IP Library Granted Patent US 8,212,942
Granted Patent B2
US 8,212,942 · App. 12/760,405 · Granted Jul 3, 2012

All digital front-end architecture for television with sigma-delta ADC input

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,212,942
App. No.
12/760,405
Granted
Jul 3, 2012
Kind
B2
Abstract

A digital front-end architecture for television receivers with sigma-delta ADC input. An input digital signal is fed to the architecture and the gain is controlled by a gain stage. In the first method, the gain stage is controlled by a first AGC. Here, the gain is increased if the first threshold value is larger than the magnitude of a complex phase-locked loop (CPLL) output, and the gain is decreased if the first threshold value is lower than the magnitude of the CPLL output. In the second method, the gain is controlled through a second AGC. The gain is controlled by increasing the gain if the second threshold value is larger than a line peak of the moving average filter output, and the gain is decreased if the second threshold value is lower than the peak. The second threshold value and the peak are compared in a peak search block.

Claims (78)

1. A method of controlling a gain in an input digital signal received from a sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter (ΣΔADC) that converts an analog television signal from a tuner to said input digital signal for an analog television receiver, wherein said tuner introduces a DC component to said analog television signal, wherein said input digital signal comprises a video carrier, wherein said video carrier comprising a Luma carrier, and wherein said analog television receiver comprising:

a first cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter that receives said input digital signal from said ΣΔADC;

a first down-sampler operatively connected to said first CIC filter, said first down-sampler comprising a down sampling factor of two;

a half-band filter operatively connected to said first down-sampler;

a second down-sampler operatively connected to said half-band filter; and

a first adjacent channel interference (ACI) rejection filter operatively connected to said second down-sampler, wherein said first ACI rejection filter comprises an interpolated filter that provides a sharp transition band performance, wherein said interpolated filter comprises a zero-coefficient for alternate taps,

wherein said method comprises:

smoothing, in a de-ripple (De-RPL) filter, an in-band ripple in a filter response from said CIC filter;

removing, in a digital DC offset cancellation block, said DC component introduced by said tuner;

removing, in a programmable notch filter, sinusoid spurs at a plurality of multiple locations in said input digital signal;

receiving, in a gain stage, at least one gain from any of a first automatic gain control block (AGC) and a second AGC block;

detecting, in phase imbalance correction (PIC) circuitry, a correlation between a I and Q components of said video carrier;

removing said correlation;

detecting, in amplitude correction (AIC) circuitry, an imbalance between the magnitudes of said I and Q components;

correcting said imbalance of said I and Q components; and

down-mixing, in a direct digital frequency synthesis (DDFS) circuitry, said Luma carrier of said video carrier to approximately DC.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising attenuating, in a second cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter, a high frequency for said input digital signal based on said down-mixing said Luma carrier of said video carrier to said approximately DC.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

locking, in a complex phase locked-loop (CPLL) block, a phase of said Luma carrier based on said attenuating, in said second CIC filter, said high frequency for said input digital signal; and

mixing, in said CPLL block, a recovered Luma carrier with an output signal from a delay alignment block to produce a video signal with said Luma carrier exactly at DC,

wherein an output video signal from said CPLL block comprises a baseband video signal with a video carrier exactly at DC, and

wherein said output video signal comprises a vestigial band (VSB) signal.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

converting, in a vestigial band filter, said VSB signal to a double side band (DSB) signal; and

separating, in a audio and video separation block, an audio signal and a video signal from said double side band (DSB) signal.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising comparing, in a moving average filter, a magnitude of said CPLL output video signal with a first threshold value.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said gain is increased when said threshold value is larger than said magnitude of said CPLL output video signal, and wherein said gain is decreased when said threshold value is lower than said magnitude of said CPLL output video signal.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

searching, in a peak search block, a peak of every input digital signal from an output of said moving average filter; and

comparing said peak with a second threshold value.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said gain is increased when said threshold value is larger than said peak, and wherein said gain is decreased when said threshold value is lower than said peak.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein said gain from at least one of said first AGC and said second AGC is received by passing through a multiplexer.

10. A digital front-end architecture to control a gain of an input digital signal for an analog television (TV) receiver, said digital front-end architecture receives said input digital signal from a Sigma-Delta Analog- to-Digital Converter (ΣΔADC), wherein said ΣΔADC converts an analog TV signal from a tuner to said input digital signal, wherein said tuner introduces a DC component, wherein said input digital signal comprises a video carrier, and wherein said video carrier comprises I and Q components, said digital front-end architecture comprising:

a first cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter that receives said input digital signal;

a first down sampler operatively connected to said CIC filter that receives an output from said CIC filter, wherein said down sampler comprises a sampling factor of two;

a half-band (HB) filter operatively connected to said first down-sampler;

a second down sampler operatively connected to said HB filter comprising a sampling factor of two;

a first adjacent channel interference (ACI) rejection filter operatively connected to said second down sampler, wherein said first ACI filter comprises an interpolation finite impulse response (FIR) filter that provides a sharp transition band performance, wherein said FIR filter comprises a zero-coefficient for alternate taps;

a second ACI filter operatively connected to said first ACI filter, wherein said second ACI filter provides attenuation for a high frequency response of said first ACI filter;

a configurable de-ripple (De-RPL) filter operatively connected to said second ACI filter, wherein said configurable de-ripple (De-RPL) filter smoothens an in-band ripple in response to said CIC filter;

a digital DC offset cancellation (DCO) unit operatively connected to said De-RPL filter, wherein said DCO unit removes said DC component introduced by said tuner;

a programmable notch filter that removes sinusoid spurs at multiple locations in said input digital signal; and

a pair of automatic gain control (AGC) blocks that provide an output to adjust said gain of said input digital signal.

11. The digital front-end architecture of claim 10 , further comprising a gain stage that adjusts said gain of said input digital signal based on an input received from said notch filter and said output of said pair of AGC blocks being multiplexed.

12. The digital front-end architecture of claim 11 , further comprising:

phase imbalance correction (PIC) circuitry operatively connected to said gain stage, wherein said PIC circuitry detects a correlation between the magnitudes of said I and Q components and removes said correlation between the magnitudes of said I and Q components; and

amplitude correction (AIC) circuitry operatively connected to said PIC circuitry that detects an imbalance between the magnitudes of said I and Q components and corrects said imbalance of the gain.

13. The digital front-end architecture of claim 12 , further comprising:

a direct digital frequency synthesis (DDFS) circuitry that down-mixes a Luma carrier of video carrier to approximately DC;

a second cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter operatively connected to said DDFS circuitry, wherein said second CIC filter attenuates a high frequency of said input digital signal; and

a delay alignment block operatively connected to said DDFS circuitry.

14. The digital front-end architecture of claim 13 , further comprising a complex phase locked loop (CPLL) block operatively connected to said second CIC filter and said delay alignment block, wherein said CPLL block receives an output from said second CIC filter to lock the phase of said Luma carrier based on an output of said CIC filter, wherein said DDFS circuitry and said second CIC filter attenuate the frequency components other than said Luma carrier.

15. The digital front-end architecture of claim 14 , wherein a recovered Luma carrier is mixed with an output from said delay alignment block in said CPLL block to produce a video signal, wherein said video signal comprises a baseband signal with a video carrier exactly at DC, and wherein said video signal comprises a vestigial band (VSB) signal.

16. The digital front-end architecture of claim 15 , further comprising a vestigial band (VSB) block operatively connected to said CPLL block, wherein said VSB block converts said VSB signal to a double side band signal (DSB), and wherein said VSB block comprises a VSB filter that converts said VSB signal to a double side band (DSB) signal.

17. The digital front-end architecture of claim 16 , further comprising:

an audio/video (A/V) separation block operatively connected to said VSB block, wherein said A/V separation block separates an audio signal and a video signal from said DSB signal;

a moving average (MA) filter operatively connected to said A/V separation block, wherein said MA filter compares a magnitude of said CPLL output with a first threshold value, wherein said gain is increased when said threshold value is larger than said magnitude of said CPLL output, and wherein said gain is decreased when said threshold value is lower than said magnitude of said CPLL output; and

a peak search block operatively connected to said MA filter, wherein said peak search block detects a peak of every input digital signal from an output of said moving average filter, and compares said peak with a second threshold value.

18. The digital front-end architecture of claim 17 , wherein said gain is increased when said threshold value is larger than said peak, and wherein said gain is decreased when said threshold value is lower than said peak.

19. A system to control a gain of an input digital signal for analog television (TV) receiver, said system receiving said input digital signal from a Sigma-Delta Analog-to-Digital Converter (ΣΔADC), wherein said ΣΔADC converts an analog TV signal from a tuner to said input digital signal, wherein said tuner introduces a DC component, wherein said input digital signal comprises a video carrier, and wherein said video carrier comprises I and Q components, said system comprising:

a first cascaded integrator comb (CIC) filter that receives said input digital signal from said ΣΔADC;

a first down-sampler operatively connected to said first CIC filter, said first down-sampler comprising a down sampling factor of two;

a half-band filter operatively connected to said first down-sampler;

a second down-sampler operatively connected to said half-band filter;

a first adjacent channel interference (ACI) rejection filter operatively connected to said second down-sampler, wherein said first ACI rejection filter comprises an interpolated filter that provides a sharp transition band performance, wherein said interpolated filter comprises a zero-coefficient for alternate taps;

means for smoothing an in-band ripple in a filter response from said CIC filter;

means for removing said DC component introduced by said tuner;

means for removing sinusoid spurs at a plurality of multiple locations in said input digital signal;

means for receiving at least one gain from at least one of a first automatic gain control block (AGC) and a second AGC block;

means for detecting a correlation between I and Q components of said video carrier and removing said correlation;

means for detecting an imbalance between the magnitudes of said I and Q components and correcting said imbalance of said I and Q components;

means for down-mixing a Luma carrier of said video carrier to approximately DC;

means for converting a vestigial band (VSB) signal to a double side band (DSB) signal;

means for separating an audio signal and a video signal from said double side band (DSB) signal;

means for comparing a magnitude of an output of a complex phase locked-loop (CPLL) block with a first threshold value;

means for searching a peak of every input digital signal from an output of a moving average filter; and

means for comparing said peak with a second threshold value.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein said gain is increased when said threshold value is larger than said magnitude of said CPLL output video signal, wherein said gain is decreased when said threshold value is lower than said magnitude of said CPLL output video signal, wherein said gain is increased when said threshold value is larger than said peak, and wherein said gain is decreased when said threshold value is lower than said peak.

Assignments (23)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Mar 9, 2022
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 059358/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 28, 2022
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 059262/0105 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 25, 2022
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 059333/0222 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 18, 2018
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 047103/0206 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 25, 2018
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 046426/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 10, 2017
From: ATMEL CORPORATION
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 041715/0747 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT COLLATERAL Recorded Apr 6, 2016
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: ATMEL WIRELESS MCU TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 038364/0615 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT COLLATERAL Recorded Apr 6, 2016
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
Reel/Frame 038364/0659 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 24, 2014
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 034705/0090 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: PINNACLE VENTURES, L.L.C.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033908/0435 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: PINNACLE VENTURES, L.L.C.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033908/0379 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033908/0242 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033907/0775 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033907/0748 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: HORIZON TECHNOLOGY FINANCE CORPORATION
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033907/0702 →
TERMINATION OF SECURITY Recorded Oct 7, 2014
From: BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 033907/0517 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 5, 2014
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033689/0195 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 5, 2014
From: ATMEL WIRELESS MCU TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033689/0214 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 1, 2013
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: HORIZON TECHNOLOGY FINANCE CORPORATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 029956/0891 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Feb 15, 2013
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION; NEWPORT MEDIA, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
To: PINNACLE VENTURES, L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 029818/0138 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Dec 31, 2012
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: BRIDGE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 029554/0118 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 31, 2012
From: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
To: PINNACLE VENTURES, L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 028299/0903 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 14, 2010
From: GU, YONGRU; WASILY, NABIL YOUSEF
To: NEWPORT MEDIA, INC.
Reel/Frame 024234/0123 →