Enhanced pilot signal receiver

• US 8,514,988 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2008
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wu, Qiang, Zhao, Wanlun, Black, Peter John
• Primary Examiner(s): Lugo, David B.
• Application Number:
  US12/113,903
• Publication Number:
  US 20090003495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,937 Days
• Field of Search: 375/147, 375/150, 375/260, 375/340, 375/345
• US Class Current: 375/345
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/24 Acquisition or tracking or demodulation of signals transmitted by the system synchronisation aspects of direct sequence spread spectrum modulation H04B1/7073
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/185 the determination of the range being based on more than one digital output value, e.g. on a running average, a power estimation or the rate of change
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/261 Details of reference signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0023 Time-frequency-space
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0048 Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/02 Resource partitioning among network components, e.g. reuse partitioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment, a method of adjusting for digital automatic gain control (DAGC) quantization error in a mobile station is as follows. A first DAGC value is stored before reception of one or more enhanced pilot signals. A second DAGC value is computed during reception of the one or more enhanced pilot signal. The first DAGC value is restored after reception of the one or more enhanced pilot signals is over. An advantage associated with this particular embodiment may include reduction in quantization error for digital automatic gain control.

Claims

1. A method of adjusting for digital automatic gain control (DAGC) quantization error in a mobile station comprising:

estimating signal energy from one or more received enhanced pilot signals, wherein the enhanced pilot signals are transmitted from at least two respective sectors;

selecting a portion of an analog-to-digital converted (ADC) value as a DAGC value based at least in part on the estimate; and

scaling one or more enhanced pilot signal detection thresholds,

wherein the at least two respective sectors are from at least two different sets of a superset of sectors, and further wherein each set includes a plurality of sectors having an enhanced pilot signal associated with a particular signal dimension.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ADC value comprises six bits and the DAGC value comprises four bits.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the estimated signal energy for the one or more received enhanced pilot signals is at least an order of magnitude less than that for one or more received non-enhanced pilot signals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein scaling comprises adjusting for the size of a window employed during which to detect one or more received signals and/or the portion of the DAGC value selected.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the window comprises several hundred chips.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the window is constructed so that a portion of received signal information is omitted from threshold detection.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, for more than one received enhanced pilot signals, the enhanced pilot signals are mutually orthogonal along at least one of the following signal dimensions:

time, frequency, or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the enhanced pilot signal detection thresholds are used to determine whether the estimated signal energy is statistically significant.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein signal levels from the one or more received enhanced pilot signals is an order of magnitude less than signal levels for one or more non-enhanced pilot signals.

10. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that if executed direct a mobile station to estimate signal energy from one or more received enhanced pilot signals, wherein the enhanced pilot signals are transmitted from at least two respective sectors, select a portion of an analog-to-digital converted (ADC) value as a Digital Automatic Gain Control (DAGC) value based at least in part on the estimate, and scale one or more enhanced pilot signal detection thresholds, wherein the at least two respective sectors are from at least two different sets of a superset of sectors, and further wherein each set includes a plurality of sectors having an enhanced pilot signal associated with a particular signal dimension.

11. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 10, wherein, for more than one received enhanced pilot signals, the enhanced pilot signals are to be mutually orthogonal along at least one of the following signal dimensions:

time, frequency, or any combination thereof.

12. A mobile station comprising:

a computing platform which further comprises a processor, a memory, and a correlator;

said computing platform being configured to estimate signal energy from one or more received enhanced pilot signals, wherein the enhanced pilot signals are transmitted from at least two respective sectors, select a portion of an analog-to-digital converted (ADC) value as a Digital Automatic Gain Control (DAGC) value based at least in part on the estimate, and to scale one or more enhanced pilot signal detection thresholds, wherein the at least two respective sectors are from at least two different sets of a superset of sectors, and further wherein each set includes a plurality of sectors having an enhanced pilot signal associated with a particular signal dimension.

13. The mobile station of claim 12, wherein, for more than one received enhanced pilot signals, the enhanced pilot signals are to be mutually orthogonal along at least one of the following signal dimensions:

time, frequency, or any combination thereof.

14. A mobile station comprising:

means for estimating signal energy from one or more received enhanced pilot signals, wherein the enhanced pilot signals are transmitted from at least two respective sectors;

means for selecting a portion of an analog-to-digital converted (ADC) value as a Digital Automatic Gain Control (DAGC) value based at least in part on the estimate; and

means for scaling one or more enhanced pilot signal detection thresholds, wherein the at least two respective sectors are from at least two different sets of a superset of sectors, and further wherein each set includes a plurality of sectors having an enhanced pilot signal associated with a particular signal dimension.

15. The mobile station of claim 14, wherein, for more than one received enhanced pilot signals, the enhanced pilot signals are mutually orthogonal along at least one of the following signal dimensions:

time, frequency, or any combination thereof.