Multicarrier Test Apparatus Using Time-Division Channel Emulators
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity and cost of existing test equipment for performance testing in 3GPP mobile communication networks, particularly for type 3i receivers, increase with the number of carriers, making it unsustainable for advanced requirements in newer releases.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that establish connections with multiple carriers, introduce interference, and use a reduced number of fading channel emulators by switching between sets for each carrier, allowing measurement of received signal characteristics while emulating noise, thereby simplifying the testing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of carriers is increased to support advanced 3GPP releases (e.g., release 10 with four carriers, release 11 with eight carriers), then the data rate and communication capacity are improved, but the complexity and cost of testing equipment increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the testing of multiple carriers into sequential segments, where each carrier is tested one at a time using the same set of channel emulators. This segmentation allows the testing equipment to maintain a constant number of emulators while supporting multiple carriers by time-division, thereby reducing equipment complexity while maintaining the ability to test advanced multicarrier configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic switching between carriers during the testing process. The test equipment can dynamically select which carrier to test at any given time using the same physical channel emulators. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to different carrier configurations (2 carriers, 4 carriers, 8 carriers) without requiring proportional increases in hardware resources.
2Measurement precision
If the number of fading channel emulators is increased to match the number of carriers, then the measurement accuracy for each carrier is improved, but the equipment cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the channel emulators universal by enabling them to serve multiple carriers through time-division. Each emulator can be configured to emulate fading conditions for different carriers sequentially, allowing a small number of emulators to perform the work that would traditionally require many more emulators one-for-all. This multi-functionality maintains measurement precision while significantly reducing the quantity of hardware components needed.
3Device complexity
If a fixed number of channel emulators is used regardless of the number of carriers, then the equipment complexity is reduced, but the measurement time for all carriers increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic testing where channel emulators are reused in a cyclic manner across different carriers. Instead of testing all carriers simultaneously requiring many emulators, the system performs periodic measurements on each carrier using the same emulators in sequence. This periodic action reduces equipment complexity while the total measurement time remains manageable through efficient scheduling and parallel processing capabilities.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A test method and a testing apparatus for type 3i receivers which use multicarrier operation in HSDPA is disclosed. The method sequentially tests each carrier (30a,30b), one at a time. Applying multi-switches (33a-33f), channel emulators (32a-32f) and efficient connections, performance tests can be performed without any need for changing the User Equipment to be tested. In case a single carrier test is passed, the next carrier is selected for the test. All carriers are thus tested sequentially against a single carrier throughput requirement until all carriers have been processed.