Subswitch module for radio frequency test, switch box and radio frequency test system

Abstract

The utility model provides a sub-switch module for a radio frequency test, a switch box and a radio frequency test system. The sub-switch module comprises a radio frequency switch; the adapter plate is connected with the radio frequency switch, the adapter plate is further provided with a second connector connected with external equipment, and the adapter plate comprises an identification unit used for representing information of the radio frequency switch. According to the utility model, the automation degree of the radio frequency test system is greatly improved, and each radio frequency switch does not need to be configured manually.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of radio frequency testing, in particular to a sub-switch module for radio frequency testing, a switch box and a radio frequency testing system. Background Art

[0002] The switch module occupies an important position in the automatic test system and plays the role of an information exchange center. The excitation signals such as the signal source and power supply can be automatically switched to any input port of the object under test through the switch module, and the signals of the corresponding output port of the object under test can be automatically switched to the corresponding instruments through the switch module. With the continuous development of technology in the field of radio frequency, the types of radio frequency chips and modules are becoming more and more diverse, and the number of test ports required is also different. Correspondingly, the switch module of the automatic test equipment also needs to be designed according to the different test requirements of the corresponding object under test. However, the existing technology generally corresponds to a single radio frequency switch, or a switch group specially developed for a certain device under test. The number of single switch ports is limited and is not suitable for devices under test with a large number of ports. The specially developed switch group can only test one or several radio frequency chips and components. For different devices under test, the switch module needs to be redesigned, which is inefficient and costly.

[0003] As an important component of the switch module, the RF switch has a wide variety of types. If you want to develop a universal switch module, you must consider the automatic identification of the RF switch. If you manually identify the information of the RF switch, it will lead to an increase in testing costs and a decrease in efficiency.

[0004] The information disclosed in this background technology section is only intended to deepen the understanding of the overall background technology of the present invention, and should not be regarded as, acknowledged or implied in any form that the information constitutes the prior art already known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the utility model provides a sub-switch module for radio frequency testing, a switch box and a radio frequency testing system.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention provides a sub-switch module for radio frequency testing, the sub-switch module comprising:

[0007] RF switch;

[0008] An adapter board, the adapter board is connected to the radio frequency switch, the adapter board is also provided with a second connector connected to an external device, and the adapter board includes an identification unit for storing a unique identification code.

[0009] Optionally, the identification unit includes multiple resistance circuits, each of which can be provided with a jumper cap for controlling whether the resistor is connected or not, and the multiple jumper cap setting methods on the multiple resistance circuits correspond one-to-one to a preset set of unique identification codes, and the unique identification code corresponds to the RF switch information.

[0010] Optionally, the identification unit includes a storage chip having a unique identification code recorded therein, and the unique identification code corresponds to the radio frequency switch information.

[0011] Optionally, the storage chip is a flash memory chip.

[0012] Optionally, the adapter board is provided with a plurality of different types of interfaces for connecting to different types of radio frequency switches.

[0013] Optionally, the interface is provided at the head of the adapter board, the interface is connected to the RF switch harness, and the second connector is provided at the tail of the adapter board.

[0014] The technical solution of the present invention also provides a switch box, the switch box comprising:

[0015] A chassis shell, wherein a plurality of slots are arranged in the chassis shell;

[0016] A plurality of said sub-switch modules for radio frequency testing, said sub-switch modules being accommodated in said slots;

[0017] A control board is fixed in the chassis shell, a plurality of first connectors for connecting with the second connector are arranged on the control board, and a main control chip connected with the first connector is arranged on the control board.

[0018] Optionally, the multiple pins of the main control chip correspond one-to-one to the multiple slots.

[0019] The technical solution of the present invention also provides a radio frequency test system, the radio frequency test system comprising:

[0020] The switch box;

[0021] A host computer is connected to the control board in the switch box.

[0022] Optionally, a database is provided in the host computer, and the database includes a mapping from the unique identification code to the radio frequency switch information.

[0023] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description, and in part will become apparent from the following description, or will be learned through the practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0025] Figure 1 The figure is a schematic structural diagram of a sub-switch module with a storage chip according to an embodiment of the utility model.

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of two sub-switch modules with different widths according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0027] Figure 3 The present invention is a schematic structural diagram of a switch box equipped with a sub-switch module according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The advantages of the present invention are further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] Here, exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementations described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present disclosure.

[0030] The terms used in this disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the disclosure. The singular forms of "a", "the" and "the" used in this disclosure are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates other meanings. It should also be understood that the term "and / or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0031] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in the present disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the first information may also be referred to as the second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at the time of" or "when" or "in response to determining".

[0032] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0033] In the description of the present utility model, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the internal connection of two components. It can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] In the following description, the suffixes such as "module", "component" or "unit" used to represent elements are only used to facilitate the description of the present invention, and they themselves have no specific meaning. Therefore, "module" and "component" can be used interchangeably.

[0035] RF switches have different models, port numbers, communication interfaces, etc. In order for the switch box to be compatible with various RF switches, such as Figure 1-3 As shown, this embodiment proposes an adapter board 9 for unifying the tail connector and switch identification of the RF switch 7. This adapter board 9 can realize the communication connection between various RF switches 7 and the control board, so that the switch box can be configured with different RF switches 7 according to the different needs of the test device, thereby improving the versatility of the switch box; in addition, the adapter board 9 can realize automatic identification of the RF switch 7. When the sub-switch module 12 is inserted into the slot in the switch box, the host computer can identify the sub-switch module 12 and control it; this design firstly greatly improves the automation degree of the test system. When the sub-switch module 12 expires or is damaged, it can be directly replaced, thereby increasing the maintainability of the switch box.

[0036] The technical solution of this embodiment provides a sub-switch module 12 for radio frequency testing, and the sub-switch module 12 includes: a radio frequency switch 7; an adapter board 9, the adapter board 9 is connected to the radio frequency switch 7, and the adapter board 9 is also provided with a second connector 13 connected to an external device. The adapter board 9 includes an identification unit for storing a unique identification code.

[0037] Optionally, the identification unit includes multiple resistance circuits, each of which can be provided with a jumper cap for controlling whether the resistance is connected or not, and the multiple jumper cap settings on the multiple resistance circuits correspond one-to-one to a preset set of unique identification codes, and the unique identification code corresponds to the RF switch information.

[0038] Optionally, the identification unit includes a storage chip 16 having a unique identification code recorded therein, and the unique identification code corresponds to the radio frequency switch information.

[0039] Optionally, the storage chip 16 is a flash memory chip. Further, the adapter board 9 is provided with a flash memory chip burning connector 17 .

[0040] Optionally, the adapter board 9 is provided with a plurality of different types of interfaces 15 for connecting to different types of RF switches 7, so as to realize different combinations of the sub-switch modules 12 and improve the versatility of the switch box.

[0041] Optionally, an interface 15 is provided at the head of the adapter board 9 , the interface 15 is connected to the wiring harness of the RF switch 7 , and a second connector 13 is provided at the tail of the adapter board 9 .

[0042] The technical solution of this embodiment also provides a switch box, which includes: a chassis shell 1, in which a plurality of slots are arranged; a plurality of sub-switch modules 12 for RF testing, in which the sub-switch modules 12 are accommodated; a control board, which is fixed in the chassis shell 1, and on which a plurality of first connectors 14 for connecting with the second connector 13 are arranged, and a main control chip connected with the first connector 14 is arranged on the control board. The switch box corresponding to this embodiment is a modular universal switch box, in which a plurality of slots for accommodating the sub-switch modules 12 are arranged, and different sub-switch modules 12 can be assembled on the slots according to different requirements of the tested device, that is, different RF switches 7 can be assembled, so as to realize cascading of a plurality of RF switches 7, and uniformly controlled by the host computer, which can be applicable to RF chips and components with different numbers of ports, thus reducing development time and saving development costs.

[0043] Optionally, the multiple pins of the main control chip correspond one-to-one to the multiple slots.

[0044] The technical solution of this embodiment also provides a radio frequency test system, which includes: a switch box; and a host computer connected to a control board in the switch box.

[0045] Optionally, a database is provided in the host computer, and the database includes a mapping from a unique identification code to radio frequency switch information.

[0046] Furthermore, when the sub-switch module 12 expires or is damaged, the host computer can directly identify it and provide information about the sub-switch module 12. The operator can directly replace it with an identical sub-switch module 12, which can be identified by the host computer, thereby increasing the maintainability of the switch box.

[0047] This embodiment greatly improves the automation level of the radio frequency test system, and there is no need for manual configuration of each radio frequency switch.

[0048] In one embodiment, the sub-switch module 12 of this embodiment includes four parts: a sub-switch module front panel 8, a fixing plate 10, an adapter plate 9, and a radio frequency switch 7. The radio frequency switch 7 includes a single-pole double-throw switch (SPDT), a double-pole double-throw switch (DPDT), a single-pole four-throw switch (SP4T), a single-pole six-throw switch (SP6T), etc., and the number of switch ports, communication mode, control mode, frequency range and other information are different. In order to enable various types of radio frequency switches 7 to communicate with the control board of the switch box and be uniformly controlled, an adapter plate 9 must be designed for each radio frequency switch 7. This adapter plate 9 can convert different connector interfaces at the tail of the radio frequency switch 7 into a unified connector interface and connect it to the control board. The control board identifies the radio frequency switch 7 and determines its slot After the sub-switch module 12 is connected, the control board transmits this information to the host computer and receives control instructions from the host computer, thereby realizing unified control of the host computer over the sub-switch module 12. At the same time, the design of this adapter board 9 supports the function of automatic identification of the switch module. The adapter board 9 includes most of the connector interfaces on the market, which are arranged at the head of the adapter board 9. Its main function is to connect with different types of RF switches 7. The adapter board 9 includes a flash memory chip for automatic identification of the sub-switch module 12. Before mounting this chip, the information is burned on it and the unique identification code of the corresponding RF switch 7 is entered; the host computer can query the relevant information of the RF switch 7 through this code.

[0049] The adapter board 9 includes a unified connector interface, which is arranged at the rear of the adapter board 9 and its main function is to connect with the switch box control board.

[0050] In this embodiment, a main control chip is provided on the control board, and different pins of the main control chip are connected to different first connectors on the control board, and different first connectors on the control board correspond to different slots of the sub-switch module 12, that is, each slot has a certain channel to enable the main control chip to communicate with the flash memory chip connected to the adapter board, so that the main control chip can determine the slot information according to the pin where the source data is located, thereby realizing the control of the sub-switch module 12 on this slot. Correspondingly, each adapter board 9 is provided with a flash memory chip for identifying the sub-switch module 12.

[0051] The main control chip determines the channel to identify each switch box slot respectively. When the sub-switch module 12 is plugged into the switch slot, the main control chip can establish communication with the flash memory chip of the sub-switch module 12 in this switch slot.

[0052] Different types of switches are encoded according to certain rules, and the encoding information is matched one by one with important RF switch information such as switch model information, control method, number of ports, performance information, etc., to form a database containing all applicable switches. This database is established on the host computer and can be used in conjunction with the host computer software.

[0053] After the sub-switch module is assembled, the unique identification code corresponding to the RF switch is burned into the flash memory chip 16 of the adapter board through the burning connector 17. The unique identification code includes three sub-identification codes, specifically including the first code, the second code and the third code, wherein the first code is transmitted to the host computer, and the host computer can query the preset database to obtain the model information, control method, number of ports, performance information, etc. of the RF switch, the second code represents the identity serial number of the RF switch, and the third code is to count the number of switching of the RF switch in the sub-switch module. For example, the RF switch is a switch that can switch between port A and port B. It can choose to close port A or port B, and control its switching through the TTL signal of the main control chip. The main control chip counts the number of switching and writes the number of switching into the flash memory chip as a kind of life information (i.e., the third code). In one embodiment, the present embodiment further includes a host computer, the software of which can read each slot information identified by the main control chip and the unique identification code information of the sub-switch module 12, and a database is set in the host computer, the database contains the mapping of the unique identification code and the sub-switch module information, the host computer searches based on the unique identification code, and the sub-switch module information contains the model, number of ports, performance and other related data of the radio frequency switch 7. The host computer reads the unique identification code in the flash memory chip, and searches and compares it in the database, so as to obtain the sub-switch module information corresponding to the unique identification code, and can determine which slot is inserted into what type of radio frequency switch 7.

[0054] Furthermore, after the host computer obtains the sub-switch module information, various information of the RF switch 7 is displayed on the soft panel of the switch box, so that the host computer can display the sub-switch module information of each slot of the switch box in real time, including the model, number of ports, life, control mode and other information of the sub-switch module.

[0055] In one embodiment, a switch identification method with lower cost is disclosed, as described below: RF switches are classified according to a coding rule so that a certain type of RF switch has a certain and unique binary code; the adapter board 9 includes N resistor circuits, and a jumper cap is installed on each resistor circuit to control whether the resistor is connected. When the resistor circuit is powered on, the resistor circuit without the jumper cap is disconnected, and the resistor circuit with the jumper cap is connected. Whether the jumper caps on the N resistor circuits are installed is 2 N Combination methods; by installing jumper caps, binary encoding is realized for each RF switch 7 model, where the resistor circuit without jumper caps is regarded as 0, and the jumper caps are regarded as 1, and 2 is obtained. NA unique binary code is given to each type of RF switch 7 by adjusting the installation method of the jumper cap on the adapter board 9 of different types of RF switches 7. If the switch box slot is not inserted with the sub-switch module 12, it is equivalent to installing jumpers in N resistor circuits; the binary code is used as a unique identification code.

[0056] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the utility model, rather than to limit it. Although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the various embodiments of the utility model.

Claims

1. A sub-switch module for radio frequency testing, characterized in that: The sub-switch module comprises: RF switch; An adapter board, the adapter board is connected to the radio frequency switch, the adapter board is also provided with a second connector connected to an external device, and the adapter board includes an identification unit for storing a unique identification code.

2. The sub-switch module for radio frequency testing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The identification unit includes multiple resistance circuits, each of which can be provided with a jumper cap for controlling whether the resistance is connected or not, and the multiple jumper cap setting methods on the multiple resistance circuits correspond one-to-one to a preset set of unique identification codes, and the unique identification code corresponds to the radio frequency switch information.

3. The sub-switch module for radio frequency testing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The identification unit includes a storage chip having the unique identification code recorded therein, and the unique identification code corresponds to the radio frequency switch information.

4. The sub-switch module for radio frequency testing according to claim 3, characterized in that: The storage chip is a flash memory chip.

5. The sub-switch module for radio frequency testing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adapter board is provided with a plurality of different types of interfaces for connecting with different types of radio frequency switches.

6. The sub-switch module for radio frequency testing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The interface is arranged at the head of the adapter board, the interface is connected to the RF switch harness, and the second connector is arranged at the tail of the adapter board.

7. A switch box, characterized in that: The switch box comprises: A chassis shell, wherein a plurality of slots are arranged in the chassis shell; A plurality of sub-switch modules for radio frequency testing as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sub-switch modules are accommodated in the slots; A control board is fixed in the chassis shell, a plurality of first connectors for connecting with the second connector are arranged on the control board, and a main control chip connected with the first connector is arranged on the control board.

8. The switch box according to claim 7, characterized in that: The multiple pins of the main control chip correspond one-to-one to the multiple slots.

9. A radio frequency testing system, characterized in that: The radio frequency test system comprises: The switch box as claimed in claim 7; A host computer is connected to the control board in the switch box.

10. The radio frequency testing system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The host computer is provided with a database, and the database includes a mapping from the unique identification code to the radio frequency switch information.

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