Abstract: In a digital audio broadcasting (DAB) system having a radio-frequency (RF) transmitter and a corresponding RF receiver, a system and method for providing improved frame synchronization is provided. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the RF transmitter formats a DAB signal into a sequence of frames, each frame having a header with a predefined grouping of psuedo-random number sequences comprising 100 symbols. Of these 100 symbols, 86 symbols of the header preferable are used for frame synchronization and characterization of a communications channel, while the remaining 14 symbols are used for interleaver and data synchronization in an interleaved fashion. The formatted DAB signal, including the frame sequences, is transmitted to the receiver preferably using quadrature phase-shift keying modulation. At the receiver, a correlator, utilizing a synchronization detection algorithm, is generally designed to match a predetermined symbol pattern within the received signal.

Abstract: In a multi-channel receiver system embodying the invention, a "trained" receiver channel which is active and propagating data signals may be used to train any other receiver channel. Each receiver channel of the system has an input and an output, with each input for receiving a different portion of an original data signal. Each receiver channel includes adaptive filter coupled between its input and its output for propagating the signals received at its input to its output. In accordance with the invention, a first trained receiver channel is used to train a second receiver channel by coupling the output of the first receiver channel to the output of the second receiver channel for training the adaptive filter of the second receiver channel. The training of the second receiver is completed by transmitting the same data signal to the first and second receiver channels.

Abstract: In a receiver system embodying the invention, the amplitude of the input signal is sensed so that when it exceeds a predetermined level, the adaptation of adaptive filters employed in the receiver is inhibited. In one embodiment of the invention the adaptation is inhibited for the extent of time that the sensed signal exceeds the predetermined level. In another embodiment of the invention, the adaptation is inhibited for a fixed period of time whenever the sensed signal exceeds the predetermined level. In still another embodiment of the invention, where the noise impulse has some repetitive pattern, an inhibiting signal is generated in anticipation of a repetitive noise impulse to inhibit adaptation of the adaptive filters during the period of time ("window") the noise impulse occurs.

Abstract: An "N" channel receiver system includes "N" A/D converters, one per channel, sampling the data received by their respective channels. The sampling rate of the A/D converters is controlled by a sampling clock signal generated by a timing recovery circuit. One rate of the sampling clock is a function of a timing signal applied to the timing recovery circuit. The system may be configured so that each channel produces N distinct timing signals, corresponding to the data signals received by each one of the N channels. The N distinct timing signals are coupled to a mechanism configured to selectively couple one of the N distinct timing signals to the timing recovery circuit. In a preferred embodiment, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the N received signals is sensed and the timing signal of the channel having the highest SNR is coupled via the controllable.

Abstract: A hybrid type of decision feedback equalizer (DFE) structure that approaches optimal DFE performance is described. The hybrid DFE includes both an intersymbol interference DFE (ISI-DFE) and a noise predictive DFE (NP-DFE). The hybrid DFE structure is designed so that one form of tap values dominates over the other. This allows only the dominate tap values to be used by the transmitter during precoding and reduces the transmitter complexity. In particular, a hybrid DFE is designed so that the I(z) coefficient values dominate over the N(z) coefficient values, where the notation I(z) and N(z), as known in the art, represent the resulting coefficient values after adaptation of the ISI-DFE and the NP-DFE, respectively. A respective Tomlinson precoding scheme in the transmitter uses only the I(z) values. Since only the I(z) values are used in the precoder of the transmitter, the NP-DFE of the receiver is kept active during the communications phase.