IP Library Granted Patent US 7,774,079
Granted Patent B2
US 7,774,079 · App. 11/242,404 · Granted Aug 10, 2010

Method and system for receiving and decoding audio signals

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,774,079
App. No.
11/242,404
Granted
Aug 10, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system and method for decoding a received television signal is disclosed. The system includes an input to receive a digital audio signal and a digital variable deemphasis module to modify the amplitude of the digital audio signal based on a plurality of variable coefficients. The system also includes an exponential digital root mean square (ERMS) detector to provide level detection of the digital audio signal. The plurality of variable coefficients of the digital variable deemphasis module are digitally computed based on an output of the digital ERMS detector.

Claims (53)

1. A system comprising:

an input to receive a digital audio signal;

a digital variable deemphasis module to modify an amplitude of the digital audio signal based on a plurality of variable coefficients;

a first digital exponential root mean square (ERMS) detector to provide level detection of the digital audio signal; and

wherein the plurality of variable coefficients are obtained from an interpolation of points in a sigmoid look-up table addressed by an output of the first digital ERMS detector.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the digital variable deemphasis module modifies the amplitude of the digital audio signal by filtering the digital audio signal using a filter having characteristics based on the plurality of variable coefficients.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first digital ERMS detector is responsive to a first filter that is responsive to the input.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein a filter response of the first filter is different from a filter response of a second filter coupled to a second digital ERMS detector.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first digital ERMS detector includes an amplitude adjustment module to adjust an input of the first digital ERMS detector, an integrator responsive to the amplitude adjustment module, an output adjustment module responsive to an output of the integrator, and a level detector to control the amplitude adjustment module, the integrator, and the output adjustment module.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the level detector detects a level of the output of the integrator.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first digital ERMS detector operates at a release rate of about 125 deci-Bels (dB) per second.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a multiplier having a first multiplier input responsive to the digital variable deemphasis module.

9. The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

a wideband expander, wherein the multiplier includes a second multiplier input that is responsive to the wideband expander.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the wideband expander includes a second digital exponential root mean square (ERMS) detector.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the first ERMS detector includes a decibel conversion module and the second ERMS detector does not include a decibel conversion module.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second digital ERMS detector operates at a release rate of about 381 deci-Bels (dB) per second.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second digital ERMS detector is responsive to a filter.

14. The system of claim 9 , further comprising:

a digital fixed deemphasis module responsive to an output of the multiplier.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the digital fixed deemphasis module includes a low pass filter.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the digital variable deemphasis module includes an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter, and wherein the IIR filter provides a filter response based on the plurality of variable coefficients.

17. A variable deemphasis module comprising:

an input to receive a digital audio signal;

a digital filter having a filter response determined based on a plurality of variable coefficients, wherein the digital filter includes a first multiplier responsive to a first of the plurality of variable coefficients, a second multiplier responsive to a second of the plurality of variable coefficients, and a third multiplier responsive to a third of the plurality of variable coefficients; and

a computing module to obtain the plurality of variable coefficients from an interpolation of points in a sigmoid look-up table addressed by a measured level of the digital audio signal.

18. The variable deemphasis module of claim 17 , wherein the computing module includes a memory to store the sigmoid look-up table.

19. The variable deemphasis module of claim 18 , wherein the sigmoid look-up table includes a plurality of fields corresponding to a plurality of points on a sigmoid curve, and wherein a number of points represented by the plurality of fields is less than 40.

20. The variable deemphasis module of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of variable coefficients are based on an output of a root mean square (RMS) level detector.

21. The variable deemphasis module of claim 20 , wherein the RMS level detector is an exponential root mean square (ERMS) level detector.

22. An expander system, comprising:

an input;

an amplitude adjustment module responsive to the input;

an integrator responsive to the amplitude adjustment module;

an output adjustment module responsive to the integrator to provide an output representing a detected level of a digital audio signal received at the input, wherein the output adjustment module comprises a decibel converter; and

a level detector to control the amplitude adjustment module, the integrator, and the output adjustment module, wherein the level detector controls a transfer characteristic of the amplitude adjustment module by controlling a shifter; wherein the decibel converter comprises a base-2 logarithmic converter, a logarithm module responsive to the integrator, a multiplier responsive to the logarithm module, an adder responsive to the multiplier, and the shifter responsive to the level detector.

23. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the level detector controls an amplitude of a signal that is responsive to the digital audio signal received at the input to increase a dynamic range of the expander system.

24. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the level detector increases a gain characteristic of the amplitude adjustment module by a first amount and attenuates a gain characteristic of the output adjustment module by a second amount.

25. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the level detector detects a level of the output of the integrator.

26. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the level detector increases a gain characteristic of the amplitude adjustment module by a first amount and increases the output of the integrator by a corresponding amount.

27. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the integrator is a leaky bucket integrator.

28. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the amplitude adjustment module is a squaring module.

29. The expander system of claim 22 , wherein the digital audio signal is a Broadcast Television Systems Committee (BTSC)-encoded television audio signal.

30. A method comprising:

receiving a digital audio input signal;

dynamically determining, at a variable deemphasis module, a first set of coefficients at a first time based on sigmoid function values in a look-up table addressed by a first measured level of the digital audio input signal taken at the first time;

deemphasizing, at the variable deemphasis module, the digital audio input signal using a filter having filtering characteristics based on the first set of coefficients; and

dynamically determining, at the variable deemphasis module, a second set of coefficients at a second time based on the sigmoid function values in the look-up table addressed by a second measured level of the digital audio input signal taken at the second time.

31. The method of claim 30 , wherein the filter is an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter.

32. The method of claim 30 , wherein the first and second measured levels are determined by an exponential root mean square (ERMS) level detector.

33. The method of claim 30 , further comprising:

performing a fixed deemphasis operation after deemphasizing the digital audio input signal.

Assignments (27)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12298143 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 042985 FRAME 0001. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded Oct 22, 2019
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 051029/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12298143 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 038017 FRAME 0058. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded Oct 22, 2019
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 051030/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12298143 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 039361 FRAME 0212. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded Oct 22, 2019
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 051029/0387 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12298143 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 042762 FRAME 0145. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded Oct 22, 2019
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 051145/0184 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 10, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: NXP B.V.
Reel/Frame 050745/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12681366 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 038017 FRAME 0058. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded May 9, 2017
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 042985/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12681366 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 039361 FRAME 0212. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded May 9, 2017
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 042762/0145 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Aug 17, 2016
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: NXP B.V.
Reel/Frame 039707/0471 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE ASSIGNEE NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 037354 FRAME: 0773. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE PATENT RELEASE. Recorded Aug 15, 2016
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: SIGMATEL, LLC
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CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REMOVE APPLICATION 12092129 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 038017 FRAME 0058. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT. Recorded Jul 14, 2016
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 039361/0212 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT SUPPLEMENT Recorded Mar 7, 2016
From: NXP B.V.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 038017/0058 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 25, 2016
From: SIGMATEL, LLC
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PATENT RELEASE Recorded Dec 21, 2015
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
Reel/Frame 037356/0143 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Dec 21, 2015
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: SIGMATEL, INC.
Reel/Frame 037355/0838 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Dec 21, 2015
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: SIGMATEL, INC.
Reel/Frame 037354/0773 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Dec 21, 2015
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: SIGMATEL, INC.
Reel/Frame 037354/0734 →
PATENT RELEASE Recorded Dec 21, 2015
From: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
Reel/Frame 037356/0553 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 23, 2015
From: SIGMATEL INC.
To: SIGMATEL, LLC
Reel/Frame 037152/0127 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 12, 2013
From: SIGMATEL, LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
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SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 17, 2013
From: SIGMATEL, LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
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SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 13, 2010
From: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 024397/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 10, 2010
From: SIGMATEL, LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
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SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 16, 2010
From: SIGMATEL, LLC
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 024079/0406 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 15, 2010
From: FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 024085/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jul 9, 2008
From: SIGMATEL, INC.
To: CITIBANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 021212/0372 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 21, 2006
From: ALDERSON, JEFFREY DONALD
To: SIGMATEL, INC.
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ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 3, 2005
From: ALDERSON, JEFFREY DONALD
To: SIGMATEL, INC.
Reel/Frame 017062/0826 →