Compact Range Antenna Test System

Abstract

The present invention provides a compact range antenna test system, which includes a microwave anechoic chamber, a first manipulator, a second manipulator, a reflector and a feed source, all of which are arranged in the microwave anechoic chamber. The reflector is arranged on the first manipulator, and the feed source is arranged on the second manipulator and is set to face the reflector. The reflector is used to focus the outgoing wave emitted by the feed source into a plane wave and reflect the plane wave to the device under test to form a quiet zone. The first manipulator can drive the reflector to move, and the second manipulator can drive the feed source to move according to the moving position of the reflector to achieve translation of the quiet zone. In the compact range antenna test system provided by the present invention, by driving the reflector and the feed source to move respectively by the first and second manipulators, and combining the real-time matching and alignment of the reflector and the feed source, the translation of the quiet zone can be realized, so as to form a plurality of quiet zones that can be spliced with each other, thereby multiplying the quiet zone space and improving the test performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of antenna testing, and particularly to a compact range antenna testing system. Background Art

[0002] At present, since it is difficult to meet the test requirements of large-aperture antennas, especially high-frequency and millimeter-wave antennas, in an indoor far-field environment, indirect far-field testing methods are generally used for testing. For example, in the compact range antenna testing method, rays emitted from a point source or a line source are made to be parallel to the antenna under test through a lens or a parabolic reflector, generating a quasi-plane wave radiation field in a relatively small space, approximately simulating the plane wave radiation conditions, so that indoor measurements can meet the far-field conditions for antenna measurements.

[0003] In a compact range antenna testing system, the approximate plane wave region formed by the reflector is called the quiet zone. In the quiet zone, the electromagnetic field has small amplitude and phase fluctuations, and the plane wave region is less disturbed and the amplitude-phase distribution of the plane wave meets certain index requirements, and can be approximately regarded as a plane wave radiation environment, meeting the requirements for antenna measurements. Therefore, in a compact range, the size of the quiet zone is an important index reflecting the performance of the compact range testing system. The aperture field distribution of the reflector is affected by spatial attenuation and the feed pattern. Due to the inconsistent amplitude distribution of the primary radiation on the wavefront of the reflector and the diffraction effect existing at the edge of the reflector, the aperture utilization rate of a single-reflector compact range is very low, and the existing quiet zone size is usually only about 30% of the reflector size.

[0004] In this regard, the commonly used methods to improve the aperture utilization rate of a reflector compact range generally include: 1) taking appropriate parabolic edge treatments, i.e., using serrated, cosine-shaped, and curled edges; 2) using a corrugated horn with a Gaussian beam as the feed. However, in the existing improvement methods, improving the edge treatment method cannot fully compensate for the aperture field distribution of the parabolic reflector, and the feed radiation also has a large taper. Therefore, the aperture utilization rate of a single-reflector compact range is still less than 60%. Moreover, as the size of the antenna under test increases, the required quiet zone size increases, forcing the reflector aperture of the single-reflector compact range to increase significantly. This will undoubtedly increase the processing difficulty and manufacturing cost of the parabolic reflector, and at the same time, it will also bring problems such as the inability to process a large-aperture parabolic reflector into a whole piece. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a compact range antenna testing system that can increase the quiet zone space.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] A compact range antenna test system includes a microwave anechoic chamber, as well as a first manipulator, a second manipulator, a reflector, and a feed source, all of which are disposed in the microwave anechoic chamber. The reflector is disposed on the first manipulator, and the feed source is disposed on the second manipulator and is oriented towards the reflector. The reflector is configured to focus the outgoing wave emitted by the feed source into a plane wave and reflect the plane wave to the device under test to form a quiet zone. The first manipulator can drive the reflector to move, and the second manipulator can drive the feed source to move according to the moving position of the reflector to translate the quiet zone.

[0008] Preferably, both the first manipulator and the second manipulator are multi-axis manipulators, and the first manipulator and the second manipulator can cooperate with each other to move along three axes of up and down, left and right, and front and back to change the position of the quiet zone.

[0009] Preferably, the compact range antenna test system further includes a device under test turntable for fixing the device under test and capable of driving the device under test to rotate.

[0010] More preferably, the compact range antenna test system further includes a support rod erected in the microwave anechoic chamber. The support rod includes an avoidance section that is inclined or bent towards the first manipulator in the direction from bottom to top, and the device under test turntable is disposed at the top of the avoidance section.

[0011] Preferably, the compact range antenna test system further includes a first wave-absorbing baffle laid between the second manipulator and the reflector.

[0012] Preferably, the compact range antenna test system further includes a second wave-absorbing baffle laid between the support rod and the reflector.

[0013] Further, the microwave anechoic chamber includes a shielding chamber made of a metal material and an absorber material mounted in the shielding chamber.

[0014] Preferably, the reflector is made of an aluminum alloy material, and its aperture is equal to or less than 1.2 meters.

[0015] More preferably, the compact range antenna test system further includes a connecting frame disposed between the first manipulator and the reflector. The connecting frame includes a fixing plate connected to the first manipulator and a plurality of connecting rods disposed on the fixing plate. The end of the connecting rod away from the fixing plate is connected to the reflector.

[0016] Preferably, the feed source is a pyramidal horn feed source.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the solution of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0018] In the compact range antenna test system provided by the present invention, the first and second manipulators are respectively used to drive the reflector and the feed to move, and combined with the real-time matching alignment of the reflector and the feed, the translation of the quiet zone can be realized, so as to form a plurality of quiet zones that can be spliced with each other, doubling the space of the quiet zone, being able to adapt to the tests of more specifications of antennas, and improving the accuracy of test results.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, which will become apparent from the following description, or will be understood through the practice of the present invention. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and be readily understood from the following description of the embodiments in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

[0021] Figure 1 is the front view of the compact range antenna test system provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is Figure 1 the change state diagram of the compact range antenna test system shown;

[0023] Figure 3 is Figure 1 the three-dimensional view of the compact range antenna test system shown;

[0024] Figure 4 is Figure 1 the schematic diagram of the quiet zone splicing of the compact range antenna test system shown. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0025] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below. The examples of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the drawings are exemplary only for explaining the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0026] Those skilled in the art of the present technology can understand that unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "including" used in the description of the present invention means the presence of the described features, integers, steps, operations, components and / or assemblies, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, components, assemblies and / or their groups. It should be understood that when we say that a component is "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to other components, or there may also be intermediate components. The term "and / or" used herein includes all or any unit and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0027] Figures 1 to 4Collectively shown is a compact range antenna test system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, which is used to simulate plane wave radiation conditions in a small space to achieve antenna testing, can provide an anechoic environment required for all-weather antenna testing, and has a large anechoic space, excellent performance, can adapt to the testing of various specifications of antennas, and the testing is accurate.

[0028] As Figure 1 shown, the compact range antenna test system 1 includes a microwave anechoic chamber 11, a first robot arm 12, a second robot arm 13, a reflector 14, a feed source 15, and a DUT turntable 16. The first robot arm 12, the second robot arm 13, the reflector 14, the feed source 15, and the DUT turntable 16 are all arranged in the microwave anechoic chamber 11, and the microwave anechoic chamber 11 is used to exclude external electromagnetic interference and provide a pure free space environment.

[0029] Specifically, the reflector 14 is arranged on the first robot arm 12. The second robot arm 13 is used to install the feed source 15 and align the feed source 15 with the reflector 14. The DUT turntable 15 is used to place and fix the DUT 2. The reflector 14 can focus the outgoing wave emitted by the feed source 15 into a plane wave and reflect the plane wave to the DUT 2 to form an anechoic area 100. The DUT 2 can be an antenna or an electronic product carrying an antenna. Through the anechoic area 100, application scenarios such as antenna pattern testing and RCS testing of the DUT 2 are realized.

[0030] Furthermore, the first robot arm 12 can drive the reflector 14 to move, and the second robot arm 13 can drive the feed source 15 to move accordingly according to the moving position of the reflector 14, so that the feed source 15 maintains a state of being matched and aligned with the reflector 14. Thus, by driving the reflector 14 and the feed source 15 to move respectively by the first robot arm 12 and the second robot arm 13, and combining the real-time matching and alignment of the reflector 14 and the feed source 15, the translation of the anechoic area 100 is realized, and then other positions of the DUT 2 can be tested.

[0031] Please combine Figure 2 , when the first robot arm 12 drives the reflector 14 to move to three different positions in the vertical direction, the second robot arm 13 will drive the feed source 15 to move to keep it matched and aligned with the reflector 14, thereby forming three vertically arranged anechoic areas 100 on the DUT turntable 15. In practical applications, it is equivalent to splicing three anechoic areas 100 to form a larger anechoic space. Without using a harshly designed flanged reflector or a feed source with a Gaussian beam, the anechoic space can be doubled, the utilization rate of the reflector 14 can be effectively improved, and then the antenna testing processes of different specifications and different sizes can be adapted, and the accuracy of the test results can be ensured.

[0032] Preferably, both the first manipulator 12 and the second manipulator 13 are multi-axis manipulators, which can flexibly locate the coordinate positions and azimuth angles in three-dimensional space, and can drive the mirror 14 or the feed 15 to any position and any angle with high precision, so as to cooperate with each other to move and change the position of the quiet zone 100 along the three axes of up and down, left and right, and front and back.

[0033] As Figure 3 shown, when the first manipulator 12 drives the mirror 14 to move laterally to three different positions, the second manipulator 13 drives the feed 15 to move so as to keep it matched and aligned with the mirror 14. At this time, the three vertically arranged quiet zones 100 can be laterally expanded into nine quiet zones 100, and a larger quiet zone space can be formed by splicing between more quiet zones 100, further improving the utilization rate of the mirror 14.

[0034] Please combine Figure 4 When the first manipulator 12 drives the mirror 14 to move in the front and back directions to three different positions, the nine quiet zones 100 can be further expanded into twenty-seven quiet zones 100 in the depth direction, which can further increase the effective quiet zone space.

[0035] Preferably, the mirror 14 is made of aluminum alloy material, and its aperture is equal to or less than 1.2 meters. While ensuring the convergence and reflection effects of the radiation signal, the structural strength and light weight are ensured. And since the compact range antenna test system 1 can translate and splice the quiet zones 100, there is no need to adopt a structure with a large aperture, effectively reducing the manufacturing difficulty and production cost.

[0036] In this embodiment, the aperture of the mirror 14 is 1.2 meters and the weight is 180 kg. The first manipulator 12 is a heavy-duty robot, and its moving stroke along the three axes for driving the mirror 14 is not less than 2 meters; the second manipulator 13 is a small robot, and its moving stroke along the three axes for driving the feed 15 is not less than 0.4 meters. The second manipulator 13 can align the feed 15 relative to the mirror 14 in real time by querying the pre-stored data in the software. Assuming that the aperture utilization rate of the mirror 14 is 33%, it can form a 400-mm quiet zone for the radiation signal emitted by the feed 15 on the DUT turntable 16. Splicing the three quiet zones can form a 1.2-meter quiet zone space, and the utilization rate can reach 100%.

[0037] Preferably, the feed source 15 is a pyramid horn feed source. Since the compact range antenna test system 1 can realize multiple quiet zones in a time-sharing manner and expand the quiet zone by splicing the quiet zone spaces, thereby doubling the utilization rate of the quiet zone, there is no need to configure a Gaussian beam feed source. The use of a conventional pyramid horn feed source can meet the test requirements, which greatly reduces the construction cost and use cost of the compact range antenna test system 1.

[0038] like Figure 3 As shown, the test piece turntable 16 is a single-axis turntable, which includes a horizontally arranged mounting table 161 and a driving component 162 for driving the mounting table 161 to rotate on a horizontal plane. The mounting table 161 is used to mount the test piece 2. The driving component 162 can drive the mounting table 161 to rotate and drive the test piece 2 to achieve a 360-degree rotation in an azimuth, thereby realizing testing in more application scenarios.

[0039] The compact range antenna testing system 1 further includes a support rod 17 , which is erected in the microwave darkroom 11 and supports the DUT turntable 16 .

[0040] Preferably, the support rod 17 includes an avoidance section 171, and the avoidance section 171 is inclined or bent from bottom to top toward the first manipulator 12, and the test piece turntable 16 is arranged at the top of the avoidance section 171. Through the avoidance section 171, the support rod 17 is kept as far away from the radiation range of the test signal as possible and has a smaller rearview reflection to avoid affecting the test results.

[0041] Furthermore, the microwave darkroom 11 includes a shielding room made of metal material (not shown in the figure, the same below) and an absorbing material (not shown in the figure, the same below) mounted in the shielding room. The microwave darkroom 11 simulates a free space environment, and can achieve all-weather antenna testing work without being interfered by external environmental factors. Secondly, the microwave darkroom 11 can also effectively prevent interference from external electromagnetic waves, so that the test operation inside it is not affected by the external electromagnetic environment, and can prevent the internal test signal from radiating outward to form an interference source, avoid polluting the surrounding electromagnetic environment, and ensure that each test equipment can work normally.

[0042] Preferably, the compact range antenna test system 1 also includes an absorbing baffle 18, which includes a first absorbing baffle 181 laid horizontally between the second manipulator 13 and the reflector 14, and a second absorbing baffle 182 laid vertically between the support rod 17 and the reflector 14. The first absorbing baffle 181 and the second absorbing baffle 182 are used to isolate and absorb electromagnetic signals of metal structures such as the servo system, manipulator, and support rod on the signal radiation path of the feed source 15 to meet the test environment requirements.

[0043] As Figure 3 shown, the compact range antenna test system 1 further includes a connecting frame 19. The connecting frame 19 is arranged on the first manipulator 12 and is used to mount the mirror 14. The connecting frame 19 includes a fixing plate 191 connected to the first manipulator 12 and a plurality of connecting rods 192 disposed on the fixing plate 191 at intervals. One end of the connecting rod 192 away from the fixing plate 191 is connected to the mirror 14. By connecting the mirror 14 through the plurality of connecting rods 192, the connection strength and stability of the mirror 14 are ensured, so that when the first manipulator 12 drives the mirror 14 to move, shaking or loosening can be avoided, and the transmission accuracy and positioning accuracy of the first manipulator 12 for the mirror 14 are guaranteed.

[0044] The above are only partial embodiments of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present invention, several improvements and refinements can be made, and these improvements and refinements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A compact range antenna test system, characterized in that It includes an anechoic chamber, as well as a first manipulator, a second manipulator, a reflector and a feed source, all of which are arranged in the anechoic chamber. The reflector is arranged on the first manipulator, and the feed source is arranged on the second manipulator and is set to face the reflector. The reflector is used to focus the outgoing wave emitted by the feed source into a plane wave and reflect the plane wave to the device under test to form a quiet zone. The first manipulator can drive the reflector to move, and the second manipulator can drive the feed source to move according to the moving position of the reflector to achieve the translation of the quiet zone. It further includes a turntable for fixing the device under test and capable of driving the device under test to rotate, and a support rod erected in the anechoic chamber. The support rod includes an avoidance section, and the avoidance section is inclined or bent towards the first manipulator along the direction from bottom to top. The turntable for the device under test is arranged at the top of the avoidance section. It further includes a first wave-absorbing baffle laid between the second manipulator and the reflector and a second wave-absorbing baffle laid between the support rod and the reflector. The first wave-absorbing baffle and the first wave-absorbing baffle are arranged at an angle, and the second manipulator is arranged in the area defined by the two baffles.

2. The compact range antenna test system according to claim 1, wherein Both the first manipulator and the second manipulator are multi-axis manipulators, and the first manipulator and the second manipulator can cooperate with each other to move and change the position of the quiet zone along three axes of up and down, left and right, and front and back.

3. The compact range antenna test system according to claim 1, wherein The anechoic chamber includes a shielding chamber made of metal material and wave-absorbing materials mounted in the shielding chamber.

4. The compact range antenna test system according to claim 1, wherein, The reflector is made of aluminum alloy material, and its aperture is equal to or less than 1.2 meters.

5. The compact range antenna test system according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes a connecting frame arranged between the first manipulator and the reflector. The connecting frame includes a fixing plate connected to the first manipulator and multiple connecting rods arranged on the fixing plate. One end of the connecting rod far from the fixing plate is connected to the reflector.

6. The compact range antenna test system according to claim 1, wherein The feed source is a pyramidal horn feed source.

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