|
Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
A mobile phone terminal includes a transmitting side speech signal
path switch and receiving side speech signal path switch, and a
general purpose USB port. The signal path switches are interposed
between a speech coder/decoder and an A/D converter and D/A converter
to enable a terminal acoustic evaluation signal to be input and
output through a path different from that in a normal operation
mode of the mobile phone terminal. The general purpose USB port
is used for connecting the signal path switches with an external
terminal unit so that the control signals of the signal path switches
and a terminal acoustic test signal are transferred across these
signal path switches and the general purpose USB port. The mobile
phone terminal can mount the external connection port for the acoustic
evaluation test more efficiently.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A mobile phone terminal that converts transmission speech into
a digital speech signal by an A/D converter, encodes the digital
speech signal by a speech coder/decoder, and transmits the code
sequence via a radio interface and an antenna, and that supplies
a received signal received by the antenna to the speech coder/decoder
via the radio interface, and converts a digital speech signal output
from the speech coder/decoder into an analog electric signal by
a D/A converter, said mobile phone terminal comprising: a general
purpose connection port usable for connecting an external device
to said mobile phone terminal; and a first signal path switch interposed
between the speech coder/decoder and the A/D converter and D/A converter
to enable a terminal acoustic evaluation signal to be input and
output through a path different from that in a normal operation
mode of the mobile phone terminal, wherein the terminal acoustic
evaluation signal and a control signal of said first signal path
switch are input and output through said first signal path switch
and said general purpose connection port.
2. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, further comprising
a second signal path switch interposed between said radio interface
and said speech coder/decoder to enable an evaluation code sequence
of said speech coder/decoder to be input and output through a path
different from that in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone
terminal, wherein a test signal of said speech coder/decoder and
a control signal of said second signal path switch are input and
output through said second signal path switch and said general purpose
connection port.
3. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, further comprising
a second signal path switch interposed between said radio interface
and said speech coder/decoder to enable an evaluation code sequence
of said radio interface to be input and output through a path different
from that in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal,
wherein a test signal of said radio interface and a control signal
of said second signal path switch are input and output through said
second signal path switch and said general purpose connection port.
4. The mobile phone terminal according to claim 1, further comprising
a peripheral unit for acoustic test for connecting a mobile phone
terminal with a terminal acoustic evaluation unit for carrying out
an evaluation test of acoustic characteristics of said mobile phone
terminal, said peripheral unit for acoustic test comprising: a dedicated
connection port for connecting said terminal acoustic evaluation
unit; a first general purpose connection port for connecting said
mobile phone terminal; a second general purpose connection port
for connecting an external device; and a format converter for converting
a transmission signal format between said dedicated connection port
and said first general purpose connection port.
5. A peripheral unit for acoustic test for connecting a mobile
phone terminal with a terminal acoustic evaluation unit that carries
out an evaluation test of acoustic characteristics of said mobile
phone terminal, said peripheral unit for acoustic test comprising:
a dedicated connection port configured to communicate with said
terminal acoustic evaluation unit using a first signal according
to a first communication format; a first general purpose connection
port configured to communicate with said mobile phone terminal using
a second signal according to a second communication format; a second
general purpose connection port configured to communicate with an
external device using a third signal according to the second communication
format; and a format converter configured to convert the first signal
according to the first communication format on said dedicated connection
port to the second signal according to the second communication
format on said first general purpose connection port.
6. The peripheral unit for acoustic test of claim 5, wherein the
format converter is further configured to convert the second signal
according to the second communication format on the first general
purpose connection port to the first signal according to the first
communication format on the dedicated connection port.
7. The peripheral unit for acoustic test of claim 5, wherein the
first and second communication formats each include a digital communication
format.
8. The peripheral unit for acoustic test of claim 5, wherein the
first communication format includes a Digital Audio Interface (DAI)
format.
9. The peripheral unit for acoustic test of claim 5, wherein the
second communication format includes a Universal Serial Bus (USB)
format.
10. The peripheral unit for acoustic test of claim 6, wherein the
format converter is further configured to absorb a difference of
a transfer rate of the dedicated connection port and a transfer
rate of the first general purpose connection port.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a configuration of a mobile phone
terminal, and to a peripheral unit for acoustic test of the mobile
phone terminal, which connects the mobile phone terminal with a
terminal acoustic evaluation unit for conducting an evaluation test
of the acoustic characteristics of the mobile phone terminal.
2. Description of Related Art
To maintain speech quality of a mobile phone terminal, characteristic
evaluations of various digital speech signal processors are carried
out. These evaluations include frequency characteristic evaluations
of its microphone and receiver (speaker), characteristic evaluations
of an analog acoustic system such as an amount of acoustic echo
occurring between the receiver and microphone, coding and decoding
characteristic evaluations of a speech coder/decoder used by the
mobile phone terminal, and echo elimination performance evaluations
of an acoustic echo canceler. A peripheral unit for acoustic test
is used for connecting the mobile phone terminal with a terminal
acoustic evaluation unit for carrying out these characteristic evaluations.
As a conventional technique, there is a method of connecting a
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) mobile phone terminal
with a system simulator as described in GSM 04.14 of ETSI (European
Telecommunication Standards Institutes) standards. The system simulator
has the following functions as a party station of the mobile phone
terminal to be evaluated. First, it can establish between it and
the mobile phone terminal a TDMA radio connection identical to that
used in an actual channel, and transmits and receives a speech code
sequence using the channel. Besides, it transmits and receives a
separate terminal control signal and a PCM digital speech signal
using a dedicated port called DAI (Digital Audio Interface: abbreviated
to DAI ports from now on). The mobile phone terminal and system
simulator each comprise a DAI port composed of a dedicated 25-pin
DSUB socket in accordance with ISO 2110 standard, and the two DAI
ports are connected by a cable with connectors matching the shape
of the ports.
The GSM 04.14 of the ETSI standards also specifies individual conditions
such as electrical signal conditions, signal timings, and logical
interfaces. Its signal transmission rate is specified at 104 kbits/second
in both directions from the mobile phone terminal to the system
simulator and from the system simulator to the mobile phone terminal.
It is based on the calculation of 8000 (samples/second).times.13
(bits/sample)=104,000 (bits/second) assigned to an evaluation speech
signal. Using the specified shape of connectors and the unique transmission
rate, the DAI ports are not connectable directly to a cable with
connectors corresponding to various types of general purpose ports
(such as USB, IEEE1394, RS-232C and RS423) which are widely used
as external connecting ports of various types of current computer
systems.
As for the GSM mobile phone terminal, three types of acoustic evaluation
tests can be achieved by interconnecting the mobile phone terminal
with the system simulator using the DAI ports, and by establishing
a radio connection at the same time. The three types of acoustic
evaluation tests will now be described with reference to FIGS. 10-14.
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a device connection state at
a terminal acoustic evaluation test in a conventional GSM mobile
phone terminal. In FIG. 10, the reference numeral 1 designates a
mobile phone terminal, 2 designates a system simulator, and 3 designates
an external terminal unit. In the mobile phone terminal 1, the reference
numeral 10 designates a microphone, 11 designates a receiver, 12
designates a microphone amplifier, 13 designates a receiver amplifier,
14 designates an A/D converter, 15 designates a D/A converter, 16
designates a speech coder/decoder, 17 designates a terminal adapter,
18 designates a data communication port, 19 designates a radio interface,
20 designates an antenna, 21 designates a transmitting side speech
signal path switch, 22 designates a receiving side speech signal
path switch, and 23 designates a DAI port. In the system simulator
2, the reference numeral 40 designates a DAI port, 41 designates
an evaluation signal storage, 42 designates a radio interface, 43
designates an antenna, and 44 designates a control and signal evaluation
section.
Next, the operation will be described.
First, operations of the individual components as shown in FIG.
10 will be described. As for the components in the mobile phone
terminal 1, the microphone 10 gathers input voice, and converts
it into an analog electric signal. The microphone amplifier 12 amplifies
the analog electric signal. The A/D converter 14 converts the amplified
analog electric signal into a 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal
at 8000 samples per second. On the other hand, the D/A converter
15 converts the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000
samples per second fed from the receiving side speech signal path
switch 22 into an analog electric signal. The receiver amplifier
13 amplifies the analog electric signal. The receiver 11 converts
the amplified analog electric signal into voice, and radiates it
to external space.
The speech coder/decoder 16 codes the 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second fed from the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 to a code sequence, and decodes
a code sequence fed from the radio interface 19 into the 13-bit
linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second. The
radio interface 19 modulates the code sequence and transmits it
via the antenna 20, and demodulates the signal received by the antenna
20.
The DAI port 23 exchanges a signal with the system simulator 2
in response to the switching state of the transmitting side speech
signal path switch 21 or of the receiving side speech signal path
switch 22. The signal transmission rate of the DAI port 23 is 104
kbits/second in both directions. It is based on the calculation
of the evaluation speech signal: 8000 (samples/second).times.13
(bits)=104,000 (bits/second).
On the other hand, the terminal adapter 17 exchanges with the radio
interface 19 the digital transmission and reception data transferred
to and from the external terminal unit 3 via the data communication
port 18. Typically, a personal computer (called PC from now on)
is connected to the data communication port 18 as the external terminal
unit 3 via a modem so that it can transmit or receive e-mail via
a mobile telephone line, or gain access to a network. As a result,
it is necessary for the data communication port 18 to transfer a
signal different from the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal
at 8000 samples per second which is exchanged via the DAI port 23.
Accordingly, the data communication port 18 must be installed separately
from the DAI port 23, making it impossible to use a common port
for them.
As for the individual operations of the transmitting side speech
signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal path switch
22 as the components of the mobile phone terminal 1, they will be
described later along with the concrete operation of the mobile
phone terminal 1 with reference to FIGS. 11-14.
The control and signal evaluation section 44 of the system simulator
2 transmits the evaluation signal or evaluation code sequence stored
in the evaluation signal storage 41 to the DAI port 40 or radio
interface 42, transfers the evaluation signal or evaluation code
sequence supplied from the DAI port 40 or radio interface 42 to
the evaluation signal storage 41, and sends to the DAI port 40 a
setting control signal on the mobile phone terminal 1 side, which
is necessary for each test condition. The radio interface 42 and
antenna 43 establish a radio connection with the antenna 20 and
radio interface 19 of the mobile phone terminal 1 to exchange the
setting control signal and evaluation code sequence with the mobile
phone terminal 1 side.
Next, the operation of the transmitting side speech signal path
switch 21 and receiving side speech signal path switch 22 will be
described. Here, the transmitting side speech signal path switch
21 is composed of two switching devices 21-1 and 21-2, and the receiving
side speech signal path switch 22 is composed of two switching devices
22-1 and 22-2. As for the operation of the mobile phone terminal
1 which is connected with the system simulator 2 via the radio connection
and DAI, the ETSI standards specifies four test functions: normal
operation; evaluation of a speech decoder; evaluation of a speech
coder; and evaluation of a microphone, receiver, A/D converter,
and D/A converter. One of the four functions is set by the individual
switching devices 21-1, 21-2, 22-1 and 22-2 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal
path switch 22. Here, the control information required for the setting
is sent from the system simulator 2 to the transmitting side speech
signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal path switch
22 via the DAI ports 40 and 23.
In the normal operation, the switching devices 21-1, 21-2, 22-1
and 22-2 of the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and
receiving side speech signal path switch 22 are each connected to
the a-position as shown in FIG. 11. Thus, the A/D converter 14 and
the D/A converter 15 are connected to the speech coder/decoder 16
so that no digital speech signal is exchanged between the mobile
phone terminal 1 and the system simulator 2 via the DAI ports 23
and 40.
In the evaluation of the speech decoder, the switching device 22-1
of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 is connected
to the b-position with the remaining switching devices 21-1, 21-2
and 22-2 being connected to the a-position as shown in FIG. 12.
Thus, the speech code sequence sent from the system simulator 2
to the mobile phone terminal 1 via the radio connection is decoded
by the speech decoder in the speech coder/decoder 16, and is sent
back to the system simulator 2 via the b-position of the switching
device 22-1 of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22.
The system simulator 2 compares it with a digital speech signal
which is prepared in advance in the control and signal evaluation
section 44. If they disagree, the system simulator 2 makes a decision
that the speech coder/decoder 16 of the mobile phone terminal 1
has a problem in its decoding process.
On the other hand, in the evaluation of the speech coder, the switching
device 21-1 of the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21
is connected to the b-position with the remaining switching devices
21-2, 22-1 and 22-2 being connected to the a-position as shown in
FIG. 13. Thus, a signal supplied from the system simulator 2 to
the mobile phone terminal 1 is sent to the speech coder/decoder
16 via the b-position of the switching device 21-1 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21. The signal is coded by the speech
coder, and then sent back to the system simulator 2 via the radio
connection. The system simulator 2 compares it with a speech encoding
result which is prepared in advance in the control and signal evaluation
section 44. If they disagree, it makes a decision that the speech
coder/decoder 16 has a problem in its coding process.
In the evaluation of the microphone, receiver, A/D converter and
D/A converter, the switching device 21-1 of the transmitting side
speech signal path switch 21 is connected to the a-position, the
switching device 21-2 is connected to the b-position, the switching
device 22-1 of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 is
connected to the a-position and the switching device 22-2 is connected
to the b-position as shown in FIG. 14. In FIG. 14, the reference
numeral 50 designates an evaluation signal generator, 51 designates
an artificial mouth amplifier, 52 designates an artificial mouth,
53 designates an artificial ear, 54 designates an artificial ear
amplifier, and 55 designates a signal evaluation unit, which are
used in the evaluation of the microphone, receiver, A/D converter
and D/A converter.
First, the operation of the evaluation of the microphone 10 and
A/D converter 14 will be described. The artificial mouth amplifier
51 amplifies the evaluation signal fed from the evaluation signal
generator 50, and the artificial mouth 52 radiates it as evaluation
speech. The evaluation speech is gathered by the microphone 10,
amplified by the microphone amplifier 12, and converted into a digital
speech signal by the A/D converter 14. The digital speech signal
is sent to the system simulator 2 via the b-position of the switching
device 21-2 of the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21,
so that the control and signal evaluation section 44 evaluates the
frequency characteristic of the microphone 10 and A/D converter
14.
Next, the operation of the evaluation of the receiver 11 and D/A
converter 15 will be described. The 13-bit linear PCM digital speech
signal at 8000 samples per second of -26 dBov, which is prepared
in advance, is sent from the system simulator 2 to the mobile phone
terminal 1. It passes through the b-position of the switching device
22-2 of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22, and is
supplied to the D/A converter 15 that converts it into an analog
electric signal. The analog electric signal is amplified by the
receiver amplifier 13, and is converted into sound by the receiver
11 to be radiated to the space. The sound is gathered by the artificial
ear 53, amplified by the artificial ear amplifier 54, and is subjected
to the frequency characteristic analysis by the signal evaluation
unit 55.
The acoustic echo evaluation of the mobile phone terminal 1 is
carried out as follows. First, the system simulator 2 sends the
digital speech signal in the same manner as in the evaluation of
the receiver and D/A converter. The sound the receiver 11 radiates
is gathered by the microphone 10, and the signal is sent back to
the system simulator 2 in the same manner as in the evaluation of
the microphone and A/D converter. The control and signal evaluation
section 44 compares the signal level difference between the two
signals, and compares it with a specified value, thereby completing
the acoustic echo evaluation of the mobile phone terminal 1.
Incidentally, as for documents relevant to the conventional mobile
phone terminal, there are Japanese patent application laid-open
No. 2000-139032, and Japanese patent application laid-open No. 9-83632.
The former discloses an apparatus of carrying out communication
with an external device such as a PC via a battery charger using
a USB interface mounted on the apparatus. The latter discloses a
handsfree adapter using the DAI in a GSM terminal.
With the foregoing configuration, the conventional GSM mobile phone
terminal carries out the acoustic evaluation tests as described
above. Therefore, it must possess the physical interface (DAI port
23) specified for the DAI. Today, these mobile phone terminals often
include a general purpose external connection interface (data communication
port 18) that enables the data communication with a PC. However,
although they include such a general purpose data communication
port 18 in their body, they must also include the DAI port 23 separately
for the acoustic evaluations. Thus, the conventional mobile phone
terminal has a problem of reducing its size and weight.
In addition, the conventional GSM mobile phone terminal and its
acoustic evaluation test have the following problems because the
DAI port 23 is located between the speech coder/decoder 16 and the
A/D converter 14 and D/A converter 15, because the signal exchanged
between the mobile phone terminal 1 and the system simulator 2 via
the DAI ports 23 and 40 is limited to the 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second only, and because it is
essential to establish the connection with system simulator 2 via
the radio connection in the test of the speech coder/decoder 16
to exchange the code sequence. (1) Since the mobile phone terminal
1 and the system simulator 2 must comprise the radio interfaces
19 and 42 and antennas 20 and 43 for establishing the radio connection,
it is unavoidable that the size of the evaluation system becomes
large. (2) When a combination with the radio interface 19 cannot
be established in a special condition in the development stage of
the terminal, the individual operation test of the speech coder/decoder
16, or of the A/D converter 14, D/A converter 15 and analog circuit
section cannot be achieved independently. (3) The error rate can
increase depending on the operation condition of the radio connection,
thereby causing instability of the operation of the evaluation system.
Likewise the conventional GSM mobile phone terminal and its acoustic
evaluation test have another problem of being unable to conduct
the characteristic evaluation of the radio interface alone because
the DAI port 23 is located between the speech coder/decoder 16 and
the A/D converter 14 and D/A converter 15, and because the signal
exchanged between the mobile phone terminal 1 and the system simulator
2 via the DAI ports 23 and 40 is limited to the 13-bit linear PCM
digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second only.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is implemented to solve the foregoing problems.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a
mobile phone terminal and its peripheral circuit for the acoustic
test that can mount the external connection port used for the acoustic
evaluation test of the mobile phone terminal more efficiently. Another
object of the present invention is to provide a mobile phone terminal
and its peripheral circuit for the acoustic test that can handle
evaluation items such as the evaluation of the speech coder/decoder
alone or the radio interface alone, which cannot be implemented
by the conventional method, more easily and more positively.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a mobile phone terminal that converts transmission speech
into a digital speech signal by an A/D converter, encodes the digital
speech signal by a speech coder/decoder, and transmits the code
sequence via a radio interface and an antenna, and that supplies
a received signal received by the antenna to the speech coder/decoder
via the radio interface, and converts a digital speech signal output
from the speech coder/decoder into an analog electric signal by
a D/A converter, the mobile phone terminal comprising: a general
purpose connection port usable for connecting an external device
to the mobile phone terminal; and a first signal path switch interposed
between the speech coder/decoder and the A/D converter and D/A converter
to enable a terminal acoustic evaluation signal to be input and
output through a path different from that in a normal operation
mode of the mobile phone terminal, wherein the terminal acoustic
evaluation signal and a control signal of the first signal path
switch are input and output through the first signal path switch
and the general purpose connection port.
Here, the mobile phone terminal may further comprise a second signal
path switch interposed between the radio interface and the speech
coder/decoder to enable an evaluation code sequence of the speech
coder/decoder to be input and output through a path different from
that in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal,
wherein a test signal of the speech coder/decoder and a control
signal of the second signal path switch may be input and output
through the second signal path switch and the general purpose connection
port.
The mobile phone terminal may further comprise a second signal
path switch interposed between the radio interface and the speech
coder/decoder to enable an evaluation code sequence of the radio
interface to be input and output through a path different from that
in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal, wherein
a test signal of the radio interface and a control signal of the
second signal path switch may be input and output through the second
signal path switch and the general purpose connection port.
The mobile phone terminal may further comprise a peripheral unit
for acoustic test for connecting a mobile phone terminal with a
terminal acoustic evaluation unit for carrying out an evaluation
test of acoustic characteristics of the mobile phone terminal, the
peripheral unit for acoustic test comprising: a dedicated connection
port for connecting the terminal acoustic evaluation unit; a first
general purpose connection port for connecting the mobile phone
terminal; a second general purpose connection port for connecting
an external device; and a format converter for converting a transmission
signal format between the dedicated connection port and the first
general purpose connection port.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is
provided a peripheral unit for acoustic test for connecting a mobile
phone terminal with a terminal acoustic evaluation unit that carries
out an evaluation test of acoustic characteristics of the mobile
phone terminal, the peripheral unit for acoustic test comprising:
a dedicated connection port for connecting the terminal acoustic
evaluation unit; a first general purpose connection port for connecting
the mobile phone terminal; a second general purpose connection port
for connecting an external device; and a format converter for converting
a transmission signal format between the dedicated connection port
and the first general purpose connection port.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using a mobile phone terminal
and a peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 1 in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the normal operation mode of the mobile
phone terminal in the embodiment 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the evaluation of the speech decoder of
the mobile phone terminal in the embodiment 1;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the evaluation of the speech coder of the
mobile phone terminal in the embodiment 1;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the evaluation of the microphone, receiver,
A/D converter and D/A converter of the mobile phone terminal in
the embodiment 1;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and the peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 4 in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and the peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 7 in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and the peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 8 in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and the peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 9 in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test in a conventional mobile phone
terminal;
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the normal operation of the conventional
mobile phone terminal;
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the evaluation of the speech decoder of
the conventional mobile phone terminal;
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the evaluation of the speech coder of the
conventional mobile phone terminal; and
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a connection state of the
signal path switches in the evaluation of the microphone, receiver,
A/D converter and D/A converter of the conventional mobile phone
terminal.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using a mobile phone terminal
and peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 1 in accordance
with the present invention. In this figure, the reference numeral
1 designates a mobile phone terminal; and 2 designates a system
simulator as an existing terminal acoustic evaluation unit for conducting
the evaluation test of the acoustic characteristics of the mobile
phone terminal 1. The reference numeral 3 designates an external
terminal unit such as a PC connected to the mobile phone terminal
1; and 4 designates a system simulator connecting unit as a peripheral
unit for acoustic test for connecting the system simulator 2 and
the external terminal unit 3 to the mobile phone terminal 1.
In the mobile phone terminal 1, the reference numeral 10 designates
a microphone for gathering input speech; and 11 designates a receiver
for radiating output speech. The reference numeral 12 designates
a microphone amplifier for amplifying the input speech fed from
the microphone 10; and 13 designates a receiver amplifier for amplifying
the output speech to be supplied to the receiver 11. The reference
numeral 14 designates an A/D converter for converting the analog
electric signal fed from the microphone amplifier 12 to a digital
speech signal; and 15 designates a D/A converter for converting
the digital speech signal into an analog electric signal to be supplied
to the receiver amplifier 13. The reference numeral 16 designates
a speech coder/decoder for coding the digital speech signal from
the A/D converter 14, and for decoding the digital speech signal
to be supplied to the D/A converter 15. The reference numeral 17
designates a terminal adapter for transferring the digital transmission
and reception data to be input to or output from the external terminal
unit 3. The reference numeral 19 designates a radio interface for
controlling the radio communication of the digital transmission
and reception data in the speech coder/decoder 16 and terminal adapter
17; and 20 designates an antenna connected to the radio interface
19.
The reference numeral 21 designates a transmitting side speech
signal path switch as a signal path switch, which is interposed
between the speech coder/decoder 16 and the A/D converter 14, and
enables the output of the terminal acoustic evaluation signal through
a path different from that in the normal operation mode of the mobile
phone terminal 1; the reference numeral 22 designates a receiving
side speech signal path switch as a signal path switch, which is
interposed between the speech coder/decoder 16 and the D/A converter
15, and enables the input of the terminal acoustic evaluation signal
through a path different from that in the normal operation mode
of the mobile phone terminal 1.
The reference numeral 24 designates a USB (Universal Serial Bus)
port provided in the mobile phone terminal 1 as a general purpose
connection port usable for connecting various types of external
devices to the mobile phone terminal 1; and 25 designates a USB
controller for controlling the USB port 24. The reference numeral
26 designates a CPU having an arithmetic function and control function.
The CPU controls the terminal acoustic test signal, and the input
and output of the control signal of the transmitting side speech
signal path switch 21 and that of the receiving side speech signal
path switch 22, between the transmitting side speech signal path
switch 21 and receiving side speech signal path switch 22 and the
USB port 24. The reference numeral 27 designates a data bus operating
under the control of the CPU 26, and having an input and output
function of the data sequence of the transmitting side speech signal
path switch 21, receiving side speech signal path switch 22, and
terminal adapter 17.
In the system simulator 2, the reference numeral 40 designates
a DAI port as a dedicated connection port for connecting the system
simulator 2 to the mobile phone terminal 1 to carry out the acoustic
evaluation test thereof; and 41 designates an evaluation signal
storage for storing evaluation signals or evaluation code sequences
for the acoustic evaluation test of the mobile phone terminal 1.
Reference numerals 42 and 43 designate a radio interface and an
antenna for establishing a radio connection with the mobile phone
terminal 1 side, and for transferring a setting control signal and
an evaluation code sequence between it and the mobile phone terminal
1 side. They have the same functions as the radio interface 19 and
antenna 20 of the mobile phone terminal 1 side. The reference numeral
44 designates a control and signal evaluation section that transmits
the evaluation signal or evaluation code sequence stored in the
evaluation signal storage 41 to the DAI port 40 or radio interface
42, that transfers the evaluation signal or evaluation code sequence
supplied from the DAI port 40 or radio interface 42 to the evaluation
signal storage 41, and that sends to the DAI port 40 the setting
control signals required for the individual test conditions in the
mobile phone terminal 1 side.
In the system simulator connecting unit 4, the reference numeral
60 designates a DAI port as a dedicated connection port for establishing
a connection with the system simulator 2. The reference numeral
61 designates a USB port as a general purpose connection port for
establishing a connection with the mobile phone terminal 1; 62 designates
a USB port as a general purpose connection port for establishing
a connection with the external terminal unit 3; and 63 designates
a format converter for transforming the format of a signal transferred
between the DAI port 60 and the USB port 61.
Next, the operation will be described.
First, operations of the individual components shown in FIG. 1
will be described. Among the components of the mobile phone terminal
1, the microphone 10 gathers the voice of a talker using the mobile
phone terminal 1, or the input speech for the acoustic evaluation
test, and converts it into an analog electric signal to be supplied
to the microphone amplifier 12. The microphone amplifier 12 amplifies
the analog electric signal supplied from the microphone 10 at a
predetermined gain, and supplies its output to the A/D converter
14. The A/D converter 14 converts the analog electric signal amplified
by the microphone amplifier 12 into the 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second specified by the GSM standards,
and supplies its output to the transmitting side speech signal path
switch 21.
On the other hand, the D/A converter 15 converts the 13-bit linear
PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second supplied from
the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 into an analog electric
signal, and supplies its output to the receiver amplifier 13. The
receiver amplifier 13 amplifies the analog electric signal supplied
from the D/A converter 15 at a predetermined gain, and supplies
its output to the receiver 11. The receiver 11 converts the analog
electric signal amplified by the receiver amplifier 13 into voice
to be radiated to an external space.
The speech coder/decoder 16 encodes the 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second fed from the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 according to a coding method based
on a predetermined speech coding scheme, and transfers the code
sequence to the radio interface 19. Reversely, it decodes the code
sequence fed from the radio interface 19 according to a decoding
method based on the predetermined speech coding scheme, and supplies
its output to the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 in
the form of the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000
samples per second. The terminal adapter 17 allows the radio interface
19 to exchange the digital transmission and reception data with
the external terminal unit 3 via the data bus 27, the USB controller
25, the USB port 24 and the system simulator connecting unit 4.
The radio interface 19 modulates the code sequence supplied from
the speech coder/decoder 16 or terminal adapter 17 by a predetermined
modulation method, and transmits it via the antenna 20. Reversely,
it demodulates the signal received by the antenna 20 by the predetermined
demodulation method, and supplies the resultant code sequence to
the speech coder/decoder 16 or terminal adapter 17. Typically, the
external terminal unit 3 consists of a PC used for transferring
e-mail or for gaining access to a network via a mobile telephone
line.
Incidentally, the external terminal unit 3 may consist of a PC
that has a USB port and driver software for controlling the USB
port, both of which are not shown, and that can be connected to
exchange data with another unit with a USB port such as the system
simulator connecting unit 4 with the USB port 62 as shown in FIG.
1. In this case, the external terminal unit 3 can send a command
to the USB controller 25 and CPU 26 of the mobile phone terminal
1 via the system simulator connecting unit 4, thereby being able
to control the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and
receiving side speech signal path switch 22 in the mobile phone
terminal 1.
Among the components in the system simulator 2, the control and
signal evaluation section 44 transfers the evaluation signal or
evaluation code sequence stored in the evaluation signal storage
41 to the DAI port 40 or radio interface 42. Reversely, it transfers
the evaluation signal or evaluation code sequence supplied from
the DAI port 40 or radio interface 42 to the evaluation signal storage
41, and supplies the DAI port 40 with the setting control signal
on the mobile phone terminal 1 side, which is necessary for the
individual conditions of the terminal acoustic test. The radio interface
42 and antenna 43 have the same functions as the radio interface
19 and antenna 20 in the mobile phone terminal 1: It establishes
the radio connection with the mobile phone terminal 1 to exchange
the setting control signal and evaluation code sequence with the
mobile phone terminal 1.
The transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 includes the
switching devices 21-1 and 21-2, and the receiving side speech signal
path switch 22 includes the switching devices 22-1 and 22-2. These
transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side
speech signal path switch 22 operate as follows.
The ETSI standards specify the following four operations for the
mobile phone terminal 1 connected with the system simulator 2: (1)
normal operation; (2) evaluation of the speech decoder; (3) evaluation
of the speech coder; and (4) evaluation of the microphone, receiver,
A/D converter and D/A converter. They are each set by changing the
connections of the individual switching devices 21-1, 21-2, 22-1
and 22-2 of the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and
receiving side speech signal path switch 22. The control information
necessary for changing the connections is transferred from the control
and signal evaluation section 44 of the system simulator 2 to the
transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side
speech signal path switch 22 via the DAI port 40, system simulator
connecting unit 4, USB port 24, USB controller 25 and data bus 27.
The CPU 26 has arithmetic functions and control functions, and
controls the data bus 27. Being controlled by the CPU 26, the data
bus 27 exchanges data sequences between the terminal adapter 17
and the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving
side speech signal path switch 22. On the other hand, the USB controller
25 controls the USB port 24, thereby controlling the data transfer
between the data bus 27 and the USB port 24.
The USB is a general purpose serial interface, which is proposed
recently as an interface standard of PC peripheral devices. It can
achieve multiple connections up to 128 ports, and has two transfer
rates of high speed (12 Mbits/second) and low speed (1.5 Mbits/second).
Although the conventional DAI port 40 can transfer only the 13-bit
linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second, the
USB ports 24, 61 and 62 can transfer not only the 13-bit linear
PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second, but also the
speech code sequence input to or output from the speech coder/decoder
16, and the data sequence input to or output from the terminal adapter
17.
The format converter 63 of the system simulator connecting unit
4 performs the format conversion of the signal between the USB port
61 and the DAI port 60, thereby enabling the signal transfer between
the USB port 24 of the mobile phone terminal land the DAI port 40
of the system simulator 2. Here, the format conversion of the signal
between the USB port 61 and DAI port 60 by the format converter
63 refers to the signal conversion including the buffering for absorbing
the difference between the transfer rates of the USB port 61 and
DAI port 60, and signal conversion in accordance with the connection
conditions such as electrical signal conditions, signal timings,
logical interfaces between the individual ports.
With such a configuration, the USB port 24, USB controller 25 and
data bus 27 enable the data transfer between the terminal adapter
17 and the external terminal unit 3 like a PC without using the
data communication port 18 of the conventional mobile phone terminal
1 as shown in FIG. 10. Likewise, as for the connection with the
system simulator 2 which requires the DAI port 23 of the mobile
phone terminal 1, the USB port 24, USB controller 25 and data bus
27 can also implement the connection. As a result, it is unnecessary
for the mobile phone terminal 1 to comprise the DAI port and the
data communication port separately.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a connection state of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal
path switch 22 in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone
terminal 1 of the embodiment 1. The normal operation is implemented
by connecting each of the switching devices 21-1 and 21-2 of the
transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 and the switching
devices 22-1 and 22-2 of the receiving side speech signal path switch
22 to the a-position. Thus, the A/D converter 14 and the D/A converter
15 are connected to the speech coder/decoder 16 via the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and the receiving side speech
signal path switch 22, respectively. Therefore, no transfer of the
13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second
is carried out between the mobile phone terminal 1 and the system
simulator 2 via the USB port 24, system simulator connecting unit
4 and DAI port 40.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a connection state of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal
path switch 22 in the evaluation of the speech decoder of the speech
coder/decoder 16. In the evaluation of the speech decoder, the switching
devices 21-1 and 21-2 of the transmitting side speech signal path
switch 21 are each connected to the a-position, and the switching
device 22-1 of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 is
connected to the b-position, and the switching device 22-2 is connected
to the a-position.
In this case, the speech code sequence sent from the antenna 43
of the system simulator 2 to the antenna 20 of the mobile phone
terminal 1 via the radio connection is decoded by the speech decoder
of the speech coder/decoder 16. The 13-bit linear PCM digital speech
signal at 8000 samples per second output from the speech coder/decoder
16 passes through the b-position of the switching device 22-1 of
the receiving side speech signal path switch 22, the data bus 27,
USB controller 25, USB port 24 and system simulator connecting unit
4, and is sent to the system simulator 2 to be captured by its DAI
port 40.
In the system simulator 2, the control and signal evaluation section
44 compares bit by bit the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal
at 8000 samples per second, which is decoded by the speech coder/decoder
16 of the mobile phone terminal 1 and captured by the DAI port 40,
with the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples
per second, which is prepared in advance as a result of decoding
the speech code sequence. If the compared result indicates that
they disagree, the control and signal evaluation section 44 makes
a decision that the speech coder/decoder 16 of the mobile phone
terminal 1 has a problem in the decoding process.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a connection state of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal
path switch 22 in the evaluation of the speech coder of the speech
coder/decoder 16. In the evaluation of the speech coder, the switching
device 21-1 of the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21
is connected to the b-position and the switching device 21-2 is
connected to the a-position, and the switching devices 22-1 and
22-2 of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 are each
connected to the a-position.
In this case, the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000
samples per second supplied from the DAI port 40 of the system simulator
2 to the mobile phone terminal 1 via the system simulator connecting
unit 4 is directly transferred to the speech coder/decoder 16 via
the USB port 24, USB controller 25, data bus 27, and the b-position
of the switching device 21-1 of the transmitting side speech signal
path switch 21 to be encoded by the speech coder. The speech code
sequence encoded by the speech coder/decoder 16 is output via the
radio interface 19 and antenna 20, and is captured by the antenna
43 via the radio connection, to be supplied to the system simulator
2.
In the system simulator 2, the control and signal evaluation section
44 compares bit by bit the speech code sequence, which is encoded
by the speech coder/decoder 16 of the mobile phone terminal 1 and
is captured into the system simulator 2 via the radio connection,
with the speech encoding result which is prepared in advance as
a result of encoding the PCM digital speech signal. If the compared
result includes any difference, the control and signal evaluation
section 44 makes a decision that the speech coder/decoder 16 of
the mobile phone terminal 1 has a problem in its coding process.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a connection state of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal
path switch 22 in an evaluation of the microphone, receiver, A/D
converter and D/A converter. In FIG. 5, the reference numeral 50
designates an evaluation signal generator for generating an evaluation
signal at the evaluation of the microphone 10, receiver 11, A/D
converter 14 and D/A converter 15; 51 designates an artificial mouth
amplifier for amplifying the evaluation signal; and 52 designates
an artificial mouth consisting of a speaker system simulating the
acoustic radiation characteristics of a human mouth. The reference
numeral 53 designates an artificial ear consisting of a microphone
system simulating the acoustic characteristics of a human ear including
the external ear, external auditory canal and ear drum; 54 designates
an artificial ear amplifier for amplifying the output of the artificial
ear; and 55 designates a signal evaluation unit for evaluating the
output signal of the artificial ear amplifier. These components
are needed for the evaluation of the microphone, receiver, A/D converter
and D/A converter.
In FIG. 5, the description is omitted of the speech coder/decoder
16, terminal adapter 17, radio interface 19 and antenna 20 in the
mobile phone terminal 1, of the radio interface 42 and antenna 43
in the system simulator 2 and of the external terminal unit 3, because
they have nothing to do with the evaluation of the microphone, receiver,
A/D converter and D/A converter.
The evaluation of the microphone, receiver, A/D converter and D/A
converter is conducted by connecting the switching device 21-1 of
the transmitting side speech signal path switch 21 to the a-position,
the switching device 21-2 to the b-position, the switching device
22-1 of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 to the a-position,
and the switching device 22-2 to the b-position.
First, the operation and evaluation content at the evaluation of
the microphone 10 and A/D converter 14 will be described. The artificial
mouth amplifier 51 amplifies the evaluation signal such as white
noise or a tone signal generated by the evaluation signal generator
50, and the artificial mouth 52 radiates it as the evaluation speech.
The sound pressure level of the radiation is controlled by the gain
of the artificial mouth amplifier 51. Here, the radiation sound
pressure level at a position 2.5 cm apart from the front of the
artificial mouth 52 is set at -4.7 dBPa. Subsequently, the microphone
10 of the mobile phone terminal 1 is fixed at a position 2.5 cm
apart from the front of the artificial mouth 52. The evaluation
speech signal gathered by the microphone 10 is amplified by the
microphone amplifier 12, and is transferred to the A/D converter
14 to be converted to the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal
at 8000 samples per second. The converted 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second is transferred to the data
bus 27 via the b-position of the switching device 21-2 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21, so that the DAI port 40 of the
system simulator 2 captures it via the USB controller 25, the USB
port 24 and system simulator connecting unit 4.
In the system simulator 2, the signal captured by the DAI port
40 is supplied to the control and signal evaluation section 44.
The control and signal evaluation section 44 carries out the evaluation
of the frequency characteristic of the 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second by measuring its level
or performing its FFT analysis. In particular, it makes a decision
as to the level of the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at
8000 samples per second the system simulator 2 captures, with reference
to the sound pressure level of the evaluation speech that is radiated
from the artificial mouth 52 and is gathered by the microphone 10.
In this case, the level is represented in terms of dBov with respect
to the digital full scale. For example, as for the input speech
of -4.7 dBPa, the control and signal evaluation section 44 checks
that it is converted to -26 dBov, or makes a decision that the frequency
characteristic agrees with a mask pattern with a predetermined transmission
frequency characteristic.
Next, the operation in the evaluation of the receiver and D/A converter
will be described. The DAI port 40 of the system simulator 2 transmits
a -26 dBov 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples
per second which is prepared in advance to the USB port 24 of the
mobile phone terminal 1 via the system simulator connecting unit
4. The 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per
second is transferred to the D/A converter 15 via the USB controller
25, data bus 27, and the b-position of the switching device 22-2
of the receiving side speech signal path switch 22 in the mobile
phone terminal 1. The D/A converter 15 converts it into an analog
electric signal, and the receiver amplifier 13 amplifies its output.
The receiver 11 converts the analog electric signal to voice, and
radiates it into space.
The artificial ear 53 gathers the voice radiated from the receiver
11. The artificial ear amplifier 54 amplifies the output of the
artificial ear 53. The signal evaluation unit 55 measures the signal
level and converts it into the sound pressure, or makes the frequency
characteristic analysis by the FFT analysis or the like. In particular,
the signal evaluation unit 55 makes a decision as to the -26 dBov
13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second
transferred from the system simulator 2, to what sound pressure
level (dBPa) the artificial ear 53 converts it. For example, it
makes a decision as to whether it is converted into -4.7 dBPa, or
whether the frequency characteristic of the speech signal agrees
with the conforming mask pattern of the receiver frequency characteristic.
The evaluation of the acoustic echo of the mobile phone terminal
1 is performed in the same manner as the evaluation of the receiver
11 and D/A converter 15. Specifically, the system simulator 2 transmits
the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per
second, and the microphone 10 gathers the voice radiated from the
receiver 11. The output signal of the microphone is sent back to
the system simulator 2 in the same manner as that of the evaluation
of the microphone and A/D converter. The control and signal evaluation
section 44 compares the level difference between the signals with
a specified value, thereby making the evaluation of the acoustic
echo.
The switching states of the individual switching devices 21-1,
21-2, 22-1 and 22-2 of the transmitting side speech signal path
switch 21 and receiving side speech signal path switch 22 are shown
in the following Table 1. Specifically, (1) in the normal operation,
all the switching devices 21-1, 21-2, 22-1 and 22-2 are placed at
the a-position; (2) in the evaluation of the speech decoder, only
the switching device 22-1 of the receiving side speech signal path
switch 22 is placed at the b-position; (3) in the evaluation of
the speech coder, only the switching device 21-1 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 is switched to the b-position;
and (4) in the evaluation of the microphone, receiver, A/D converter
and D/A converter, the switching devices 21-1 and 22-1 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 and receiving side speech signal
path switch 22 are placed at the a-position, and the switching devices
21-2 and 22-2 are switched to the b-position.
TABLE 1 Switching device of Operation state signal path switches
of mobile phone terminal 21-1 21-2 22-1 22-2 (1) Normal operation
a a a a (2) Evaluation of speech decoder a a b a (3) Evaluation
of speech coder b a a a (4) Evaluation of microphone, a b a b receiver,
A/D and D/A converters
As described above, the present embodiment 1 is configured such
that it comprises the transmitting side speech signal path switch
21 and receiving side speech signal path switch 22, which are interposed
between the speech coder/decoder 16 and the A/D converter 14 and
D/A converter 15 to enable the terminal acoustic evaluation signal
to be input and output through a path different from that in the
normal operation of the mobile phone terminal 1, and comprises the
general purpose USB port 24 which enables the connection with the
external device 3, and that carries out between the USB port 24
and these signal path switches the input and output of the terminal
acoustic test signal and the control signal of the signal path switches.
Therefore, it can not only perform the same test as that of the
conventional example, but also integrate the data communication
port 18 and DAI port 23 as shown in FIG. 10 into the single USB
port 24, thereby being able to reduce the multiple connection ports
the conventional mobile phone terminal 1 must possess. As a result,
the present embodiment offers an advantage of being able to reduce
the size and weight of the mobile phone terminal with fulfilling
the same functions and using the same system simulator 2 as those
of the conventional example.
Embodiment 2
Although the foregoing embodiment 1 employs the USB port as the
general purpose connection port, other general purpose connection
ports with a wired connection scheme like the USB are also applicable.
For example, those identified by standard names such as IEEE1394,
RS232C, RS432 and SCSI can also be used. Alternatively, general
purpose connection ports using radio connection, which are typified
by the Bluetooth standard, are also applicable. Thus, any general
purpose port suitable for the system configuration can be employed.
As a result, the present embodiment 2 emancipates itself from the
restriction of the conventional mobile phone terminal 1 that it
must comprise multiple connection ports and terminals. Thus, it
is enough for the present embodiment to have one general purpose
connection port, thereby offering an advantage of being able to
reduce the size and weight of the mobile phone terminal with utilizing
the system simulator 2 as the conventional example.
Embodiment 3
Although the system simulator connecting unit 4 of the foregoing
embodiment 1 comprises only one USB port 62 for the external terminal
unit 3, it is obvious that multiple USB ports can be provided for
connecting the external terminal unit. In this case, multiple USB
devices such as multiple PCs, and a microphone, a speaker and an
external storage are connectable.
As a result, the present embodiment 3 offers an advantage of being
able to utilize various types of devices as compared with the conventional
example that connects the external terminal unit 3 directly to the
mobile phone terminal 1.
Embodiment 4
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and its peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 4 in
accordance with the present invention. In this figure, the reference
numeral 1 designates a mobile phone terminal, 10 designates a microphone,
11 designates a receiver, 12 designates a microphone amplifier,
13 designates a receiver amplifier, 14 designates an A/D converter,
15 designates a D/A converter, 16 designates a speech coder/decoder,
17 designates a terminal adapter, 19 designates a radio interface,
20 designates an antenna, 21 designates a transmitting side speech
signal path switch, 22 designates a receiving side speech signal
path switch, 24 designates a USE port, 25 designates a USB controller,
26 designates a CPU, 27 designates a data bus, 2 designates a system
simulator, 40 designates a DAI port, 41 designates an evaluation
signal storage, 42 designates a radio interface, 43 designates an
antenna, 44 designates a control and signal evaluation section,
3 designates an external terminal unit, 4 designates a system simulator
connecting unit, 60 designates a DAI port, 61 and 62 each designates
a USB port, and 63 designates a format converter. Since these components
are the same as those designated by the same reference numerals
in FIG. 1, the description thereof is omitted here.
The reference numeral 28 designates a transmitting side code sequence
output switch interposed between the radio interface 19 and the
speech coder/decoder 16 in the mobile phone terminal 1 as a signal
path switch in order to enable the evaluation code sequence of the
speech coder/decoder 16 to be output through a path different from
that in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal 1.
The reference numeral 29 designates a receiving side code sequence
input switch interposed between the radio interface 19 and the speech
coder/decoder 16 in the mobile phone terminal 1 in order to enable
the evaluation code sequence of the speech coder/decoder 16 to be
input through a path different from that in the normal operation
mode of the mobile phone terminal 1. The reference numeral 5 designates
an evaluation signal storage similar to the evaluation signal storage
41 in the system simulator 2. The evaluation signal storage 5 is
connected to the external terminal unit 3 such as a PC for storing
the evaluation signals and evaluation code sequences for the acoustic
evaluation test of the mobile phone terminal 1. The present embodiment
4differs from the embodiment 1 in that the foregoing individual
components are newly added.
Next, the operation will be described.
Since the basic operation is the same as that of the embodiment
1, only the operation of the newly added portions will be described.
Although the system simulator 2 can control the transmitting side
speech signal path switch 21 or receiving side speech signal path
switch 22, it cannot directly control the transmitting side code
sequence output switch 28 and receiving side code sequence input
switch 29. Thus, the external terminal unit 3 rather than the system
simulator 2 carried out the control of the transmitting side code
sequence output switch 28 and receiving side code sequence input
switch 29.
Here, the external terminal unit 3 is assumed to be a PC that comprises
a USB port and driver software for controlling the USB port, both
of which are not shown, and enables connection and data transfer
with another device having a USB port. In this case, the external
terminal unit 3 can control the transmitting side code sequence
output switch 28 and receiving side code sequence input switch 29
via the CPU 26 and the USB controller 25 in the mobile phone terminal
1. In addition, the data transfer is also possible between the external
terminal unit 3 and the mobile phone terminal 1 via the data bus
27, USB controller 25 and USB port 24. Besides, the external terminal
unit 3 can access the evaluation signal storage 5 that stores the
same evaluation signals as those stored in the evaluation signal
storage 41 of the system simulator 2.
In the normal operation mode, the transmitting side code sequence
output switch 28 is connected to its a-position. Accordingly, the
output of the speech coder of the speech coder/decoder 16 is supplied
to the radio interface 19.
In contrast, when the transmitting side code sequence output switch
28 is connected to the b-position, the output of the speech coder
of the speech coder/decoder 16 is supplied to the data bus 27. In
this case, when the switching devices 21-1 and 21-2 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 are both connected to the a-position,
the coding result of the input speech to the microphone 10 is transferred
to the data bus 27. When the switching device 21-1 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 is connected to the b-position,
the coding result by the speech coder of the speech coder/decoder
16, which corresponds to the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal
at 8000 samples per second sent from the system simulator 2, is
supplied to the data bus 27.
The receiving side code sequence input switch 29 is also connected
to the a-position in the normal operation. As a result, the code
sequence from the radio interface 19 is supplied to the speech decoder
of the speech coder/decoder 16.
In contrast, when the receiving side code sequence input switch
29 is connected to the b-position, the code sequence from the data
bus 27 is supplied to the speech decoder of the speech coder/decoder
16. In this case, when the switching devices 22-1 and 22-2 of the
receiving side speech signal path switch 22 are both connected to
the a-position, the receiver 11 can monitor the decoding result
by the speech decoder of the speech coder/decoder 16, which corresponds
to the code sequence transferred via the data bus 27. On the other
hand, when the switching device 22-1 of the receiving side speech
signal path switch 22 is connected to the b-position, the speech
decoder transfers the decoding result, the 13-bit linear PCM digital
speech signal at 8000 samples per second, to the data bus 27.
Here, the DAI ports 40 and 60 interconnecting the control and signal
evaluation section 44 in the system simulator 2 and the format converter
63 in the system simulator connecting unit 4 can handle only the
13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second.
Thus, the following steps are taken.
When the transmitting side code sequence output switch 28 is connected
to the b-position, and the switching device 21-1 of the transmitting
side speech signal path switch 21 is connected to the b-position,
the coding result by the speech coder of the speech coder/decoder
16, which corresponds to the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal
at 8000 samples per second sent from the system simulator 2 for
the evaluation, is transferred to the data bus 27. The speech code
sequence as the coding result is transferred from the data bus 27
to the external terminal unit 3 through the USB port 24 and system
simulator connecting unit 4. The speech code sequence is compared
bit by bit with the evaluation speech code sequence that is obtained
by performing predetermined speech coding of the 13-bit linear PCM
digital speech signal at 8000 samples per second selected from the
evaluation signals stored in the evaluation signal storage 5 which
has the same contents as that of the system simulator 2 side and
is prepared in the external terminal unit 3 side in advance.
When the receiving side code sequence input switch 29 is connected
to the b-position, and the switching device 22-1 of the receiving
side speech signal path switch 22 is connected to the b-position,
the evaluation speech code sequence is transferred from the evaluation
signal storage 5 connected to the external terminal unit 3 to the
data bus 27 via the system simulator connecting unit 4 and the USB
port 24. In this case, the decoding result by the speech decoder
of the speech coder/decoder 16, the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech
signal at 8000 samples per second, is supplied to the data bus 27.
The decoding result is transferred to the format converter 63 via
the USB port 24 and USB port 61 to undergo the format conversion.
The signal, the format of which is converted, is captured by the
control and signal evaluation section 44 of the system simulator
2 via the DAI port 60 and DAI port 40. The signal is compared bit
by bit with the 13-bit linear PCM digital speech signal at 8000
samples per second corresponding to the evaluation speech code sequence
among the evaluation signals stored in the evaluation signal storage
5 which has the same contents as that of the system simulator 2
side and is prepared in the external terminal unit 3 side in advance.
As a result, among the mobile phone terminal test items in the
foregoing Table 1, as for the test items associated with the speech
coder and speech decoder, it is possible to evaluate them by capturing
the individual coding result or decoding result into the external
terminal unit 3 or system simulator 2 directly without passing through
the radio interfaces 19 and 42 and antennas 20 and 43.
As described above, the present embodiment 4 is configured such
that it comprises the transmitting side code sequence output switch
28 and receiving side code sequence input switch 29 which are interposed
between the radio interface 19 and the speech coder/decoder 16,
and enable the input and output of the evaluation code sequence
of the speech coder/decoder 16 via a path different from that in
the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal 1, and that
carries out, between these switches and the USB port 24, the input
and output of the test signal of the speech coder/decoder 16 and
the control signal of the transmitting side code sequence output
switch 28 and receiving side code sequence input switch 29. Thus,
the present embodiment 4 can not only achieve the same tests as
those of the conventional example as in the embodiment 1, but also
enable the system simulator 2 to capture the coding result and decoding
result by the speech coder and speech decoder, which results are
free from the characteristics of the radio interfaces 19 and 42
and antennas 20 and 43. Thus, it can achieve the size and weight
reduction with using the conventional system simulator 2. In addition,
since it performs the evaluation test using a loopback at the transmitting
side code sequence output switch 28 and the receiving side code
sequence input switch 29, it can obviate the need for the radio
connection for the evaluation test. Thus, it is not essential for
the mobile phone terminal 1 and the system simulator 2 to have the
radio interfaces 19 and 42 and antennas 20 and 43 for the evaluation
test. Furthermore, even if the combination with the radio interface
19 is not applicable, the operation test of each component is possible.
Thus, the present embodiment 4 offers an advantage of being able
to prevent an increase in the error rate because of the radio connection,
thereby making it possible to prevent the instability of the evaluation
system.
Embodiment 5
Although the foregoing embodiment 4 employs the USB port as the
general purpose connection port, other general purpose connection
ports with a wired connection scheme like the USB are also applicable
as in the foregoing embodiment 2. For example, those identified
by standard names such as IEEE1394, RS232C, RS432 and SCSI can also
be used. Alternatively, general purpose connection ports using radio
connection, which are typified by the Bluetooth standard, are also
applicable. Thus, any general purpose port suitable for the system
configuration can be employed.
As a result, the present embodiment 5 emancipates itself from the
restriction of the conventional mobile phone terminal 1 that it
must comprise multiple connection ports and terminals. Thus, it
is enough for the present embodiment to have one general purpose
connection port, thereby offering an advantage of being able to
reduce the size and weight of the mobile phone terminal with utilizing
the system simulator 2 the conventional example uses as in the foregoing
embodiment 2.
Embodiment 6
Although the system simulator connecting unit 4 of the foregoing
embodiment 4 comprises only one USB port 62 for the external terminal
unit 3, it is obvious that multiple USB ports can be provided for
connecting the external terminal unit. In this case, multiple USB
devices such as multiple PCs, and a microphone, a speaker and an
external storage are connectable.
As a result, as the foregoing embodiment 3, the present embodiment
6 offers an advantage of being able to utilize various types of
devices as compared with the conventional example that connects
the external terminal unit 3 directly to the mobile phone terminal
1.
Embodiment 7
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and its peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 7 in
accordance with the present invention. The individual components
are designated by the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 6,
and the description thereof is omitted here. In the present embodiment
7, since the radio interface 42 and antenna 43 of the system simulator
2 are not necessary, they are not shown in FIG. 7. Here, the external
terminal unit 3 is assumed to be a PC that comprises a USB port
and driver software for controlling the USB port, and enables the
connection and data transfer with another device having a USB port
as in the embodiment 4.
Although the foregoing embodiment 4 comprises the radio interface
42 and antenna 43 in the system simulator 2, it is possible for
the system simulator 2 or external terminal unit 3 in the present
embodiment 7 to capture the test signal without using the radio
interfaces 19 and 42 and antennas 20 and 43 because the present
embodiment 7 employs the transmitting side code sequence output
switch 28 and receiving side code sequence input switch 29. As a
result, the present embodiment 7 can perform the evaluation equivalent
to that of the conventional example without the radio interface
42 and antenna 43.
Thus, according to the present embodiment 7, it is unnecessary
for the mobile phone terminal 1 and the system simulator 2 to comprise
the radio interfaces 19 and 42 and antennas 20 and 43 to carry out
the evaluation equivalent to that of the conventional example. Accordingly,
it can not only simplify its configuration, but also perform the
operation test of each component. Thus, the present embodiment has
an advantage of being able to prevent the instability of the operation
of the evaluation system.
Embodiment 8
Although the foregoing embodiment 4 handles the case where the
external terminal unit 3 is connected to the mobile phone terminal
1 through the system simulator connecting unit 4, the external terminal
unit 3 can be connected to the mobile phone terminal 1 directly.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in a
terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and its peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 8 in
accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 8, the individual
components corresponding to those of FIG. 6 are designated by the
same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted
here.
In this figure, the reference numeral 3 designates an external
terminal unit connected to the mobile phone terminal 1. Here, the
external terminal unit 3 is assumed to be a PC that comprises a
USB port and driver software for controlling the USB port, and enables
the connection and data transfer with another device having a USB
port as in the embodiment 4. The reference numeral 70 designates
a USB port as a general purpose connection port for connecting the
external terminal unit 3 directly to the USB port 24 of the mobile
phone terminal 1. The reference numeral 71 designates a control
and signal evaluation section installed in the external terminal
unit 3, a counterpart of the control and signal evaluation section
44 in the system simulator 2 as shown in the embodiment 4; and 72
designates an evaluation signal storage, a counterpart of the evaluation
signal storage 41 in the system simulator 2.
Although it is essential for the conventional example to comprise
the system simulator 2 because it uses signals input to or output
from the system simulator 2 via the radio interfaces 19 and 42 and
antennas 20 and 43. In contrast with this, the foregoing embodiments
4-7 enable the system simulator 2 or the external terminal unit
3 to capture the signals by using the transmitting side code sequence
output switch 28 and receiving side code sequence input switch 29
instead of using the radio interfaces 19 and 42 and antennas 20
and 43. Thus, the present embodiment 8 is configured such that the
external terminal unit 3 comprises a control and signal evaluation
section 71 and an evaluation signal storage 72, which correspond
to the control and signal evaluation section 44 and evaluation signal
storage 41 installed in the conventional system simulator 2, thereby
connecting the external terminal unit 3 directly to the mobile phone
terminal 1 through the USB connection ports 24 and 70.
As a result, the present embodiment 8 can further simplify the
configuration for carrying out the evaluation corresponding to that
of the conventional example. In addition, it offers an advantage
of being able to perform the operation test of each component, and
to prevent the instability of the operation of the evaluation system.
Embodiment 9
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a device connection state in
a terminal acoustic evaluation test using the mobile phone terminal
and its peripheral unit for acoustic test of an embodiment 9 in
accordance with the present invention. The individual components
are designated by the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 6,
and the description thereof is omitted here. In this figure, the
reference numeral 30 designates a transmitting side code sequence
input/output selection switch as a signal path switch that is interposed
between the radio interface 19 and the speech coder/decoder 16 in
the mobile phone terminal 1 to enable the evaluation code sequence
of the radio interface 19 to be input and output via a path different
from that in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal
1; and reference numerals 30-1 and 30-2 designate switching devices
of the transmitting side code sequence input/output selection switch
30. The reference numeral 31 designates a receiving side code sequence
input/output selection switch as a signal path switch that is interposed
between the radio interface 19 and the speech coder/decoder 16 in
the mobile phone terminal 1 to enable the evaluation code sequence
of the radio interface 19 to be input and output via a path different
from that in the normal operation mode of the mobile phone terminal
1; and reference numerals 31-1 and 31-2 designate switching devices
of the receiving side code sequence input/output selection switch
31. Here, the external terminal unit 3 is assumed to be a PC that
comprises a USB port and driver software for controlling the USB,
and enables the connection and data transfer with another device
having a USB port as in the embodiment 4.
Next, the operation will be described.
Since the basic operation is the same as that of the embodiment
4, only the operation of the newly added portions will be described.
The transmitting side code sequence input/output selection switch
30 and receiving side code sequence input/output selection switch
31 cannot be activated by the direct control from the system simulator
2 just as the transmitting side code sequence output switch 28 and
receiving side code sequence input switch 29 in the embodiment 4
cannot. Thus, they are controlled by the external terminal unit
3. Here, the switching device 30-2 of the transmitting side code
sequence input/output selection switch 30 corresponds to the transmitting
side code sequence output switch 28 of the embodiment 4, and the
switching device 31-2 of the receiving side code sequence input/output
selection switch 31 corresponds to the receiving side code sequence
input switch 29 of the embodiment 4.
The switching device 30-1 of the transmitting side code sequence
input/output selection switch 30 is connected to the to the a-position
in the normal operation mode. When the switching device 30-2 is
also connected to the a-position at that time, the output of the
speech coder of the speech coder/decoder 16 is transferred to the
radio interface 19. On the other hand, when the switching device
30-1 is connected to the b-position, the speech coded data from
the data bus 27 is transferred to the radio interface 19.
Likewise, the switching device 31-1 of the receiving side code
sequence input/output selection switch 31 is connected to the a-position
in the normal operation mode. When the switching device 31-2 is
also connected to the a-position at that time, the code sequence
from the radio interface 19 is supplied to the speech decoder of
the speech coder/decoder 16. On the other hand, when the switching
device 31-1 is connected to the b-position, the code sequence from
the radio interface 19 is supplied to the data bus 27.
As described above, the present embodiment 9 is configured such
that it comprises the transmitting side code sequence input/output
selection switch 30 and receiving side code sequence input/output
selection switch 31 between the radio interface 19 and the speech
coder/decoder 16 to enable the evaluation code sequence of the radio
interface 19 to be input and output through a path different from
that in the normal operation mode, and that it carries out between
these switches and the USB port 24 the input and output of the control
signal of the transmitting side code sequence input/output selection
switch 30 and receiving side code sequence input/output selection
switch 31, and the test signal of the radio interface 19. As a result,
the present embodiment 9 can not only achieve the evaluation test
equivalent to that of the foregoing embodiments 1 and 4, but also
perform the independent evaluation tests of the radio interface
19 and antenna 20. Thus, the present embodiment 9 offers an advantage
of being able to perform not only the tests as those of the conventional
example, but also the test of the digital signal itself passing
through the radio interface 19, thereby enabling the independent
characteristic evaluations of the radio interface 19 and antenna
20. |