Method for detecting paths in pulse transmission and a device for carrying out said method

• US 8,175,195 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2006
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Miscopein, Benoit, Schwoerer, Jean
• Primary Examiner(s): Flores, Leon
• Application Number:
  US12/084,974
• Publication Number:
  US 20090268851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,009 Days
• Field of Search: 375/130, 375/136, 375/142, 375/145, 375/147, 375/149, 375/150, 375/316, 375/340, 375/342, 375/343, 375/354, 375/371, 455/502, 455/516, 370/509, 370/510
• US Class Current: 375/340
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7183 Synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/719 Interference-related aspects

Abstract

The invention relates to method and device for detecting propagation paths in pulse transmission, wherein a received signal comprises pulses on each time symbol. After synchronizing a pulse-based reception, the inventive method consists (A) in determining the arrival times of pulses of the same current time symbol, (B) in generating a path hypotheses by assigning an initial score to each dated pulse, (C) in determining the arrival times of pulses of the time symbol following the current symbol, (D) in relatively comparing the arrival times of pulses of the following time symbol with the arrival times of the path hypotheses and (E) in updating scores according to the relative comparison results. Said path detecting method is suitable for pulse information transmission, in particular in UWB.

Claims

1. A method for detecting propagation paths in pulse transmission, the signal received including pulses over symbol times, wherein following the synchronization of the reception of the pulses to pulses with which a path is associated, the method includes at least the steps consisting in:

determining the arrival instant of at least one of the pulses received during current symbol time;

generating path assumptions associated with the determined arrival instants, by assigning an initial score to each of the determined arrival instants;

determining the arrival instant of at least one pulse received during at least one symbol time following the current symbol time;

comparing, in a relative manner, the arrival instant of the pulse received during the following symbol time with the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions; and

updating the scores assigned to the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions as a function of the result of the relative comparison.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determination of an arrival instant of the pulses consists at least in:

detecting the envelope of the pulses in relation to a threshold value; and

, on positive detection,

associating at least one arrival instant with a detected pulse.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the relative comparison consists at least in:

establishing time windows of determined width about the arrival instants of the path assumptions;

verifying whether the pulses of the following symbol time are in at least one of the time windows.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method includes at least the generation of a new path assumption, upon a relative inconsistency between the arrival instant of a pulse of the following symbol time and the arrival instants of the path assumptions by assigning an initial score to the pulse dated from the following symbol time.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the updating of the score assigned to each path assumption, after comparison over N following symbol times includes at least:

the merging of the path assumptions whose reception time windows overlap, the most recent arrival instant and the highest score being preserved.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, the method consisting in updating the path assumptions and their score by repeating the steps of path assumption generation and score assignment, by substituting the current symbol time with a symbol time following the current symbol time.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, the method consisting in replacing the symbol time with a temporal subdivision of the symbol time.

8. A reception method of signals emitted by pulses, the reception method comprising:

detecting propagation paths in pulse transmission, the signal received including pulses over symbol times, the detecting following the synchronization of the reception of the pulses to pulses with which a path is associated at least including determining the arrival instants of at least one pulse received during a current symbol time, generating path assumptions associated with the determined arrival instants, by assigning an initial score to each of the determined arrival instants, determining the arrival instants of at least one pulse received during at least one symbol time following the current symbol time, comparing in a relative manner the arrival instants of the pulse received during the following symbol time with arrival instants associate with the path assumptions, updating the scores assigned to the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions as a function of the relative comparison; and

selecting a determined number of path assumptions from among those whose score is the highest, to ensure reception.

9. A device for detecting propagation paths in pulse transmission, the signal received including pulses over symbol times, wherein, in addition to a module for synchronizing the reception of these pulses to pulses with which a path is associated, the device comprises at least:

means for determining the arrival instant of at least one of the pulses received during a current symbol time;

means for generating path assumptions associated with the determined arrival instants, the generating means assigning an initial score to each of the determined arrival instants;

means for determining the arrival instant of at least one of the pulses received during at least one symbol time following the current symbol time;

means for relative comparison of the arrival instants of the pulses received during the following symbol time with the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions;

means for updating the scores assigned to the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions as a function of the result of the relative collation.

10. A receiver of signals emitted by pulses, comprising at least one antenna for receiving pulses, wherein, in addition to the means for synchronizing reception to a pulse received, the receiver includes at least:

means for determining the arrival instants of pulses over a symbol time;

means for generating path assumptions associated with determined arrival instants, the generating means thereby assigning an initial score to each of the determined arrival instants;

means for relative comparison of the arrival instants of pulses received during a current symbol time with the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions;

means for updating the scores assigned to the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions as a function of the result of the relative comparison.

11. A computer program recorded on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer program comprises a series of instructions allowing the implementation of a method for detecting propagation paths, when the program is executed by a processor, the method including at least the steps consisting in:

determining the arrival instant of at least one pulse received during a current symbol time;

generating path assumptions associated with the determined arrival instants, by assigning an initial score to each of the determined arrival instants;

determining the arrival instants of at least one pulse received during at least one symbol time following the current symbol time;

comparing, in a relative manner, the arrival instants of the pulse received during the following symbol time with the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions; and

updating the scores assigned to the arrival instants associated with the path assumptions as a function of the result of the relative comparison.