Use of SCH bursts for co-channel interference measurements

• US 7,639,985 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2006
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PCTEL, Inc.
• Original Assignee: PC-TEL Incorporated
• Inventors: Dickey, Sergey L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dao; Minh D
• Application Number:
  US11/366,115
• Publication Number:
  US 20070207740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,398 Days
• Field of Search: 455/63.1, 455/114.2, 455/278.1, 455/296, 455/501, 455/76, 455/563, 455/165.1, 455/183.1, 455/465.1, 370/337, 370/328, 370/345, 375/146, 375/133, 375/135, 342/453
• US Class Current: 455/63.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/3913 Predictive models, e.g. based on neural network models

Abstract

A method and apparatus for identifying signal sources in a multi-source signal. Levels of signal components transmitted by each of the co-channel base stations in the area under test in a wireless network are measured and associated with the appropriate (originating) base station in the presence of co-channel and adjacent-channel interference without interrupting service by sensing and responding to received, variable, patterns.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

an antenna;

an RF receiver coupled to the antenna;

a data storage device;

control circuits including control software, coupled to the RF receiver, and the data storage device, the control software storing collected samples of a plurality of received wireless signals, along with time of arrival and location of receipt in the data storage device; and

analysis software recorded on a computer readable medium, the software, responsive to stored, collected samples selects at least one sample and, synthesizes an expected representation of a portion of a waveform from a source including additional software that correlates the one sample with the representation.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the analysis software identifies sources of collected, at least partly decodable, signals in accordance with a predetermined criterion.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1, where responsive to selected results of correlation processing, a respective signal strength indicium is associated with the one sample.

4. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the software synthesizes a representation of a variable data pattern emitted by the source with respect to an expected time of arrival of the data pattern.

5. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the additional software attempts to establish correlations between a plurality of stored, collected samples, and respective representations.

6. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the additional software carries out a correlation process relative to a predetermined time of arrival of the expected representation.

7. An apparatus as in claim 6 where a correlation time interval is established relative to the time of arrival.