OFDM reception device

1. An OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) reception device that receives an OFDM signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, and demodulates the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol, the OFDM reception device comprising:

a detection unit operable to detect an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

a FFT control unit operable to, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, control the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, and

wherein the FFT is performed by a FFT circuit,

wherein the FFT control unit includes a FFT window determination unit operable to determine, for each symbol, a signal of the effective symbol length as a FFT window that is subjected to the FFT, and supply a signal that constitutes the FFT window to the FFT circuit,

wherein the guard interval signal is identical to a latter portion of an effective symbol duration signal in transmission and is inserted before the effective symbol duration signal, and

wherein the FFT window determination unit determines, as a start time of the FFT window, a time which is within the duration estimated to have the guard interval signal and which is a start time of a section, having the effective symbol length, in which a number of impulse noise occurrences equals 0, or has a minimum value.

2. The OFDM reception device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a correlation calculation unit operable to calculate, for each symbol, a correlation between the received OFDM signal and a delayed OFDM signal generated by delaying the received OFDM signal by the effective symbol length; and

an averaging unit operable to average correlations in a plurality of symbols, except the symbol containing the impulse noise, and estimate the duration having the guard interval signal based on an average correlation.

3. The OFDM reception device of claim 1 , further comprising:

a decoding unit operable to decode the OFDM signal after the FFT;

an error correction unit operable to perform error correction of the decoded signal; and

an error correction control unit operable to control to start and stop the error correction unit so that the error correction unit starts the error correction when the impulse noise is detected by the detection unit.

4. An OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) reception device that receives an OFDM signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, and demodulates the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol, the OFDM reception device comprising:

a detection unit operable to detect an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

a FFT control unit operable to, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, control the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time,

wherein the received OFDM signal has been transmitted in a state including a plurality of predetermined reference signals,

wherein the OFDM reception device holds reference signal information showing the plurality of predetermined reference signals, and

wherein the OFDM reception device further comprises:

a channel characteristic estimation unit operable to extract reference signals after the FFT, and estimate channel characteristics of the extracted reference signals, except a reference signal in the symbol containing the impulse noise, by comparing the extracted reference signals, except the reference signal in the symbol containing the impulse noise, with the plurality of predetermined reference signals shown by the reference signal information; and

an interpolation unit operable to perform interpolation of channel characteristics of a plurality of signals included in the OFDM signal, except the plurality of predetermined reference signals, using the channel characteristics of the extracted reference signals, except the reference signal in the symbol containing the impulse noise.

5. An OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) reception device that receives an OFDM signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, and demodulates the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol, the OFDM reception device comprising:

a detection unit operable to detect an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

a FFT control unit operable to, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, control the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, and

wherein the FFT is performed by a FFT circuit,

wherein the FFT control unit includes a FFT window determination unit operable to determine, for each symbol, a signal of the effective symbol length as a FFT window that is subjected to the FFT, and supply a signal that constitutes the FFT window to the FFT circuit,

wherein the guard interval signal is identical to a latter portion of an effective symbol duration signal in transmission and is inserted before the effective symbol duration signal,

wherein the OFDM reception device further comprises:

a symbol synchronization unit operable to calculate a moving-average signal, by performing moving average, for a duration which is equivalent to twice a length of the guard interval signal, on a correlation between the received OFDM signal and a delayed OFDM signal generated by delaying the received OFDM signal by the effective symbol length; and

an averaging unit operable to average the moving-average signal in the symbols, and

wherein the FFT window determination unit specifies a duration in which a voltage level of the averaged moving-average signal is equal to, or higher than, a threshold as a symbol start position candidate period, and specifies, as a start time of the FFT window, a time which is within the symbol start position candidate period and which is a start time of a section, having the effective symbol length, in which a number of impulse noise occurrences equals 0, or has a minimum value.

6. An OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) reception device that receives an OFDM signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, and demodulates the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol, the OFDM reception device comprising:

a detection unit operable to detect an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

a FFT control unit operable to, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, control the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, and

wherein the FFT is performed by a FFT circuit,

wherein the FFT control unit includes a FFT window determination unit operable to determine, for each symbol, a signal of the effective symbol length as a FFT window that is subjected to the FFT, and supply a signal that constitutes the FFT window to the FFT circuit,

wherein the guard interval signal is identical to a latter portion of an effective symbol duration signal in transmission and is inserted before the effective symbol duration signal, and

wherein the FFT control unit, if the impulse noise occurrence time is included within the FFT window, controls the FFT to be performed using the value of the signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol and not included within the FFT window, that is equivalent to the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as the substitute for the value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a control program is recorded, the control program for causing a device that receives an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, to demodulate the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol by causing the device to perform a method comprising:

detecting an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

controlling, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time,

wherein the FFT is performed by a FFT circuit,

wherein the controlling the FFT includes determining, for each symbol, a signal of the effective symbol length as a FFT window that is subjected to the FFT, and supplying a signal that constitutes the FFT window to the FFT circuit,

wherein the guard interval signal is identical to a latter portion of an effective symbol duration signal in transmission and is inserted before the effective symbol duration signal, and

wherein the determining the signal of the effective symbol length as the FFT window that is subjected to the FFT includes determining, as a start time of the FFT window, a time which is within the duration estimated to have the guard interval signal and which is a start time of a section, having the effective symbol length, in which a number of impulse noise occurrences equals 0, or has a minimum value.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a control program is recorded, the control program for causing a device that receives an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, to demodulate the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol by causing the device to perform a method comprising:

detecting an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

controlling, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time,

wherein the received OFDM signal has been transmitted in a state including a plurality of predetermined reference signals,

wherein the device holds reference signal information showing the plurality of predetermined reference signals, and

wherein the method further comprises:

extracting reference signals after the FFT, and estimating channel characteristics of the extracted reference signals, except a reference signal in the symbol containing the impulse noise, by comparing the extracted reference signals, except the reference signal in the symbol containing the impulse noise, with the plurality of predetermined reference signals shown by the reference signal information; and

interpolating channel characteristics of a plurality of signals included in the OFDM signal, except the plurality of predetermined reference signals, using the channel characteristics of the extracted reference signals, except the reference signal in the symbol containing the impulse noise.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a control program is recorded, the control program for causing a device that receives an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, to demodulate the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol by causing the device to perform a method comprising:

detecting an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

controlling, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time,

wherein the FFT is performed by a FFT circuit,

wherein the controlling the FFT includes determining, for each symbol, a signal of the effective symbol length as a FFT window that is subjected to the FFT, and supplying a signal that constitutes the FFT window to the FFT circuit,

wherein the guard interval signal is identical to a latter portion of an effective symbol duration signal in transmission and is inserted before the effective symbol duration signal,

wherein the method further comprises:

calculating a moving-average signal, by performing moving average, for a duration which is equivalent to twice a length of the guard interval signal, on a correlation between the received OFDM signal and a delayed OFDM signal generated by delaying the received OFDM signal by the effective symbol length; and

averaging the moving-average signal in the symbols, and

wherein the determining the signal of the effective symbol length as the FFT window that is subjected to the FFT includes specifying a duration in which a voltage level of the averaged moving-average signal is equal to, or higher than, a threshold as a symbol start position candidate period, and specifies, as a start time of the FFT window, a time which is within the symbol start position candidate period and which is a start time of a section, having the effective symbol length, in which a number of impulse noise occurrences equals 0, or has a minimum value.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium on which a control program is recorded, the control program for causing a device that receives an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) signal including a plurality of symbols, each symbol having inserted therein a guard interval signal, to demodulate the received OFDM signal by performing a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) on a signal of an effective symbol length for each symbol by causing the device to perform a method comprising:

detecting an impulse noise occurrence time at which impulse noise, whose amplitude is no less than a predetermined value, occurs in the received OFDM signal; and

controlling, if the impulse noise occurrence time is within a duration estimated to have the guard interval signal in a symbol or within a duration estimated to have a signal equivalent to the guard interval signal in the symbol, the FFT to be performed using a value of a signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol, that is equivalent to a signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as a substitute for a value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time,

wherein the FFT is performed by a FFT circuit,

wherein the controlling the FFT includes determining, for each symbol, a signal of the effective symbol length as a FFT window that is subjected to the FFT, and supplying a signal that constitutes the FFT window to the FFT circuit,

wherein the guard interval signal is identical to a latter portion of an effective symbol duration signal in transmission and is inserted before the effective symbol duration signal, and

wherein, if the impulse noise occurrence time is included within the FFT window, the controlling the FFT includes controlling the FFT to be performed using the value of the signal, among a plurality of signals included in the symbol and not included within the FFT window, that is equivalent to the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time, as the substitute for the value of the signal at the impulse noise occurrence time.