Method and apparatus for real-time pulse parameter estimator
First Claim
1. An apparatus for extracting pulse parameters from signals, said apparatus comprising:
- a pulse detection logic that is operable to detect pulses in a signal that is received by the apparatus;
a pulse parameter estimation logic that is operable to;
(a) select, based at least in part on a magnitude of an error, a time interval from a plurality of time intervals; and
(b) determine a value for a pulse parameter by analyzing pulse information based on pulses that were detected over the selected time interval;
wherein the error is based on a difference between pulse information derived, at least in part, from a particular detected pulse and a value of a pulse parameter estimated by the pulse parameter estimation logic by analyzing pulse information that is derived, at least in part, from pulses detected prior to the particular detected pulse but not the particular detected pulse,wherein one or more of the pulse detection logic and the pulse parameter estimation logic includes one or more hardware elements.
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Abstract
A real-time pulse parameter estimator is disclosed herein. In one embodiment, an apparatus has pulse detection logic, an abnormal pulse filter, and a pulse parameter estimator. The pulse detection logic is operable to detect pulses and to record an arrival time of each detected pulse. The abnormal pulse filter is operable to analyze the arrival time of the detected pulses and to determine whether there are any abnormal pulses based on the analysis. In one embodiment, the abnormal pulse filter generates an adjusted time difference of arrival (TDOA) signal for a pulse, based on a determination that the pulse is abnormal. The pulse parameter estimator is operable to estimate a pulse parameter for the signal based on an analysis of the arrival times of the detected pulses and information pertaining to there being any abnormal pulses in the signal.
10 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An apparatus for extracting pulse parameters from signals, said apparatus comprising:
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a pulse detection logic that is operable to detect pulses in a signal that is received by the apparatus; a pulse parameter estimation logic that is operable to; (a) select, based at least in part on a magnitude of an error, a time interval from a plurality of time intervals; and (b) determine a value for a pulse parameter by analyzing pulse information based on pulses that were detected over the selected time interval; wherein the error is based on a difference between pulse information derived, at least in part, from a particular detected pulse and a value of a pulse parameter estimated by the pulse parameter estimation logic by analyzing pulse information that is derived, at least in part, from pulses detected prior to the particular detected pulse but not the particular detected pulse, wherein one or more of the pulse detection logic and the pulse parameter estimation logic includes one or more hardware elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for detecting abnormal pulses in signals, the apparatus comprising:
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a pulse detection logic that is operable to detect pulses in a signal that is received by the apparatus and to record an arrival time of each detected pulse; a time window logic that is operable to; (a) hold a set of window parameters, wherein each window parameter has a value that is based on a pulse characteristic; (b) generate a set of time windows based, at least on part, on the set of window parameters and a pulse repetition interval (PRI) of the signal; and an abnormal pulse logic that is operable to; determine whether a particular pulse is an abnormal pulse, based on the set of time windows and a time difference of arrival (TDOA) of the particular pulse relative to the pulse detected prior to the particular pulse; and in response to determining that the particular pulse is abnormal; identify an abnormal pulse characteristic for the particular pulse, based upon which time window of the set of time windows that the particular pulse arrived; and store a value that defines the abnormal pulse characteristic, wherein one or more of the pulse detection logic, the time window logic, and the abnormal pulse logic includes one or more hardware elements. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for extracting pulse parameters from a signal, the apparatus comprising:
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a pulse detection logic that is operable to detect pulses and to record an arrival time of each detected pulse, wherein a time difference of arrival (TDOA) for a given pulse is the difference between the arrival time for the given pulse and the last pulse detected before the given pulse; an abnormal pulse detection logic that is operable to; analyze the TDOAs of the detected pulses in order to determine whether any of the detected pulses are abnormal, wherein an abnormal pulse is a pulse for which the TDOA is outside of a tolerance from an expected TDOA; and modify the TDOA for at least certain types of abnormal pulses; and a pulse parameter logic that is operable to; estimate a pulse parameter for the signal based on an analysis of the TDOAs for a set of the detected pulses that includes a current pulse, wherein the modified TDOA is used for the certain types of the abnormal pulses; and based on the estimated pulse parameter, provide an abnormal pulse filter with a signal from which to derive the expected TDOA for the next pulse detected after the current pulse, wherein one or more of the pulse detection logic, the abnormal pulse detection logic, and the pulse parameter logic includes one or more hardware elements. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. The apparatus of 19, wherein the pulse detection logic is operable to determine the derivative using a finite-impulse-response (FIR) linear phase digital filter.
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21. The apparatus of 19, wherein the pulse detection logic is operable to determine a positive edge and a negative edge of the signal envelope by threshold crossings and a first-order difference.
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22. A method for extracting pulse parameters from a signal, said method comprising:
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detecting pulses and recording an arrival time of each detected pulse, wherein a time difference of arrival (TDOA) for a given pulse is the difference between the arrival time for the given pulse and the last detected pulse; analyzing the TDOAs of the detected pulses in order to determine whether any of the detected pulses are abnormal, wherein an abnormal pulse is a pulse for which the TDOA is outside of a tolerance from an expected TDOA; modifying the TDOA for at least certain types of abnormal pulses; estimating a pulse parameter for the signal based on an analysis of the TDOAs for a set of detected pulses that includes a current pulse, wherein the modified TDOA is used for the certain types of the abnormal pulses; and based on the estimated pulse parameter, deriving the expected TDOA for the next pulse that is detected after the current pulse, wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for extracting pulse parameters from a signal, said method comprising:
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detecting pulses in the signal; selecting a time interval from a plurality of time intervals, based at least in part on a magnitude of an error; and determining a new value for a pulse parameter by analyzing pulse information that is collected over the selected time interval; wherein the error is based on a difference between pulse information derived, at least in part, from a particular detected pulse and a value of the pulse parameter estimated by analyzing pulse information that is derived, at least in part, from pulses detected prior to the particular detected pulse but not the particular detected pulse, wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.
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28. A method for detecting abnormal pulses in a signal, said method comprising:
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detecting pulses in the signal; recording an arrival time of each detected pulse; generating a set of time windows based, at least in part, on a set of window parameters and a pulse repetition interval (PRI) of the signal, wherein each window parameter has a value that is based on a pulse characteristic; determining whether a particular pulse is an abnormal pulse, based on the set of time windows and a time difference of arrival (TDOA) of the particular pulse relative to the pulse detected prior to the particular pulse; and in response to determining that the particular pulse is abnormal; identifying an abnormal pulse characteristic for the particular pulse, based upon in which time window of the set of time windows that the particular pulse arrived; and storing a value that defines the abnormal pulse characteristic, wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.
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29. A non-transitory machine-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for extracting pulse parameters from a signal, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
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detecting pulses and recording an arrival time of each detected pulse, wherein a time difference of arrival (TDOA) for a given pulse is the difference between the arrival time for the given pulse and the last detected pulse; analyzing the TDOAs of the detected pulses in order to determine whether any of the detected pulses are abnormal, wherein an abnormal pulse is a pulse for which the TDOA is outside of a tolerance from an expected TDOA; modifying the TDOA for at least certain types of abnormal pulses; estimating a pulse parameter for the signal based on an analysis of the TDOAs for a set of detected pulses that includes a current pulse, wherein the modified TDOA is used for the certain types of the abnormal pulses; and based on the estimated pulse parameter, deriving the expected TDOA for the next pulse that is detected after the current pulse.
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30. A non-transitory machine-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for extracting pulse parameters from a signal, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
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detecting pulses in the signal; selecting a time interval from a plurality of time intervals, based at least in part on a magnitude of an error; and determining a new value for a pulse parameter by analyzing pulse information that is collected over the selected time interval; wherein the error is based on a difference between pulse information derived, at least in part, from a particular detected pulse and a value of the pulse parameter estimated by analyzing pulse information that is derived, at least in part, from pulses detected prior to the particular detected pulse but not the particular detected pulse.
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31. A non-transitory machine-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for detecting abnormal pulses in a signal, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:
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detecting pulses in the signal; recording an arrival time of each detected pulse; generating a set of time windows based, at least in part, on a set of window parameters and a pulse repetition interval (PRI) of the signal, wherein each window parameter has a value that is based on a pulse characteristic; determining whether a particular pulse is an abnormal pulse, based on the set of time windows and a time difference of arrival (TDOA) of the particular pulse relative to the pulse detected prior to the particular pulse; and in response to determining that the particular pulse is abnormal; identifying an abnormal pulse characteristic for the particular pulse, based upon in which time window of the set of time windows that the particular pulse arrived; and storing a value that defines the abnormal pulse characteristic.
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Specification