Adaptive receiver for CDMA base stations

• US 6,324,160 B1
• Filed: 09/23/1998
• Issued: 11/27/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Original Assignee: Deutsche Telekom AG
• Inventors: Martin, Utz, Frey, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): NGO, RICKY QUOC
• Application Number:
  US09/159,341
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 370/208, 370/209, 370/335, 370/334, 370/342, 370/441, 375/148, 375/147, 375/267, 375/340, 375/346, 375/347, 375/349
• US Class Current: 370/209
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/709 Correlator structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7115 Constructive combining of multi-path signals, i.e. RAKE receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/0854 using error minimizing algorithms, e.g. minimum mean squared error [MMSE], "cross-correlation" or matrix inversion

Abstract

An adaptive receiver for base stations of CDMA mobile wireless systems corresponding to the IS-95 Standard. The receiver is designed as an incoherent rake receiver and includes an antenna array. The receiver is capable of analyzing a plurality of components of the same signal transmitted by a mobile station arriving at the antenna array via different propagation paths and from different directions with a time offset. To form virtual antenna directivity patterns for individual rake processing paths, which are adjusted to the directions of incidence of the signal paths to be analyzed, direction signature vectors are calculated and made available to the processing paths together with a signal propagation time that is required for synchronizing the signal components. The direction signature vectors are calculated iteratively from the antenna correlation matrices formed recursively for all possible signal delay times from pulse responses of the antenna arrays. The signal components associated with the processing paths are selected according to the average path powers determined for the individual signal delay times, and the path powers are also calculated from the antenna correlation matrices.

Claims

1. A receiver for a base station in a CDMA mobile wireless system operated according to the IS-95 Standard comprising:

an antenna array including a plurality of antenna elements and I/Q demodulators connected downstream from the antenna elements, the I/Q demodulators for producing I/Q demodulated signals including in-phase and quadrature signals;

a demodulator module including;

an incoherent rake combiner;

a plurality of processing paths capable of processing components of individual signals independently of one another prior to the signals being combined in the incoherent rake combiner, the signals being transmitted from mobile stations and arriving at the antenna array via different signal paths, each of the individual processing paths forming reception channels optimally set in space and time to a predefined number of signal paths producing the strongest signal powers, changes in the signal paths producing the strongest signal powers being tracked through performance, in the individual processing paths, of a complex vector combination of the I/Q-demodulated signals with direction signature vectors estimated for the signal paths producing the strongest signal powers;

an output where restituted Walsh symbols containing useful signals are available for further processing; and

a circuit arrangement for estimating the direction signature vectors using antenna correlation matrices obtained from a plurality of consecutive possible signal propagation times, the circuit arrangement including;

a correlator and a remodulator for estimating the direction signature vectors by correlating the I/Q-demodulated signals with transmission signals recovered from restituted Walsh symbols by remodulation at consecutive points in time that mark possible signal propagation times to obtain pulse response vectors of the antenna array;

a first circuit for recursively forming antenna correlation matrices from coefficients of the pulse response vectors connected downstream from the correlator, an estimation accuracy and a rate of change being set through selection of an averaging parameter,

a plurality of second circuits for calculating the direction signature vectors from the antenna correlation matrices by iteration, and for determining average path powers and component propagation times for the signal paths producing the strongest signal powers by calculating the trace of the antenna correlation matrices;

wherein the estimated direction signature vectors and the component propagation times for a respective signal path are made available on the respective corresponding processing paths.

2. The receiver as recited in claim 1 further comprising a delay circuit connected upstream from the correlator and having a delay time so as to approximately correspond to a processing time needed for demodulation, restitution and remodulation of the Walsh symbols.

3. The receiver as recited in claim 1 wherein the I/Q-demodulated signals are correlated with the restituted Walsh symbols after remodulation, using fast convolution or fast Fourier algorithms.

4. The receiver as recited in claim 3 wherein a correlation length of 1.25 ms is selected.

5. The receiver as recited in claim 1 wherein an averaging parameter of approximately η

=0.1 is used in the recursive formation of the antenna correlation matrices from the coefficients of the pulse response vectors.

6. A circuit for a receiver for a base station in a CDMA mobile wireless system operated according to the IS-95 Standard, the circuit comprising:

a correlator and a remodulator for correlating I/Q-demodulated signals with remodulated transmission signals to obtain pulse response vectors of an antenna array, the remodulated transmission signals being recovered from restituted Walsh symbols by remodulation at consecutive points in time that mark possible signal propagation times;

a first sub-circuit for recursively forming antenna correlation matrices from coefficients of the pulse response vectors connected downstream from the correlator, an estimation accuracy and a rate of change being set through selection of an averaging parameter; and

at least one second sub-circuit for calculating direction signature vectors from the antenna correlation matrices by iteration, and for determining average path powers and component propagation times for respective signal paths producing the strongest signal powers.