Patent · US Expired

Wide dynamic range analog to digital conversion

US5684480A · kind A · utility

46Cited by
14References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJan 30, 1995
Grant dateNov 4, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 30, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03M1/186
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An analog-to-digital (A/D) converter circuit in which an extracted envelope of an input signal is used as a reference signal on an analog-to-digital converter, providing a wide dynamic range while avoiding the need for automatic gain control. Specifically, the A/D converter circuit includes a rectifier for rectifying an analog input signal, a filter for filtering a rectified analog signal output from the rectifier to provide a signal envelope used as the reference signal, and an analog-to-digital converter for converting the analog input signal into a digital signal within a range, the range being dynamically set in accordance with the reference signal provided by the filter. In alternative embodiments, an adder may be employed for adding the reference signal to the analog input signal as an offset and a multiplier for doubling the reference signal, the doubled reference signal being used for setting a range of the analog-to-digital converter, or a multiplier may be employed for generating a complement of the reference signal, wherein the reference signal and its complement are used for setting a range of the analog-to-digital converter. Still other alternatives include using a sec…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.