Transmission system for OFDM-signals with optimized synchronization

1. Transmission method for transmitting OFDM-signals, comprising the steps of

modulating said signals onto a plurality of subcarriers using a OFDM-modulation method,

transforming said modulated signals into the time domain, and

transmitting said signals characterized in that in said modulating step every M-th subcarrier is modulated with a signal, wherein M is an integer and M≧2.

2. Transmission method according to claim 1 , characterized in, that the not modulated subcarriers are set to zero.

3. Transmission method according to claim 1 , characterized in, that M=2 and only subcarriers with even indices are modulated.

4. Transmission method according to claim 1 , characterized in, that said modulation step comprises the steps of

generating integer values form 0 to L−1, wherein L is the number of available subcarriers, and

modulating every M-th signal onto said subcarriers on the basis of said integer values.

5. Transmission method according to claim 1 , wherein:

said modulating step includes providing a switch control signal to a switch having a first input and a second input, wherein the first input receives a signal to be modulated onto a subcarrier and the second input receives a zero value signal.

6. Transmission apparatus for transmitting OFDM-signals, comprising:

modulation means ( 4 ) for modulating said signals onto a plurality of subcarriers using a OFDM-modulation method,

transformation means ( 5 ) for transforming said modulated signals into the time domain, and

transmission means for transmitting said signals characterized in that in said modulation means every M-th subcarrier is modulated, wherein M is an integer and M≧2.

7. Transmission apparatus according to claim 6 , characterized in, that in said modulation means ( 4 ) the not modulated subcarriers are set to zero.

8. Transmission apparatus according to claim 6 , characterized in, that in said modulation means ( 4 ) M=2 and only subcarriers with even indices are modulated.

9. Transmission apparatus according to claim 6 , characterized in that said modulation means ( 4 ) comprises means ( 10 ) for generating integer values from 0 to L−1, wherein L is the number of available subcarriers, whereby said modulation means (4) modulates every M-th signal onto said subcarriers on the basis of said integer values.

10. Transmission-apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein:

said modulation means includes a switch having a first input and a second input, wherein the first input receives a signal to be modulated onto a subcarrier and the second input receives a zero value signal.

11. Receiving method for receiving OFDM-signals comprising M identical or respectively mirrored wave forms within one OFDM-timeburst, wherein M is an integer and M≧2, comprising the steps of

receiving said OFDM-signals,

correlating said waveforms to obtain time synchronization using M−1 correlators,

transforming said signals into the frequency domain, and

demodulating said signals.

12. Receiving method according to claim 11 , characterized in, that in said correlation step said wave form parts are correlated on the basis of a delay value L 1 =S/M samples and averaged over L 2 ≦S/M samples, whereby S is the total number of samples in one OFDM-timeburst.

13. Receiving method according to claim 11 , characterized in, that after said correlation step a peak detection step is carried out to provide time synchronization for said transformation of said signals into the frequency domain.

14. Receiving method according to claim 11 , characterized in, that after said correlation step a frequency offset detection step is carried out to provide frequency synchronization for said transformation of said signals into the frequency domain.

15. Receiving apparatus for receiving OFDM-signals comprising M identical or respectively mirrored wave forms within one OFDM-timeburst, wherein M is an integer and M≧2, comprising:

receiving means for receiving said OFDM-signals,

correlating means ( 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ) correlating said waveforms to obtain time synchronization, wherein said correlation means includes M−1 correlators,

synchronization, transformation means for transforming said signals into the frequency domain, and

demodulating said signals.

16. Receiving apparatus according to claim 15 , characterized in, that in said correlation means ( 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ) said identical wave forms are correlated on the basis of a delay value L 1 =S/M and averaged over L 2 ≦S/M samples, whereby S is the total number of samples in one OFDM-timeburst.

17. Receiving apparatus according to claim 15 , characterized in, that after said correlation means ( 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ) a peak detection means ( 46 ) is provided for providing time synchronization for said transformation of said signals into the frequency domain.

18. Receiving apparatus according to claim 15 , characterized in, that after said correlation means ( 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ) a frequency offset detection means ( 47 ) is provided for providing frequency synchronization for said transformation of said signals into the frequency domain.

19. Transmission system for transmitting OFDM-signals, comprising:

a transmission apparatus including modulation means for modulating said signals onto a plurality of subcarriers by OFDM-modulation, transformation means for transforming said modulated signals into the time domain, and transmission means for transmitting said signals characterized in that in said modulation means every M-th subcarrier is modulated, wherein M is an integer greater than or equal to 2; and

a receiving apparatus for receiving said OFDM-signals having M identical or respectively mirrored waveforms within one OFDM-timeburst, including receiving means for receiving said OFDM-signals, correlation means for correlating said waveforms to obtain time synchronization, transformation means for transforming said signals into the frequency domain, and demodulation means for demodulating said transformed signals.

20. A method for generating synchronization signals to be transmitted to a receiver device in an wireless communication system, the method comprising:

obtaining a frequency domain sequence by modulating synchronization signals onto every 4 th subcarrier of a plurality of available subcarriers used in the wireless communication system;

generating a time domain sequence by performing inverse discrete Fourier transformation on the frequency domain sequence to generate a time domain sequence, wherein the time domain sequence contains 4 identical waveforms; and

generating the synchronization signals to be transmitted from the time domain sequence.

21. A transmission apparatus configured to transmit signals, the transmission apparatus comprising:

circuitry configured to

modulate the signals onto a first plurality of subcarriers using a modulation method, wherein every 4 th subcarrier of a second plurality of subcarriers corresponds to the first plurality of subcarriers;

transform the first plurality of modulated subcarriers into the time domain by performing inverse discrete Fourier transform; and

transmit the time domain transformed modulated subcarriers.