Method and constructions for space-time codes for PSK constellations for spatial diversity in multiple-element antenna systems

• US 6,678,263 B1
• Filed: 09/17/1999
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Electronics Corporation (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Hammons, A. Roger Jr., Gamal, Hesham El
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Vivian
• Assistant Examiner(s): CRAVER, CHARLES R
• Application Number:
  US09/397,896
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 370/310.1, 370/310.2, 370/319-321, 370/335, 370/336, 370/337, 370/342, 370/347, 370/905, 375/146, 375/147, 375/240.23, 375/240.24, 375/240.25, 375/240.27, 375/267, 375/265, 375/261, 375/272, 375/279, 375/281, 375/282, 375/283, 375/298, 375/299
• US Class Current: 370/342
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0059 Convolutional codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0065 Serial concatenated codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0618 Space-time coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/18 Phase-modulated carrier systems, i.e. using phase-shift keying H04L27/32 takes precedence

Abstract

General binary design criteria for PSK-modulated space-time codes are provided. For linear binary PSK (BPSK) codes and quadrature PSK (QPSK) codes, the rank (i.e., binary projections) of the unmodulated code words, as binary matrices over the binary field, is used as a design criterion. Fundamental code constructions for both quasi-static and time-varying channels are provided.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein said channel encoder comprises a mobile channel encoder producing the code word symbols having length of a multiple N of the number of said plurality of antenna links L.

2. A communication system as recited in claim 1 comprising:

a framer for segmenting transmit data blocks into fixed frame lengths for generating information symbols from a discrete alphabet of symbols; and

data terminal equipment (DTE) coupled to said framer for communicating digital cellular data blocks.

3. A communication system as recited in claim 2 wherein said digital cellular data terminal equipment comprises Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems.

4. A communication system as recited in claim 2 wherein said digital cellular data terminal equipment comprises Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems.

5. A communication system as recited in claim 1, wherein said spatial formatter parses the length N of the produced code word symbols among L of the transmit antennas.

8. A communication system as recited in claim 1, wherein binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation is used and a space-time code is based on formatting the output of convolutional channel encoder for presentation across a plurality of transmit antennas.

13. A communication system as recited in claim 1, wherein QPSK modulation is used and a space-time code is based on formatting an output of a linear convolutional code over the ring of integers modulo 4 for presentation across a plurality of transmit antennas.

6. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein the channel encoder and the spatial formatter utilize a class of space-time codes satisfying a binary rank criteria.

7. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein the combination of channel encoder and spatial formatter are provided with a stacking space-time code construction.

9. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein a concatenated space-time code is used in which the outer code is used to satisfy a binary rank criteria and multiple inner codes are used to encode the transmitted information from a plurality of transmit antennas.

10. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein a concatenated space-time code is used in which the inner code is composed of a channel encoder and a spatial formatter designed to satisfy a binary rank criteria.

11. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein the combination of channel encoder and spatial formatter are covered by a multi-stacking construction.

12. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation is used and a space-time code is covered by a stacking, multi-stacking, or de-stacking constructions for QPSK.

14. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein QPSK modulation is used and a space-time code employs a dyadic construction.

15. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols,

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein multi-level coded modulation and multi-stage decoding are used and a binary space-time code employed in each level belongs to the class of codes that satisfy the binary rank criterion or any of the constructions.

16. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein M-ary PSK modulation, M=8 or more, is used and a space-time code belongs to a class satisfying the binary rank criteria.

17. A communication system comprising:

a channel encoder for encoding information symbols with an error control code for producing code word symbols;

a spatial formatter for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols to a presentation order among a plurality of antenna links; and

a phase shift keying modulator for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation according to binary projections to achieve spatial diversity,

wherein graphical space-time codes are designed such that the code generating matrix satisfies the stacking, multi-stacking, or de-stacking construction.

18. A communications method comprising:

encoding information symbols with an underlying error control code to produce code word symbols;

parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols in a presentation order to a plurality of antenna links, wherein the code word symbols have length of a multiple N of the number of said plurality of antenna links L; and

mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation, wherein the symbols are modulated for transmission over a plurality of transmit antennas corresponding to the antenna links.

19. A method as recited in claim 18 wherein said encoding and parsing steps are performed with a space-time encoder having a channel encoder and a space-time formatter.

20. A communications system comprising:

means for encoding the generated information symbols with an underlying error control code to produce code word symbols;

means for parsing the produced code word symbols to allocate the symbols in a presentation order to a plurality of antenna links, wherein the code word symbols have length of a multiple N of the number of said plurality of antenna links L; and

means for mapping the parsed code word symbols onto constellation points from a discrete complex-valued signaling constellation, wherein the symbols are modulated for transmission over a plurality of transmit antennas corresponding to the antenna links.

22. A communication system as recited in claim 20 wherein said encoding and parsing means comprise a space-time encoder having a channel encoder and a space-time formatter.

21. A communication system as recited in claim a 20 wherein said parsing means comprises a spatial formatter for parsing the length N of the produced code word symbols among the L antennas.