Coarse Timing Detection Using Adaptive Self-Correlation Metrics

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional coarse timing methods in OFDM communication systems, such as IEEE 802.11p, are prone to errors due to changing signal channel parameters, leading to misidentification of noise as data frames or missing the beginning of frames, necessitating more robust methods.

Innovation Solution

A coarse timing method that calculates self-correlation based timing metric values and average timing metric values to determine the presence of data frames, using a predetermined number of consecutive values greater than average values to accurately identify frames, thereby reducing errors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If a pre-set threshold is used for coarse timing detection, then the detection process is simple and fast, but errors occur when signal channel parameters change (noise misidentified as data frame or frame beginning missed)

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection speedVSAvoiddetection accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies dynamics by making the threshold adaptive rather than fixed. The threshold is dynamically adjusted based on the statistical characteristics of the timing metric values during the training sequence period. This allows the detection system to adapt to changing signal channel parameters while maintaining both fast detection speed and high reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the parameter of the threshold from a fixed pre-set value to a dynamically calculated value based on the average of timing metric values during the training sequence. This parameter change enables the system to maintain accurate detection under varying channel conditions while preserving the simplicity and speed of threshold-based detection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If cross-correlation based timing metric function is used for fine timing process, then high precision is achieved, but computation complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetiming precisionVSAvoidcomputation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies segmentation by dividing the timing detection process into two distinct stages: coarse timing using self-correlation (low complexity) and fine timing using cross-correlation (high precision). This segmentation allows each stage to use the most appropriate method for its specific purpose, optimizing the overall balance between complexity and precision.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies preliminary action by performing coarse timing detection first to locate the approximate position of the data frame before applying the more computationally intensive cross-correlation method. This preliminary action narrows down the search range, allowing the fine timing process to focus only on a small window around the coarse estimate, thereby reducing overall computation complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2982088B1Coarse timing
Publication Date: 2019.06.05 HARMAN INT IND INC
  • EP2982088B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2982088B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2982088B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

A coarse timing method for a communication system is provided. The coarse timing method may include: calculating timing metric values for received signal samples using a self-correlation based timing metric function; calculating average timing metric values based on previous timing metric values; and determining whether there is a data frame based on the timing metric values and the average timing metric values.