Methods and devices for broadcast channel decoding

1. A wireless communication device comprising:

a reference signal detector configured to detect a first synchronization block in a received signal and to determine a position of the first synchronization block within a pattern of synchronization blocks, wherein the reference signal detector is configured to detect the first synchronization block by detecting a reference signal in the received signal, wherein the reference signal detector is configured to determine the position of the first synchronization block by matching the reference signal with a predefined reference signal that is paired with the position;

a controller configured to identify, based on the position, one or more additional synchronization blocks comprising payloads that are related to a payload of the first synchronization block;

a combiner configured to combine the payload of the first synchronization block with the payloads of the one or more additional synchronization blocks to obtain a combined payload; and

a decoder configured to decode the combined payload to obtain payload data.

2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , further comprising one or more antennas; and

a radio transceiver, wherein the one or more antennas and the radio transceiver are configured to receive and process radio signals to obtain the received signal.

3. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the pattern of synchronization blocks has a predefined duration and a predefined set of position indices for synchronization blocks in the pattern.

4. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to identify the one or more additional synchronization blocks by identifying, based on the position, one or more synchronization blocks that are also within the pattern of synchronization blocks as the one or more additional synchronization blocks.

5. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the combiner is configured to combine the payload of the first synchronization block with the payloads of the one or more additional synchronization blocks using soft-combining.

6. The wireless communication device of claim 1 , wherein the payload of the first synchronization block and the payloads of the one or more additional synchronization blocks comprise a system frame number field that is the same value.

7. A wireless communication device comprising:

a reference signal detector configured to detect, in a received signal, a first synchronization block and a second synchronization block;

a combiner configured to combine a payload of the first synchronization block with payloads of one or more additional first synchronization blocks to obtain a first combined payload, to combine a payload of the second synchronization block with payloads of one or more additional second synchronization blocks to obtain a second combined payload, wherein the combiner is further configured to process and combine the first and second combined payloads based on a difference in system frame number to obtain a combined compensated payload; and

a decoder configured to decode the combined compensated payload to obtain payload data.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 7 , wherein the combiner is configured to combine the first synchronization block with the one or more additional first synchronization blocks using soft-combining.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 7 , wherein the payload of the first synchronization block and the payloads of the one or more additional first synchronization blocks comprise a system frame number field that is the same value.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 9 , wherein the system frame number field of the payload of the first synchronization block and the payloads of the one or more additional first synchronization blocks is different from a system frame number field of the payload of the second synchronization block and the payloads of the one or more additional second synchronization blocks.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 7 , wherein the first synchronization block is a Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel (SS/PBCH) block, and the payload data is PBCH data.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 7 , wherein the combiner is configured to process and combine the first and second combined payloads by:

placing the first combined payload in a buffer at a first buffer position having a first hypothesis system frame number;

placing the second combined payload in the buffer at a second buffer position having a second hypothesis system frame number;

compensating the first and second combined payloads based on the first and second hypothesis system frame numbers to obtain a first compensated payload and a second compensated payload; and

combining the first and second compensated payloads to obtain the combined compensated payload.

13. A method of performing wireless communications at a wireless device, the method comprising:

detecting a first synchronization block and a reference signal in a received signal;

determining a position of the first synchronization block within a pattern of synchronization blocks, wherein determining the position of the first synchronization block comprises matching the reference signal with a predefined reference signal that is paired with the position;

identifying, based on the position, one or more additional synchronization blocks comprising payloads that are related to a payload of the first synchronization block;

combining the payload of the first synchronization block with the payloads of the one or more additional synchronization blocks to obtain a combined payload; and

decoding the combined payload to obtain payload data.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein said identifying the one or more additional synchronization blocks comprises identifying, based on the position, one or more synchronization blocks that are also within the pattern of synchronization blocks as the one or more additional synchronization blocks.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the payload of the first synchronization block and the payloads of the one or more additional synchronization blocks comprise a system frame number field that is the same value.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

combining a payload of a second synchronization block with payloads of one or more second additional synchronization blocks to obtain a second combined payload; and

processing and combining the combined payload and the second combined payload based on a difference in system frame numbers to obtain a combined compensated payload,

wherein said decoding the combined payload comprises decoding the combined compensated payload.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second synchronization block and the one or more second additional synchronization blocks are from a different pattern of synchronization blocks than the first synchronization block and the one or more additional synchronization blocks.

18. A wireless communication device comprising:

a reference signal detector configured to detect a first synchronization block in a received signal and to determine a position of the first synchronization block within a pattern of synchronization blocks;

a controller configured to identify, based on the position, one or more additional synchronization blocks comprising payloads that are related to a payload of the first synchronization block;

a combiner configured to combine the payload of the first synchronization block with the payloads of the one or more additional synchronization blocks to obtain a combined payload; and

a decoder configured to decode the combined payload to obtain payload data; and

a protocol controller configured to control communication with a cell that transmitted the first synchronization block based on the payload data.