Digital pulse generator
US5430660A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 1, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jul 4, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 1, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03L7/14
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A digital architecture for a pulse generator includes a triggerable voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with two alternative sources of frequency control voltage, an internal DAC or a phase frequency comparison with an external timebase. In a top octave of operation, the output of the triggerable VCO is used to produce output pulses whose edge locations are then adjusted by small digital increments or "slivers" and very small analog increments or "verniers". In lower octaves of operation, the contents of a pattern RAM serve to frequency divide the triggerable VCO output frequency by powers of two. The RAM contents are converted to a serial bit stream that imposes the coarse pulse width and period as an integral number of top octave periods, or quanta. The edge locations are then adjusted with slivers and verniers, as in the top octave. Automatic calibration facilities are included. This architecture provides controllable tolerances, permits accurate positioning of a trigger out signal relative to any pulse produced, allows the user to specify the trailing edge timing directly, and permits both pulse width and phase to be specified as a percentage of the overall period and automatic…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.