Over-the-Air Wireless Self-Testing for Millimeter Wave Antennas
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in effectively characterizing wireless electronic devices during manufacturing, particularly due to manufacturing variations, which can lead to increased costs and complexity when using extensive wireless test equipment for large volumes of devices.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating wireless self-testing circuitry within electronic devices, including phased antenna arrays and adjustable components like filters, amplifiers, and phase shifters, to facilitate over-the-air testing and calibration, reducing the need for external test equipment by using one antenna to transmit and receive signals for self-testing and calibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If extensive wireless test equipment is used to characterize wireless electronic devices during manufacturing, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless device under test performs self-characterization by using its own transmitting antenna to send test signals and its own receiving antenna to measure received signal strength. The device's processor calculates path loss and characterizes wireless performance internally, eliminating the need for external test equipment to perform these measurements. This self-service approach resolves the contradiction by maintaining measurement capability while removing complex external testing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the test equipment from the characterization system and replaces it with the device's own circuitry. By taking out the external test equipment and using only the device's internal transmitting and receiving antennas along with its processor, the solution maintains measurement precision while eliminating the complexity and cost of extensive wireless test equipment.
2Productivity
If extensive wireless test equipment is deployed to handle large volumes of devices, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each wireless device characterizes itself during manufacturing without requiring external test equipment. The device uses its own transmitting antenna, receiving antenna, and processor to perform measurements and calculations, enabling high-volume manufacturing to proceed without proportional increases in test equipment complexity or cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the device's own receiving antenna to copy and measure the test signal transmitted by its own transmitting antenna. This self-copying approach allows the device to characterize its own wireless performance without external equipment, maintaining productivity while eliminating the need for complex test infrastructure that would scale with manufacturing volume.
3Device complexity
If manufacturing variations are not accounted for, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and calibration accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device's processor performs self-calibration by calculating path loss based on measurements from its own transmitting and receiving antennas. This self-service calibration process accounts for manufacturing variations specific to each device without requiring complex external calibration equipment or procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent measures and compensates for manufacturing variations by calculating path loss parameters that account for differences in antenna performance, cable losses, and other hardware variations. The processor uses these measured parameters to adjust and calibrate the wireless device, maintaining measurement precision while adapting to the specific characteristics of each manufactured unit.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables efficient wireless characterization and calibration of electronic devices, minimizing the requirement for external test equipment and optimizing wireless performance by switching between antennas to maintain signal quality, thus addressing the cost and complexity issues associated with large-scale manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
a transmitting antenna in the wireless circuitry to transmit an over-the-air antenna signal to a receiving antenna
Implementation Method 2
mixers for mixing down radio-frequency signals to allow digitization with analog-to-digital converters
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. The wireless circuitry may include antennas. The antennas may include phased antenna arrays for handling millimeter wave signals. Antennas may be located in antenna signal paths. The antenna signal paths may include adjustable components such as adjustable filters, adjustable gain amplifiers, and adjustable phase shifters. Circuitry may be incorporated into an electronic device to facilitate wireless self-testing operations. Wireless self-testing may involve use of one antenna to transmit an over-the-air antenna test signal that is received by another antenna. The circuitry that facilitates the wireless self-testing operations may include couplers, adjustable switches for temporarily shorting antenna signal paths together, mixers for mixing down radio-frequency signals to allow digitization with analog-to-digital converters, and other circuitry for supporting self-testing operations.