Interference Detection for Spread Spectrum Systems

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to communications, and, in particular, to spread spectrum telecommunication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA) communication systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

FIG. 1 shows the frequency spectra for a conventional frequency division multiple access (FDMA) telecommunication system comprising a base station and a plurality of mobile units (e.g., cellular telephones). The base station transmits signals to the mobile units (i.e., the forward link) using Frequency Band A, and the mobile units transmit signals to the base station (i.e., the reverse link) using Frequency Band B. In FDMA communications, each frequency band is divided into a number of different channels, where each channel corresponds to a different unique frequency sub-band. Each mobile unit is assigned a different channel in each frequency band for communications with the base station. Narrow-band interference occurs when unauthorized (e.g., jamming) signals are transmitted in at least one of the channels in at least one of the frequency bands. Although such narrow-band interference is problematic, it will adversely affect the communications of only those users who are currently communicating on those specific channels. Even if the interference cannot be stopped, at least the affected channels can be ignored (i.e., left unassigned) and communications can be supported on the other unaffected channels.

FIG. 2 shows the frequency bands or spectra for a conventional code division multiple access (CDMA) telecommunication system comprising a base station and a plurality of mobile units. In CDMA communications, each of the signals in a frequency band are spread over the entire band with different user channels being distinguished based on the assignment of different codes, such as orthogonal Walsh codes. In such a spread spectrum system, jamming or other narrow-band interference will adversely affect the communications of all of the users at the same time. In the presence of such interference, even when it is limited to a single specific frequency, a telecommunication system might be prevented from supporting any communications at all.

The present invention is directed to a scheme for detecting the presence of jamming and other types of interference (narrow-band or otherwise) in spread spectrum communication systems such as CDMA-based telecommunication systems. According to the present invention, interference is detected and characterized by accumulating statistics for each energy spectrum in the system (e.g., for both the forward link band and the reverse link band in a telecommunication system). In particular, since a spread spectrum is ideally flat across the entire frequency band, narrow-band interference can be detected based on a significant deviation between the signal strength at any one frequency and the average signal level across the entire band. Similarly, wide-band interference can be detected based on the statistical variance or standard deviation over the entire frequency band. In a preferred embodiment, a pair of receivers are designed to perform background interference-detection processing for both the forward and reverse link.

Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows the frequency spectra for a conventional frequency division multiple access (FDMA) telecommunication system;

FIG. 2 shows the frequency spectra for a conventional code division multiple access (CDMA) telecommunication system; and

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of the background interference-detecting processing, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In a CDMA-based communication system, each signal is spread over an entire frequency band, with different user signals (i.e., different channels) being distinguished by the assignment of unique codes (e.g., orthogonal Walsh codes) that are used to generate the signals. In an ideal CDMA system, the amplitude of the signals is constant across the frequency band. As the number of users changes, the amplitude level shifts up or down depending on whether more users are being added or subtracted, but the signal level strength should remain flat. When narrow-band interference is present, the resulting energy spectrum will deviate from its ideal flat shape.

According to the present invention, statistics on each energy spectrum of a spread spectrum system (e.g., a CDMA-based system) are accumulated over time and used to detect the presence of interference, such as that caused by jamming. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system infrastructure has a pair of receivers, one for the forward link and one for the reverse link, that hop through the frequency bands gathering data for the accumulated statistics. The term "hop" is commonly understood by those skill in the art as the ability of a communication device, such as a receiver, to tune to various frequencies at different instances. The generation of these statistics is continuously or periodically performed as part of background processing. For example, for a frequency band with a width of 5 MHz, each hopping step (i.e., the interval between samples) could be 10 KHz. At each step, a received signal strength indication (RSSI) sample is recorded for the corresponding frequency. These RSSI samples are used to generate statistics, such as average RSSI and variance or standard deviation over the entire frequency band or spectrum. These statistics are then used to detect and characterize interference in either of the forward or reverse links or both.

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of the background interference-detecting processing, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In step 302, statistics are accumulated for each energy spectrum. These statistics may be based solely on the current status of each energy spectrum or may include some filtering that takes into account previous measurements at each frequency step. The generated statistics are then analyzed to determine whether or not there is any narrow-band interference (step 304) or wide-band interference (step 306).

In step 304, the presence of narrow-band interference can be detected based on a large difference between the average RSSI and the signal level at a particular frequency. In particular, the average RSSI over the entire frequency band is generated, and this average RSSI is compared to the RSSI at each frequency step. If the difference between the average RSSI and any particular RSSI is greater than a specified threshold and if that condition persists for a specified number of processing cycles, then narrow-band interference may be determined to be present. In that case, the particular frequency and signal strength of the interference can also be determined.

In addition, in step 306, the variance or standard deviation over the entire frequency band can be used to determine the presence of wide-band interference that spans multiple frequency steps. As described above, in an ideal CDMA system, the energy spectrum is flat and the variance will be zero. When wide-band interference is present, the variance over the energy spectrum will likely be affected. If that variance is greater than a specified threshold for a specified number of cycles, then wide-band interference may be determined to be present. Unless the wide-band interference is spread evenly over the entire frequency band, the variance should be a good indicator of the presence of such interference.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the maximum deviation test for narrow-band interference may sometimes--but not always--be an accurate test for the presence of wide-band interference. Likewise, although it may suffice in some situations (e.g., when single-frequency jamming is particularly energetic), the variance test for wide-band interference will not always provide an accurate test for the presence of narrow-band interference. In a preferred embodiment, the system performs both tests, although alternative embodiments may be designed to implement only one of the two, if desired.

Once the interference is detected, its source can be located (e.g., by measuring signal strength levels at different locations) and an appropriate remedy can be applied to reduce or eliminate the interference.

It will be further understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.