A Real-time Automatic Detection Method for Baseband and Radio Frequency Faults

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of chip fault detection, and discloses a real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults. Based on a BLE transceiver system, it includes a digital baseband and a radio frequency front end. The method includes: turning on the receiving path during the execution of the transmission process, enabling the signal to enter the receiving path through coupling, using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband to analyze the signal, and performing fault judgment according to the analysis result; adding a fault injection function at the source of the transmission, running normal fault detection and fault detection with fault injection when the BLE transceiver system is idle, and performing fault judgment according to the operation result; turning on the receiving path during normal transmission, recording signal processing data during the transmission process, performing symbol synchronization and signal processing data comparison in the receiving path, and performing fault judgment according to the synchronization result and the comparison result. The present invention detects whether the radio frequency and digital baseband circuits are functioning properly through built-in self-testing, reduces the increase in chip area, and reduces the time required for detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of chip fault detection, and particularly relates to a real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults. Background Art

[0002] In automotive functional safety requirements, a chip needs to meet a specific level of diagnostic coverage and has the ability to diagnose faults. Fault diagnosis of chips has been a common functional safety means in in-vehicle chips, mainly for real-time detection of the current working state of the chip, judging whether the working conditions meet the requirements, whether the operation results meet the expectations, and reporting the results for subsequent processing. In the prior art, for the self-test of radio frequency devices, an RF transceiver with test capabilities is proposed, and its controller is configured to detect defects in the signal path connected to the RF output port based on the determined phase or power or both. A directional coupler is coupled to the RF output port and is configured to direct the reflected signal incoming at the RF output port as an input signal to the monitoring circuit. Using the monitoring circuit, the input signal is received and is configured to determine the phase of the input signal or the power of the input signal or both.

[0003] However, when its RF transceiver detects faults, it needs to use a specific detection circuit to complete. The range covered by fault detection is not high enough, and the diagnostic coverage rate for the digital baseband part is insufficient. The real-time performance of fault detection is poor, the reliability of fault detection itself is poor, and the detection method has a great impact on the chip area. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention provides a real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults, which detects whether the radio frequency and digital baseband circuits are functioning properly through built-in self-test, reduces the increase in chip area, and reduces the time required for detection.

[0005] The present invention provides a real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults, based on a BLE transceiver system, the BLE transceiver system including a digital baseband and a radio frequency front end;

[0006] During the sending process, the digital baseband encodes, modulates, and filters the information to be sent, obtains the digital signal to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency front end, and finally sends it through the antenna; during the receiving process, the radio frequency signal received from the antenna is converted into a digital signal by the radio frequency front end, and then sent to the digital baseband for filtering, synchronization, demodulation, etc., and finally the received information is obtained;

[0007] The method specifically includes:

[0008] Combining reception and transmission, opening the reception path during the execution of the sending process, enabling the signal to enter the reception path through coupling, using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband to analyze the signal, and making a fault judgment according to the analysis result;

[0009] Add a fault injection function at the source of transmission. When the BLE transceiver system is idle, perform a normal fault detection and a fault detection with fault injection once, and make a fault judgment according to the operation results. Among them, the normal fault detection is to detect whether the demodulated information is consistent with the original transmitted information, and the fault detection with fault injection is to replace the information bits of the transmitted information and then compare the demodulated information with the original transmitted information.

[0010] Set the transmission to the normal transmission mode, and at the same time turn on the receiving path. Record the signal processing data during the transmission process, perform symbol synchronization and signal processing data comparison in the receiving path, and make a fault judgment according to the synchronization result and the comparison result.

[0011] Further, the step of combining reception and transmission, turning on the receiving path when performing the transmission process, enabling the signal to enter the receiving path through coupling, parsing the signal using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband, and making a fault judgment according to the parsing result includes:

[0012] Combine reception and transmission, turn on the receiving path when performing the transmission process, enable the signal to enter the receiving path through coupling, parse the signal using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband, and start the fault detection while parsing, and compare the parsed information with the transmitted information.

[0013] If the parsed signal is the same as the transmitted signal, it indicates that the transmission and reception functions of the baseband digital circuit and the radio frequency front end are all working properly, the circuit function is normal, and the system has no faults; if the parsed signal is incorrect, it indicates that there are faults in the transmission and reception functions and the circuit function is abnormal.

[0014] Further, the parsing process is as follows: The radio frequency front end converts the radio frequency signal into an IQ signal and then inputs it to the digital baseband. The digital baseband has symbol synchronization and demodulation functions. Among them, the symbol synchronization function detects the start bit value of the frame in the IQ signal. After obtaining the start position, the signal starting from the start position is parsed through the demodulation function to obtain the final received information, and the parsing result is digital information bits.

[0015] Further, in the step of combining reception and transmission, turning on the receiving path when performing the transmission process, enabling the signal to enter the receiving path through coupling, parsing the signal using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband, and making a fault judgment according to the parsing result,

[0016] Set to start a fault detection every n transmissions, and it can be set to be enabled only during the transmission process in the set mode; for different channels, perform channel convenience or perform fault detection on specific channels.

[0017] Further, the step of adding a fault injection function at the source of transmission, running a normal fault detection and a fault detection with fault injection once when the BLE transceiver system is idle, and making a fault judgment according to the operation result includes:

[0018] Add a fault injection function at the source of transmission. When the BLE transceiver system is idle, run a normal fault detection once, that is, when the demodulated information is consistent with the original transmitted information, the BLE transceiver system is normal;

[0019] Run a fault detection with fault injection once. Replace the information bits of the transmitted information and compare the demodulated information with the original transmitted information. When the comparison fails, report a fault in the BLE transceiver system;

[0020] If the reported fault detection result does not conform to the above description, it is considered that the fault detection function fails and the reported fault detection result is not credible.

[0021] Further, the detection results of the normal fault detection and the fault detection with fault injection include:

[0022] System exception: The comparison between the demodulated information and the original transmitted information fails;

[0023] System exception, problem with the fault reporting itself: The comparison between the demodulated information and the original transmitted information is successful. After replacing the bit in the original information, the transmitted demodulated information can also be compared successfully with the original information without replacement;

[0024] System normal: The comparison between the demodulated information and the original transmitted information is successful. After replacing the bit in the original information, the transmitted demodulated information and the original information without replacement are compared and fail.

[0025] Further, the step of setting the transmission to the normal transmission mode, simultaneously opening the receiving path, recording the signal processing data during the transmission, performing symbol synchronization and signal processing data comparison in the receiving path, and making a fault judgment according to the synchronization result and the comparison result includes:

[0026] The transmission of the system is in the normal transmission mode, and the receiving path is opened simultaneously. In the BLE system, the data is filtered and modulated by GFSK in the transmission module and then enters the RF front end. At the same time, the access address, PDU, and CRC check data are recorded. The preamble is used for packet detection, AGC adjustment, DC estimation, and RSSI calculation;

[0027] The signal is coupled to the LNA after the PA in the RF front end and enters the receiving path. The data goes from the RF front end to the digital baseband. AGC adjustment is performed during the preamble, and the access address recorded during the transmission is used for symbol synchronization;

[0028] After successful synchronization, there is a synchronization indication signal. Successful synchronization means that there is no fault in the detection during the access address phase, which is used to detect faults in the RF front-end, AGC, filter, and symbol synchronization module.

[0029] After successful synchronization, the signal will be demodulated. The demodulated data is compared with the PDU and CRC recorded during transmission. If they are the same, it means there is no fault, which is used to detect faults in the RF front-end, AGC, filter, demodulation module, etc.

[0030] If the transmission process ends but synchronization is not successful, or the comparison between the demodulated data and the original transmitted data fails, it means there is a fault.

[0031] Furthermore, the original transmitted information is cached and then compared with the demodulated information. The original transmitted information is cached using a FIFO, and an exclusive-OR gate is used for comparison. If the comparison result is 1, it means a fault is detected; if the comparison result is 0, it means there is no fault.

[0032] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0033] 1. Most existing technologies need to use additional detection circuits to complete fault detection during normal operation, which will increase the chip area significantly. The present invention adds an original transmitted information caching circuit and a demodulation and transmitted information comparison circuit on the basis of normal transceiver functions. The added circuits are very small and have little impact on the chip area.

[0034] 2. Existing fault detection methods usually only detect analog RF circuits and have insufficient coverage for fault detection of digital baseband circuits. The present invention combines digital baseband circuits and analog RF circuits for fault detection, resulting in higher fault diagnosis coverage.

[0035] 3. Existing fault detection methods need to be carried out in a separate fault detection process, occupying independent detection time. The present invention integrates fault detection into the normal business signal transmission process, enabling real-time fault detection without affecting normal transmission. The time cost is lower, and compared with the method of performing separate fault detection, the system working time is reduced, resulting in lower overall system power consumption.

[0036] 4. The addition of the fault injection function enhances the reliability of the fault detection itself. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the BLE transceiver system in the present invention.

[0038] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the fault detection path in the present invention.

[0039] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of information bit replacement for sending information in the present invention.

[0040] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of caching the original sending information in the present invention.

[0041] The realization, functional features, and advantages of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings in combination with embodiments. Detailed implementation manners

[0042] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0043] Automotive-grade chips are required to have a certain fault diagnosis coverage rate in terms of functional safety. For example, there are clear regulations in the ISO 26262 automotive safety standard, requiring the chip to be able to detect its own faults online and take certain safety measures when a fault is detected; for wireless communication chips, the present invention proposes a method for online real-time detection of communication unit faults, including detecting the digital baseband part, analog and radio frequency parts, and minimizing the increase in chip area and reducing the detection time required.

[0044] The present invention provides a method for real-time automatic detection of baseband and radio frequency faults, based on a BLE transceiver system, as Figure 1 shown, the BLE transceiver system includes a digital baseband and a radio frequency front end, and is functionally divided into signal transmission and signal reception.

[0045] During the transmission process, the digital baseband part encodes, modulates, filters, etc. the information to be sent, obtains the digital signal to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency front end, and finally sends it through the antenna; during the reception process, the radio frequency signal received from the antenna is converted into a digital signal by the radio frequency front end, and then sent to the digital baseband for filtering, synchronization, demodulation, etc., and finally the received information is obtained.

[0046] The method for real-time automatic detection of baseband and radio frequency faults specifically includes:

[0047] 1) Combine reception and transmission. When performing the transmission process, turn on the reception path, make the signal enter the reception path through coupling, use the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband to analyze the signal, and perform fault judgment according to the analysis result.

[0048] Generally, BLE communication transmission and reception are carried out at different times. During the signal transmission process, the reception function is turned off, and during the signal reception process, the transmission function is turned off. For a separate transmission or a separate reception function, the self-test of faults in the digital circuit and the radio frequency front end cannot be completed.

[0049] This embodiment combines reception and transmission. When performing the transmission process, the reception path is opened, and the signal enters the reception path through coupling. The radio frequency front end and the digital baseband are used to analyze the signal. During the analysis, fault detection is enabled, and the information obtained from the analysis is compared with the information sent out. As Figure 2 shown.

[0050] If the analyzed signal is the same as the transmitted signal, it indicates that the transmission and reception functions of the baseband digital circuit and the radio frequency front end are all working properly, the circuit function is normal, and the system has no faults. If the analyzed signal is incorrect, it indicates that there are faults in the transmission and reception functions, the circuit function is abnormal, and the fault indication information is provided to the upper layer for further processing. For example, if the Bluetooth in the car cannot establish a connection with the mobile phone or the Bluetooth key, the signal transceiver fault of itself can be confirmed through the fault report. The Bluetooth system can be reset to resume normal operation, or the driver and passengers can be notified through alarm prompts and other means.

[0051] Among them, the analysis process is as follows: The radio frequency front end converts the radio frequency signal into an IQ signal and then inputs it to the digital baseband. The digital baseband has symbol synchronization and demodulation functions. The symbol synchronization function detects the start bit value of the frame in the IQ signal. After obtaining the start position, the signal starting from the start position is analyzed through the demodulation function to obtain the final received information. The result of the analysis is digital information bits.

[0052] Fault detection can be completed during the normal transmission process without adding a separate time window for fault detection. Only the reception path is opened during transmission to analyze the transmitted signal, and fault judgment is performed based on the analyzed signal. In this way, the running time of the system can be not increased, and the total time consumption and power consumption can be reduced.

[0053] The fault detection mechanism supports a selective operation mode. It can not perform detection every time during the transmission process, and supports setting to start once every n transmissions. And it can be enabled only during the transmission process of certain modes, such as the broadcast mode. For different channels, channel scanning can also be performed or fault detection can be carried out on specific channels.

[0054] 2) A fault injection function is added at the source of transmission. When the BLE transceiver system is idle, a normal fault detection and a fault detection with fault injection are run once, and fault judgment is performed according to the running results. Among them, the normal fault detection is to detect whether the demodulated information is consistent with the original transmitted information, and the fault detection with fault injection is to compare the demodulated information with the original transmitted information after replacing the information bits of the transmitted information.

[0055] In part (1), the simple method of detecting transmission cannot fully determine whether there is a fault in the system. There is a possibility that the fault detection method fails and the fault is not detected. Therefore, a fault injection function is added at the transmission source. When the BLE transceiver system is idle, a normal fault detection is run once. The demodulated information should be the same as the original transmitted information. After completion, the system should be reported as normal. Then, a fault detection with fault injection is run again. The transmitted information is replaced according to Figure 3 as shown, and the demodulated information is compared with the original transmitted information. In this case, the comparison should fail. After the operation is completed, the system should be reported as faulty. If the reported fault detection result does not match the above description, it is considered that the fault detection function fails and the reported fault detection result is not credible. The upper-layer control should take corresponding measures for this.

[0056] Both the normal fault detection and the fault detection with fault injection detect whether the demodulated information is the same as the original transmitted information. The detection results, that is, the fault detection, are divided into several cases to verify that the demodulated and transmitted information can correspond:

[0057] a. When the system is abnormal: The comparison between the demodulated information and the original transmitted information fails.

[0058] b. When the system is abnormal and there is a problem with the fault reporting itself: The comparison between the demodulated information and the original transmitted information is successful, and after replacing the bit positions in the original information and transmitting, the demodulated information can also be compared successfully with the original information without replacement. This situation obviously does not meet the expectations, so it is considered that the fault detection function itself fails, and this situation should be reported. The fault injection function is also designed to identify this situation.

[0059] c. When the system is normal: The comparison between the demodulated information and the original transmitted information is successful, and after replacing the bit positions in the original information and transmitting, the comparison between the demodulated information and the original information without replacement fails.

[0060] 3) Set the transmission to the normal transmission mode, and at the same time turn on the receiving path. During the transmission process, record the signal processing data, perform symbol synchronization and signal processing data comparison in the receiving path, and perform fault judgment based on the synchronization result and the comparison result.

[0061] The transmission of the system is in the normal transmission mode, and at the same time the receiving path is turned on. In the BLE system, the data is filtered and modulated by GFSK in the transmission module and then enters the RF front end. At the same time, the access address, PDU, and CRC check data are recorded. The preamble is used for packet detection, AGC adjustment, DC estimation, RSSI calculation, etc., and the data values do not need to be recorded.

[0062] The signal is coupled to the LNA after the PA in the RF front-end and enters the receiving path. The data goes through the RF front-end to the digital baseband, and AGC adjustment is performed during the preamble. The access address recorded during the transmission process is used for symbol synchronization.

[0063] After successful synchronization, there will be a synchronization indication signal. Successful synchronization means that the detection in the access address stage is fault-free, mainly detecting faults in the RF front-end, AGC, filter, and symbol synchronization module.

[0064] After successful synchronization, the signal will be demodulated. The demodulated data is compared with the PDU and CRC recorded during transmission. If they are the same, it means there is no fault, mainly detecting faults in the RF front-end, AGC, filter, demodulation module, etc.

[0065] If the transmission process ends but synchronization is not successful, or the demodulated data fails to match the original transmitted data, it means there is a fault.

[0066] In one embodiment, due to the delay between the transmission and receiving paths, the original transmitted information needs to be cached and then compared with the demodulated information. In this embodiment, a FIFO is used to cache the original transmitted information, as Figure 4 shown. An exclusive-OR gate is used for comparison. If the comparison result is 1, it means a fault is detected; if the comparison result is 0, it means there is no fault.

[0067] Based on the normal transceiver function, the present invention adds a circuit for caching the original transmitted information and a circuit for comparing the demodulation and transmitted information. The added circuit is very small and has little impact on the chip area. Combining the digital baseband circuit and the analog RF circuit for fault detection provides a higher fault diagnosis coverage rate. Performing fault detection during normal service signal transmission enables real-time fault detection without affecting normal transmission, with lower time cost. Compared with the method of performing separate fault detection, the system working time is reduced, and thus the total system power consumption is smaller. The addition of the fault injection function enhances the reliability of the fault detection itself.

[0068] It should be noted that in this article, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, apparatus, article or method including a series of elements not only includes those elements but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, apparatus, article or method. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "including a..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, apparatus, article or method including that element.

[0069] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention accordingly. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the content of the specification and drawings of the present invention, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, shall be equally included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults, characterized in that, Based on a BLE transceiver system, the BLE transceiver system includes a digital baseband and a radio frequency front end; During the transmission process, the digital baseband encodes, modulates, and filters the information to be transmitted, obtains the digital signal to be transmitted and sends it to the radio frequency front end, and finally transmits it through the antenna; during the reception process, the radio frequency signal received from the antenna is converted into a digital signal by the radio frequency front end, and then sent to the digital baseband for filtering, synchronization, and demodulation, and finally the received information is obtained; The method specifically includes: Combining reception and transmission, opening the reception path during the execution of the transmission process, enabling the signal to enter the reception path through coupling, using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband to analyze the signal, and performing fault judgment based on the analysis result; specifically including: Combining reception and transmission, opening the reception path when executing the transmission process, enabling the signal to enter the reception path through coupling, using the radio frequency front end and the digital baseband to analyze the signal, and starting fault detection while analyzing, and comparing the analyzed information with the transmitted information; If the analyzed signal is the same as the transmitted signal, it indicates that the transmission and reception functions of the baseband digital circuit and the radio frequency front end are all working properly, the circuit function is normal, and the system has no faults; if the analyzed signal is incorrect, it indicates that there are faults in the transmission and reception functions and the circuit function is abnormal; Adding a fault injection function at the source of transmission, when the BLE transceiver system is idle, running a normal fault detection and a fault detection with fault injection, and performing fault judgment based on the operation result; among them, the normal fault detection is to detect whether the demodulated information is consistent with the original transmitted information, and the fault detection with fault injection is to compare the demodulated information with the original transmitted information after replacing the information bits of the transmitted information; specifically including: Adding a fault injection function at the source of transmission, when the BLE transceiver system is idle, running a normal fault detection, that is, when the demodulated information is consistent with the original transmitted information, the BLE transceiver system is normal; Running a fault detection with fault injection once, replacing the information bits of the transmitted information, comparing the demodulated information with the original transmitted information, and reporting a fault of the BLE transceiver system when the comparison fails; If the reported fault detection result does not conform to the above description, it is considered that the fault detection function fails and the reported fault detection result is not credible; Setting the transmission as the normal transmission mode, opening the reception path at the same time, recording the signal processing data during the transmission process, performing symbol synchronization and comparing the signal processing data in the reception path, and performing fault judgment based on the synchronization result and the comparison result; specifically including: The transmission of the system is in the normal transmission mode, and the reception path is opened at the same time. In the BLE system, the data passes through GFSK filtering and modulation in the transmission module, and then enters the radio frequency front end. At the same time, the access address, PDU, and CRC check data are recorded. The preamble is used for packet detection, AGC adjustment, DC estimation, and RSSI calculation; The signal is coupled to the LNA after the RF front-end PA and enters the receiving path. The data passes through the RF front-end to the digital baseband, and AGC adjustment is performed during the preamble. The access address recorded during the transmission process is used for symbol synchronization. There is a synchronization indication signal after successful synchronization. Successful synchronization means that the detection in the access address stage is fault-free, which is used to detect faults in the RF front-end, AGC, filter, and symbol synchronization module. After successful synchronization, the signal is demodulated. The demodulated data is compared with the PDU and CRC recorded during transmission. If they are the same, it means there is no fault, which is used to detect faults in the RF front-end, AGC, filter, and demodulation module. If the transmission process ends but synchronization is not successful, or the demodulated data fails to match the original transmitted data, it indicates a fault.

2. The real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults according to claim 1, wherein, The parsing process is as follows: The RF front-end converts the RF signal into an IQ signal and inputs it to the digital baseband. The digital baseband has symbol synchronization and demodulation functions. The symbol synchronization function detects the start bit value of the frame in the IQ signal. After obtaining the start position, the signal starting from the start position is parsed by the demodulation function to obtain the final received information. The parsing result is digital information bits.

3. The real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults according to claim 1, wherein In the step of combining reception and transmission, opening the receiving path during the transmission process, allowing the signal to enter the receiving path through coupling, using the RF front-end and digital baseband to parse the signal, and performing fault judgment based on the parsing result, Set to start a fault detection every n transmissions and can be set to be enabled only during the transmission process in the set mode; for different channels, perform channel scanning or perform fault detection in the set channels.

4. The real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults according to claim 1, characterized in that The detection results of normal fault detection and fault detection with fault injection include: System exception: The demodulated information fails to match the original transmitted information. System exception, problem with fault reporting itself: The demodulated information matches the original transmitted information. After replacing the bit positions in the original information, the transmitted demodulated information can also match the original information without replacement. System normal: The demodulated information matches the original transmitted information. After replacing the bit positions in the original information, the transmitted demodulated information fails to match the original information without replacement.

5. The real-time automatic detection method for baseband and radio frequency faults according to claim 1, characterized in that The original transmitted information is cached and then compared with the demodulated information. The original transmitted information is cached using a FIFO, and an exclusive-OR gate is used for comparison. If the comparison result is 1, it indicates that a fault is detected. If the comparison result is 0, it indicates no fault.

Images