KR100915557B1 - Device and Method for Testing Airtight of RF Devices - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and method for confidentiality testing of RF equipment is provided. The disclosed hermetic test device includes a chamber in which the RF equipment under test is received; An air controller for injecting air into the chamber and measuring pressure inside the chamber; A vacuum port inserted into the chamber and contacting a vent cap portion of the RF equipment under test; And a vacuum generator coupled to the vacuum port and sucking air inside the RF equipment under test. The disclosed device has the advantage of being able to accurately test the tightness without pressurizing the RF equipment with vent caps.

RF, Airtight, Leak, Vent Cap

Description

Device and Method for Testing Airtightness of RF Equipment {Device and Method for Testing Airtight of RF Devices}

The present invention relates to a leak testing apparatus and method of the RF equipment, and more particularly to a device and method for testing whether or not to maintain a sufficient airtight so that moisture can not penetrate the RF equipment such as bias, filter. .

RF equipment is used for the transmission, filtering, amplification, and separation of RF signals, and is a variety of waveguides, filters, biases, isolators, duplexers, and TMAs.

In general, the interior of RF equipment for processing high frequency RF signals such as microwave is generally plated by a silver or a highly conductive metal such as silver to suppress the occurrence of the skin effect.

 If the moisture of such RF equipment penetrates, the plated film may be damaged for conductivity. Therefore, the RF equipment should be kept airtight so that moisture can not penetrate. You need to test

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional airtight test apparatus for RF equipment.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional airtight test apparatus of the RF equipment includes a chamber 100 and an air controller 102.

The chamber 100 houses RF equipment that is tested for hermeticity. The size of the chamber 100 is variously set according to the size of the RF equipment to be tested, and a hole for coupling with the air controller 102 is formed on one surface of the chamber 100.

The air controller 102 injects air into the chamber 100 for airtightness testing and senses a pressure inside the chamber, and injects air into the chamber through the hole.

Referring to Figure 1 describes the conventional airtight test method of RF equipment as follows.

First, after receiving the RF equipment in the chamber 100, the air controller 102 injects air into the chamber 100. Due to this air injection, the pressure inside the chamber gradually increases, and the air controller 102 injects air until a predetermined threshold pressure is reached for a predetermined time.

The pressure change in the chamber is monitored by the air controller 102 after a slight adjustment time after injecting air for a period of time. At this time, the air controller 102 monitors whether the pressure in the chamber maintains the critical pressure state for a predetermined time.

If the equipment under test is not sufficiently airtight, a portion of the air injected into the chamber may be drawn into the RF device, in which case the pressure inside the chamber is less than if the airtightness of the RF device is properly maintained. It can be lowered quickly.

Accordingly, the air controller 102 determines whether the proper airtight state is maintained according to whether or not the preset threshold pressure state is maintained for a predetermined time. For example, it may be determined whether 0.3 atm is maintained for about 8 seconds, and if the air pressure falls below 0.3 atm before 8 seconds has elapsed, it is determined that the airtight state is not adequate.

Such a conventional hermetic test method was able to be efficiently applied to the RF equipment that is not provided with a vent cap, but there was a problem that cannot be applied to the RF equipment provided with the vent cap.

Vent cap is made of Gore-Tex material and does not penetrate moisture, but it allows air to pass through. The vent cap is coupled to one side of the housing of the RF equipment and serves to prevent air from overheating by passing air.

Since the vent cap does not penetrate moisture but allows air to pass, even if the conventional test method described above is applied, even if the airtight state of the RF equipment is maintained, the air injected by the vent cap is introduced into the equipment, so that proper testing cannot be performed. There was a problem.

In order to solve the problem when the vent cap is provided as described above, a method of testing the airtight state after artificially covering a portion where the vent cap is coupled is used.

2 is a diagram illustrating a conventional airtight test apparatus for testing the airtight state of the RF equipment having a vent cap.

Referring to FIG. 2, an airtight test apparatus for an RF device having a vent cap may include a chamber 200, an air controller 202, and a pressure member 204.

In FIG. 2, the roles of the chamber 200 and the air controller 202 are the same as in the case of FIG. 1.

One end of the pressing member 204 is coupled to one surface inside the chamber 200 and the other end is in contact with the RF equipment under test. The pressing member 204 is in contact with the vent cap coupled portion of the RF equipment, the size of the contact end of the RF equipment of the pressing member corresponds to the size of the vent cap and should be able to cover the entire vent cap.

The pressing member 204 contacts the vent cap so that the vent cap is not exposed and pressurizes the vent cap portion of the RF equipment so that air does not penetrate into the vent cap at the contact portion.

As described above, air is injected by the air controller 202 while the vent cap portion of the RF equipment is pressed by the pressing member 204, and the pressure change after a predetermined time has elapsed in the same manner as in FIG. Test for confidentiality.

However, the airtight test by the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 has a problem that it is difficult to perform an accurate airtight state test while pressurizing the RF equipment with the pressing member. Typically, the vent cap is generally provided in the cover portion of the RF equipment, and the cover is fastened by a method such as screwing with the main body.

In the airtight test apparatus of FIG. 2, the pressing member not only pressurizes the vent cap but also pressurizes the cover together, thereby making it difficult to accurately test the airtight state of the RF equipment during the test.

In order to solve the problems as described above, the present invention proposes an airtight test apparatus and method of the RF equipment having a vent cap.

It is another object of the present invention to propose an airtight test apparatus and method for RF equipment that can accurately test the airtight state without pressurizing the RF equipment.

In order to achieve the object as described above, according to an aspect of the present invention, the chamber is accommodated RF equipment to be tested; An air controller for injecting air into the chamber and measuring pressure inside the chamber; A vacuum port inserted into the chamber and contacting a vent cap portion of the RF equipment under test; And a vacuum generator coupled to the vacuum port and sucking air inside the RF equipment under test.

The size of the contact end of the vacuum port is preferably larger than the size of the vent cap.

The vacuum generating unit may include a vacuum pump, wherein the air controller injects air into the chamber for a predetermined time, and the test target is determined by whether the pressure inside the chamber falls to a predetermined reference pressure during a predetermined test time. The confidentiality of the resulting RF equipment.

According to another aspect of the invention, the method comprises the steps of (a) receiving the RF equipment in the chamber; (B) contacting the vacuum port with the vent cap portion of the RF equipment; (C) drawing air inside the RF equipment through the vacuum port; (D) injecting air into the chamber for a predetermined time; And testing (e) the airtightness of the RF equipment by monitoring the pressure inside the chamber for a predetermined test time.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that can accurately test the airtight state without pressurizing the RF equipment with a vent cap.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the RF equipment confidentiality test apparatus and method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a bias tee among RF equipment to which the present invention is applied.

In the present embodiment, the airtight test apparatus and method will be described using the bias tee as a main example, but the present invention is not limited to the airtight test of the bias tee, and may be applied to various kinds of RF equipments having a vent cap.

The bias tee is a device that separates and outputs a DC signal component and an RF signal component in a mixed signal of the DC signal and the RF signal. In recent years, it is common that RF signals including control signals and communication data for base station equipment are transmitted through one transmission line, and a bias tee is used to separate the control signal and the RF signal of the DC component.

Referring to FIG. 3, the bias tee may include an input port 300, a DC output port 302, an RF output port 304, a body 306, an upper cover 308, and a lower cover 310. .

The input port 300 receives a signal in which an RF signal and a DC signal are mixed. The equivalent circuit of the bias tee is implemented with a capacitor and an inductor, and the DC signal is a device using a characteristic that the inductor passes but cannot pass through the capacitor.

The DC output port 302 is coupled to the inductor element inside the main body 306 and is a port for outputting a DC component of the input signal.

The RF output port 304 is coupled to the capacitor element inside the main body 306 and is a port for outputting an RF component of the input signal.

The upper cover 308 and the lower cover 310 are coupled to the upper and lower portions of the main body 306, and as shown in FIG. 3, may be coupled by a bolt coupling method. The inflow of water can occur mostly at the coupling site between the body 306 and the upper cover 308 and the lower cover 310, and the tightness of the equipment depends on the degree of bolting at this location.

On the other hand, the vent cap 350 is coupled to the center of the upper cover 308. As described above, the vent cap 350 is a Gore-tex material, which allows air to pass but does not allow moisture to pass through, and is mainly used for waterproof products. The vent cap 350 prevents the inflow of moisture but allows air to pass through, thereby preventing the temperature inside the RF equipment from excessively rising.

The coupling part of the vent cap 350 may be set in various ways according to the RF equipment, and the size and number of the vent caps 350 may also be set in various ways according to the size of the RF equipment.

Hereinafter, a leak test apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for a bias tee as shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an airtight test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, an airtight test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a chamber 400, a vacuum generator 402, a vacuum port 404, an air controller 406, and a monitoring device 408. Can be.

The chamber 400 has a structure in which all directions are blocked so that no air is introduced into the chamber 400, and RF equipment is accommodated therein. Although not shown in FIG. 4, a structure for fixing the RF equipment may be formed inside the chamber so that the RF equipment may be fixed during the test.

In the chamber 400, a hole for coupling with a port of the air controller 406 and a hole for inserting the vacuum port 404 extending from the vacuum generator may be formed.

The vacuum generator 402 functions to make the interior of the equipment coupled to the vacuum port 404 into a very low pressure vacuum. That is, the vacuum generating unit 402 functions to suck the air of the target equipment and discharge it to the outside, and a vacuum pump may be used as the vacuum generating unit 402.

There are various types of vacuum pumps such as volumetric pumps and rotary pumps using centrifugal force, and various types of vacuum pumps may be applied to the present invention. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a device capable of generating various vacuums in addition to the vacuum pump may be applied to the present invention.

The vacuum port 404 is coupled to the vacuum generator 402 to function as a passage through which air inside the target equipment moves. The vacuum port 404 is in contact with the vent cap coupling portion of the RF equipment, and functions to suck air inside the RF equipment by the vacuum generator 402. In addition, the vacuum port may serve to cover the vacuum port so that the vent cap is not exposed in the chamber, and the size of the contact portion of the vacuum port is preferably set larger than that of the vent cap.

The vacuum port 404 does not need to pressurize the RF equipment because the vacuum port 404 adsorbs the vent cap portion of the RF equipment to suck air inside the RF equipment, and the vacuum port 404 contacts the RF equipment. The operation of the vacuum pump alone prevents the vent cap from interfering with the leak test.

The air controller 406 injects air into the chamber and measures the pressure inside the chamber. The air controller 406 injects air for a predetermined air injection time and then detects a pressure inside the chamber.

The monitoring device 408 displays the pressure inside the chamber as measured by the air controller. The administrator may determine the confidentiality state of the RF equipment by checking the pressure displayed on the monitoring device 408.

5 is a view showing the overall flow of the leak test method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, first, RF chambers to be tested are accommodated in a chamber (step 500). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the bottom of the chamber may come out of the outside in a sliding manner, the RF equipment is seated on the sliding bottom and then pushed back into the inside by sliding the RF equipment in the chamber by closing the cover Can accommodate

Once the RF equipment is received in the chamber, the vacuum port inside the chamber contacts the vent cap site (step 502). As described above, the contact end of the vacuum port is set larger than the size of the vent cap so that the vent cap is covered by the vacuum port.

When the vacuum port contacts the RF equipment, the vacuum pump draws air inside the RF equipment through the vacuum port (step 504). The vent cap allows air to pass through, allowing it to suck air inside the RF equipment.

If air is sucked into the RF equipment for a predetermined time, air is injected into the chamber through the air controller (step 506). Air is injected until it reaches a predetermined threshold voltage, and according to an embodiment of the present invention, air may be injected until about 0.3 atm for a time of about 12 seconds.

Once air is injected, an adjustment step is made to maintain the critical pressure in the chamber (step 508). At this time, the air controller adjusts the pressure in the chamber by injecting or extracting air so that the pressure inside the chamber is maintained at 0.3 atmosphere. According to one embodiment of the invention, the adjustment step may proceed for about 6 seconds to 8 seconds.

After the adjustment step, the air injection is stopped for a predetermined test time and the pressure inside the chamber is monitored to test the air tightness of the RF equipment (step 510). According to one embodiment of the present invention, the pressure in the chamber is monitored for a time period of about 8 seconds to determine whether the pressure falls below a preset reference voltage. If the airtightness of the RF equipment is not sufficiently secured, since the air injected into the chamber may be injected into the RF equipment, the pressure inside the chamber will drop, and if the pressure drops below a predetermined reference voltage, it is determined that the airtightness of the reference value is not secured. do.

According to the above-described airtight test method, since the vacuum port does not pressurize the vent cap portion of the RF equipment, it is possible to solve the problem of the conventional method in which the airtightness is determined to be high due to the pressurization.

In addition, the test makes the inside of the RF device close to vacuum and the test is performed for more accurate airtightness test.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for purposes of illustration, and those skilled in the art having ordinary knowledge of the present invention will be able to make various modifications, changes, additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention, such modifications, changes and Additions should be considered to be within the scope of the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an airtight test apparatus of a conventional RF equipment.

Figure 2 shows a conventional hermetic test device for testing the hermeticity of the RF equipment with the vent cap.

3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a bias tee among RF equipment to which the present invention is applied.

4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an airtight test apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a view showing the overall flow of the leak testing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (6)

A chamber accommodating RF equipment having a vent cap capable of entering and exiting air; An air controller for injecting air into the chamber and measuring pressure inside the chamber; A vacuum port inserted into the chamber and contacting a vent cap portion of the RF equipment to be tested and having a contact end size larger than that of the vent cap to prevent air from entering the RF equipment; And And a vacuum generator coupled to the vacuum port and sucking air in the RF equipment under test. delete The method of claim 1, The vacuum generator is a tightness test apparatus of RF equipment, characterized in that it comprises a vacuum pump. The method of claim 1, The air controller injects air into the chamber for a predetermined time, and tests the airtightness of the RF equipment to be tested by whether or not the pressure in the chamber drops to a predetermined reference pressure during a predetermined test time. Leakage test device for RF equipment. (A) receiving RF equipment having a vent cap in the chamber; (B) contacting the vacuum port to the vent cap portion of the RF equipment-the vacuum port is inserted into the chamber to contact the vent cap portion of the RF equipment and the size of the contact end is larger than the size of the vent cap Set-; (C) drawing air inside the RF equipment through the vacuum port; (D) injecting air into the chamber for a predetermined time; And (E) testing the airtightness of the RF equipment by monitoring the pressure inside the chamber for a predetermined test time. The method of claim 5, And adjusting the pressure in the chamber to maintain a predetermined threshold pressure after step (d).

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