Power analyzer system and power analyzer device
By combining the RF signal sensor unit and the power detection unit in the power analyzer system, the standardized interface module and the analysis equipment are used for synchronous analysis, the cost and difficult problem of existing oscilloscopes is solved, and the power consumption and signal of RF devices are realized Accurate correlation analysis reduces costs and simplifies debugging process.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202010010258.5
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2019-02-07
- Filing Date
- 2020-01-06
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-03
- Estimated Expiration
- 2040-01-06
AI Technical Summary
Existing oscilloscopes are expensive and difficult to use for RF device power consumption and signal analysis, and cannot effectively and cost-effectively provide the power consumption and RF signal correlation analysis of the device under test.
A power analyzer system was designed, including an RF signal sensor unit and a power detection unit, which was connected to the analysis device through a standardized interface module, providing synchronous RF signal and power consumption representation, and using personal computers and other equipment for analysis, avoiding the oscilloscope's Demand reduces system costs.
Accurate correlation analysis of the power consumption and RF signals of the device under test is realized, reducing system costs and no dedicated hardware is required, providing a compact and easy-to-commission analysis solution.
Smart Images
Figure CN111537787B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to a power analyzer system and a power analyzer device for correlating power consumption of a device under test with a radio frequency signal. Background Art
[0002] The battery life of RF devices, especially those used in the Internet of Things (IoT), has become a very important design factor for manufacturers of such devices. To further improve the battery life, the devices must be tuned in such a way that the power consumption must be related to the transmission of RF signals.
[0003] Oscilloscopes having the mentioned related capabilities are known, but are very expensive and difficult to use.
[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a power analyzer system and a power analyzer apparatus that cost-effectively and easily provides correlation between power consumption and radio frequency signals of a device under test. Summary of the invention
[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, a power analyzer system for correlating power consumption and RF (radio frequency) signals of a device under test is provided, which has an RF sensor unit for sensing the RF signal of the device under test, a power probe unit for sensing the power consumption of the device under test, and an analysis device which is a device physically separated from the RF sensor unit and the power probe unit. The analysis device includes a display module and a standardized interface module for a standardized data protocol, the analysis device is connected to the RF sensor unit and the power probe unit through the standardized interface module, and the analysis device is configured to control the RF sensor unit and the power probe unit, receive measurement values from the RF sensor unit and the power probe unit, and synchronously display a representation of the RF signal of the device under test and a representation of the power consumption of the device under test.
[0006] By using dedicated radio frequency units and power detection units, the cost of the system is reduced, since these units are well established in the market.
[0007] Furthermore, by providing standardized interface modules, analysis can be accomplished without the need for specialized hardware such as an oscilloscope.
[0008] The analysis device is, for example, a personal computer such as a laptop, a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.
[0009] In particular, the analysis module is not an oscilloscope.
[0010] The power detection unit and / or the RF signal sensor unit may have an analog-to-digital converter.
[0011] For example, the RF signal sensor unit does not sample the RF signal received from the device under test. In addition, no analysis is performed on the bus protocol or symbol contained in the signal of the device under test.
[0012] In one aspect of the invention, the representation of the RF signal and the representation of the power consumption are displayed over time, in particular on the same time scale, such as in the same graph. In this way, the correlation is determined more accurately.
[0013] In order to allow a wide range of devices to be used as the analysis device, the standardized data protocol is a wireless local area network (WLAN) protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a universal serial bus (USB) protocol and / or an Ethernet protocol, and the interface module is correspondingly a wireless local area network interface module, a Bluetooth interface module, a universal serial bus interface module and / or an Ethernet interface module.
[0014] The wireless LAN protocol is, for example, a protocol standardized in the IEEE 802.11 standard, an Ethernet protocol in the IEEE 802.3 standard, a Bluetooth protocol in the Bluetooth SIG standard, and a USB protocol in the USB Implementers Forum standard.
[0015] The power consumption of the device under test may be analyzed in more detail because the power probing unit may be configured to measure a voltage supplied to the device under test, a current supplied to the device under test, and / or a power supplied to the device under test.
[0016] The power detector may be a so called V / I / P analyser unit.
[0017] For accurate correlation, the representation of power consumption may represent the voltage supplied to the device under test, the current supplied to the device under test, and / or the power supplied to the device under test.
[0018] In an embodiment of the invention, the representation of the RF signal represents the power of the RF signal of the device under test, in particular the total power or the power in a predetermined frequency band, the predetermined frequency band allowing an accurate analysis of the RF activity of the device under test.
[0019] In one aspect of the present invention, the RF sensor unit is an RF power sensor unit for accurate and cost-effective measurement.The RF power sensor unit can measure the total power of an RF signal or the power of an RF signal in a predetermined frequency band.
[0020] For example, the RF sensor unit includes a diode rectifier, a thermal power measurement module, a spectrum analyzer and / or an RF receiver, which provides accurate measurement results at a low cost.
[0021] In a further embodiment, the power analyzer system comprises a synchronization link between the RF sensor unit and the power detection unit for synchronization of the measurement results. In this way, the correlation is determined with a higher accuracy.
[0022] The synchronization link, such as a cable, may be configured to synchronize the measurements of the RF sensor unit and the measurements of the power detection unit.
[0023] In order to provide a compact system, the power analyzer system comprises a housing in which the RF sensor unit, the power detection unit and / or the synchronization link are integrated and / or arranged. In particular, the analyzing device is separate from the housing.
[0024] To facilitate debugging, the analysis device may be configured to execute debugging software for debugging the device under test, wherein the analysis device is further configured to synchronize the debugging software with a display of a representation of the RF signal of the device under test and a representation of the power consumption of the device under test.
[0025] In an aspect of the invention, the analyzing device is configured to trigger measurements of the RF sensor unit and the power detection unit based on signals of the RF sensor unit and / or the power detection unit to focus measurement results on certain events.
[0026] For the above purpose, a power analyzer device is further provided, which comprises a power analyzer system according to the present invention and a device under test. The power detection unit is connected to the device under test so that the power detection unit can measure the power consumed by the device under test, and the RF sensor unit is arranged so that the RF sensor unit receives an RF signal generated by the device under test.
[0027] The functions and advantages of the power analyzer system described also apply to the power analyzer device, and vice versa. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0028] Other features and advantages will become apparent from the following description and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0029] - Figure 1 A first embodiment of a power analyzer device according to the invention is schematically shown, which has a first embodiment of a power analyzer system according to the invention, and
[0030] - Figure 2 A second embodiment of a power analyzer device according to the invention is schematically shown, which has a second embodiment of a power analyzer system according to the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] exist Figure 1, a power analyzer apparatus 10 having a device under test 12 and a power analyzer system 14 is shown.
[0032] The device under test 12 may be a radio frequency device for a specific purpose that runs on a battery. For example, the device under test 12 is a radio frequency module for an IoT (Internet of Things) component and may include an antenna 13 for radio frequency transmission.
[0033] The power analyzer system includes an RF (radio frequency) sensor unit 16 , a power detection unit 18 , an analysis device 20 and a synchronization link 22 .
[0034] The RF sensor unit 16 is an RF power sensor unit, meaning that the RF sensor unit 16 is configured to measure the power of a received radio frequency signal.
[0035] The RF sensor unit 16 may be configured to measure the total power of received radio frequency signals or the power of received signals in a predetermined frequency band.
[0036] The RF sensor unit 16 may include a diode rectifier 21 , a thermal power measurement module 23 , a spectrum analyzer 25 , and / or an RF receiver 27 .
[0037] Of course, the RF sensor unit 16 comprises an antenna 17 which is connected to a measurement input 19 of the RF sensor unit 16 .
[0038] The RF sensor unit 16 , more precisely its antenna 17 , is arranged relative to the device under test 12 such that the RF sensor unit 16 receives radio frequency signals generated by the device under test 12 .
[0039] The power detection unit 18 may be a V / I / P analyzer unit capable of measuring voltage, current or power. Power is equal to current multiplied by direct current voltage (DC).
[0040] The power probing unit 18 is connected to the device under test 12 at a power source (eg, a battery of the device under test 12 ) via at least one measurement input 29 of the power probing unit 18 .
[0041] More precisely, the measurement input 29 of the power probing unit 18 is connected to the two poles of a battery of the device under test 12 or to a DC power supply of the device under test 12 .
[0042] Therefore, the power probing unit 18 is connected to the device under test 12 so that it can measure the power consumed by the device under test 12 .
[0043] The synchronization link 22 may be a cable connecting the power detection unit 18 and the RF sensor unit 16 so that they share a common clock for their measurement intervals.
[0044] The synchronization link 22 may also include a separate clock signal generator 31 (at Figure 1 denoted by a dotted line).
[0045] The analysis device 20 may be a personal computer, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet computer, and / or a smartphone.
[0046] In particular, the analysis device 20 is not an oscilloscope.
[0047] Therefore, the analysis device 20 is a separate device from the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 .
[0048] The analysis device 20 comprises a display module 24 , a control unit 26 for the analysis device 20 and at least one standardized interface module 28 .
[0049] The standardized interface module 28 may be a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface module (Wi-Fi module), a Bluetooth interface module, a universal serial bus (USB) interface module, and / or an Ethernet interface module.
[0050] The analysis device 20 is connected to the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 using a standardized interface module 28 .
[0051] The RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 further comprise corresponding standardized interface modules 30. Thus, the analysis device 20, the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 are connected for exchanging data using a standardized data protocol such as a wireless LAN protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a Universal Serial Bus protocol and / or an Ethernet protocol.
[0052] In order to measure or correlate the power consumption of the device under test 12 with the emission of RF signals by the device under test 12 , the RF sensor unit 16 measures the power of the RF signal of the device under test 12 , digitizes the measured value, and sends the digitized measured value to the analysis device 20 via the standardized interface modules 30 , 28 .
[0053] Likewise, the power probing unit 18 measures the voltage, current and / or power supplied to the device under test 12 , digitizes the measurements, and sends the digitized measurements to the analysis device 20 using the standard interface modules 30 , 28 .
[0054] Therefore, both the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 digitize the measurements using at least one analog-to-digital converter (not shown).
[0055] However, in particular no sampling or analysis of the radio frequency signal received by the RF sensor unit 16 is performed with respect to the bus signal or the symbols transmitted by this signal. This is done neither in the RF sensor unit 16 nor in the analysis device 20, for example.
[0056] The measurements are synchronized via the synchronization link 22 so that the measured values of the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 correspond to measurements made at exactly the same time.
[0057] The RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 as well as the synchronization link 22 may be controlled by the analysis device 20 .
[0058] For example, analysis device 20 may be configured to trigger measurements of RF sensor unit 16 and power detection unit 18 based on signals of RF sensor unit 16 and / or power detection unit 18. For example, a measurement may be triggered if device under test 12 is detected to transmit a radio frequency signal.
[0059] The analysis device 20 receives the measured values from the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 and displays a graph on its display module 24, which shows a representation of the radio frequency, in particular the power of the radio frequency signal of the device under test 12, and a representation of the power consumption of the device under test, for example, the voltage supplied to the device under test 12, the current supplied to the device under test 12 and / or the power supplied to the device under test 12.
[0060] exist Figure 1 Such a graph can be seen in , where the total power of the RF signal received by the RF sensor unit 16 (upper line) and the voltage V and current A supplied to the device under test 12 (measured by the power detection unit 18) are plotted over time on the same time scale in the same graph.
[0061] Of course, it is also possible to only display the power of the radio frequency signal of the device under test 12 in a predetermined frequency band.
[0062] In this case, the RF sensor unit 16 may include suitable filtering means.
[0063] The RF signal and the representation of the power consumption of the device under test 12 are shown synchronously, thereby correlating the power consumption with the generated RF signal, so that a user of the power analyzer system 14 can easily detect the correlation between the power consumption and the radio frequency emitted from the device under test 12.
[0064] In addition, expensive instruments such as oscilloscopes are not required because the RF sensor unit 16 and the power detection unit 18 can be obtained as separate devices. For example, the RF sensor unit 16 can be a Rhode & Schwarz sensor of the NRP series, and the power detection unit 18 can be a Rhode & Schwarz multi-channel power detection unit.
[0065] The power analyzer system 14 and the RF sensor unit 16 may be powered via standardized interface modules 28 , 30 , in particular with USB or Ethernet as interface.
[0066] Figure 2 A second embodiment of a power analyzer apparatus 10 having a second embodiment of a power analyzer system 14 is shown.
[0067] The power analyzer system 14 of the second embodiment corresponds to the power analyzer system 14 of the first embodiment, so only the differences are described below. Identical and functionally identical parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0068] In the second embodiment, the power analyzer system 14 includes a housing 32 for the radio frequency sensor unit 16 , the power detection unit 18 , and the synchronization link 22 .
[0069] The housing 32 may be a frame or, for example, Figure 2 As shown, there may be a housing in which the RF sensor unit 16, the power detection unit 18 and the synchronization link 22 are integrated.
[0070] Similar to the first embodiment, the analysis device 20 is separate from the housing 32 .
[0071] exist Figure 2 In an embodiment of the invention, the standardized interface is a wireless interface, and Figure 1 , a cable is shown.
[0072] For example, the standardized interface modules 28, 30 in the second embodiment are wireless LAN interface modules or Bluetooth interface modules.
[0073] Another difference from the first embodiment is that in the second embodiment, an analysis device 20 is connected to the device under test 12 , for example, for debugging.
[0074] The connection is shown with a cable 34, but of course the connection may be established wirelessly.
[0075] Any of the mentioned interface modules and protocols may be used for the connection between the device under test 12 and the analysis device 20 .
[0076] In a second embodiment, the analyzing device 20, in particular the control unit 26, is configured to execute debugging software for debugging the device under test 12 and to perform the above-mentioned measurements simultaneously.
[0077] Furthermore, analysis device 20 controls debugging software and measurement results so that debugging (eg, sending debug signals to device under test 12 ) is synchronized with display of measurement results and representations of the RF signals of device under test 12 and power consumption of device under test 12 .
[0078] The embodiments shown are of course only examples of possible embodiments, and features of different embodiments may be combined arbitrarily.
[0079] In particular, in the first embodiment, a connection between the analysis device 20 and the device under test 12 and / or the housing 32 may also be provided.
Claims
1. A power analyzer system for correlating power consumption and RF signals of a device under test (12), comprising an RF sensor unit (16) for sensing RF signals of the device under test (12), a power detection unit (18) for sensing power consumption of the device under test (12), and an analysis device (20) physically separated from the RF sensor unit (16) and the power detection unit (18), in, The analysis device (20) comprises a display module (24) and a standardized interface module (28) for a standardized data protocol, the analysis device (20) being connected to the RF sensor unit (16) and the power detection unit (18) via the standardized interface module (28), and wherein the analysis device (20) is configured to control the RF sensor unit (16) and the power detection unit (18), receive measurement values from the RF sensor unit (16) and the power detection unit (18), and synchronously display a representation of the RF signal of the device under test (12) and a representation of the power consumption of the device under test (12), The power analyzer system (14) comprises a synchronization link (22) between the RF sensor unit (16) and the power detection unit (18) for synchronization of measurement results. The synchronization link (22) is a cable connecting the power detection unit and the RF sensor unit so that the power detection unit and the RF sensor unit share a common clock for their measurement intervals, wherein the synchronization link includes a separate clock signal generator (31).
2. The power analyzer system according to claim 1, characterized in that A representation of the RF signal and a representation of the power consumption are displayed over time.
3. The power analyzer system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The representation of the RF signal and the representation of the power consumption are displayed over time on the same time scale.
4. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The standardized data protocol is a wireless local area network protocol, a Bluetooth protocol, a universal serial bus protocol and / or an Ethernet protocol, and the interface module (28) is a wireless local area network interface module, a Bluetooth interface module, a universal serial bus interface module and / or an Ethernet interface module.
5. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The power detection unit (18) is configured to measure a voltage supplied to the device under test (12), a current supplied to the device under test (12), and / or a power supplied to the device under test (12).
6. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The representation of power consumption represents a voltage supplied to the device under test (12), a current supplied to the device under test (12), and / or a power supplied to the device under test (12).
7. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The representation of the RF signal represents the power of the RF signal of the device under test (12).
8. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The representation of the RF signal represents the total power of the RF signal of the device under test (12) or the power within a predetermined frequency band.
9. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The RF sensor unit (16) is a RF power sensor unit.
10. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The RF sensor unit (16) includes a diode rectifier (21), a thermal power measurement module (23), a spectrum analyzer (25) and / or an RF receiver (27).
11. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The power analyzer system (14) comprises a housing (32), in which the RF sensor unit (16), the power detection unit (18) and / or the synchronization link (22) are integrated and / or arranged.
12. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The analysis device (20) is configured to execute debugging software for debugging the device under test (12), wherein the analysis device (20) is further configured to synchronize the debugging software with the display of a representation of an RF signal of the device under test (12) and a representation of power consumption of the device under test (12).
13. The power analyzer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The analyzing device (20) is configured to trigger measurements of the RF sensor unit (16) and the power detection unit (18) based on signals of the RF sensor unit (16) and / or the detection unit (18).
14. A power analyzer device having a power analyzer system (14) according to any one of the preceding claims and a device under test (12); in, The power detection unit (18) is connected to the device under test (12) so that the power detection unit (18) can measure the power consumed by the device under test (12), and The RF sensor unit (16) is arranged so that the RF sensor unit (16) receives the RF signal generated by the device under test (12).