Disclosure of Invention
In view of this, the present disclosure proposes a multi-channel synchronous receiving device, the device comprising a control module, a transmitting antenna, a first test module, N second test modules, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein,
The control module is used for controlling the transmitting antenna to send out a test signal so as to test M antennas, wherein M is an integer greater than 1;
The first test module is electrically connected with the control module and is used for receiving the test signal and obtaining the amplitude and the phase of the test signal;
The ith second test module is electrically connected with the control module and the first test module and is used for:
receiving antenna signals of k antennas in the M antennas and the amplitude and the phase of the test signals, wherein i is less than or equal to N and is an integer, and k is less than or equal to M and is an integer;
and respectively determining the amplitude and the phase of the antenna signals of the k antennas relative to the test signal according to the amplitude and the phase of the test signal.
In one possible implementation manner, the first test module includes a first frequency conversion unit and a first processing unit, where:
The first frequency conversion unit is used for multiplying the test signal by the local oscillation signal and filtering the multiplication result to obtain a first intermediate frequency signal;
the first processing unit is used for obtaining the amplitude and the phase of the test signal according to the first intermediate frequency signal.
In a possible implementation manner, each second test module comprises a second frequency conversion unit and a second processing unit, wherein:
The second frequency conversion unit is used for multiplying the antenna signal and the local oscillator signal and filtering the multiplication result to obtain a second intermediate frequency signal;
the second processing unit is configured to obtain an amplitude and a phase of the antenna signal relative to the test signal according to the second intermediate frequency signal and the amplitude and the phase of the test signal.
In one possible embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:
And the position control unit is used for controlling the positions of the M antennas arranged on the position control unit so as to realize the test of the M antennas at different positions.
In one possible embodiment, the apparatus further comprises:
and the distribution unit is electrically connected with the control module, the first test module and the N second test modules and used for transmitting local oscillation signals to the first test module and the N second test modules.
In a possible embodiment, the distribution unit is further adapted to:
The amplitude and phase of the test signal are transmitted to the ith second test module.
In one possible embodiment, the control module is further configured to:
And controlling the first test module and the N second test modules to perform self-checking, and monitoring the states of the first test module and the N second test modules to obtain state information.
In one possible embodiment, the control module is further configured to:
and controlling the device to enter a calibration mode to calibrate, and obtaining calibration information.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multi-channel synchronous receiving system is presented, the system comprising:
One or more of the multi-channel synchronous receiving devices;
the upper computer is electrically connected with the multichannel synchronous receiving device and is used for controlling the multichannel synchronous receiving device and receiving the test result output by the multichannel synchronous receiving device.
In a possible implementation manner, the controlling the multichannel synchronous receiving device includes:
and outputting target frequency information and target beam information to control the multichannel synchronous receiving device to test.
The multi-channel synchronous receiving device provided by the embodiment of the disclosure has the characteristics of expandability, can test a plurality of antennas, can set a plurality of second test modules for a large-scale multi-beam array antenna system so as to adapt to the number change of the tested antennas, and can obtain the amplitude and the phase of the test signals by setting the first test module as a reference so as to obtain the amplitude and the phase of the antenna signals of each antenna relative to the test signals.
Other features and aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Detailed Description
Various exemplary embodiments, features and aspects of the disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Although various aspects of the embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically indicated.
The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, embodiment, or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.
In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in the following detailed description in order to provide a better understanding of the present disclosure. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without some of these specific details. In some instances, methods, means, elements, and circuits well known to those skilled in the art have not been described in detail in order not to obscure the present disclosure.
Under the existing electronic technical conditions, as the number of antennas in a system is increased (some antennas even comprise hundreds of antennas), the large-scale multi-beam array antenna system test work is very complicated and the workload is huge. However, the measurement device of the related art generally has only 2 channels or 4 channels, which is difficult to meet the test of the large-scale multi-beam array antenna system, and the test device of the related art has high price and high test cost.
In order to solve the problem, the invention provides an extensible multichannel synchronous receiving device for testing a large-scale multi-beam array antenna system, which can reduce the testing time of the large-scale multi-beam array antenna system by tens of times, simplify the testing process and simultaneously ensure the high efficiency and the correctness of the test on the premise of improving the testing efficiency.
Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a multi-channel synchronous receiving device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
As shown in fig. 1, the apparatus may include a control module 10, a transmitting antenna 20, a first test module 30, N second test modules 40, N being an integer greater than or equal to 1, wherein,
The control module 10 is configured to control the transmitting antenna 20 to send out a test signal to test M antennas, where M is an integer greater than 1;
the first test module 30 is electrically connected to the control module 10, and is configured to receive the test signal and obtain an amplitude and a phase of the test signal;
an ith second test module 40 electrically connected to the control module 10 and the first test module 30 for:
receiving antenna signals of k antennas in the M antennas and the amplitude and the phase of the test signals, wherein i is less than or equal to N and is an integer, and k is less than or equal to M and is an integer;
and respectively determining the amplitude and the phase of the antenna signals of the k antennas relative to the test signal according to the amplitude and the phase of the test signal.
The multi-channel synchronous receiving device provided by the embodiment of the disclosure has the characteristics of expandability, can test a plurality of antennas, can set a plurality of second test modules for a large-scale multi-beam array antenna system so as to adapt to the number change of the tested antennas, and can obtain the amplitude and the phase of the test signals by setting the first test module as a reference so as to obtain the amplitude and the phase of the antenna signals of each antenna relative to the test signals.
The multi-channel synchronous receiving device provided in the embodiment of the disclosure can test the antenna system of a 5G (5 generation) communication system, can test the antenna systems of 4G and 3G communication systems, can test the antenna system of a satellite communication system, and can test the antenna systems of various communication systems which evolve later, such as 6G and 7G.
The disclosed embodiments are also applicable to different network architectures including, but not limited to, a relay network architecture, a dual link architecture, a Vehicle-to-eventing architecture.
The 5G described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be referred to as a New Core network (New Core), or a 5G New Core, or a next generation Core network (next generation Core, NGC), or the like. The 5G is set up independently of existing core networks, e.g. evolved packet core (evolved packet core, EPC).
In one possible implementation, the control module 10 may be implemented by one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), digital Signal Processors (DSPs), digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic elements, as well as by dedicated circuits, which are not limited to the circuitry for implementing the control functions.
In one possible implementation, the control module 10 may further include a signal transmitter, and in the test, the control module 10 may be set with a frequency and a beam of the test signal as needed, which is not limited in this disclosure. In one example, the control module 10 may receive frequency information of a host computer, beam information, and set a frequency of a test signal to be transmitted by the signal transmitter, etc. through the vector network analyzer VNA (Vector Network Analyzer).
Possible implementations of the individual modules of the multichannel synchronous receiving device are described below by way of example.
Referring to fig. 2, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a multi-channel synchronous receiving device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.
In one possible implementation manner, as shown in fig. 2, the first test module 30 may include a first frequency conversion unit 310, and a first processing unit 320, where:
The first frequency conversion unit 310 may be configured to multiply the test signal with a local oscillation signal, and perform filtering processing on the multiplication result to obtain a first intermediate frequency signal;
the first processing unit 320 may be configured to obtain the amplitude and the phase of the test signal according to the first intermediate frequency signal.
In one possible implementation, the test signal obtained by the first test module 30 may be a test signal sent by the control module 10 to control the transmitting antenna 20, or may be a bypass signal of a signal sent by the transmitter of the control module 10, which is not limited in this disclosure.
The first frequency conversion unit 310 multiplies the test signal by the local oscillator signal, and filters the multiplication result to obtain a first intermediate frequency signal of the test signal, and when the first intermediate frequency signal is transmitted to the first processing unit 320, the first processing unit 320 can analyze and operate on the first intermediate frequency signal to obtain the amplitude and phase of the test signal.
It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments of the first frequency conversion unit 310 and the first processing unit 320.
In one example, the first frequency conversion unit 310 may include a multiplication circuit, a filtering circuit, and the like, through which multiplication operation of the test signal and the local oscillation signal may be implemented to obtain a multiplication result, and through which filtering process may be performed on the multiplication result to obtain a first intermediate frequency signal.
In one example, the first processing unit 320 may include an analog-to-digital converter ADC, a digital signal processor DSP (or a programmable gate array FPGA, etc.), through which the first intermediate frequency signal may be converted to obtain a digital signal, and through which the digital signal output by the ADC may be analyzed to obtain an amplitude and a phase of the test signal.
Of course, the foregoing description is exemplary, and the first frequency conversion unit and the first processing unit may be other implementations, which are not limited to this disclosure.
Through the device, the amplitude and the phase of the test signal can be obtained rapidly and accurately, the implementation mode of the first test module is simple, and the cost is low.
In one possible implementation, as shown in fig. 2, each second test module 40 may include a second frequency conversion unit 410, a second processing unit 420, where:
the second frequency conversion unit 410 may be configured to multiply the antenna signal with the local oscillation signal, and perform filtering processing on the multiplication result to obtain a second intermediate frequency signal;
the second processing unit 420 may be configured to obtain the amplitude and phase of the antenna signal relative to the test signal according to the amplitude and phase of the second intermediate frequency signal and the test signal.
When the second frequency conversion unit 410 obtains the antenna signal, the antenna signal and the local oscillator signal may be multiplied, and the multiplication result may be filtered to obtain a second intermediate frequency signal of the antenna signal, and when the second intermediate frequency signal is transmitted to the second processing unit 420, the second processing unit 420 may analyze and calculate the amplitude and phase of the second intermediate frequency signal and the test signal, so as to obtain the amplitude and phase of the antenna signal relative to the test signal.
It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments of the second frequency conversion unit 410 and the second processing unit 420.
In one example, the second frequency conversion unit 410 may include a multiplication circuit through which multiplication of the antenna signal and the local oscillator signal may be performed to obtain a multiplication result, a filtering circuit through which filtering processing may be performed on the multiplication result to obtain a second intermediate frequency signal, and the like.
In one example, the second processing unit 420 may include an analog-to-digital converter ADC, a digital signal processor DSP (or a programmable gate array FPGA, etc.), where the analog-to-digital converter ADC may convert the second intermediate frequency signal to obtain a digital signal, and the digital signal processor may analyze the digital signal output by the ADC and the amplitude and phase of the test signal to obtain the amplitude and phase of the antenna signal relative to the test signal.
The present disclosure does not limit the specific number of the second test modules 40, and a person skilled in the art may set the number of the antenna signals that may be processed by the second test modules according to a specific test scenario and needs, that is, the number of channels of the second test signals, and may be set according to needs.
In one example, each second test module may include 16 channels, i.e., 16 antenna signals may be synchronously or asynchronously processed to obtain the amplitude and phase of each antenna signal. In this example, the second test module may include 16 pairs of the second frequency conversion unit 410 and the second processing unit 420.
In one example, the second processing unit 420 may include a plurality of analog-to-digital converters, provided that one second test module 40 may process 16 antenna signals simultaneously. For example, for a 4-channel ADC, 5 ADCs may be provided because the second test module 40 needs to accept 16 antenna signals and 1 test signal, and for an 8-channel ADC, 3 ADCs may be provided because the second test module 40 needs to accept 16 antenna signals and 1 test signal.
Of course, the above description is exemplary, and the second frequency conversion unit and the second processing unit may be other implementations, which are not limited to this disclosure.
Through the device, the amplitude and the phase of the antenna signals of the plurality of antennas can be obtained rapidly and accurately, the implementation mode of the second test module is simple, and the cost is low.
In one possible implementation, when testing M antennas, the M antennas may be tested for different positions and directions.
In a possible embodiment, the apparatus may further include a position control unit (not shown), which may be used to control the positions of the M antennas placed on the position control unit, so as to implement the test of the M antennas at different positions.
In one example, the position control unit may be a turntable, and M antennas (e.g., a massive multi-beam array antenna system) may be placed on the turntable, and the turntable may be controlled to rotate and move by the received position control signal, so that the M antennas reach a preset position.
Of course, in other embodiments, a clamp may also be provided on the turntable for clamping the M antennas.
It should be noted that the position control unit may be controlled by the position control signal so as to change the direction and the position, however, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiment how the position control unit is implemented and how the position control unit is controlled, and those skilled in the art may determine the specific embodiment according to actual needs.
In a possible implementation manner, the apparatus further includes a distribution unit (not shown), where the distribution unit is electrically connected to the control module, the first test module, and the N second test modules, and may be configured to transmit local oscillation signals to the first test module and the N second test modules.
In an example, the local oscillation signal may be a local oscillation signal generated by a local oscillation oscillator inside the device, or may be an external local oscillation signal, which is not limited in this disclosure.
In one example, the distribution unit may include multiple interfaces, each of which may output the same local oscillator signal.
In one example, embodiments of the present disclosure may cascade multiple distribution units to achieve extended requirements. For example, assuming that one distribution unit includes 12 interfaces for outputting local oscillation signals, after two distribution units are cascaded, the distribution of the local oscillation signals can be expanded into 24 paths, and when t distribution units are cascaded, the distribution of the local oscillation signals can be expanded into 12 x t paths, so that the utilization rate of the current local oscillation signals is greatly improved, wherein t is greater than or equal to an integer.
In a possible embodiment, the distribution unit may be further adapted to transmit the amplitude and phase of the test signal to the ith second test module.
In one example, the distribution unit may comprise a plurality of interfaces for transmitting the amplitude and phase of the test signal. When a plurality of distribution units are cascaded, the amplitude and phase of the test signal may be transmitted to a further second test module.
Of course, the distribution unit may also be used to distribute reference clocks, calibration sources, etc., which is not limiting of the present disclosure.
The present disclosure is not limited to a specific implementation of the distribution unit, and one skilled in the art may determine the implementation of the distribution unit according to need.
Before the multi-channel synchronous receiving device is started to test the M antennas, the self-checking and calibration processes of all the components of the multi-channel synchronous receiving device can be performed, and the self-checking and calibration processes of the antenna detecting device are exemplarily described below.
In a possible implementation manner, the control module 10 may be further configured to control the first test module and the N second test modules to perform self-checking, and monitor states of the first test module and the N second test modules to obtain state information.
By controlling the first test module and the N second test modules to perform self-checking, it can be determined whether the first test module and each second test module have problems, and after the first test module and the N second test modules complete their self-checking, the self-checking result can be sent to the control module 10 as status information.
Of course, the control module 10 may also monitor the states of the first test module and the N second test modules in real time to obtain the state information of the first test module and the N second test modules, so that the control module may determine whether the first test module and each second test module have a problem through the state information, and may report the error information when the first test module and each second test module have a problem.
Of course, the self-checking of the first test module and the second test module is described above as an example, and it should be noted that the disclosure is not limited thereto, and in other embodiments, the control module may also control other modules to perform self-checking, and the control module may also control itself to perform self-checking, which is not limited thereto.
It should be noted that, the specific implementation manner of the self-checking of the first test module and the second test module in the disclosure is not limited, and those skilled in the art may determine the project and the specific implementation manner of the self-checking of the first test module and the second test module according to the need.
In one possible implementation, the control module may be further configured to:
and controlling the device to enter a calibration mode to calibrate, and obtaining calibration information.
In one example, the control device may send a calibration enabling signal, the enabling device enters a calibration mode, after entering the calibration mode, the transmitter in the control module may transmit the calibration signal through the transmitting antenna, after receiving the antenna signals, the M antennas transmit the antenna signals to the second test module, and after the second test module processes the antenna signals obtained by the respective antennas, the calibration measurement value on each antenna may be obtained.
In one example, in antenna testing, embodiments of the present disclosure may calculate (e.g., add) the amplitude and phase of the antenna signal obtained by the second test module relative to the test signal with calibration measurements (including amplitude calibration measurements, phase calibration measurements) to obtain a final result.
By calibrating the device, the difference value between the channels in the second test module can be determined, so that the difference value is utilized for compensation in actual test, and thus, the error caused by the difference between the channels of the second test module can be weakened or even eliminated.
Where a channel may refer to a path that the second test module analyzes and processes each antenna signal, for example, assuming that one second test module may process 16 antenna signals at the same time, the second test module may be considered to include 16 channels.
Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a multichannel synchronous receiving system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
As shown in fig. 3, the system may include:
One or more multi-channel synchronous receiving means 80;
The upper computer 60 is electrically connected to the one or more multi-channel synchronous receiving devices 80, and is configured to control the one or more multi-channel synchronous receiving devices 80 and receive the test results output by the one or more multi-channel synchronous receiving devices 80.
It should be noted that the multi-channel synchronous receiving device 80 is the multi-channel synchronous receiving device described above, and the detailed description thereof is referred to the previous description, and is not repeated herein.
It should be noted that, the multi-channel synchronous receiving system may include one or more multi-channel synchronous receiving devices 80, and the specific number of the multi-channel synchronous receiving devices in the multi-channel synchronous receiving system is not limited in this disclosure, and can be set by a person skilled in the art according to needs.
In one example, the controlling the multi-channel synchronous receiving device may include:
and outputting target frequency information and target beam information to control the multichannel synchronous receiving device to test.
In one example, the multi-channel synchronous receiving system may further include a vector network analyzer (not shown), through which the multi-channel synchronous receiving system may control frequencies, beams of test signals transmitted by the multi-channel synchronous receiving device.
Of course, in other embodiments, the multichannel synchronous receiving system may also control the frequency and the beam of the test signal transmitted by the multichannel synchronous receiving device in other manners, which is not limited in this disclosure.
In one example, the multi-channel synchronous receiving system may include a communication component (not shown) that may be configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the host computer and the multi-channel synchronous receiving device. The multichannel synchronous receiving system may access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi,2G or 3G, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component receives a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component further comprises a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra Wideband (UWB) technology, bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.
Compared with the antenna test scheme of the related art, the embodiment of the disclosure provides an extensible antenna test scheme for testing the array surface of the large-scale multi-beam array antenna, so that the test time of the large-scale array antenna system can be reduced by tens of times, the test process is simplified, and the test efficiency is improved while the test efficiency is simultaneously ensured.
The foregoing description of the embodiments of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the various embodiments described. The terminology used herein was chosen in order to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application, or the improvement of technology in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.