Adaptive, multimode rake receiver for dynamic search and multipath reception

• US 6,618,434 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2001
• Issued: 09/09/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cornami, Inc.
• Original Assignee: QuickSilver Controls, Inc.
• Inventors: Heidari-Bateni, Ghobad, Plunkett, Robert Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Amanda T.
• Application Number:
  US09/871,049
• Publication Number:
  US 20020181559A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 375/142-145, 375/147-153
• US Class Current: 375/148
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/711 the interference being multi-path interference
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7113 Determination of path profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7117 Selection, re-selection, allocation or re-allocation of paths to fingers, e.g. timing offset control of allocated fingers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/712 Weighting of fingers for combining, e.g. amplitude control or phase rotation using an inner loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2201/70709 with discontinuous detection

Abstract

The present invention concerns a new type of rake receiver, namely, a multimode rake receiver, which may be included within either a mobile station or a base station, and which has dynamic pilot signal searching and multipath reception and combining capability, for CDMA, cdma2000, W-CDMA, or other mobile communication systems. The adaptive, multimode rake receiver includes a network interface, a plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers, and a multimode processor. Each adaptive multimode rake finger and the multimode processor are responsive to first configuration information (a first mode signal) to configure for a path reception functional mode and are further responsive to second configuration information (a second mode signal) to configure for a searcher functional mode, providing the multimode rake receiver with acquisition, traffic, and idle modes. In the preferred embodiment, the multimode rake receiver is implemented using a new category of integrated circuitry for adaptive or reconfigurable computing, providing a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements coupled to an interconnection network, to form adaptive and reconfigurable multimode rake fingers and a multimode processor, for a plurality of different functional modes, including pilot signal searching and multipath reception and combination.

Claims

1. A multimode rake receiver, comprising:

a network interface;

a plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers coupled to the network interface, the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers comprising a first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements having at least two different fixed architectures, wherein the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements are configurable to form the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers, the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements are capable of responding to a first mode signal to configure for a first functional mode for path reception, capable of responding to a second mode signal to configure for a second functional mode for searching, and capable of responding to a third mode signal to configure for a third functional mode; and

a multimode processor coupled to the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers, the multimode processor capable of responding to the first mode signal to configure for the first functional mode for path reception, capable of responding to the second mode signal to configure for the second functional mode for searching, and further capable of responding to the third mode signal to configure for a third functional mode.

2. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein when the multimode rake receiver is in an acquisition mode, all adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the second functional mode for searching and the multimode processor is configured for the second functional mode for searching.

3. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein when the multimode rake receiver is in a traffic mode:

a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the second functional mode for searching and a first portion of the multimode processor is configured for the second functional mode for searching; and

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the first functional mode for path reception and a second portion of the multimode processor is configured for the first functional mode for path reception.

4. The multimode rake receiver of claim 3, wherein the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for path reception corresponds to a number of multipaths determined by the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers and the first portion of the multimode processor when configured for the second functional mode for searching.

5. The multimode rake receiver of claim 3, wherein the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the second functional mode for searching and the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for path reception are dynamically determined based upon at least one channel-dependent parameter selected from a plurality of channel-dependent parameters, the plurality of channel-dependent parameters comprising a pilot signal relative power level, a number of identified multipaths, a number of identified base stations, received traffic signal-to-noise ratio, and received traffic error rate.

6. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein when the multimode rake receiver is in an idle mode:

a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a first portion of the multimode processor are configured for the second functional mode for searching;

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a second portion of the multimode processor are configured for the first functional mode for path reception; and

a third subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a third portion of the multimode processor are configured for a fourth functional mode for comparatively lower power consumption.

7. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein

the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements comprise a first computational element having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture.

8. The multimode rake receiver of claim 7, wherein the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers further comprise:

an interconnection network coupled to the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, the interconnection network capable of configuring the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the first functional mode for path reception in response to first configuration information, the interconnection network capable of reconfiguring the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the second functional mode for searching in response to second configuration information, and the interconnection network capable of reconfiguring the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the third functional mode in response to third configuration information.

9. The multimode rake receiver of claim 7, wherein the first plurality of heterogeneous computational elements further comprise:

a pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator;

a timing adjuster coupled to the pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator;

a pilot signal correlator coupled to the pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator;

a phase estimator coupled to the pilot signal correlator;

a channel correlator coupled to the pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator and the timing adjuster; and

a phase adjuster coupled to the channel correlator.

10. The multimode rake receiver of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of outputs, including a first output from the timing adjuster, a second output from the pilot signal correlator, a third output from the channel correlator, and a fourth output from the phase adjuster, and wherein the plurality of outputs are further coupled to a multiplexer, the multiplexer capable of responding to the first configuration information to select the fourth output from the plurality of outputs to provide the first functional mode for path reception, and the multiplexer capable of responding to the second configuration information to select the first output, the second output, and the third output from the plurality of outputs to provide the second functional mode for searching.

11. The multimode rake receiver of claim 7, wherein the first fixed architecture and the second fixed architecture are selected from a plurality of specific architectures, the plurality of specific architectures comprising at least two of the following corresponding functions:

memory, addition, multiplication, complex multiplication, subtraction, configuration, reconfiguration, control, input, output, and field programmability.

12. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein the multimode processor further comprises:

a second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, the second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements comprising a first computational element having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture.

13. The multimode rake receiver of claim 12, wherein the multimode processor further comprises:

an interconnection network coupled to the second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, the interconnection network capable of configuring the second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the first functional mode path reception in response to the first configuration information, the interconnection network further capable of reconfiguring the second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the second functional mode for searching in response to second configuration information and the interconnection network further capable of reconfiguring the second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the second functional mode for searching in response to second configuration information.

14. The multimode rake receiver of claim 12, wherein the second plurality of heterogeneous computational elements further comprise:

a multipath combiner; and

a mode and path assignment processor.

15. The multimode rake receiver of claim 12, wherein the first fixed architecture and the second fixed architecture are selected from a plurality of specific architectures, the plurality of specific architectures comprising at least two of the following corresponding functions:

memory, addition, multiplication, complex multiplication, subtraction, configuration, reconfiguration, control, input, output, and field programmability.

16. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein the multimode rake receiver is embodied within a mobile station.

17. The multimode rake receiver of claim 1, wherein the multimode rake receiver is embodied within a base station.

18. An apparatus for direct-sequence spread spectrum reception including multimode rake functional modes, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, a first computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element of the plurality of computational elements having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture; and

an interconnection network coupled to the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, the interconnection network capable of configuring the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for a first functional mode for multipath reception in response to first configuration information, the interconnection network further capable of reconfiguring the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for a second functional mode for searching in response to second configuration information, and the interconnection network further capable of reconfiguring the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for a third functional mode in response to third configuration information, the third functional mode different than the first and second functional modes.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first fixed architecture and the second fixed architecture are selected from a plurality of specific architectures, the plurality of specific architectures comprising at least two of the following corresponding functions:

memory, addition, multiplication, complex multiplication, subtraction, configuration, reconfiguration, control, input, output, and field programmability.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the interconnection network reconfigurably routes data and control information between and among the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

a controller coupled to the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements and to the interconnection network, the controller capable of directing and scheduling the configuration of the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the first functional mode for multipath reception, the reconfiguration of the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the second functional mode for searching, and the reconfiguration of the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements for the third functional mode.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising:

a memory coupled to the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements and to the interconnection network, the memory capable of storing the first configuration information, the second configuration information, and the third configuration information.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein:

the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements and the interconnection network are configured to form a plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers to provide the first functional mode for multipath reception and the second functional mode for searching and configured to form a multimode processor coupled to the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers;

each adaptive multimode rake finger of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers is capable of responding to the first configuration information to configure for the first functional mode for multipath reception and further capable of responding to the second configuration information to configure for the second functional mode for searching; and

the multimode processor is capable of responding to the first configuration information to configure for the first functional mode for multipath reception and further capable of responding to second configuration information to configure for the second functional mode for searching.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein when the apparatus is in an acquisition mode, all adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the second functional mode for searching and the multimode processor is configured for the second functional mode for searching.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein when the apparatus is in a traffic mode:

a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a first portion of the multimode processor are configured for the second functional mode for searching; and

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a second portion of the multimode processor are configured for the first functional mode for multipath reception.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for multipath reception corresponds to a number of multipaths determined by the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers and the first portion of the multimode processor when configured for the second functional mode for searching.

27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the second functional mode for searching and the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for multipath reception are dynamically determined based upon at least one channel dependent parameter selected from a plurality of channel-dependent parameters, the plurality of channel-dependent parameters comprising a pilot signal relative power level, a number of identified multipaths, a number of identified base stations, received traffic signal-to-noise ratio, and received traffic error rate.

28. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein when the apparatus is in an idle mode:

a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a first portion of the multimode processor are configured for the second functional mode for searching;

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a second portion of the multimode processor are configured for the first functional mode for multipath reception; and

a third subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a third portion of the multimode processor are configured for a fourth functional mode for comparatively lower power consumption.

29. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements further comprise:

a pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator;

a pilot signal correlator coupled to the pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator;

a phase estimator coupled to the pilot signal correlator;

a timing adjuster coupled to the pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator;

a channel correlator coupled to the pseudorandom noise sequence and orthogonal code generator and to the timing adjuster; and

a phase adjuster coupled to the channel correlator.

30. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements further comprise:

a multipath combiner; and

a mode and path assignment processor.

31. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the first fixed architecture and the second fixed architecture are selected from a plurality of specific architectures, the plurality of specific architectures comprising at least two of the following corresponding functions:

memory, addition, multiplication, complex multiplication, subtraction, configuration, reconfiguration, control, input, output, and field programmability.

32. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein

the third functional mode is selected from a plurality of non-rake reception functional modes.

33. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus is embodied within a mobile station.

34. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus is embodied within a base station.

35. A method for adaptive rake reception, the comprising:

receiving an incoming signal;

configuring a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements in response to configuration information to form a plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers;

in response to first configuration information, configuring the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers for a first functional mode for path reception to provide multipath reception of the incoming signal;

in response to second configuration information, configuring the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers for a second functional mode for searching to provide a plurality of pilot signal determinations from the incoming signal; and

in response to third configuration information, configuring the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers for a third functional mode, the third functional mode being different than the first and second functional modes.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

in response to the first configuration information, configuring a multimode processor as a multipath combiner for the first functional mode for path reception to provide output data from the multipath reception of the incoming signal;

in response to the second configuration information, configuring the multimode processor for the second functional mode for searching to select a preferred pilot signal from the plurality of pilot signal determinations from the incoming signal; and

in response to the third configuration information, configuring the multimode processor for the third functional mode.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

in an acquisition mode, configuring all adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and configuring the multimode processor for the second functional mode for searching.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

in a traffic mode, configuring a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and configuring a first portion of the multimode processor for the second functional mode for searching; and

in the traffic mode, configuring a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and configuring a second portion of the multimode processor for the first functional mode for path reception.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for path reception corresponds to a number of multipaths determined by the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers and the first portion of the multimode processor when configured for the second functional mode for searching.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the second functional mode for searching and the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for path reception are dynamically determined based upon at least one channel dependent parameter selected from a plurality of channel-dependent parameters, the plurality of channel-dependent parameters comprising a pilot signal relative power level, a number of identified multipaths, a number of identified base stations, received traffic signal-to-noise ratio, and received traffic error rate.

41. The method of claim 36, wherein:

in an idle mode, configuring a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers for the second functional mode for searching and configuring a first portion of the multimode processor for the second functional mode for searching;

in the idle mode, configuring a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers for the first functional mode for path reception and configuring a second portion of the multimode processor for the first functional mode for path reception; and

in the idle mode, configuring a third subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and configuring a third portion of the multimode processor for a fourth functional mode for comparatively lower power consumption.

42. The method of claim 35, wherein the method occurs within a mobile station.

43. The method of claim 35, wherein the method occurs within a base station.

44. An apparatus for direct-sequence spread spectrum code division multiple access wireless reception, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements including a first computational element having a first fixed architecture and a second computational element having a second fixed architecture, the first fixed architecture being different than the second fixed architecture; and

an interconnection network coupled to the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements, the interconnection network capable of configuring the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements to form a plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers to provide a plurality of rake functional modes and to form a multimode processor coupled to the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers, and the interconnection network further capable of configuring the plurality of heterogeneous computational elements to provide a non-rake functional mode.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein:

each adaptive multimode rake finger of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers is capable of responding to first configuration information to configure for a multipath reception functional mode of the plurality of rake functional nodes and further capable of responding to second configuration information to configure for a searcher functional mode of the plurality of rake functional modes; and

the multimode processor is capable of responding to the first configuration information to configure for the multipath reception functional mode and further capable of responding to second configuration information to configure for the searcher functional mode.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein when the apparatus is in an acquisition mode, all adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the searcher functional mode and the multimode processor is configured for the searcher functional mode.

47. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein when the apparatus is in a traffic mode:

a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the searcher functional mode and a first portion of the multimode processor is configured for the searcher functional mode; and

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the multipath reception functional mode and a second portion of the multimode processor is configured for the multipath reception functional mode.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the searcher functional mode and the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the multipath reception functional mode are dynamically determined based upon at least one channel dependent parameter selected from a plurality of channel-dependent parameters, the plurality of channel-dependent parameters comprising a pilot signal relative power level, a number of identified multipaths, a number of identified base stations, received traffic signal-to-noise ratio, and received traffic error rate.

49. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein when the apparatus is in an idle mode:

a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a first portion of the multimode processor are configured for the searcher functional mode;

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a second portion of the multimode processor are configured for the path reception functional mode; and

a third subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a third portion of the multimode processor are configured for comparatively lower power consumption.

50. A multimode rake receiver, comprising:

a network interface;

a plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers coupled to the network interface, each adaptive multimode rake finger of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers comprising a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements capable of responding to a first mode signal to configure for a first functional mode for path reception, further capable of responding to a second mode signal to configure for a second functional mode for searching, and further capable of responding to a third mode signal to configure for a third, non-rake functional mode;

a multimode processor operably coupled to the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers, the multimode processor comprising a plurality of heterogeneous computational elements capable of responding to the first mode signal to configure for the first functional mode for path reception;

further capable of responding to the second mode signal to configure for the second functional mode for searching; and

further capable of responding to the third mode signal to configure for the third, non-rake functional mode;

wherein when the multimode rake receiver is in an acquisition mode, all adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers are configured for the second functional mode for searching and the multimode processor is configured for the second functional mode for searching;

wherein when the multimode rake receiver is in a traffic mode, a first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a first portion of the multimode processor are configured for the second functional mode for searching; and

a second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers of the plurality of adaptive multimode rake fingers and a second portion of the multimode processor are configured for the first functional mode for path reception;

wherein the first subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the second functional mode for searching and the second subset of adaptive multimode rake fingers configured for the first functional mode for path reception are dynamically determined based upon at least one channel-dependent parameter selected from a plurality of channel-dependent parameters, the plurality of channel-dependent parameters further comprising a pilot signal relative power level, a number of identified multipaths, a number of identified base stations, received traffic signal-to-noise ratio, and received traffic error rate.