Automatic calibration method, system and electronic device for time-frequency instrument equipment frequency characteristics

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of automation calibration, and provides a kind of time frequency instrument equipment frequency characteristic automatic calibration method, system and electronic equipment, comprising: calling preset instruction library generates calibration control program;Calibration control program is executed, to control the equipment to be calibrated and standard equipment enter synchronous calibration process, synchronous calibration process includes overall optimization to multiple calibration items, and in the same time period, control the equipment to be calibrated to the standard signal output by standard equipment continuously measure, to obtain the measurement data set for the multiple calibration items after optimization;Measurement data set is identified using a predetermined statistical criterion, and automatically generates calibration results according to the identification results.The present application realizes the efficient parallel of calibration operation and the objective standardization of data interpretation by automatic process construction, multiple calibration items synchronous measurement and automatic identification and intelligent processing of abnormal data based on statistical criteria, and has high calibration efficiency, low labor cost and accurate and reliable results.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automated calibration technology, and in particular to an automatic calibration method, system and electronic device for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments. Background Technology

[0002] Time and frequency instruments and equipment (such as electronic counters and atomic frequency standards) are key equipment in fields such as communication, navigation and precision measurement and control. Regularly calibrating their frequency characteristics is the foundation for ensuring the reliable operation of the system.

[0003] Currently, the frequency characteristic calibration of such equipment mainly faces the following problems: On the one hand, existing calibration operations are mostly performed sequentially according to the order of the specifications. Due to the significant differences in the calibration items of such instruments, some items (such as power-on characteristics and frequency stability) require extremely long continuous monitoring. However, the conventional serial calibration mode cannot coordinate long-duration and short-duration items, resulting in the standard device and the device being calibrated being occupied by a single task for a long time. The overall calibration cycle is too long and cannot meet the rapid calibration needs of a large number of devices.

[0004] On the other hand, in the data processing stage, existing technologies usually rely on metrologists to make subjective judgments and eliminate outliers that occur occasionally during the measurement process. This lacks an objective and consistent automatic discrimination mechanism, which can easily introduce human error and affect the accuracy and consistency of calibration results. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This invention provides an automatic calibration method, system, and electronic device for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments, which addresses the shortcomings of low calibration efficiency, long calibration time, and reliance on manual data processing in related technologies. This invention aims to achieve a high degree of automation in the calibration process, synchronization of calibration items, and intelligent data processing.

[0006] This invention provides an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments, comprising: Based on the user's configuration operations, a preset instruction library is called to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated; The calibration control program is executed to control the device under calibration and the associated standard device to enter a synchronous calibration process. The synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items. Statistical analysis is performed on the measurement dataset. During the analysis, outliers are identified in the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria. Based on the identification results, calibration results for the calibrated device are automatically generated.

[0007] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time-frequency instrument includes optimizing multiple calibration items and controlling the device being calibrated to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items. The calibration items of the device under calibration are divided into long-term monitoring items and rapid testing items; The standard device is controlled to output a standard signal, and the device being calibrated is controlled to continuously measure the standard signal to obtain a long-term measurement dataset. The long-term measurement dataset is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, signal measurement tasks for the rapid test items are interspersed to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test items.

[0008] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time-frequency instrument is provided, wherein the device being calibrated is a frequency counter, and the method for controlling the device being calibrated to continuously measure a standard signal to obtain a long-term measurement dataset includes: The frequency counter is controlled to continuously measure the frequency of the standard signal to obtain frequency measurement data. The same set of continuous frequency measurement data is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. The long-term monitoring items include at least two of the following: power-on characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, frequency stability, relative frequency deviation, and frequency reproducibility. The step of intermittently executing signal measurement tasks for the rapid test item during the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item includes: During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, the standard device is controlled to switch the output signal state, and the device being calibrated is controlled to measure the signal output by the standard device to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item. The rapid test item includes at least one of frequency measurement error, frequency measurement range, and input sensitivity.

[0009] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time and frequency instrument is provided, wherein the instrument being calibrated is an atomic frequency standard, and the synchronous calibration process specifically includes: The frequency signal and second pulse signal output by the atomic frequency standard are simultaneously acquired through a unified data acquisition channel; The frequency characteristic index is calculated based on the acquired frequency signal, and the pulse characteristic index is calculated simultaneously based on the acquired second pulse signal. The frequency characteristic indicators include at least one of frequency signal amplitude, relative frequency deviation, frequency stability and daily frequency drift rate, and the pulse characteristic indicators include at least one of second pulse amplitude, second pulse width and second pulse rise time.

[0010] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time-frequency instrument is provided, wherein the outlier identification of the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria includes: Calculate the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the measurement dataset; Based on the arithmetic mean and the standard deviation, suspicious data in the measurement dataset are identified, and the statistical discriminant value of the suspicious data is calculated by applying the Grubbs criterion or the Laida criterion. The statistical discriminant value is compared with a threshold value at a preset significance level. If the statistical discriminant value exceeds the threshold value, the suspicious data is determined to be an outlier.

[0011] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time and frequency instrument is provided, wherein the automatic generation of calibration results for the instrument under calibration based on the identification result includes: The identified outliers are recorded in the calibration log and removed from the measurement dataset; The calibration result is recalculated based on the remaining valid data after removing the outliers.

[0012] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time and frequency instrument is provided, wherein the automatic generation of calibration results for the instrument under calibration based on the identification results further includes, prior to: After identifying the abnormal value, it is determined whether the cumulative number of measurements for the current calibration item has reached a preset threshold. If the preset threshold is not reached, a retest operation is automatically triggered for the calibration point that generated the abnormal value in order to update the measurement dataset.

[0013] According to the present invention, an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments is provided, wherein the step of generating a calibration control program for the device being calibrated by calling a preset instruction library based on user configuration operations includes: Based on the user's configuration operations, the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration items are determined; Based on the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration item, the corresponding programmable instruction is matched from the instruction library; Based on the program control instructions, a complete sequence of instructions covering device initialization, parameter configuration, signal channel switching, data acquisition, and device shutdown is generated, and the complete sequence of instructions is used as the calibration control program.

[0014] The present invention also provides an automatic calibration system for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment, comprising: The program generation module is used to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated by calling a preset instruction library based on the user's configuration operations. The synchronous calibration module is used to execute the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and the associated standard device to enter the synchronous calibration process. The synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items. The result generation module is used to perform statistical analysis on the measurement dataset. During the analysis, it uses preset statistical criteria to identify outliers in the measurement dataset and automatically generates calibration results for the calibrated device based on the identification results.

[0015] The present invention also provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and running on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time and frequency instrument as described above.

[0016] The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments as described above.

[0017] The present invention also provides a computer program product, including a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments as described above.

[0018] The present invention provides an automatic calibration method, system, and electronic device for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments. Firstly, by calling a pre-set instruction library in response to user configuration to generate a calibration control program, it achieves rapid deployment and automated execution of calibration tasks, effectively reducing the complexity and error rate of manual operation. Secondly, the present invention overcomes the limitations of traditional serial calibration by utilizing a comprehensively optimized synchronous calibration mechanism. This mechanism enables the acquisition of measurement datasets reused for multiple calibration items within the same time period through continuous measurement, avoiding redundant measurements while ensuring test coverage. This significantly improves the utilization rate of standard and calibrated equipment and drastically shortens the overall calibration cycle. Furthermore, by combining preset statistical criteria to automatically analyze and identify outliers in the measurement dataset, it eliminates the subjectivity of relying on manual experience to remove gross errors, ensuring the standardization and consistency of outlier data processing. This guarantees that the final automatically generated calibration results have high objectivity, accuracy, and reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or related technologies, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments provided by the present invention. Figure 2 This is a timing diagram illustrating the synchronous calibration of multiple calibration items of the counter provided by the present invention; Figure 3 This is a timing diagram of the synchronous calibration of multiple calibration items of the atomic clock provided by the present invention; Figure 4 This is a flowchart of anomaly data processing based on Grubbs' criterion provided by the present invention; Figure 5 This is the overall flowchart of the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment based on data processing and analysis provided by the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the automatic calibration system for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments provided by the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic device provided by the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0022] Time and frequency instruments (such as electronic counters and atomic frequency standards) are primarily used for the generation, maintenance, and measurement of time and frequency signals. They are core system-level equipment in modern communications, satellite navigation, power dispatching, aerospace, and precision measurement and control. Their performance indicators (such as frequency stability) directly determine the synchronization, stability, and reliability of related systems such as navigation and positioning, precision measurement and control, and information communication. Therefore, regularly calibrating these instruments to ensure accurate and reliable measurements is of paramount importance.

[0023] Currently, the calibration of the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments mainly involves the following implementation methods and related problems: First, traditional calibration methods rely primarily on manual operation. Metrology personnel need to manually connect the instrument, set parameters, read data, and record it. This method is not only inefficient due to its cumbersome process, but also prone to introducing human error in readings or recording due to the repetitive nature of the operations, making it difficult to guarantee the consistency of calibration data.

[0024] Secondly, with the development of technology, although some automated calibration software has emerged, most of them only realize basic instrument programming and data acquisition functions. The calibration process generally adopts serial execution logic, and various calibration indicators are usually performed sequentially. However, some indicators of time and frequency instruments (such as power-on characteristics and frequency stability) require long-term monitoring. The serial calibration method results in a very long total calibration time, which cannot meet the rapid calibration needs of a large number of instruments.

[0025] Furthermore, existing technologies lack objective and intelligent automated mechanisms for handling outliers and interpreting results in measurement data. In actual measurement processes, occasional outliers (gross errors) are inevitable due to environmental interference or transient equipment fluctuations. Currently, these outliers typically rely on metrologists' personal experience to observe, judge, and eliminate data, lacking objective and consistent automated criteria, which easily leads to subjective misjudgments or omissions.

[0026] To address this, the present invention provides an automated calibration method that can comprehensively optimize the calibration process, perform multiple tests simultaneously, and intelligently identify and handle data anomalies. This significantly improves the efficiency and intelligence level of frequency characteristic calibration for time and frequency instruments, thereby overcoming the aforementioned deficiencies. It should be noted that all actions involving the acquisition of signals, information, or data in this invention are performed in accordance with the relevant data protection laws and regulations of the country where the invention is located, and with authorization from the owner of the corresponding device.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 1 As shown, the method includes: Step S10: Based on the user's configuration operation, call the preset instruction library to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated.

[0028] It should be noted that the method provided in this embodiment of the invention can be executed by a computer, industrial control computer, or main control unit integrated into an automatic testing system that has automatic calibration software installed. This execution entity establishes a communication connection with the device being calibrated (such as a frequency counter, atomic clock, etc.) and standard equipment (such as a standard frequency source, reference frequency standard, etc.) through a communication interface, thereby realizing programmable interaction, data acquisition, and analysis processing of the hardware devices.

[0029] Specifically, the calibration process begins with the construction of the software environment and the generation of tasks. Because there are many types of instruments and equipment in the time and frequency domain, such as frequency counters, rubidium atomic clocks, and cesium atomic clocks from different brands, the underlying communication protocols and instruction sets followed by different devices often differ. To address this issue, this embodiment of the invention introduces a pre-built instruction library.

[0030] Here, the pre-set instruction library refers to a set of control instructions for various types of time and frequency instruments and devices that are pre-stored in the system memory. These instructions cover a complete set of operation commands from device reset, parameter setting (such as coupling mode, impedance, gate time), data reading to device shutdown.

[0031] In practice, users configure the system through a human-machine interface. These operations include, but are not limited to, selecting the model of the device to be calibrated (e.g., an Agilent 53132A counter), selecting the required calibration standard equipment, and checking specific calibration items (e.g., frequency stability, daily frequency fluctuation). Upon receiving these configuration parameters, the system automatically searches and matches them in the instruction library, encapsulates and sorts the discrete instructions for that specific device model according to calibration logic, and automatically generates an executable calibration control program covering the entire process. This process transforms the process from manually searching for instructions and writing code to automated generation, allowing even metrology personnel unfamiliar with low-level programming to easily create calibration tasks.

[0032] Step S20: Execute the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and the associated standard device to enter a synchronous calibration process. The synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items.

[0033] It should be noted that traditional calibration often involves testing one item at a time before moving on to the next, resulting in lengthy calibration times. To address this, this invention proposes a synchronous calibration process, which involves using software algorithms to optimize the testing sequence and data requirements of multiple calibration items, thereby saving significant time and improving calibration efficiency.

[0034] Specifically, many calibration parameters of the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments (such as power-on characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, frequency stability, relative frequency deviation, frequency reproducibility, etc.) have different physical meanings, but they are all essentially based on statistical data of frequency signal changes over time. Therefore, this step uses a control program to control the device being calibrated to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device (e.g., a 10MHz standard reference signal) within the same time period.

[0035] Continuous measurement here means that the device being calibrated (such as a counter) continuously collects measurement data over a long period of time (e.g., 24 hours or longer) or at an extremely high sampling frequency, forming a measurement dataset containing rich temporal information. This dataset is a set of raw frequency time series. In this way, the data acquired in a long-cycle measurement process can be reused in the calculation of multiple different calibration items, thus avoiding the need to start a separate long-cycle measurement for each calibration item, greatly improving calibration efficiency. For example, the same set of continuous frequency data can be used to calculate frequency stability at the second or ten-second level, to obtain relative frequency deviation by calculating the overall average, and to derive daily frequency fluctuations by analyzing its trend over time.

[0036] Step S30: Perform statistical analysis on the measurement dataset. During the analysis, use preset statistical criteria to identify outliers in the measurement dataset and automatically generate calibration results for the calibrated device based on the identification results.

[0037] Specifically, after obtaining the raw measurement dataset, it needs to be post-processed to obtain the final metrological conclusions. Due to electromagnetic interference, transient equipment fluctuations, or transmission errors, the raw dataset may contain outliers (i.e., gross errors) that do not conform to the true physical characteristics. Directly using this data will lead to distorted calibration results.

[0038] Therefore, this step introduces preset statistical criteria during statistical analysis. These criteria can specifically include the Grubbs criterion or the Raida (3σ) criterion. The system automatically calculates the mean and standard deviation of each data point in the dataset and, based on the selected criteria, calculates statistical discriminant quantities (such as Z-scores or G-values).

[0039] During outlier identification, the system compares the calculated discriminant with a critical value at a preset confidence level (e.g., α=0.05). If the discriminant exceeds the critical value, the data point is identified as an outlier (gross error). Based on the identification result, the system automatically executes corresponding processing strategies, such as removing the outlier and recalculating using the remaining valid data, or triggering an alarm or retest mechanism when the proportion of outliers is too high. Finally, based on the cleaned and verified valid data, the system calculates the final values ​​of each calibration item and determines whether they are qualified according to the calibration specifications, thereby automatically generating the calibration result.

[0040] The method provided in this invention firstly generates a calibration control program by calling a preset instruction library in response to user configuration, thereby achieving rapid deployment and automated execution of calibration tasks and effectively reducing the complexity and error rate of manual operations. Secondly, this invention overcomes the limitations of traditional serial calibration by utilizing a coordinated and optimized synchronous calibration mechanism. It can continuously measure and obtain measurement datasets reusable for multiple calibration items within the same time period, avoiding repeated measurements while ensuring test coverage. This significantly improves the utilization rate of standard equipment and the equipment being calibrated and greatly shortens the total calibration cycle. Furthermore, by combining preset statistical criteria to automatically analyze and identify outliers in the measurement dataset, it eliminates the subjectivity of relying on manual experience to remove gross errors, ensuring the standardization and consistency of outlier data processing. This guarantees that the final automatically generated calibration results have high objectivity, accuracy, and reliability.

[0041] Based on any of the above embodiments, in practical applications, although instruments from different manufacturers mostly follow the SCPI (Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments) standard, there are still differences in specific command formats and parameter definitions. To shield these underlying differences, this embodiment of the invention employs the following steps to automatically generate a calibration control program. Specifically, step S10 includes: Step S11: Based on the user's configuration operation, determine the model of the device to be calibrated and the selected calibration item; Step S12: Match the corresponding programmable instruction from the instruction library according to the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration item; Step S13: Based on the programmable instructions, generate a full-process instruction sequence covering device initialization, parameter configuration, signal channel switching, data acquisition, and device shutdown, and use the full-process instruction sequence as the calibration control program.

[0042] Specifically, the calibration software provides a graphical user interface, allowing users to select the specific device model to be calibrated (e.g., Agilent 53132A) from the device selection list on the interface, and check the tasks to be performed in the calibration item list (e.g., frequency stability, daily frequency fluctuation, etc.). The system receives this input information as the basis for the index generated by the program.

[0043] The system maintains a pre-built instruction library, which maps and stores the underlying driver instructions for various devices using the device model as the key. Based on the device model selected by the user, the system locates the instruction set for that specific device in the instruction library; simultaneously, based on the selected calibration item, it extracts the specific function instructions required to implement that function.

[0044] After matching the corresponding instructions, the system needs to assemble and arrange these instructions according to strict time logic to generate a complete instruction sequence. This sequence typically includes logic segments such as device initialization, parameter configuration, signal channel switching, data acquisition, and device shutdown. Specifically, the device initialization logic segment inserts reset instructions (such as RST) and status register clearing instructions (such as CLS) to ensure the device starts from a known and clean state. The parameter configuration logic segment inserts the measurement parameter setting instructions matched in step S12, as well as instructions for configuring the trigger mode. If the system includes programmable switches or multiplexers, the signal channel switching logic segment inserts corresponding channel closing / opening instructions to ensure the standard signal is correctly routed to the device being calibrated. The data acquisition logic segment inserts a loop instruction structure for starting measurement, querying data, etc. The device shutdown logic segment inserts instructions for restoring local control or disconnecting the connection to ensure the device is safely released after the test. This logically arranged set of ordered instructions constitutes the final calibration control program.

[0045] The method provided in this invention automates the generation of calibration programs. Users do not need to consult complex instrument programming manuals or possess programming skills; they can generate professional calibration control programs simply by selecting menu options. This not only significantly lowers the technical threshold for operators but also ensures that the generated control logic strictly conforms to instrument operating specifications, avoiding problems such as instruction conflicts or initialization omissions that may occur during manual programming.

[0046] Based on the above embodiments, in step S20, the overall optimization of multiple calibration items and the control of the calibrated device to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items include: Step S21: Divide the multiple calibration items of the device under calibration into long-term monitoring items and rapid testing items.

[0047] Specifically, at the initial stage of the automatic calibration procedure, the system first performs attribute analysis on all calibration items selected by the user. Among these, long-term monitoring items refer to indicators that must rely on time evolution data for calculation; their physical essence is examining the characteristics of the frequency source of the calibrated equipment changing over time. These items typically require maintaining a constant test environment and input signal, and performing continuous sampling over a long period. Examples include frequency stability assessed by monitoring frequency changes over a long period, or daily frequency fluctuations examining the aging characteristics of the equipment.

[0048] Rapid test items refer to indicators that do not require long-term data accumulation and can obtain results through a single or few measurements, or indicators that require changing the input signal state (such as changing the frequency point or amplitude) to verify the device's response capability. For example, input sensitivity to verify whether the device works normally at different frequencies, or frequency measurement error to verify the device's measurement accuracy.

[0049] The system automatically categorizes the calibration items selected by the user into the two categories mentioned above based on the preset classification rules, and constructs a calibration task queue accordingly.

[0050] Step S22: Control the standard device to output a standard signal and control the calibrated device to continuously measure the standard signal to obtain a long-term measurement dataset. The long-term measurement dataset is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel.

[0051] Specifically, the system first controls the associated standard equipment (such as a high-precision atomic frequency standard source) to output a long-term stable standard signal, which is usually the nominal reference frequency of the device being calibrated, such as 10MHz. Subsequently, the system controls the device being calibrated to enter continuous measurement mode.

[0052] During this process, the software continuously reads the measured values ​​of the device being calibrated according to a set sampling rate (e.g., once per second) using multi-threading or timer mechanisms. These continuously collected data points constitute a long-term measurement dataset.

[0053] Understandably, in traditional calibration methods, one hour of data is typically collected to calculate startup characteristics, the data is cleared after the test, and then 24 hours of data are collected again to calculate daily frequency fluctuations. However, in this embodiment of the invention, the system reuses the same long-term measurement dataset. For example, a segment of data is extracted from this dataset to analyze startup characteristics, while the full-length data is used to calculate daily frequency fluctuations, and the sliding window data is used to calculate frequency stability. This data processing method, which reuses data from multiple locations in a single measurement, avoids repeated data collection and greatly improves calibration efficiency.

[0054] Step S23: During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, signal measurement tasks for the rapid test items are interspersed to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test items.

[0055] Specifically, in order to further reduce the total calibration time, this step utilizes the gaps in the long-term monitoring process or uses multi-threaded control methods in software to achieve concurrent or interleaved processing of tasks.

[0056] Understandably, the gap in continuous measurement refers to the time window during which long-term monitoring items do not require absolutely continuous sampling, or the transition period between different long-term monitoring stages. Interleaved execution, on the other hand, refers to the system controlling the standard device to rapidly switch its output state while maintaining the long-term measurement task. For example, temporarily switching the output signal from a 10MHz standard signal to test signals of different frequencies (e.g., 1MHz, 100MHz) or different amplitudes (e.g., 0.1V, 0.5V), and controlling the calibrated device to quickly complete the measurement of these changed signals, thereby obtaining the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test items.

[0057] This invention addresses the problem of excessively long processing times caused by serial testing in traditional calibration methods by dividing calibration items into long-term monitoring items and rapid testing items, and employing a strategy of parallel computing and interleaved execution. Particularly for time-frequency source devices that require long-term testing, this method can complete rapid item testing during the intervals of long-term testing or using parallel threads without sacrificing test integrity. Furthermore, it enables a single set of data to simultaneously serve the calculation of multiple long-term indicators, thereby improving overall calibration efficiency by more than 50% and significantly enhancing the throughput of the calibration system.

[0058] Based on any of the above embodiments, the device being calibrated is a frequency counter, and step S22 specifically includes: The frequency counter is controlled to continuously measure the frequency of the standard signal to obtain frequency measurement data. The same set of continuous frequency measurement data is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. The long-term monitoring items include at least two of the following: power-on characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, frequency stability, relative frequency deviation, and frequency reproducibility. Step S23 specifically includes: During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, the standard device is controlled to switch the output signal state, and the device being calibrated is controlled to measure the signal output by the standard device to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item. The rapid test item includes at least one of frequency measurement error, frequency measurement range, and input sensitivity.

[0059] Specifically, the embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of a frequency counter (e.g., a general electronic counter) being calibrated. Figure 2 This is a timing diagram of the synchronous calibration of multiple calibration items of the counter provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 2 As shown, for the counter being calibrated, the items that require long-term monitoring, such as its power-on characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, 1-second frequency stability, relative frequency deviation, and frequency reproducibility, as well as items that can be quickly tested, such as frequency measurement error, frequency measurement range, and input sensitivity, are decomposed and synchronously scheduled. Data is collected in parallel in a comprehensive test process, thereby significantly shortening the total calibration time.

[0060] Specifically, after the system enters the long-term monitoring phase, the calibration control program controls the calibrated counter to enter continuous measurement mode. At this time, the input of the calibrated counter is connected to a standard reference frequency standard (typically a 10MHz standard signal). According to a preset sampling strategy (e.g., setting the gate time to 1 second for continuous sampling), the system controls the calibrated counter to continuously measure the frequency of this standard signal, thereby obtaining a set of frequency measurement data streams containing timestamps. This continuous data stream will be simultaneously invoked by multiple parallel algorithm modules in the system's background to calculate different calibration parameters.

[0061] For example, regarding startup characteristics, the system can extract data from the initial stage of the data stream (such as the first hour or several hours after startup) and analyze the frequency change curve with warm-up time to determine whether the startup characteristics are qualified. For frequency stability, the system can use the data stream to calculate Allan variance or other statistical methods to obtain frequency stability indicators for time intervals of 1 second, 10 seconds, or longer. For relative frequency deviation, the system calculates the arithmetic mean of the data stream (or its stable segments) and compares this mean with the nominal frequency (10MHz) to calculate the relative frequency deviation. For daily frequency fluctuations, if the data stream duration covers 24 hours, the system directly analyzes the difference or trend between the maximum and minimum values ​​in the data stream to obtain a daily frequency fluctuation indicator. For frequency reproducibility, such as... Figure 2 As shown in the frequency reproducibility branch, the system combines the device's power-on and power-off operations and calculates the reproducibility index by comparing frequency measurement data under the same environment at different power-on cycles (e.g., two power-ons with a 24-hour interval).

[0062] Through the above methods, the embodiments of the present invention discard the following: Figure 2 Instead of sequential logic that executes each column individually, it will... Figure 2 The data acquisition tasks required for the five branches on the left side (power-on characteristics, stability, deviation, reproducibility, and fluctuation) are merged into a unified continuous measurement process, realizing one-time data acquisition, multi-directional distribution, and parallel computing.

[0063] for Figure 2The rapid test items shown on the right, such as frequency measurement error, frequency measurement range, and input sensitivity, are executed by the system intermittently during long-term monitoring intervals or through multi-threaded control. In practice, the system first determines the frequency point to be measured and its nominal value (e.g., ...). Figure 2 The system determines whether the nominal value is greater than 10MHz, and then selects a high-frequency signal source or function generator as the standard device.

[0064] Specifically, regarding frequency measurement error and measurement range, the system controls the standard equipment to switch the output signal state, i.e., rapidly change the frequency of the output signal. At each frequency point, the system controls the counter being calibrated to perform a measurement, compares the measured value with the set value of the standard source, thereby obtaining frequency measurement error data and verifying its measurement range.

[0065] For input sensitivity, this is a process of finding a critical value. The system controls standard equipment to output a signal at a specific frequency and gradually adjusts the output amplitude (i.e., the level value). For example... Figure 2 As shown in the flowchart, the system automatically finds the minimum input level that the counter being calibrated can count normally by modifying the output level value of the standard device and judging whether it is within the allowable range of frequency error in the loop logic, and uses this level value as the calibration result of the input sensitivity.

[0066] This invention, based on the characteristics of a frequency counter, transforms the original... Figure 2 The five seemingly independent long-term test items in the logic are merged into a single data stream processing procedure, while error and sensitivity tests that require frequent changes in the signal source state are executed as independent modules interspersed throughout. This testing strategy ensures the consistency of long-term indicator statistical samples and automates and simplifies the full parameter calibration of the counter.

[0067] Based on any of the above embodiments, the device being calibrated is an atomic frequency standard, and the synchronous calibration process specifically includes: The frequency signal and second pulse signal output by the atomic frequency standard are simultaneously acquired through a unified data acquisition channel; The frequency characteristic index is calculated based on the acquired frequency signal, and the pulse characteristic index is calculated simultaneously based on the acquired second pulse signal. The frequency characteristic indicators include at least one of frequency signal amplitude, relative frequency deviation, frequency stability and daily frequency drift rate, and the pulse characteristic indicators include at least one of second pulse amplitude, second pulse width and second pulse rise time.

[0068] Specifically, the embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of a scenario where the device being calibrated is an atomic frequency standard (such as a rubidium clock, a cesium clock, etc.). Figure 3 This is a timing diagram of the synchronous calibration of multiple calibration items of the atomic clock provided by the present invention, as shown in the figure. Figure 3As shown, for the atomic clock being calibrated, the test tasks for its frequency signal amplitude, relative frequency deviation, frequency stability, daily frequency drift rate, second pulse amplitude and width, and second pulse rise time are integrated and synchronous automatic calibration is achieved through a unified timing control and data acquisition channel.

[0069] Specifically, considering the characteristic that atomic frequency standards typically output both sinusoidal frequency signals and pulse signals simultaneously, the synchronous calibration process is as follows: First, before calibration begins, the system prompts the user to make the correct connection (e.g., ...). Figure 3 (As shown). At this point, a unified physical and logical channel is established, connecting the frequency signal output of the atomic clock to be calibrated to both the oscilloscope channel and the general-purpose counter channel; simultaneously, connecting the second pulse signal (1PPS) output of the atomic clock to be calibrated to another channel of the oscilloscope. The software establishes communication connections with both the oscilloscope and the general-purpose counter simultaneously through programmable commands, forming a unified data acquisition channel.

[0070] Next, the system utilizes multi-threading technology to process oscilloscope tasks in parallel within the same time period. The system controls the oscilloscope to perform automatic setup or load preset configurations (such as...). Figure 3 The software configures the oscilloscope's channels and test modes to simultaneously capture waveform data of both the frequency signal and the second pulse signal. Based on the captured waveform data, the software algorithm performs a one-time analysis in the background. For example, it directly calculates the peak-to-peak value or RMS value from the sine wave waveform data to obtain the frequency signal amplitude; and simultaneously extracts the second pulse amplitude, second pulse width, and second pulse rise time from the 1PPS pulse waveform data. This process will... Figure 3 The three seemingly independent branches on the left (amplitude, width, and rise time) are integrated into a single oscilloscope acquisition task, avoiding repeated oscilloscope resets and multiple triggers.

[0071] At the same time, the system controls the general-purpose counter to operate in time interval measurement or phase comparison mode (such as...). Figure 3 The right-hand branch shows the phase time difference of the universal counter. The system controls the counter to continuously compare and measure the phase of the frequency signal output by the atomic clock being calibrated, using a high-precision reference frequency standard as a benchmark. This process acquires a continuous stream of phase difference data. The system uses this same data stream to calculate the following indicators in parallel: calculate the relative frequency deviation based on the rate of change (slope) of the phase difference over time; calculate the Allan variance using the phase difference data to evaluate the short-term and long-term stability of the frequency source and obtain the frequency stability; if the device being calibrated is a rubidium clock, the system will continuously collect phase data for a sufficient period of time (such as several days), or use the least squares method to fit the long-period relative frequency deviation data to calculate the daily frequency drift rate (aging rate).

[0072] This invention addresses the dual-output characteristics of atomic frequency standards by achieving synchronous acquisition of waveform and frequency indicators through a unified channel. This approach not only significantly reduces the time required for device connection and mode switching, but more importantly, it ensures that the corresponding characteristic indicators are derived from the device's performance under the same thermal equilibrium state, guaranteeing the spatiotemporal consistency of calibration data and the scientific validity of the results.

[0073] Based on any of the above embodiments, in step S30, the outlier identification of the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria includes: Step S31: Calculate the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the measurement dataset; Step S32: Based on the arithmetic mean and the standard deviation, identify suspicious data in the measurement dataset, and apply the Grubbs criterion or the Laida criterion to calculate the statistical discriminant value of the suspicious data; Step S33: Compare the statistical discriminant value with a critical value at a preset significance level. If the statistical discriminant value exceeds the critical value, then the suspicious data is determined to be an outlier.

[0074] It should be noted that after acquiring the measurement dataset, in order to ensure the objectivity and accuracy of the final calibration results, the system does not directly perform a simple averaging calculation on the raw data, but instead executes intelligent data processing logic.

[0075] Specifically, Figure 4 This is a flowchart of anomaly data processing based on Grubbs' criterion provided by the present invention, such as... Figure 4 As shown, once the system determines that the required number of measurements has been performed, it proceeds to the outlier detection stage for repeated measurements. The system first calculates the arithmetic mean of the measurement dataset (…). ) and standard deviation ( Subsequently, the system identifies suspicious data in the dataset, typically selecting the measurement point with the largest deviation from the mean (i.e., the largest residual).

[0076] To scientifically determine whether the suspicious data belongs to gross error, the system applies the preset Grubbs criterion (the 3σ criterion can also be selected). The system calculates the statistical discriminant value for the suspicious data according to a formula, such as the Grubbs statistic. ,in Indicates the first Data points.

[0077] Next, the system searches for a preset significance level (e.g., α=0.05) and a critical value for the current sample size (e.g., G(10,0.05)). The calculated statistical discriminant value is compared with the critical value. If the statistical discriminant value is greater than the critical value, the suspicious data is determined to be an outlier; otherwise, it is considered normal fluctuation.

[0078] Furthermore, after step S33, the method further includes: After identifying the abnormal value, it is determined whether the cumulative number of measurements for the current calibration item has reached a preset threshold. If the preset threshold is not reached, a retest operation is automatically triggered for the calibration point that generated the abnormal value in order to update the measurement dataset.

[0079] Specifically, once outliers are identified, the system does not simply discard them. Instead, to ensure sufficient sample size, it further determines whether additional testing is needed. For example... Figure 4 As shown, the system will check whether it is less than the number of retests, that is, determine whether the cumulative number of retests / retests for the current calibration item has reached the preset threshold.

[0080] If the threshold is not reached, the system automatically performs a data retest. That is, the system automatically controls the calibrated device to remeasure the calibration points that generated outliers; the number of retests is usually equal to the number of outliers. The new data obtained from the retests will update the measurement dataset, replacing or supplementing the original data, and the system will re-enter the outlier detection loop.

[0081] If the retest threshold has been reached, it means the equipment may be faulty or the environment is extremely unstable. To prevent the program from entering an infinite loop, the system will stop automatic retesting. Figure 4 The system indicates a measurement anomaly and requests manual intervention.

[0082] Further, in step S30, automatically generating calibration results for the device being calibrated based on the identification results includes: Step S34: Record the identified outliers to the calibration log and remove the outliers from the measurement dataset; Step S35: Based on the remaining valid data after removing the outliers, recalculate the calibration result.

[0083] Specifically, when there are no outliers in the dataset, or after processing through a rejection strategy, the system enters the final result generation stage. The system will record all identified outliers, their occurrence time, and operating conditions in the calibration log, as a basis for subsequent analysis of equipment health status (such as whether there are intermittent faults).

[0084] For data identified as anomalous and not requiring or able to be retested, the system removes it from the calculation set. Based on the remaining valid data after removing outliers, the system recalculates statistics such as the mean and standard deviation, and calculates the final calibration result accordingly. Figure 4 The measurement results are calculated and rounded.

[0085] Finally, the system compares the final result with the allowable error limits in the calibration specification (i.e., determines whether it meets the upper / lower limit requirements of the index), and saves all measurement data (including marked outliers), completing the entire data processing process for this calibration.

[0086] The method provided in this invention establishes a complete closed-loop data processing mechanism. Compared with the subjectivity of traditional manual calibration that relies on experience to remove data, this invention establishes objective criteria using statistical standards such as Grubbs. At the same time, by introducing an automatic supplementary testing mechanism, it solves the problem of insufficient sample size due to data removal, which affects the assessment of measurement uncertainty, and ultimately ensures the rigor and traceability of the calibration results.

[0087] Based on any of the above embodiments Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the overall process of the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time-frequency instruments and equipment based on data processing and analysis provided by this invention. Figure 5 As shown, the automatic calibration method specifically includes the following steps: Step S1: Task Configuration and Hardware Preparation First, the metrologist configures the calibration items and calibration point information for the equipment being calibrated in the automatic calibration software interface (e.g., selecting calibration frequency points, number of measurements, etc.). The software receives and saves the configuration of the calibration items and calibration points for the equipment being calibrated.

[0088] Meanwhile, the metrologist connects the communication cable between the computer and the instrument, turns on the standard equipment and the equipment being calibrated, and strictly follows the instrument manual to preheat for the specified time to ensure that the instrument reaches thermal equilibrium.

[0089] Subsequently, the metrologist selects the current equipment model to be calibrated, the loaded calibration program, and the standard equipment used in the software. If the current equipment information does not exist in the software database, the metrologist needs to create a new equipment file in the software.

[0090] Step S2: Communication Handshake and Connection Confirmation The software attempts to establish a device communication connection with the selected device. The system will then perform a self-check to determine if the connection status is correct. If the connection fails, the process will revert, prompting the metrologist to check the connection method and address configuration until the communication handshake is successful. After communication is established, the metrologist, following the software prompts or the calibration connection diagram in the work instruction, completes the physical signal connection between the output of the standard device and the input of the device being calibrated.

[0091] Step S3: Start and execution of the calibration cycle The software begins reading the configuration of the first calibration item and the first calibration point under that item from the configuration file. The system sends initialization commands (such as reset or clear screen) to the relevant instruments, then issues a trigger command to start the measurement and obtains the measurement results from the device being calibrated.

[0092] Step S4: Data Acquisition and Anomaly Handling Loop The system determines whether the currently configured number of measurements is greater than 1. If the number of measurements is equal to 1 (i.e., a single measurement), the system directly rounds the measurement result and calculates the combined uncertainty and expanded uncertainty based on preset parameters. If the number of measurements is greater than 1 (i.e., repeated measurements), the system executes the measurements cyclically until the configured number of measurements is reached.

[0093] After data collection, the system applies the Grubbs or Laida criterion to identify outliers in the repeated measurements. If outliers are found, the process enters the anomaly handling branch. At this point, the system prompts the metrologist to analyze the cause of the outliers. The metrologist can choose to terminate the automated process and manually enter the measurement results; or choose to continue (e.g., after the system removes outliers or performs remeasurements), in which case the system will calculate the uncertainty introduced by repeatability based on the processed data. If no outliers are found, the system directly calculates the uncertainty introduced by repeatability using the standard deviation of the data.

[0094] Step S5: Result Calculation and Compliance Determination The system combines calibration point configuration information (such as the uncertainty index of the standard instrument) to calculate the final combined uncertainty and expanded uncertainty. Subsequently, the system calculates the measurement results (e.g., takes the average value) and rounds them according to the metrological specifications. The system automatically compares the final results with the allowable errors in the specifications to determine whether they meet the upper / lower limits of the specifications (i.e., automatically determines whether they are qualified or unqualified).

[0095] Finally, the system saves all measurement data to the database. It should be understood that, to ensure the traceability of the original data, the system not only saves the final results, but also the marked outliers and the detailed calculation process of the uncertainty.

[0096] Step S6: Traversal of multi-point and multi-function calibrations After the current calibration point is completed, the system determines whether there are subsequent calibration points. If so, the system controls the standard device to disconnect the output of the device being calibrated (protecting the input of the device being calibrated), reads the configuration of the next calibration point, and returns to step S3 to start a new round of measurement. If not, the system determines whether there are subsequent calibration items. If so, it reads the configuration of the next calibration item and returns to step S3. Otherwise, all tasks are completed, the process ends, and a calibration report is generated.

[0097] Understandable, Figure 5 This demonstrates the logical order in which the software iterates through the configuration table and verifies the compliance of the results. Taking the most time-consuming calibration items—boot characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, and frequency stability—as examples, although they are different calibration items in the configuration list, they share the same data acquisition channel at the execution level. Figure 5 When the step of reading calibration items encounters these related items, it actually points to the same long-term acquisition task, rather than stopping the instrument to re-measure. Figure 5 The aim is to demonstrate a universal software control logic, namely, loading configuration, performing measurement, judging anomalies, and saving results. This logical framework is applicable to all instruments.

[0098] The method provided in this embodiment of the invention has the following significant advantages: (1) High calibration efficiency: Through the synchronous calibration of multiple calibration items and the overall optimization of the process, the traditional serial calibration mode has been changed. Especially for items that require long-term monitoring, a lot of time has been saved and the overall calibration efficiency has been improved by more than 50%. (2) High level of intelligence: An automatic outlier identification and processing mechanism based on statistical criteria is introduced, which reduces human intervention, improves the credibility of data processing and the objectivity of results, and makes the automatic calibration process more intelligent and reliable; (3) High level of automation: From program development to final result interpretation, the entire process is automated, which reduces the technical threshold and labor intensity of operators and ensures the consistency and reproducibility of the calibration process.

[0099] (4) High resource utilization: Through synchronous calibration, the resources of standard equipment, instruments under test and computer system are fully utilized, which improves the throughput of the entire calibration system.

[0100] The automatic calibration system for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments provided by the present invention will be described below. The automatic calibration system for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments described below can be referred to in correspondence with the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments described above.

[0101] Based on any of the above embodiments Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic calibration system for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments provided by the present invention, as shown below. Figure 6 As shown, the system includes: The program generation module 610 is used to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated by calling a preset instruction library based on the user's configuration operation. The synchronous calibration module 620 is used to execute the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and the associated standard device to enter the synchronous calibration process. The synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items. The result generation module 630 is used to perform statistical analysis on the measurement dataset. During the analysis, it uses preset statistical criteria to identify outliers in the measurement dataset and automatically generates calibration results for the calibrated device based on the identification results.

[0102] The system provided in this invention firstly generates a calibration control program by calling a preset instruction library in response to user configuration, thereby achieving rapid deployment and automated execution of calibration tasks and effectively reducing the complexity and error rate of manual operation. Secondly, this invention overcomes the limitations of traditional serial calibration by utilizing a coordinated and optimized synchronous calibration mechanism. It can continuously measure and obtain measurement datasets that can be reused for multiple calibration items within the same time period, avoiding repeated measurements while ensuring test coverage. This significantly improves the utilization rate of standard equipment and the equipment being calibrated and greatly shortens the total calibration cycle. Furthermore, by combining preset statistical criteria to automatically analyze the measurement dataset and identify outliers, it eliminates the subjectivity of relying on manual experience to remove gross errors, ensuring the standardization and consistency of outlier data processing. This guarantees that the final automatically generated calibration results have a high degree of objectivity, accuracy, and reliability.

[0103] Based on any of the above embodiments, the synchronization calibration module includes: The overall optimization unit is used to divide the multiple calibration items of the device under calibration into long-term monitoring items and rapid testing items; A continuous measurement unit is used to control the standard device to output a standard signal and control the device being calibrated to continuously measure the standard signal to obtain a long-term measurement dataset. The long-term measurement dataset is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. The task interleaving unit is used to interleave signal measurement tasks for the rapid test item during the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, so as to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item.

[0104] Based on any of the above embodiments, the device being calibrated is a frequency counter, and the continuous measurement unit is specifically used for: The frequency counter is controlled to continuously measure the frequency of the standard signal to obtain frequency measurement data. The same set of continuous frequency measurement data is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. The long-term monitoring items include at least two of the following: power-on characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, frequency stability, relative frequency deviation, and frequency reproducibility. The task interleaving unit is specifically used for: During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, the standard device is controlled to switch the output signal state, and the device being calibrated is controlled to measure the signal output by the standard device to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item. The rapid test item includes at least one of frequency measurement error, frequency measurement range, and input sensitivity.

[0105] Based on any of the above embodiments, the device being calibrated is an atomic frequency standard, and the synchronization calibration module is specifically used for: The frequency signal and second pulse signal output by the atomic frequency standard are simultaneously acquired through a unified data acquisition channel; The frequency characteristic index is calculated based on the acquired frequency signal, and the pulse characteristic index is calculated simultaneously based on the acquired second pulse signal. The frequency characteristic indicators include at least one of frequency signal amplitude, relative frequency deviation, frequency stability and daily frequency drift rate, and the pulse characteristic indicators include at least one of second pulse amplitude, second pulse width and second pulse rise time.

[0106] Based on any of the above embodiments, the result generation module includes an anomaly detection unit, which is specifically used for: Calculate the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the measurement dataset; Based on the arithmetic mean and the standard deviation, suspicious data in the measurement dataset are identified, and the statistical discriminant value of the suspicious data is calculated by applying the Grubbs criterion or the Laida criterion. The statistical discriminant value is compared with a threshold value at a preset significance level. If the statistical discriminant value exceeds the threshold value, the suspicious data is determined to be an outlier.

[0107] Based on any of the above embodiments, the result generation module is specifically used for: The identified outliers are recorded in the calibration log and removed from the measurement dataset; The calibration result is recalculated based on the remaining valid data after removing the outliers.

[0108] Based on any of the above embodiments, the result generation module is further configured to: After identifying the abnormal value, it is determined whether the cumulative number of measurements for the current calibration item has reached a preset threshold. If the preset threshold is not reached, a retest operation is automatically triggered for the calibration point that generated the abnormal value in order to update the measurement dataset.

[0109] Based on any of the above embodiments, the program generation module is specifically used for: Based on the user's configuration operations, the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration items are determined; Based on the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration item, the corresponding programmable instruction is matched from the instruction library; Based on the program control instructions, a complete sequence of instructions covering device initialization, parameter configuration, signal channel switching, data acquisition, and device shutdown is generated, and the complete sequence of instructions is used as the calibration control program.

[0110] Figure 7 An example is a schematic diagram of the physical structure of an electronic device, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the electronic device may include a processor 710, a communication interface 720, a memory 730, and a communication bus 740, wherein the processor 710, the communication interface 720, and the memory 730 communicate with each other via the communication bus 740. The processor 710 can call logical instructions in the memory 730 to execute an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments. This method includes: generating a calibration control program for the device under calibration based on user configuration operations by calling a preset instruction library; executing the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and associated standard equipment to enter a synchronous calibration process, wherein the synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard equipment within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items; performing statistical analysis on the measurement dataset, identifying outliers in the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria during the analysis, and automatically generating a calibration result for the device under calibration based on the identification results.

[0111] Furthermore, the logical instructions in the aforementioned memory 730 can be implemented as software functional units and, when sold or used as independent products, can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to related technologies, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0112] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program that can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the computer can execute the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments provided by the above methods. The method includes: generating a calibration control program for the device under calibration by calling a preset instruction library based on user configuration operations; executing the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and an associated standard device to enter a synchronous calibration process, wherein the synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items; performing statistical analysis on the measurement dataset, identifying outliers in the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria during the analysis process, and automatically generating a calibration result for the device under calibration based on the identification result.

[0113] In another aspect, the present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program thereon. When executed by a processor, the computer program implements an automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time-frequency instruments and equipment provided by the methods described above. The method includes: generating a calibration control program for the device under calibration by calling a preset instruction library based on user configuration operations; executing the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and an associated standard device to enter a synchronous calibration process, wherein the synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items; performing statistical analysis on the measurement dataset, identifying outliers in the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria during the analysis process, and automatically generating a calibration result for the device under calibration based on the identification result.

[0114] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any creative effort.

[0115] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, it can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solutions, in essence or the parts that contribute to the related technology, can be embodied in the form of software products. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments.

[0116] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of a time-frequency instrument, characterized in that, include: Based on the user's configuration operations, a preset instruction library is called to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated; The calibration control program is executed to control the device under calibration and the associated standard device to enter a synchronous calibration process. The synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items. Statistical analysis is performed on the measurement dataset. During the analysis, outliers are identified in the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria. Based on the identification results, calibration results for the calibrated device are automatically generated.

2. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process of comprehensively optimizing multiple calibration items and controlling the calibrated device to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items includes: The calibration items of the device under calibration are divided into long-term monitoring items and rapid testing items; The standard device is controlled to output a standard signal, and the device being calibrated is controlled to continuously measure the standard signal to obtain a long-term measurement dataset. The long-term measurement dataset is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, signal measurement tasks for the rapid test items are interspersed to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test items.

3. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The device being calibrated is a frequency counter. Controlling the device being calibrated to continuously measure the standard signal to obtain a long-term measurement dataset includes: The frequency counter is controlled to continuously measure the frequency of the standard signal to obtain frequency measurement data. The same set of continuous frequency measurement data is used to calculate the calibration results of the long-term monitoring items in parallel. The long-term monitoring items include at least two of the following: power-on characteristics, daily frequency fluctuation, frequency stability, relative frequency deviation, and frequency reproducibility. The step of intermittently executing signal measurement tasks for the rapid test item during the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item includes: During the intervals of the continuous measurement or through multi-threaded control, the standard device is controlled to switch the output signal state, and the device being calibrated is controlled to measure the signal output by the standard device to obtain the measurement dataset corresponding to the rapid test item. The rapid test item includes at least one of frequency measurement error, frequency measurement range, and input sensitivity.

4. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The device being calibrated is an atomic frequency standard, and the synchronous calibration process specifically includes: The frequency signal and second pulse signal output by the atomic frequency standard are simultaneously acquired through a unified data acquisition channel; The frequency characteristic index is calculated based on the acquired frequency signal, and the pulse characteristic index is calculated simultaneously based on the acquired second pulse signal. The frequency characteristic indicators include at least one of frequency signal amplitude, relative frequency deviation, frequency stability and daily frequency drift rate, and the pulse characteristic indicators include at least one of second pulse amplitude, second pulse width and second pulse rise time.

5. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of identifying outliers in the measurement dataset using preset statistical criteria includes: Calculate the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the measurement dataset; Based on the arithmetic mean and the standard deviation, suspicious data in the measurement dataset are identified, and the statistical discriminant value of the suspicious data is calculated by applying the Grubbs criterion or the Laida criterion. The statistical discriminant value is compared with a threshold value at a preset significance level. If the statistical discriminant value exceeds the threshold value, the suspicious data is determined to be an outlier.

6. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that, The automatic generation of calibration results for the device under calibration based on the identification results includes: The identified outliers are recorded in the calibration log and removed from the measurement dataset; The calibration result is recalculated based on the remaining valid data after removing the outliers.

7. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to claim 5, characterized in that, The step of automatically generating calibration results for the device under calibration based on the identification results also includes: After identifying the abnormal value, it is determined whether the cumulative number of measurements for the current calibration item has reached a preset threshold. If the preset threshold is not reached, a retest operation is automatically triggered for the calibration point that generated the abnormal value in order to update the measurement dataset.

8. The automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments and equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The user-configured operation, which calls a pre-set instruction library to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated, includes: Based on the user's configuration operations, the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration items are determined; Based on the model of the device being calibrated and the selected calibration item, the corresponding programmable instruction is matched from the instruction library; Based on the program control instructions, a complete sequence of instructions covering device initialization, parameter configuration, signal channel switching, data acquisition, and device shutdown is generated, and the complete sequence of instructions is used as the calibration control program.

9. An automatic calibration system for the frequency characteristics of time and frequency instruments, characterized in that, include: The program generation module is used to generate a calibration control program for the device being calibrated by calling a preset instruction library based on the user's configuration operations. The synchronous calibration module is used to execute the calibration control program to control the device under calibration and the associated standard device to enter the synchronous calibration process. The synchronous calibration process includes optimizing multiple calibration items in a coordinated manner and controlling the device under calibration to continuously measure the standard signal output by the standard device within the same time period to obtain a measurement dataset for the optimized multiple calibration items. The result generation module is used to perform statistical analysis on the measurement dataset. During the analysis, it uses preset statistical criteria to identify outliers in the measurement dataset and automatically generates calibration results for the calibrated device based on the identification results.

10. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and running on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the automatic calibration method for the frequency characteristics of the time and frequency instrument as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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