Patent ID: 7313085

Claim:
A method for synchronizing symbol and frequency of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexed (OFDM) signals, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the OFDM signals having a symmetric-identical preamble comprising a first sample group and a second sample group alternately arrayed a plurality of times, wherein the first sample group comprises a designated number of the samples arrayed in order of arrival and the second sample group comprises a same number of the samples as the first sample group, arrayed in inverse order of arrival; converting the OFDM signals from analog to digital signals; separating the symmetric-identical preamble from the received OFDM signals to obtain a symbol timing synchronism and a frequency synchronism of the OFDM signals; revising the symbol timing synchronism of the received OFDM signals according to a symbol timing offset that is calculated from the separated symmetric-identical preamble; and revising the frequency synchronism of the received OFDM signals based on a frequency offset that is calculated from the separated symmetric-identical preamble; wherein in the revising step of the symbol timing synchronism, a timing metric is determined from a mathematical formula by using the symmetric-identical preamble, and a maximum timing metric is selected to be a symbol timing, the first mathematical formula being: M ⁢ ( d ) =  P ⁢ ( d )  2 R 2 ⁢ ( d ) wherein, d is 2M≈N, a time index corresponding to a first sample of a sample window; M is a sum of a number of samples in a first sample group and a second sample group; P(d) is a correlation metric, and is determined from a second mathematical formula: P ⁢ ( d ) = ∑ n = 0 M - 1 ⁢ ⁢ r * ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ r ⁢ ( N - 1 - n ) where n is an integral; N is the length of a symbol, r is a second sample which arrives at a receiving system in a time domain, and R(d) is an energy corresponding to a half of an OFDM symbol, being determined from a third mathematical formula: R ⁢ ( d ) = 1 2 ⁢ ∑ n = 0 N - 1 ⁢ ⁢  r ⁢ ( d + n )  2 .