JP2014059156A - Antenna test device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an antenna test device that can perform implementation by shielding an electromagnetic wave radiation for testing characteristics of a measured antenna relatively simply, and can thereby measure and evaluate antenna characteristics easily.SOLUTION: The antenna test device comprises: a signal generator that is for generating a signal to be radiated from a tested antenna, and transmits the generated signal to the tested antenna; a waveguide that has a rectangular shape with an E plane and an H plane, and has the tested antenna arranged at one end of the waveguide such that a direction of an electric field vector of the tested antenna is made parallel with the E plane and a receiver arranged at the other end thereof so as to face the tested antenna; the receiver that receives a signal radiated from the tested antenna and propagating inside the waveguide; and a measurement meter that measures radiation electric power of the signal received by the receiver and a phase thereof.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an antenna test apparatus used for an antenna test for evaluating antenna characteristics.

  In general, in a wireless communication device including an antenna such as a dipole antenna, an antenna test for evaluating antenna characteristics is performed when the wireless communication device is used. This antenna test may be performed outdoors or indoors.

  In the outdoor antenna test, the antenna to be measured is actually installed outdoors, the electromagnetic wave is radiated from the antenna to be measured by a so-called field test, the radiated electromagnetic wave is received at an arbitrary point, and the measurement result of the received power Therefore, a method for evaluating antenna characteristics is used.

  However, when radiating radio waves outdoors, in accordance with the provisions of Article 38-2, Paragraph 1 of the Radio Law, the registration certification authority shall apply for registration for use with small radio stations, and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Technical standard conformity certification is required. For this reason, if it is necessary to evaluate the antenna characteristics in grasping the performance at the design stage, it is necessary to perform a registration application procedure every time the design is changed, which is a very complicated operation.

  On the other hand, in an antenna test for indoor use, for example, an antenna under measurement to be evaluated is placed in a radio wave non-reflective room, and electromagnetic waves are radiated from the antenna under measurement. The radiated electromagnetic wave is received by a receiving antenna called a radio probe, which is arranged so as to face the antenna to be measured, and the measurement result of the received power is analyzed by a network analyzer. The method of evaluating is taken.

  However, when performing an antenna test indoors, the antenna to be measured must be placed in a radio wave non-reflective chamber so that the radiated electromagnetic waves of the antenna to be measured do not leak to the outside, and very large evaluation equipment is required. turn into.

JP 2006-275967 A

  As described above, in an antenna test for evaluating antenna characteristics, a procedure for receiving permission for electromagnetic wave radiation is required outdoors every time the design is changed, which is a very complicated operation. In addition, indoor facilities such as a radio wave non-reflective chamber are required, and therefore, very large facilities are required when evaluating antenna characteristics after manufacturing.

  Therefore, an object is to provide an antenna test apparatus that can perform electromagnetic wave radiation for testing the characteristics of the antenna under measurement relatively easily, and can easily measure and evaluate the antenna characteristics. It is to provide.

  According to this embodiment, the antenna test apparatus is an apparatus that performs measurement for evaluating the characteristics of the antenna under test, and includes a signal generation unit, a waveguide, a reception unit, and a measurement unit. . The signal generating means generates a signal for radiating from the antenna under test, and the generated signal is sent to the antenna under test. The waveguide has a rectangular shape having an E plane and an H plane, and the antenna under test is arranged at one end so that the direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the E plane, and the antenna is at the other end. The receiving means is arranged so as to face the antenna under test. The receiving means receives a signal radiated from the antenna under test and propagating inside the waveguide. The measuring means measures the radiated power and phase of the signal received by the receiving means.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the antenna test apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the waveguide internal structure when the antenna shown in FIG. 1 is arrange | positioned. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the change of the electric field vector by the electromagnetic wave radiation inside the waveguide shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure for propagating an antenna radiation | emission electromagnetic wave inside a waveguide and measuring and evaluating an antenna characteristic as an antenna test apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the attachment part of the antenna printing formation board | substrate in a waveguide as an antenna test apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the antenna test apparatus according to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, as an example of the antenna under test 11, a case will be described in which the characteristics of a dipole antenna A including a high frequency module M are measured and evaluated. Here, the high-frequency module M performs amplification, detection, and modulation / demodulation of an input high-frequency signal and sends it to the dipole antenna A.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the antenna test apparatus of the present embodiment includes a signal generation device 12, a waveguide 13, a reflection plate 14, a reception device 15, and a measuring device 16.

The signal generator 12 generates a test high-frequency signal (hereinafter referred to as a test signal) to be radiated from the dipole antenna A. The test signal generated here is transmitted to the high-frequency module M. Further, the signal generation device 10 has a function of appropriately controlling the parameters of the high frequency module M according to the test contents.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the waveguide 13 on the side where the dipole antenna A shown in FIG. 1 is arranged. In FIG. 2, the waveguide 13 is a rectangular type having an E plane and an H plane. The dipole antenna A is formed by forming antenna patterns A2 and A3 by strip lines on the front and back surfaces of the printed wiring board A1. Is inserted from the end face of the waveguide 13 so as to be integrated with the waveguide 13.

  After the substrate A1 is integrally formed in this way, the reflection plate 14 is attached to the entire end portion of the waveguide 13. Here, a part of the reflector 14 has an opening for leading out the antenna patterns A2 and A3 of the substrate A1 to the outside of the waveguide 13. Antenna patterns A2 and A3 led out of the waveguide 13 from the opening are connected to the high-frequency module M shown in FIG. Although not shown, a receiving device 15 that receives electromagnetic waves radiated from the antenna A is disposed at the other end of the waveguide 13 so as to face the dipole antenna A.

  That is, the waveguide 13 radiates the test signal from the dipole antenna A as an electromagnetic wave. At this time, since the dipole antenna A is arranged inside the waveguide 13 so that the electric field vector of the radiated electromagnetic wave is parallel to the E plane of the waveguide, as shown in FIG. The direction of the electric field vector of the radiated electromagnetic wave is the same as the direction of the electric field vector of the electromagnetic wave propagating in the waveguide 13, and the radiated electromagnetic wave propagates to the receiving device 15.

  The test signal received by the receiving device 15 is sent to the measuring device 16. The measuring device 16 measures the radiated power and phase of the signal received by the receiving unit 15, and the measurement result is evaluated as antenna characteristics.

  According to the above configuration, antenna radiated electromagnetic waves can be propagated and received inside the waveguide, so that antenna characteristics can be measured and evaluated without using large equipment such as a radio wave non-reflective chamber. Can do.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the mounting portion of the antenna print forming substrate in the waveguide 13 as the antenna test apparatus according to the second embodiment. Note that the overall configuration of the antenna test apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a capacitive ridge 131 is formed for impedance matching in the tube of the waveguide 13, and the ratio of the electric field and the magnetic field of the electromagnetic wave radiated from the antenna is matched.

  Thereby, the impedance of the electromagnetic wave propagation path from the dipole antenna A to the receiving device 15 is matched, and the electromagnetic wave propagated from the antenna A can be smoothly guided to the receiving device 15.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the mounting portion of the antenna print forming substrate in the waveguide 13 as the antenna test apparatus according to the third embodiment. The overall configuration of the antenna test apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a choke 132 is formed by a groove having a width of π / 2 and a depth of π / 2 between the outer wall and the inner wall at the end of the waveguide 13. The propagation loss of the electromagnetic wave generated by the contact with the reflector 14 is reduced. Thereby, a mechanism or the like for firmly bringing the waveguide 13 and the reflection plate 14 into contact with each other is not required, and sufficient performance can be obtained by simple screwing or the like.

  As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the direction of the electric field vector of the electromagnetic wave radiated from the dipole antenna A and the direction of the electric field vector of the propagating electromagnetic wave are the same inside the waveguide 13. Thereby, the test signal radiated from the dipole antenna A can be propagated to the receiving device 15. That is, since the test signal radiated from the dipole antenna A can be propagated to the receiving device 15, the antenna characteristic is evaluated by measuring the radiated power and phase of the received signal of the receiving device 15 by the measuring device 16. can do. Therefore, it is possible to provide an antenna test apparatus capable of evaluating antenna characteristics with a simple apparatus without requiring large facilities such as a radio wave non-reflection chamber.

  In the above embodiment, as an example of the antenna under test 11, the case of measuring and evaluating the characteristics of the dipole antenna A including the high frequency module M has been described. However, the dipole antenna A alone not including the high frequency module M is used as the antenna under test. 11, the test signal may be transmitted directly from the signal generator 12 to the dipole antenna A. Further, the antenna under test 11 is not limited to a dipole antenna, and can be implemented in the same manner even if it is an antenna having various structures.

  1 shows a configuration in which the signal generating device 12 and the measuring device 16 are separated, but these may be replaced with a single measuring device such as a vector network analyzer.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment was described, these embodiment was shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof as well as included in the scope and gist of the invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Antenna to be tested, 12 ... Signal generator, 13 ... Waveguide, 131 ... Projection, 132 ... Choke, 15 ... Receiver, 16 ... Measuring instrument, A ... Dipole antenna, A1 ... Printed wiring board, A2 A3 ... antenna pattern, M ... high frequency module.

Claims (5)

In an antenna test apparatus that performs measurements to evaluate the characteristics of the antenna under test,
Signal generating means for generating a test signal for radiating from the antenna under test;
A waveguide having a rectangular shape having an E-plane and an H-plane, wherein the antenna under test is arranged at one end so that the direction of the electric field vector is parallel to the E-plane;
Receiving means for receiving a test signal radiated from the antenna under test, disposed at the other end of the waveguide so as to face the antenna under test;
An antenna test apparatus comprising: a measurement unit that measures a radiation power and a phase of a test signal received by the reception unit.   2. The antenna under test is installed in the waveguide so that the direction of the electric field vector of the radiated electromagnetic wave is the same as the direction of the electric field vector of the electromagnetic wave propagating in the tube. The antenna test apparatus described.   The signal generation means controls an arbitrary parameter of the high-frequency module when the antenna under test includes an antenna unit that radiates electromagnetic waves and a high-frequency module that transmits a high-frequency signal to the antenna. The antenna test apparatus according to 1.   2. The antenna test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waveguide includes matching means for performing impedance matching of a propagation path of an electromagnetic wave transmitted from the antenna under test in the tube.   The antenna test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a choke is formed in the waveguide between an outer wall and an inner wall of the tube.

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