Wireless device test station calibration

• US 9,559,793 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2012
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Meiyappan, Palaniappan
• Primary Examiner(s): Breene, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Islam, Mohammad
• Application Number:
  US13/660,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20140122009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/0085 using test signal generators
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/14 of the whole transmission and reception path, e.g. self-test loop-back

Abstract

Embodiments for calibrating a radiofrequency (RF) test station with a portable RF test station calibration device are disclosed. In one example, a portable RF test station calibration device comprises an RF power meter, a power sensor, and a computing device. The computing device may be configured to connect to the RF test instrument and to the RF power meter. The computing device may further comprise instructions executable by a logic subsystem to control the RF test instrument to transmit one or more RF signals having requested transmission values, receive measured transmission values from the RF power meter, determine a difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values, and send a calibration value to the RF test instrument to be stored at the RF test instrument, the calibration value derived from the difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values.

Claims

1. A portable radiofrequency (RF) test station calibration device, comprising:

an RF power meter;

a power sensor configured to connect to an RF test instrument of a wireless device RF test station through a calibration board, the RF test instrument being configured to test and calibrate one or more other RF devices under test; and

a computing device configured to connect to the RF test instrument and to the RF power meter, the computing device comprising a logic subsystem and a storage subsystem, the storage subsystem storing instructions executable by the logic subsystem to;

control the RF test instrument to transmit one or more RF signals having requested transmission values to the power sensor, the one or more RF signals being transmitted to the power sensor through each of a first path and a second path independently,

wherein the first path extends from the RF test instrument to a first RF test instrument connector of the calibration board, to a first power sensor connector of the calibration board and to the power sensor, and the second path extends from the RF test instrument to a second RF test instrument connector of the calibration board, to a second power sensor connector of the calibration board and to the power sensor; and

, for each of the first path and the second path,

receive measured transmission values from the RF power meter, the measured transmission values measured from the RF signals received at the power sensor;

determine a difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values; and

send a calibration value to the RF test instrument to be stored at the RF test instrument, the calibration value derived from the difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values.

2. The portable RF test station calibration device of claim 1, wherein the wireless device RF test station is configured to test a plurality of devices under test (DUTs), and wherein the first and second RF test instrument connectors are positioned in locations on the calibration board corresponding to locations of RF connectors on the DUTs.

3. The portable RF test station calibration device of claim 2, wherein each of the first and second RF connectors connects to a blind mate connector positioned in a preselected location matching a connection location in the RF testing station to receive a cable from a power sensor.

4. The portable RF test station calibration device of claim 3, wherein the blind mate connectors are integrated with the wireless device RF test station.

5. The portable RF test station calibration device of claim 3, wherein the blind mate connectors are positioned at a location of the calibration board that correspond to a location of holes in a shield box of the wireless device RF test station when the calibration board is inside of the shield box.

6. The portable RF test station calibration device of claim 5, wherein each of the holes in the shield box comprises a closeable lid to cover the holes.

7. The portable RF test station calibration device of claim 1, wherein the requested transmission values include a requested transmission power level and the measured transmission values include a measured transmission power level.

8. On a computing device of a portable RF test station calibration device, a method of calibrating a wireless device radiofrequency (RF) test station, the wireless device RF test station including a test instrument configured to test and calibrate one or more other RF devices under test, and the portable RF test station calibration device including the computing device, an RF power meter and an RF power sensor, the method comprising:

controlling the test instrument to send an RF signal to the RF power sensor through a calibration board via a first path and a second path, the RF signal having requested transmission values, the RF signal being sent from the test instrument through the first path and the second path to the RF power sensor independently or simultaneously; and

, for each of the first path and the second path,

wherein the first path extends from the RF test instrument to a first RF test instrument connector of the calibration board, to a first power sensor connector of the calibration board and to the power sensor, and the second path extends from the RF test instrument to a second RF test instrument connector of the calibration board, to a second power sensor connector of the calibration board and to the power sensor;

detecting the RF signal via data received from the power sensor;

determining measured transmission values for the RF signal, the measured transmission values measured from the RF signal detected via data received from the power sensor;

determining a difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values; and

providing updated calibration values to the test instrument for storage at the test instrument, the updated calibration values being derived from the difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the requested transmission values include a requested power level of the RF signal and the measured transmission values include a measured power level of the RF signal.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the test instrument offsets a transmission power level by an amount corresponding to the updated calibration values.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the wireless device RF test station is configured to test a device under test (DUT), wherein the calibration board has a same configuration as a board of the DUT.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and second RF test instrument connectors are blind mate connectors.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first and second blind mate connectors are integrated with the wireless device RF test station.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the RF signal is independently sent through the first path and the second path.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the computing device of the portable RF test station device determines the updated calibration values from a difference between requested transmission values and measured transmission values across the first path and the second path, the test instrument offsetting a transmission power level by an amount corresponding to the updated calibration values.

16. A method of calibrating a wireless device radiofrequency (RF) test station with a portable RF test station calibration device, the wireless device RF test station including a test instrument and the portable RF test station calibration device including a computing device, an RF power meter and an RF power sensor, the method comprising:

controlling the computing device to send an RF signal from the test instrument through the calibration board to the RF power sensor via a first path and a second path, the RF signal having requested transmission values including a power level,

wherein the first path extends from the RF test instrument to a first RF test instrument connector of the calibration board, to a first power sensor connector of the calibration board and to the power sensor, and the second path extends from the RF test instrument to a second RF test instrument connector of the calibration board, to a second power sensor connector of the calibration board and to the power sensor; and

, for each of the first path and the second path,

controlling the computing device to determine a difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values; and

controlling the wireless device RF test station to store updated calibration values, the updated calibration values being derived from the difference between the requested transmission values and the measured transmission values.