Patent ID: 8165167
Filing Date: 2012-04-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for characterizing a communication channel, the method comprising: receiving a signal; determining a channel profile based on the received signal; moving a detection window through the channel profile to accumulate tap energies in the channel profile within the detection window into an accumulated energy curve, wherein the channel profile is a channel impulse response profile in the time domain determined from a plurality of pilot symbols, the plurality of pilot symbols is gathered from a plurality of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols within a frame; determining a peak at a maximum in the accumulated energy curve, defining a band of energy relative to the accumulated energy curve, wherein the band of energy defines a zone of the accumulated energy curve where the accumulated energy lies within a percentage of the maximum that is within the band of energy; detecting a first arriving path (FAP) using a trailing edge found near a second end of the zone in the accumulated energy curve; detecting a leading edge found near a first end of the zone of the accumulated energy curve; and determining a last arriving path (LAP) using the leading edge.