Patent ID: 7889781

Claim:
A method for processing radio frequency (RF) signals, the method comprising: detecting a maximum signal energy level of at least one of a plurality of individual distinct path signals in a signal cluster, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of individual distinct path signals is received within a duration of a corresponding delay spread; determining a coarse sampling position of a group finger array based upon a position of the maximum signal energy level of the at least one of a plurality of individual distinct path signals in a signal cluster, the group finger array including a plurality of group fingers; for each of a plurality of fine sampling offsets, determining a composite channel energy estimate for the plurality of individual distinct path signals; selecting a fine sampling offset based upon a corresponding maximum composite channel energy estimate by: characterizing the relationship between a composite channel energy estimate and fine sampling offset; and selecting a fine sampling offset that corresponds to a zero differential of the relationship between composite channel energy estimate and fine sampling offset; determining a sampling position for the group finger array based upon the coarse sampling position and the selected fine sampling offset; and receiving at least a portion of the plurality of individual distinct path signals at a corresponding plurality of time instants based upon the determined sampling position.