Multi-frame synchronization for parallel channel transmissions

• US 6,215,798 B1
• Filed: 10/02/1997
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Bakhuizen, Martin, Carneheim, Caisa, Anderson, Per-Olof, Malm, Lars
• Primary Examiner(s): Marcelo, Melvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phuongchau Ba
• Application Number:
  US08/943,067
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 370/515, 370/465, 370/468, 370/342, 370/350, 375/200, 375/367
• US Class Current: 370/515
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/14 Channel dividing arrangements , i.e. in which a single bit stream is divided between several baseband channels and reassembled at the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/043 Pseudo-noise [PN] codes variable during transmission synchronisation of spread spectrum receivers H04B1/69

Abstract

The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for synchronizing data frames from a wide bandwidth data stream which is divided up and transmitted across a plurality of parallel channels in a mobile telephone system. Prior to transmitting the data frames, a transmit synchronizer synchronizes data frames aligned in the same position in different parallel channels by inserting a common bit from a repeating PN synchronization sequence into the aligned data frames. Upon receiving the data frames at a destination, a receive synchronizer extracts the synchronization bit from each data frame. A series of sequential bits from each parallel channel is compared against the original PN synchronization sequence to identify the position of each data frame relative to the other data frames and reconstructs the original wide bandwidth data stream.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing data frames for transmission across a plurality of parallel channels comprising the steps of:

receiving a sequential input stream of data frames;

grouping a set of data frames received in the input stream for transmission across the plurality of parallel channels wherein each data frame is transmitted on a separate parallel channel including grouping the data frames received in the input stream into a sequence of sets of data frames, providing the data frames of each set for transmission across respective ones of the parallel channels such that each of the parallel channels carries a sequence of data frames provided from the sequence of sets and, for at least one of said channels, distributing across a plurality of the data frames carried thereby a plurality of bits defining a predetermined repeating PN synchronization sequence; and

inserting at least one bit from a repeating PN synchronization sequence into each data frame.

2. An apparatus for synchronizing data frames for transmission across a plurality of parallel channels in a communication system, comprising:

an input for receiving a sequential input stream of data frames;

means for generating a repeating PN synchronization sequence; and

a transmit synchronizer coupled to said input for grouping sets of data frames received in the input stream for transmission across the plurality of parallel channels with each of the data frames within each set being transmitted across a separate parallel channel, the transmit synchronizer inserting bits from the repeating PN synchronization sequence into the data frames;

wherein said transmit synchronizer is operable for;

grouping the data frames received in the input stream into a sequence of sets of data frames;

providing the data frames of each set for transmission across respective ones of the parallel channels such that each of the parallel channels carries a sequence of data frames provided from the sequence of sets; and

for at least one of said channels, distributing across a plurality of the data frames carried thereby a plurality of bits defining a predetermined repeating PN synchronization sequence.