COMPUTATIONAL CIRCUITS AND METHODS FOR PROCESSING MODULATED SIGNALS HAVING NON-CONSTANT ENVELOPES

• US 20070201353A1
• Filed: 08/31/2006
• Published: 08/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Wight, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,733,976 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/210
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 3/40 using two signal paths the outputs of which have a predetermined phase difference and at least one output being amplitude-modulated
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/28 the receiver comprising at least one semiconductor device having three or more electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/68 for wholly or partially suppressing the carrier or one side band
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/707 using direct sequence modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2215/067 by modulation dispersion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/2614 Peak power aspects

Abstract

Circuits and methods are provided for use in a wireline or wireless transmitter to complement the digital generation of non-constant envelope modulation signals therein. A digital signal processor is configured for deconstructing a predetermined signal having an undesirable property into one or more fragment signals which do not have the undesirable property. In a preferred embodiment the predetermined signal is preconditioned by applying a preconditioning deconstruction process to another signal from which the predetermined signal is derived, whereby that other signal is deconstructed into one or more preconditioned fragment signals having an improved property over the other signal. For OFDM modulation schemes this undesirable property may be a relatively high peak-to-average power ratio. Signals formed from the fragment signals are subject to conversion to analog signals and processing by power efficient, dynamic-range limited analog circuits i.e. S Class power amplifiers (and, for wireless applications, low compression-point up-converters), before being recombined for transmission.

Claims

1-26. -26. (canceled)

27. An apparatus, comprising:

a deconstruction circuit capable of receiving a signal having an undesired property, said deconstruction circuit being capable of deconstructing the received signal into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property; and

a modulation circuit being capable of providing one or more modulated signals based at least in part on one or more of the fragment signals received from said deconstruction circuit.

28. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

29. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, said modulation circuit comprising one or more inverse Fourier transform circuits capable of modulating one or more of the fragment signals.

30. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, said deconstruction circuit comprising a phasor fragmentation engine, said phasor fragmentation engine being capable of causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

31. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein:

said deconstruction circuit comprises a carrier-sorting engine capable of sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals; and

further comprising a phasor fragmentation engine disposed to receive one or more of the modulated signals from said modulation circuit, said phasor fragmentation engine being capable of causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

33. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, wherein:

said deconstruction circuit comprises a first phasor fragmentation engine operative before said modulation circuit, said first phasor fragmentation engine being capable of deconstructing the received signal into the fragment signals, wherein phasors of the fragment signals are representative of a phasor of the received signal, and amplitudes of the fragment signals comprise a predetermined portion of variation of an amplitude of the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal; and

further comprising a second phasor fragmentation engine, operative after said modulation circuit, and disposed to receive one or more of the modulated signals from said modulation circuit, said phasor fragmentation engine being capable of causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

29-1. An apparatus as claimed in claim 27, said deconstruction circuit comprising a carrier-sorting engine capable of sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals.

34. An apparatus, comprising:

a modulation circuit being capable of providing one or more modulated signals based at least in part on a received signal having an undesired property; and

a deconstruction circuit capable of receiving the one or more modulated signals from said modulation circuit and converting the one or more modulated signals into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property.

35. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

36. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, said modulation circuit comprising one or more inverse Fourier transform circuits capable of modulating one or more received signals.

37. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, said deconstruction circuit comprising a phasor fragmentation engine disposed to receive one or more of the modulated signals from said modulation circuit, said phasor fragmentation engine being capable of causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

38. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, said deconstruction circuit comprising a virtual range hopping engine capable of shifting a peak signal output from said modulation circuit to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by a windowing function.

39. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, said deconstruction circuit comprising a windowing engine capable of attenuating one or more of the modulated signals with a windowing function.

40. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, further comprising a preconditioning circuit disposed between said modulation circuit and said deconstruction circuit, said preconditioning circuit being capable of preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to deconstruction by said deconstruction circuit.

41. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, further comprising a preconditioning circuit disposed between said modulation circuit and said deconstruction circuit, said preconditioning circuit being capable of preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to deconstruction by said deconstruction circuit, said preconditioning circuit comprising a virtual range hopping engine capable of shifting a peak signal output from said modulation circuit to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by a windowing function.

42. An apparatus as claimed in claim 34, further comprising a preconditioning circuit disposed between said modulation circuit and said deconstruction circuit, said preconditioning circuit being capable of preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to Reconstruction by said deconstruction circuit, said preconditioning circuit comprising a windowing engine capable of attenuating one or more of the modulated signals with a windowing function.

43. An apparatus, comprising:

means for deconstructing a received signal having an undesired property into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property; and

means for modulating one or more of the fragment signals into one or more modulated signals, the modulated signals based at least in part on one or more of the fragment signals received from said deconstruction circuit.

44. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

45. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, said modulating means comprising means for transforming one or more of the fragment signals according an inverse Fourier transform into one or more of the modulated signals.

46. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, said deconstructing means comprising means for sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals.

47. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, said deconstructing means comprising means for causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

48. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, wherein:

said deconstructing means comprises means for sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals; and

further comprising means for causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

49. An apparatus as claimed in claim 43, wherein:

said deconstructing means comprises first means, operative before said modulation means, for causing phasors of the fragment signals to be representative of a phasor of the received signal, and amplitudes of the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation of an amplitude of the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal; and

further comprising second means, operative after said modulation circuit and disposed to receive one or more of the modulated signals from said modulating means, for causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

50. An apparatus, comprising:

means for modulating a received signal having an undesirable property into one or more modulated signals; and

means for converting the one or more of the modulated signals into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property.

51. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

52. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, said modulating means comprising means for transforming the received signal into one or more of the modulated signals according to an inverse Fourier transform.

53. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, said deconstructing means comprising means for causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

54. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, said deconstructing means comprising means for shifting a peak signal output from said modulating means to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by means for performing a windowing function.

55. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, said deconstructing means comprising means for attenuating one or more of the modulated signals according to a windowing function.

56. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, further comprising means for preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to deconstruction by said deconstructing means.

57. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, further comprising means for preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to deconstruction by said deconstructing means, said preconditioning means comprising means for shifting a peak signal output from said modulating means to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by means for performing a windowing function.

58. An apparatus as claimed in claim 50, further comprising means for preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to deconstruction by said deconstructing means, said preconditioning means comprising means for attenuating one or more of the modulated signals with a windowing function.

59. A method, comprising:

deconstructing a received signal having an undesired property into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property; and

modulating one or more of the fragment signals into one or more modulated signals, the modulated signals based at least in part on one or more of the fragment signals from said deconstructing.

60. A method as claimed in claim 59, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

61. A method as claimed in claim 59, said modulating comprising transforming one or more of the fragment signals according an inverse Fourier transform into one or more of the modulated signals.

62. A method as claimed in claim 59, said deconstructing comprising sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals.

63. A method as claimed in claim 59, said deconstructing comprising causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

64. A method as claimed in claim 59, wherein:

said deconstructing comprises sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals; and

further comprising causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

65. A method as claimed in claim 59, wherein:

said deconstructing comprises, prior to said modulating, causing phasors of the fragment signals to be representative of a phasor of the received signal, and amplitudes of the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation of an amplitude of the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal; and

further comprising, after said modulating, causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

66. A method, comprising:

modulating a received signal having an undesirable property into one or more modulated signals; and

converting the one or more of the modulated signals into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property.

67. A method as claimed in claim 66, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

68. A method as claimed in claim 66, said modulating comprising transforming the received signal into one or more of the modulated signals according to an inverse Fourier transform.

69. A method as claimed in claim 66, said deconstructing comprising causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

70. A method as claimed in claim 66, said deconstructing comprising shifting a peak signal output from said modulating to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by performing a windowing function.

71. A method as claimed in claim 66, said deconstructing comprising attenuating one or more of the modulated signals according to a windowing function.

72. A method as claimed in claim 66, further comprising preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to said deconstructing.

73. A method as claimed in claim 66, further comprising preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to said deconstructing, said preconditioning comprising shifting a peak signal output from said modulating to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by performing a windowing function.

74. A method as claimed in claim 66, further comprising preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to said deconstructing, said preconditioning comprising attenuating one or more of the modulated signals with a windowing function.

75. An article of manufacture comprising a storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed, are capable of resulting in:

deconstructing a received signal having an undesired property into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property; and

modulating one or more of the fragment signals into one or more modulated signals, the modulated signals based at least in part on one or more of the fragment signals from said deconstructing.

76. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 75, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

77. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 75, said modulating comprising transforming one or more of the fragment signals according an inverse Fourier transform into one or more of the modulated signals.

78. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 75, said deconstructing comprising sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals.

79. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 75, said deconstructing comprising causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

80. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 75, wherein:

said deconstructing comprises sorting carriers of the received signal into the one or more fragment signals; and

wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

81. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 75, wherein:

said deconstructing comprises, prior to said modulating, causing phasors of the fragment signals to be representative of a phasor of the received signal, and amplitudes of the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation of an amplitude of the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal; and

wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in, after said modulating, causing the modulated signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

82. An article of manufacture comprising a storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, if executed, are capable of resulting in:

modulating a received signal having an undesirable property into one or more modulated signals; and

converting the one or more of the modulated signals into one or more fragment signals, one or more of the fragment signals at least partially not having the undesirable property.

83. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, wherein the undesirable property comprises a higher peak-to-average power ratio.

84. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, said modulating comprising transforming the received signal into one or more of the modulated signals according to an inverse Fourier transform.

85. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, said deconstructing comprising causing the fragment signals to comprise a predetermined portion of variation in the received signal about a mean amplitude of the received signal.

86. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, said deconstructing comprising shifting a peak signal output from said modulating to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by performing a windowing function.

87. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, said deconstructing comprising attenuating one or more of the modulated signals according to a windowing function.

88. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to said deconstructing.

89. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to said deconstructing, said preconditioning comprising shifting a peak signal output from said modulating to one or more time samples capable of being attenuated by performing a windowing function.

90. An article of manufacture as claimed in claim 82, wherein the instructions, if executed, further result in preconditioning the one or more modulated signals prior to said deconstructing, said preconditioning comprising attenuating one or more of the modulated signals with a windowing function.