Method of determining a frequency offset between a set frequency and a desired frequency for synchronization with a multicarrier signal

Abstract

A receiver is tuned into a multicarrier signal first by performing fine tuning control in the time domain, and then determining a coarse frequency offset to adjust the subcarrier to which the receiver is tuned. The coarse frequency offset is determined by summing the powers of a predetermined set of subcarriers associated with one frequency offset, repeating this for other frequency offsets, and determining whether the largest sum has a predetermined relationship to the other sums. Discrimination is improved by disregarding the largest of the powers when determining the sum. Preferably, the sums are integrated over multiple symbol periods, and the speed of locking-in is increased by terminating the operation when the predetermined relationship has been reached.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.