The present application claims priority to German Application No. DE 10 2009 030 675.7, filed on Jun. 26, 2009, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to a method and a device for transmitting and receiving signals.
For the transmission of digital signals, individual data values are conventionally assigned to signal-space points within an I/Q signal space. If an interference of the transmission channel is based upon white noise, that is to say, the transmission channel is an AWGN (additive white Gaussian noise) channel, a maximum possible spacing distance between the signal-space points is advantageous for the avoidance of interference. One conventional transmission method is the 8-PSK method (phase-shift keying). In this context, as presented in
For the more efficient exploitation of the signal space, with the equally widely used QAM method (quadrature-amplitude modulation), further signal-space points are inserted between the origin of the signal space and the signal-space points disposed further outwards. Accordingly, for example, with a 16-QAM method, 16 signal-space points are accommodated on a uniform square grid within the signal space. Accordingly,
However, if the transmission channel is not an AWGN channel, and the noise provides a different power density distribution, these constellations prove disadvantageous. Transmission channels frequently provide a high noise power density with low amplitudes and a low noise power density at high amplitudes of the noise signal.
Regarding the prior art, reference is made by way of example to U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,389. However, in this context, no modulation compression is implemented, but rather a pre-distortion.
The invention advantageously provides a transmission method and a transmission device, which achieve high signal-noise ratios with a high noise-power density at low amplitudes.
A communications device according to the invention comprises a transmitter, a transmission processing device, a receiver and a reception processing device. The transmission processing device assigns signal-space points within an I/Q signal space to digital signals, which comprise data values. The reception processing device assigns signal-space points to data values. The transmitter generates a transmission signal from the signal-space points to be transmitted. The receiver determines received signal-space points from a received signal. The individual transmitted and received signal-space points each provide a relatively smaller spacing distance from adjacent signal-space points than from the origin of the signal space. Accordingly, high signal-noise ratios can be achieved even in the case of non-white noise.
The individual transmitted and received signal-space points preferably provide different spacing distances from the origin of the signal space. A large number of signal-space points can therefore be arranged within the signal space.
The communications device preferably contains a compression device and a decompression device. The compression device and the decompression device preferably displace signal-space points within the signal space. Accordingly, conventional constellation diagrams can be transformed at low cost into compressed constellation diagrams.
The compression device advantageously increases the spacing distance of signal-space points from the origin of the signal space. The decompression device advantageously reduces the spacing distance of signal-space points from the origin of the signal space. Accordingly, the sensitivity to noise signals of low amplitude is reduced.
The received and transmitted signal-space points preferably provide a uniform spacing distance from immediately adjacent signal-space points. Accordingly, an optimal distribution of the signal-space points within the signal space and therefore an efficient exploitation of the signal space is guaranteed.
By preference, the compression device adjusts the ratio of the spacing distance of signal-space points to be transmitted from the origin of the signal space and of the spacing distance of signal-space points from adjacent signal-space points dependent upon the distribution of the noise power. Accordingly, an optimal transmission is guaranteed with different distributions of the noise-power density.
By preference, the transmitted signal-space points correspond to the signal-space points assigned by the transmission processing device. The received signal-space points preferably correspond to the signal-space points assigned by the reception processing device. Accordingly, costly additional compression and decompression devices can be dispensed with.
The transmission processing device advantageously adjusts the ratio of the spacing distance of signal-space points to be transmitted from the origin of the signal space and of the spacing distance of the signal-space points from immediately adjacent signal-space points dependent upon the distribution of the noise power. Accordingly, an optimal transmission is guaranteed with different distributions of the noise power density.
The invention is described by way of example on the basis of the drawings, in which advantageous exemplary embodiments of the invention are presented. The drawings are as follows:
The problem underlying the invention is initially presented on the basis of
To increase the number of bits per symbol, which can be transmitted with a technically meaningful, minimal inter-symbol spacing distance, additional signal-space points are inserted within a unit circle about the signal-space origin. A transmission method with a larger number of signal-space points is illustrated in
For the classic 16-QAM modulation, the following coordinates and respectively radii apply for the signal-space points in the first quadrant:
With the 16-QAM transmission, a significantly larger number of states per symbol can be transmitted than with the 8-PSK transmission. However, the disadvantage here is that especially the signal-space points S1, S6, S11 and S16 provide only a very small spacing distance ds0 from the origin of the signal space. In particular with transmission channels, which provide a very high noise-power density at low amplitudes, interference frequently occurs with these signal-space points. The signal-space points S2, S4, S7, S5, S12, S10, S13 and S15 already provide a larger spacing distance ds1 and are therefore less sensitive to such interference. The signal-space points S3, S8, S9 and S14 provide the largest spacing distance ds2 from the origin of the signal space and are therefore the least sensitive to the named type of interference.
The following exemplary coordinates and respectively radii are obtained for the signal-space points in the first quadrant:
The large spacing distance between the origin of the signal space and the inner circle is advantageous here. Even the signal-space points T1, T6, T11, T16 disposed nearest to the origin are less sensitive to noise of low amplitude.
The constellation diagram shown here is achieved by compression of a conventional 16-QAM constellation diagram. That is to say, the amplitude of signal-space points of low amplitude is increased. The higher the amplitude of the original signal-space points is, the smaller the increase in amplitude will be. The amplitude of signal-space points, which already provide a maximal amplitude, is not further increased. In this context, the angle of the signal-space points is not changed.
The implemented amplitude compression has been selected in such a manner that the same minimal inter-symbol spacing distance is observed as in the case of the classic 16-QAM modulation. As an alternative, a constellation, in which the spacing distance dTn0 is significantly smaller than the spacing distance dTn1, is also possible.
In this context, the size of the inner circle is determined dependent upon the power-density distribution of the noise power. If the focus of the noise-power density is at low amplitudes, a large inner circle is selected. With uniformly distributed noise-power density, a relatively smaller inner circle is selected. A constellation diagram of this kind is used by the device according to the invention, as presented in
This constellation diagram is determined in that the signal-space points within an annular area including the edges, which, through the unit circle externally and an internally disposed, concentric circle, which specifies a minimal spacing distance from the origin of the signal space, are distributed in such a manner that the spacing distances of adjacent signal-space points are maximised. In this context, the diameter of the unit circle corresponds to the maximal transmission power.
Numerical methods can be used for this purpose. With small numbers of signal-space points, an analytical solution is also possible. The size of the inner circle here is determined dependent upon the power-density distribution of the noise power. If the focus of the noise-power density is disposed at low amplitudes, a large inner circle is selected. With uniformly distributed noise power density, a relatively smaller inner circle is selected.
This constellation has been established, for example, subject to the specification to keep the same inter-symbol spacing distance dUn0 as in the case of the classic 16-QAM modulation (dUn0).
It is also advantageous here, that the inner circle already provides a large spacing distance dU0 from the origin of the signal space. The signal-space points U1, U4, U6, U5, U11, U10, U16, U15 and especially the signal-space points U2, U3, U7, U8, U12, U9, U13 and U14 are therefore particularly insensitive to noise signals of low amplitudes. By comparison with pure amplitude compression according to
The following coordinates are obtained here for the constellation diagram presented:
A constellation diagram of this kind is used by a device according to the invention as presented in
The receiver 11 receives the disturbed, modulated transmission signal and transforms it into signal-space points. The signal-space points are transmitted as digital data to the reception processing device 15. The reception processing device 15 determines the digital signal starting from the signal-space points.
To ensure that the digital signal, which the transmission processing device 14 receives, is output by the reception processing device 15 in as identical a manner as possible, interference during the transmission must be avoided as far as possible. Real transmission channels are frequently not AWGN channels, that is to say, the channel interference is not white noise. With low amplitudes of the noise signal, a high noise-power density is often present, while a low noise-power density is present with high amplitudes of the noise signal. With such a transmission channel, non-optimal results may be obtained with conventional transmission methods, such as 16-QAM, because there is a high probability that signal-space points disposed close to the origin of the signal space are disturbed in such a manner that they are not transmitted correctly. In order to remove this problem, the transmission processing device 14 uses transmission methods, in which the signal-space points have a significantly larger spacing distance from the origin of the signal space than the spacing distance between the signal-space points. Accordingly, constellation diagrams of the signal-space points are used as shown in
A digital signal is transformed by the transmission processing device 17 into I/Q values, that is to say, signal-space points within a two-dimensional signal space. In this context, conventional constellations of signal-space points are used, as shown, for example, in
The transformation of the data into compressed signal-space points can also be implemented in one step, without generating conventional constellations.
The compressed signal-space points are then still transmitted as digital data to the transmitter 10. As already described with reference to
The transformation of the compressed signal-space points into data can also be implemented in one step, without generating conventional constellations.
With this exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is advantageous that conventional transmission devices can be used according to the invention with the addition of only the compression device 12 and the decompression device 13.
A digital signal d(k) is supplied to the baseband processing device 40. The baseband processing device 40 generates two digital signals I′(k) and Q′(k) from the digital signal d(k). The generated signals I′(k) and Q′(k) contain all of the information, which is contained in the digital signal d(k). The digital signal d(k) is accordingly converted into two-dimensional signal-space points. The signals I′(k) and Q′(k) are each supplied to a digital-analog converter 41, 42. The digital analog converters 41, 42 convert the signals I′(k) and Q′(k) into analog signals I′(t) and Q′(t). In order to transform the analog signals I′(t) and Q′(t) to a transmission frequency and combine them, they are each supplied to a mixer 43, 44. The first mixer 43 mixes the signal I′(t) directly with the local oscillator signal generated by the local oscillator 45. The second mixer 44 mixes the signal Q′(t) with a local oscillator signal delayed in its phase by 90° via the phase shifter 46. The signals generated by the mixers are combined by the adder 47 and output as the transmitted signal x′(t).
The method presented here is implemented, for example, by the exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention from
A second exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention is shown with reference to
The method presented here is implemented, for example, by the exemplary embodiment of the device according to the invention from
The invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiment illustrated. Accordingly, the compression of the constellation diagrams can be used with different, conventional transmission methods. A use with cable-bound transmission methods is also possible. All of the features described above or shown in the drawings can be advantageously combined with one another as required within the framework of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2009 030 675 | Jun 2009 | DE | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100329314 A1 | Dec 2010 | US |