WO2005057972A1

WO2005057972A1 - Method and device for testing mobile phones

Info

Publication number: WO2005057972A1
Application number: PCT/DE2004/002714
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christian Beck
Original assignee: Willtek Communications Gmbh
Priority date: 2003-12-12
Filing date: 2004-12-10
Publication date: 2005-06-23
Also published as: DE10358671A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for testing mobile phones, whereby the time required to test said mobile phones is reduced. To this end, a radio measuring station for testing mobile phones is connected to a plurality of mobile phones, whereby the connection of at least two of said plurality of mobile phones to the radio measuring station makes it possible to set up a testing network in a substantially simultaneous manner. Said connection is preferably made through a bi-directional HF power splitter and the mobile phones to be tested connect to the test network in a substantially simultaneous manner. The invention also relates to a corresponding device for implementing the inventive method.

Description

Method and device for testing mobile phones

The present invention relates to a method for testing a large number of mobile telephones. The invention further relates to a corresponding device for carrying out the method.

Radio measuring stations or devices for testing mobile telephones are known in the prior art. In principle, such a radio measuring station is a “small base station” of a mobile radio network and generates a test network into which a mobile telephone to be tested, which is equipped with a special test SLM card (SLM = Subscriber Identity Module), logs in for test purposes The test network is operated in accordance with a mobile radio standard, for example the GSM standard. Testing of mobile telephones is thus carried out very realistically, so to speak, since the mobile telephones also log into an existing mobile radio network during operation and look at the data with it During the test, a connection is now established between the radio measurement station and the cell phone, which can be done either by calling the radio measurement station at the cell phone or vice versa by calling the cell phone at the radio measurement station. Subsequently, certain test procedures or routines are carried out, in particular the ability of the mob to send and receive Check iltelefons with regard to compliance with the specifications required for proper operability, which are specified by the manufacturer. For this purpose, for example, data are transmitted from the radio measuring station to the mobile telephone and then transmitted back from the mobile telephone to the radio measuring station, these data then being checked for authenticity. As a result, measurement results of various parameters are also displayed in a measurement report, which can be displayed, saved and / or printed out. In particular, the overall result of the test, namely “test passed” or “test failed”, is also supplied. Such radio measuring stations for testing mobile telephones find a large number of applications in practice. These are used, for example, in the manufacture of mobile phones, for example in the final inspection or in an intermediate step in production in a factory in which mobile phones are manufactured. Every mobile phone produced should be tested before delivery due to the time required for this, this represents a bottleneck of the entire manufacturing process. The mobile phones are tested individually and one after the other at a measuring station. Another application of such radio measuring stations is their use in so-called service centers, To which defective or supposedly defective cell phones are sent for repair, it is important to first determine whether the cell phones are actually defective and to analyze whether and how they can be repaired, for example by replacing a specific component Such service centers are often used to test a large number of mobile telephones of different types and from different manufacturers, on the one hand if they arrive at the service center and on the other hand after the repair has been carried out phones used by manufacturers.

As noted above, a major problem is reducing test times for testing mobile phones. Of course, this could be done by increasing personnel costs or by increasing the number of radio measuring stations. However, this is not preferred for cost reasons. In principle, it also appears possible to shorten the test procedure itself, but not without accepting a loss of quality in the informative value of the test.

The invention is therefore based on the object of avoiding the disadvantages of the prior art and, in particular, of developing a method of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that test times for testing a large number of mobile telephones are shortened.

In a method of the type mentioned at the outset, this object is achieved in that a radio measuring station for testing mobile telephones is connected to a plurality of mobile telephones, with (in particular by the connection) essentially for at least two of the plurality of mobile telephones via the connection to the radio measuring station a test network is provided at the same time. Here, under "Connection", both a wired and a wireless connection as well as a A combination of these is understood, which is suitable for enabling communication between the radio measuring station and the mobile phone. The (essentially) simultaneous or parallel supply or provision of the test network makes it possible to parallelize the process sequences required for testing. In this context, “essentially simultaneously” is understood in particular to mean that the log-on processes, after the connection to the test network of the radio measurement station has been completed, are not for technical reasons, for example depending on the type and / or condition of the mobile telephone, the transmission conditions etc. are exactly at the same time.

An advantage of the present invention is that the set-up times for the test stations are reduced considerably, since no more time is lost through the registration process, since the registration of several mobile telephones is essentially parallel (to the registration process or to other setup work relating to further mobile telephones to be tested). is carried out. A further advantage of the present invention results from the fact that, during the testing of a mobile telephone, further test stations can be retrofitted with further mobile telephones which will be tested at a later time. This means that the test procedure does not have to be waited until a mobile phone can be inserted into the measurement setup.

It is further preferred that the at least two mobile telephones log into the test network essentially simultaneously or in parallel, so that a connection can be established between the radio measuring station and the at least two mobile telephones. In this context, “essentially simultaneously or in parallel” is understood in particular to mean that, as is required in the prior art, the condition for logging in a mobile phone is not the termination of the connection and the logout of the previously tested mobile phone. The connection is of course established each mobile phone one after the other, but no further mobile phone has to be logged in after the connection to a mobile phone has been terminated, since this is already logged in or can log in especially while the test program is running with the first mobile phone. A test routine for testing the specifications of the mobile telephone is advantageously carried out for one of the at least two mobile telephones after logging in and establishing the connection with the radio measuring station, with the at least two mobile telephones establishing a connection (call ) is carried out with the radio measuring station. The testing of a further mobile telephone, which is preferably essentially immediately subsequent, significantly reduces the total test time compared to the prior art, according to which each mobile telephone runs through the same workflow in a test station.

According to an advantageous development of the invention, it is preferred that a bidirectional RF power splitter is provided for connecting the radio measuring station to the plurality of mobile telephones. By using such a power splitter, the output of the radio measuring station is available to every test station for mobile phones to be tested, in parallel and immediately. The bidirectionality of the power splitter is necessary because data exchange in both directions is required for communication between the mobile phone and the radio measuring station. It is preferred here that the same damping is provided between the input and each of the outputs of the bidirectional power splitter. Of course, the signal from the radio measuring station is attenuated by the power splitter; however, this attenuation is defined and the same for all test stations or test mobile phones and is taken into account in the test evaluation (through software correction) so that the measurement results are not falsified.

The bidirectional power splitter advantageously has an input for the radio measuring station and a multiplicity of, preferably four, outputs for connecting test mobile telephones. Such a 1: 4 power divider has proven particularly useful in practice, since it is particularly inexpensive and at the same time particularly easy to handle by the operator in the context of the inventive testing. With a smaller number of outputs the time saving provided by the invention is too small and with a larger number of outputs it is more than four Arrangement having test stations is no longer so clearly manageable for the operator.

According to a further preferred variant of the present invention, each of the plurality of mobile telephones connected to the radio measuring station has a test SLM card, the IMSI number of each test SIM card being different. In other words, each cell phone that is placed in parallel in the test stations has a different number, so that a separate connection with the radio measuring station is made possible. For this purpose, a list of the LMSI numbers of the test SIM cards is advantageously stored in the radio measuring station, the connection to a mobile phone that is already logged into the test network is made by calling the radio measuring station on the mobile phone, and after the test has been carried out, the mobile phone is also called who is called by the radio measuring station next to the IMSI number in the list.

In practice, the method according to the invention is particularly advantageous if at least a part of the multiplicity of mobile telephones connected to the radio measuring station are arranged in a shielding housing, and / or if at least a part of the multiplicity of mobile telephones connected to the radio measuring station are connected to the via an antenna coupler Test network can be coupled. In these cases of designing the test site for the mobile telephones to be tested, the set-up times for equipping the test arrangements are particularly high and the "time-saving effect" achieved by the present invention is particularly advantageous. The basic advantages of the known shielding housing ( Shielding of interfering signals) and the known antenna coupler (coupling the test network via the antenna of the mobile phone to be tested, whereby the antenna itself and the downstream stages can also be tested) are of course retained, but there are further synergetic effects with the invention The above-mentioned time saving is also advantageous, for example, that when a connection is established by calling the mobile phone, the ringing of the telephone can be perceived acoustically, so that the operator is given an acoustic signal d receives which mobile phone is currently being tested. The radio measuring station has advantageously only established a connection with one of the multiplicity of mobile telephones. This means that, apart from phases in which no connection is established between the radio measuring station and one of the multiplicity of mobile telephones, and in which other steps of testing (cf. FIG. 3) are carried out, in the case of the connection, these only connect to one testing mobile phone is set up. Furthermore, only after this connection has ended, ie in particular after the test routine or program has been carried out, is a new connection to another of the multiplicity of mobile telephones established in order to test it.

In terms of device technology, the above object is achieved in that the device has the following:

- a radio measuring station for testing mobile phones; and

- a bidirectional RF power splitter; wherein a plurality of mobile telephones can be connected to the radio measuring station via the bidirectional power splitter, a test network being provided for at least two of the plurality of mobile telephones essentially simultaneously via the connection to the radio measuring station.

Further preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The invention, as well as further features, objectives, advantages and possible uses thereof, will be explained in more detail below on the basis of a description of preferred exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals designate the same or corresponding elements. All of the described and / or illustrated features, alone or in any meaningful combination, form the subject matter of the present invention, regardless of how they are summarized in the patent claims or their relationship. The drawings show: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the test setup for testing mobile phones according to the prior art.

2a and 2b each show a schematic representation of a shielding housing (without antenna coupler arranged therein) according to the prior art (with closed or open cover) for a more detailed explanation of the test setup according to FIGS. 1 and 4;

3 shows a flowchart to explain the sequence of testing mobile telephones with a test setup according to FIGS. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the basic principle of the test setup according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 shows the basic structure for testing a mobile telephone 2 with a radio measuring station 1. As has already been described in detail in the introduction to the description, the radio measuring station is a "small" base station which generates a test network into which the mobile telephone 2 can log in with a corresponding test SIM card. Different test strategies can be used to test the mobile telephone 2. For example, the radio measuring station can call the mobile phone 2 after the connection has been established or the mobile phone 2 has been booked into the test network, transfer data to it and data or measurement parameters such as e.g. acquire and evaluate the parameters RXQUAL, RXLEV, bit error rate etc. Other test strategies could e.g. consist in the fact that the call from the mobile phone 2 is made from the radio station 2, which can be preferred in particular for reasons of testing the keyboard of the mobile phone 2. In connection with the present invention, however, it is advantageous that the connection is established by calling the radio measuring station 1, since this enables the test method to be implemented in an automated and time-saving manner.

2a and 2b, a shielding housing or a shielding box 20 is shown schematically in the open or closed state. To perform the test on the Mobile telephone 2 is preferably inserted into such a shielding housing 20. This serves to shield the mobile phone 2 from interfering external influences, in particular the influence of actually existing mobile radio networks at the site of the test, during the test. An antenna coupler (not shown) is preferably arranged in the shielding housing 20 so that the mobile telephone 2 can couple to the test network via its antenna. In this way, the signals are transmitted via the air interface to the mobile telephone 2. This has the particular advantage that the antenna itself and the downstream stage can also be tested. Such an antenna coupler is the German patent DE 197 32 639 C1 of the present applicant is also described in detail, and a shielding housing of this type is also explained in detail in the German utility model 299 23 548.3 of the present applicant, in particular an antenna coupler placed in the shielding housing 20 is shown in Fig. 2 of German utility model 299 23 548.3 are hereby fully incorporated into the present disclosure by this reference.

In connection with the flowchart of FIG. 3, it will now be described in further detail how the testing of the mobile telephone 2 takes place. In a step S100, the test mobile telephone or test mobile is prepared for the test. For this purpose, the test mobile is removed from a corresponding storage container and its rear cover is opened in order to insert a corresponding test SLM card. For this purpose, the battery of the test mobile phone is often removed or replaced by a freshly charged battery. The test mobile phone is also switched on in this step. In a subsequent step S1 10, the test mobile telephone is inserted into the test setup or test station. In this regard, reference is made in particular to FIG. 2 and the associated description. In detail, the shielding housing 20 is opened and the test mobile telephone is inserted into a universal holder for mobile telephones which is formed on the antenna coupler. This is fastened accordingly so that the test mobile phone is arranged in a defined position in the measuring arrangement. The shield housing 20 is then closed. In the subsequent step S120, the mobile telephone switched on in step S100 logs into the test network provided by the radio station 1. This process is analogous to the installation to see a cell phone in a real existing cell phone network. In practice, steps S100 to S120 take a few minutes. The next step S130 is to establish the connection between radio test station 1 and test mobile telephone 2. In the preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention, this is done by calling radio test station 1 on mobile telephone 2. This is particularly preferred because no keyboard input on test mobile telephone 2 is required for this , The actual test program or routine now runs in step S140 (duration: in the order of one minute) and the connection is ended in step S150. After completion of the test program processed in step S140, a detailed test result is now available with regard to the parameters of the mobile phone and, as indicated by step S160, the further procedure depends in particular on whether or not the mobile phone 2 passed the test Has. If the mobile phone 2 has passed the test, the program is ended in a step S170. Of course, the test results can be saved in the radio measuring station 1 or printed out. In step S180, the test mobile phone is now removed from the test setup in accordance with step S110 and the test mobile is "post-processed" in step S190 (cf. step S100), and this is understood in particular to mean that the test SLM card is removed from the mobile phone and the test mobile phone is switched off again (for example also by removing the battery) and the test mobile is sent for further processing, such as returning it to the manufacturer, for example, for the test mobile phone that did not pass the test (step S160) A printout of the test results is generated in a step S200 and the program is ended in a step S210. In a step S220, the printout of the test result, which rather contains further information about the defects of the test mobile phone 2, is made on the test mobile phone, for example with a rubber ring, this will make the other places where the defective mobile phone the test result is included.

The detailed flowchart in FIG. 3 and the associated description above show that a large number of actions must be carried out by an operator when a mobile telephone 2 is to be tested. The individual steps build on each other and cannot easily be carried out in parallel or automatically.

4 schematically shows the test setup according to the present invention. In contrast to the prior art, the radio measuring station 1 is not directly connected to a shielding housing 20 via a coaxial cable. Instead, a bidirectional HF power splitter 3 is provided, which has an input E for connection to the radio measuring station 1 and preferably four outputs AI to A4. Corresponding shielding housings (not shown) are now connected to the outputs AI to A4 by means of further coaxial cables 4 to 7. In the schematic representation of FIG. 4, only the mobile telephones 14 to 17 to be tested are shown for the schematic indication of four test stations. These are located in a shield housing 20, preferably received by the universal holder of an antenna coupler for carrying out the test. A corresponding test SIM card 24 to 27 is used in each of the mobile telephones 14 to 17 for carrying out the test. Each of the test SIM cards has a different IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) number. Expressed in a clear manner, each of the test mobile telephones 14 to 17 thus has a different call number in relation to the test network generated by the radio station 1. A list of the corresponding call numbers (LMSI codes) is now stored in the radio measuring station 1, and in particular a sequence of these numbers is also stored. For example, when the test phase starts, all four mobile telephones 14 to 17 are switched on and book into the test network essentially simultaneously. Of course, there may be differences in the login times depending on the manufacturer, the type and also the individual mobile phone. This means that in the initial phase of the test, steps S1OO to S120 of FIG. 3 are carried out for each mobile phone. Of course, the mobile phone 14 can also be used first in the test station and, for example, the further mobile phones 15 to 17 can be retrofitted into the respective test stations during the registration process or the test program. In the current process, the mobile telephones which have already been tested are preferably removed from the test stations and replaced by those which have not yet been tested, the test sequence being predefined by the telephone numbers stored in the radio test station. There Each test station is assigned an associated test SLM card, which is different for each test station and is inserted into the mobile phone used at this test station, the test is always carried out in the same order with regard to the test stations. A sequence of the test stations according to their arrangement (eg from left to right) is preferred. According to the invention, the individual mobile telephones 14 to 17 can already log into the test network as soon as they are used in the test setup. The radio station 1 now calls, for example, the mobile phone 14 first and executes the test routine (step S140). As soon as the connection between the radio measuring station 1 and the mobile telephone 14 to be tested is ended (cf. step S150), the call number stored in the radio station, ie the mobile telephone 15 to be tested next, is already called in parallel. In particular, the steps following step S150 can therefore be carried out in parallel with the test on the mobile telephone 15. Furthermore, there is a further time saving, since the mobile phone 15 is already logged in when the test on the mobile phone 14 has ended. Furthermore, during the test of the mobile phone 15, the measuring station at which the mobile phone 14 is used can again be upgraded with another test mobile phone.

The invention has been explained in more detail above on the basis of preferred embodiments thereof. However, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that various modifications and modifications can be made without departing from the concept on which the invention is based.

Claims

claims

1. A method for testing mobile telephones, characterized in that a radio measuring station for testing mobile telephones is connected to a multiplicity of mobile telephones, with a test network being connected essentially at the same time for at least two of the multiplicity of mobile telephones via the connection to the radio station is provided.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two mobile telephones log into the test network essentially simultaneously, so that a connection is established between the radio measuring station and the at least two mobile telephones.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that a test routine for testing the specifications of the mobile phone is carried out for one of the at least two mobile telephones after logging in and establishing the connection with the radio measuring station, after the test for the other, already in the test network booked that at least two mobile phones establish a connection with the radio measuring station.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a bidirectional RF power splitter is provided for connecting the radio measuring station with the plurality of mobile phones.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the bidirectional power splitter has an input for the Funlαnessplatz and a plurality of, preferably four, outputs for connecting test mobile phones.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the same attenuation is provided between the input and each of the outputs of the bidirectional power splitter.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that each of the plurality of mobile phones connected to the Funlαnessplatz has a test SIM card, the MSI number of each test SLM card being different.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that a list of the LMSI numbers of the test SIM cards is stored in the Funlαnessplatz, wherein the connection to a mobile phone that is already logged into the test network is made by calling the radio measuring station on the mobile phone , and after the test has been carried out, the mobile phone with the next IMSI number in the list is called by the radio measuring station.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least a part of the plurality of connected to the Funlαnessplatz mobile phones are arranged in a shield housing.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least a part of the plurality of mobile phones connected to the Funlαnessplatz are coupled to the test network via an antenna coupler.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the Funlαnessplatz has only established a connection with one of the plurality of mobile phones.

12. Device for performing the method according to one of claims 1 to 11.

13. Device for testing mobile telephones, characterized in that the device has the following:

- A Funlαnessplatz for testing mobile phones; and

- a bidirectional RF power splitter; wherein a plurality of mobile telephones can be connected to the radio space via the bidirectional power splitter, the connection for at least two of the A large number of mobile telephones are provided with a test network at the same time via the connection to the radio space.