Method, apparatus and computer program for testing a transceiver device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9917658-B2
Application number	US-201214387001-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2012
Priority date	Mar 23, 2012
Publication date	Mar 13, 2018
Grant date	Mar 13, 2018

Abstract

Embodiments relate to a concept for testing a transceiver device ( 302 ) which may be coupled to an antenna array ( 312 ), the antenna array ( 312 ) comprising at least two an antenna elements. It is provided ( 204 ) spatial radiation characteristics of an antenna reference or the antenna array ( 312 ) and at least one antenna element of the antenna array. It is determined ( 206 ), based on the spatial radiation characteristics and a predefined test quantity for a spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test of the transceiver device ( 302 ), a spatially aware test quantity for testing the transceiver device ( 302 ) using the spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test based on the determined spatially aware test quantity.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for testing a transceiver device configured to be coupled to an antenna array, the antenna array comprising at least two antenna elements, the method comprising:
providing spatial radiation characteristics of:
an antenna reference or the antenna array; and
at least one antenna element of the antenna array; and

determining, based on the spatial radiation characteristics and a predefined spatially unaware power level for a spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test of the transceiver device, a spatially aware power level for testing the transceiver device using the spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test based on the determined spatially aware power level;
wherein the transceiver device comprises at least two transceivers which are associated to at least two antenna elements of the antenna array, wherein the spatial radiation characteristics comprise individual radiation patterns of antenna elements associated to the at least two transceivers, and wherein determining the spatially aware power level comprises:
determining a difference in a certain spatial direction between a radiation pattern of the whole antenna array and an individual radiation pattern of at least one antenna element associated to one of the at least two transceivers, wherein the certain spatial direction is a direction of an interferer; and
using said difference for determining the spatially aware power level from the predefined spatially unaware power level.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the spatial radiation characteristics of the antenna array and the at least one antenna element thereof comprises providing said spatial radiation characteristics for a predefined spatial receiver or transmitter test scenario.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein providing the spatial radiation characteristics of the antenna array and the at least one antenna element thereof comprises digital beamforming of a beampattern of the antenna array for the predefined spatial receiver or transmitter test scenario in a digital baseband processor coupled to the transceiver device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the spatial radiation characteristics comprises obtaining radiation pattern data based on an Over-The-Air measurement of a radiation pattern of the antenna array and a radiation pattern of at least one individual antenna element.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the spatial radiation characteristics comprises obtaining, for at least one spatial direction, an antenna gain difference, or an absolute value thereof, between the radiation pattern of the whole antenna array and a radiation pattern of at least one antenna element thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spatial radiation characteristics are provided for a limited number of antenna arrays of the same antenna array layout to obtain spatial radiation characteristics averaged over the limited number of antenna arrays of the same antenna array layout.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein, for determining the spatially aware power level, at least one antenna gain difference is combined with a predetermined test signal level at a test connector associated to the transceiver device, wherein the predetermined test signal level corresponds to a fixed phase relation between the antenna elements of the antenna array.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the at least one antenna gain difference, or the absolute value thereof, is added or subtracted to the predetermined test signal level to obtain a spatially aware test signal level.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein an antenna connector of the transceiver device is configured to be coupled to a feeder network or cable for coupling the transceiver device to the antenna array, and wherein determining the spatially aware power level comprises accounting for an insertion loss of the feeder network or cable and a number of input signals to the feeder network.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the insertion loss and a correction value depending on the number (N PA ) of transceiver paths in the transceiver device are added to a predetermined test signal level at a test connector associated to the transceiver device.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined spatially unaware power level is related to an interfering signal present at a test connector associated to the transceiver device, the interfering signal having a predefined interfering signal power level.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
testing the transceiver device using the spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test based on the determined spatially aware power level, wherein the spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test is a radio frequency conducted test.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by executing a computer program having a program code by a computer or processor.

14. An apparatus configured to test a transceiver device configured to be coupled to an antenna array, the antenna array comprising at least two antenna elements, the apparatus comprising:
a provider configured to provide spatial radiation characteristics of:
an antenna reference or the antenna array; and
at least one antenna element of the antenna array; and

a determiner configured to determine, based on the spatial radiation characteristics and a predefined spatially unaware power level for a spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test of the transceiver device, a spatially aware power level for testing the transceiver device;
wherein the transceiver device comprises at least two transceivers which are associated to at least two antenna elements of the antenna array, wherein the spatial radiation characteristics comprise individual radiation patterns of antenna elements associated to the at least two transceivers, and wherein the determiner is configured to determine the spatially aware power level by:
determining a difference in a certain spatial direction between a radiation pattern of the whole antenna array and an individual radiation pattern of at least one antenna element associated to one of the at least two transceivers, wherein the certain spatial direction is a direction of an interferer; and
using said difference for determining the spatially aware power level from the predefined spatially unaware power level.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predefined spatially unaware power level for the spatially unaware receiver or transmitter test comprises a transmit or receive power level of a single antenna of the antenna array.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the spatially aware power level is further based on a feeder loss and a higher gain of an antenna element in a direction of a blocking signal.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the spatially unaware power level is a spatially unaware blocker power level, and the spatially aware power level is a spatially aware blocker power level.

Assignees

• Hu Teck
• Bitzer Thomas
• Martens Henning
• Weese Kurt
• Weese Thomas
• Weese Martina
• Alcatel Lucent

Inventors

• Hu Teck
• Bitzer Thomas
• Martens Henning
• Weese Kurt

Classifications

• H04B1/40

  Circuits · CPC title

• H04B17/20

  of receivers · CPC title

• H04W24/06

  Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using simulated traffic · CPC title

• H04B7/06 Primary

  at the transmitting station · CPC title

• H04W16/28

  using beam steering · CPC title