KR20100000133A - Analyzing system for wireless communication module - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A wireless communications module system for minimizing measurement cost and time is provided to reduce a manufacturing cost of a wireless communication module by efficiently processing a test of the wireless communications module. CONSTITUTION: A first wireless communications module(100) and a control computer(200) are connected through the first network. A second wireless communications module(300) is connected through the secondary network to the first wireless communications module. The second wireless communications module is connected through the third network to the control computer. The first wireless communications module processes the signal received from the second wireless communications module. The first wireless communications module transmits the standard signal according to the second transmission operation control signal.

Description

Measuring system for wireless communication module

An embodiment relates to a wireless communication module measurement system.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) (also called "WiFi (Wireless Fidelity)") allows freely moving network communication without the use of wired cables, high data rates, two-way communication, simple installation It has the advantages of having an environment and connecting a large number of devices.

Such a WLAN is largely composed of a wireless access device and a mobile communication terminal interworking with a wired network, and the wireless access device may be an access point (AP). The AP follows the high-speed 802.11 standard of DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) method and can configure network of speeds of several Mbps to several Mbps using ISM (Indutrial, Scientific and Medical) band region of 2.4GHz frequency without license. Is a wireless LAN equipment, and connected to a mobile communication terminal having a wireless LAN card to provide a communication channel.

Wireless communication modules such as APs or wireless LAN cards are connected to a PC, a signal generator, a vector signal analyzer, etc. before being commercialized, and undergo a test process of transmission and reception performance.

The signal generator transmits a signal having a waveform according to a modulation standard to a wireless communication module assuming various reception environments, and the wireless communication module processes the signal received from the signal generator and delivers the processed data to the PC. The signal generator and the PC may be connected via a wired cable such as, for example, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA).

The PC controls the transmission operation of the signal generator and analyzes the data transmitted from the wireless communication module to measure the reception performance of the wireless communication module.

The signal analyzer is connected to the RF cable through the antenna connector of the wireless communication module, and receives and analyzes the RF signal transmitted from the wireless communication module.

The signal analyzer analyzes the power level, output waveform specification, bandwidth, and modulation standard of the RF transmission signal transmitted from the wireless communication module. For example, ACV (Adjacent Channel Power Ratio) defined in PCV (Power Control Value) and IEEE 802.11 standards. ), Spectral mask, data rate according to modulation type, and error vector magnitude (EVM).

However, this is a method of backtracking analytical data by setting numerical values such as PCV and spectral mask several times and trimming ACPR, EVM, etc. at each time, which is troublesome and time consuming.

In addition, since the connection of the measurement system is complicated and the measurement process is difficult, only a skilled person can perform it. Therefore, testing the wireless communication module for each product decreases the production efficiency and increases the production cost.

In addition, even if the measurer requires only a few pieces of necessary measurement data, using a conventional measuring system is required to perform most of the measurement items more than necessary, which is quite inefficient.

The embodiment provides a wireless communication module measurement system that can simplify the configuration of a measurement system, minimize measurement cost and time, and selectively test necessary items within a range that complies with a communication standard.

The wireless communication module measuring system according to the embodiment includes a first wireless communication module and a control computer connected via a first network; A second wireless communication module connected to the first wireless communication module via a second network and connected to the control computer via a third network; The first wireless communication module processes a signal received from the second wireless communication module and transmits a signal of a standard according to a second transmission operation control signal; The second wireless communication module transmits a signal of a standard according to a first transmission operation control signal, and processes a signal received from the first wireless communication module; The control computer transmits the first transmission operation control signal to the second wireless communication module, the second transmission operation control signal to the first wireless communication module, and the signal processed by the first wireless communication module. It is characterized in that for receiving and analyzing the receiving operation of the first wireless communication module, receiving the signal processed in the second wireless communication module and analyzing the transmission operation of the first wireless communication module.

According to the embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

First, it is possible to test the transmission and reception operation of the wireless communication module in the range that meets the ACPR standard and the EVM standard through the minimized measurement process.

Second, because it can efficiently process the test process of the wireless communication module, there is an effect that can reduce the production time, production cost of the wireless communication module products.

Third, the configuration of the wireless communication module measurement system is simple, the construction cost can be minimized, and even beginners can easily perform the measurement process.

Fourthly, it is possible to select and test the essential items of the transmission and reception performance of the wireless communication module, and to easily tune the configuration circuit of the wireless communication module.

Fifth, there is an effect that can easily program the software of the wireless communication module measurement system.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, a wireless communication module measuring system according to an embodiment will be described in detail.

Hereinafter, in describing the embodiments, detailed descriptions of related well-known functions or configurations are deemed to unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, and thus only the essential components directly related to the technical spirit of the present invention will be referred to. .

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the components of a wireless communication module measurement system according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless communication module measuring system according to an embodiment includes a first wireless communication module 100, a control computer 200, a second wireless communication module 300, and a power supply device 400. .

In an embodiment, the first wireless communication module 100 is a wireless LAN card that can be mounted on a laptop or the like, and the second wireless communication module 300 performs wireless LAN communication with the first wireless communication module 100. to be.

For reference, of course, the first wireless communication module 100 may be provided as an AP.

The first wireless communication module 100 and the control computer 200 are connected through a first network 10, and the first wireless communication module 100 and the second wireless communication module 300 are second to each other. It is connected via a network 20.

For example, the first network 10 may be implemented through a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cable, and the second network 20 may be implemented in a WLAN.

In addition, the second network 20 may be implemented with an RF cable. In this case, the RF cable may be connected to the antenna pins of the first wireless communication module 100 and the second wireless communication module 300.

In addition, the control computer 200 and the second wireless communication module 300 is connected through a third network 30, the third network 30 may be implemented via Ethernet.

The power supply device 400 is connected to the first wireless communication module 100 through a fourth network 40, and is connected to the control computer 200 through a fifth network 50.

The fourth network 40 may be implemented through a power cable, and the fifth network 50 may be implemented through a serial cable such as RS-232.

2 is a block diagram schematically showing the components of the control computer 200 of the wireless communication module measurement system according to the embodiment, Figure 3 is recorded in the storage unit 230 of the control computer 200 according to the embodiment It is a figure which modeled the compiled data table.

Referring to FIG. 2, the control computer 200 includes an Ethernet processor 210, a PCMCIA processor 240, an RS-232 processor 290, a first control signal generator 220, a received signal analyzer 250, And a second control signal generator 260, a transmission signal analyzer 270, a tuning information processor 280, a power information processor 295, and a storage 230.

First, an operation of measuring a reception signal of the first wireless communication module 100 will be described.

The storage unit 230 has transmission / reception power setting information (a) of the second wireless communication module 300, and the first control signal generation unit 220 generates a first transmission operation control signal to generate the first transmission signal. 2 is transmitted to the wireless communication module 300.

The first transmission operation control signal is transmitted to the second wireless communication module 300 through the Ethernet processor 210. The Ethernet processor 210 converts an Ethernet packet into a digital signal that can be processed in a physical layer, or It converts the inverse to pass in both directions.

The second wireless communication module 300 also includes a component (not shown) corresponding to the Ethernet processor 210.

The transmission / reception power setting information (a) includes a numerical value such as ACPR, EVM, PCV, etc. of the second wireless communication module 300, and the first transmission operation control signal is set according to the transmission / reception power setting information (a). The first transmission output information (b), the first transmission time (c), and the packet amount (d) of the first transmission data are included.

The second wireless communication module 300 sets a transmission output to a predetermined power level according to the first transmission operation control signal, and transmits a predetermined amount of data for a predetermined time.

The second wireless communication module 300 is provided as an AP, and recognizes the device identification number of the wireless LAN card, that is, the first wireless communication module 100 connected to itself, and wired data and wireless data according to the 802.11 standard. Performs a function of converting each other.

The wireless data processed by the second wireless communication module 300 is converted into a baseband signal and an RF signal and then transferred to the first wireless communication module 100 through the second network 20.

In addition, the wired data processed by the second wireless communication module 300 is transmitted to the Ethernet processor 210 through the third network 30.

The first wireless communication module 100 performs wireless LAN communication with the second wireless communication module 300 and processes a signal received through the second network 20.

The first wireless communication module 100 includes an RF processor 120 for processing an RF signal and a baseband unit 140 for processing the RF signal into a digital signal.

The baseband unit 140 of the first wireless communication module 100 transmits the processed digital signal (hereinafter referred to as a "throuth-put signal") through the first network 10 to the control computer ( 200).

The PCMCIA processor 240 converts the throughput signal transmitted according to the parallel communication standard into a digital signal standard that can be processed in the physical layer, and transmits the signal to the received signal analyzer 250.

The first wireless communication module 100 also includes a component corresponding to the PCMCIA processing unit 240.

The received signal analysis unit 250 analyzes the throughput signal to determine the packet amount of the first received data processed by the first wireless communication module 100, the processing time f of the first received signal, and the data reception rate. (g), the received power level h is calculated.

The received signal analyzer 250 calculates the amount of packets processed per second by dividing the packet amount e of the first received data by the first received signal processing time f.

The received signal analysis unit 250 has a first conversion table (i) of the received power level (h) according to the amount of packets per second of received data, and the first wireless communication by the first conversion table (i) The received power level h of the module 100 may be determined.

In addition, the reception signal analyzer 250 divides the packet amount d of the first transmission data by the first transmission time c and sets the transmission packet amount per second to the second wireless communication module 300. Is calculated and compared with the amount of packets received per second of the first wireless communication module 100.

Accordingly, the reception signal analyzer 250 may calculate a data reception rate g of the first wireless communication module 100.

The control computer 200 changes the setting of the first transmission output information (b) according to the transmission / reception power setting information (a), the first transmission time (c), and the first transmission data packet amount (d). By changing the setting of), the reception operation of the first wireless communication module 100 can be measured in various environments.

For example, when the first transmission output information b is set small, it may be interpreted as a case where the distance between the second wireless communication module 300 and the first wireless communication module 100 is close (large signal). When the first transmission output information b is set to be large, the distance between the second wireless communication module 300 and the first wireless communication module 100 may be interpreted as being farther (small signal).

Second, the operation of measuring the transmission signal of the first wireless communication module 100 is as follows.

The second control signal generation unit 260 generates a second transmission operation control signal and transmits it to the first wireless communication module 100.

In this case, the second transmission operation control signal is transmitted to the first wireless communication module 100 through the PCMCIA processing unit 240.

The second transmission operation control signal includes a second transmission time j and a packet amount k of second transmission data.

The first wireless communication module 100 transmits a predetermined amount of data for a predetermined time according to the second transmission operation control signal.

The second wireless communication module 300 processes the signal received from the first wireless communication module 100 through the second network 20 as a digital signal.

The second wireless communication module 300 transmits the processed digital signal to the control computer 200 through the third network 30.

The Ethernet processor 210 transmits a digital signal (hereinafter, referred to as an "AP received signal") transmitted from the second wireless communication module 300 to the transmission signal analyzer 270.

The transmission signal analysis unit 270 analyzes the AP received signal and transmits the packet amount l of the second received data processed by the second wireless communication module 300, the second received signal processing time m, and the data transmission. Rate (n), the transmission power level (o) of the first wireless communication module 100 is calculated.

The transmission signal analyzer 270 calculates the amount of packets processed per second by dividing the packet amount l of the second received data by the second received signal processing time m.

The calculated packet amount per second of the AP received signal may correspond to the transmission power level of the first wireless communication module 100, and the control computer 200 may determine the first packet according to the packet amount per second of the AP received signal. It has the second conversion table p of the transmission power level o of the wireless communication module 100.

Therefore, the transmission signal analyzer 270 may determine the transmission power level o of the first wireless communication module 100 by the second conversion table p.

In addition, the control computer 200 calculates the amount of transmission packets per second set by the first wireless communication module 100 by dividing the packet amount k of the second transmission data by the second transmission time j. And compare this to the amount of packets received per second of the second wireless communication module 300.

Accordingly, the control computer 200 may calculate the data transmission rate n of the second wireless communication module 100.

The control computer 200 may change the second transmission time j of the second transmission operation control signal and the packet amount k of the second transmission data to change the setting of the first wireless communication module 100. The transmission behavior can be measured in various environments.

On the other hand, the power information processing unit 295 transmits a control signal to the power supply device 400 through the fifth network 50, the first wireless communication module 100 through the fourth network (40). You can control the value of power delivered to.

Accordingly, the power information processing unit 295 may measure a transmission / reception operation according to a power state of the first wireless communication module 100.

On the contrary, the control computer 200 measures the transmission and reception operations as described above, and the power information processing unit 295 measures the power value supplied to the first wireless communication module 100 in each measurement process. Can be found through the network.

Accordingly, the power information processing unit 295 may determine the supply power optimized for the first wireless communication module 100 according to the size and time level of the data processed by the first wireless communication module 100.

The power value information or the control signal transmitted to the power supply unit 400 may be transmitted in both directions through the RS-232 processing unit 290, and the power supply unit 400 may also be the RS-232 processing unit 290. And a corresponding component.

The tuning information processing unit 280 may set the power value information of the first wireless communication module 100 based on the measured value through the above process. Same as

4 is a graph showing a correlation between the output power value and the PCV of the first wireless communication module 100 according to the embodiment.

On the graph, the x axis represents the frequency band (Hz) of the communication channel, and the y axis represents the output power (dB).

According to FIG. 4, as the power control value (PCV) is increased, the ACPR of the output power value increases, and the waveform of the output power value is smoothly in the order of the E waveform, the D waveform, the C waveform, the B waveform, and the A waveform. It can be seen that it is changing and invading channels of different frequency bands.

5 is a diagram illustrating a polar coordinate diagram of an I / Q signal format in which the EVM changes as the output of the first wireless communication module 100 increases according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a case of a quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signal. As shown in FIG. 5A, the RF signal has a phase difference of 90 degrees when passing through an IQ signal modulator, and has a magnitude (I: In-phase). ) Is expressed as a signal vector with rectangular coordinates of a component and a phase (Q: quadrature) component.

However, as the PCV increases, changes occur as the RF spectral region becomes wider, as shown in FIG.

In other words, as the PCV increases, the error noise and distortion components are intensified, and thus the error width of the signal modulation is increased, resulting in a wider spectral region and a greater inter-signal interference effect. This corresponds to the A waveform of FIG. 4.

6 is a polar diagram illustrating an example of the concept of an EVM that changes as the output of the first wireless communication module 100 increases according to an embodiment.

According to Fig. 6, point A shows the theoretical signal position required by the communication module, and point B shows the position of the actual measured signal.

The vector component C shows the error vector between the two signals, and the separation distance D represents the magnitude difference between the theoretical signal and the measured signal.

Although the illustrated measurement signal is illustrated as one point for ease of comparison, the measurement signal may appear as points having a plurality of error vectors as shown in (b) of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating comparison of numerical values of a wireless communication module measuring system used to find a PCV having a maximum value while simultaneously satisfying an ACPR standard and an EVM standard. In Fig. 7, the x axis represents PCV and the y axis represents power.

Curve “G” in FIG. 7 is a characteristic curve of EVM, curve “H” is a characteristic curve of ACPR, and curve “M” is a characteristic curve of a throughput signal.

In addition, the constant "E" represents the threshold of the EVM, the constant "F" represents the threshold of the ACPR, and the constant "L" represents the threshold of the throughput signal.

Therefore, the ACPR tolerance range "K" is set based on the point where the curve "H" and the constant "F" meet, and the EVM tolerance range "J" is the point where the curve "G" and the constant "E" meet. It is set as a standard.

Characteristic curves and threshold values of the EVM and ACPR in FIG. 7 are viewed as transmit / receive power setting information (a) of the second wireless communication module 300 or transmit / receive power setting information applicable to the first wireless communication module 100. Can be.

As the transmission power level (o) and the reception power level (h) are measured, the tuning information processing unit 280 may determine the transmission power and the reception power that are most suitable for the first wireless communication module 100. Use the graph in 7.

The tuning information processing unit 280 selects a value larger than the threshold value "L" of the throughput signal from the characteristic curve "M" of the output signal, wherein the tuning information processing unit 280 is smaller than the "K" region and larger than the "J" region. The PCV of the first wireless communication module 100 may be determined.

The tuning information processing unit 280 determines the PCV by a value close to the point "I". The PCV determined as described above is used to determine the transmission power or the reception power of the first wireless communication module 100.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the optimized transmission power and the reception power can be easily determined by measuring the characteristics of the throughput signal and selecting a measurement value satisfying the general ACPR and EVM standards of the wireless communication module for wireless LAN among the measurement values of the throughput signal. Can be.

8 is a table illustrating an EVM standard that may be used in a wireless communication module measurement system according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8, data rates and EVMs according to modulation formats of Bi-phase Shift Keying (BPSK), QPSK, 16-state Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM), and 64-state QAM are shown. Has the frequency of the bit stream.

The first control signal generator 220 may transmit the first transmission operation control signal to the second wireless communication module 300 to set one of the modulation standards shown in FIG. 8.

Accordingly, the wireless communication module measuring system according to the embodiment measures the PCV, transmission power level, and reception power level of the first wireless communication module 100 satisfying various bit rates (transmission / reception data packet quantity) and EVM according to a modulation standard. Measure and tune.

The tuning information processing unit 280 receives and records the device identification information and the product information of the first wireless communication module 100 according to the determination of the optimal transmission power and the reception power, and the first wireless communication module 100. The control signal may be transmitted to control the bias voltage of the power amplifier provided in the first wireless communication module or to control the operation of the attenuator connected to the power amplifier.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, which are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains do not depart from the essential characteristics of the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications are not possible that are not illustrated above. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiment of the present invention can be modified. And differences relating to such modifications and applications will have to be construed as being included in the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the components of a wireless communication module measurement system according to an embodiment;

2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating components of a control computer of a wireless communication module measuring system according to an embodiment;

3 is a view schematically illustrating a data table recorded in a storage unit of a control computer according to an embodiment.

4 is a graph showing the correlation between the output power value and the PCV of the first wireless communication module according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a polar diagram of an I / Q signal format in which the EVM changes as the output of the first wireless communication module increases according to the embodiment; FIG.

6 is a polar diagram illustrating an example of the concept of the EVM that changes as the output of the first wireless communication module increases according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating comparison between numerical values of a wireless communication module measuring system used to find a PCV having a maximum value while simultaneously satisfying an ACPR standard and an EVM standard. FIG.

8 is a table showing an EVM standard that can be used in the wireless communication module measurement system according to the embodiment.

Claims (18)

A first wireless communication module and control computer connected via a first network; A second wireless communication module connected to the first wireless communication module via a second network and connected to the control computer via a third network, The first wireless communication module processes a signal received from the second wireless communication module, transmits a signal of a standard according to the second transmission operation control signal, The second wireless communication module transmits a signal of a standard according to a first transmission operation control signal, processes a signal received from the first wireless communication module, The control computer transmits the first transmission operation control signal to the second wireless communication module, the second transmission operation control signal to the first wireless communication module, and the signal processed by the first wireless communication module. Receiving the analysis of the receiving operation of the first wireless communication module, the wireless communication module measuring system, characterized in that for receiving the signal processed by the second wireless communication module to analyze the transmission operation of the first wireless communication module. . The method of claim 1, The first wireless communication module is a wireless LAN card or an AP, The second wireless communication module is a wireless communication module measurement system, characterized in that the AP. The method of claim 1, The first network and the third network are implemented via a PCMCIA network device or an Ethernet network device, The second network is a wireless communication module measurement system, characterized in that implemented via a wireless LAN or via an RF cable connected to the antenna pins of the first wireless communication module and the second wireless communication module. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless communication module Wireless communication module measurement system comprising an RF processing unit and a baseband unit. The method of claim 1, wherein the control computer A first control signal generation unit configured to generate the first transmission operation control signal including one or more of first transmission output information, first transmission time, and first transmission data packet amount and transmit the generated control signal to the second wireless communication module; A reception signal analyzer configured to receive a signal processed by the first wireless communication module and analyze one or more of a first received data packet amount, a first received signal processing time, a data reception rate, and a received power level; A second control signal generation unit configured to generate the second transmission operation control signal including at least one of a second transmission time and a second transmission data packet amount and transmit the generated control signal to the first wireless communication module; And Transmission signal analysis for receiving at least one of a signal received by the second wireless communication module and analyzing at least one of a second received data packet amount, a second received signal processing time, a data transmission rate and a transmission power level of the first wireless communication module. Wireless communication module measurement system comprising a unit. The method of claim 5, And the first transmission output information is set according to transmission / reception power setting information including at least one of ACPR, EVM, and PCV of the second wireless communication module. The method of claim 5, wherein the control computer And a PCMCIA processor configured to process the data communication by connecting the received signal analyzer and the second control signal generator to the first network. The method of claim 5, wherein the control computer And a Ethernet processor configured to process data communication by connecting the first control signal generator and the transmission signal analyzer to the third network. The method of claim 5, wherein the received signal analysis unit Calculate the received packet amount per second by dividing the first received data packet amount by the first received signal processing time; Grasp the reception power level of the first wireless communication module according to the first conversion table of the reception power level according to the reception packet amount per second, Wireless communication module measurement, characterized in that for calculating the data reception rate of the first wireless communication module by comparing the transmission packet amount per second and the received packet amount per second calculated by dividing the first transmission data packet amount by the first transmission time. system. The method of claim 5, wherein the first control signal generation unit Wireless communication module measurement, characterized in that the receiving operation of the first wireless communication module is measured in various environments by changing one or more settings of the first transmission output information, the first transmission time, the first transmission data packet amount. system. The method of claim 5, wherein the transmission signal analysis unit Calculating the received packet amount per second by dividing the second received data packet amount by the second received signal processing time; Grasp the transmission power level of the first wireless communication module by the second conversion table of the transmission power level according to the received packet amount per second, The wireless communication module calculates a data communication rate of the first wireless communication module by comparing the transmission packet amount per second and the reception packet amount per second calculated by dividing the second transmission data packet amount by the second transmission time. Measuring system. The method of claim 5, wherein the second control signal generation unit And measuring a transmission operation of the first wireless communication module in various environments by changing one or more settings of the first transmission time and the first transmission data packet amount. The method of claim 1, A power supply device connected to the first wireless communication module through a fourth network to supply power, and connected to the control computer via a fifth network; The control computer includes a power information processing unit for transmitting a control signal to the power supply device to determine and control the power value supplied to the first wireless communication module. The method of claim 13, The fourth network is implemented via a power cable, The fifth network is a wireless communication module measuring system, characterized in that implemented via a serial cable. The method of claim 13, wherein the control computer And a RS-232 processor configured to process data communication by connecting the power information processor to the fifth network. The method of claim 5, And a tuning information processor for determining the PCV of the first wireless communication module in a section larger than an EVM threshold and smaller than an ACPR threshold among characteristic curves of the measurement target signal (throughput signal) according to the received power level or the transmit power level. Communication module measuring system. The method of claim 5, wherein the first control signal generation unit And generating the first transmission operation control signal including a control signal for causing the second wireless communication module to select any one of a plurality of modulation standards. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the tuning information processing unit The control signal for adjusting the bias voltage of the power amplifier module provided in the first wireless communication module or the control signal for adjusting the attenuation width of the attenuator connected to the power amplifier module according to the PCV is determined in the first wireless communication. Wireless communication module measurement system, characterized in that the transfer to the module.

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