Automated radio frequency testing management system

• US 9,749,064 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2015
• Issued: 08/29/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fedex Supply Chain Logistics & Electronics, Inc. (FedEx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fedex Supply Chain Logistics & Electronics, Inc. (FedEx Corporation)
• Inventors: Humphrey, Clark, Frenzel, Gregory, Jimenez, Carlos, Wittrock, Scott, Ripperden, Robert, Nguyen, Ken
• Primary Examiner(s): SANDIFORD, DEVAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/838,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20170063474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/22 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/0085 using test signal generators
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/0087 using auxiliary channels or channel simulators

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include an automated RF testing management system that is configured to control a plurality of RF testing units, each having multiple test ports for performing RF testing of various electronic devices. Advantages of the disclosed embodiments include cost savings, increase productivity, and ease of configuration and maintenance.

Claims

1. An automated radio frequency testing management system comprising:

a database configured to store data for performing automated radio frequency testing on a plurality of electronic devices, wherein the data defines user roles and functionalities available to each user role, tests to be performed, and test result parameters;

a server in network communication with the database, the server configured to provide an interface for configuring the automated radio frequency testing management system and retrieving test results, wherein configuring the automated radio frequency testing management system includes setting configuration parameters within the database; and

at least one test station in network communication with the database, the test station comprising a test station controller in communication with at least one radio frequency test set, wherein each radio frequency test set is configured with at least one test port configured with at least one radio frequency shield box, and wherein the test station controller is configured to receive data from the database to perform the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices, and to perform a trend analysis using the results of the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices to determine when one of the at least one radio frequency test set needs to be recalibrated.

2. A test station controller comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions;

a processor for executing the computer-executable instructions, wherein the computer-executable instructions include instructions for;

enabling the test station controller to communicate over a network with a plurality of radio frequency test sets and a database;

controlling the plurality of radio frequency test sets to concurrently perform radio frequency testing of electronic devices based on data received from the database, wherein performing the radio frequency testing of the electronic devices comprises;

reading an identifier of the electronic devices under test and

determining from the identifier whether the electronic device corresponds to a currently configured model for a port on a radio frequency testing unit; and

querying the database to receive the data for performing the radio frequency testing of electronic devices based on identifying a model of an electronic device under test.

3. The test station controller of claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of radio frequency test sets is configured with multiple test ports to support multiple radio frequency shield boxes.

4. The test station controller of claim 3, wherein the computer-executable instructions further include instructions for:

performing an automated port configuration of at least one test port of the multiple test ports for a particular model of an electronic device.

5. The test station controller of claim 4, wherein the computer-executable instructions further include instructions for:

performing an automated correlation check of the at least one test port; and

responsive to the automated correlation check of the at least one test port indicating that the at least one test port requires re-correlation, performing the re-correlation of the at least one test port.

6. The test station controller of claim 3, wherein the computer-executable instructions further include instructions for configuring each of the multiple test ports independently from other test ports.

7. The test station controller of claim 6, wherein the computer-executable instructions further include instructions for supporting simultaneous testing of different models on each of the ports.

8. The test station controller of claim 6, wherein configuring each of the ports is performed using one of a plurality of golden units as a calibration standard, wherein each of the golden units is associated with a particular service provider carrier, manufacturer, and model.

9. The test station controller of claim 2, wherein the computer-executable instructions further include instructions for:

performing, upon startup of the system, a scan to determine whether any of the plurality of radio frequency test sets is in an inactive state;

responsive to a determination that a radio frequency test set is in the inactive state, initiating a notification to inform a user that the radio frequency test set is in the inactive state; and

responsive to a determination that no radio frequency test set is in the inactive state, clearing configuration settings of the plurality of radio frequency test sets and setting the configuration settings of the plurality of radio frequency test sets to a known state.

10. The test station controller of claim 9, wherein the known state is a previous configuration setting of the plurality of radio frequency test sets at a time when an immediately preceding user logged out of the system.

11. The test station controller of claim 2, wherein performing radio frequency testing of electronic devices further comprises:

responsive to a determination that the electronic device corresponds to the currently configured model for one of the test ports on the radio frequency test set, determining whether the electronic device is a golden unit;

responsive to a determination that the electronic device corresponds to the currently configured model for the one of the test ports on the radio frequency test set and the electronic device is not a golden unit;

executing a test sequence that was set during a port configuration; and

evaluating results of the test sequence based on test criteria loaded during the port configuration.

12. The test station controller of claim 2, wherein performing radio frequency testing of electronic devices further comprises:

responsive to a determination that the electronic device does not correspond to the currently configured model for one of the test ports on the radio frequency test set, determining whether the electronic device is a golden unit;

responsive to a determination that the electronic device is a golden unit, performing a port configuration using the golden unit;

responsive to a determination that the electronic device is not a golden unit, determining whether the electronic device has a corresponding identifier; and

responsive to a determination that the electronic device has a corresponding identifier, initiating an alert notification indicating that the electronic device is a different model than the currently configured model for the one of the testing ports on the radio frequency testing unit.

13. The test station controller of claim 2, wherein the identifier is one of an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) and a Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID).

14. The test station controller of claim 13, wherein a Type Allocation Code (TAC) code portion of the IMEI is used in determining whether the electronic device corresponds to the currently configured model for the test ports on the radio frequency testing unit.

15. A method for performing automated radio frequency testing, the method comprising:

storing, in a database, testing instructions and data for performing the automated radio frequency testing on a plurality of electronic devices, wherein the testing instructions and data define user roles and functionalities available to each user role, tests to be performed, and test result parameters;

retrieving, by a test station controller, the testing instructions and data for performing the automated radio frequency testing from the database;

controlling, by the test station controller, a plurality of radio frequency test sets to concurrently perform the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices using the retrieved testing instructions and data; and

performing a trend analysis using the results of the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices stored in the database to determine when one of the plurality of radio frequency test sets needs to be recalibrated.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

verifying results of the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices using the retrieved testing instructions and data; and

storing the results of the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices in the database.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising performing an additional trend analysis using the results of the automated radio frequency testing on the plurality of electronic devices stored in the database to determine an issue with a particular model of one of the plurality of electronic devices.