Granted Patent B2

US 12,732,205 · App. 18/467,694 · Granted Sep 8, 2026

Inventors: Markus Heinrich (Wiehl, DE); Guillaume Tournabien (Saint Soupplets, FR)

Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG

H03M1/18

Abstract

Claims (43)

1 . An analog-to-digital conversion device having a reference voltage and configured to operate within an allowed range of analog input voltage values between 0 V and the reference voltage, the analog-to-digital conversion device comprising:

an adaptation module configured to adapt a voltage level of an analog input signal to a reference voltage value, wherein the adaptation module includes:

a first resistor electrically connected to an input and an output of the adaptation module, and

a second resistor electrically connected to the first resistor and a ground;

a sample acquisition block configured to acquire successive samples of the adapted analog input signal from the adaptation module, wherein the sample acquisition block includes:

a switch electrically connected to an input and an output of the sample acquisition block, and

a capacitor electrically connected to the switch and the ground;

a variable gain adjuster configured to adjust a level of the adapted input signal with a variable gain based on the samples received from the sample acquisition block;

an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the adjusted analog input signal to a digital output signal; and

a classification circuit configured to output a corresponding classification information of the analog input signal based on the level of the analog input signal, wherein:

the classification information is representative of a sub-range from a plurality of non-intersecting sub-ranges that subdivide the allowed range of analog input voltage values,

the variable gain adjuster is configured to set a gain value of the variable gain corresponding to the classification information,

the classification information includes a binary gain code,

the analog-to-digital converter stores a digital value resulting from the conversion of the analog input signal to a first part of an output register, and

the classification circuit stores the binary gain code in a second part of the output register.

2 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein the classification circuit is configured to output the classification information corresponding to the analog input signal automatically and in real time.

3 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein:

a correspondence table includes:

a plurality of selectable gain values of the variable gain, and

for each of the plurality of selectable gain values, a corresponding classification value; and

the variable gain adjuster is configured to select the gain value of the variable gain from the correspondence table according to the classification information.

4 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 2 wherein the variable gain adjuster is configured to select the gain value from a plurality of selectable gain values of the variable gain based on the classification information, according to a correspondence table containing the plurality of selectable gain values of the variable gain and, for each selectable gain value, a corresponding classification information.

5 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein:

the classification circuit includes a plurality of comparators respectively configured to compare the analog input signal to different reference values and to output binary values that are dependent on whether the analog input signal is above or below a corresponding reference value, and

the binary gain code includes a sequence of the binary values at the output of the plurality of comparators.

6 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 2 wherein:

the classification circuit includes a plurality of comparators respectively configured to compare the analog input signal to different reference values and to output binary values that are dependent on whether the analog input signal is above or below a corresponding reference value, and

the binary gain code includes a sequence of the binary values at the output of the plurality of comparators.

7 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 5 wherein the comparators are voltage comparators.

8 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein the sample acquisition block is configured to concomitantly transmit each sample of the analog input signal to the variable gain adjuster and to the classification circuit.

9 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein the variable gain adjuster is configured to adjust the voltage level of the analog input signal above half of the reference voltage value of the analog-to-digital converter.

10 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein:

the analog input signal is an electrical signal; and

the adaptation module is configured to adapt the voltage level of the analog input signal to the reference voltage value of the analog-to-digital converter, so that a maximal voltage value of the analog input signal does not exceed the reference voltage value of the analog-to-digital converter.

11 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 wherein the classification circuit is an analog electronic circuit configured to operate on analog signals.

12 . The analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 11 wherein the classification circuit is exclusively hardware.

13 . An integrated circuit comprising the analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 .

14 . A vehicle comprising the integrated circuit of claim 13 .

15 . A vehicle comprising the analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 .

16 . A system comprising:

a first device configured to output an analog signal; and

the analog-to-digital conversion device of claim 1 , wherein the analog-to-digital conversion device is configured to receive the analog signal at the output of the first device as the analog input signal.

17 . A vehicle comprising the system of claim 16 .

Assignments (3)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (22)