Patents by Inventor Richard Stirling-Gallacher

Richard Stirling-Gallacher has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8582417
    Abstract: A transmitting device for transmitting data and pilot symbols in an OFDM transmission system having transmission antennas. The device includes symbol generating means for generating data and pilot symbols, means for transmitting the data and pilot symbols using subcarriers of the OFDM system. The symbol generating means generates a first and second type pilot symbol, the second having an inverted value of the first so that a first pilot symbol pattern to be transmitted by using one of said plurality of transmission antennas has a different pattern in the frequency and time dimension from a second pilot symbol pattern to be transmitted by using another transmission antenna. First and second pilot symbols are comprised in respective first and second pilot symbol patterns, where at least some of the first and second pilot symbols have the same time allocation and being alternately identical and inverted to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Zhaocheng Wang, Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Patent number: 8532133
    Abstract: A transmitting device for transmitting data symbols and pilot symbols in an OFDM transmission system; the device comprising symbol generating means for generating said data symbols and said pilot symbols, means for transmitting said data symbols and pilot symbols respectively by using a plurality of subcarriers of said OFDM transmission system, wherein said symbol generating means is designed to selectively generate a first type pilot symbol and a second type pilot symbol being orthogonal to said first type pilot symbol so that a pilot symbol pattern in the frequency dimension comprises at least said first type pilot symbol to be transmitted by using a predefined subcarrier and second type pilot symbol to be transmitted by using other predefined subcarrier, and wherein said pilot symbol pattern has a different pattern from a succeeding pilot symbol pattern in time dimension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Zhaocheng Wang, Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Patent number: 8503586
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus for receiving signals in a communication system in which the signals are transmitted on the basis of frames. Each frame includes a data part having data blocks, wherein the data blocks are respectively separated by a guard sequence. The receiving apparatus performs a correlation on the guard sequences of a received signal and performs a clock drift estimation in the frequency domain on the basis of the correlation results. The receiving apparatus also compensates the clock drift of the received signal on the basis of the clock drift estimation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Zhaocheng Wang, Qi Wang, Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Ralf Boehnke
  • Patent number: 8483039
    Abstract: A transmitting device for transmitting data and pilot symbols in an OFDM transmission system having transmission antennas. The device includes symbol generating means for generating data said pilot symbols, means for transmitting the data and pilot symbols using subcarriers of the OFDM system. The symbol generating means generates a first and second type pilot symbol, the second having an inverted value of the first so that a first pilot symbol pattern to be transmitted by using one of said plurality of transmission antennas has a different pattern in the frequency and time dimension from a second pilot symbol pattern to be transmitted by using another transmission antenna. First and second pilot symbols are comprised in respective first and second pilot symbol patterns, where at least some of the first and second pilot symbols have the same time allocation and being alternately identical and inverted to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Zhaocheng Wang, Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Patent number: 8447002
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus (1) for receiving signals in a wireless communication system, in which the signals comprise a dedicated channel estimation sequence, comprising a channel estimation means (6) adapted to perform a channel estimation on a dedicated channel estimation sequence comprised in a received signal, a noise reduction means (8) adapted to reduce noise in the channel estimation result obtained from the channel estimation means by setting complex samples of the channel estimation result which are below a noise threshold to zero, and a frequency domain equalizing means (12) adapted to perform an equalization on the received signal in the frequency domain on the basis of the noise reduced channel estimation result from the noise reduction means (8). The present invention further relates to corresponding method. The present invention enables an improvement of the equalization performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Ralf Boehnke, Zhaocheng Wang
  • Patent number: 8442443
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method which analysis the characteristics of the received signal and selects the best beam arrangement for a transmitter/receiver pair for a given situation in a communication system. In particular, the channel delay profile provides characteristics which help to determine and evaluate the quality of a signal link. The result of this evaluation is used for selecting the best beam arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Juán Nogueira-Nine
  • Patent number: 8401125
    Abstract: A receiving apparatus and a receiving method for receiving signals in a wireless communication system are presented, the signals including a dedicated channel estimation sequence. The apparatus includes an analog to digital converter that converts received signals into digital samples with a sampling rate identical to a symbol rate of the received signals, a channel estimation unit that performs a channel estimation based on the dedicated channel estimation sequence comprised in a digital samples of the received signals, an evaluation unit that evaluates the channel estimation result from the channel estimation unit, and a control unit that controls a phase of the sampling rate of the analog to digital converter based on an evaluation of the channel estimation result. The present invention further relates to a corresponding receiving method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Zhaocheng Wang, Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Ralf Boehnke
  • Patent number: 8369436
    Abstract: A spatial diversity receiver for wirelessly receiving a modulated RF signal and a method for wirelessly transmitting and receiving the modulated RF signal. The spatial diversity receiver includes at least two antenna arrays and an antenna beam selection control unit. Each antenna array of the spatial diversity receiver includes at least two fixed beam antennas with distinct radiation patterns, and combinations of the fixed beam antennas are selectable for wireless receipt of the modulated RF signal. The antenna beam selection control unit is configured to control at least one antenna switching and/or combining unit in order to select a specific combination of fixed beam antennas from each antenna array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Publication number: 20130016003
    Abstract: A beam forming device that enables the use for wideband digital beam forming and provide a high accuracy a beam forming device comprises a transmitter arrangement and a receiver arrangement, wherein the total number of transmit antennas and receive antennas is at least three. A beam forming unit performs beam forming to obtain beam formed output signals from said receive signals by use of corrected beam forming weights. A correction unit corrects preliminary beam forming weights in amplitude and/or phase by use of frequency-dependent final calibration coefficients representing the different amplitude and/or phase responses of the different channels between said at least one transmit antenna and said at least one receive antenna at two or more separate frequencies covered by the radiation transmitted towards the scene.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2012
    Publication date: January 17, 2013
    Inventors: Richard STIRLING-GALLACHER, Miquel TESTAR, Furkan DAYI, Ralf BOEHNKE, Marcel BLECH, Qi WANG
  • Publication number: 20130002488
    Abstract: A beam forming device and method as well as to a beam steering device and method are described. The imaging beam forming device comprises a wideband transmit unit comprising at least one transmit antenna, a receiver unit comprising at least two receive antennas and at least one receive element that receive radiation from said scene and that generate receive signals from said received radiation, and a beam forming unit that performs beam forming to form a receive beam and obtain beam formed output signals from said receive signals by use of beam forming weights. For different samples or groups of subsequent samples of a receive signal, a sample representing said receive signal at a different frequency, a frequency-dependent weight is used for beam forming, which frequency-dependent weights are adapted to result in a predetermined shape of said receive beam.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Qi WANG, Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Ralf Boehnke
  • Patent number: 8345532
    Abstract: A transmitting device for transmitting signals in a wireless communication system, includes at least two beam antennas, each beam antenna having a main beaming direction at a different angle and generating means for generating a number of signal streams to be transmitted within the wireless communication system, whereby the signal to be transmitted is split into these different streams and said number of signal streams corresponds to the number of beam antennas, whereby each signal stream is transmitted via a different beam antenna.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventors: Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Zhaocheng Wang
  • Publication number: 20120313809
    Abstract: A signal processing unit for accurately estimating from a time-domain signal at least one frequency and corresponding amplitude of at least one complex exponential is provided. The signal processing unit is configured to transform the time-domain signal into a frequency-domain signal, and to detect at least one peak frequency of the frequency-domain signal. The signal processing unit is further configured to determine at least one frequency band of interest corresponding to the at least one peak frequency, and to determine at least one signal-to-noise ratio corresponding to the at least one frequency band of interest. The signal processing unit is further configured to perform at least one subsequent time-domain processing step for accurately estimating the at least one frequency and corresponding amplitude of the at least one complex exponential using the at least one frequency band of interest and/or the at least one signal-to-noise ratio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 6, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Miquel TESTAR, Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Patent number: 8331501
    Abstract: An equalizing structure and method for a wireless communication system receiving device, in which two or more transmit signals transmitted in parallel from one or more transmitters are received in received signal vectors representing two or more received data streams, the signals including information modulated onto carrier signals according to a modulation scheme, all possible transmit signals being represented by candidate constellation values in the signal constellation of the modulation scheme. A metric value calculator calculates metric values based on the received signal vectors and the product of channel estimation values with candidate signal vectors using absolute value calculations, each candidate signal vector including a candidate constellation value for each of the two or more transmit signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Publication number: 20120299773
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a beam forming device, comprising a transmit unit comprising at least two transmit elements that transmit radiation towards a scene, a receiver unit comprising at least two receive elements that receive radiation from said scene and that generate receive signals from said received radiation, and a beam forming unit that performs beam forming to obtain beam formed output signals from said receive signals by use of beam forming weights, wherein said beam forming weights are adapted to a distance between the scene and one or more transmit elements and/or receive elements, said distance being indicated by a distance indicator, and wherein said beam forming weights are changed if said distance changes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 1, 2012
    Publication date: November 29, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Coropration
    Inventors: Richard STIRLING-GALLACHER, Qi Wang, Ralf Boehnke
  • Publication number: 20120288033
    Abstract: A receiving apparatus, a receiving method, and an imaging apparatus and method, adapted to receive high frequency image signals. The apparatus includes two or more receiver channels, each receiver channel including an antenna pattern including plural antenna elements to receive high frequency image signals, a receiving mechanism to process the high frequency image signals received by the antenna elements into baseband signals, an analog-to-digital conversion mechanism to convert the baseband signals from the receiving mechanism into digital signals, a phase shifting mechanism to phase shift the digital signals, and a combining mechanism to combine the phase shifted digital signals from the receiver channels into combined signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2010
    Publication date: November 15, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Ralf Boehnke, Qi Wang, Stefan Koch, Marc Guthoerl
  • Patent number: 8295340
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the field of communication devices, e.g. wireless communication devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of signal equalization, especially minimum mean square error equalization. The present invention especially relates to an equalizer for a communication device, a method of equalizing one or more received signals and a software program product for carrying out the method. The present invention reduces the size of a look-up table needed for a division operation and, generally, provides for a reduced complexity of the equalizer and receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Zhaocheng Wang, Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Patent number: 8290443
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for determining the best transmitter and receiver beams with a reduced number of calculations for the best antenna beam arrangement between a transmitter and a receiver. The iterative routine within this method comprises a transmitter beam determination sequence, a feedback sequence and a receiver beam determination sequence. While calculating the best possible antenna beam arrangement, the antenna beam width does not require to be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Juan Nogueira-Nine
  • Patent number: 8259855
    Abstract: An equalizing structure and method for a wireless communication system receiving device. Two or more transmit signals transmitted in parallel from one or more transmitters are received in received signal vectors representing two or more received data streams, the signals including information modulated onto carrier signals according to a modulation scheme, all possible transmit signals being represented by candidate constellation values in the signal constellation of the modulation scheme. A processor calculates an estimate for a constellation value of a received signal and determines a number of candidate constellation values in the vicinity of the estimated constellation value in the signal constellation. A metric value calculator calculates metric values based on the received signal vectors and the product of channel estimation values with candidate signal vectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Patent number: 8249196
    Abstract: An equalizing structure and method for a wireless communication system receiving device, in which two or more transmit signals transmitted in parallel from one or more transmitters are received in received signal vectors representing two or more received data streams, the signals including information modulated onto carrier signals according to a modulation scheme, all possible transmit signals being represented by candidate constellation values in the signal constellation of the modulation scheme. A metric value calculator calculates metric values based on the received signal vectors and the product of channel estimation values with candidate signal vectors, each candidate signal vector including a candidate constellation value for each of the two or more transmit signals. A maximum likelihood detector detects one of the candidate signal vectors having a minimum Euclidean distance to a respective receive signal vector as a most likely transmit signal vector based on the metric values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH
    Inventor: Richard Stirling-Gallacher
  • Publication number: 20120146844
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an active radar system and a corresponding method. The proposed system comprises at least two transmit antennas that each transmits radiation to a scene as a transmit signal, said transmit signal comprising a series of frequency modulated pulses, at least one receive antenna that receives radiation from said scene as a receive signal, a controller that controls said at least two transmit antennas. The transmissions of the transmit signals are subsequently initiated with time offsets, controlled to be larger than the time delay between transmission of a first transmit signal of said two transmit signals and reception of radiation of said first transmit signal by said at least one receive antenna and to be smaller than the time duration of a complete frequency modulated pulse of said first transmit signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2011
    Publication date: June 14, 2012
    Applicant: Sony Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Stirling-Gallacher, Qi Wang