TWI773982B - Beamforming device, calibration method and calibration system for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A beamforming device, a calibration method and a calibration system for the same are provided. The beamforming device includes a processor, a memory unit, a base band circuit, and a plurality of antenna modules. Each of the plurality of antenna modules includes a plurality of antenna units, and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of antenna units. The memory unit stores a reference codebook, a plurality of calibration codebooks, and instruction data. Each of the plurality of calibration codebooks includes a plurality of calibration control data divided by a plurality of target patterns, and the plurality of calibration codebooks differ from the reference codebook with a plurality of predetermined phase differences different from each other. The instruction data is used to instruct the baseband circuit to use one codebook of the reference codebook and the plurality of calibration codebooks when transmitting and receiving signals in a plurality of predetermined target fields.

Description

Beamforming device, calibration method and calibration system therefor

related applications

The present invention claims the priority of US Patent Provisional Application No. 62/851,111 (filing date: May 22, 2019), the entire content of which is incorporated as a part of the patent specification of the present invention for reference.

The present invention relates to a beamforming device, a calibration method and a calibration system therefor, and in particular to a beamforming device capable of correcting the phase difference between antenna modules, a calibration method and a calibration system therefor.

In mmWave communications, the path loss associated with the antenna module of a beamforming device is much greater than that of similar devices operating at lower frequencies. Beamforming techniques are often used to increase communication range, and the most common architecture is one baseband module controlling multiple antenna modules. In high frequency applications, the smaller wavelengths make it difficult to meet device requirements at the time of manufacture. For example, at an operating frequency of 60 GHz, the wavelength is only about 5 mm. This means that every time a 0.1mm path change occurs, there will be a 36-degree phase difference between the antenna modules.

When there is a phase difference between the antenna modules, the phase difference will lead to lower equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) during beamforming, and even lead to poor side lobe level (Side- lobe Level, SLL), and then make the waves generated by the actual operation The beamforming pattern deviates from the ideal beamforming pattern.

Therefore, correcting the phase difference between the antenna modules of the beamforming device by means of calibration to overcome the above-mentioned defects has become one of the important issues to be solved by this project.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a beamforming device capable of correcting the phase difference between antenna modules, a calibration method and a calibration system therefor, aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art.

In order to solve the above technical problems, one of the technical solutions adopted by the present invention is to provide a calibration method for a beamforming device, which is used for a device including a processor, a memory unit, a baseband circuit and a plurality of antenna modules. A beamforming device, the calibration method includes: storing a reference codebook (codebook) in the memory unit, wherein the reference codebook includes a plurality of reference control data, divided by a plurality of target patterns, and the plurality of The reference control data is used to set a plurality of antenna units of each of the antenna modules and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units respectively; according to the reference codebook and a plurality of predetermined phases The difference generates a plurality of correction codebooks and stores them in the memory unit, wherein a plurality of the predetermined phase differences are different from each other, and each of the plurality of the correction codebooks includes a plurality of strokes divided by a plurality of the target patterns Correction control data; select a predetermined target pattern, and configure the fundamental frequency circuit to control the correction with a plurality of correction codebooks corresponding to the predetermined target pattern according to the predetermined target pattern The data respectively controls a plurality of the antenna modules to generate a plurality of test signals; configures a receiver to receive a plurality of the test signals; configures the computing device to process a plurality of the test signals to calculate a plurality of the test signals respectively testing the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the signal in the predetermined target area, and generating a plurality of test results; and configuring the computing device to have a maximum equivalent value according to the plurality of test results The corrected codebook of isotropic radiated power is set to the beamforming It is a predetermined codebook used by the device to transmit and receive signals in the predetermined target pattern.

In order to solve the above technical problem, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a calibration system for a beamforming device, which includes a computing device, a beamforming device and a receiver. The beam forming device is connected to the computing device. The beam forming device includes a processor, a memory unit, a baseband circuit and a plurality of antenna modules. Each of the plurality of antenna modules includes a plurality of antenna units, a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units. Wherein, the computing device is configured to store a reference codebook (codebook) in the memory unit, the reference codebook includes a plurality of reference control data, divided into a plurality of target patterns, and a plurality of the reference control data The data is used to set a plurality of antenna units of each of the antenna modules and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units respectively. The computing device generates a plurality of correction codebooks according to the reference codebook and a plurality of predetermined phase differences, and stores them in the memory unit, wherein a plurality of the predetermined phase differences are different from each other, and a plurality of the correction codebooks Each includes a plurality of correction control data divided by a plurality of the target patterns. Wherein, the baseband circuit is configured to control a plurality of the antenna modules respectively according to the selected predetermined target area with a plurality of pieces of the correction control data corresponding to the predetermined target area in the plurality of correction codebooks, to generate multiple test signals. wherein the receiver is configured to receive a plurality of the test signals. The computing device is configured to process a plurality of the test signals, so as to calculate the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the plurality of test signals in the predetermined target area, and generate a plurality of Test Results. The computing device is configured to, according to a plurality of the test results, set the correction codebook with the maximum equivalent isotropic radiation power to be used by the beamforming device to transmit and receive signals in the predetermined target pattern predetermined codebook.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, another technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a beamforming device, which includes a processor, a memory unit, a baseband circuit and a plurality of antenna modules. Each of the plurality of antenna modules includes a plurality of antenna units, and Multiple phase shifters and multiple amplifiers. The memory unit stores a reference codebook, a plurality of calibration codebooks, and instruction data, each of the plurality of calibration codebooks includes a plurality of calibration control data divided by a plurality of target field patterns, and the plurality of calibration codebooks and the reference code The present are respectively different from each other by a plurality of predetermined phase differences different from each other. The instruction data is used to indicate a plurality of predetermined codebooks among a plurality of correction codebooks respectively used by the baseband circuit when transmitting and receiving signals in a plurality of predetermined target field patterns.

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the beamforming device, the calibration method and the calibration system for the beamforming device provided by the present invention can generate multiple signals corresponding to multiple antenna modules according to multiple predetermined phase differences and reference codebooks. A calibration codebook is used, and the predetermined codebook used by the beamforming device for signal transmission and reception is set based on the test results. Correction can be used to re-orient the radiation pattern in the desired direction, so that the overall performance matches the original design specification when deviations occur due to the error between the two.

For a further understanding of the features and technical content of the present invention, please refer to the following detailed descriptions and drawings of the present invention. However, the drawings provided are only for reference and description, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

1: Correction system of beamforming device

10: Beamforming device

12: Computing Devices

14: Receiver

100: Processor

102: Memory Unit

104: Fundamental frequency circuit

106-1, 106-2…106-M: Antenna Module

AT11, AT12, AT13, AT14…AT1N, AT21, AT22, AT23, AT24…AT2N: Antenna Unit

PS11, PS12…PS1N, PS21, PS22…PS2N: Phase shifters

AP11, AP12…AP1N, AP21, AP22…AP2N: Amplifier circuit

θ2: Phase difference

θ1: phase difference

REF: Reference Codebook

CAL: Correction codebook

108-1, 108-2...108-M: Adjustable Phase Shifter

SPDT: Shubu double cut switch

SP4T: Shubu four-way switch

In: input terminal

INS:Instruction data

Out: output terminal

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a correction system for a beamforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a beamforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a calibration method for a beamforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A to 4C are schematic diagrams for generating multiple phases of a reference codebook according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5A to 5C are schematic diagrams for generating a plurality of phases of one of the correction codebooks according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph of EIRP versus a plurality of predetermined phase differences in a test result of an embodiment of the present invention.

7A and 7B are performance measurement charts before and after applying the calibration method for a beamforming device of the present invention, respectively.

8A is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a baseband circuit, an adjustable phase shifter, and an antenna module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8B and 8C are schematic diagrams of an adjustable phase shifter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The following are specific embodiments to illustrate the embodiments of the “beamforming device, calibration method therefor and calibration system” disclosed in the present invention. Those skilled in the art can understand the advantages of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. with effect. The present invention can be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified and changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the concept of the present invention. In addition, the drawings of the present invention are merely schematic illustrations, and are not drawn according to the actual size, and are stated in advance. The following embodiments will further describe the related technical contents of the present invention in detail, but the disclosed contents are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. In addition, the term "or", as used herein, should include any one or a combination of more of the associated listed items, as the case may be.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a correction system for a beamforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , a first embodiment of the present invention provides a calibration system 1 for a beamforming device, which includes a beamforming device 10 , a computing device 12 and a receiver 14 .

The beamforming apparatus 10 may include a processor 100, a memory unit 102, a baseband circuit 104, and a plurality of antenna modules 106-1, 106-2 . . . 106-M. Referring further to FIG. 2 , FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a beamforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the antenna modules 106-1, 106-2...106-M Each includes a plurality of antenna elements and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers corresponding to the plurality of the antenna elements, respectively. For example, the antenna module 106-1 may include antenna units AT11, AT12...AT1N, and phase shifters PS11, PS12...PS1N and amplifier circuits AP11, AP12 corresponding to the antenna units AT11, AT12...AT1N, respectively ...AP1N. The phase shifters PS11, PS12...PS1N may set different shifting phases for the individual antenna units AT11, AT12...AT1N, and the amplifier circuits AP11, AP12...AP1N may each comprise a plurality of amplifiers to amplify the phase shifted The phase-shifted signals of the PS11, PS12...PS1N are not limited to the number shown in Figure 2, thereby achieving the desired beamforming.

In addition, the processor 100 can be, for example, a microcontroller (microcontroller), a microprocessor (microprocessor), a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), which is used to obtain a codebook (codebook) from the memory unit 102 ), to assign the corresponding phase and amplifier parameters to the antenna units AT11, AT12, . Groups 106-1, 106-2...106-M.

The antenna module 106-1 may also include a radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit includes a digital to analog converter (DAC) for converting the base frequency digital signal from the base frequency circuit 104 into an analog radio frequency signal. Similarly, the antenna module 106-2 may include antenna units AT21, AT22...AT2N, phase shifters PS21, PS22...PS2N and amplifier circuits AP21, corresponding to the antenna units AT21, AT22...AT2N, respectively. AP22...AP2N.

The beamforming device 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes a plurality of antenna modules 106-1, 106-2...106-M, and the antenna modules 106-1, 106-2...106-M are due to the manufacturing process offset, there may be many errors. When these hardware errors exist in the beamforming device 10, the main transmission direction of the synthesized beam may be shifted, transmitted in the wrong direction, or the beam energy may be attenuated due to the gain and phase errors of the hardware, which will be difficult to achieve. Correct beamforming. For example, when designing a codebook for the antenna module 106-1, the preset baseband circuit 104 adds the phase of the antenna module 106-1 itself The difference θ1 is a fixed value, and the structure of the antenna module 106-2 is the same as that of the antenna module 106-1. In theory, the phase difference θ2 of the fundamental frequency circuit 104 plus the antenna module 106-2 itself should be the same as the phase difference θ1. However, in fact, different RF circuits will bring unpredictable phase deviation. If the same codebook is used for control, it may directly affect the angle and SLL of the maximum EIRP of the beamforming. Considering the influence caused by hardware errors, it is necessary to adopt the correction system and correction method for the beamforming device of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the computing device 12 may be a microcontroller (microcontroller), a microprocessor (microprocessor), a digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC) , digital logic circuits, mobile computing devices, computers and other electronic devices that can provide computing capabilities. In one embodiment, the computing device 12 may be a computer configured to be electrically connected to the receiver 14 to obtain desired information from the receiver 14 .

The receiver 14 is, for example, a horn antenna, a wireless base station, or a mobile device. The beamforming device 10 and the receiver 14 can communicate through wireless signal transmission. The receiver 14 may include, for example, a power sensor for detecting the strength of the wireless signal from the beamforming device 10 . The receiver 20 can measure the signal strength of the beamforming device 10 at different angles.

Please refer to FIG. 3 below, which is a flowchart of a calibration method for a beamforming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3 , an embodiment of the present invention provides a calibration method for a beamforming device, which is applicable to the calibration system 1 of the foregoing embodiment, and includes at least the following steps:

Step S100: Configure the computing device to store the reference codebook (codebook) REF in the memory unit. The reference codebook REF includes multiple pieces of reference control data, which are divided into multiple target field patterns, and the multiple pieces of reference control data are used to set multiple antenna units of each antenna module and multiple pieces of information corresponding to the multiple antenna units respectively. phase shifters and multiple amplifiers.

Taking two antenna modules as an example, the reference codebook REF can be shown in Table 1 below:

In the reference codebook REF, multiple pieces of reference control data each include multiple phase shifter reference parameters and multiple amplifier reference parameters for setting each antenna module, and multiple phase shifter reference parameters correspond to multiple reference phases, And a plurality of amplifier reference parameters are corresponding to a plurality of switch state codes indicating the switch states of a plurality of the amplifiers (for example, ON is represented by 1, and OFF is represented by 0). As shown in Table 1, the reference code REF may include multiple reference control data for field type 1 to field type L, where field type 1 to field type L are radiation patterns directed at different angles. For example, taking two antenna modules 106-1 and 106-2 as an example, they include the antenna unit AT11, the antenna unit AT12 to the antenna unit AT2N (as shown in FIG. 2), and each control data includes the corresponding antenna unit AT11, Parameters of the phase shifters of the antenna unit AT12 to the antenna unit AT2N and the on or off of the amplifiers. The phase shifter can be, for example, a 2-bit phase shifter, and the switchable phases are 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees, which can be used as the reference phase, but the invention is not limited to this.

Among them, two antenna modules 106-1 and 106-2 are taken as examples, and each antenna module has four antenna units. For example, the antenna module 106-1 includes antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13 and AT14, and the antenna module 106-2 includes AT21, AT22, AT23 and AT24. 4A , 4B and 4C may be referred to for the generation method of the reference codebook REF. FIGS. 4A to 4C are schematic diagrams for generating multiple phases of the reference codebook according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A , FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C , for example, if the field type 1 is set, such as the electric field information measured when the angle is 0 degrees, the antenna unit AT11 of the antenna module 106 - 1 shown in FIG. 4A can be measured. The initial phases of , AT12, AT13 and AT14 are 90, 95, -180, 30 degrees respectively, and the signal gain generated by the antenna unit AT14 is the strongest, so the antenna unit AT14 is used as the benchmark, and the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13 and The initial phases of AT14 of 90, 95, -180, and 30 degrees are shifted by -30 degrees, respectively, so that the phases of the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13, and AT14 become 60, 65, -210, and 0 degrees, as shown in Figure 4B. In the reference codebook REF, the antenna elements AT21, AT22, AT23, and AT24 use the shifted phases, which are 60, 65, -210, and 0 degrees, respectively.

Next, by adjusting the phase shifters corresponding to the antenna units AT11 , AT12 , AT13 and AT14 , the phases of the antenna units AT11 , AT12 , AT13 and AT14 are minimized based on a phase reference value, eg, 0 degrees. It should be noted that since the RF circuit of the antenna module has built-in phase shifters PS11~PS2N with a precision of 2 bits, the minimum phase matching of 360/2 ² degrees (ie 90 degrees) can be performed, that is, Adjust the phases of the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13 and AT14 with the phase shifter parameters of 270 degrees, 270 degrees, 180 degrees and 0 degrees, respectively, to obtain -30 degrees, -25 degrees, -30 degrees and 0 degrees. At this time, it is obtained that the reference codebook REF is in the field type 1, that is, the field type with an angle of 0 degrees, and the phase shifter parameters used to control the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13 and AT14 of the antenna module 106-1 are respectively 270 degrees , 270 degrees, 180 degrees and 0 degrees. In addition, after the antenna units AT21, AT22, AT23 and AT24 are translated by -30 degrees and minimized by 0 degrees in the same way, the phases of -30 degrees, -25 degrees, -30 degrees and 0 degrees are obtained, respectively, and the corresponding The phase shifter parameters of are also 270 degrees, 270 degrees, 180 degrees and 0 degrees, respectively.

Next, for other angles, ie, field type 2 to field type L, the reference codebook REF can be obtained by rotating the beamforming device 10 or the receiver 14 to generate phase shifter parameters for other field types in the same way.

Returning to the calibration method of the present invention, go to step S101 : configure the computing device to generate a plurality of calibration codebooks CAL according to the reference codebook REF and a plurality of predetermined phase differences, and store them in the memory unit. The plurality of predetermined phase differences are different from each other, and each of the plurality of calibration codebooks CAL includes a plurality of calibration control data divided by a plurality of the target patterns.

Taking two antenna modules as an example, the calibration codebook CAL can be as shown in Table 2 below, including multiple calibration control data. Each of the calibration control data includes a plurality of phase shifter calibration parameters and a plurality of amplifier calibration parameters for setting each antenna module.

For example, for the antenna modules 106-1 and 106-2, multiple correction codebooks CALs are used to cancel the phase error between the antenna modules 106-1 and 106-2. Further reference may be made to FIGS. 5A , 5B and 5C, which are schematic diagrams of generating a plurality of phases of one of the correction codebooks according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, two antenna modules 106-1 and 106-2 are also used as examples for description, and each antenna module still has four antenna units. Due to the process of generating the reference codebook REF , the initial phase differences of the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13 and AT14 have been shifted by -30 degrees by 90, 95, -180, and 30 degrees, respectively, so that the phases of the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13 and AT14 become 60, 65, -210, 0 degrees. When generating the correction codebook CAL for the antenna module 106-2, as shown in FIG. 5A, the antenna units AT11, AT12, AT13, and AT14 can directly use the result of minimizing 0 degrees in FIG. 4C, that is, Phases of -30 degrees, -25 degrees, -30 degrees and 0 degrees.

In this step, it has been described that the correction codebook CAL is generated in accordance with the predetermined phase difference. Specifically, the range of the plurality of predetermined phase differences may be between 0 degrees and 360 degrees, and the plurality of predetermined phase differences are determined by dividing 360 degrees by a test number, and the number of calibration codebooks CAL corresponds to the number of tests . For example, 360 degrees can be divided by the number of tests with a number of 36, from 0 degrees to 360 degrees, every 10 degrees is an interval, and a plurality of predetermined phase differences of 0, 10, ...., 350 degrees can be obtained. . The number of tests depends on the acceptable test time, which is not limited in the present invention.

Next, a plurality of phase shifter correction parameters may be generated based on a predetermined phase difference, eg, 90 degrees, and the reference phase. Taking FIG. 5B as an example, when the predetermined phase difference is 90 degrees, the phases 60, 65, -210, and 0 degrees of the antenna elements AT21, AT22, AT23, and AT24 are respectively added with the predetermined phase difference of 90 degrees, and the antenna elements AT11, The phase differences of AT12, AT13, and AT14 remain unchanged, and the phases of 150, 155, -120, and 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 5B are obtained.

Next, by adjusting the phase shifters corresponding to the antenna units AT21, AT22, AT23 and AT24 so that the phase differences of the antenna units AT21, AT22, AT23 and AT24 are relative to 0 degrees, minimum phase matching for a predetermined phase difference of 90 degrees is performed . Different from the reference codebook REF, it is necessary to adjust the phase difference of the antenna units AT21, AT22, AT23 and AT24 with the phase shifter parameters of 180 degrees, 180 degrees, 90 degrees and 270 degrees, respectively, to obtain 330 degrees, 335 degrees, -30 degrees and 360 degrees. Among them, since the phase system takes 360 degrees as a cycle, a phase difference of 330 degrees is -30 degrees, a phase difference of 335 degrees is -25 degrees, and a phase difference of 360 degrees is 0 degrees, all of which are minimized relative to 0 degrees. . At this time, the phase shifter parameters of the corrected codebook CAL in field type 1, that is, 0 degrees, are 180 degrees, 180 degrees, 90 degrees, and 270 degrees, respectively. Next, the needle For other angles, one of the correction codebooks CAL can be obtained by rotating the beamforming device 10 or the receiver 14 to generate phase shifter parameters under other field types in the same manner.

By analogy, 36 correction codebooks CAL corresponding to the predetermined phase differences of 10, ...., 350 degrees can be generated according to a plurality of predetermined phase differences of 10, ..., 350 degrees, respectively, and, The above process may be performed for all the antenna modules 106-2 to 106-M to generate a plurality of correction codebooks CAL corresponding to the antenna modules 106-2 to 106-M, respectively. Wherein, for the predetermined phase difference of 0 degrees, the reference codebook REF can be directly used.

Step S102: Select a predetermined target pattern, for example, an angle of 0 degrees, and configure the baseband circuit according to the predetermined target pattern to refer to the codebook REF or multiple correction codebooks CAL corresponding to the predetermined target pattern for multiple correction control The data respectively controls multiple antenna modules to generate multiple test signals.

Step S103: Configure the receiver 14 to receive a plurality of test signals.

Step S104 : Configuring the computing device 12 to process the plurality of test signals to respectively calculate the Equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the plurality of test signals in the predetermined target area, and generate a plurality of test results. 6 , which is a graph of EIRP versus a plurality of predetermined phase differences in a test result of an embodiment of the present invention.

Step S105: Configure the computing device 12 to set the reference codebook REF or the correction codebook CAL with the maximum equivalent isotropic radiation power as the predetermined target codebook used by the beamforming device to transmit and receive signals in the predetermined target pattern according to the plurality of test results. codebook. For example, as shown in Fig. 6, when the predetermined phase difference is 240 degrees, the used correction codebook CAL can obtain the maximum equivalent isotropic radiation power. Therefore, the correction codebook adjusted by the predetermined phase difference of 240 degrees can be used to CAL is set as a predetermined codebook used by the beamforming device to transmit and receive signals in a predetermined target pattern. Here, it can be described with reference to FIG. 2 . The difference is about 240 degrees, that is, the phase difference between θ1 and θ2. Through the correction method of the present invention, a correction codebook CAL for compensating for the 240-degree phase difference can be found. In particular, if the number of correction codebook CALs is greater, that is, The greater the number of predetermined phase differences, the higher the accuracy of the correction.

Preferably, the configurable computing device 12 generates the instruction data INS based on the above steps and stores it in the memory unit 102. When the beamforming device 10 transmits and receives signals in a plurality of predetermined target patterns, the instruction data INS instructs to use a plurality of calibration codes. In this CAL, the correction code CAL that can obtain the maximum equivalent isotropic radiation power is used to transmit and receive signals.

Please further refer to FIGS. 7A and 7B , which are performance measurement charts before and after applying the calibration method for a beamforming device of the present invention, respectively. As shown in the figures, the original design specification is to have an EIRP maximum value at 0 degrees for a predetermined field pattern field type. However, before applying the correction method for a beamforming device of the present invention, the main lobe of the radiation pattern of the beamforming device is shifted from a predetermined pattern and does not have an EIRP maximum value at 0 degrees. However, after applying the correction method for the beamforming device of the present invention, it can be redirected to the desired direction, so that the overall performance can be matched with the original design specification.

In other words, after applying the calibration method for a beamforming device of the present invention, the beamforming device 10 shown in FIG. 1 can be further provided, which includes a processor 100 , a memory unit 102 , a baseband circuit 104 and a plurality of antennas Modules 106-1~106-M. The memory unit 102 stores a reference codebook REF, a plurality of correction codebooks CAL, and instruction data INS. Each of the plurality of correction codebooks CAL includes a plurality of correction control data divided by a plurality of target field patterns, and the plurality of correction codebooks The CAL and the reference codebook REF are respectively different from each other by a plurality of predetermined phase differences different from each other. The instruction data INS is used to instruct the baseband circuit to use one of the correction codebooks CAL when the baseband circuit transmits and receives signals in a plurality of predetermined target patterns.

In an alternative embodiment, please refer to FIGS. 8A , 8B and 8C. FIG. 8A is a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a baseband circuit, an adjustable phase shifter and an antenna module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8B and 8C are an implementation of the present invention. Example of a schematic diagram of an adjustable phase shifter. As shown in FIG. 8A , the adjustable phase shifters 108-1, 108-2...108-M can be further disposed on the antenna modules 106-1, 106-2...106-M and the baseband circuit 104, respectively. In between, the adjustable phase shifters 108-1, 108-2...108-M can be digital phase shifters or mechanical phase shifters, respectively. shifters, etc., will be added to the design for phase adjustment. It should be noted that the resolution of the adjustable phase shifters 108-1, 108-2 . . . 108-M depends on the specifications of the adjustable phase shifters.

The adjustable phase shifters 108-1, 108-2 . . . 108-M are shown in FIG. 8B, and can set a plurality of port double switch SPDTs in a plurality of phase delay lines (for example, 0, 30, 60, 120 degrees), between the input terminal In and the output terminal Out, or as shown in Figure 8C, set up multiple port four-way switches SP4T on multiple phase delay lines (eg, 0, 30, 60, 120 degrees), the input terminal In and the output terminal Between the terminals Out, and the two port switches SPDT and the four port switches SP4T can be controlled by the baseband circuit 104, the control principle is similar to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the two port switches SPDT are controlled and the port four switches SP4T to generate a plurality of predetermined phase differences under a plurality of predetermined field patterns for the antenna modules 106-1, 106-2... 106-M, and use the calculation unit 12 and the receiver to generate a plurality of predetermined phase differences. 14. Perform detection to find the predetermined phase difference with the largest EIRP, and set the phase difference as the configuration used by the beamforming device 10 for signal transmission and reception, thereby reducing the phase difference between different antenna modules caused by the manufacturing process. In some embodiments, the adjustable resolution will be 360 degrees/n, where n is a positive integer corresponding to the aforementioned number of tests, and the larger the n, the higher the resolution.

Therefore, in addition to implementing the beamforming device, the calibration method and the calibration system provided by the present invention in a software manner, it can also be implemented in a hardware manner, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Advantageous effects of the embodiment]

One of the beneficial effects of the present invention is that the beamforming device, the calibration method and the calibration system for the beamforming device provided by the present invention can generate multiple signals corresponding to multiple antenna modules according to multiple predetermined phase differences and reference codebooks. A calibration codebook is used, and the predetermined codebook used by the beamforming device for signal transmission and reception is set based on the test results. When deviations occur due to errors between the match.

The contents disclosed above are only preferred feasible embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, any equivalent technical changes made by using the contents of the description and drawings of the present invention are included in the application of the present invention. within the scope of the patent.

1: Correction system of the beamforming device

10: Beamforming device

12: Computing Devices

14: Receiver

100: Processor

102: Memory Unit

104: Fundamental frequency circuit

106-1, 106-2…106-M: Antenna Module

REF: Reference Codebook

CAL: Correction codebook

INS:Instruction data

Claims (11)

A calibration method for a beamforming device is used for a beamforming device including a processor, a memory unit, a baseband circuit and a plurality of antenna modules, the calibration method comprising: A reference codebook (codebook) is stored in the memory unit, wherein the reference codebook includes a plurality of reference control data divided by a plurality of target patterns, and the plurality of the reference control data are used for setting each of the antennas a plurality of antenna units of the module and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units; A plurality of correction codebooks are generated according to the reference codebook and a plurality of predetermined phase differences, and are stored in the memory unit, wherein the plurality of the predetermined phase differences are different from each other, and each of the plurality of the correction codebooks includes a plurality of A plurality of correction control data divided by the target field pattern; Selecting a predetermined target pattern, and configuring the baseband circuit to use the reference codebook and a plurality of correction codebooks corresponding to the predetermined target pattern according to the predetermined target pattern. The calibration control data respectively controls a plurality of the antenna modules to generate a plurality of test signals; configuring a receiver to receive a plurality of the test signals; configuring the computing device to process a plurality of the test signals to respectively calculate the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the plurality of the test signals in the predetermined target area, and generate a plurality of test results ;as well as configuring the computing device to set the reference codebook or the correction codebook with the maximum equivalent isotropic radiation power as the beamforming device to transmit and receive in the predetermined target pattern according to a plurality of the test results A predetermined codebook used in the signal. The calibration method for a beamforming device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of the reference control data includes a plurality of phase shifter reference parameters and a plurality of amplifier reference parameters for setting each of the antenna modules, and a plurality of the phase shifter reference parameters correspond to a plurality of reference phases, and a plurality of the amplifier reference parameters correspond to a plurality of switch state codes indicating switch states of the plurality of amplifiers; Each of the multiple pieces of the calibration control data includes a plurality of phase shifter calibration parameters and a plurality of amplifier calibration parameters for setting each of the antenna modules; The step of generating a plurality of correction codebooks according to the reference codebook and a plurality of predetermined phase differences further includes generating a plurality of the phase shifter correction parameters based on the plurality of the predetermined phase differences and the plurality of the reference phases. The calibration method for a beamforming device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the range of a plurality of the predetermined phase differences is between 0 degrees and 360 degrees, and the plurality of the predetermined phase differences are divided by 360 degrees A number of tests is determined, and the number of the correction codebooks corresponds to the number of tests. The calibration method for a beamforming device according to claim 2, further comprising: After adding the predetermined phase difference to a plurality of the reference phases respectively, a phase reference value is minimized to generate a plurality of the phase shifter correction parameters. The calibration method for a beamforming device according to claim 1, wherein the number of the multiple reference control data corresponds to the total number of the multiple antenna units of the multiple antenna modules. A correction system for a beamforming device, comprising: a computing device; A beamforming device connected to the computing device, the beamforming device comprising: a processor; a memory unit; a fundamental frequency circuit; and a plurality of antenna modules, each comprising a plurality of antenna units and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units respectively; and a receiver; wherein the computing device is configured to store a reference codebook (codebook) in the memory unit, wherein the reference codebook includes a plurality of reference control data divided by a plurality of target patterns, and a plurality of the The reference control data is used for setting a plurality of antenna units of each of the antenna modules and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units respectively; The computing device generates a plurality of correction codebooks according to the reference codebook and a plurality of predetermined phase differences, and stores them in the memory unit, wherein a plurality of the predetermined phase differences are different from each other, and a plurality of the correction codes This document includes a plurality of correction control data divided by a plurality of the target patterns; The baseband circuit is configured to control the reference codebook and a plurality of pieces of the correction control data corresponding to the predetermined target area in the reference codebook and the plurality of correction codebooks according to a selected predetermined target area, respectively. a plurality of the antenna modules to generate a plurality of test signals; wherein the receiver is configured to receive a plurality of the test signals; The computing device is configured to process a plurality of the test signals to calculate the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) of the plurality of test signals in the predetermined target area, and generate a plurality of a test result; wherein the computing device is configured to set the reference codebook or the correction codebook with the maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power as the beamforming device in the predetermined target field according to a plurality of the test results A predetermined codebook used by the type to send and receive signals. The calibration system for a beamforming device according to claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of pieces of the reference control data includes a plurality of phase shifter reference parameters and a plurality of amplifier reference parameters for setting each of the antenna modules, and a plurality of the phase shifter reference parameters correspond to a plurality of reference phases, and a plurality of the amplifier reference parameters correspond to a plurality of switch state codes indicating switch states of the plurality of amplifiers; Each of the multiple pieces of the calibration control data includes a plurality of phase shifter calibration parameters and a plurality of amplifier calibration parameters for setting each of the antenna modules; wherein the computing device is configured to generate a plurality of the phase shifter correction parameters based on a plurality of the predetermined phase differences and a plurality of the reference phases. The correction system for a beamforming device as claimed in claim 7, wherein a plurality of the predetermined phase differences range from 0 degrees to 360 degrees, and a plurality of the predetermined phase differences are divided by 360 degrees A number of tests is determined, and the number of the correction codebooks corresponds to the number of tests. The correction system for a beamforming device of claim 7, wherein the computing device is configured to add a plurality of the reference phases respectively to the predetermined phase difference, and then minimize based on a phase reference value to A plurality of the phase shifter correction parameters are generated. The calibration system for a beamforming device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the number of multiple pieces of reference control data corresponds to the total number of the multiple antenna units of the multiple antenna modules. A beamforming device, comprising: a processor; a memory unit; a fundamental frequency circuit; and a plurality of antenna modules, each including a plurality of antenna units and a plurality of phase shifters and a plurality of amplifiers corresponding to the plurality of the antenna units respectively; Wherein the memory unit stores: A reference codebook and a plurality of calibration codebooks, each of the plurality of calibration codebooks includes a plurality of calibration control data divided by a plurality of target patterns, and the plurality of calibration codebooks and the reference codebooks are respectively a plurality of predetermined phase differences different from each other; an instruction data for instructing the beamforming device to use one of the reference codebook and the correction codebook when transmitting and receiving signals in a plurality of predetermined target patterns.

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