Patent Abstract:
A method and apparatus for decoding a baseband signal of a radio signal removes, from the baseband signal, low-frequency and long-term noise that increases the possibility of decoding errors. The removal of low-frequency and long-term noise is performed by accumulating differences between the actual signal levels of the baseband signal and the expected signal levels for the baseband signal and subtracting the accumulated difference from the baseband signal before decoding. In one scheme, the baseband signal contains a predetermined training sequence of signal levels, where the differences between the actual signal levels of the baseband signal and the expected signal levels for the predetermined training sequence are accumulated. At the end of the training sequence, the accumulated training sequence difference is used as the accumulated difference and subtracted from the baseband signal, thereby providing stable operation for decoding signal levels that follow the training sequence.

Full Description:
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of Provisional Appln. 61/017,128, titled “Method for Automatic Timing Synchronization for Wireless Radio Networks”, filed Dec. 27, 2007, Provisional Appln. 61/017,129, titled “Adaptive Multi Service Data Framing”, filed Dec. 27, 2007, Provisional Appln. 61/017,130, titled “Decision Directed DC Removal Scheme”, filed Dec. 27, 2007, and Provisional Appln. 61/017,132, titled “Means and Apparatus for Mitigation of Thermal Power Slump in Radio Devices by Using a Surrogate Carrier”, filed Dec. 27, 2007, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to radio communications. More specifically, the present invention relates to techniques for removing DC and low frequency noise from radio signals. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In radio communications, demodulators in radio receivers convert signals received at radio frequencies into baseband signals and decode the baseband signals to recover the original data.  FIG. 1  illustrates a demodulator  100  that demodulates and decodes received radio signal  102 . 
     In  FIG. 1 , demodulator  100  receives radio signal  102 , which is a modulated signal that conveys original data at a radio frequency, or carrier frequency. Radio signal  102  may be analog or digital. If radio signal  102  is analog, it is converted to digital by an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which is not specifically shown. Radio signal  102  may be a complex-valued signal. In demodulator  100 , radio signal  102  is a complex-valued signal and is applied to two parallel multipliers  124  and  126 . In multiplier  124 , radio signal  102  is multiplied with a function cos(ωt), where ω is 2π times the carrier frequency. In multiplier  126 , radio signal  102  is multiplied with a function sin(ωt), where ω is 2π times the carrier frequency. Outputs  104  and  106  are applied to low-pass filters  116  and  118 , respectively, which provide anti-aliasing and remove out-of-band noise. The outputs  108  and  110  of low-pass filters  116  and  118  are the real and imaginary components, respectively, of a complex baseband signal derived from the received radio signal  102 . 
     The outputs  108  and  110  are then each applied to decoders  120  and  122 , respectively, to produce decoded signals  112  and  114 , respectively. Decoders  120  and  122  receive outputs  108  and  110  and output decoded signals  112  and  114 , respectively, based on the signal levels in outputs  108  and  110 . Since decoders  120  and  122  perform the same functions, the discussion from this point forward will focus on a single decoder (e.g., decoder  120 ). Techniques discussed with respect to decoder  120  are, however, equally applicable to decoder  122 . 
     Decoder  120  samples output  108  and generates, based on the signal level of output  108 , a decoded signal  112  whose signal level comprises particular values. In an example, output  108  is a bi-level signal whose signal level is expected to be either +0.5 or −0.5 in any particular sample period. The signal level of output  108  may be expected to be either +0.5 or −0.5 in any particular sample period because it may be known that radio signal  102  is a radio signal that is based on an original baseband signal that was encoded to be either +0.5 or −0.5 in any particular sample period. In this example, decoder  120  compares the signal level of output  108  during a particular sample period to a decision value, which is 0 in this case because 0 is halfway between the encoded values of +0.5 or −0.5. If the signal level of output  108  is greater than 0 during a particular sample period, then decoder  120  will output a decoded signal  112  whose signal level is a first value. If the signal level of output  108  is less than 0 during a particular sample period, then decoder  120  will output a decoded signal  112  whose signal is a second value. The first value and second value may be +0.5 and −0.5, or any other two distinct values. 
     However, output  108  may also include DC offset noise, which is a low-frequency, slow-changing noise that results in output  108  exhibiting a DC offset. Waveform  202  in  FIG. 2  represents a signal that is unaffected by any low-frequency, slow-changing noise and has a signal level of +0.5 or −0.5 in any particular sample period. Waveform  204  represents a low-frequency and slow-changing noise. When the noise represented by waveform  204  is added to the signal represented by waveform  202 , the resultant signal, represented by waveform  206 , exhibits a downward slope such that a signal level that is positive in the original signal represented by waveform  202 , in a particular sample period, may be negative in that same sample period. Consequently, when the signal represented by waveform  206  is input into a decoder such as decoder  120 , a decoding error will result in the particular sample period. 
     Various methods have been developed to remove this DC offset noise from signals so as to reduce or eliminate decoding errors. These methods include employing a low-frequency high-pass filter to remove the low-frequency components from the signals. However, these methods suffer from slow tracking bandwidth. Alternatively, a wide-band high-frequency filter may be used, but this can cause inter symbol interference. Therefore, there is a need for a method for removing DC offset noise from a signal that allows for fast tracking without decreasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal. 
     The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram that illustrates a system for demodulating and decoding a radio signal. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates waveforms of example signals, DC noise, and signals affected by DC noise. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram that illustrates a system for decoding a baseband signal. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. 
     Overview 
     A system and techniques are described for decoding a baseband signal, of a radio signal, that is expected to include certain signal levels. One such system includes a comparator that compares a corrected baseband signal to certain decision values. The comparator outputs, based on the comparison, a decoded signal that is equal to one of the expected signal levels. The difference between the corrected baseband signal and the output of the comparator is accumulated and then subtracted from the baseband signal to produce the corrected baseband signal. The subtraction of the accumulated difference from the baseband signal completes a negative-feedback loop that removes any long-term, low-frequency DC offset exhibited by the baseband signal. The loop produces the corrected baseband signal, which is used as a basis for comparison in determining the output decoded signal, thereby reducing decoding errors caused by the addition of long-term, low-frequency DC noise to radio signals. 
     According to one technique, the baseband signal is a multi-level signal that is expected to include more than two distinct signal levels. 
     According to one technique, the baseband signal is a bursty signal that contains a training sequence that precedes a burst of data. 
     Decision Directed DC Removal 
     A decoding system  300  in which the present invention may be practiced is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . A received signal s(t)  302  is an input to decoding system  300 . Received signal  302  may be a baseband signal, such as signal  108  or signal  110  in  FIG. 1 . A subtractor  320  subtracts accumulated value  310  from received signal  300 , producing corrected signal  304 . In decoding system  300 , corrected signal  304  is sampled and held by sample-and-hold module  318 . In other embodiments, it may not be necessary for corrected signal  304  to pass through a sample-and-hold module  318 . In other words, corrected signal  304  may be directly inputted to comparator  312 . In decoding system  300 , sampled corrected signal  306  is inputted to comparator  312 , which determines an output value  322  based on sampled corrected signal  306 . 
     Comparator  312  compares the signal value of sampled corrected signal  306  in a particular sample period to at least one decision value and, based on the result of the comparison, selects one of at least two distinct values as output value  322  for the duration substantially equal to the length of the particular sample period. The at least two distinct values are equal to the expected signal values of received signal s(t)  302  if received signal  302  is unaffected by noise. The signal level of received signal s(t)  302  may be expected to be certain expected signal values because it may be known that received signal s(t)  302  is based on a radio signal that is in turn based on an original baseband signal that was encoded to be certain expected signal values. 
     For example, the received signal s(t)  302  may be a signal whose signal value for any particular sample period is expected to be either +0.5 or −0.5 because it is known that received signal s(t)  302  is based on a radio signal that is in turn based on an original baseband signal that was encoded to be either +0.5 or −0.5 in any particular sample period. In this example, comparator  312  uses the decision value of 0 such that if comparator  312  determines that the sampled corrected signal  306  is greater than 0 in the particular sample period, then comparator  312  outputs the value +0.5 as output value  322 . Similarly, if comparator  312  determines that the sampled corrected signal  306  is less than 0 in the particular sample period, then the comparator  312  outputs the value −0.5 as output value  322 . In this example, even if the signal level of sampled corrected signal  306  is only +0.3 for a particular sample period, comparator  312  will output a value of +0.5 in response to comparing the signal level of sampled corrected signal  306  to the decision value of 0. 
     In other words, although received signal s(t)  302  may have been affected by noise such that the signal level of received signal  302  deviates from the expected signal levels, comparator  312  outputs a value (output value  322 ) that is equal to an expected signal level. 
     Subtractor  214  subtracts output value  322  from sampled corrected signal  306  and outputs error value  308 . Error value  308  is the difference between the sampled corrected signal  306  and output value  322 , which, as just discussed, is equal to an expected signal level. For example, if sampled corrected signal  306  is +0.7 and output value  322  is +0.5, then error value  308  will be +0.2. In this example, error value  308  may indicate that the overall signal level of sampled corrected signal  306  is exhibiting a positive DC offset of +0.2, which in turn may indicate that received signal s(t)  302  is exhibiting a positive DC offset of +0.2. 
     Error value  308  is accumulated, or summed, in accumulator  316 . The sum accumulated in accumulator  316  indicates the long-term DC offset exhibited by received signal  302 . In one embodiment, the accumulation of error value  308  in accumulator  306  is performed by an integrator. The accumulated error value, output as signal  310 , is subtracted from received signal  302  s(t) in subtractor  320  to produce corrected signal  304 . The subtraction of the accumulated error value  310  from received signal  302  removes the long-term DC offset indicated by the accumulated error  310  from received signal  302 , thereby producing a corrected signal  304  that contains signal levels that are closer to the expected signal levels. 
     Corrected signal  304  is sampled and held to produce sampled corrected signal  306 , which is then used by comparator  312  to produce output  322 , thereby completing a negative-feedback loop. As the negative-feedback loop in decoding system  300  stabilizes, error value  308  and accumulated error value  310  will likely be zero or small non-zero values. 
     According to one embodiment, received signal s(t)  302  represents a multi-level signal such that output value  322  is selected by comparator  312  from more than two distinct values, based on the corrected signal  306 . In other words, the original baseband signal from which received signal  302  is based may have been encoded to be one of more than two signal levels for any particular sample period. For example, the original baseband signal may have been encoded to be −0.75, −0.25, +0.25, or +0.75 in any particular sample period. 
     In this example, comparator  312  compares corrected signal  306  to three decision values: −0.5, 0, and +0.5 and, based on the result of the comparison, selects one of four distinct values as the output value  322 . If corrected signal  206  is less than −0.5, then the comparator outputs −0.75 as output value  322 . If corrected signal  206  is between −0.5 and 0, then the comparator outputs −0.25 as output value  322 . Similarly, comparator outputs +0.25 as output value  322  if corrected signal  306  is between 0 and +0.5, and outputs +0.75 as output value  322  if corrected signal  306  is greater than +0.5. This example illustrates that the invention is not limited to the decoding of bi-level signals, and does not in any way restrict the invention to the specific decision values and output values in the example. 
     According to another embodiment, other methods of reducing DC offset noise is applied to received signal s(t)  302  before received signal  302  is processed by decoding system  300 . For example, signal  302  may be passed through a high-pass filter before being processed by system  300 . A high pass filter with a low cutoff may center the operation of system  300  around zero, thereby making implementation simpler. 
     In another embodiment, range limiting may be applied to prevent decoding system  300  from entering a false lock state. Range limiting may be implemented in accumulator  316  to limit the output value to a predetermined tracking range. Such range limiting may prevent false lock states since accumulated error value  310  will be less than the minimum decision distance. 
     In one embodiment, system  300  may be controlled by a gain constant that controls the loop gain and therefore the effective bandwidth of the loop in system  300 . This may be included within accumulator  316 , or can be achieved by placing a gain constant (not depicted) between accumulator  316  and subtractor  320 . The gain constant may be a multiplier or a shift function. 
     Using a Training Sequence in Decoding Bursty Signals 
     Sometimes, received signal s(t)  302  may be bursty in that received signal  302  contains data only in certain burst periods. A bursty received signal  302  does not contain any data in time periods between the burst periods. One problem encountered in decoding a bursty received signal  302  is that the DC offset exhibited by received signal  302  at the end of a first burst period may be different from the DC offset exhibited by received signal  302  at the beginning of a second burst period that immediately follows the first burst period. Such a sudden jump in DC offset may result in decoding system  300  taking a long time to re-stabilize and making decoding errors during the time of re-stabilization. According to one embodiment, received signal  302  contains a training sequence at the beginning of a burst period, thereby allowing decoding system  300  to stabilize before non-training sequence data is decoded. 
     The training sequence is a predetermined data sequence that is known to decoding system  300 . For example, the training sequence may be a string of zeros. A training sequence comparator (not depicted) in decoding system  300  compares the training sequence in received signal  302  to the predetermined data sequence (e.g., 0, 0, 0, . . . ) and determines the difference between the training sequence in received signal  302  and the predetermined data sequence. This difference between the training sequence in received signal  302  and the predetermined data sequence is accumulated as an accumulated training sequence error value in a training sequence error accumulator (not depicted). The accumulated training sequence error value is loaded into accumulator  316  at the end of the training sequence. As a result, at the end of the training sequence and the beginning of data in a burst period, accumulator  316  will output an accumulated error value  310  that has already been adjusted to the DC offset exhibited by received signal  302 . Consequently, decoding system  300  can quickly stabilize, thereby minimizing or eliminating any decoding errors that may have resulted from the differences in DC offsets exhibited by received signal  302  in two consecutive burst periods. 
     In one embodiment, the training sequence is also known to occur at certain times. In an alternative embodiment, the time at which the training sequence occurs is not known beforehand. Decoding system  300  includes an additional training sequence detector (not depicted) that detects the beginning and end of the training sequence. 
     In one embodiment, the training sequence contains the highest expected signal level and the lowest expected signal level of received signal  302 , which facilitates the fast stabilization of decoding system  300 . For example, if the expected signal levels of received signal  302  are −0.75, −0.25, +0.25, and +0.75, then the training sequence contains only the signal levels of −0.75 and +0.75. 
     In one embodiment, the training sequence has an average signal value of zero, which reduces gain error sensitivity. 
     In one embodiment, the training sequence detector may be shared by the decoder for the real component of a complex baseband signal and the decoder for the imaginary component of the complex baseband signal.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7