CN111965439B - Antenna test system, method and device based on mechanical arm - Google Patents

Antenna test system, method and device based on mechanical arm Download PDF

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CN111965439B
CN111965439B CN202011063189.0A CN202011063189A CN111965439B CN 111965439 B CN111965439 B CN 111965439B CN 202011063189 A CN202011063189 A CN 202011063189A CN 111965439 B CN111965439 B CN 111965439B
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test
mechanical arm
antenna
tested
data processing
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CN111965439A (en
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张金平
邓晔
李斌
马天野
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CETC 14 Research Institute
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    • GPHYSICS
    • G01MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01RMEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R29/00Arrangements for measuring or indicating electric quantities not covered by groups G01R19/00 - G01R27/00
    • G01R29/08Measuring electromagnetic field characteristics
    • G01R29/10Radiation diagrams of antennas
    • GPHYSICS
    • G01MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01RMEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
    • G01R1/00Details of instruments or arrangements of the types included in groups G01R5/00 - G01R13/00 and G01R31/00
    • G01R1/02General constructional details
    • G01R1/04Housings; Supporting members; Arrangements of terminals
    • YGENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02PCLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P90/00Enabling technologies with a potential contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
    • Y02P90/02Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

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  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Variable-Direction Aerials And Aerial Arrays (AREA)
  • Manipulator (AREA)

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of antenna microwaves, and discloses an antenna testing system, an antenna testing method and an antenna testing device based on a mechanical arm, wherein the system is used for testing an antenna 6 to be tested and comprises the following steps: the system comprises an antenna erection platform 1, a mechanical arm 2, a mechanical arm control cabinet 5, a test probe 7 and a vector analyzer 8; the cooperative control cabinet 10 receives a working instruction of the data processing subsystem, converts the working instruction into a timing control time sequence and outputs the timing control time sequence to the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8; the data processing subsystem is cooperated with the mechanical arm control cabinet 5, the vector analyzer 8 and the cooperative control cabinet 10 to complete positioning of the test sampling points and collection of microwave signals of the test sampling points. The invention can realize near, middle and far field test of the antenna to be tested, and meet the requirements of high precision, high efficiency, multiple modes, programmability and low cost of pattern test required by millimeter wave frequency band antennas and arrays.

Description

Antenna test system, method and device based on mechanical arm
Technical Field
The invention belongs to the technical field of antenna microwaves, and particularly relates to an antenna test method and device based on a mechanical arm.
Background
With the continuous development of application demands, electronic systems for radar detection and communication using millimeter wave frequency bands are increasing. Such electronic systems often use passive or active antennas to support their high performance requirements, and how to quickly and accurately test and evaluate the performance of such millimeter wave antennas becomes a difficult problem to be solved in current antenna test research.
Pattern performance testing of individual line cells has traditionally been performed primarily by far field testing. In the millimeter wave band, the far field distance of such small antennas is typically tens of centimeters. In recent years, along with the development of chips and packaging technologies, the application of transceiver component integration based on the multi-chip packaging technology and even the application of the integration of the whole active subarray directly promotes the application of millimeter wave band active arrays in detection and communication systems.
For active array antennas, the pattern performance test also often requires the calibration of the channel performance to be performed first, which requires the use of planar near-field or mid-field tests. The near field test distance is typically in the range of a few millimeters to a few centimeters from the antenna, while the mid field test distance is comparable to the far field distance of the array element, which is tens of centimeters.
At present, the directional diagram performance test of the millimeter wave antenna is mainly based on a far field test method (such as the far field test method disclosed by Xiaan-Ming Qing, etc., measurement Setups for Millimeter Wave Antennas at 60/140/270GHz Bands,The 2014 International Workshop on Antenna Technology,pp.281-284) in view of small size and high test positioning accuracy requirement. The millimeter wave far field measurement system cannot meet the near field test requirement required by the millimeter wave array due to the large volume, less test freedom and poor adjustable flexibility of various test scenes; the traditional plane near field measurement system is high in cost, and meanwhile, the servo motion track is single, so that far field measurement needs cannot be considered. Therefore, in the development process of millimeter wave antennas, there is an urgent need for a millimeter wave antenna test system capable of performing near, middle and far field tests on an antenna to be tested.
Along with the development of robot technology, a collaborative robot (such as a multi-axis collaborative mechanical arm) is used as a novel robot, has the advantages of quick installation, flexible deployment, simple programming, good collaboration and safety, low comprehensive cost and the like, can perform close-range interaction with a test operator in the same space, and simultaneously performs high-precision and high-repeatability work. Therefore, in the millimeter wave antenna testing field, the multi-axis cooperative mechanical arm is adopted to replace a turntable or a scanning frame in the traditional antenna pattern performance testing system, so that a new efficient and low-cost solution can be provided for testing and evaluating the performance of the high-frequency millimeter wave band antenna and the array pattern. However, the movement and stop of the multi-axis cooperative mechanical arm are coordinated with the radio frequency acquisition of the high-frequency millimeter wave antenna test system, otherwise, the time when the multi-axis cooperative mechanical arm reaches a sampling point is different from the time when the radio frequency system acquires the sampling point, so that the position of the multi-axis cooperative mechanical arm is not matched with the position of the sampling point which the mechanical arm should reach when the radio frequency system acquires, and the problem of inaccurate test results is caused.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims at: aiming at the defects of the prior art, the antenna test system, method and device based on the mechanical arm can realize near, middle and far field tests of the antenna to be tested, and meet the high-precision, high-efficiency, multi-mode, programmable and low-cost pattern test requirements of millimeter wave frequency band antennas and arrays.
Specifically, the invention is realized by adopting the following technical scheme.
In one aspect, the invention provides an antenna testing system based on a mechanical arm, which is used for testing an antenna 6 to be tested, and comprises a servo subsystem, a radio frequency subsystem, a cooperative control cabinet 10 and a data processing subsystem, wherein:
the servo subsystem comprises an antenna erection platform 1, a mechanical arm 2 arranged on the antenna erection platform 1 and a mechanical arm control cabinet 5 for moving the mechanical arm 2 according to the instruction of the data processing subsystem; the antenna 6 to be tested is fixed on the antenna erection platform 1;
the radio frequency subsystem comprises a test probe 7 fixed on the mechanical arm 2, a vector analyzer 8 and a corresponding radio frequency connecting cable; the vector analyzer 8, the electromagnetic field propagation path between the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7 and the radio frequency cable form a complete radio frequency transmission closed loop link; the vector analyzer 8 collects microwave signals of each test sampling point according to the instruction of the data processing subsystem and sends the microwave signals to the data processing subsystem;
the cooperative control cabinet 10 receives a working instruction of the data processing subsystem, converts the working instruction into a timing control time sequence and outputs the timing control time sequence to the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8;
the data processing subsystem is cooperated with the mechanical arm control cabinet 5, the vector analyzer 8 and the cooperative control cabinet 10 to complete positioning of the test sampling points and collection of microwave signals of the test sampling points.
Further, wave absorbing materials are laid on the upper surface of the antenna erection platform 1 and the periphery of the test probe 7.
Further, the antenna erection platform 1 is further provided with a mechanical arm guide rail 4, and the mechanical arm 2 is connected with the antenna erection platform 1 through the mechanical arm guide rail 4, so that position adjustment and fixation can be performed along the mechanical arm guide rail 4.
Further, an antenna bracket 3 to be tested is installed at a corner of the upper surface of the antenna erection platform 1 opposite to the mechanical arm guide rail 4, and is used for fixing an antenna 6 to be tested.
Further, the vector analyzer 8 is provided with a transmitting end radio frequency port, and is connected with the antenna 6 to be tested through a radio frequency cable; and the receiving end radio frequency port is connected with the test probe 7 through a radio frequency cable.
Further, the device also comprises a frequency conversion module, and the vector analyzer 8 is connected with the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7 through the frequency conversion module, so that the microwave signal is converted from a frequency higher than the frequency which can be measured by the vector analyzer 8 to a frequency which can be measured by the vector analyzer 8.
Further, the data processing subsystem is used for completing drawing and outputting of the antenna pattern to be tested according to the collected test data.
On the other hand, the invention also provides an antenna testing method based on the mechanical arm, which adopts the antenna testing system based on the mechanical arm to test, and comprises the following steps:
calibrating the origin of the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system, and establishing a mapping relation between the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system;
configuring test mode parameters on the data processing subsystem, including motion parameters related to the servo subsystem and performance test parameters related to the radio frequency subsystem; the data processing subsystem sends configuration instructions corresponding to the test mode parameters to the servo subsystem and the radio frequency subsystem, so that the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8 finish initialization;
initiating a formal test comprising: the data processing subsystem sends a working instruction to the cooperative control cabinet 10, and the cooperative control cabinet 10 converts the working instruction into a timing control time sequence and outputs the timing control time sequence to the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8; the vector analyzer 8 and the mechanical arm 2 controlled by the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 synchronously work under the time sequence driving, coordinate positioning of the test probe 7 at a set test sampling point and collection of related radio frequency amplitude-phase data are completed, and the collected data are returned to the data processing subsystem.
Further, the test modes include a far field test mode, and/or a midfield test mode, and/or a near field test mode, and/or a cylindrical test mode.
Further, the method also comprises an envelope coverage test before the formal test is started, and comprises the following specific steps:
the data processing subsystem only sends a motion test instruction to the servo subsystem, the radio frequency subsystem is not started to work at the moment, the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) drives the mechanical arm (2) to complete the traversal of all test sampling points according to given motion parameters, and coordinate data of the test sampling points are returned to the data processing subsystem so as to confirm that the motion envelope of the mechanical arm (2) moving under the motion test instruction of the data processing subsystem meets the test coverage requirement.
Further, before the mapping relation between the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system is established, the method further comprises the following steps:
the arm extension range of the mechanical arm (2) can cover the test field sampling area of the antenna (6) to be tested by adjusting the positions of the mechanical arm (2) and the antenna (6) to be tested;
1) In the far-field test mode, the test field sampling area is a hemispherical area taking the geometric center of the antenna 6 to be tested as the center of sphere, and the radius R is as follows:
R≥2L 2 /λ (1);
2) In the middle field and near field test mode, the test field sampling area is a plane area, the range is a preset distance from the antenna 6 to be tested by taking the projection of the antenna 6 to be tested on the plane as the center, and if the side length of the plane area is X, the following conditions should be satisfied:
X≥L+10λ (2);
3) In the cylindrical test mode, the test field sampling area is a cylindrical area, the antenna 6 to be tested is located at the center of the axis of the cylinder, and at this time, the radius R and the height X of the cylindrical area should satisfy:
R≥2L 2 /λ,X≥L+10λ (3)
in the formulas (1), (2) and (3), lambda is the wavelength corresponding to the working frequency of the antenna 6 to be tested, and L is the caliber size of the antenna to be tested.
In yet another aspect, the present invention further provides an electronic device, including a memory and a processor, where the processor and the memory complete communication with each other through a bus; the memory stores program instructions executable by the processor, and the processor invokes the program instructions to perform the method for testing the antenna based on the mechanical arm.
In yet another aspect, the present invention further provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the above-described method for testing an antenna based on a mechanical arm.
The beneficial effects of the invention are as follows:
by adopting the antenna testing method, the device and the system based on the mechanical arm of the invention,
by configuring the motion envelope and the motion path of the cooperative mechanical arm, the system has the functions of a traditional far field and plane near field test system, has a plurality of positioning modes such as continuous, stop-and-go, dragging and the like, and can flexibly complete the pattern test of the near field, mid field and far field pattern performances of the millimeter wave antenna to be tested; meanwhile, based on micron-level high positioning accuracy and multi-axis rapid movement speed of the cooperative mechanical arm, the system can also greatly improve the antenna testing accuracy and efficiency;
the data processing subsystem sends a working instruction to the cooperative control cabinet 10, the working instruction is converted into a timing control time sequence by the data processing subsystem and is output to the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8, the vector analyzer 8 and the mechanical arm 2 controlled by the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 start to work synchronously under the time sequence driving, so that when the mechanical arm 2 reaches the moment of a sampling point position designated by each test mode through the stop-and-go motion, the vector analyzer 8 is driven to complete the acquisition of microwave signals under the state until all sampling points complete the traversing test, and the time sequence cooperative process ensures that the accurate electromagnetic field distribution of the antenna 6 to be tested under the designated test envelope can be accurately obtained, namely the electromagnetic field data is strictly matched with the point position to be tested.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an antenna testing system according to an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an antenna test system according to an embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 3 is a flowchart of an antenna testing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The marks in the figure are as follows: the system comprises a 1-antenna erection platform, a 2-mechanical arm, a 3-antenna bracket to be tested, a 4-mechanical arm guide rail, a 5-mechanical arm control cabinet, a 6-antenna to be tested, a 7-test probe, an 8-vector analyzer, a 9-wave absorbing material and a 10-cooperative control cabinet.
Detailed Description
The invention is described in further detail below with reference to the examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Example 1:
an embodiment of the invention discloses an antenna testing method and system based on a mechanical arm.
As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the antenna testing system based on the mechanical arm in this embodiment is used for testing the antenna 6 to be tested, and mainly includes a servo subsystem, a radio frequency subsystem, a cooperative control cabinet 10 and a data processing subsystem. The servo subsystem comprises an antenna erection platform 1, a mechanical arm 2, an antenna bracket to be tested 3, a mechanical arm guide rail 4 and a mechanical arm control cabinet 5. The radio frequency subsystem comprises a test probe 7, a vector analyzer 8 and corresponding radio frequency connection cables. The data processing subsystem includes a computer (not shown in fig. 1) in communication with the robot control cabinet 5, the vector analyzer 8, and the co-controller cabinet 10. The mechanical arm control cabinet 5 is used for moving the mechanical arm according to the instruction of the data processing subsystem and returning the coordinates of the probe 7 to be tested under the mechanical arm coordinate system to the data processing subsystem. The radio frequency subsystem is used for collecting microwave signals of sampling points in each test mode according to instructions of the data processing subsystem and sending the corresponding microwave signals to the data processing subsystem. The data processing subsystem is used for configuring test modes and corresponding parameters, starting the test, completing positioning of test sampling points and acquisition of microwave signals of the sampling points in each test mode by the cooperation of the servo subsystem and the radio frequency subsystem, and completing drawing and outputting of an antenna pattern to be tested according to the acquired test data. And acquiring coordinates of each sampling point, and calculating to obtain a transformation relation among coordinate systems.
As shown in fig. 1, the antenna erection platform 1 is a box structure, has a strong bearing capacity, is made of metal materials, and can be preferably made of aluminum. The bottom may be provided with lockable rollers for ease of movement and fixation. The antenna erection platform 1 can be kept stable all the time in the movement process of the mechanical arm 2. The antenna erection platform 1 is internally provided with an equipment cabin for placing relevant test equipment, such as a mechanical arm control cabinet 5, a vector analyzer 8 and a cooperative control cabinet 10, so as to reduce radio frequency loss.
The mechanical arm 2 adopts a six-axis cooperative mechanical arm and is connected with the antenna erection platform 1 through a section of mechanical arm guide rail 4. The tail end of the mechanical arm 2 is provided with a threaded hole capable of fixing the test probe 7.
An antenna bracket 3 to be tested is arranged at a corner of the upper surface of the antenna erection platform 1, which is opposite to the mechanical arm guide rail 4, and is used for fixing an antenna 6 to be tested.
The antenna bracket 3 to be tested and the mechanical arm guide rail 4 are fixed on the upper surface of the antenna erection platform 1, and the mechanical arm 2 can be used for adjusting and fixing the position along the mechanical arm guide rail 4. During testing, the antenna 6 to be tested is mounted on the antenna bracket 3 to be tested. The antenna 6 to be tested and the mechanical arm 2 are arranged on the same antenna erection platform 1, so that the fixed relative reference positions of the antenna 6 to be tested and the mechanical arm are guaranteed, and the test precision is guaranteed. By adjusting the relative angle and the relative distance between the antenna support 3 to be tested and the mechanical arm 2, the tail end of the mechanical arm 2 can reach the arm extension range in the whole test process, and the test field sampling area required by the antenna 6 to be tested can be covered all the time. The dimensions of the antenna mounting platform 1, the mechanical arm 2 and the mechanical arm guide rail 4 are determined by the test field sampling area required by the test. In the embodiment, the size of the antenna erection platform 1 is 1.2m gamma 1.2m; the maximum arm expansion of the mechanical arm 2 is 0.9m, the tail end moving speed can reach 2.8m/s, and the mechanical arm 2 has the functions of dragging and track learning; the length of the arm rail 4 is 1.1m and is made of metal, preferably aluminum.
According to the test mode and the caliber size L of the antenna to be tested, the test field sampling area required by the antenna to be tested 6 for antenna test can be estimated:
1) In the far field test mode, the area is a hemispherical area taking the geometric center of the antenna 6 to be tested as the center of sphere, and the radius R is:
R≥2L 2 /λ (1)
where λ is the wavelength corresponding to the operating frequency of the antenna 6 to be tested.
2) In the middle field and near field test mode, the area is a plane area, and the range is a certain distance (about 1 lambda-5 lambda) from the antenna 6 to be tested, with the projection of the antenna 6 to be tested on the plane as the center. If the side length of the plane area is X, the following conditions are satisfied
X≥L+10λ (2)
3) In the cylindrical test mode, the area is a cylindrical area, the antenna 6 to be tested is located at the center of the axis of the cylinder, and at this time, the radius R and the height X of the cylindrical area should satisfy:
R≥2L 2 /λ,X≥L+10λ (3)
the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7 are both connected to the vector analyzer 8 by radio frequency cables. To reduce radio frequency losses, the vector analyzer 8 is placed in the equipment bay inside the antenna erection platform 1.
As shown in fig. 1, the antenna 6 to be tested is fixed on the antenna stand 3 to be tested, the test probe 7 is fixed on the end rotating shaft of the mechanical arm 2, and the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7 are connected to the vector analyzer 8 through radio frequency cables. In order to reduce the influence of the metal parts around the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7 on the field, wave absorbing materials 9 are distributed and laid on the upper surface of the antenna erection platform 1 (except the area of the antenna bracket 3 to be tested) and around the test probe 7.
As shown in fig. 2, the robot arm control cabinet 5 is connected with the robot arm 2 through a low-frequency cable to transmit a parameter control instruction to the robot arm 2; and communicates with the cooperative control cabinet 10 and the data processing subsystem through the ethernet to transmit various control instructions and power supply signals. The mechanical arm control cabinet 5 receives, analyzes and executes a parameter control instruction from the data processing subsystem, so as to control the movement of the mechanical arm 2. Under the control of parameter control instructions of a data processing subsystem, the mechanical arm 2 can realize motion envelopes of various test modes including planes, cylindrical surfaces, spherical surfaces, programmed curved surfaces and the like, and can realize various track positioning modes including stop-and-go, continuous, dragging, programming positioning and the like, so that the flexibility and convenience for acquiring the spatial field distribution data of the antenna 6 to be tested are greatly expanded, and meanwhile, the positioning precision can reach tens of micrometers, and the test precision requirement of a millimeter wave frequency band can be well met.
The two radio frequency ports (a transmitting end and a receiving end) of the vector analyzer 8 are respectively connected with the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7 through radio frequency cables so as to realize the test of microwave signals. In the antenna pattern performance test process, the vector analyzer 8, the electromagnetic field propagation path between the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7, and the radio frequency cable form a complete radio frequency transmission closed loop link. The vector analyzer 8 receives configuration parameters (including transmit/receive mode, test bandwidth/frequency point number, source power level, etc.) of different test modes through the data processing subsystem to complete initialization setting of the test. In the test process, the test probe 7 moves along with the mechanical arm 2 according to a preset envelope, and forms different relative distances and angles with the antenna 6 to be tested, so that the relative amplitude and phase changes between two radio frequency ports (transmitting and receiving ends) of the vector analyzer 8 in the radio frequency transmission closed loop link are caused, and the electromagnetic field distribution of the antenna 6 to be tested at different angles and different distances can be represented. When the test probe 7 moves along with the mechanical arm 2 to reach the position of a preset sampling point, the vector analyzer 8 synchronously completes the current amplitude and phase data acquisition between two radio frequency ports according to the preset test configuration parameters received from the data processing subsystem, and sends the acquired data back to the data processing subsystem through the Ethernet for data processing.
The vector analyzer 8 generally only supports testing of microwave signals below 40GHz, when the antenna 6 to be tested works in a higher frequency band, the vector analyzer 8 is firstly provided with a corresponding frequency conversion module according to the requirements in order to complete the antenna performance test of the corresponding high frequency band, then the vector analyzer is connected with the antenna 6 to be tested and the test probe 7, and the microwave signals are converted from the working frequency above 40GHz to the intermediate frequency signals which can be tested by the vector analyzer 8 so as to meet the test requirements.
The data processing subsystem can be realized by configuring corresponding software by a computer, and comprises parameter configuration, instruction sending, data recording and analysis and calculation function modules. The computer communicates with the mechanical arm system through the Ethernet, and sends corresponding movement instructions under different test modes to the mechanical arm system for control according to control instruction references provided by a manual of the mechanical arm system; the computer is connected with the vector analyzer 8 through a network port or a USB port, transmits configuration parameters (for initialization setting) and test parameters (for testing) of the vector analyzer to the vector analyzer 8, and receives radio frequency amplitude and phase data acquired by the vector analyzer 8; receiving coordinate data of a downsampling point of a mechanical arm coordinate system (namely, coordinate data of a test probe 7) returned by the mechanical arm system; and the data processing subsystem completes analysis and calculation of the antenna pattern and related characteristic parameters (including directivity, beam width, side lobe level and the like) by combining the coordinate data of the sampling points and corresponding radio frequency amplitude and phase data, and forms a curve and report output and display.
The coordinate system in this embodiment includes a robotic arm sittingAnd (5) a standard system and a test coordinate system. The mechanical arm coordinate system is a coordinate system adopted by the mechanical arm system, the origin of the mechanical arm coordinate system is usually defined by a manufacturer, and origin calibration can be performed according to the original coordinate system of the manufacturer, so that the purpose of the mechanical arm coordinate system is to calibrate the motion trail of the test probe 7. The test coordinate system is related to the antenna 6 to be tested, and the purpose of the test coordinate system is to describe the spatial field distribution of the antenna 6 to be tested more conveniently. The virtual coordinate system is generally set by taking the center of the envelope moved by the test probe 7 in the current test mode as an origin (for example, the spherical envelope is the center of sphere, the cylindrical envelope is the center axis midpoint, and the planar envelope is the planar center), according to the envelope characteristics. In the test process, each coordinate returned to the computer by the mechanical arm system is a coordinate (x j ,y j ,z j ) The data processing subsystem then transforms it into the test coordinate system (x c ,y c ,z c ) Lower part(s)So as toAnd (5) pose comparison and calculation are carried out.
The main steps of the antenna testing method based on the mechanical arm in this embodiment are as follows:
1. and determining that the range of the sampling area of the test field does not exceed the coverage capability of the mechanical arm. Specifically, the antenna 6 to be tested is mounted on the antenna stand 3 to be tested, a test mode (for example, one of a far field, a middle field or a near field is selected) to be performed is determined according to performance test requirements of the antenna 6 to be tested, and a test field sampling area range in the test mode is estimated according to the test mode by referring to formulas (1) to (3). Only when the envelope parameters given in the manipulator system manual are confirmed to cover the sampling area range, namely, when the manipulator 2 is ensured to have the capability of covering the sampling area of the test field, the performance test can be carried out.
2. The movement range of the mechanical arm can cover the test envelope required by the antenna to be tested by adjusting the positions of the mechanical arm 2 and the antenna to be tested 6. Specifically, the position of the antenna 6 to be tested on the antenna bracket 3 to be tested and the position of the mechanical arm 2 provided with the test probe 7 on the mechanical arm guide rail 4 are manually adjusted by rotating the multi-axis joint of the mechanical arm 2 to move, so that the mechanical arm 2 can completely move and arrive in a test sampling area range based on a test coordinate system (namely, a track range where the test probe 7 is required to move), namely, an arm extension range covers a test field sampling area of the antenna 6 to be tested, and the situation that the test envelope required by the antenna 6 to be tested cannot be met due to the dead angle of the movement of the mechanical arm 2 is avoided.
3. And calibrating the origins of the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system according to the test mode, and establishing a mapping relation between the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system so as to facilitate the subsequent data processing. The center of the mounting surface of the mechanical arm is usually taken as the origin of the coordinate system of the mechanical arm. The origin of the test coordinate system is determined according to the test mode, and the far-field and cylindrical test mode usually uses the center position of the antenna 6 to be tested as the origin of the test coordinate system, and the middle-field and near-field test mode uses the center of the plane as the origin of the test coordinate system.
4. Configuring corresponding test mode parameters on the data processing subsystem, comprising: motion parameters associated with the servo subsystem, such as continuous/stop-and-go mode, automatic pointing/manual drag mode, motion speed, test sampling area (including test point coordinates or number and interval of test points), etc.; performance test parameters associated with the rf subsystem, such as test start/stop frequency, test frequency point count, port test S parameter, test source power level, etc. The data processing subsystem sends corresponding configuration instructions to the servo subsystem and the radio frequency subsystem, so that the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 (comprising the mechanical arm 2) and the vector analyzer 8 finish initialization.
5. The data processing subsystem starts the envelope coverage test, namely only sends a motion test instruction to the servo subsystem, the radio frequency subsystem does not start working at the moment, the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 drives the mechanical arm 2 to complete the traversal of all sampling points according to given motion parameters, and coordinate data of the sampling points are returned to the data processing subsystem. By this step, it is confirmed that the motion envelope of the robot arm 2 moving under the motion test instruction of the data processing subsystem meets the test coverage requirement, for example, the robot arm can move to reach all the set areas to be tested and bypass the forbidden area (if the setting is performed), and no parameter setting errors and the like occur.
6. The data processing subsystem starts the formal test, that is, the data processing subsystem sends a working instruction to the cooperative control cabinet 10 through the test computer, and the working instruction is converted into a timing control sequence by the data processing subsystem and is output to the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8. The vector analyzer 8 and the mechanical arm 2 controlled by the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 start to work synchronously under the time sequence driving, coordinate positioning of the test probe 7 at the set test sampling point and collection of related radio frequency amplitude-phase data are automatically completed, and the collected data are returned to the data processing subsystem. The transformation between the coordinates of the sampling points in the test coordinate system and the coordinates of the sampling points in the mechanical arm coordinate system can be performed through the transformation relation between the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system. After all data are acquired, the data processing subsystem is used for combining the coordinates and the corresponding amplitude-phase data to finish analysis and calculation of the antenna pattern and related characteristic parameters (including directivity, beam width, side lobe level and the like) so as to form curves and report forms for output and display.
When the moment that the test probe 7 on the mechanical arm 2 reaches a certain sampling point along the motion path corresponding to the motion mode is inconsistent with the moment of acquiring the radio frequency data of the sampling point, the actually acquired radio frequency data is not matched with the position of the sampling point designated by the test mode. Therefore, the servo subsystem and the radio frequency subsystem need to cooperate in time sequence in the test process. The timing coordination is completed by a coordination control cabinet 10 arranged in an equipment cabin in the antenna erection platform 1 through receiving and analyzing control instructions of an external data processing subsystem and converting and outputting corresponding timing control timing to a mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and a vector analyzer 8. For example, the received and resolved control instruction is to collect radio frequency data of the next sampling point reached by the test probe 7 on the mechanical arm, the cooperative control cabinet 10 calculates that the test probe on the mechanical arm 2 reaches the sampling point after 1 second according to the current movement speed of the test probe 7, and then converts and outputs a time sequence pulse to the mechanical arm control cabinet 5 and the vector analyzer 8, so that the test probe 7 on the mechanical arm 2 stops when reaching the sampling point after 1 second, and the vector analyzer 8 performs radio frequency sampling on the sampling point after 1 second. The purpose of the timing sequence coordination is to enable the radio frequency subsystem to drive the vector analyzer 8 to complete the collection of the microwave signals in the state when the servo subsystem drives the mechanical arm 2 to reach the position of the sampling point designated by each test mode through the stop-and-go motion until all the sampling points complete the traversal test. The time sequence cooperation process ensures that the accurate electromagnetic field distribution of the antenna 6 to be tested under the appointed test envelope can be accurately obtained, namely, the electromagnetic field data are strictly matched with the point to be tested.
According to the mechanical arm antenna test system, the multi-axis cooperative mechanical arm is adopted to replace a turntable or a scanning frame in the traditional test system, the corresponding test method is further improved, the programmable high-precision antenna test system based on the cooperative mechanical arm is constructed, and a new high-efficiency low-cost solution is provided for performance test and evaluation of high-frequency millimeter wave band antennas and array patterns.
In some embodiments, certain aspects of the techniques described above may be implemented by one or more processors of a processing system executing software. The software includes one or more sets of executable instructions stored or otherwise tangibly embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The software may include instructions and certain data that, when executed by one or more processors, operate the one or more processors to perform one or more aspects of the techniques described above. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium may include, for example, a magnetic or optical disk storage device, a solid state storage device such as flash memory, cache, random Access Memory (RAM), or other non-volatile memory device. Executable instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be in source code, assembly language code, object code, or other instruction format that is interpreted or otherwise executed by one or more processors.
A computer-readable storage medium may include any storage medium or combination of storage media that can be accessed by a computer system during use to provide instructions and/or data to the computer system. Such storage media may include, but is not limited to, optical media (e.g., compact Disc (CD), digital Versatile Disc (DVD), blu-ray disc), magnetic media (e.g., floppy disk, magnetic tape, or magnetic hard drive), volatile memory (e.g., random Access Memory (RAM) or cache), non-volatile memory (e.g., read Only Memory (ROM) or flash memory), or microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based storage media. The computer-readable storage medium may be embedded in a computing system (e.g., system RAM or ROM), fixedly attached to the computing system (e.g., a magnetic hard drive), removably attached to the computing system (e.g., an optical disk or Universal Serial Bus (USB) based flash memory), or coupled to the computer system via a wired or wireless network (e.g., network-accessible storage (NAS)).
Note that not all of the activities or elements in the above general description are required, that a portion of a particular activity or device may not be required, and that one or more further activities or included elements may be performed in addition to those described. Still further, the order in which the activities are listed need not be the order in which they are performed. Moreover, these concepts have been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of present disclosure.
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims. Furthermore, the particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the disclosed subject matter may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. No limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown, other than as described in the claims below. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below.

Claims (13)

1. An antenna test system based on a mechanical arm is used for testing an antenna (6) to be tested and is characterized by comprising a servo subsystem, a radio frequency subsystem, a cooperative control cabinet (10) and a data processing subsystem, wherein:
the servo subsystem comprises an antenna erection platform (1), a mechanical arm (2) arranged on the antenna erection platform (1) and a mechanical arm control cabinet (5) for moving the mechanical arm (2) according to instructions of the data processing subsystem; the antenna (6) to be tested is fixed on the antenna erection platform (1);
the system comprises a radio frequency subsystem, a vector analyzer (8) and a corresponding radio frequency connection cable, wherein the radio frequency subsystem comprises a test probe (7) fixed on a mechanical arm (2); the vector analyzer (8), the electromagnetic field propagation path between the antenna (6) to be tested and the test probe (7) and the radio frequency cable form a complete radio frequency transmission closed loop link; the vector analyzer (8) collects microwave signals of all the test sampling points according to the instruction of the data processing subsystem and sends the signals to the data processing subsystem;
the cooperative control cabinet (10) is used for receiving a working instruction of the data processing subsystem, converting the working instruction into a timing control sequence and outputting the timing control sequence to the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) and the vector analyzer (8); the vector analyzer (8) and the mechanical arm (2) controlled by the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) start to synchronously work under the time sequence driving, coordinate positioning of the test probe (7) at a set test sampling point and collection of related radio frequency amplitude-phase data are automatically completed, and the collected data are returned to the data processing subsystem; stopping when the mechanical arm (2) reaches a sampling point designated by each test mode, and completing the acquisition of microwave signals in the state by the vector analyzer (8) when the mechanical arm (2) reaches the position of the sampling point until all the sampling points complete the traversal test;
the data processing subsystem is cooperated with the mechanical arm control cabinet (5), the vector analyzer (8) and the cooperative control cabinet (10) to complete positioning of the test sampling points and acquisition of microwave signals of the test sampling points.
2. The antenna test system based on the mechanical arm according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the antenna erection platform (1) and the periphery of the test probe (7) are paved with wave absorbing materials.
3. The antenna test system based on the mechanical arm according to claim 1, wherein the antenna erection platform (1) is further provided with a mechanical arm guide rail (4), and the mechanical arm (2) is connected with the antenna erection platform (1) through the mechanical arm guide rail (4) and can perform position adjustment and fixation along the mechanical arm guide rail (4).
4. A system according to claim 3, characterized in that the upper surface of the antenna mounting platform (1) is provided with an antenna support (3) to be tested at an angle opposite to the arm guide rail (4) for fixing the antenna (6) to be tested.
5. The antenna test system based on the mechanical arm according to claim 1, characterized in that the vector analyzer (8) is provided with a transmitting end radio frequency port, and is connected with the antenna (6) to be tested through a radio frequency cable; and the receiving end radio frequency port is connected with the test probe (7) through a radio frequency cable.
6. The antenna test system based on the mechanical arm according to claim 5, further comprising a frequency conversion module, through which the vector analyzer (8) is connected with the antenna (6) to be tested and the test probe (7), and converts the microwave signal from a frequency higher than the frequency measurable by the vector analyzer (8) to the frequency measurable by the vector analyzer (8).
7. The antenna test system based on the mechanical arm according to claim 1, wherein the data processing subsystem is used for drawing and outputting an antenna pattern to be tested according to the collected test data.
8. An antenna testing method based on a mechanical arm, which adopts the antenna testing system based on the mechanical arm according to any one of claims 1 to 7 for testing, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:
calibrating the origin of the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system, and establishing a mapping relation between the mechanical arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system;
configuring test mode parameters on the data processing subsystem, including motion parameters related to the servo subsystem and performance test parameters related to the radio frequency subsystem; the data processing subsystem sends configuration instructions corresponding to the test mode parameters to the servo subsystem and the radio frequency subsystem, so that the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) and the vector analyzer (8) finish initialization;
initiating a formal test comprising: the data processing subsystem sends a working instruction to the cooperative control cabinet (10), and the cooperative control cabinet (10) converts the working instruction into timing control time sequence and outputs the timing control time sequence to the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) and the vector analyzer (8); the vector analyzer (8) and the mechanical arm (2) controlled by the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) synchronously work under the time sequence driving to finish the coordinate positioning of the test probe (7) at the set test sampling point and the collection of related radio frequency amplitude-phase data, and the collected data is returned to the data processing subsystem; and stopping when the mechanical arm (2) reaches a sampling point designated by each test mode, and completing the acquisition of the microwave signals under the state by the vector analyzer (8) at the moment when the mechanical arm (2) reaches the position of the sampling point until all the sampling points complete the traversal test.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the test patterns comprise a far field test pattern, and/or a mid field test pattern, and/or a near field test pattern, and/or a cylindrical test pattern.
10. The method for testing the antenna based on the mechanical arm according to claim 8, further comprising an envelope coverage test before the initiation of the formal test, specifically comprising the steps of:
the data processing subsystem only sends a motion test instruction to the servo subsystem, the radio frequency subsystem is not started to work at the moment, the mechanical arm control cabinet (5) drives the mechanical arm (2) to complete the traversal of all test sampling points according to given motion parameters, and coordinate data of the test sampling points are returned to the data processing subsystem so as to confirm that the motion envelope of the mechanical arm (2) moving under the motion test instruction of the data processing subsystem meets the test coverage requirement.
11. The method of claim 8, further comprising, prior to establishing the mapping between the arm coordinate system and the test coordinate system:
the arm extension range of the mechanical arm (2) can cover the sampling area of the test field of the antenna (6) to be tested by adjusting the positions of the mechanical arm (2) and the antenna (6) to be tested;
1) In the far-field test mode, the test field sampling area is a hemispherical area taking the geometric center of the antenna (6) to be tested as the center of sphere, and the radius R is as follows:
R≥2L 2 /λ (1);
2) In a midfield and near field test mode, the test field sampling area is a plane area, the range is a preset distance from the antenna (6) to be tested by taking the projection of the antenna (6) to be tested on the plane as the center, and if the side length of the plane area is X, the requirements are satisfied:
X≥L+10λ (2);
3) Under the cylindrical test mode, the test field sampling area is a cylindrical area, the antenna (6) to be tested is positioned at the center of the axis of the cylinder, and at the moment, the radius R and the height X of the cylindrical area are as follows:
R≥2L 2 /λ,X≥L+10λ (3)
lambda in the formulas (1), (2) and (3) is the wavelength corresponding to the working frequency of the antenna (6) to be tested, and L is the caliber size of the antenna to be tested.
12. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor, said processor and said memory completing communication with each other via a bus; the memory stores program instructions executable by the processor, the processor invoking the program instructions to perform the method of any of claims 8-11.
13. A computer readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, characterized in that the computer program, when being executed by a processor, implements the method according to any of claims 8 to 11.
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