Abstract: A system and method of conducting wireless communications between a wireless communication device (WCD) and both a first network (e.g., IS-2000) supporting voice and data services and a second network (e.g., IS-856) supporting packet data services. The method comprises providing the WCD with a primary transceiver and a secondary receiver for conducting wireless communications in a spatial diversity for the second network traffic or broadcast; disabling the secondary receiver and spatial diversity before a paging slot or 1x system acquisition and synchronization attempts; tuning the secondary receiver to a first network carrier frequency to perform first network activities; and retuning the secondary receiver to a second network carrier frequency for spatial diversity after performing the first network activities. The first network activities may include pilot set maintenance, overhead message maintenance, page match detection, or 1x system acquisition and synchronization attempts.

Abstract: A system and method of improving wireless communications between a wireless communication device and both a first network supporting voice and data services and a second network supporting packet data services. The method comprises providing the WCD with a primary transceiver and a secondary receiver for conducting wireless communications in both a simultaneous-mode and a hybrid-mode; performing simultaneous-mode-to-hybrid-mode and hybrid-mode-to-simultaneous-mode transitions based on a performance metric; and evaluating the performance metric to determine whether to perform the mode transitions. In the simultaneous-mode, the primary transceiver conducts wireless communications in the second network and the secondary receiver conducts wireless communications in the first network. In the hybrid-mode, the primary transceiver use is time multiplexed during all of the first and second networks communications combinations.

Abstract: Techniques to search for pilots over code space in a CDMA system. In one aspect, the pilot search is performed using a number of substages, and the search windows for each substage are selected such that the relevant code space is searched while reducing search time. In one specific implementation, two substages are used to search for pilots. The detect substage searches through (e.g., fixed-size) search windows to detect for peaks in the received signal. The dwell substage then searches through (e.g., variable-size) search windows to re-evaluate the detected peaks and remove noise peaks. The dwell windows may be formed such that a code space as small as possible is searched (to reduce search time) but large enough to account for possible drift in the detected peaks. Variable number of peaks may be provided by the dwell substage for the variable-size dwell windows.

Abstract: Systems and techniques are disclosed wherein a gated pilot signal can be acquired faster by checking the neighbor pilot signals of the target pilot signal. A subscriber station may frequency lock onto a wrong pilot burst because a partial correlation exists between the wrong pilot burst and an adjacent pilot burst. Comparing the strength of the target pilot signal with the strength of neighbor pilot signals enables the selection of the strongest pilot signal before the timely process of frequency locking and demodulation are initiated. Grouping pilot signals with the same symbol sequence and a pseudo-random noise increment apart enables quick acquisition of a gated pilot signal.

Abstract: A searcher is centered on frequency bins to search for an incoming signal. The frequency locked loop generates an initial phase signal and a phase increment signal that are input to an accumulator. The accumulator accumulates the phase increments over a predetermined interval. After the interval, the accumulator generates a control signal that instructs a rotator to perform a phase rotation function.

Abstract: Techniques to acquire pilots over code space and/or frequency errors. In one aspect, pilot acquisition is performed using a number of substages, and some of the substages are pipelined and performed in parallel using different processing elements. A searcher initially searches over a designated code space to find peaks, and these peaks may be re-evaluated. Finger processors then attempt to acquire the candidate peaks. The searcher may be operated to search for the next set of peaks while the finger processors process the current set of peaks. In another aspect, the full range of frequency errors for the pilots is divided into a number of frequency bins. A multi-stage scheme is used to evaluate the bins, and may employ pipelining and parallel processing such that a search for peaks in the next bin is performed while acquisition of peaks found for the current bin is attempted.

Abstract: The invention provides the ability to exploit redundancy characteristics of an equation set used to generate waveforms for wireless communication. In doing so, the invention can reduce the number of correlation values that need to be calculated in order to determine the most likely transmitted code word. In particular, the invention can exploit the redundancy characteristics of the equation set in a novel and unique fashion by separating the vector and calculating partial correlations for each separated portion of the vector. The techniques can drastically reduce the number of correlation values that need to be computed for demodulation, and can also reduce the total number of computations. In this manner, the demodulator of a wireless communication device can be simplified without negatively impacting performance.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for maximizing throughput of a data call in a wireless communication system in which data is transmitted from a wireless station, such as a mobile station, on multiple assigned channels in accordance with a known transmission standard, such as IS-95B. The multiple assigned channels include a fundamental channel and at least one supplemental channel. Data is formatted into variable rate data frames and transmitted on the fundamental channel and the supplemental channel. A wireless receiver, such as a base station, receives the multiple assigned channels. The wireless receiver demodulates and decodes data frames associated with each of the multiple assigned channels. The wireless receiver determines a likely initial data rate for each demodulated and decode data frame.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus for maximizing throughput of a data call in a wireless communication system in which data is transmitted from a wireless station, such as a mobile station, on multiple assigned channels in accordance with a known transmission standard, such as IS-95B. The multiple assigned channels include a fundamental channel and at least one supplemental channel. Data is formatted into variable rate data frames and transmitted on the fundamental channel and the supplemental channel. A wireless receiver, such as a base station, receives the multiple assigned channels. The wireless receiver demodulates and decodes data frames associated with each of the multiple assigned channels. The wireless receiver determines a likely initial data rate for each demodulated and decode data frame.

Abstract: A decision feedback equalizer includes a chip estimate buffer that forms chip estimates into a vector. A CCK decoder decodes the vector of chip estimates, and a CCK encoder, connected with the CCK decoder, re-encodes the vector of chip estimates into a valid CCK code word. At the same time, a chip slicer provides direct sliced chips from the chip estimates. An update module then forms a hybrid vector from the valid CCK code-word and the direct sliced chips for input to the feedback filter of the decision feedback equalizer. The hybrid feedback filter input vector reflects the CCK coding gain of its re-encoded portion thereby reducing the estimated chip error rate to improve the performance of the decision feedback equalizer.

Abstract: Techniques to search for a gated pilot reference in a wireless communication system. In one method, an overall code space in which the pilot may be found is partitioned into a number of groups of code sets, with each code set representative of all possible chip offsets of a specific PN sequence. The groups are ordered based on the likelihood of detecting the pilot in each of the groups. The groups of code sets are then used to search for the pilot, one group at a time, starting with the group most likely to result in successful pilot acquisition and ending with the group least likely to result in successful pilot acquisition. The search is terminated upon successful acquisition. The pilot search may be performed using detect, dwell, and pull-in substages. The detect substage for one group may be performed in parallel with the pull-in substage for another group.

Abstract: An efficient method and apparatus for implementing a back-end channel matched filter in a receiver is disclosed. A typical channel matched filter embodiment includes a peak detector for establishing processing synchronization from a despread signal, a channel estimator producing a channel impulse response (CIR) estimate from the despread signal based on the synchronization by the peak detector and a back-end symbol combiner coherently combining dominant multipath components of the despread signal by weights based on the CIR estimate based on the synchronization by the peak detector to generate a decision variable. In a digital spread spectrum implementation, the despread signal operated on by the channel matched filter has been previously been correlated with a spreading sequence replica.

Abstract: An apparatus, such as a subscriber unit or a base station within a spread spectrum communication system, may add one or more additional “virtual” paths to a list of candidate paths when assigning demodulation elements. These “virtual” paths are added as candidate paths even though a corresponding peak was not necessarily detected within a received spread spectrum system. The list of paths may include a first path having a time offset approximately equal to a time offset for one of the demodulation elements, and the virtual path having a short time separation from the first path. The time separation between the paths may be, for example, less than 2 chips.

Abstract: A method for localizing a mobile station, which in one embodiment is characterized by: logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station's home network provider and which substantially currently provide communication with one or more discernable base stations; and establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station's home network provider.

Abstract: A method of creating a path list for use in finger assignments comprising clearing a list of paths (12), choosing a sector for consideration from an active set of sectors (14), establishing a searcher window around the sector for cosideration (16), and determining up to “n” local maxima stronger than a threshold value (18). If a sector under consideration is transmitting on supplemental channels(19), the method involves artificially biasing the findings of the searcher window by a predetermined value (20). The biasing value may be constant, variable or proportional to the number of supplemental channels on the base station. After the local maxima corresponding to base stations transmitting on supplemental channels have been biased (20), the path lists are created (21).

Abstract: A spread spectrum wireless device (100) may include a receiver (110), a searcher (128), a search controller (130) and other features. The search controller (130) selectively generates control signals to control the searcher (128), which searches for a spread-spectrum signal. In one embodiment, the architecture of the searcher (128) is dynamically configurable by the search controller (130) to selectively search multiple channels using multiple frequency bins for the signal.

Abstract: A system and method for adjusting loop bandwidth in a synchronization loop of a radio receiver uses a noncoherent peak detector to determine the maximum magnitude and timing of incoming data at various code phase offsets. The maximum magnitude and timing are used in subsequent processing with the maximum magnitude value used to determine an adjustment factor. The timing information associated with the maximum signal value is used to despread the incoming signal. The despread incoming signal is subsequently scaled in accordance with the determined adjustment factor such that the input to the synchronization loop is scaled to produce the desired loop bandwidth.

Abstract: A wireless communication device performance, such as standby time, is improved by adaptively allocating surplus system resources to change quick paging channel parameters at the system, such a system being for example, a base station. Adaptively adjusting the quick paging channel parameters allows available base station resources to be allocated to the quick paging channel, thereby enabling the wireless communication device to demodulate the quick paging channel more reliably. Parameters such as the number of quick paging channels, the data rate used by the paging channel, and the quick paging channel transmit power level are weighed and adjusted.

Abstract: A quick paging channel (QPCH) is used to receive paging indicators that indicate that a wireless communication device (WCD) has a message on a paging channel relating to, for example, an incoming call to the WCD. When the condition of the quick paging channel is too low to receive paging indicators reliably, the quick paging channel is disabled to avoid false alarms, and the slotted paging channel is used to receive paging messages without monitoring the QPCH. When the QPCH signal is strong, the probability of false alarms is lower, and the quick paging channel is enabled. By using the quick paging channel to receive paging indicators only when the QPCH signal is strong, the wireless communication device can remain in a sleep state for greater periods of time as compared with the use of a slotted paging channel. As a result, standby time may be significantly improved.

Abstract: A phase lock loop apparatus and method is disclosed. A typical apparatus includes a demodulator receiving a phase error signal from a comparator at a chip rate and providing a phase error update over a symbol period from the phase error signal wherein the chip rate is higher than the symbol rate. A phase discriminator produces a phase error output at the symbol rate from the phase error update based upon a signal modulation type. A loop filter produces one or more phase estimate parameters at a symbol rate from the phase error output and a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) extrapolates a phase reference at a chip rate from the one or more phase estimate parameters at a symbol rate. The comparator produces the phase error signal to the demodulator based upon the phase reference and an incoming signal.