Patent · US Active

Phase-locked loop circuit

US8816735B1 · kind B1 · utility

7Cited by
6References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 24, 2013
Grant dateAug 26, 2014
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 24, 2033

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH03L2207/50
  • WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A phase-locked loop circuit, a phase converter module thereof and a phase-locked controlling method are disclosed herein. The phase converter module is suitable for a phase-locked loop circuit including a digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO) for generating an oscillator output signal and a divider for converting the oscillator output signal into N-phased oscillator output signals. The phase converter module includes a phase finder and a time-to-digital converter. The phase finder is configured for sampling the oscillator output signal with the N-phased oscillator output signals to calculate an estimated value of a fractional phase part. One oscillation period of the digitally-controlled oscillator is divided into N sub-periods. The time-to-digital converter is configured for sampling one of the N-phased oscillator output signals with a reference-frequency signal to calculate a precise value of the fractional phase part within one sub-period.

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