Patent ID: 7139306

Claim:
A spread spectrum communication system that processes one or more spread-spectrum waveforms (“user spread-spectrum waveforms”), each representative of a waveform received from a respective user, comprising: one or more first logic elements generating a first complex channel amplitude estimate corresponding to at least a selected user and at least a selected finger of a rake receiver that receives the selected user waveform, one or more second logic elements each coupled to one or more first logic elements, each generating an estimated composite spread-spectrum waveform that is a function of one or more of estimated complex channel amplitudes, estimated delay lags, estimated symbols, and/or codes of the one or more user spread-spectrum waveforms, one or more third logic elements each coupled to one or more second logic elements, the one or more third logic elements generating a second pre-combination matched-filter detection statistic for at least a selected user and for at least a selected finger as a function of a first pro-combination matched-filter detection statistic for that user and a pre-combination estimated matched-filter detection statistic for that user, wherein the one or more third logic elements generate the second pre-combination matched-filter detection statistic for at least the selected user and at least the selected finger as a function of a difference between (i) the sum of the first pre-combination matched-filter detection statistic for that user and that finger and a characteristic of an estimate of the selected user's spread-spectrum waveform and (ii) the pre-combination estimated matched-filter detection statistic for that user and that finger.