Patent · US Expired

Moving reference channel quality monitor for read channels

US6014768A · kind A · utility

17Cited by
2References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 4, 1997
Grant dateJan 11, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 4, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03M13/41
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for monitoring a read channel in a disk drive system and calibrating the disk drive system. In one embodiment, a comparator circuit is provided to detect the data samples, that fall within a pre-programmed, variable-width distribution window. The output of the comparator circuit is digitized and sent to a logic block to qualify the valid samples. A relative counter or histogram of the detected data samples is obtained. The valid sample count is fed to a counter that can be accessed via a serial port. The channel parameters can be adjusted based upon a relative figure of merit read off the serial port that reflects the distribution of the samples with respect to the target value after processing a statistically valid number of samples. An embodiment of the invention provides a slicer circuit which generates an ideal waveform that tracks the input signal. The ideal waveform constitutes a moving reference for comparison with the sampled signal in a channel quality monitor. The moving reference signal reduces hardware requirements in the comparing circuitry of the channel quality monitor. Further, hardware utility is optimized in an…

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