Methods and systems for testing cell phones with multiple antennas
AssigneeSpirent Communications, Inc.
InventorsArashk Mahjoubi Amine, Randy Oltman, Madhusudhan Gurumurthy, Charles Zheng, Joe Willis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to testing cell phones that simulates network conditions. In particular, it relates to new testing capabilities for simulating changes in correlation characteristics of signal components delivered to a cell phone. Correlation characteristics express changing environmental conditions and physical relationships among antennas in the cell phone and at base stations.
Claims25
A system used to test a cell phone that uses multiple cell phone antennas, including:
- at least one signal feed adapted to be coupled to the cell phone at a location that bypasses the cell phone antennas, whereby the cell phone performs multiple-input/multiple output, abbreviated MIMO, processing of multiple signals from the multiple cell phone antennas;
- at least one memory;
- and
- one or more channel generator modules running on one or more processors, coupled to the signal feed and the memory, wherein each channel generator module:
- uses at least three correlation data sets stored in the memory to emulate different channel conditions of a propagation channel model (abbreviated “PCM”), the correlation data sets representing time-varying reorientation of the multiple cell phone antennas;
- and
- conditions a test signal with the different channel conditions and passes the conditioned test signal to the signal feed;
- and
- a measurement module running on one or more of the processors, coupled to the signal feed, that measures response of the cell phone to the conditioned test signal.
A method of testing new cell phone designs that use multiple cell phone antennas, including:
- coupling at least one signal feed to a cell phone at a location that bypasses the cell phone antennas, whereby the cell phone performs multiple-input/multiple output, abbreviated MIMO, processing of multiple signals from the multiple cell phone antennas;
- and
- conducting a test using one or more channel generator modules running on one or more processors, including:
- using at least three correlation data sets stored in memory to emulate different channel conditions of a propagation channel model (abbreviated “PCMs”), the correlation data sets representing time-varying reorientation of the multiple cell phone antennas;
- and
- applying each of the different channel conditions to a test signal that is fed to the cell phone on the signal feed;
- and
- measuring response of the cell phone to the different channel conditions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.