Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that a highly efficient broadcast channel that can be shared among many different base stations. In one embodiment, the invention includes a broadcast channel structure with a first burst having a first reuse factor, a plurality of secondary bursts having a second reuse factor greater than the first reuse factor, and a plurality of segments of each secondary burst, each segment being associated with a different set of unchanging spatial parameters, each secondary burst including at least one repetition of the plurality of segments.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for estimating the downlink signature for a remote transceiver which is part of a wireless communication system that includes a main transceiver for communicating with the remote transceiver. The main transceiver includes an array of transmit antenna elements. The method uses the remote transceiver for receiving signals when the main transceiver transmits downlink calibration signals. When the main transceiver also has a receive antenna array, the remote transceiver can transmit uplink calibration signals to the main transceiver for determining an uplink signature. The downlink and uplink signatures are used to determine a calibration function to account for differences in the apparatus chains that include the antenna elements of the arrays, and that enable downlink smart antenna processing weights to be determined from uplink smart antenna processing weights when the main transceiver includes means for smart antenna processing according to weights.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that determine a frequency dependent calibration vector for a set of transmit or receive chains of a radio communications system using only differential phase and amplitude between the transmit chains and the receive chains, respectively. In one embodiment, the invention includes an antenna array adapted to transmit and receive radio communications signals with a plurality of other terminals, a transmit chain to transmit a calibration signal through the antenna array to a transponder on at least two different frequency bands, and a receive chain to receive through the antenna array a transponder signal from the transponder, the transponder signal being received on at least two different frequency bands and being based on the calibration signal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that allows system calibration to be incorporated into a single function that also derives transmit parameters from receive parameters in a spatial diversity system. In one embodiment, the invention includes receiving signals at an antenna array from a plurality of different locations, deriving characterizations of the spatial parameters of the received signals, receiving measurements of a plurality of different signals transmitted from the antenna array to a plurality of different locations, deriving characterizations of the spatial parameters of the transmitted signals from the received measurements, and generating a transformation function for producing transmit spatial parameters based on measurements of received signals using the receive spatial parameter characterizations and the transmit spatial parameter characterizations.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that yields bandwidth efficient low bit rate communication of digital signals in a noisy channel. According to one aspect of the present invention, the invention includes demultiplexing a received input bit stream to divide it into a first block and a second block, convolutionally coding the first block, block coding the second block, mapping the convolutionally coded first block to a sequence of three-bit symbols, so that the bits of the convolutionally coded first block make up one bit of each three-bit symbol, mapping the block coded bits of the second block to the sequence of three-bit symbols, so that the bits of the block coded second block make up two bits of the three-bit symbol, and mapping the three-bit symbols to a phase shift keyed constellation.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for mitigating co-channel and inter-channel interference in an antenna array system. According to one aspect, the channel-select filter of a base station or other communication device is modified to detect inter-channel interference on at least one non-primary channel when the transmitter is communicating with a remote user terminal on a primary channel. The spatial characteristic of the interference is determined and used to obtain a weight that mitigates the inter-channel interference. According to another aspect, the spatial characteristic of co-channel and/or inter-channel ghost signal interference caused by a transmitter is determined and used to mitigate the effects of such interference.

Abstract: A method for generating a reference signal from a modulated signal transmitted to a communications station that includes an array of antenna elements and spatial processing means including: separating from the signals received at the antenna elements a copy signal corresponding to the signal transmitted by a particular remote station using an initial spatial weight vector corresponding to the particular remote station; determining from the terminal copy signal a reference signal having substantially the same frequency offset and time alignment as the received antenna signals; and computing a new spatial weight vector by optimizing a cost function, the cost function using the received antenna signals and the reference signal. For demodulation, the method further includes extracting the symbols of the modulated signal.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that provide bandwidth efficient variable bit rate communication of digital signals in a noisy channel. According to one aspect of the present invention, the invention includes receiving a puncturing request, puncturing a data packet in accordance with the puncturing request, creating a puncturing code indicating the puncturing that has been applied to the data packet and transmitting the punctured data packet and the puncturing code.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention comprises demultiplexing a bit stream into a first block and a second block, convolutionally coding the first block and block coding the second block. The invention further comprises applying the block coded second block to a function module to apply one of a plurality of different functions to form a third block at an output of the module and mapping the convolutionally coded first block and the third block to a modulation constellation for transmission, the mapping resulting in different constellation points depending on the applied function.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention comprises demultiplexing a bit stream into a first block and a second block, convolutionally coding the first block and block coding the second block. The invention further comprises applying the block coded second block to a function module to apply one of a plurality of different functions to form a third block at an output of the module and mapping the convolutionally coded first block and the third block to a modulation constellation for transmission, the mapping resulting in different constellation points depending on the applied function.

Abstract: The present invention can be used to perform training using secondary data. In one embodiment the present invention includes receiving a communications signal of a communications channel, where the communications signal has a primary and a secondary data segment both communicating information, and determining a parameter of the communications channel using the secondary data segment. In another embodiment of the present invention, the communications signal can also include a training segment containing a known training signal.

Abstract: A partial spatial signature can be determined to be used in calibration. In one embodiment, determining the partial spatial signature includes receiving a first segment of a waveform, the first segment resulting from a radio transmitting a combined signal from a first antenna element, the combined signal comprising the sum of a first signal and a second signal, and calculating a first spatial signature related measurement using the received first segment, the first signal and the second signal. The process may further include receiving a second segment of the waveform, the second segment resulting from the radio transmitting the first signal from the first antenna element, and the radio simultaneously transmitting the second signal from a second antenna element, and calculating a second spatial signature related measurement using the second received segment, the first signal, and the second signal.

Abstract: A calibration function for calibrating a base station can be determined using one or more remote terminals. In one embodiment of the present invention, determining the calibration function includes transmitting a calibration signal, using an array of antenna elements of a first radio, to a second radio, and receiving, at the first radio, a downlink spatial signature related signal from the second radio containing information related to a second radio downlink spatial signature, the information being calculated using the calibration signal. Then, a second radio downlink spatial signature may be determined using the downlink spatial signature related signal. Also, a second radio uplink spatial signature may be determined using an uplink spatial signature signal from the second radio to the first radio. The calibration function may then be determined using the second radio downlink spatial signature and the second radio uplink spatial signature.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that performs spatial processing, timing estimation and frequency offset using a training sequence of a received burst. According to one aspect of the present invention, the invention includes receiving a burst having a known training sequence at a set of diversity antennas, sampling the received burst at each antenna, determining a coarse timing estimate for samples from at least one antenna, and determining a spatial weighting vector using the coarse timing estimate. The embodiment further includes applying the spatial weighting vector to the received burst samples for each antenna to form a single channel signal, determining a fine timing estimate for the single channel signal, determining a second spatial weighting vector using the fine timing estimate, applying the second spatial weighting vector to the received burst samples for each antenna to form a second single channel signal, and demodulating the second single channel signal.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a demultiplexer to divide a bit stream into a first block at a first output and a second block at a second output, a convolutional coder coupled to the first output to encode the first block and a block coder coupled to the second output to encode the second block. The invention further includes a function module coupled to the block coder to apply one of a plurality of different functions to the encoded second block to produce a third block at an output and a mapper coupled to the function module output and to the convolutional coder to map the third block from the output of the function module and the encoded first block into one of a plurality of modulation constellations. A controller is coupled to the demultiplexer to control the size of the first and second blocks, is coupled to the block coder to control the block coding, and is coupled to the function module to control the function to be applied.

Abstract: The power of a signal received on a spatial channel in a wireless radio communications system can be estimated. One embodiment of the invention includes receiving a signal at a plurality of antenna elements, the received signal including a first component from a first radio and a second component from a second radio. Then the contribution of the first component to the received signal may be estimated by calculating a first power estimate for the first radio using the received signal, calculating a second power estimate for the second radio using the received signal, and estimating the contribution of the first component to the received signal, the estimation using the first power estimate and the second power estimate. In one embodiment the first power estimate is an SINR of the first component.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention includes a repeating frame for a time division radio communications system with a sequence of uplink slots each having a predetermined duration, a sequence of downlink slots, each having a predetermined duration that is greater than the duration of the uplink slots, an interburst guard time between each uplink slot, an interburst guard time between each downlink slot, and an interframe guard time after the sequence of downlink slots.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for estimating the downlink signature for a remote transceiver which is part of a wireless communication system that includes a main transceiver for communicating with the remote transceiver. The main transceiver includes an array of transmit antenna elements. The method uses the remote transceiver for receiving signals when the main transceiver transmits downlink calibration signals. When the main transceiver also has a receive antenna array, the remote transceiver can transmit uplink calibration signals to the main transceiver for determining an uplink signature. The downlink and uplink signatures are used to determine a calibration function to account for differences in the apparatus chains that include the antenna elements of the arrays, and that enable downlink smart antenna processing weights to be determined from uplink smart antenna processing weights when the main transceiver includes means for smart antenna processing according to weights.

Abstract: In one embodiment, the present invention includes a slot in a repeating time division frame with a first training sequence, an information sequence after the first training sequence, and a second training sequence after the information sequence. In some embodiments either the first or the second training sequences indicates a type for the information sequence, such as a random access channel message and a traffic channel message, a configuration message, a channel assignment message, or a data traffic message.

Abstract: An emergency call recognition system which is activated when an off-hook situation occurs, which recognizes when an emergency number is dialed with or without the presence of a dial tone, and which provides the caller a communication channel to complete such a call. The present invention is used to give priority to emergency telephone calls. Typically the present invention is used in wireless local loop systems, however the present invention can also be incorporated into a conventional telephone system. The present invention uses an emergency call recognition system to determine if a person is dialing an emergency telephone number. If the emergency call recognition system recognizes a dialed telephone number as an emergency telephone number, then the caller is provided with a communication channel to complete the telephone call. The caller is provided a communication channel even if all of the communication channels are in use. This is accomplished by disconnecting calls that are not of an emergency nature.