Remote control module production line test solution

Since 1955, Poly's wireless remote control has been launched, from infrared remote control to IoT stereoscopic control. The application of "remote control" devices has evolved from several specific household appliances to various industries such as military, living and industrial production. Control media has also evolved from visible light to multiple modulation methods for radio. With the increasing use of wireless technology, users' requirements for products are becoming more and more demanding. Coupled with the increasing demand, how to quickly and cost-effectively complete product testing has become an urgent problem for remote control manufacturers. RIGOL's technical support engineers have learned about the testing process of multiple remote control manufacturers such as toy remote control, car remote control key, electric curtain remote control and intelligent light remote control, and combined with RIGOL products to provide a complete set of solutions for users.

Figure 1: Remote light module test site

The whole remote control device is divided into two parts: the transmitter and the receiver module, wherein the transmitter is generally independent, and the receiving module is bound to the actuator, so the test is also divided into two parts: the remote test and the receiver module test. .

Remote control test

At present, the main modulation methods used by the remote control are ASK, FSK, etc. The carrier frequency points used by the car remote control keys are mainly 315MHz and 433MHz, while the frequency points used by the toy remote control are generally below 100M, such as 27.145MHz, 49.86MHz, etc. Currently, the popular smart light remote control generally uses a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth signal. The main dimensions that test engineers pay attention to during production testing are:

A, technical requirements. The technical requirements for testing remote controls are modulation center frequency, transmit power, spectrogram, functional test, and test data storage.

B, speed. In order to achieve a certain output and complete the production task, the speed is one of the most important factors in considering the test plan;

C, cost. At any time, cost is an important lifeline for an enterprise;

In the technical requirements of the remote control test, the center frequency and the transmission power are core data, which are items that basically need to be tested by all kinds of remote controllers, and the spectrum diagram and functional test are generally selected in production. The storage backup function of test data is usually required by high quality and OEM companies.

Figure 2: Test site for a toy remote control

In order to improve the test speed as much as possible, it is the common demand of all enterprises. Here, we can speed up the test and improve the production efficiency through two means:

A, improve the testing speed and convenience of the instrument itself. For the instrument itself, the user wants the instrument to generate test line and frequency and amplitude data immediately after the product under test, but often this requires a time course. RIGOL's DSA series spectrum analyzer features fast response, and its “continuous peak” function ensures that the current modulated carrier frequency and transmit power are captured in real time while the signal line is captured, and the worker operates the product under test. The time test speed reaches 5s/piece.

Figure 3: RIGOL-DSA1020 test interface

B, customized test system to achieve automated testing. In order to further speed up the test, save the test data in real time, and further unify the test criteria of the product, RIGOL engineers developed a remote control automatic test software for the customer. The tester only needs to press the remote control button. All test procedures and judgments will be completed by the computer software. The worker only needs to see if the result button on the computer is green. After using the system, the test speed reaches 2s/product.

Figure 4: Automated test site for a car remote control key

In terms of cost, RIGOL's DSA800 series spectrum analyzer, with a full digital technology spectrum analyzer with a bandwidth of 9KHz to 7.5GHz, has achieved the first-class level of performance and stability in the industry, and the price is only below 10,000 yuan. Leading the industry!

Figure 5: RIGOL DSA875-TG spectrum analyzer

Receive module test

Another component of the remote control device is a receiving module. The receiving module is generally a small circuit board, but the general amount of the actuators are connected together, for example, the receiving module of the car remote control and the controller of the door and window lock, the trunk, and the like. Together.

Figure 6: A remote control receiving circuit module

The test of the remote control receiving module is more complicated. The general test principle is that the module can still completely demodulate the information contained in the control signal after receiving the control signal which is small enough, generally the nominal sensitivity. This requires two parts of the instrument:

· Signal source to simulate the control signal. It requires functions such as simulating various modulation signals and supporting outputting small enough signals. Moreover, since the signal modulation coding modes of different manufacturers are different, it is preferable to support a custom modulation pulse sequence;

· An oscilloscope to detect the signal demodulated by the receiving module.

Since the nominal frequency band of the receiving module has a range, it is generally necessary to test three frequency points during the test: the upper limit frequency, the nominal frequency and the lower limit frequency. If the manual test is repeatedly set, the efficiency of the instrument is very low, so the test of the receiving module is generally uniform. Using automated tests, such as RIGOL's custom receiver module test system for many customers, the test efficiency is 5s / product. The testing process is as follows:

Figure 7: Test procedure for an automatic test system for a remote control receiver module

Figure 8: A remote test receiver module automatic test system test site