Offline Uplink Fader for Communication Tester Signal Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication testers are unable to effectively simulate real-world faded uplink signals, limiting their ability to test mobile devices' response to varying RF channel conditions due to the limitations of standard receivers and increased processing requirements.
Innovation Solution
An offline uplink fader and scheduler system that converts a predefined fading profile into channel quality information (CQI) data, allowing for the generation of uplink scheduling information without requiring a real faded uplink signal, thus simplifying the receiver's capabilities and reducing processing load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If real faded uplink signals are received during testing, then testing accuracy under real-world conditions is improved, but receiver complexity and processing requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The fading profile is pre-recorded during a calibration phase when a known test signal is transmitted through the actual RF channel. This captured fading characteristic is then reused during subsequent device testing, eliminating the need to generate real-time faded signals and reducing receiver processing requirements while maintaining testing accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using actual real-time faded uplink signals during device testing, the patent creates a copy of the fading characteristics by recording the fading profile during calibration. This copied fading data is then applied to test signals, allowing accurate simulation of real-world conditions without requiring the receiver to handle complex real-time fading signals
2Adaptability or versatility
If real-time fading simulation is implemented, then dynamic channel condition testing is improved, but processing load on test equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fading profile capturing and processing is performed in advance during a calibration phase, not in real-time during device testing. This preliminary action transfers the processing load to the calibration phase, allowing lightweight processing during actual device testing while still providing dynamic fading simulation capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs fading profile capture periodically during calibration phases, then reuses this profile for multiple device tests. This periodic approach concentrates processing requirements in specific time windows rather than requiring continuous high processing power during all testing operations
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention regards a system, a method and a program for testing a mobile communication device (4) with an offline uplink fader and uplink scheduler. The inventive offline uplink fader and scheduler (3) for a communication tester (2) gets a fading profile and converts the fading profile into data containing the RF channel properties and provides this data to an uplink scheduler (8) for generating the uplink scheduling information. The uplink scheduling information is then stored. For testing a mobile communication device (4) the stored test signal is reproduced and transmitted via an interface (11) to the device under test (4), which responds by scheduling the uplink accordingly. The communication tester (2) receives the uplink signals sent by the device under test (4) and evaluates the received signal with respect to the uplink scheduling information.