Systems, methods and apparatus for determining a radiated performance of a wireless device

• US 8,467,756 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2010
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Ozaki, Ernest T., Fok, Kenny, Seckendorf, Paul M., Cassett, Tia Manning, Tierney, Patrick, Breit, Gregory Alan, Li, Jing
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, CONGVAN
• Application Number:
  US12/829,137
• Publication Number:
  US 20100273433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,083 Days
• Field of Search: 455/67.11, 455/67.14, 4552261- 4, 4551151- 3, 455/423, 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 340/426.19, 340/426.2, 340/539.13, 342/357.22, 342/357.39, 342/357.64, 34235772- 73
• US Class Current: 455/226.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/10 Radiation diagrams of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/102 Power radiated at antenna
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/15 Performance testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/29 Performance testing
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/327 Received signal code power [RSCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements

Abstract

Systems, methods, apparatus, processors and computer-readable media include a radiated testing module that executes a predetermined radiated performance test on a wireless device. The test dictates various performance-related parameters to measure and log at each of a plurality of predetermined positions. Further, the wireless device receives synchronization information operable to enable synchronization between the logged measurements and each of the positions. The synchronized log allows the wireless device, or another apparatus, to determine a radiated performance characteristic based on a predetermined analysis protocol. Further, the described embodiments allow for the determination of several radiated performance characteristics in a single test, using a single, unaltered wireless device.

Claims

1. A controller for determining a radiated performance of a wireless device, comprising:

a radio signal system operable to transmit a signal to the wireless device at each one of a plurality of positions associated with a predetermined radiated performance test, the signal comprising a reference signal characteristic and synchronization data, the synchronization data corresponding to a respective position for each one of the plurality of positions and further corresponding to each of the reference signal characteristics;

wherein the reference signal characteristics and the synchronization data are used to determine a radiated performance characteristic of the wireless device.

2. The controller of claim 1, further comprising:

a radiated test management module operable to record the reference signal characteristics and the synchronization data corresponding to each of the plurality of positions;

a storage mechanism having a control test log and a device test log, the control test log comprising the recorded reference signal characteristics and the recorded synchronization data, the device test log comprising a record of measured signal characteristics and synchronization data as received by a receiver module of the wireless device for each of the plurality of positions;

a performance analyzer operable to synchronize, for each of the plurality of positions, the reference signal characteristics with the measured signal characteristics based on the synchronization data, wherein the performance analyzer is further operable to determine the radiated performance characteristic of the wireless device based on the synchronized reference signal characteristics and measured signal characteristics.

3. The controller of claim 2, wherein the performance analyzer is further operable to generate the radiated performance characteristic corresponding to a predetermined position associated with the plurality of positions based on the measured signal characteristics and the synchronization data.

4. The controller of claim 1, wherein the radiated test management module further operable to wirelessly transmit the synchronization data to the wireless device.

5. The controller of claim 2, wherein the radiated test management module further comprises a predetermined analysis protocol, and wherein the radiated test management module is further operable to apply the predetermined analysis protocol to the synchronized combination of the reference signal characteristics and the measured signal characteristics to generate the radiated performance characteristic.

6. The controller of claim 5, wherein the measured signal characteristics comprise gain values, and wherein the predetermined analysis protocol is operable to determine a total radiated sensitivity for the wireless device based on a maximum radiated sensitivity, wherein the maximum radiated sensitivity is determined at a maximum gain position, and wherein the maximum gain position corresponds to a maximum one of the gain values.

7. The controller of claim 5, wherein the measured signal characteristic comprises a radiated power value, and wherein the predetermined analysis protocol is operable to determine a total radiated power metric for the wireless device based on a maximum radiated power value for each one of the plurality of positions.

8. The controller of claim 5, wherein the wireless device comprises a first antenna module and a second antenna module, wherein the measured signal characteristic comprises a complex voltage value for each of the first antenna module and the second antenna module, and wherein the predetermined analysis protocol is operable to determine an envelope correlation coefficient, ρ

_e, between the first antenna module and the second antenna module based on the complex voltage values.

9. The controller of claim 1, wherein the radiated test management module is further operable to simultaneously perform a second radiated performance test determinative of a second radiated performance characteristic at some portion of the plurality of positions.

10. A system for determining a radiated performance of a wireless device, comprising:

a controller system operable to generate a control signal based on a predetermined radiated performance test, the control signal having a positioning component and a corresponding signaling component, the positioning component defining a selected one of a plurality of predetermined positions, the signaling component defining a radio signal having a reference signal characteristic and predetermined synchronization data, wherein the predetermined synchronization data corresponds to the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions; and

a radio signal system comprising a signal generator, the radio signal system operable to receive at least a portion of the control signal and generate the radio signal based on the signaling component.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a wireless device connectable to the mounting portion of the motion control system, the wireless device comprising;

a receiver mechanism operable to receive the radio signal;

a processor system in communication with the receiver mechanism, the processor system operable to generate a measured signal characteristic based on the received radio signal, wherein the measured signal characteristic corresponds to the reference signal characteristic as received by the receiver mechanism at the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions, and the processor system further operable to parse the predetermined synchronization data corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions from the received radio signal; and

a radiated performance test module in communication with the processor system, the radiated performance test module having data management logic operable to gather and store the measured signal characteristic and the corresponding predetermined synchronization data, both at least partially determinable of a radiated performance characteristic of the wireless device based on the predetermined radiated performance test.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the radiated performance test module further comprises a performance analyzer operable to generate the radiated performance characteristic based on the measured signal characteristic and the corresponding predetermined synchronization data.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined synchronization data comprises position information that defines the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined synchronization data comprises time information corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions, and wherein the controller system further comprises a test log and a performance analyzer, wherein the test log comprises a record of the time information corresponding to the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions, wherein the test log is further operable to receive a record of the time information corresponding to the measured signal characteristics from a wireless device subjected to the predetermined radiated performance test, and wherein the performance analyzer is operable to synchronize the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions with the measured signal characteristic and generate a radiated performance characteristic.

15. The system of claim 10, further comprising a positioning system comprising a positioning assembly having a movable mounting portion, the positioning system operable to receive at least a portion of the control signal and to move the mounting portion to the selected one of the plurality of predetermined positions based on the positioning component.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the wireless device further comprises a transmitter mechanism operable to generate and transmit a device-originated radio signal simultaneously with receiving the radio signal, wherein the device-originated radio signal is based on a second predetermined radiated performance test, wherein the radio signal system further comprises a signal receiver operable to receive the device-originated radio signal and determine a controller-based signal characteristic, and wherein the controller system is operable to receive the controller—

based signal characteristic and generate a second radiated performance characteristic of the wireless device.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the wireless device further comprises a data repository operable to store a log comprising the measured signal characteristic and the corresponding predetermined synchronization data.

18. A method of determining a radiated performance of a wireless device, comprising:

positioning a wireless device at a selected one of a plurality of predetermined positions associated with a predetermined radiated performance test;

sending a signal to the wireless device, the signal having a reference signal characteristic and predetermined synchronization data that corresponds to the selected position;

receiving a record from the wireless device, the record including a measured signal characteristic as measured by a receiver module on the wireless device and corresponding to the reference signal characteristic, and correlated with the predetermined synchronization data;

synchronizing the measured signal characteristic with position information corresponding to the selected position based on the predetermined synchronization data; and

generating a radiated performance characteristic of the wireless device based on the synchronized measured signal characteristic and position information.