Circularly polarized antenna testing device

Abstract

A circularly polarized antenna testing device disclosed by the present invention comprises a three-axis moving mechanism, a motor and a disc type slip ring, the three-axis moving mechanism comprises a Y-axis moving pair, a Z-axis moving pair and an X-axis moving pair which are connected in sequence, a rotary fixing plate is rotatably arranged on an X-axis sliding block in the X-axis moving pair, the rotary fixing plate can rotate around the Y axis, and the disc type slip ring is connected with the motor. The rotary fixing plate is provided with an antenna testing plate used for installing a millimeter wave signal measuring unit. The motor is located below the X-axis moving pair. The disc type slip ring comprises a fixed disc and a rotary disc which are conducted, the fixed disc is fixed relative to the motor, an output shaft of the motor penetrates through the fixed disc to be connected with the rotary disc, a to-be-tested antenna plate conducted with the disc type slip ring is arranged on the rotary disc, and the to-be-tested antenna plate is used for installing a millimeter wave signal to-be-tested unit. The circularly polarized antenna testing device is simple and novel in structure, can measure the bit error rate, the radio frequency parameters and the field pattern of the to-be-tested circularly polarized antenna, and especially can test a near-field circularly polarized antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of antenna testing equipment, and in particular to a circularly polarized antenna testing device. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of packaging technology and millimeter wave technology, AiP technology (packaged antenna technology) and millimeter wave near-field communication technology have gradually matured. However, most of the existing millimeter wave antenna test devices are generally aimed at far-field test scenarios. In addition, such test equipment has problems such as large size, complex structure, and fixed test distance. It is not suitable for near-field antenna and packaged integrated antenna product test scenarios. There are even fewer test devices that can support near-field circularly polarized antenna testing. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem solved by the present invention is to provide a circularly polarized antenna testing device with a simple structure, which supports near-field circularly polarized antenna testing.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a circularly polarized antenna testing device, comprising:

[0005] A three-axis moving mechanism, comprising a Y-axis moving pair, a Z-axis moving pair, and an X-axis moving pair connected in sequence, wherein an X-axis slider in the X-axis moving pair is rotatably provided with a rotating fixed plate, the rotating fixed plate being rotatable about the Y-axis, and an antenna test board for mounting a millimeter wave signal measurement unit is provided on the rotating fixed plate;

[0006] A motor, wherein the motor is located below the X-axis moving pair;

[0007] A disc slip ring includes a fixed disc and a rotating disc that are conductive with each other. The fixed disc is fixed relative to the motor. The output shaft of the motor passes through the fixed disc and is connected to the rotating disc. The rotating disc is provided with an antenna plate to be tested that is conductive with the disc slip ring. The antenna plate to be tested is used to install a millimeter wave signal unit to be tested.

[0008] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the circularly polarized antenna test device has a simple and novel structure, is equipped with a disc slip ring, and can monitor the bit error rate of the circularly polarized antenna to be tested during the entire rotation process in conjunction with a bit error meter (or a PRBS generator and a checker), and is equipped with a three-axis moving mechanism and a rotating fixed plate, and can realize the measurement of antenna RF parameters and antenna field types in conjunction with a vector network analyzer, especially capable of testing near-field circularly polarized antennas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0010] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the overall structure of the circularly polarized antenna test device;

[0011] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a local area of ​​a circularly polarized antenna test device;

[0012] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the turntable in the circular polarization antenna test device;

[0013] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fixed plate in the circular polarization antenna test device;

[0014] Figure 5 The system architecture of the circularly polarized antenna test device in Example 1 Figure 1 ;

[0015] Figure 6 The system architecture of the circularly polarized antenna test device in Example 1 Figure 2 ;

[0016] Figure 7 This is a system architecture diagram of the circularly polarized antenna testing device in Example 2.

[0017] Description of Figure Numbers:

[0018] 1. Three-axis moving mechanism; 11. Y-axis moving pair; 12. Z-axis moving pair; 13. X-axis moving pair; 131. X-axis slider;

[0019] 2. Rotate the fixed plate;

[0020] 3. Antenna test board; 31. First PRBS generator; 32. Second PRBS checker;

[0021] 4. Motor; 41. Output shaft; 42. Flange; 43. Bracket;

[0022] 5. Disc slip ring; 51. Fixed disc; 52. Rotating disc; 53. Metal ring; 54. Metal shrapnel;

[0023] 6. Antenna board to be tested; 61. First PRBS checker; 62. Second PRBS generator;

[0024] 71. MCU; 72. Host computer;

[0025] 8. Bit error meter;

[0026] 9. Vector network analyzer;

[0027] 10. Millimeter wave signal measurement unit; 20. Millimeter wave signal unit to be measured. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The purpose, features and advantages of the present invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings and in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0029] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field based on the embodiments of the present invention without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that if the embodiments of the present invention involve directional indications such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc., then the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the various components under a certain specific posture as shown in the accompanying drawings. If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0031] In addition, if the embodiments of the present invention include descriptions of "first," "second," etc., such descriptions are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, features specified as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features.

[0032] In addition, if the word "and / or" appears throughout the text, it means that three parallel solutions are included. For example, "and / or" includes solutions, or solutions, or solutions that are satisfied simultaneously. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but this must be based on the fact that a person of ordinary skill in the art can implement them. If the combination of technical solutions is mutually contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0033] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, terms such as "mounted," "connected," "connect," and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integration; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal connections between two components or interactions between two components. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meanings of these terms in this application based on specific circumstances.

[0034] Example 1

[0035] Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 , Embodiment 1 of the present invention is: a circularly polarized antenna testing device, comprising a three-axis moving mechanism 1, a motor 4 and a disc slip ring 5, wherein the three-axis moving mechanism 1 comprises a Y-axis moving pair 11, a Z-axis moving pair 12 and an X-axis moving pair 13 connected in sequence, an X-axis slider 131 in the X-axis moving pair 13 is rotatably provided with a rotating fixed plate 2, and an antenna testing board 3 for mounting a millimeter wave signal measuring unit 10 is provided on the rotating fixed plate 2, and the millimeter wave signal measuring unit 10 can be a circularly polarized transceiver antenna, a circularly polarized horn antenna, etc.; the rotating fixed plate 2 is rotatable around the Y axis, and the rotating fixed plate 2 can rotate around the Y axis by a certain angle to determine the antenna The angle range of normal communication; the motor 4 is located below the X-axis moving pair 13; the disc slip ring 5 includes a fixed disc 51 and a rotating disc 52 that are connected to each other, and electrical energy and signals are transmitted between the fixed disc 51 and the rotating disc 52. The fixed disc 51 is fixed relative to the motor 4, and the output shaft 41 of the motor 4 passes through the fixed disc 51 to connect to the rotating disc 52 to drive the rotating disc 52 to rotate. The rotating disc 52 is provided with an antenna plate 6 to be tested that is connected to the disc slip ring 5. The antenna plate 6 to be tested is used to install the millimeter wave signal unit 20 to be tested. The millimeter wave signal unit 20 to be tested can be a near-field circularly polarized antenna, a packaged integrated antenna (AiP chip), etc. The antenna plate 6 to be tested is welded or plugged into the rotating disc 52 to achieve signal and electrical energy transmission. Preferably, the antenna plate 6 to be tested is welded or plugged into the rotating disc 52 to facilitate subsequent maintenance and replacement of the antenna plate 6 to be tested.

[0036] The motor 4 can be controlled in speed or rotated at a fixed angle by an external control panel, thereby simulating the application scenario of a circularly polarized antenna. By controlling the motor 4 to rotate at different angles, the antenna field pattern can be measured in combination with a circularly polarized horn antenna and a vector network analyzer 9.

[0037] The circularly polarized antenna test device also includes an MCU 71 (microcontroller) and a host computer 72. The host computer 72 is electrically connected to the MCU 71, which is electrically connected to the fixed disk 51, the antenna test board 3, and the motor 4. The host computer 72 can be a computer, etc. The MCU 71 controls the circularly polarized antenna test and reads back the test results through control interfaces on the fixed disk 51 and the antenna test board 3.

[0038] In one or more embodiments, the three-axis movement mechanism 1 further includes a Y-axis linear drive, a Z-axis linear drive, and an X-axis linear drive. The Y-axis linear drive is connected to the Y-axis slider to drive the Y-axis slider to drive the Z-axis moving pair 12 to move along the Y-axis. The Z-axis linear drive is connected to the Z-axis slider to drive the Z-axis slider to drive the X-axis moving pair 13 to move along the Z-axis. The X-axis linear drive is connected to the X-axis slider 131 to drive the X-axis slider 131 to move along the X-axis. The Y-axis linear drive, the Z-axis linear drive, and the X-axis linear drive are electrically connected to the MCU 71, respectively. The Y-axis linear drive, the Z-axis linear drive, and the X-axis linear drive are controlled by the MCU 71, thereby enabling fully automatic measurement of the parameters of the millimeter wave signal unit under test 20.

[0039] Specifically, the top surface of the fixed disk 51 has multiple coaxially arranged metal rings 53, and the bottom surface of the rotating disk 52 has a metal spring 54 that contacts and conducts with the metal rings 53. The fixed disk 51 has a power supply interface and a control signal interface. The signal received by the fixed disk 51 is transmitted to the rotating disk 52 through the metal spring 54, and then transmitted to the antenna board 6 under test by the rotating disk 52.

[0040] To ensure reliable transmission of signals and electrical energy between the fixed disk 51 and the rotating disk 52 and to extend the service life of a single metal dome 54, at least one metal ring 53 corresponds to a plurality of mating metal domes 54. Preferably, each metal ring 53 corresponds to a plurality of mating metal domes 54. In some embodiments, each metal ring 53 has two mating metal domes 54, and the two metal domes 54 are located on either side of the output shaft 41 of the motor 4 and spaced 180 degrees apart.

[0041] To ensure greater stability in the electrical connection between the fixed plate 51 and the rotating plate 52, in this embodiment, the fixed plate 51 is fixed to the housing of the motor 4, and the rotating plate 52 is provided with a flange 42 fixedly connected to the output shaft 41 of the motor 4. This ensures a constant distance between the fixed plate 51 and the rotating plate 52, thereby maintaining the metal spring 54 in a compressed state. Specifically, the fixed plate 51 is fixed to the housing of the motor 4 via a bracket 43.

[0042] Next, the circular polarization antenna test device is introduced from the perspective of testing the bit error rate of the circular polarization antenna.

[0043] In this embodiment, the circularly polarized antenna testing device further includes a bit error meter 8 , and the bit error meter 8 is electrically connected to the fixing plate 51 and the antenna testing board 3 , respectively.

[0044] The circularly polarized antenna to be tested / AiP chip to be tested (i.e., the millimeter wave signal unit to be tested 20) is installed on the antenna board to be tested 6;

[0045] The corresponding circularly polarized transceiver antenna (millimeter wave signal measurement unit 10) is installed on the antenna test board 3, and combined with the bit error meter 8, the BERT test of the circularly polarized antenna to be tested / the AiP chip to be tested can be realized. At this time, the motor 4 can rotate according to the application conditions (such as acceleration and deceleration, intermittent start and stop, forward and reverse rotation, etc.), and the bit error meter 8 can monitor the bit error rate during the entire rotation process.

[0046] In addition, in actual applications, the AiP chip to be tested cannot be guaranteed to be completely horizontal during the installation process. Therefore, the AiP chip manufacturer needs to determine the maximum horizontal installation angle parameter of the AiP chip to ensure zero-error transmission. By adjusting the rotation angle of the rotating fixing plate 2 and combining it with the bit error meter 8, the maximum horizontal installation angle parameter can be measured.

[0047] When using an external bit error meter 8 for BERT testing, the disc slip ring 5 may limit the BERT test rate. Therefore, in some embodiments, the antenna test board 3 is provided with a first PRBS generator 31 and a second PRBS verifier 32, and the antenna board to be tested 6 is provided with a first PRBS verifier 61 that cooperates with the first PRBS generator 31 and a second PRBS generator 62 that cooperates with the second PRBS verifier 32. The integration of the first PRBS generator 31 and the second PRBS verifier 32 on the antenna test board 3 and the integration of the first PRBS verifier 61 and the second PRBS generator 62 on the antenna board to be tested can effectively solve the problem of the disc slip ring 5 limiting the test rate. In this case, the disc slip ring 5 is only used for the transmission of power and control signals.

[0048] Example 2

[0049] Please refer to Figure 1-4 and Figure 7 The difference between the second embodiment of the present invention and the first embodiment lies in the different application scenarios. Specifically, the circularly polarized antenna testing device of this embodiment is used to test the radio frequency parameters and field pattern of the circularly polarized antenna.

[0050] In this embodiment, the circularly polarized antenna testing device further includes a vector network analyzer 9 , which is electrically connected to the antenna board to be tested 6 and the antenna testing board 3 , respectively.

[0051] The circularly polarized antenna to be tested / AiP chip to be tested (i.e., the millimeter wave signal unit to be tested 20) is installed on the antenna board to be tested 6;

[0052] A circularly polarized horn antenna (millimeter wave signal measurement unit 10) is installed on the antenna test board 3. In combination with a vector network analyzer 9, the antenna RF parameters and antenna field pattern can be measured. At this time, the motor 4 will rotate according to the trigger signal and remain stationary until the relevant parameter measurements are completed. Then, the rotation angle of the motor 4 will be changed and the relevant measurements will be performed again.

[0053] When performing antenna field pattern testing, the rotating fixing plate 2 is rotated to different angles and used with a vector network analyzer 9 to test the radiation intensity of the antenna at different positions in the entire space, thereby determining whether the antenna field pattern meets the requirements.

[0054] The above are only optional embodiments of the present invention and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention. All equivalent structural transformations made by using the contents of the present invention description and drawings under the inventive concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A circularly polarized antenna test device, characterized in that: include A three-axis moving mechanism, comprising a Y-axis moving pair, a Z-axis moving pair, and an X-axis moving pair connected in sequence, wherein an X-axis slider in the X-axis moving pair is rotatably provided with a rotating fixed plate, the rotating fixed plate being rotatable about the Y-axis, and an antenna test board for mounting a millimeter wave signal measurement unit is provided on the rotating fixed plate; A motor, wherein the motor is located below the X-axis moving pair; A disc slip ring includes a fixed disc and a rotating disc that are conductive with each other. The fixed disc is fixed relative to the motor. The output shaft of the motor passes through the fixed disc and is connected to the rotating disc. The rotating disc is provided with an antenna plate to be tested that is conductive with the disc slip ring. The antenna plate to be tested is used to install a millimeter wave signal unit to be tested.

2. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: The top surface of the fixed disk is provided with a plurality of coaxially arranged metal rings, and the bottom surface of the rotating disk is provided with metal springs in contact with and conductive with the metal rings.

3. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 2, wherein: At least one of the metal rings corresponds to a plurality of metal springs matched therewith.

4. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes an MCU, which is electrically connected to the fixing plate, the antenna test board and the motor respectively.

5. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 4, wherein: It also includes a host computer, which is electrically connected to the MCU.

6. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a bit error meter, which is electrically connected to the fixing plate and the antenna test board respectively.

7. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna test board is provided with a first PRBS generator and a second PRBS verifier, and the antenna board to be tested is provided with a first PRBS verifier cooperating with the first PRBS generator and a second PRBS generator cooperating with the second PRBS verifier.

8. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a vector network analyzer, which is electrically connected to the antenna board to be tested and the antenna test board respectively.

9. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: The antenna plate to be tested is connected to the turntable by welding or plugging.

10. The circularly polarized antenna testing device according to claim 1, wherein: The fixing plate is fixed on the housing of the motor.

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