JP2007174176A - Unit and method for testing communication terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a test unit and a test method enabling accurate examination of phenomena during testing. <P>SOLUTION: A detailed information acquisition means 101 obtains detailed information including information other than a test result. A condition detection means 102 detects the occurrence of a particular condition during test execution. A recording means 103 records the detailed information obtained by the detailed information acquisition means 101 when the occurrence of the particular condition is detected in the condition detection means 102. According to the communication terminal test unit, because the detailed information is recorded when the occurrence of the particular condition is detected, necessary detailed information can be recorded without a large capacity recording medium, and the phenomena produced during the test can be examined accurately. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a test apparatus and a test method that perform pass / fail determination of a communication terminal by measuring communication characteristics of the communication terminal, and more particularly to a test apparatus and a test method that can accurately verify a phenomenon under test.

2. Description of the Related Art There are known test apparatuses that perform pass / fail determination of a communication terminal by measuring communication characteristics of a communication terminal such as a mobile phone. Such a test apparatus exchanges information by communication with the communication terminal to be tested, and determines pass / fail by examining the state of transmission / reception operation of the communication terminal based on a response from the communication terminal. ing.
JP 2005-12274 A

  For example, when a failure result is obtained by the test using the above test apparatus, the same test is performed again to investigate the cause of the failure. However, even when a reproduction test is performed, the frequency of failures may be low, or a failure may occur due to the interaction between the test apparatus and the test object. Moreover, the failure determination may be caused by improper setting of test conditions or a failure of the test apparatus. In such a case, since complex and critical verification is required to identify the cause, detailed data for analyzing the cause of the failure on the part of the tester or the test equipment manufacturer that provides the test equipment Work to acquire and investigate.

  However, if detailed data that is not directly required for pass / fail judgment is always recorded in the test apparatus, a large-capacity storage device for accumulating a large amount of data unnecessary for the test is required, which is not practical. Even if detailed data is accumulated, it is difficult to find data that is really necessary for verification from a vast amount of data.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a test apparatus and a test method capable of accurately verifying a phenomenon under test.

A test apparatus for a communication terminal according to the present invention is a test apparatus for testing communication characteristics of a communication terminal and outputting a test result. Detailed information acquisition means for acquiring detailed information including information other than the test result; A condition detecting means for detecting occurrence of a specific condition in the recording medium, and a recording means for recording the detailed information acquired by the detailed information acquiring means when the occurrence of the specific condition is detected by the condition detecting means; It is characterized by providing.
According to this communication terminal test apparatus, detailed information is recorded when occurrence of a specific condition is detected, so that necessary detailed information can be recorded without using a large-capacity storage medium. It is possible to accurately verify the phenomenon that occurred.

  The specific condition may be a condition indicated in the test result.

  The recording means may record the detailed information at a time traced back from the detection of the specific condition.

  The detailed information may include data types not included in the test results.

  The detailed information may include data with higher time-axis resolution than the test result.

  The detailed information acquisition means may comprise buffering means for buffering the detailed information, and the recording means may record the detailed information buffered by the buffering means.

The communication terminal test method of the present invention is a test method for testing communication characteristics of a communication terminal and outputting a test result. The step of acquiring detailed information including information other than the test result, and a specification during test execution And detecting the occurrence of a specific condition, and recording the detailed information acquired by the step of acquiring the detailed information when the occurrence of a specific condition is detected by the detecting step. It is characterized by.
According to this communication terminal test method, detailed information is recorded when occurrence of a specific condition is detected, so that necessary detailed information can be recorded without using a large-capacity storage medium. It is possible to accurately verify the phenomenon that occurred.

  The specific condition may be a condition indicated in the test result.

  According to the communication terminal test apparatus of the present invention, since detailed information is recorded when occurrence of a specific condition is detected, necessary detailed information can be recorded without using a large-capacity storage medium, The phenomenon that occurred during the test can be verified accurately.

  According to the communication terminal testing method of the present invention, detailed information is recorded when occurrence of a specific condition is detected, so that necessary detailed information can be recorded without using a large-capacity storage medium, The phenomenon that occurred during the test can be verified accurately.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram functionally showing a communication terminal testing apparatus according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, detailed information acquisition means 101 acquires detailed information including information other than the test results. The condition detection unit 102 detects the occurrence of a specific condition during the execution of the test. The recording unit 103 records the detailed information acquired by the detailed information acquiring unit 101 when the occurrence of a specific condition is detected by the condition detecting unit 102.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a communication terminal test apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment in which the test apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a mobile phone test apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the test apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a high-frequency transmission / reception circuit 1 that transmits and receives signals to and from the mobile phone 10 using radio waves of a predetermined frequency that the mobile phone 10 uses, Control information relating to establishment of a communication channel is exchanged between the cellular phone 10 and the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2 that demodulates the received wave received from the transmission / reception circuit 1 or modulates high frequency with data received from the protocol processing unit 3 described later. Measuring the high frequency characteristics and modulation characteristics received from the cellular phone 10 and comparing the measurement result with the reference value stored in the reference value storage section 41 to execute pass / fail judgment A measurement processing unit 4, a test result storage unit 5 for storing a numerical value of a measurement result obtained by the measurement processing unit 4 and a result of pass / fail determination as a test result, Includes modulation and demodulation processing unit 2, an internal log 6 to obtain detailed information from the protocol processing unit 3 and the measurement processing unit 4, a. This detailed information will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the internal log 6 includes a temporary storage unit 61 that buffers detailed information, and a storage medium 62 such as a hard disk that stores the buffered detailed information in a nonvolatile manner.

  FIG. 2B is a control block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the test apparatus of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, in the test apparatus of this embodiment, the high-frequency transmission / reception circuit 1, the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2, the protocol processing unit 3, the measurement processing unit 4, the test result storage unit 5, and the internal log 6 are It is controlled by the control unit 7. The operation unit 8 connected to the control unit 7 accepts various instructions from the user regarding settings and the like necessary for control by the control unit 7.

  Next, the operation of the test apparatus of this embodiment will be described.

  As described above, the internal log 6 acquires detailed information from the high frequency transmission / reception circuit 1, the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2, the protocol processing unit 3, and the measurement processing unit 4. The detailed information is information used when verifying the state of the mobile phone 10 and the test apparatus during the test execution, and is acquired beyond the range of the test results stored in the test result storage unit 5. In other words, the detailed information includes data of a type other than the data type constituting the test result. The detailed information includes data acquired at a timing different from the acquisition timing of the test result data.

  As described above, detailed information is obtained from each part of the test apparatus during test execution. The detailed information includes internal setting states and operation states for the high-frequency transmission / reception circuit 1, the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2, and the protocol processing unit 3. For example, the attenuator of each unit that defines the amplification level of the signal level, the setting state of the gain of each unit, the modulation / demodulation level and modulation accuracy in the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2, the data processing procedure in the protocol processing unit 3, and the like are included.

  Further, the detailed information includes input / output data and intermediate processing data for the high-frequency transmission / reception circuit 1, the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2, the protocol processing unit 3, and the measurement processing unit 4 during the test execution. For example, the transmission power of the high-frequency transmission / reception circuit 1, the signal strength in each part of the test apparatus, the frequency of the signal, the signal and data states in the modulation / demodulation processing unit 2 and the protocol processing unit 3, and the like are included.

  Further, the detailed information may include information indicating abnormality or failure of the test apparatus.

  Further, the detailed information may include the test result itself stored in the test result storage unit 5.

  The detailed information is given a time stamp, and the detailed information is sequentially stored in the temporary storage unit 61 of the internal log 6 together with the time stamp. The detailed information is sequentially overwritten in the temporary storage unit 61, and the latest detailed information is always buffered in the temporary storage unit 61 for a predetermined time.

  In the present embodiment, the buffered detailed information is stored in the storage medium 6 when the failure is determined. The storing procedure will be described later.

  FIG. 3A is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the test apparatus of the present embodiment.

  Steps S <b> 1 to S <b> 2 in FIG. 3A show a trigger notification processing procedure by the control unit 7.

  In step S1 of FIG. 3A, the control unit 7 determines whether or not a failure determination is shown based on the measurement result output from the measurement processing unit 4. If the determination is affirmed, the process proceeds to step S2. If the judgment is negative, step S1 is repeated. In step S2, the control part 7 performs a trigger notification toward the internal log 6, and returns to step S1.

  Thus, in the process of step S1-step S2, the presence or absence of the determination of failure is judged and the trigger notification is performed toward the internal log 6 in the case of failure.

  Steps S11 to S12 in FIG. 3A show a processing procedure in the internal log 6. In normal times, that is, when the trigger notification (step S2) is not performed, in the internal log 6, the detailed information with the time stamp as described above is sequentially stored in the temporary storage unit 61, and always the latest detailed information. Is buffered. The process of step S11-step S12 is performed under such a state.

  In step S11 of FIG. 3A, it is determined whether or not a trigger notification (step S2) from the control unit 7 has been received. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S12, and if the determination is negative, step S11 is performed. repeat. In step S12, the detailed information currently buffered and the newly acquired detailed information are stored in the storage medium 62 together with the time stamp, and the process returns to step S11.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a temporal range of detailed information stored in the storage medium 62 in step S12.

In FIG. 3 (b), it shows the time at which the reception of the trigger notification is recognized as T _0. At this time, detailed information acquired between time T ₁ and time T ₀ is buffered in the temporary storage unit 61. Also, detailed information newly stored in the storage medium 62 in step S12 are those acquired during the time T ₀ at time T _2.

Thus, storing At step S12, the detailed information inside the log 6 is obtained from the time T ₁ across the time T ₀ until time T _2, the storage medium 62.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the test results stored in the test result storage unit 5 and the detailed information acquired by the internal log 6.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the data handled as detailed information includes data of a type other than the data constituting the test result. Further, also in the time axis direction, the data constituting the detailed information is data with a higher time axis resolution obtained more finely than the test results.

  As described above, the type of data is increased, and the detailed information recorded with high resolution with respect to the time axis can be freely extracted from the storage medium 62 based on the user's instruction. Since this detailed information is a material that shows a detailed situation before and after the time T0, which is the time at which the failure is substantially determined, the cause of the failure can be verified in detail. For example, by verifying the detailed information recorded retroactively from the time when the failure determination was obtained, the situation immediately before the failure determination can be grasped. Further, in this embodiment, detailed information is recorded only for a necessary period, so that it is not necessary to prepare a large-capacity storage medium that is required when recording detailed information at all times.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when a failure determination is obtained during the execution of the test, detailed information obtained from each part of the test apparatus is automatically recorded in order along with the time information. By verifying such a record by an engineer who has the know-how of analysis, for example, a failure factor when the reproduction frequency is low can be accurately grasped. Alternatively, it is possible to specify the reproduction conditions when the reproducibility varies depending on the test environment. For example, this signal can be extracted when the test apparatus is responding to an unexpected signal. In addition, it is possible to appropriately grasp the abnormality of the test apparatus itself. Further, it is possible to grasp a mechanism or the like when a failure occurs due to the interaction between the test apparatus and the test object.

  In the present embodiment, detailed information is recorded with a high time base resolution. For this reason, it is possible to optimize the test conditions by detecting detailed information when a failure occurs due to improper setting of test conditions, for example, a shift in data acquisition timing, etc. It becomes. In particular, in the communication terminal test, the response of the communication terminal to the instruction from the test apparatus is tested, and it is necessary to consider the allowable range of the response period via communication. For this reason, in the test apparatus, it is necessary to acquire a response from the communication terminal at an appropriate timing, and it is a great advantage that the data acquisition timing can be optimized.

  In the above embodiment, the detailed information is recorded before and after the failure determination. However, only the detailed information before or after the failure determination may be recorded.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although detailed information is recorded when a failure determination is made, it fails by performing a trigger notification on conditions, such as 90% or 70% of the failure determination value, for example. Detailed information when a test result close to is obtained may be recorded. As a result, even for a phenomenon having a low reproduction frequency, data associated with the reproduction condition can be collected with a higher probability.

  Further, the condition for recording the detailed information is not limited to the determination of failure, and can be arbitrarily set. For example, detailed information may be recorded when the measurement condition satisfies a specific condition, or when the measurement result satisfies a specific condition. Further, the user may be able to set conditions for recording detailed information. For example, condition settings may be received through an operation on the operation unit 8 (FIG. 2B). Furthermore, a means for detecting an abnormality in the measuring instrument or measurement environment may be provided, and detailed information may be recorded when any abnormality is detected.

  Logs internal information useful for maintenance services, such as test equipment operating time, frequency of use of long-lived parts, and information related to the life of parts, such as hard disk access frequency and hard disk error log. You may enable it to verify together with information.

  In addition, by recording the time when the power is turned on and off of the test apparatus as a log and enabling verification along with the detailed information, it is easy to trace a phenomenon that occurs due to lack of warm-up time.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the internal log is built in the test apparatus has been described. However, detailed information may be recorded outside the test apparatus.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case of testing a mobile phone has been illustrated, but the type of communication terminal is not limited to this. The communication type of the communication terminal is not limited to wireless communication, but includes wired communication, optical communication, and the like.

  The scope of application of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention can be widely applied to a test apparatus and a test method for testing communication characteristics of a communication terminal.

1 is a block diagram functionally showing a communication terminal testing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the test apparatus of this embodiment, (a) is a block diagram which shows the structure of the test apparatus of this embodiment, (b) shows the structure of the control system of the test apparatus of this embodiment. Control block diagram. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the test apparatus of this embodiment, (a) is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of a test apparatus, (b) is a figure which shows the time range of the detailed information stored in a storage medium. The figure which shows the relationship between the test result stored in a test result storage part, and the detailed information acquired by an internal log.

Explanation of symbols

6 Internal log (detailed information acquisition means, recording means)
7 Control unit (condition detection means)
61 Temporary storage (buffering means)
62 Storage medium (recording means)
101 Detailed information acquisition means 102 Condition detection means 103 Recording means

Claims (8)

In the test equipment that tests the communication characteristics of the communication terminal and outputs the test results,
Detailed information acquisition means for acquiring detailed information including information other than the test results;
Condition detection means for detecting the occurrence of a specific condition during test execution;
Recording means for recording the detailed information acquired by the detailed information acquiring means when occurrence of a specific condition is detected by the condition detecting means;
An apparatus for testing a communication terminal, comprising: The communication terminal test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific condition is a condition indicated by the test result. The communication terminal test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records the detailed information at a time traced back from the detection of the specific condition. The communication terminal test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detailed information includes a type of data not included in the test result. 5. The communication terminal testing device according to claim 1, wherein the detailed information includes data having a higher time-axis resolution than the test result. 6. The detailed information acquisition means comprises buffering means for buffering the detailed information,
The communication terminal test apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records the detailed information buffered by the buffering unit. In the test method of testing the communication characteristics of the communication terminal and outputting the test results,
Obtaining detailed information including information other than the test results;
Detecting the occurrence of a specific condition during test execution;
Recording the detailed information acquired by the step of acquiring the detailed information when occurrence of a specific condition is detected by the detecting step;
A test method for a communication terminal, comprising: The communication terminal test method according to claim 7, wherein the specific condition is a condition indicated by the test result.

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