polarization probe, a single polarization probe with two different polarization directions, and a dual polarization probe.

6. The test probe assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The test probe is a dual-polarization probe.

7. A testing system, characterized in that: The test probe assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a shielding body; The test probe in the test probe assembly is arranged in the shielding body, and the shielding body is used to provide a test environment.

8. A testing method, characterized in that: Applied to the test system according to claim 7, the method comprises: The device under test is placed in the shielding body of the test system to perform a wireless performance test, thereby obtaining the total transmission power and / or total receiving power of the device under test.

9. The testing method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Placing a gold keypad in a shielded body of the test system to perform a wireless performance test, thereby obtaining the total transmit power, total receive power, and wireless performance test results of the gold keypad, wherein the gold keypad is the same device under test whose performance indicators meet preset requirements; Determine whether the device under test is qualified according to the wireless performance test result of the device under test and the wireless performance test result of the gold machine.

10. The testing method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: If the device under test is qualified, the device under test is calibrated according to the wireless performance test result of the device under test and the wireless performance test result of the gold machine.

11. The testing method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The gold machine is placed in a standard darkroom for testing to obtain a standard test result of the gold machine; Calculate the correction value according to the standard test result of the gold machine and the wireless performance test result of the gold machine; The wireless performance test result of the device under test is corrected according to the correction value to obtain a standard reference result of the device under test.

Images