DELAY MEASURING INSTRUMENT, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND DELAY MEASUREMENT METHOD

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-007473, filed on Jan. 18, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to a delay measuring instrument, a communication device, and a delay measurement method.

BACKGROUND

A plurality of wireless communication devices can perform communication by performing communication using different frequencies without interference from each other. Furthermore, in wireless communication devices using the frequency division duplex (FDD) method, because the frequency bands used for transmission signals are different from those used for reception signals, transmission and reception can be performed in parallel.

If a plurality of wireless communication devices performs communication by using transmission signals at different frequencies, intermodulation may sometimes occur in a plurality of transmission signals caused by the transmission signals being reflected to an obstacle, such as a metal signboard, or the like, and an intermodulation signal may sometimes be received by each of the wireless communication devices. The intermodulation signal may sometimes be included in the frequency band of the reception signal, depending on the arrangement of the frequencies of the transmission signals. If the frequency of the intermodulation signal is similar to the frequency of the reception signal, the intermodulation signal is not completely removed by a filter or the like, the quality of the reception signal is degraded in the wireless communication devices. Thus, studies have been conducted on a method of approximately reproducing the intermodulation signal from the transmission signals and canceling the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal by the reproduced intermodulation signal. Prior art example is disclosed in Japanese National Publication of International Patent Application No. 2009-526442 and in 3GPP TR37.808 v12.0.0 “Passive Intermodulation (PIM) handling for Base Stations (BS) (Release 12)”

However, the distance to the obstacle that is the generation source of the intermodulation signal generally differs for each wireless communication device. Thus, in the generation source of the intermodulation signal, the intermodulation signal is generated due to a plurality of transmission signals each having different amounts of delay. In contrast, each of the wireless communication devices reproduces the intermodulation signal from the plurality of the transmission signals regardless of the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that have generated the actual intermodulation signal. Thus, even if the generated intermodulation signal is combined with the reception signal, it is difficult to sufficiently cancel the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal. Consequently, the quality of the reception signal is degraded due to the component of the intermodulation signal remaining the reception signal.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of an embodiment, a delay measuring instrument includes a generating unit and a calculating unit. The generating unit generates an intermediate signal by multiplying one of transmission signals or complex conjugate of the one of the transmission signals that is included in a plurality of transmission signals that are transmitted at different frequencies by a reception signal that includes therein an intermodulation signal generated by the plurality of the transmission signals. The calculating unit calculates, based on a correlation value between the intermediate signal and other one of the transmission signals that is included in the plurality of the transmission signals, an amount of delay of the other one of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a communication device;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the situation in which an intermodulation signal is generated;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the frequency of the intermodulation signal;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an intermodulation signal (PIM) canceller according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a correlator;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the correlator;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the delay measuring instrument according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of transmission signals;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of a generated intermodulation signal;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an intermodulation signal (PIM) canceller according to a comparative example;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to the comparative example;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of an intermodulation signal generated in the comparative example;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a delay measuring instrument according to the comparative example;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a delay measuring instrument according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the delay measuring instrument according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a delay measuring instrument according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the delay measuring instrument according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a delay measuring instrument according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a delay measuring instrument according to the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals;

FIG. 33 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a delay measuring instrument according to a sixth embodiment;

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an average delay detecting unit;

FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a delay measuring instrument according to the sixth embodiment; and

FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating an example of hardware of a processing unit that implements the delay measuring instrument.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to accompanying drawings. The delay measuring instrument, the communication device, and the delay measurement method disclosed in the present application are not limited to the embodiments described below. Furthermore, it is needless to say that each of the embodiments described below can be appropriately used in combination.

[a] First Embodiment

A Communication Device 10

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the communication device 10. The communication device 10 includes a base band unit (BBU) 11, a passive inter modulation (PIM) canceller 20-1, a PIM canceller 20-2, a remote radio equipment (RRE) 30-1, and an RRE 30-2. The RREs 30-1 and 30-2 transmit transmission signals by using different carrier wave frequencies. In the embodiment, the RRE 30-1 transmits a transmission signal x₁by using a carrier wave frequency f₁, whereas the RRE 30-2 transmits a transmission signal x₂by using a carrier wave frequency f₂. The transmission signal x₁is an example of a first transmission signal, whereas the transmission signal x₂is an example of a second transmission signal. Hereinafter, a description will be given with the assumption of f₁<f₂. Furthermore, in a description below, if there is no need to distinguish between the PIM cancellers 20-1 and 20-2, the PIM cancellers 20-1 and 20-2 are simply referred to as the PIM canceller 20 and, if there is no need to distinguish between the RREs 30-1 and 30-2, the RREs 30-1 and 30-2 are simply referred to as the RRE 30.

Each of the RREs 30 includes a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 31, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 32, a quadrature modulator 33, and a quadrature demodulator 34. Furthermore, each of the RREs 30 includes a power amplifier (PA) 35, a low noise amplifier (LNA) 36, a duplexer (DUP) 37, and an antenna 38.

The DAC 31 converts the transmission signal output from the BBU 11 from a digital signal to an analog signal and then outputs the converted signal to the quadrature modulator 33. The quadrature modulator 33 performs quadrature modulation on transmission baseband signal that is converted to the analog signal by the DAC 31. The PA 35 amplifies the transmission RF signal subjected to the quadrature modulation by the quadrature modulator 33. The DUP 37 passes, through the antenna 38, the frequency component of the transmission frequency band related to the transmission RF signals that are amplified by the PA 35. Consequently, the transmission RF signal is emitted from the antenna 38. The DAC 31, the quadrature modulator 33, and the PA 35 are an example of a transmission unit.

Furthermore, the DUP 37 passes, through the LNA 36, the frequency component of the reception frequency band related to the reception RF signal that is received via the antenna 38. The LNA 36 amplifies the reception RF signal output from the DUP 37. The quadrature demodulator 34 performs quadrature demodulation on the reception RF signal amplified by the LNA 36. The ADC 32 converts the reception signal subjected to quadrature demodulation by the quadrature demodulator 34 from the analog signal to the digital signal and then outputs, to the PIM canceller 20, the reception signal converted to the digital signal. The LNA 36, the quadrature demodulator 34, and the ADC 32 are an example of a receiving unit.

The PIM canceller 20-1 acquires, from the BBU 11, the transmission signal x₁transmitted by the RRE 30-1 and the transmission signal x₂transmitted by the RRE 30-2 and generates an intermodulation signal on the basis of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂. Then, the PIM canceller 20-1 cancels the generated intermodulation signal from the reception signal r_x1that has been output form the RRE 30-1 and outputs, to the BBU 11, the reception signal r_x1′ in which the intermodulation signal has been cancelled.

The PIM canceller 20-2 acquires, from the BBU 11, the transmission signal x₁transmitted by the RRE 30-1 and the transmission signal x₂transmitted by the RRE 30-2 and generates an intermodulation signal on the basis of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂. Then, the PIM canceller 20-2 cancels the generated intermodulation signal from the reception signal r_x2that has been output from the RRE 30-2 and outputs, to the BBU 11, the reception signal r_x2′ in which the intermodulation signal has been cancelled.

Here, situation in which an intermodulation signal is generated will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the situation in which an intermodulation signal is generated. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, if an obstacle 100, such as a metal signboard, or the like, is present in the space, regarding the transmission RF signal transmitted at the frequency of f₁from the RRE 30-1 and the transmission RF signal transmitted at the frequency of f₂from the RRE 30-2, a signal having a distortion component is generated when the signal is reflected at the obstacle 100. An intermodulation distortion signal is included in the distortion component. A signal having a frequency of 2f₁-f₂or 2f₂-f₁is included in the intermodulation distortion signal generated from the transmission RF signal transmitted at the frequency f₁and the transmission RF signal transmitted at the frequency f₂.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the frequency of 2f₁-f₂or 2f₂-f₁may sometimes be included in the reception band, depending on the frequencies of ₁and f₂. If the frequency of 2f₁-f₂or 2f₂-f₁is included in the reception frequency band, the quality of the reception signal in the reception band may sometimes be degraded. Consequently, the PIM canceller 20 improves the quality of the reception signal by canceling the intermodulation signal having the frequency of 2f₁-f₂or 2f₂-f₁included in the signal received by the RRE 30.

In order to cancel the intermodulation signal having the frequency of 2f₁-f₂or 2f₂-f₁, for example, an intermodulation signal is generated from the transmission signal x₁having the frequency of f₁and the transmission signal x₂having the frequency of f₂and then the generated intermodulation signal is combined with the reception signal. Consequently, the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal is cancelled by the generated intermodulation signal and thus the quality of the reception signal is improved.

However, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a delay Δt₁₁caused by the length of a cable starting from a circuit included in the RRE 30-1 to the end of the antenna is generally different from a delay Δt₂₁caused by the length of a cable starting from a circuit included in the RRE 30-2 to the end of the antenna. Furthermore, the distance from each of the RREs 30 to the obstacle 100 that is the generation source of the intermodulation signal is generally differs. Thus, a delay Δt₁₂caused by the distance from the end of the antenna of the RRE 30-1 to the obstacle 100 is generally different from a delay Δt₂₂caused by the distance from the end of the antenna of the RRE 30-2 to the obstacle 100.

Thus, at the obstacle 100, if an intermodulation signal is generated by the transmission RF signal having the frequency of f₁and the transmission RF signal having the frequency of f₂, an amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁is generally different from an amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂that generate the subject intermodulation signal. If the amount of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂that have been used to generate the intermodulation signal is different from the amount of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂that have generated the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal, even if the generated intermodulation signal is combined with the reception signal, the intermodulation signal is not sufficiently cancelled.

Thus, in the embodiment, the amounts of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂that are used to generate an intermodulation signal are made to approach the amount of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂that have generated the received intermodulation signal. Consequently, the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal is sufficiently cancelled by the generated intermodulation signal and thus the quality of the reception signal is improved.

Furthermore, in below, a description will be given of canceling of the intermodulation signal having the frequency of 2f₁-f₂; however, canceling of the intermodulation signal having the frequency of 2f₂-f₁can also be implemented by replacing f₁with f₂.

The PIM Canceller 20

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an intermodulation signal (PIM) canceller 20 according to a first embodiment. The PIM canceller 20 includes a combining unit 21, a replica generating unit 40, and a delay measuring instrument 50. Furthermore, in FIG. 4 and the subsequent drawings, the symbol represented by “*” indicates the complex conjugate. Furthermore, in FIG. 4 and the subsequent block diagrams, offset of the carrier wave frequency is omitted.

On the basis of the transmission signals x₁and x₂output from the BBU 11 and the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30, the delay measuring instrument 50 measures an amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁with respect to the reception signal r_xand measures an amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂with respect to the reception signal r_x. The replica generating unit 40 generates an intermodulation signal by using the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₁that is measured by the delay measuring instrument 50 and by using the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the amount of delay d₂that is measured by the delay measuring instrument 50. The replica generating unit 40 is an example of a replica generating unit. The combining unit 21 cancels the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal r_xby combining the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 with the intermodulation signal generated by the replica generating unit 40. Then, the combining unit 21 outputs the reception signal r_x′ in which the intermodulation signal has been canceled to the BBU 11.

The replica generating unit 40 includes a delay setting unit 41, a delay setting unit 42, a multiplier 43, a multiplier 44, a coefficient generating unit 45, and a multiplier 46. The multiplier 43, the multiplier 44, and the multiplier 46 are, for example, complex multipliers. The transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11 is delayed by the amount of delay d₁by the delay setting unit 41 and is squared by the multiplier 43. Furthermore, the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 is delayed by the amount of delay d₂by the delay setting unit 42. Then, the multiplier 44 generates an intermodulation signal by multiplying the transmission signal x₁squared by the multiplier 43 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂that has been delayed by the delay setting unit 42.

The coefficient generating unit 45 detects the component of the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal r_x′ output from the combining unit 21. Then, the coefficient generating unit 45 calculates a coefficient that is used to adjust the amplitude and the phase of the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 44 such that the component of the detected intermodulation signal is canceled. The multiplier 46 adjusts the amplitude and the phase of the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 44 by multiplying the coefficient that is calculated by the coefficient generating unit 45 by the intermodulation signal that is generated by the multiplier 44. The intermodulation signal with the amplitude and the phase adjusted by the multiplier 46 is output to the combining unit 21.

Here, for example, as described with reference to FIG. 2, an intermodulation signal S_PIMhaving the frequency of 2f₁-f₂is included in the reception signal r_x. The intermodulation signal S_PIMis represented by, for example, Equation (1) below. Note that the offset frequency of carrier wave is omitted.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{PIM} = A_{3} (x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*}) + A_{51} ({\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*}) + A_{52} ({\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*}) + \dots \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \end{matrix} & (1) \end{matrix}$

In Equation (1) above, A₃, A₅₁, and A₅₂, . . . are constants each representing the coefficient of nonlinear distortion. Furthermore, in Equation (1) above, x* represents the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x.

If the transmission signal x₂is multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (1) above, an intermediate signal S_m1that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (2) below. The intermediate signal S_m1is an example of a first intermediate signal.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 1} = S_{PIM} \cdot x_{2} \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \cdot x_{2} \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{1}^{2} \end{matrix} & (2) \end{matrix}$

In Equation (2) above, the component of the transmission signal x₂is a real number and is the variation in the amplitude component. Thus, it is possible to take a correlation between the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (2) above and the square of the transmission signal x₁. The correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (2) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

Furthermore, if the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁is multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (1) above, the intermediate signal S_m2that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (3) below. The intermediate signal S_m2is an example of a second intermediate signal.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 2} = S_{PIM} \cdot {(x_{1}^{2})}^{*} \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \cdot {(x_{1}^{2})}^{*} \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{4} \cdot x_{2} \end{matrix} & (3) \end{matrix}$

In Equation (3) above, the component of the transmission signal x₁is the real number and is variation in the amplitude component. Thus, it is possible to take a correlation between the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (3) above and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. The correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (3) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

In this way, by taking a correlation between the multiplication result and the transmission signal after multiplying the transmission signal by the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal, it is possible to separately obtain a delay of each of the transmission signals. The process of obtaining a delay of each of the transmission signals is implemented by the delay measuring instrument 50. In the following, an example of a specific processing block of the delay measuring instrument 50 will be described.

The Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the first embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of multipliers 500a to 500d, a plurality of correlators 501a and 501b, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 502a and 502b. The multipliers 500a to 500d are, for example, complex multipliers. The multipliers 500a and 500c are an example of the generating unit. Furthermore, the maximum value detecting units 502a and 502b are an example of a calculating unit.

The multiplier 500a calculates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 500a is an example of a first generating unit. The multiplier 500b calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11.

While shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500b, the correlator 501a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1calculated by the multiplier 500a and the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500b.

For example, a sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6 can be used for the correlator 501a. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a correlator 501. The intermediate signal S_m1calculated by the multiplier 500a is input, as a first signal, to the correlator 501 illustrated in FIG. 6 and the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500b is input, as a second signal, to the correlator 501 illustrated in FIG. 6. Then, the correlation value between the first signal and the second signal is calculated for each amount of delay that is set by a delay setting unit 504.

Furthermore, for example, a matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7 may also be used as the correlator 501a. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the correlator 501. The intermediate signal S_m1calculated by the multiplier 500a is input, as the first signal, to the correlator 501 illustrated in FIG. 7 and the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500b is input, as the second signal, to the correlator 501 illustrated in FIG. 7. Then, the correlation value between the first signal and the second signal is calculated for each amount of delay that is set by a delay setting unit 505.

The maximum value detecting unit 502a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 501a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502a outputs the amount of delay having the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁. The maximum value detecting unit 502a is an example of a first calculating unit.

Furthermore, the multiplier 500d calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 500c calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500d. The multiplier 500c is an example of a second generating unit.

While shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂, the correlator 501b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2calculated by the multiplier 500c and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used as the correlator 501b.

The maximum value detecting unit 502b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 501b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂. The maximum value detecting unit 502b is an example of a second calculating unit.

Operation of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the first embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 starts the operation illustrated in FIG. 8 at a predetermined timing.

First, the multiplier 500a generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 (Step S100). Then, the correlator 501a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500b (Step S101).

Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 501a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502a specifies the amount of delay d₁having the detected maximum correlation value (Step S102). Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502a outputs the amount of delay d₁to the replica generating unit 40 (Step S103).

Then, the multiplier 500d calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. Then, the multiplier 500c calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 500d (Step S104).

Then, the correlator 501b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂(Step S105). Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 501b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502b specifies the amount of delay d₂having the detected maximum correlation value (Step S106). Then, the maximum value detecting unit 502b outputs the amount of delay d₂to the replica generating unit 40 (S107).

In the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8, the processes at Steps S104 to S107 are performed after the processes at Steps S100 to S103 have been performed; however, either of the processes at Steps S100 to S103 and the processes at Steps S104 to S107 may also be performed first. Furthermore, both the processes at Steps S100 to S103 and the processes at Steps S104 to S107 may also be performed in parallel.

The delay profile calculated for each transmission signal by the delay measuring instrument 50 is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 9, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, FIG. 9 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples and the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples.

The maximum value of the delay profile illustrated in FIG. 9 is detected as the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, regarding the transmission signal x₁, the correlation value becomes the maximum at the position of +4 samples with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas, regarding the transmission signal x₂, the correlation value becomes the maximum at the position of −2 samples with respect to the intermodulation signal. In this way, by taking a correlation between the multiplication result and the transmission signal after multiplying the transmission signal by the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal, the delay of each of the transmission signals can separately be obtained.

Consequently, it is possible to generate an intermodulation signal on the basis of the transmission signal having the amount of delay similar to that of each of the transmission signals that have generated the intermodulation signal. Consequently, the replica generating unit 40 can generate the intermodulation signal having the waveform similar to that of the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal. Consequently, when taking a correlation between the generated intermodulation signal and the reception signal, the delay profile indicates that, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the correlation value becomes the maximum at the timing of synchronization with the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal. Consequently, it is possible to accurately match the timing between the generated intermodulation signal and the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal and thus it is possible to accurately cancel the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE

Here, the comparative example will be described. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the PIM canceller 20 according to the comparative example. The PIM canceller 20 according to the comparative example includes the combining unit 21, a delay measuring instrument 200, and a replica generating unit 400. The delay measuring instrument 200 generates an intermodulation signal on the basis of the transmission signals x₁and x₂output from the BBU 11 and measures the amount of delay d of the intermodulation signal on the basis of the correlation between the generated signal and the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30.

The replica generating unit 400 includes a multiplier 401, a multiplier 402, a delay setting unit 403, a coefficient generating unit 404, and a multiplier 405. The multiplier 401 calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 402 generates an intermodulation signal by multiplying the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 401 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11.

The delay setting unit 403 delays the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 402 by the amount of delay d measured by the delay measuring instrument 200. The coefficient generating unit 404 calculates the coefficient that is used to adjust the amplitude and the phase of the intermodulation signal delayed by the delay setting unit 403 such that the component of the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal output from the combining unit 21 is canceled. The multiplier 405 adjusts the amplitude and the phase of the generated intermodulation signal by multiplying the coefficient calculated by the coefficient generating unit 404 by the intermodulation signal that is delayed by the delay setting unit 403.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 200 according to the comparative example. The delay measuring instrument 200 according to the comparative example includes a multiplier 201, a multiplier 202, a correlator 203, and a maximum value detecting unit 204. The multiplier 201 calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 202 generates the intermodulation signal by multiplying the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 201 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11.

The correlator 203 calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 202 while shifting the amount of delay of the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 202. The maximum value detecting unit 204 detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 203. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 204 outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 400 as the amount of delay d of the intermodulation signal.

In the comparative example, the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that have generated the intermodulation signal is not considered. Thus, the intermodulation signal generated in the comparative example has a waveform different from that of the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal. Thus, when taking a correlation between the intermodulation signal and the reception signal generated in the comparative example, for example, the result is like that illustrated in FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the delay profile of the intermodulation signal generated in the comparative example. In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the intermodulation signals generated with respect to the intermodulation signals included in the reception signals. Furthermore, in FIG. 13, the vertical axis indicates the correlation values between the reception signals and the generated intermodulation signals.

In the comparative example, the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that have generated the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal is different from the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals used to generate the intermodulation signal. Thus, the correlation value between the reception signal and the generated intermodulation signal becomes the maximum at the amount of delay that is different from the amount of delay of zero. Thus, it is difficult to combine the generated intermodulation signal by matching the timing of the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal and thus it is difficult to sufficiently cancel the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal.

Furthermore, in the comparative example, because the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that generate the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal is different from the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that are used to generate the intermodulation signal, the generated intermodulation signal has a waveform different from that of the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal. Thus, even if the generated intermodulation signal is combined by matching the timing of the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal, it is difficult to cancel the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal sufficiently.

Here, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 14, it is conceivable to separately adjust the amount of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂by using a delay setting unit 205a and a delay setting unit 205b. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, the combination of the amounts of delay in a case in which the correlation value becomes the maximum while changing the amount of delay that is set in the delay setting unit 205a and the delay setting unit 205b. Consequently, the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that are used to generate the intermodulation signal can be made to approach the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that have generated the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal.

However, in the example illustrated in FIG. 14, if the number of amounts of delay that are set to the transmission signals x₁and x₂is, for example, 100 combinations, correlation values are calculated by the correlator 203 with respect to 10,000 combinations of the amount of delay. Thus, with the delay measuring instrument 200 according to the comparative example illustrated in FIG. 14, there is a problem in that the processing load is increased.

In contrast, with the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, regarding the transmission signals x₁and x₂, if a correlation value is calculated once by using the correlators 501a and 501b, it is possible to calculate each of the amounts of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂. Thus, the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment can calculate each of the amounts of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂while reducing an increase in processing load. Consequently, the PIM canceller 20 according to the embodiment can generate the intermodulation signal having the waveform similar to that of the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal and can accurately cancel the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal.

Another Example of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50 According to the First Embodiment

Furthermore, in the first embodiment described above, when measuring the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁, the transmission signal x₂is multiplied by the reception signal; however, the disclosed technology is not limited to this. For example, it may also be possible to multiply both the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (1) above. If both the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂is multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIM, the intermediate signal S_m1that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (4) below.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 1} = S_{PIM} \cdot x_{1}^{*} \cdot x_{2} \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) x_{1}^{2} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \cdot x_{1}^{*} \cdot x_{2} \\ = (A_{3} + A_{51} {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} + A_{52} {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} + \dots) {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} \cdot {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{1} \end{matrix} & (4) \end{matrix}$

In Equation (4) above, because the component of the transmission signal x₁remains, it is possible to take a correlation between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁. The delay measuring instrument 50 that implements Equation (4) above is represented by, for example, the diagram illustrated in FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the first embodiment. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 15 also differs from the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 5 in that, when calculating the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂, the intermediate signal S_m2is calculated by multiplying the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁by the reception signal r_xtwice.

The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 15 includes a plurality of multipliers 510a to 510d, a plurality of correlators 511a and 511b, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 512a and 512b. The multipliers 510a to 510d are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used for the correlators 511a and 511b.

The multiplier 510a multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 510b calculates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁by the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 510a.

The correlator 511a calculates the correlation value between the transmission signal x₁and the intermediate signal S_m1calculated by the multiplier 510b while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 512a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 511a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 512a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁.

Furthermore, the multiplier 510c multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 510d calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 510c by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11.

The correlator 511b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2calculated by the multiplier 510d while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. The maximum value detecting unit 512b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 511b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 512b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂.

The delay profile calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 15 is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 16, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 16, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation values between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, FIG. 16 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples and the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples.

Effect of the First Embodiment

In the above, the first embodiment has been described. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment generates an intermediate signal by multiplying one of the transmission signals or the complex conjugate of the one of the transmission signals that are transmitted at different frequencies by a reception signal that includes therein an intermodulation signal generated by a plurality of transmission signals. Then, on the basis of the correlation value between the intermediate signal and the other of the transmission signals included in the plurality of the transmission signals, the delay measuring instrument 50 calculates the amount of delay of the other one of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal. Then, the delay measuring instrument 50 outputs the amount of delay of each of the plurality of the transmission signals calculated by the calculating unit. Consequently, the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment can promptly obtain the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that have generated the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal while reducing an increase in the processing amount. Consequently, the communication device 10 according to the embodiment can generate the intermodulation signal having the waveform similar to that of the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal. Thus, the communication device 10 according to the embodiment can accurately cancel the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal and can improve the quality of the reception signal.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂are transmitted at different frequencies. Furthermore, in the embodiment, the multiplier 500a generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the transmission signal x₂by the reception signal r_x. Furthermore, the multiplier 500c generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁by the reception signal r_x. Furthermore, on the basis of the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁, the maximum value detecting unit 502a calculates the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁with respect to the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal r_x. Furthermore, on the basis of the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂, the maximum value detecting unit 502b calculates the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂with respect to the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal r_x. Consequently, the delay measuring instrument 50 can promptly obtain the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that generate the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal while reducing an increase in the processing load.

[b] Second Embodiment

In the first embodiment, the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂that is used when the intermediate signal S_m1is obtained is an arbitrary value. Similarly, the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁that is used when the intermediate signal S_m2is obtained is also an arbitrary value. Thus, in the delay measuring instrument 50 according to a second embodiment, the amount of delay of the generated intermodulation signal from the correlation between the intermodulation signal generated by using the transmission signals x₁and x₂and the reception signal. Then, the delay measuring instrument 50 sets the calculated amount of delay as the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂that is used when the intermediate signal S_m1is obtained and as the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁that is used when the intermediate signal S_m2is obtained. Consequently, the amounts of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂become the value similar to the amount of delay of the transmission signals x₁and x₂that generate the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal. Thus, when taking a correlation with the intermediate signal, it is possible to obtain a higher correlation value. In the following, the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the second embodiment will be described.

The Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to a second embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of multipliers 520a to 520d, a plurality of delay setting units 521a and 521b, a plurality of correlators 522a to 522c, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 523a to 523c. The multipliers 520a to 520d are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used for the correlators 522a to 522c. The multiplier 520a, the multiplier 520b, and the multiplier 520d are an example of the generating unit. Furthermore, the maximum value detecting units 523a to 523c are an example of the calculating unit.

The multiplier 520c calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 520d generates an intermodulation signal by multiplying the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 520c by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 520d is an example of a third generating unit. The intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 520d is an example of a third intermediate signal.

The correlator 522c calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 520d while shifting the amount of delay of the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 520d. The maximum value detecting unit 523c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 522c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523c sets the amount of delay d₀of the detected maximum correlation value in each of the delay setting units 521a and 521b. The maximum value detecting unit 523c is an example of a third calculating unit.

The delay setting unit 521a delays the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 520c by the amount of delay d₀that has been set by the maximum value detecting unit 523c and then outputs the delayed square of the transmission signal x₁to each of the multiplier 520a and the correlator 522b. The delay setting unit 521b delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that has been set by the maximum value detecting unit 523c and then outputs the delayed transmission signal x₂to each of the multiplier 520b and the correlator 522a.

The multiplier 520b calculates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 521b. The multiplier 520 is an example of the first generating unit. The correlator 522b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 521a. The maximum value detecting unit 523b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 522b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁. The maximum value detecting unit 523b is an example of the first calculating unit.

The multiplier 520a calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 521a. The multiplier 520a is an example of the second generating unit. The correlator 522a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂that has been output from the delay setting unit 521b. The maximum value detecting unit 523a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 522a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂. The maximum value detecting unit 523a is an example of the second calculating unit.

Operation of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the second embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 starts the operation illustrated in FIG. 18 at predetermined timing.

First, the multiplier 520c calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. Then, the multiplier 520d generates the intermodulation signal by multiplying the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 520c by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 (Step S200).

Then, the correlator 522c calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 520d while shifting the amount of delay of the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 520d (Step S201). The maximum value detecting unit 523c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 522c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523c sets the amount of delay d₀of the detected maximum correlation value in each of the delay setting units 521a and 521b (Step S202).

Then, the multiplier 520b calculates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀by the delay setting unit 521b (Step S203). Then, the correlator 522b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁while further shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀by the delay setting unit 521a (Step S204). Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523b specifies the amount of delay d₁having the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 522b (Step S205). Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523b outputs the amount of delay d₁to the replica generating unit 40 (Step S206).

Then, the multiplier 520a calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀by the delay setting unit 521a (Step S207). Then, the correlator 522a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 521b (Step S208). The maximum value detecting unit 523a specifies the amount of delay d₂having the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 522a (Step S209). Then, the maximum value detecting unit 523a outputs the amount of delay d₂to the replica generating unit 40 (Step S210).

Furthermore, in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 18, either of the processes at Steps S203 to S206 and the processes at Steps S207 to S210 may also be performed first as long as the processes are performed after the processes at Steps S200 to S202. Furthermore, both the processes at Steps S203 to S206 and the processes at Steps S207 to S210 may also be performed in parallel after the processes at Steps S200 to S202.

The delay profile that is calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 19. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 19, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 19, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, FIG. 19 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples and the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples.

Another Example of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50 According to the Second Embodiment

Furthermore, in also the second embodiment described above, when the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁is measured, the intermediate signal S_m1may also be calculated by multiplying both the transmission signal x₂and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁by the reception signal r_x. FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the second embodiment. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 20 also differs from the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 17 in that, when calculating the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂, the intermediate signal S_m2is calculated by multiplying the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁by the reception signal r_xtwice.

The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 20 includes a plurality of multipliers 530a to 530f, a plurality of delay setting units 531a and 531b, a plurality of correlators 532a to 532c, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 533a to 533c. The multipliers 530a to 530f are, for examples, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can also be used as the correlators 532a to 532c.

The multiplier 530e calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 530f generates an intermodulation signal by multiplying the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 530e by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11.

The correlator 532c calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 530f while shifting the amount of delay of the intermodulation signal generated by the multiplier 530f. The maximum value detecting unit 533c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 532c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 533c sets the amount of delay d₀of the detected maximum correlation value in each of the delay setting units 531a and 531b.

The delay setting unit 531a delays the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that has been set by the maximum value detecting unit 533c and outputs the delayed transmission signal x₁to the multiplier 530a, the multiplier 530b, the multiplier 530d, and the correlator 532b. The delay setting unit 531b delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that has been set by the maximum value detecting unit 533c and outputs the delayed transmission signal x₂to the multiplier 530c and the correlator 532a.

The multiplier 530c multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 531b. The multiplier 530d calculates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 530c by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 531a. The correlator 532b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 531a. The maximum value detecting unit 533b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 532b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 533b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁.

The multiplier 530a multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 531a. The multiplier 530b calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 530a by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 531a. The correlator 532a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 531b. The maximum value detecting unit 533a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 532a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 533a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂.

The delay profile calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 20 is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 21. FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 21, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signals, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 21, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, FIG. 21 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples and the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples.

Effect of the Second Embodiment

In the above, the second embodiment has been described. In the embodiment, the multiplier 520d generates the intermodulation signal by multiplying the square of the transmission signal x₁by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, the maximum value detecting unit 523c calculates, on the basis of the correlation value between the reception signal r_xand the generated intermodulation signal, the amount of delay d₀of the generated intermodulation signal with respect to the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal r_x. The multiplier 520b generates the intermediate signal S_m1by using the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀by the maximum value detecting unit 523c. The multiplier 520a generates the intermediate signal S_m2by using the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀calculated by the maximum value detecting unit 523c. The maximum value detecting unit 523b calculates the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁with respect to the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal r_xby using the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀calculated by the maximum value detecting unit 523c. The maximum value detecting unit 523a calculates the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂with respect to the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal r_xby using the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₀calculated by the maximum value detecting unit 523c.

In this way, by measuring the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals by using each of the transmission signals in which the amount of delay of the intermodulation signal is set, it is possible to make the correlation value high when the amount of delay of the transmission signal is measured. Consequently, even if a lot of noise is included in a reception signal, it is possible to accurately measure the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals.

[c] Third Embodiment

In the first embodiment described above, when the amount of delay of one of the transmission signals is measured, the intermediate signal is generated by performing arithmetic operation on the reception signal by using the other one of the transmission signals and the amount of delay is calculated from the correlation value between the generated intermediate signal and the other one of the transmission signals. In this case, the maximum value of the correlation between the intermediate signal and one of the transmission signals becomes greater as the amount of delay of the other one of the transmission signals is more similar to the amount of delay of the transmission signal that has generated the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal. Consequently, even if a lot of noise is included in the reception signal, it is possible to accurately measure the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals.

Thus, in the third embodiment, the process of measuring the amount of delay of one of the transmission signals and setting the measured amount of delay to the amount of delay of the one of the transmission signals that is used when the amount of delay of the other one of the transmission signals is measured is repeatedly performed. Consequently, it is possible to increase the measurement accuracy of the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals. In the following, the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment will be described.

The Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to a third embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of multipliers 540a to 540c, a plurality of delay setting units 541a and 541b, a plurality of correlators 542a and 542b, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 543a and 543b. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of selectors 544a and 544b and a control unit 546. The multipliers 540a to 540c are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used as the correlators 542a and 542b. The multipliers 540a and 540c are an example of the generating unit. Furthermore, the maximum value detecting units 543a and 543b are an example of the calculating unit.

The selector 544a outputs the amount of delay d₂output from the maximum value detecting unit 543a to the replica generating unit 40 or the delay setting unit 541b in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 546. The selector 544b outputs the amount of delay d₁output from the maximum value detecting unit 543b to the replica generating unit 40 or the delay setting unit 541a in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 546. In the measurement of the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂, the control unit 546 controls the selector 544b such that the amount of delay d₁output from the maximum value detecting unit 543b is output to the delay setting unit 541a. Furthermore, in the measurement of the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂, the control unit 546 controls the selector 544a such that the amount of delay d₂output from the maximum value detecting unit 543a is output to the delay setting unit 541b.

Then, when the measurement of the amount of delay d₁and the measurement of the amount of delay d₂are alternately repeated predetermined number of times, the control unit 546 controls the selector 544b such that the amount of delay d₁is output to the replica generating unit 40 and controls the selector 544a such that the amount of delay d₂is output to the replica generating unit 40. Furthermore, when the measurement of the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂is started, the control unit 546 controls the maximum value detecting units 543a and 543b such that, for example, zero is output as the initial value of the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂.

The delay setting unit 541b delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₂output from the selector 544a and then outputs the delayed transmission signal x₂to the multiplier 540c. The multiplier 540c calculates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 541b. The multiplier 540c is an example of the first generating unit.

The multiplier 540b calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output form the BBU 11. The delay setting unit 541a delays the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 540b by the amount of delay d₁that is output from the selector 544b and outputs the delayed square of the transmission signal x₁to both the multiplier 540a and the correlator 542b. The correlator 542b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 541a. The maximum value detecting unit 543b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 542b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 543b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the selector 544b as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁. The maximum value detecting unit 543b is an example of the first calculating unit.

Furthermore, the multiplier 540a calculates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput form the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 541a. The multiplier 540a is an example of the second generating unit. The correlator 542a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 541b. The maximum value detecting unit 543a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 542a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 543a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the selector 544a as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂. The maximum value detecting unit 543a is an example of the second calculating unit.

Operation of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the third embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 starts the operation illustrated in FIG. 23 at the predetermined timing.

First, the control unit 546 initializes the variable n to zero (Step S300). Furthermore, the control unit 546 controls the maximum value detecting unit 543b such that, for example, zero is output as the initial value of the amount of delay d₁and controls the maximum value detecting unit 543a such that, for example, zero is output as the initial value of the amount of delay d₂(Step S300). Then, the control unit 546 controls the selector 544b such that the amount of delay d₁output from the maximum value detecting unit 543b is to be output to the delay setting unit 541a and controls the selector 544a such that the amount of delay d₂output from the maximum value detecting unit 543a is to be output to the delay setting unit 541b.

Then, the delay setting unit 541b delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₂that is output from the selector 544a. Then, the multiplier 540c generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the amount of delay d₂by the delay setting unit 541b (Step S301).

Then, the multiplier 540b calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The delay setting unit 541a delays the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 540b by the amount of delay d₁that is output from the selector 544b. The correlator 542b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₁by the delay setting unit 541a (Step S302).

Then, the maximum value detecting unit 543b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 542b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 543b updates the amount of delay d₁to the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value (Step S303). The updated amount of delay d₁is set in the delay setting unit 541a via the selector 544b.

Then, the multiplier 540a generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the square of the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₁by the delay setting unit 541a (Step S304).

The correlator 542a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 541b (Step S305). The maximum value detecting unit 543a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 542a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 543a updates the amount of delay d₂to the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value (Step S306). The updated amount of delay d₂is set in the delay setting unit 541b via the selector 544a.

Then, the control unit 546 determines whether the variable n reaches the predetermined value N (Step S307). In the embodiment, the predetermined value N is, for example, 3. If the variable n does not reach the predetermined value N (No at Step S307), the control unit 546 increments the value of the variable n by 1 (Step S309). Then, the process indicated by Step S301 is performed again.

In contrast, if the variable n reaches the predetermined value N (Yes at Step S307), the control unit 546 controls the selector 544b such that the amount of delay d₁is output to the replica generating unit 40 and controls the selector 544a such that the amount of delay d₂is output to the replica generating unit 40. Consequently, the amount of delays d₁and d₂measured by the delay measuring instrument 50 are output to the replica generating unit 40 (Step S308).

Furthermore, in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 23, the processes at Steps S304 to S306 are performed after the processes at Steps S301 to S303; however, either of the processes at Steps S304 to S306 and the processes at Steps S301 to S303 may also be performed first.

The delay profile calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 24. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 24, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 24, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, FIG. 24 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples and the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples.

Another Example of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50 According to the Third Embodiment

In also the third embodiment described above, when the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁is measured, the intermediate signal S_m1may also be calculated by multiplying both the transmission signal x₂and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁by the reception signal r_x. FIG. 25 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the third embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 25 also differs from the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 22 in that, when calculating the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂, the intermediate signal S_m2is calculated by multiplying the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁by the reception signal r_xtwice.

The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 25 includes a plurality of multipliers 550a to 550d, a plurality of delay setting units 551a and 551b, a plurality of correlators 552a and 552b, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 553a and 553b. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 25 includes a plurality of selectors 554a and 554b and a control unit 556. The multipliers 550a to 550d are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used as the correlators 552a and 552b.

In the measurement of the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂, the control unit 556 controls the selector 554b such that the amount of delay d₁output from the maximum value detecting unit 553b is to be output to the delay setting unit 551a. Furthermore, in the measurement of the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂, the control unit 556 controls the selector 554a such that the amount of delay d₂output from the maximum value detecting unit 553a is to be output to the delay setting unit 551b. Then, if the measurement of both the amount of delay d₁and the amount of delay d₂is alternately repeated predetermined number of times, the control unit 556 controls the selector 554b such that the amount of delay d₁is output to the replica generating unit 40 and controls the selector 554a such that the amount of delay d₂is output to the replica generating unit 40.

The delay setting unit 551b delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₂that is output from the selector 554a and then outputs the delayed transmission signal x₂to the multiplier 550d and the correlator 552a. The delay setting unit 551a delays the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₁that is output from the selector 554b and then outputs the delayed transmission signal x₁to both the multipliers 550a to 550c and the correlator 552b.

The multiplier 550c multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 551a. The multiplier 550d generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 550c by the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 551b.

The correlator 552b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁output from the delay setting unit 551a. The maximum value detecting unit 553b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 552b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 553b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the selector 554b as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁.

The multiplier 550a multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁that is output from the delay setting unit 551a. The multiplier 550b generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 550a by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁that is output from the delay setting unit 551a.

The correlator 552a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the delay setting unit 551b. The maximum value detecting unit 553a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 552a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 553a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the selector 554a as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂.

The delay profile calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 25 is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 26. FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 26, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 26, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, FIG. 26 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal that includes therein the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples and the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples.

Effect of the Third Embodiment

In the above, the third embodiment has been described. In the embodiment, the multiplier 550d generates the intermediate signal S_m1by using the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the amount of delay d₂calculated by the maximum value detecting unit 553a. Furthermore, the multiplier 550b generates the intermediate signal S_m2by using the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the amount of delay d₁calculated by the maximum value detecting unit 553b. The control unit 556 repeatedly causes a predetermined number of times the multiplier 550d to generate the intermediate signal S_m1, the maximum value detecting unit 553b to calculate the amount of delay d₁, the multiplier 550b to generate the intermediate signal S_m2, and the maximum value detecting unit 553a to calculate the amount of delay d₂. Consequently, the accuracy of the measurement of the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals is improved. Consequently, even if a lot of noise is included in the reception signal, it is possible to more accurately measure the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals.

[d] Fourth Embodiment

In the first embodiment described above, the communication device 10 that cancels the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signals x₁and x₂that are transmitted at two different frequencies has been described. In a fourth embodiment, canceling of the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signals x₁, x₂, and x₃that are transmitted at three different frequencies will be described. In a description below, it is assumed that the frequency of the transmission signal x₁is defined as f₁, the frequency of the transmission signal x₂is defined as f₂, and the frequency of the transmission signal x₃is defined as f₃, a description will be given with the assumption of f₁<f₂<f₃. The transmission signal x₁is an example of the first transmission signal, the transmission signal x₂is an example of the second transmission signal, and the transmission signal x₃is an example of the third transmission signal.

Regarding the intermodulation signal S_PIMgenerated by the transmission signals x₁, x₂, and x₃, the intermodulation signal S_PIMhaving the frequency of f₁+f₂−f₃is represented by, for example, Equation (5) below.

S
_PIM=(A₃+A₅₁|x₁|²+A₅₂|x₂|²+A₅₃|x₃|²+ . . . ) x₁·x₂·x₃* (5)

If both the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂and the transmission signal x₃are multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (5) above, the intermediate signal S_m1that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (6) below.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 1} = S_{PIM} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \cdot x_{3} \\ = K \cdot x_{1} \cdot x_{2} \cdot x_{3}^{*} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \cdot x_{3} \\ = K \cdot {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} \cdot {\langle x_{3} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{1} \end{matrix} & (6) \end{matrix}$

where, K=A₃+A₅₁|x₁|²+A₅₂|x₂|²+A₅₃|x₃|²+ . . . .

In Equation (6) above, the components of the transmission signals x₂and x₃become the real numbers and are variation in the amplitude. Thus, it is possible to take a correlation between the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (6) above and the transmission signal x₁. The correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (6) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

Furthermore, if both the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₃are multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (5) above, the intermediate signal S_m2that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (7) below.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 2} = S_{PIM} \cdot x_{1}^{*} \cdot x_{3} \\ = K \cdot x_{1} \cdot x_{2} \cdot x_{3}^{*} \cdot x_{1}^{*} \cdot x_{3} \\ = K \cdot {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} \cdot {\langle x_{3} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{2} \end{matrix} & (7) \end{matrix}$

where, K=A₃+A₅₁|x₁|²+A₅₂|x₂|²+A₅₃|x₃|²+ . . . .

In Equation (7) above, the components of the transmission signals x₁and x₃become the real numbers and are variation in the amplitude. Thus, it is possible to take a correlation between the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (7) above and the transmission signal x₂. The correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the transmission signal x₂is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (7) while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

Furthermore, if both the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂are multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (5) above, the intermediate signal S_m3that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (8) below.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 3} = S_{PIM} \cdot x_{1}^{*} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \\ = K \cdot x_{1} \cdot x_{2} \cdot x_{3}^{*} \cdot x_{1}^{*} \cdot x_{2}^{*} \\ = K \cdot {\langle x_{1} \rangle}^{2} \cdot {\langle x_{2} \rangle}^{2} \cdot x_{3}^{*} \end{matrix} & (8) \end{matrix}$

where, K=A₃+A₅₁|x₁|²+A₅₂|x₂|²+A₅₃|x₃|²+ . . . .

In Equation (8) above, the components of the transmission signals x₁and x₂become the real numbers and are variation in the amplitude. Thus, it is possible to take a correlation between intermediate signal S_m3represented by Equation (8) above and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃. The correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m3and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m3represented by Equation (8) above while changing the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

In the following, an example of a specific functional block of the delay measuring instrument 50 that implements the process according to the embodiment will be described.

The Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 27 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to a fourth embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of multipliers 560a to 560f, a plurality of correlators 561a to 561c, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 562a to 562c. The multipliers 560a to 560f are, for example, complex multipliers. Furthermore, for example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used as the correlators 561a to 561c. The multipliers 560b, 560d, and 560f are an example of the generating unit. Furthermore, the maximum value detecting units 502a to 562c are an example of the calculating unit.

The multiplier 560a multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 560b generates the intermediate signal S_m3by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 560a by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 560b is an example of the third generating unit.

The correlator 561a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m3and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 562a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 561a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 562a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃. The maximum value detecting unit 562a is an example of the third calculating unit.

The multiplier 560c multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 560d generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 560c by the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 560d is an example of the second generating unit.

The correlator 561b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 562b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 561b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 562b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂. The maximum value detecting unit 562b is an example of the second calculating unit.

The multiplier 560e multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 560f generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 560e by the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 560f is an example of the first generating unit.

The correlator 561c calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 562c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 561c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 562c outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁. The maximum value detecting unit 562c is an example of the first calculating unit.

The delay profile calculates about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 28. FIG. 28 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 28, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 28, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁, each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the transmission signal x₂, and each of the white triangles indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m3and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃. Furthermore, FIG. 28 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal including the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples, the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples, and the transmission signal x₃having the amount of delay of −6 samples.

Effect of the Fourth Embodiment

In the above, the fourth embodiment has been described. With the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment, in the reception signal including the intermodulation signals generated from the three transmission signals having different frequencies, it is possible to calculate the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that has generated the intermodulation signals. Consequently, the communication device 10 according to the embodiment can generate the intermodulation signal having the waveform similar to the intermodulation signal that is included in the reception signal. Thus, the communication device 10 according to the embodiment can accurately cancel the intermodulation signals included in the reception signal and can improve the quality of the reception signal.

In also the embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the amount of delay of the intermodulation signals included in the reception signal may also be measured by using the intermodulation signals generated from the transmission signals x₁to x₃and the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals x₁to x₃may also be separately measured by using the measured amount of delay. Furthermore, in also the embodiment, similarly to the third embodiment, the amount of delay of the transmission signal of one of the transmission signals x₁to x₃may also be calculated and the calculated amount of delay may also be used to calculate the amount of delay of the other one of the transmission signals.

[e] Fifth Embodiment

In the first embodiment described above, a description has been given of canceling the intermodulation signals generated by the transmission signals x₁and x₂transmitted at two different frequencies. In a fifth embodiment, a description will be given of canceling the intermodulation signals generated by two sets of the transmission signals transmitted at different frequencies. In one set of the two sets of the transmission signals, the two transmission signals x₁and x₂that are transmitted at the same frequency are included, whereas, in the other set of the two sets of the transmission signals, the two transmission signals x₃and x₄that are transmitted at the same frequency are included. These intermodulation signals having the configuration described above are generated when, for example, a plurality of the RREs 30 that transmit the transmission signals at different frequencies is present and each of the RREs 30 transmits the transmission signals at the same frequency via two antennas. In a description below, the frequency of each of the transmission signals x₁and x₂is defined as f₁, the frequency of each of the transmission signals x₃and x₄is defined as f₂, and a description will be given with the assumption of f₁<f₂. Furthermore, the transmission signals x₁to x₄are uncorrelated.

The intermodulation signal S_PIMhaving the frequency of 2f₁-f₂from among the intermodulation signals S_PIMgenerated by the transmission signals x₁to x₄is represented by, for example, Equation (9) below.

S
_PIM
=K·(x₁+x₂)²·(x₃+x₄)* (9)

where, K=A₃+A₅₁|x₁+x₂|²+A₅₂|x₃+x₄|²+ . . . .

When the sum of the transmission signal x₃and the transmission signal x₄is multiplied by the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (9) above, the intermediate signal S_m1that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (10) below.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 1} = S_{PIM} \cdot (x_{3} + x_{4}) \\ = K \cdot {(x_{1} + x_{2})}^{2} \cdot {(x_{3} + x_{4})}^{*} \cdot (x_{3} + x_{4}) \\ = K \cdot {\langle x_{3} + x_{4} \rangle}^{2} \cdot {(x_{1} + x_{2})}^{2} \\ = K \cdot {\langle x_{3} + x_{4} \rangle}^{2} \cdot (x_{1}^{2} + 2 x_{1} \cdot x_{2} + x_{2}^{2}) \end{matrix} & (10) \end{matrix}$

where, K=A₃+A₅₁|x₁+x₂|²+A₅₂|x₃+x₄|²+ . . . .

In Equation (10) above, the components of the transmission signals x₃and x₄become the real numbers and are variation in the amplitude. Furthermore, as represented by Equation (10) above, the intermediate signal S_m1becomes the combined signal of x₁², x₁·x₂, and x₂². Thus, the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (10) above can correlate between x₁²and x₂². Namely, the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and x₁²is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (10) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM. Furthermore, the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the x₂²is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m1represented by Equation (10) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

Furthermore, when the intermodulation signal S_PIMrepresented by Equation (9) above is multiplied by the complex conjugate of the square of the sum of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂, the intermediate signal S_m2that is the multiplication result is represented by, for example, Equation (11) below.

$\begin{matrix} \begin{matrix} S_{m 2} = S_{PIM} \cdot {({(x_{1} + x_{2})}^{2})}^{*} \\ = K \cdot {(x_{1} + x_{2})}^{2} \cdot {(x_{3} + x_{4})}^{*} \cdot {({(x_{1} + x_{2})}^{2})}^{*} \\ = K \cdot {\langle x_{1} + x_{2} \rangle}^{4} \cdot (x_{3}^{*} + x_{4}^{*}) \end{matrix} & (11) \end{matrix}$

where, K=A₃+A₅₁|x₁+x₂|²+A₅₂|x₃+x₄|²+ . . . .

In Equation (11) above, the components of the transmission signals x₁and x₂become the real numbers and are variation in the amplitude. Furthermore, as represented by Equation (11) above, intermediate signal S_m2becomes the combined signal between the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄. Thus, the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (11) above can correlate the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄. Namely, the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (11) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₃. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM. Furthermore, the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄is calculated with respect to the intermediate signal S_m2represented by Equation (11) above while changing the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₄. Then, the amount of delay having the maximum correlation value is the amount of delay d₄of the transmission signal x₄that has generated the intermodulation signal S_PIM.

In the following, an example of a specific functional block of the delay measuring instrument 50 that implements the process according to the embodiment will be described.

The Delay Measuring Instrument 50

FIG. 29 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to a fifth embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of multipliers 570a to 570e, a plurality of correlators 571a to 571d, a plurality of maximum value detecting units 572a to 572d, and a plurality of adders 573a and 573b. The multipliers 570a to 570e are, for example, complex multipliers. Furthermore, for example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used for the correlators 571a to 571d. The multiplier 570a and the multiplier 570c are an example of the generating unit. Furthermore, the maximum value detecting units 572a to 572d are an example of calculating units.

The adder 573a adds the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂that are output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 570b squares the addition result obtained by the adder 573a. The multiplier 570a generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 570b. The multiplier 570a is an example of the second generating unit.

The correlator 571a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 572a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 571a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 572a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₄of the transmission signal x₄. The maximum value detecting unit 572a is an example of a fourth calculating unit.

The correlator 571b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 572b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 571b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 572b outputs the amount of delay of the detected the maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃. The maximum value detecting unit 572b is an example of the third calculating unit.

The adder 573b adds the transmission signal x₃to the transmission signal x₄that are output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 570c generated the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the addition result obtained by the adder 573b. The multiplier 570c is an example of the first generating unit. The multiplier 570d calculates the square of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11.

The correlator 571c calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₂calculated by the multiplier 570d while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₂calculated by the multiplier 570d. The maximum value detecting unit 572c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 571c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 572c outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂. The maximum value detecting unit 572c is an example of the second calculating unit.

The multiplier 570e calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The correlator 571d calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 570e while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 570e. The maximum value detecting unit 572d detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 571d. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 572d outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁. The maximum value detecting unit 572d is an example of the first calculating unit.

The delay profile calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 30. FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 30, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signals, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 30, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, in FIG. 30, each of the white triangles indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃, whereas each of the crosses indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄. Furthermore, FIG. 30 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal including the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples, the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples, the transmission signal x₃having the amount of delay of −6 samples, and the transmission signal x₄having the amount of delay of +6 samples.

Another Example of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50 According to the Fifth Embodiment

Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment described above, when the amount of delays d₁and d₂are measured, the intermediate signal S_m1may also be calculated by further multiplying the reception signal r_xby the complex conjugate of the sum of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂. FIG. 31 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the fifth embodiment. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 31 also differs from the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 29 in that, when the intermediate signal S_m2is generated, the reception signal r_xis multiplied by the complex conjugate of the sum of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂twice.

The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 31 includes a plurality of multipliers 580a to 580d, a plurality of correlators 581a to 581d, a plurality of maximum value detecting units 582a to 582d, and a plurality of adders 583a to 583c. The multipliers 580a to 580d are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used for the correlators 581a to 581d.

The adder 583a adds the transmission signal x₁to the transmission signal x₂that are output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 580a multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the addition result obtained by the adder 583a. The multiplier 580b generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 580a by the complex conjugate of the addition result obtained by the adder 583a.

The correlator 581a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 582a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 581a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 582a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₄of the transmission signal x₄.

The correlator 581b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 582b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 581b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 582b outputs the amount of delay from among the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃.

The adder 583b adds the transmission signal x₃to the transmission signal x₄that are output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 580c multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the addition result obtained by the adder 583b. The adder 583c adds the transmission signal x₁to the transmission signal x₂that are output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 580d generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 580c by the complex conjugate of the addition result obtained by the adder 583c.

The correlator 581c calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 582c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 581c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 582c outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂.

The correlator 581d calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The maximum value detecting unit 582d detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 581d. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 582d outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁.

The delay profile calculated about each of the transmission signals by the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 31 is like that illustrated in, for example, FIG. 32. FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a delay profile of each of the transmission signals. In FIG. 32, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals with respect to the intermodulation signal, whereas the vertical axis indicates the correlation values. Furthermore, in FIG. 32, each of the white dots indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁, whereas each of the white squares indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₂. Furthermore, in FIG. 32, each of the white triangles indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃, whereas each of the crosses indicates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄. Furthermore, FIG. 32 illustrates each of the correlation values with the reception signal including the intermodulation signal generated by the transmission signal x₁having the amount of delay of +4 samples, the transmission signal x₂having the amount of delay of −2 samples, the transmission signal x₃having the amount of delay of −6 samples, and the transmission signal x₄having the amount of delay of +6 samples.

Effect of the Fifth Embodiment

In the above, the fifth embodiment has been described. With the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment, in the reception signal including the intermodulation signal by two sets of the transmission signals transmitted at different frequencies, the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals that has generated the subject intermodulation signals can be calculated. Consequently, the communication device 10 according to the embodiment can generate the intermodulation signal having the waveform similar to that of the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal. Thus, the communication device 10 according to the embodiment can accurately cancel the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal and can improve the quality of the reception signal.

[f] Sixth Embodiment

A sixth embodiment is an embodiment related to a combination of the second embodiment and the fifth embodiment. FIG. 33 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the sixth embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of multipliers 590a to 590e, a plurality of correlators 591a to 591d, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 592a to 592d. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment includes a plurality of delay setting units 594a to 594d, a plurality of adders 595a and 595b, and an average delay detecting unit 60. The multipliers 590a to 590e are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like may also be used as the correlators 591a to 591d.

The average delay detecting unit 60 generates an intermodulation signal by using the transmission signals x₁to x₄output from the BBU 11. Then, on the basis of the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the generated intermodulation signal, the average delay detecting unit 60 measures the amount of delay d₀of the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal r_x. Then, the average delay detecting unit 60 outputs the measured amount of delay d₀to the delay setting units 594a to 594d. The amount of delay d₀of the intermodulation signal measured by the average delay detecting unit 60 corresponds to the average value of the amount of delays of the transmission signals x₁to x₄that have generated the intermodulation signal included in the reception signal r_x.

The delay setting unit 594a delays the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60. The delay setting unit 594b delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60. The delay setting unit 594c delays the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60. The delay setting unit 594d delays the transmission signal x₄output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60.

The adder 595a adds the transmission signal x₃that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594c to the transmission signal x₄that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594d. The multiplier 590a generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the addition result obtained by the adder 595a. The multiplier 590b calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594a. The multiplier 590c calculates the square of the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594b.

The correlator 591a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₁calculated by the multiplier 590b. The maximum value detecting unit 592a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 591a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 592a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁.

The correlator 591b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the square of the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the square of the transmission signal x₂calculated by the multiplier 590c. The maximum value detecting unit 592b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 591b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 592b outputs the amount of delay of the detected the maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂.

The adder 595b adds the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594a to the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594b. The multiplier 590e calculates the square of the addition result obtained by the adder 595b. The multiplier 590d generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 590e.

The correlator 591c calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594c. The maximum value detecting unit 592c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 591c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 592c outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃.

The correlator 591d calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄that is delayed by the delay setting unit 594d. The maximum value detecting unit 592d detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 591d. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 592d outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₄of the transmission signal x₄.

The Average Delay Detecting Unit 60

FIG. 34 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the average delay detecting unit 60. The average delay detecting unit 60 includes a plurality of multipliers 600a to 600i, a plurality of correlators 601a to 601f, an adder 602, and a maximum value detecting unit 603. The multipliers 600a to 600i are, for example complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used for the correlators 601a to 601f.

The multiplier 600a calculates the square of the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 600b multiplies the transmission signal x₁by the transmission signal x₂that are output from the BBU 11. The multiplier 600c calculates the square of the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11.

The multiplier 600d multiplies the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600a by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11. The correlator 601a calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the multiplication result obtained from the multiplier 600d while shifting the amount of delay of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600d.

The multiplier 600e multiplies the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600b by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃output form the BBU 11. The correlator 601b calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600e while shifting the amount of delay of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600e.

The multiplier 600f multiplies the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600c by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃that is output from the BBU 11. The correlator 601c calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600f while shifting the amount of delay of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600f.

The multiplier 600g multiplies the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600a by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄obtained from the BBU 11. The correlator 601d calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600g while shifting the amount of delay of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600g.

The multiplier 600h multiplies the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600b by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄output from the BBU 11. The correlator 601e calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600h while shifting the amount of delay of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600h.

The multiplier 600i multiplies the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600c by the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄output from the BBU 11. The correlator 601f calculates the correlation value between the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 and the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600i while shifting the amount of delay of the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 600i.

The adder 602 adds, for each amount of delay, the correlation value that is output from each of the correlators 601a to 601f. The maximum value detecting unit 603 detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values added by the adder 602. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 603 outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to each of the delay setting units 594a to 594d as the amount of delay d₀of the intermodulation signal.

Another Example of the Delay Measuring Instrument 50 According to the Sixth Embodiment

In the sixth embodiment described above, when the amount of delays d₁and d₂are measured, the intermediate signal S_m1may also be calculated by further multiplying the reception signal r_xby the complex conjugate of the sum of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂. FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating another example of the delay measuring instrument 50 according to the sixth embodiment. The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 35 also differs from the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 33 in that, when calculating the amount of delays d₃and d₄, the intermediate signal S_m2is calculated by multiplying the reception signal r_xby the complex conjugate of the sum of the transmission signal x₁and the transmission signal x₂twice.

The delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 35 includes a plurality of multipliers 700a to 700d, a plurality of correlators 701a to 701d, and a plurality of maximum value detecting units 702a to 702d. Furthermore, the delay measuring instrument 50 illustrated in FIG. 35 includes a plurality of delay setting units 704a to 704d, a plurality of adders 705a and 705b, and the average delay detecting unit 60. The multipliers 700a to 700d are, for example, complex multipliers. For example, the sliding correlator illustrated in FIG. 6, the matched filter illustrated in FIG. 7, or the like can be used for the correlators 701a to 701d. The average delay detecting unit 60 illustrated in FIG. 35 is the same as the average delay detecting unit 60 illustrated in FIG. 34.

The delay setting unit 704a delays the transmission signal x₁output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60. The delay setting unit 704a delays the transmission signal x₂output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60. The delay setting unit 704c delays the transmission signal x₃output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60. The delay setting unit 704d delays the transmission signal x₄output from the BBU 11 by the amount of delay d₀that is output from the average delay detecting unit 60.

The adder 705a adds the transmission signal x₃that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704c to the transmission signal x₄that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704d. The multiplier 700a multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the addition result obtained by the adder 705a. The adder 705b adds the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704a to the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704b. The multiplier 700b generates the intermediate signal S_m1by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 700a by the complex conjugate of the addition result obtained by the adder 705b.

The correlator 701a calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₁while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₁that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704a. The maximum value detecting unit 702a detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 701a. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 702a outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₁of the transmission signal x₁.

The correlator 701b calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m1and the transmission signal x₂while shifting the amount of delay of the transmission signal x₂that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704b. The maximum value detecting unit 702b detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 701b. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 702b outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₂of the transmission signal x₂.

The multiplier 700c multiplies the reception signal r_xoutput from the RRE 30 by the complex conjugate of the addition result obtained by the adder 705b. The multiplier 700d generates the intermediate signal S_m2by multiplying the multiplication result obtained by the multiplier 700c by the complex conjugate of the addition result obtained by the adder 705b.

The correlator 701c calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₃that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704c. The maximum value detecting unit 702c detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 701c. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 702c outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₃of the transmission signal x₃.

The correlator 701d calculates the correlation value between the intermediate signal S_m2and the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄while shifting the amount of delay of the complex conjugate of the transmission signal x₄that is delayed by the delay setting unit 704d. The maximum value detecting unit 702d detects the maximum correlation value from among the correlation values calculated by the correlator 701d. Then, the maximum value detecting unit 702d outputs the amount of delay of the detected maximum correlation value to the replica generating unit 40 as the amount of delay d₄of the transmission signal x₄.

Effect of the Sixth Embodiment

In the above, the sixth embodiment has been described. The delay measuring instrument 50 according to the embodiment measures the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals by using each of the transmission signals in which the amount of delay of the intermodulation signal is set. Consequently, it is possible to make the correlation value used when measuring the amount of delay of the transmission signal high. Thus, even if a lot of noise is included in a reception signal, it is possible to more accurately measure the amount of delay of each of the transmission signals.

Others

The delay measuring instrument 50 according to each of the embodiments described above is implemented by the processing unit illustrated in, for example, FIG. 36. FIG. 36 is a block diagram illustrating an example of hardware of a processing unit 80 that implements the delay measuring instrument 50. The processing unit 80 includes, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 36, a memory 81, a processor 82, and a network interface circuit 83.

The network interface circuit 83 transmits and receives a signal in accordance with, for example, the communication standard, such as the CPRI (Common Public Radio Interface), or the like. The memory 81 stores therein various kinds programs, such as programs or the like for implementing the function of the multiplier, the adder, the delay setting unit, the correlator, the maximum value detecting unit, the selector, the control unit, and the like. The processor 82 executes the programs read from the memory 81 and cooperates with the network interface circuit 83 or the like, whereby implementing each of the functions of the multiplier, the adder, the delay setting unit, the correlator, the maximum value detecting unit, the selector, the control unit, and the like.

Furthermore, in each of the embodiments described above, the delay measuring instrument 50 is provided, between the BBU 11 and the RRE 30 as a device, independently of the BBU 11 and the RRE 30; however, the disclosed technology is not limited to this. The delay measuring instrument 50 may also be provided in, for example, the BBU 11 or may also be provided in, for example, each of the RREs 30.

Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment described above, a case in which each of the RREs 30 transmits different transmission signals at the same frequency from the two antennas has been described; however, the disclosed technology is not limited to this. For example, the technology of the fifth embodiment can be used in also a case in which each of the RREs 30 transmits different transmission signals at the same frequency via three or more antennas.

According to an aspect of an embodiment, it is possible to reduce the degradation of the quality of reception signals.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to further the art, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

DELAY MEASURING INSTRUMENT, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND DELAY MEASUREMENT METHOD

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