Variably Tunable Or Adjustable Patents (Class 455/340)
  • Patent number: 5140700
    Abstract: A variable bandpass filter for filtering RF antenna signals to improve selectivity and reduce intermodulation distortion in an FM radio receiver includes a series resonant circuit which is modified to avoid blocking of AM signals. A bypass inductor is connected in parallel with the series resonant capacitor. The bypass inductor has a self-resonant frequency located between the AM and FM bands so that series resonant performance is maintained at FM frequencies and the bypassing function is exhibited at AM frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1992
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: John F. Kennedy
  • Patent number: 5101509
    Abstract: A variable frequency RF passband filter is calibrated to maximize the sensitivity of a radio receiver using reference frequencies applied based on the clock operation of a digital processor within the receiver. The reference frequency passing through the variable passband filter is mixed to the intermediate frequency of the receiver and its level is detected. A frequency counter verifies that a measureable reference frequency signal has in fact been mixed to the intermediate frequency in order to avoid errors. The correct control voltage signal for the variable passband filter corresponding to each receiver frequency can thus be conveniently and inexpensively determined and stored for use during normal operation of the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 1990
    Date of Patent: March 31, 1992
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventor: June-San Lai
  • Patent number: 5095534
    Abstract: A radio receiver having a frequency converter which frequency converts an RF signal into an IF signal. An IF filter filters the IF signal to provide the filtered output to a frequency discriminator. The discriminator frequency discriminates the filtered IF signal to produce a baseband signal. From the baseband signal, a voice signal is recovered and a data signal is extracted. Using the IF signal, a field detector detects an electromagnetic field strength of RF signal and outputs a signal detect signal when the field strength is higher than a predetermined level. A sync detector detects a sync signal in the extracted data signal and sync detect signals, a controller controls the bandwidth of IF filter so that the S/N ratio of the recovered voice signal is increased and the error rate of the extracted data signal is decreased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 10, 1992
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventor: Takashi Hiyama
  • Patent number: 5065453
    Abstract: A bandpass filter is disclosed which may be used in a superheterodyne receiver in front of the first mixer. The bandpass filter provides a narrow front end filter which is tuned automatically as the local oscillator frequency is changed. In the present exemplary embodiment, a series tuned reflective notch filter is coupled to a node of a balanced resistive bridge in such a manner that the tuned circuit presents a short circuit to the node at the filter's resonant frequency to thereby assure a maximum transfer of signal from the input to the output of the circuit at a desired frequency. At all other frequencies, the series tuned reflective notch filter will present essentially an open circuit across the node of the resistive bridge so that the node is balanced and no transmission occurs. The inclusion of the series reflective notch filter thereby produces a bandpass characteristic from the circuit input to output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 12, 1991
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Gary D. Thomas
  • Patent number: 5031233
    Abstract: The present invention provides an improved single chip radio receiver which has less external components than do previous similar receivers. With the present invention the integrated circuit which includes the radio receiver also has an on-chip adaptive filter. The radio receiver is designed for use in a radio pager which is only active for a very short time slot during a relative long repeat cycle. Thus the adaptive filter only need remain stable for a short period after its coefficients are adjusted to the desired values. The radio receiver includes an external filter which has the same frequency response as desired from the adaptive filter. Immediately prior to activating the radio receiver, the circuit is activated to adjust the parameters of the adaptive filter so that the adaptive filter matches the external filter. The radio receiver is then activated using both filters in series thereby producing the desired radio reception.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1991
    Assignee: AT&E Corporation
    Inventor: Lawrence H. Ragan
  • Patent number: 5023939
    Abstract: An FM tuner including a PLLFM demodulation circuit is provided, which selectively employs one of two BPFs having different extraction bandwidths as an IFBPF. This FM tuner is configured such that by employing a relationship between a lock range and an input signal level of the PLLFM demodulation circuit, an optimum value of the lock range of the demodulation circuit is set for a bandwidth of an input signal, even if any of the BPFs is selected. When the BPF having a narrower bandwidth is selected as the IFBPF, a signal to be inputted to the PLLFM demodulation circuit is attenuated to decrease the level of the input signal of the demodulation circuit to be lower that the level when the other BPF with a larger bandwidth is selected as the IFBPF. As a result, a lock range width of the PLLFM demodulation circuit is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 1989
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1991
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Makoto Hori
  • Patent number: 5023821
    Abstract: A digital filter operating at intermediate frequency, having a transverse filter; a recursive filter; a device for storing the different coefficients of the two filters; a D-A conversion device situated at the output of this storage device; a device for addressing this storage device; and controls for the addressing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1988
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1991
    Assignee: Alcatel Thomson Faisceaux Hertziens
    Inventors: Lazare Argintaru, Daniel Arnassand, Philippe Leclair
  • Patent number: 5020146
    Abstract: An amplifier loaded with a constant bandwidth tuned circuit is provided with an output series coil, and with a resistance in series with the output coil and a subsequent load to provide attenuation at high frequencies for maintaining the total overall gain of the amplifier and tuned circuit load constant with increasing frequency while simultaneously maintaining the bandwidth of the tuned circuit constant with increasing frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1991
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: Michael A. Pugel
  • Patent number: 5012490
    Abstract: A digital communication system has a plurality of channels with distinct carrier frequencies and overlapping bands. Each receiver includes a filter having a time varying bandwidth. The received signal includes at least one carrier modulated by an information signal having a plurality of levels and transitions between the levels at predetermined intervals and components due to other channels. The receiver is synchronized to a selected one of the carriers. The received signal is translated to baseband and applied to the time varying filter which is set to a first bandwidth at the information signal transitions and reduced in the intervals between transitions. The first filter bandwidth accommodates the information signal transitions. Reducing the bandwidth between transitions limits interference components in the time varying filter output when the information signal level is sampled. The technique may be applied to various modulation schemes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 30, 1991
    Assignee: AT&T Bell Laboratories
    Inventor: Robert E. Myer
  • Patent number: 5008925
    Abstract: A unique dual-system cellular telephone includes a transceiver (100) having a dual bandwidth receiver, an audio/logic unit (200) having dual control programs, and a handset unit (300). The dual bandwidth receiver of the transceiver (100) has different filters (408 and 410) in the intermediate frequency section thereof which are switchably selected depending on which cellular telephone system is available. When service is not available in one of the cellular telephone systems, the unique cellular telephone automatically switches the receiver bandwidth and control program for operating on the other cellular telephone system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 16, 1991
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventor: Ali Pireh
  • Patent number: 4972509
    Abstract: In a tuner circuit in which a plurality of band signals are received by a single common high frequency amplifier stage, a band switching circuit switches a resonant circuit to .lambda./2 type when the amplifier stage receives the highest band signals and to .lambda./4 type when the amplifier stage receives band signals other than the highest band signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 20, 1990
    Assignee: Sony Coporation
    Inventor: Kazuhiko Maejima
  • Patent number: 4965853
    Abstract: A zero-IF radio receiver circuit comprises an input filter (3), quadrature mixers (9,10), d.c.-blocking capacitors (24,26) and a demodulator (22). The circuit is partly integrated on a semiconductor chip and an inductive component of the input filter comprises one or more of the chip bond-wires. In order to compensate for the inevitable variation of the inductance of these bond-wires from circuit to circuit part of the signal from the local oscillator (12) is added to the input signal before its application to the input filter and the d.c. component of the resulting output from one mixer (10), which component is representative of the phase shift of the local oscillator signal produced by the input filter and hence of any tuning error of this filter, is applied to a tuning control input (30) of the filter to reduce the error. Alternatively the tuning control signal may be adjusted to maximize the sum of the squares of the d.c.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1989
    Date of Patent: October 23, 1990
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corp.
    Inventor: Michael E. Barnard
  • Patent number: 4910796
    Abstract: An automobile antenna including a high frequency signal processing unit provided near an antenna where the processing unit only tunes in a designated frequency band and amplifies it and further detects the amplified signal. The high frequency signal processing unit also adjusts the tuned frequency band at the high frequency signal processing unit based upon a tracking signal sent from an automobile receiver. Since the high frequency signal processing unit is provided adjacent to antennas, that is, near a glass antenna or mounted on an antenna mast, a loss which occur between the antenna and the receiver can be fully compensated for and noise interference can be avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 1987
    Date of Patent: March 20, 1990
    Assignee: Harada Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kazuhiko Nakase, Yuzo Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 4905306
    Abstract: In a tunable filter including first and second inductors, a varactor diode, and a bandswitching diode connected intermediate the inductors to select the inductor configuration for first and second tuning bands, a capacitor is connected in parallel with the bandswitching diode. When the bandswitching diode is in the high impedance "non-conducting" state, the capacitor is functionally connected with other elements of the tunable filter for purposes such as trapping or tracking. When the bandswitching diode is in the low impedance "non-conducting" state, the capacitance is functionally disconnected from the tunable circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 27, 1990
    Assignee: RCA Licensing Corporation
    Inventor: William D. Anderson
  • Patent number: 4903332
    Abstract: Intermediate frequency signals are produced by mixing with an oscillator voltage and subsequently filtered and demodulated. The oscillator voltage or the resonance frequency of the filter or filters are followed up by a control voltage derived from the demodulated signal corresponding to the intermediate frequency. The perturbatory phase modulator occurring as a result of the control lag is compensated by opposite-phase phase-modulation which is superimposed on the intermediate frequency. In this, the phase modulation is achieved by a phase modulator which is connected with the output of a demodulator by a matching circuit. Another possibility for achieving phase modulation of the intermeidate frequency is to modulate the oscillator of the mixing stage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 1988
    Date of Patent: February 20, 1990
    Assignee: H.u.C. Elecktronik GmbH
    Inventor: Jens Hansen
  • Patent number: 4876739
    Abstract: A TVRO receiver for receiving frequency-modulated video signals, the receiver comprising a tuner including a superheterodyne circuit having a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), means for supplying a controlling input voltage to the VCO, and a mixer for combining incoming 1st IF signals with the output of the VCO to reduce the frequency of the 1st IF signals to a 2nd IF frequency which is sufficiently high to permit the output frequency of the VCO to be above the frequency range of the 1st IF signals, and a linear phase passband filter for passing a single video channel in the 2nd IF output from the mixer, the filter producing an output which is at least about 10 dB down from its peak at both +10 MHz and -10 MHz from the center of the passband of the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: Capetronic (BSR) Ltd.
    Inventors: John Y. Ma, Albert C. Houston
  • Patent number: 4866779
    Abstract: An audio processor for adaptively rejecting undesired noise and interference in an audio input which includes a variable Q, 10 kHz switched capacitor notch filter. The Q of the notch filter is varied by a control loop responsive to the 10 kHz content of the audio signal. The notch filter includes a summer section that is clocked at a predetermined frequency, and an integrator section which is clocked at a multiple of the predetermined frequency in order to prevent center frequency variation with changes in Q of the notch filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 1988
    Date of Patent: September 12, 1989
    Assignee: Delco Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Richard A. Kennedy, Seyed R. Zarabadi, Fred J. Anderson, Marvin G. Stang
  • Patent number: 4835608
    Abstract: A varactor diode tuner includes a tunable image frequency trap in its input circuit. The trap is part of a tunable bandpass filter and forms a tapped capacitance matching network for UHF television signal carrier frequencies and a low impedance shunt at image frequencies. The trap is formed of discrete capacitors, an inductor and a tunable varactor diode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1988
    Date of Patent: May 30, 1989
    Assignee: Zenith Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Mark J. Lachiw, Peter Strammello
  • Patent number: 4833419
    Abstract: A radio circuit apparatus for broadcast frequencies promotes micro miniaturization and avoids the production of unwanted radiation by incorporating tunable R-C circuits in place of inductive elements. The apparatus provides simultaneous tuning of RF, mixer, and local oscillator circuits by coupling variable radiation levels to a plurality of radiation-sensitive resistor elements in each circuit. In one configuration of the tuner portion, a rod having a radioactive coating is mounted coaxially within a cylindrical parallel array of resistor elements, the elements being connected in tunable Wien-bridge and/or twin-T circuits. An axially movable, cylindrical shutter is interposed between the rod and the resistor elements for variably blocking the radiation from the rod for tuning the circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: May 23, 1989
    Inventor: Henry Chrystie
  • Patent number: 4792993
    Abstract: An improved TVRO receiver for receiving signals broadcast over a plurality of channels with varying bandwidths and having a tuner producing output signals corresponding to the received signals and having bandwidths which vary from channel to channel is provided with a band pass filtering arrangement receiving the output signals and having a controllably adjustable pass band, a bandwidth detection circuit for receiving the output signals passing through the filtering arrangement and being responsive to a current output signal corresponding to the channel being received for producing a control signal indicative of the extent of deviation of the bandwidth of the current output signal beyond the current pass band of the filtering arrangement, and a control circuit responsive to the control signal for adjusting the pass band of the filtering arrangement to accommodate the bandwidth of the current output signal corresponding to the channel being received, if the bandwidth deviation of the current output signal exce
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 20, 1988
    Assignee: Capetronic (BSR) Ltd.
    Inventor: John Y. Ma
  • Patent number: 4780909
    Abstract: A signal receiver generates a reference signal that sweeps frequencies of desired channel bands, and then feeds the reference signal to an input terminal of receiver unit via a signal-switching circuit that performs switching of the desired-channel signal and the reference signal. The signal receiver then detects the signal strength present in plural frequencies of intermediate frequencies delivered to an output terminal of the reference signal, and after storing detected signal data in a memory, the signal receiver compares the detected signal data to desired frequency characteristics. Then, the signal receiver determines tuning voltages of respective tuning circuits so that the differences which arose from the comparison can be minimized. After determining the tuning voltages, these voltages are delivered to respective tuning circuits, and then a switching operation between the reference signal and the desired channel signal is executed before the signal receiver eventually receives the switched signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1988
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Sakashita, Kiyotake Fukui
  • Patent number: 4739517
    Abstract: An autodyne receiver comprises a plurality of tuning circuits for tuning a high frequency signal in linkage motion thereof and, in particular, a negative impedance converter connected to at least one of the tuning circuits to cancel apparent parallel resistance of the tuning circuit. Since the resistance of the tuning circuit is cancelled, the sharpness of the tuning circuit can be improved, thus allowing the use of a stable tuning circuit having a low sharpness without use of positive feedback. The gain of the negative impedance converter is constant irrespective of signal frequency and the tuning sharpness increases in proportion to signal frequency. Thus, the selectivity of the receiver is constant irrespective of received signal frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1988
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Taiwa Okanobu
  • Patent number: 4736457
    Abstract: The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for a tuner, particularly a television tuner, for a change over switching between two frequency bands with the aid of a switching diode, said frequency bands, particularly the VHF band and the hyperband, being filtered out by means of bandpass filters (1,7). The bandpass filters have at their inputs and outputs capacitance diodes for the purpose of tuning. The filtered signals are applied to a common tunable circuit (15) on the secondary side of the bandpass filters. The bandpass filter for the hyperband is constructed and dimensioned such that the signal is switched through by means of a switching diode (83) arranged at the low end of the bandpass filter (1). When this diode (83) is conducting a smaller output reactance, whereas in the case of a blocking switching diode (83), this bandpass filter (1) cuts off the signal and has a larger output reactance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1988
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventor: Karl-Heinz Kupfer
  • Patent number: 4731877
    Abstract: A filter is used for multichannel communication receiver, e, g, a CATV converter, which is electronically switched for a lowpass or highpass configuration by switching diodes, and the rejection bandwidth is further controlled by varactor diodes depending on the receiving channel frequency. This reduces the modulation distortions such as composite second and third order inter-modulation and cross-modulation by limiting the number of channels processed by the receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1986
    Date of Patent: March 15, 1988
    Assignee: Samsung Electronic Parts Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Fredrick H. Moon
  • Patent number: 4726072
    Abstract: Disclosed is a double converter tuner having an input circuit for performing first band control with respect to an input signal, amplifying a band-controlled input signal after automatic gain control is performed, and further performing second band control of a gain-controlled signal, a first IF (intermediate frequency) converter for converting an output generated from the input circuit to a first IF signal having a higher bandwidth than the reception bandwidth of the input signal, a first IF circuit for amplifying an output from the first IF converter, performing third band control and performing a further amplification, a second IF converter for converting an output generated from the first IF circuit to a second IF signal, and a second IF circuit for amplifying an output from the second IF converter, performing fourth band control, and performing another amplification. The first and second IF converters are arranged on different circuit boards to prevent frequency interference therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1988
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sadahiko Yamashita, Makoto Hasegawa, Motoi Ohba, Tsutomu Shishido, Yasumasa Watanabe
  • Patent number: 4718117
    Abstract: A TVRO receiver for receiving frequency-modulated video signals, the receiver comprising a tuner including a superheterodyne circuit having a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), means for supplying a controlling input voltage to the VCO, and a mixer for combining incoming 1st IF signals with the output of the VCO to reduce the frequency of the 1st IF signals to a 2nd IF frequency which is sufficiently high to permit the output frequency of the VCO to be above the frequency range of the 1st IF signals, and a linear phase passband filter for passing a single video channel in the 2nd IF output from the mixer, the filter producing an output which is at least about 10 dB down from its peak at both +10 MHz and -10 MHz from the center of the passband of the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: January 5, 1988
    Assignee: Capetronic (BSR) Ltd.
    Inventors: John Y. Ma, Albert C. Houston
  • Patent number: 4713689
    Abstract: A receiver is provided for a television system which uses time division miplexing (TDM) of analog image signals and of bursts of duobinary coded digital data signals. The digital data signals are transmitted during the line and frame blanking intervals and grouped together in packets, comprising the sound and synchronization signals, the spectral width required by the analog part being greater than that required by the digital part. The receiver comprises a common frequency demodulator for the analog and digital signals, adaptive as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio after demodulation as a width less than the width which is optimum for the analog part when the latter has a high signal-to-noise ratio. The demodulator has an input filter which is either analog or digital and may be adjusted in response to the error rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1987
    Assignees: Centre National d'Etudes des Telecommunications, Etablissement Public de Diffusion dit "Telediffusion de France"
    Inventor: Jacques Veillard
  • Patent number: 4695792
    Abstract: A method and system for simultaneously detecting the amplitude and phase angle of harmonics in a periodic signal. A tunable tracking filter is connected to an input of the system to receive a periodic signal having a frequency within a predictable range. A conditioning circuit is connected to the input to tune the tracking filter to a selected harmonic in the periodic signal. A programmable frequency multiplier forms part of the conditioning circuit and is connected for locking the clock frequency of the filter to tune it to the selected harmonic of the periodic signal to provide at its output an output signal having the amplitude and corresponding phase of the selected harmonic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1987
    Assignee: Ecole Polytechnique
    Inventor: Gilles Roy
  • Patent number: 4686706
    Abstract: A digital signal receiver comprises a plurality of frequency characteristic correcting circuits (14, 15, 16) for correcting a group delay characteristic which is different for each of the respective broadcasting stations and a location for reception thereof. A station selecting integrated circuit (18) provides a switching signal corresponding to a selected station position to render non-conductive any of transistors (Q1, Q2, Q3) for selecting the respective frequency characteristic correcting circuits through switches (SW1 to SW8) for determining which of the plurality of frequency characteristic correcting circuits is to be selected. The corresponding frequency characteristic correcting circuit is enabled in response to non-conduction of any one of the transistors for connection to the output from an intermediate frequency circuit (2) including a detecting circuit for demodulating the digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1987
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Mutsuo Sakai
  • Patent number: 4662001
    Abstract: A tunable notch filter for the front end of an RF receiver includes magnetically coupled input and output tunable stages each responsive to a tuning voltage provided thereto. Each of the input and output stages includes a respective series and parallel resonant circuit wherein the parallel resonant circuits are tuned to a selected RF frequency and the series resonant circuits are tuned to a frequency approximately equal to that of a local oscillator. By using the series resonant circuits to create a notch at a frequency approximating that of the local oscillator, conducted local oscillator leakage from the receiver's antenna is substantially reduced and local oscillator image frequency rejection is substantially improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1987
    Assignee: Zenith Electronics Corporation
    Inventors: Michael S. Cruz, Harmon P. Vaughter
  • Patent number: 4646360
    Abstract: A television tuner has a tuned circuit at the input of an RF amplifier. The tuned circuit has a varactor tuned parallel circuit and an output series coil for good high frequency attenuation and constant bandwidth with changes in frequency. For good low frequency attenuation, an input series capacitance is provided comprising a pair of varactors. The varactor pair is oppositely poled to reduce frequency doubling of low frequency signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1985
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1987
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: Max W. Muterspaugh
  • Patent number: 4619000
    Abstract: The disclosure describes an improved CATV converter that incorporates an intermediate frequency filter and amplifier unit that includes first and second tunable circuits. Each tunable circuit has a fixed capactive element and a variable inductance means for tuning the tunable circuit. The first and second tuned circuit are transmissively coupled to one another through a slit in a shield which otherwise shields one tunable circuit from another. The intermediate frequency filter and amplifier unit also includes an FET for amplifying a narrow band intermediate frequency signal and a third tunable circuit comprising the output capacitance of the FET and a variable inductance means for tuning the third tunable circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 1984
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1986
    Inventor: John Ma
  • Patent number: 4601062
    Abstract: In a superheterodyne receiver, such as a typical television receiver, a radio frequency coupling arrangement includes a first resonant circuit coupled to receive the input signal and further coupled to a second resonant circuit by a first coupling. Both resonant circuits are tuned to the desired signal frequency. The capacitive branch of the first resonant circuit includes a circuit impedance for providing a neutralizing voltage, at least a portion of which is coupled by a second coupling to the inductive branch of the second resonant circuit. The circuit impedance is selected to cause cancellation in the inductive branch between image frequency components coupled by the first coupling and image frequency components coupled by the second coupling, without substantially affecting the desired signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1985
    Date of Patent: July 15, 1986
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: James Hettiger
  • Patent number: 4580289
    Abstract: A radio receiver from antenna to detector designed to be realized substantially on an integrated-circuit chip comprises a single tunable oscillator and a plurality of mixers. An input signal from an antenna is connected as an input to a first mixer and mixed with a signal derived from the oscillator. The signal may be taken directly, may be multiplied to a desired level or may be divided to a desired level. A particular output from the first mixer is selected by a first tunable filter. The output of the first tunable filter is taken as an input to a second mixer where it is mixed with a second signal derived from the oscillator. The process of mixing and application of the mixed signal to a tunable filter to select a desired frequency is continued as needed until the signal is reduced to a desired intermediate frequency range where it is amplified as needed to a level sufficient to drive a discriminator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 1984
    Date of Patent: April 1, 1986
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventor: Ralph T. Enderby
  • Patent number: 4554678
    Abstract: A wireless superheterodyne receiver is provided having an antenna for receiving wireless transmissions, a preamplifier having an input connected to the antenna and an output, a crystal filter having an input connected to the output of the preamplifier and an output, a demodulator having an input connected to the output of the filter, the demodulator having a single mixer, an oscillator having a second crystal connected to the single mixer of the demodulator wherein the demodulator supplies at an output a demodulated signal based upon the wireless transmissions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 19, 1985
    Assignee: Honeywell Inc.
    Inventor: George A. Bowman
  • Patent number: 4531148
    Abstract: The present invention relates to the improved demodulation system which improves the noise characteristics for the demodulation of a wideband television FM signal. A variable bandpass filter (8), the center frequency and the bandwidth of which are controllable, for improving C/N, is inserted at the output of a reference bandpass filter (7) in an FM signal path. The bandwidth of the variable bandpass filter (8) is controlled so that said bandwidth is wide when the input carrier level is high, and said bandwidth is narrow when the input carrier level is low. The center frequency of the variable bandwidth filter (8) is controlled so that said center frequency follows to the instantaneous frequency of the color sub-carrier component (3.58 MHz). Said color sub-carrier component is derived by a narrow-band bandpass filter (10) coupled with the output of said discriminator (9) for controlling the center frequency of the variable bandpass filter (8).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 1983
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1985
    Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tomozo Ohta, Yoshio Tsutsumi, Motoshi Sugano
  • Patent number: 4481673
    Abstract: A tuning system for a receiver includes an RF filter for selecting the RF signal corresponding to a selected channel of a plurality of channels in response to a filter tuning control signal, a local oscillator for developing an oscillator signal, the frequency of which is controlled by an oscillator tuning control signal developed in response to a binary coded representation of the channel number of the selected selection, and a mixer for heterodyning the selected RF signal with the local oscillator signal to produce an IF signal. A circuit including a memory is provided for storing binary signals for controlling the modification of the oscillator tuning control signal to derive the filter tuning control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 1983
    Date of Patent: November 6, 1984
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: Max W. Muterspaugh
  • Patent number: 4476583
    Abstract: A tuning system for a receiver for providing an IF signal from a selected one of RF signals residing in a signal frequency band, comprises filter means for passing RF signals corresponding to a selected channel in response to a filter tuning control signal, mixing means responsive to the selected RF signals and a local oscillator signal for frequency translating the selected RF signals to develop a predetermined IF signal and a local oscillator for generating the local oscillator signal in response to an oscillator tuning control signal. A DC signal translating means includes an amplifier having an input responsive to the oscillator tuning control signal and having first and second predetermined gain transfer characteristics for modifying the oscillator tuning control signal and for providing at an output the filter tuning control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1983
    Date of Patent: October 9, 1984
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: Max W. Muterspaugh
  • Patent number: 4466128
    Abstract: Disclosed is a pulsed FM receiver with automatic centering of the intermediate frequency at the true center of the input filter passband. The frequency standard of the frequency discriminator which controls the local oscillator frequency is adjusted to produce zero discriminator output during the period between signal pulses. The discriminator frequency standard remains automatically aligned with the center of the input filter passband and the input bandwidth may then be reduced for optimum receiver sensitivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 14, 1984
    Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated
    Inventor: James B. Couvillon
  • Patent number: 4466133
    Abstract: In a radio receiver a multipath fade compensating circuit comprises a single-pole filter circuit the center frequency and Q of which are controlled in dependence upon the amplitudes of signal components in narrow frequency bands within the band of frequencies passed by the filter circuit. The narrow bands may be selected from an array by a microprocessor, or may be derived using variable frequency filters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1982
    Date of Patent: August 14, 1984
    Assignee: The General Electric Company, p.l.c.
    Inventor: Alistair J. Price
  • Patent number: 4464636
    Abstract: A wideband intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier including a GaAs FET input portion and a bipolar transistor output portion is disclosed. The high gain of the GaAs FET over higher frequencies is complemented by the high gain of the bipolar transistors at lower frequencies to provide high amplifier gain over a large bandwidth. The GaAs FET and bipolar portions are coupled by means of an equalizer circuit matching the two portions together only at the higher frequencies of the IF band to provide an inexpensive, high performance IF amplifier particularly adapted for use in a direct broadcast satellite receiver operating in the super high frequency (SHF) band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 7, 1984
    Assignee: Zenith Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Pierre Dobrovolny
  • Patent number: 4462009
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for automatically and exactly tuning a boradband filter. Upon the detection of a tuning change, the filter is automatically switched end to end so that the output terminal of the filter is connected to the radio frequency power source. Radio frequency in this application refers to any signals whose frequency facilitates propagation of data via electromagnetic waves. The input terminal is terminated into a known load such as 50 ohms and C1, an input variable reactance is adjusted until a 90.degree. phase relationship exists between the input resonator and the output resonator's node voltages. These actions set the exact tune condition for the broadband filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 1982
    Date of Patent: July 24, 1984
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Harvey L. Landt, Glenn R. Snider
  • Patent number: 4435841
    Abstract: A multichannel communications receiver, e.g. a CATV converter, includes a switched filter for reducing third order intermodulation distortion by limiting the number of channels processed by the receiver. In a preferred embodiment, the filter is switchable between a highpass and a lowpass configuration by a control signal supplied to two switching diodes. The input and output of the filter are coupled by a mutual inductance which partially compensates for the effect of parasitic inductance at higher frequencies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1982
    Date of Patent: March 6, 1984
    Assignee: Zenith Radio Corporation
    Inventor: Pierre Dobrovolny
  • Patent number: 4429279
    Abstract: The filter has a fixed Q and is coupled to a source of AC signals. A source of pulses is applied to a variable-voltage circuit, the circuit being responsive to each pulse to produce a threshold voltage which varies from a first value toward a second value. A comparator circuit has one input coupled to the filter and a second input coupled to the variable voltage circuit. The comparator produces a signal for a duration related to the time the amplitude of an AC signal from the filter is at least equal to the threshold voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 1982
    Date of Patent: January 31, 1984
    Assignee: Keith H. Wycoff
    Inventors: Keith H. Wycoff, William H. Dittmer
  • Patent number: 4418428
    Abstract: A television tuning system includes UHF and VHF signal paths each tuned by a tuning voltage and coupled to a common signal path by a diplexer. So that UHF signals will be attenuated so to not cause interferences with a VHF channel signal which is selected to be viewed, the UHF filter is detuned when a VHF channel is selected. Detuning the UHF filter is accomplished by modifying the tuning voltage for the UHF filter responsive to the VHF band-switching voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1983
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: Robert M. Evans
  • Patent number: 4418427
    Abstract: A television tuning system includes UHF and VHF signal paths each tuned by a tuning voltage and coupled to a common signal path by a diplexer. So that UHF signals will be attenuated so to not cause interference with a VHF channel signal which is selected to be viewed, the UHF filter is detuned when a VHF channel is selected. Detuning the UHF filter is accomplished by modifying the tuning voltage for the UHF filter responsive to the VHF band-switching voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1982
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1983
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventor: Max W. Muterspaugh
  • Patent number: 4402089
    Abstract: A television (TV) receiver tuning system for selecting one of a plurality of receivable TV channels comprises a frequency selective radio frequency device including trimming elements for receiving TV signals, a local oscillator controlled by a first control signal and a mixer in which the TV signals and the local oscillator signal are heterodyned to develop an intermediate frequency signal. A first control device develops the first control signal in response to the selection of a TV channel to control the local oscillator frequency so that the mixer shifts the selected TV channel signal to the IF frequency. A second control device including a PROM trims the frequency selectivity of the RF device using its trimming elements unaffected by selection of the TV channel whereby mechanical alignment of the TV tuning system can be avoided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1981
    Date of Patent: August 30, 1983
    Assignee: RCA Corporation
    Inventors: Stanley P. Knight, John G. N. Henderson
  • Patent number: 4316108
    Abstract: A tracking filter suitable for use in the IF stage of FM receiver circuitry incorporates a bandpass filter the components of which yield a characteristic that permits the filter to provide substantially the entirety of a required 90.degree. phase shift for phase detection control circuitry that rapidly actively tunes capacitive components of the filter without imparting unacceptable group delay behavior to the configuration. The filter is a two-pole pair, single zero at the orgin, bandpass filter inserted in the signal path between a pair of signal power splitters. Part of the input signal is applied from the first splitter to one input of a phase comparator the other input of which is derived from the output signal via the second power splitter. The output of the phase comparator is applied through a broadband control amplifier to actively adjust the center frequency of the bandpass filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 1979
    Date of Patent: February 16, 1982
    Inventor: Walter M. Rogers, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4229826
    Abstract: A wide band impedance matching device is described for matching the impedance of an antenna transmission line to a radio transceiver over a wide band of radio frequencies. The device includes an impedance matching network having an inductor and two capacitors that electrically interconnect in either a capacitance "T" mode or a capacitance ".pi." mode. The device also includes an efficient bypass circuit that is capable of electrically bypassing the impedance matching network to effectively directly interconnect the antenna transmission line to the transceiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1978
    Date of Patent: October 21, 1980
    Inventor: C. L. Wanzer
  • Patent number: 4204166
    Abstract: A very high frequency tuner for selection of a broadcasting signal through variation of a capacitance value formed across a voltage controlled variable capacitance diode responsive to a tuning control voltage comprises an improved interstage tuned coupling circuit between a high frequency amplifier and a frequency converter of the very high frequency tuner for transmission of the output signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1979
    Date of Patent: May 20, 1980
    Assignee: Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Itiro Araki