Processor-based method for the acquisition and despreading of spread-spectrum/CDMA signals

An architecture for despreading spread spectrum signals, comprising:

• an input for receiving a continuous digital data stream of encoded symbol data at a defined and associated data rate;
• a buffer for storing said symbol data when received;
• a digital processing device for processing said received and buffered symbol data by generating a plurality of single process instructions in sequence at least at said associated data rate, which each said single process instruction is operable to generate a despread symbol for a given single symbol in the received symbol data;
• wherein said symbol data comprises an in-band component rl and a quadrature component rQ of said digital data stream;
• wherein said in-band and quadrature components, rI and rQ, of said digital data stream are despread to provide a despread in-band component RI and a despread quadrature component RQ for each of the received symbols;
• wherein said in-band and quadrature components, rI and rQ, are extracted for a given symbol in the received symbol data, and said in-band and quadrature components, rI and rQ, are processed in accordance with a predetermined despreading algorithm to produce said despread in-band component RI and said despread quadrature component RQ;
• wherein said symbol data is arranged in frames, and said plurality of single process instructions operate over a frame of said symbol data;
• wherein said received digital data stream is despread with a pseudo-noise code;
• wherein said pseudo-noise code having an in-band component cI and a quadrature component cQ for each of the symbols received in a frame of data, is stored in said buffer, and wherein corresponding cl and cQ data of said rI and rQ components are extracted from said buffer, and rI, rQ, cI, and cQ are processed according to said despreading algorithm;
• and
• wherein said next single process instruction in said sequence operates on the next of said symbols in said symbol data in said received digital data stream.

A method of despreading a spread spectrum signal, comprising the steps of:

• storing components of an incoming encoded spread spectrum signal, and components of a pseudo-noise signal, in a memory, the incoming signal having a defined data rate;
• processing the components of the incoming signal and the components of the pseudo-noise signal with a processing circuit which interfaces to the memory;
• and
• performing a computational operation on the components of the incoming signal and the components of the pseudo-noise code signal, with an operation circuit, which produces the despreading values, RI and RQ, for each symbol processed according to the following equations with N equal to the number of symbols in a frame of received data and n equal the symbol being processed:
• R I = ∑ n = 0 N - 1 ⁢ ( r I ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ c I ⁢ ( n ) + r Q ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ c Q ⁢ ( n ) )
• and R Q = ∑ n = 0 N - 1 ⁢ ( - r I ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ c Q ⁢ ( n ) + r Q ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ c I ⁢ ( n ) )
• wherein a single instruction generated at least at the data rate of the incoming signal initiates the computational operation on the components of the incoming signal and the components of the pseudo-noise to produce a despreading value.

A method of despreading a spread spectrum signal, comprising the steps of:

• storing components of an incoming encoded spread spectrum signal having a defined data rate and components of a pseudo-noise signal, in a memory;
• processing the components of the incoming signal and the components of the pseudo-noise signal with a processing circuit which interfaces to the memory;
• and said memory using an incoming signal memory pointer ARr, and a pseudo-noise memory pointer ARc to point to respective memory locations, in accordance with a single instruction;
• performing a computational operation on the components of the incoming signal and the components of the pseudo-noise code signal, with an operation circuit;
• wherein said single instruction generated at least at the data rate of the incoming signal initiates the computational operation on the components of the incoming signal and the components of the pseudo-noise to produce a despreading value.

A digital signal processing architecture, comprising:

• a processing circuit for processing components of an encoded incoming signal and components of a pseudo-noise signal, said incoming signal having a defined data rate;
• a memory which interfaces to said processing circuit, and stores said components of said incoming signal and said components of said pseudo-noise signal;
• and
• an operation circuit for a providing a computational operation on said components of said incoming signal and said components of said pseudo-noise signal producing the despreading values, RI and RQ, for each symbol processed according to the following equations where N is the number of symbols in a frame of received data and n is the symbol being processed:
• R I = ∑ n = 0 N - 1 ⁢ ( r I ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ c I ⁢ ( n ) + r Q ⁢ ( n ) ⁢ c Q ⁢ ( n ) )
• and R Q = ∑ n = 0 N - 1 ⁢ ( - r I ⁡ ( n ) ⁢ c Q ⁡ ( n ) + r Q ⁡ ( n ) ⁢ c I ⁡ ( n ) ) ;
• ⁢ and
• wherein a single instruction issued to said processing circuit initiates said computational operation on said components of said incoming signal and said components of said pseudo-noise signal at a rate at least as fast as said data rate of said incoming signal, to produce a despreading value.

A digital signal processing architecture, comprising:

• a processing circuit for processing components of an encoded incoming signal and components of a pseudo-noise signal, said incoming signal having a defined data rate;
• a memory which interfaces to said processing circuit, and stores said components of said incoming signal and said components of said pseudo-noise signal, said memory uses an incoming signal memory pointer ARr, and a pseudo-noise memory pointer ARc to point to respective said memory locations, in accordance with a single instruction;
• and
• an operation circuit for a providing a computational operation on said components of said incoming signal and said components of said pseudo-noise signal;
• wherein said single instruction is issued to said processing circuit and initiates said computational operation on said components of said incoming signal and said components of said pseudo-noise signal at a rate at least as fast as said data rate of said incoming signal, to produce a despreading value.