Physical Layer Frame Format Design for Wideband Wireless Communications Systems

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for processing a payload portion of a received signal in a single carrier mode or a multiple carrier mode using a wireless channel receiver based on a portion of the received signal, where a signaling portion of the received signal is a single carrier signal. A single carrier signaling portion is received, and whether the payload portion of the signal is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal is detected from the received single carrier signaling portion. The payload portion of the received signal is demodulated in a single carrier mode if the detecting determines that the payload portion of the received signal is a single carrier signal, and the payload portion of the received signal is demodulated in a multiple carrier mode if the detecting determines that the payload portion of the received signal is a multiple carrier signal. Data from the demodulated payload portion of the received signal is stored in a computer-readable memory.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A processor-implemented method comprising:
 receiving a signal that includes a preamble and a payload portion, the preamble being a single carrier signal, and the payload portion being a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal;   determining from the preamble whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal, wherein
 the payload portion is a single carrier signal if a first cover sequence is included in the preamble, and 
 the payload portion is a multiple carrier signal if a second cover sequence is included in the preamble; 
   in response to the payload portion being a single carrier signal, demodulating the payload portion in a single carrier mode;   in response to the payload portion being a multiple carrier signal, demodulating the payload portion in a multiple carrier mode; and   storing data from the demodulated payload portion in a computer-readable memory.   
     
     
         3 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein determining from the preamble whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal comprises:
 determining from a signaling portion of the preamble whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal.   
     
     
         4 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein determining from the preamble whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal comprises:
 determining from a frame delimiter sequence (SFD) of the preamble whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal.   
     
     
         5 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the payload portion begins with a multiple carrier channel estimation sequence, and wherein demodulating of the payload portion includes performing channel estimation for the multiple carrier mode based on the multiple carrier channel estimation sequence. 
     
     
         6 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein:
 determining from the preamble whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal comprises sampling the preamble at a first rate that is derived from a baseband clock; and   demodulating the payload in a multiple carrier mode comprises sampling the payload portion at a second rate that is derived from the baseband clock.   
     
     
         7 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 6 , wherein the preamble and the payload portion contain the same carrier frequency. 
     
     
         8 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein the first rate equals the second rate. 
     
     
         9 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the payload has been transmitted with same power as the preamble. 
     
     
         10 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the multiple carrier signal is an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. 
     
     
         11 . The processor-implemented method of  claim 2 , wherein the received signal complies with a standard selected from the group consisting of: 802.15.3c; 802.11g; and 802.11n. 
     
     
         12 . A system for processing a signal that includes a preamble and a payload portion, the preamble being a single carrier signal, and the payload portion being a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal, the system comprising:
 a preamble analyzer configured to
 receive the signal, and 
 determine from the preamble of the received signal whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal, wherein
 the payload portion is a single carrier signal if a first cover sequence is in the preamble, and 
 the payload portion is a multiple carrier signal if a second cover sequence is in the preamble; 
 
   a demodulator configured to
 demodulate the payload portion in a single carrier mode in response to the payload portion being a single carrier signal, and 
 demodulate the payload portion in a multiple carrier mode in response to the payload portion being a multiple carrier signal; and 
   a computer-readable memory configured to store data from the demodulated payload portion of the received signal.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the preamble analyzer is configured to determine whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal from a signaling portion of the preamble. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the preamble analyzer is configured to determine whether the payload portion is a single carrier signal or a multiple carrier signal from a frame delimiter sequence (SFD) of the preamble. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the payload portion begins with a multiple carrier channel estimation sequence, and wherein the demodulator is configured to demodulate the payload portion by performing channel estimation for the multiple carrier mode based on the multiple carrier channel estimation sequence. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the preamble analyzer is configured to sample the preamble at a first rate that is derived from a baseband clock, and wherein the demodulator is configured to sample the payload portion at a second rate that is derived from the baseband clock. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the preamble and the payload portion contain the same carrier frequency. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the first rate equals the second rate. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the payload portion has been transmitted with same power as the preamble. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the multiple carrier signal is an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the received signal complies with a standard selected from the group consisting of: 802.15.3c; 802.11g; and 802.11n.