Functionality test in a base transceiver station

• US 7,155,216 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2002
• Issued: 12/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Solutions and Networks US LLC (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Junell, Jari, Kiukkonen, Niko
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson, Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAO, MINH D
• Application Number:
  US10/246,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20040203466A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 455/423, 455/424, 455/425, 455/67.11, 455/67.14
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/15 Performance testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/17 Detection of non-compliance or faulty performance, e.g. response deviations H04B17/18 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/19 Self-testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic

Abstract

A base station in a radio system includes a transmitter that forms a signal to be transmitted by a transmission antenna of the base station, a mechanism forming a portion of the signal to be transmitted in a transmission frequency, a mechanism shifting the formed signal portion into a receiving frequency, where the separation between the receiving frequency and the transmission frequency differs from a frequency duplex used in the radio system, and a mechanism receiving the frequency-shifted signal portion.

Claims

1. A functionality test method in a base station of a radio system, the method comprising:

forming, in a transmitter of a base station, a test signal portion on at least one transmission traffic frequency included in a transmission signal band containing several traffic frequencies;

shifting the formed test signal portion onto at least one receiving traffic frequency included in a receiving frequency band containing several traffic frequencies, the transmission traffic frequency being different from the receiving traffic frequency, where a separation between the receiving frequency and the transmission frequency differs from a frequency duplex used in the radio system, and

transporting the frequency-shifted test signal portion to a receiver of the base station.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

attenuating the test signal portion so that a power level of the test signal portion is under a predetermined threshold in comparison to a power level on the receiving frequency band.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the test signal portion is attenuated into a power level under a predetermined threshold value of power ratio where a power ratio is determined in the receiving signal band between a signal corresponding to the transmission signal having the highest power level and a neighbouring receiving frequency.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the test signal portion is formed from a transmission signal frequency having a highest power level.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transmission frequency used for forming the test signal portion is changed when a predetermined threshold for the change in power level of the transmission frequency has been exceeded.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the radio system, frequencies are situated at a first fixed-frequency distance from each other, and traffic frequencies are allocated at a second fixed-frequency distance from each other, where the second frequency distance is a multiple of the first frequency distance.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving frequency is selected to be a frequency having no allocated traffic.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the base station is a multi-carrier base station.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the functionality test is performed during traffic operation of the base station.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

measuring a value of a quality parameter indicating quality of the received signal;

comparing the measured value of the quality parameter to a predetermined threshold value of the quality parameter;

transporting a test signal portion towards a transmission or receiving antenna;

measuring reflection of the test signal portion from the antenna.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

giving an alarm of the transmission or receiving antenna if the reflection of the test signal portion from the antenna exceeds a predetermined threshold.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio system uses, as an access method, time division multiple access.

13. The method of claim 12,

wherein the test signal portion is extracted from a traffic signal band, the method further comprising:

determining, in the transmitter, a frequency having a highest power level;

estimating, in the receiver, a frequency having the lowest receiving power level, and

in shifting the test signal portion onto a receiving frequency, shifting a transmission frequency having the highest power level next to the receiving frequency with the lowest estimated power level.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein, in the radio system, traffic channels are situated 200 kHz apart from each other, and the traffic channels are allocated 600 kHz apart from each other in a cell of the radio system, and the receiving frequency is allocated between two traffic frequencies 600 kHz apart from each other.

15. The method of claim 1,

wherein the test signal portion is extracted from a traffic signal band, the method further comprising:

delaying the test signal portion by a system defined delay, which defines the delay between a transmission and a reception for a user, whereby receiving the test signal portion is received in the receiver at the same time as the receiving traffic signal band.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the functionality test is performed continuously.

17. A functionality test method in a base station of a radio system, the method comprising:

forming, in a transmitter of a base station, a test signal portion on at least one transmission frequency;

shifting the formed test signal portion onto at least one receiving frequency, where a separation between the receiving frequency and the transmission frequency differs from a frequency duplex used in the radio system,

transporting the frequency-shifted test signal portion to a receiver of the base station,

measuring a value of a quality parameter indicating quality of the received signal;

comparing the measured value of the quality parameter with a predetermined threshold value of the quality parameter;

transporting a test signal portion through equipment units in the transmitter and the receiver, and bypassing one or more equipment units in the transmitter or the receiver, if the value of the quality parameter is under the predetermined threshold value; and

repeating the transporting of the test signal portion by altering the one or more equipment unit that are bypassed until the value of the quality parameter exceeds the predetermined threshold value.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

giving an alarm of the equipment unit, bypassing of which results in exceeding of the threshold value of the quality parameter.

19. A base station in a radio system, comprising:

at least one transmitter for forming a signal to be transmitted by a transmission antenna of the base station;

means for forming a test signal portion of at least one signal formed by the at least one transmitter to be transmitted on a transmission traffic frequency included in a transmission signal band containing several traffic frequencies;

means for shifting the formed test signal portion onto at least one receiving traffic frequency included in a receiving frequency band containing several traffic frequencies, the transmission traffic frequency being different from the receiving traffic frequency, where the separation between the receiving frequency and the transmission frequency differs from the frequency duplex used in the radio system, and

means for receiving the frequency-shifted test signal portion.

20. The base station of claim 19, wherein the base station comprises means for attenuating the test signal portion by determining an appropriate attenuation level using a power level of the receiving signal band.

21. The base station of claim 20, wherein the attenuating means is arranged to attenuate the test signal portion onto a power level under a predetermined threshold value of power ratio in the receiving signal band between a signal corresponding to the transmission signal having a highest power level and a neighbouring receiving frequency.

22. The base station of claim 19, comprising:

means for controlling a functionality test, and in which base station the controlling means is arranged to control the functionality test by using the traffic signal frequency having the highest power level.

23. The base station of claim 22, wherein the controlling means is arranged to:

change a transmission frequency used for the functionality test when a predetermined threshold for the change in power level of the selected transmission frequency has been exceeded.

24. The base station of claim 19, wherein, in the radio system, carrier frequencies are situated at a first fixed-frequency distance from each other, and traffic frequencies are allocated at a second fixed-frequency distance from each other, where the second frequency distance is a multiple of the first frequency distance.

25. The base station of claim 19, wherein the shifting means is arranged to select a receiving frequency that has no allocated traffic.

26. The base station of claim 19, wherein the base station is a multi-carrier base station.

27. The base station of claim 19, further comprising:

means for measuring a value of a quality parameter indicating quality of the received signal;

means for comparing the measured value of the quality parameter to a predetermined threshold value of the quality parameter;

means for transporting a test signal portion towards a transmission or receiving antenna;

means for measuring reflection of the test signal portion from the antenna.

28. The base station of claim 27, comprising:

means for giving an alarm of the transmission or receiving antenna if the test signal portion is reflected from the antenna being tested.

29. The base station of claim 19, wherein the radio system uses, as an access method, time division multiple access.

30. The base station of claim 29, wherein the forming means is arranged to form a test signal portion by extracting a signal portion from a traffic signal band, the base station further comprising:

means for delaying the test signal portion by a system defined delay, which defines a delay between a transmission and a reception for a user, whereby the test signal portion is received in the receiver at the same time as the receiving traffic signal band is received.

31. The base station of claim 29, wherein forming means is arranged to form a test signal portion by extracting a signal portion from traffic signal band, the base station further comprising:

means for determining in the transmitter the frequency having the highest power level;

means for estimating in the receiver the frequency having the lowest receiving power level, and the shifting means is arranged to shift a transmission frequency with a highest power level next to a receiving frequency having a lowest estimated power level.

32. The base station of claim 29, wherein, in the radio system, traffic channels are situated 200 kHz apart from each other, and the traffic channels are allocated 600 kHz apart from each other in a cell of the radio system, and the receiving frequency is allocated between two traffic frequencies 600 kHz apart from each other.

33. A base station in a radio system, comprising:

at least one transmitter for forming a signal to be transmitted by a transmission antenna of the base station;

means for forming a test signal portion of at least one signal formed by the at least one transmitter to be transmitted on a transmission frequency;

means for shifting the formed test signal portion onto at least one receiving frequency, where a separation between a receiving frequency and a transmission frequency differs from a frequency duplex used in the radio system,

means for receiving the frequency-shifted test signal portion;

means for measuring a value of a quality parameter indicating quality of a received signal;

means for comparing the measured value of the quality parameter with a predetermined threshold value of the quality parameter;

means for transporting a test signal portion through equipment units in the transmitter and the receiver, and bypassing one or more equipment units in the transmitter or the receiver, if the value of the quality parameter is under the predetermined threshold value; and

means for repeating the transporting of the test signal portion by altering the one or more equipment units, which are bypassed until the value of the quality parameter exceeds the predetermined threshold value.

34. The base station of claim 33, comprising:

means for giving an alarm of the equipment unit, passing of which results in exceeding of the threshold value of the quality parameter.

35. An article of manufacture for testing functionality in a base station of a radio system, the article of manufacture comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:

forming, in a transmitter of a base station, a test signal portion on at least one transmission traffic frequency included in a transmission signal band containing several traffic frequencies;

shifting the formed test signal portion onto at least one receiving traffic frequency, included in a receiving frequency band containing several traffic frequencies, the transmission traffic frequency being different from the receiving traffic frequency, where a separation between the receiving frequency and a transmission frequency differs from a frequency duplex used in the radio system, and

transporting the frequency-shifted test signal portion to a receiver of the base station.