The present invention relates to methods for terminating both of the constituent encoders of a turbo code and developing puncturing patterns applicable at a trellis termination stage that ensures the same number of transmitted bits for each trellis stage during the information bit transmission and trellis termination stages.
The process of forward and reverse link turbo encoding and decoding, specifically for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications channels, is thoroughly described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/248,338 (Attorney. Docket No. PD-980024) of Eroz, et al., for SETS OF RATE-COMPATIBLE UNIVERSAL TURBO CODES NEARLY OPTIMIZED OVER VARIOUS RATES AND INTERLEAVER DELAYS, filed Feb. 11, 1999, and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/235,582, (Attorney Docket No. PD-980163) of Eroz, et al., for FORWARD ERROR CORRECTION SCHEME FOR DATA CHANNELS USING UNIVERSAL TURBO CODE, filed Jan. 22, 1999, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In a convolutional encoding scheme, tail bits are inserted after information bits, to zero out all shift registers of an encoder. For feed forward encoders, tail bits are equal to zero. For feedback encoders the value of tail bits depend on the contents of the shift register current values.
A turbo encoder consists of a parallel concatenation of two (2) or more recursive (feedback) convolutional encoders. Because each constituent encoder processes the information bits in a different order due to a turbo interleaver, it is not possible to terminate all constituent encoders by the same tail bits.
A trellis termination method general enough to be used for a set of turbo codes with different code rates as in the third generation CDMA systems is desirable. Included in the desirable general method is a method of puncturing tail bit sequences.
The present invention advantageously addresses the needs above as well as other needs by providing a method and apparatus for a general Turbo Code trellis termination which may be employed when a turbo encoder operates within a wide range of turbo code rates when transmitting information bits.
In its most general form, the invention can be characterized as a method of terminating two or more constituent encoders of a turbo encoder. The method comprises the steps of: generating tail input bits at each of two or more constituent encoders, including the step of deriving the tail input bits from each of the two or more constituent encoders separately from the contents of shift registers within each of the two or more constituent encoders, after an encoding of information bits by the two or more constituent encoders; and puncturing one or more tail output bits such that 1/R tail output bits are transmitted for each of a plurality of trellis stages, wherein R is a turbo code rate employed by the turbo encoder during the information bit transmission.
In yet another variation, the step of puncturing the one or more tail output bits further comprises the step of: transmitting, during trellis termination, the tail output bits only if they are sent from an output branch of one of the two or more constituent encoders that is used during information bit transmission.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following description of the presently contemplated best mode of practicing the invention is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of the invention. The scope of the invention should be determined with reference to the claims.
Referring to
The encoders (first and second encoders) 10, 10′ of the turbo code encoder of
In
At the end of each clock cycle, new tail input bits X(t), X′(t) are generated for zeroing out each respective shift register of the three shift registers, 18, 21 and 22.
In one embodiment of the invention the encoders 10, 10′ are terminated simultaneously within three clock cycles, each with its own tail input bit X(t), X′(t). Alternatively, the first encoder 10 is first terminated while the second encoder 10′ is disabled, followed by the second encoder 10′ being terminated while the first encoder 10 is disabled.
In the variation with the encoders 10, 10′ terminated at different times the encoders 10, 10′ can be terminated in consecutive clock cycles, wherein six (6) consecutive clock cycle tail input bits X(t), X′(t), consecutively terminate both the encoders 10, 10′.
As can be seen from
The zeroing of the shift registers 18, 21, 22, prior to implementing a puncturing scheme per an embodiment of the invention, is triggered by a beginning and an ending tail input bit sequence X(t), X′(t), each sequence having a number n of tail input bits X(t), X′(t) equal to the number n of shift registers 18, 21, 22 or 18′, 21, 22 coupled to each one of the encoders 10, 10′.
As with information and coded bits, tail output bits X, Yo, Y1, X′, Yo, Y1′ are also punctured by the puncturer 36.
Table 1 indicates associated tail output bit puncturing patterns having indicator sequences (e.g., 111 000”) identifying which bits to puncture and which bits to transmit. The indicator sequence, comprising “1”'s or “0”'s is selected in accordance with an encoder rate. In this notation, “1” indicates the tail output bit should be transmitted and “0” indicates that the tail output should be punctured. Certain entries in Table 1 are labeled “repeat”, which means that transmitted bits are transmitted twice.
The tail input bit sequences 34, 34′, which comprise tail input bits X, and X′, are generated after the encoders 10, 10′ encode the information bits with the switches 12, 12′ (
For rate ½ turbo codes, the tail output bits for each of a first n tail input bit (also referred to herein as “the beginning tail bit sequence X(t)”) are XY0, and the tail output bits for each of a last n tail bit periods (also referred to herein as “the ending tail bit sequence X′(t)”) are X′Y0′. For rate ⅓ turbo codes, the tail output bits for each of the first n tail input bits are XXY0, and the tail output bits for each of the last n tail bits are X′X′Y0′. For a rate ¼ turbo code, the tail output bits for each of the first n tail input bits are XXY0Y1 and the tail output bits for each of the last n tail input bits periods are X′X′Y0′Y1′.
Tail inputs bits are not interleaved by the interleaver 16. They are added after the encoding of the information bits.
When employing Table 1 to design puncturing patterns for tail output bits, the row designation “Repeat” means that for a rate ⅓ or a rate ¼ turbo code, when transmitted, the bits X and X′ are transmitted twice.
For a rate ½ turbo code, the puncturing table is read first from top to bottom, and then from left to right. For a rate ⅓ turbo code and a rate ¼ turbo code, the puncturing table is read first from top to bottom, repeating X(t) and X′(t), and then from left to right.
The puncturing patterns in Table 1 are chosen so that:
In the preferred embodiment illustrated by Table 1, X(t) and X′(t) are selected to be repeated in both the turbo code rate ⅓ and rate ¼ cases. Table 1 may also be employed irrespective of whether the encoders 10, 10′ are terminated concurrently or non-concurrently.
Alternative embodiments are envisioned, in keeping within the spirit of the invention wherein another tail output bit is selected to be repeated, such as, for example that corresponding to Y0(t) and Y0′(t).
Alternatively, where a code rate lower than ¼ is employed it may be necessary to repeat more than one tail output bit per encoder 10, 10′, in which case an additional tail bit besides X(t) may be repeated, such as repeating X(t) and Y0(t) or repeating X(t) twice or any combination whatsoever.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
This applications claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/098,111, filed Aug. 27, 1998.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60098111 | Aug 1998 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10023509 | Dec 2001 | US |
Child | 11051605 | Feb 2005 | US |
Parent | 09378625 | Aug 1999 | US |
Child | 10023509 | Dec 2001 | US |