Pulse or digital communications – Spread spectrum – Direct sequence
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-02
2003-09-09
Tran, Khai (Department: 2631)
Pulse or digital communications
Spread spectrum
Direct sequence
C375S140000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06618429
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cellular telephone systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel and improved system and method for communicating information, in a mobile cellular telephone system or satellite mobile telephone system, using spread spectrum communication signals.
II. Description of the Related Art
The use of code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation techniques is one of several techniques for facilitating communications in which a large number of system users are present. Other multiple access communication system techniques, such as time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA) and AM modulation schemes such as amplitude companded single sideband (ACSSB) are known in the art. However the spread spectrum modulation technique of CDMA has significant advantages over these modulation techniques for multiple access communication systems. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled “SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS”, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, of which the disclosure thereof is incorporated by reference.
In the just mentioned patent, a multiple access technique is disclosed where a large number of mobile telephone system users each having a transceiver communicate through satellite repeaters or terrestrial base stations (also referred to as cell-sites stations, cell-sites or for short, cells) using code division multiple access (CDMA) spread spectrum communication signals. In using CDMA communications, the frequency spectrum can be reused multiple times thus permitting an increase in system user capacity. The use of CDMA results in a much higher spectral efficiency than can be achieved using other multiple access techniques.
The satellite channel typically experiences fading that is characterized as Rician. Accordingly the received signal consists of a direct component summed with a multiple reflected component having Rayleigh fading statistics. The power ratio between the direct and reflected component is typically on the order of 6-10 dB, depending upon the characteristics of the mobile unit antenna and the environment about the mobile unit.
Contrasting with the satellite channel, the terrestrial channel experiences signal fading that typically consists of the Rayleigh faded component without a direct component. Thus, the terrestrial channel presents a more severe fading environment than the satellite channel in which Rician fading is the dominant fading characteristic.
The Rayleigh fading characteristic in the terrestrial channel signal is caused by the signal being reflected from many different features of the physical environment. As a result, a signal arrives at a mobile unit receiver from many directions with different transmission delays. At the UHF frequency bands usually employed for mobile radio communications, including those of cellular mobile telephone systems, significant phase differences in signals traveling on different paths may occur. The possibility for destructive summation of the signals may result, with on occasion deep fades occurring.
Terrestrial channel fading is a very strong function of the physical position of the mobile unit. A small change in position of the mobile unit changes the physical delays of all the signal propagation paths, which further results in a different phase for each path. Thus, the motion of the mobile unit through the environment can result in a quite rapid fading process. For example, in the 850 MHz cellular radio frequency band, this fading can typically be as fast as one fade per second per mile per hour of vehicle speed. Fading this severe can be extremely disruptive to signals in the terrestrial channel resulting in poor communication quality. Additional transmitter power can be used to overcome the problem of fading. However, such power increases effect both the user, in excessive power consumption, and the system by increased interference.
The CDMA modulation techniques disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307 offer many advantages over narrow band modulation techniques used in communication systems employing satellite or terrestrial repeaters. The terrestrial channel poses special problems to any communication system particularly with respect to multipath signals. The use of CDMA techniques permit the special problems of the terrestrial channel to be overcome by mitigating the adverse effect of multipath, e.g. fading, while also exploiting the advantages thereof.
In a CDMA cellular telephone system, the same frequency band can be used for communication in all cells. The CDMA waveform properties that provide processing gain are also used to discriminate between signals that occupy the same frequency band. Furthermore the high speed pseudonoise (PN) modulation allows many different propagation paths to be separated, provided the difference in path delays exceed the PN chip duration, i.e. 1/bandwidth. If a PN chip rate of approximately 1 MHz is employed in a CDMA system, the full spread spectrum processing gain, equal to the ratio of the spread bandwidth to system data rate, can be employed against paths that differ by more than one microsecond in path delay from the desired path. A one microsecond path delay differential corresponds to differential path distance of approximately 1,000 feet. The urban environment typically provides differential path delays in excess of one microsecond, and up to 10-20 microseconds are reported in some areas.
In narrow band modulation systems such as the analog FM modulation employed by conventional telephone systems, the existence of multiple paths results in severe multipath fading. With wide band CDMA modulation, however, the different paths may be discriminated against in the demodulation process. This discrimination greatly reduces the severity of multipath fading. Multipath fading is not totally eliminated in using CDMA discrimination techniques because there will occasionally exist paths with delayed differentials of less than the PN chip duration for the particular system. Signals having path delays on this order cannot be discriminated against in the demodulator, resulting in some degree of fading.
It is therefore desirable that some form of diversity be provided which would permit a system to reduce fading. Diversity is one approach for mitigating the deleterious effects of fading. Three major types of diversity exist: time diversity, frequency diversity and space diversity.
Time diversity can best be obtained by the use of repetition, time interleaving, and error detection and coding which is a form of repetition. The present invention employs each of these techniques as a form of time diversity.
CDMA by its inherent nature of being a wideband signal offers a form of frequency diversity by spreading the signal energy over a wide bandwidth. Therefore, frequency selective fading affects only a small part of the CDMA signal bandwidth.
Space or path diversity is obtained by providing multiple signal paths through simultaneous links from a mobile user through two or more cell-sites. Furthermore, path diversity may be obtained by exploiting the multipath environment through spread spectrum processing by allowing a signal arriving with different propagation delays to be received and processed separately. Examples of path diversity are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,501, entitled “SOFT HANDOFF IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM”, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,390, entitled “DIVERSITY RECEIVER IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM”, both assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
The deleterious effects of fading can be further controlled to a certain extent in a CDMA system by controlling transmitter power. A system for cell-site and mobile unit power control is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,109, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING TRANSMISSION POWER IN A CDMA CELLULAR MOBILE TELEPHONE
Gilhousen Klein S.
Jacobs Irwin M.
Padovani Roberto
Viterbi Andrew J.
Weaver, Jr. Lindsay A.
Edwards Christopher
Miller Russell B.
Oualcomm Incorporated
Tran Khai
LandOfFree
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