Apparatus and method for configurable multi-dwell search engine for spread spectrum applications

1. An apparatus for performing searches of a known code sequence space in a spread spectrum system, comprising:

a multi-dwell table for storing energy estimates, wherein said multi-dwell table is a look-up table including programmable integration length and threshold information for a programmable set of states;

a finger control table that selects an energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table;

a comparator that compares said energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table to a magnitude of finger value to generate a threshold comparison result; and

a next dwell table,

wherein said threshold comparison result is used to select a next state output from said next dwell table for input to said finger control table.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said next dwell table includes next dwell information for a set of virtual fingers in said spread spectrum system.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of output control signals include a hard hit signal and an offset control signal.

4. An apparatus for performing searches of a known code sequence space in a spread spectrum system, comprising:

a multi-dwell table for storing energy estimates;

a finger control table that selects an energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table, wherein said finger control table is a look-up table including context information and dwell select information for a set of virtual fingers in said spread spectrum systems;

a comparator that compares said energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table to a magnitude of finger value to generate a threshold comparison result; and

a next dwell table, wherein said threshold comparison result is used to select a next state output from said next dwell table for input to said finger control table.

5. An apparatus for performing searches of a known code sequence space in a spread spectrum system, comprising:

a multi-dwell table for storing energy estimates;

a finger control table that selects an energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table;

a comparator that compares said energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table to a magnitude of finger value to generate a threshold comparison result;

a next dwell table, wherein said threshold comparison result is used to select a next state output from said next dwell table for input to said finger control table; and

a multiplexer which includes select nodes and input nodes, wherein said select nodes receive a current state input from said finger control table and said threshold comparison result from said comparator.

6. An apparatus for performing searches of a known code sequence space in a spread spectrum system, comprising:

a multi-dwell table for storing energy estimates;

a finger control table that selects an energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table;

a comparator that compares said energy estimate output from said multi-dwell table to a magnitude of finger value to generate a threshold comparison result;

a next dwell table, wherein said threshold comparison result is used to select a next state output from said next dwell table for input to said finger control table; and

a multiplexer which includes select nodes and input nodes, wherein said input nodes receive next dwell information from said next dwell table.

7. A method for performing searches of a known code sequence space in a spread spectrum system, comprising the steps of:

selecting an energy estimate from a multi-dwell table using current dwell state information in a finger control table;

generating a threshold comparison signal;

coupling said threshold comparison signal and a current dwell state signal to obtain a coupled signal;

using said coupled signal to select an output from a next dwell table;

applying the output from the next dwell table to the finger control table to update current dwell state information; and

outputting a hard hit signal from the next dwell table to an external controller for controlling finger allocation.

8. A method for performing searches of a known code sequence space in a spread spectrum system, comprising the steps of:

selecting an energy estimate from a multi-dwell table using current dwell state information in a finger control table;

generating a threshold comparison signal;

coupling said threshold comparison signal and a current dwell state signal to obtain a coupled signal;

using said coupled signal to select an output from a next dwell table; and

applying the output from the next dwell table to the finger control table to update current dwell state information; and

outputting an offset control signal from the next dwell table to a searcher control for initiating a next search offset.