Abstract: Described herein is an apparatus and method for enhancing the dynamic range of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). In one embodiment of the present approach, an analog input signal is amplified in a programmable gain amplifier (PGA) before the ADC receives the signal, so that the gain applied to an input signal, and gain (or attenuation) later applied in order to balance the overall gain of the circuit, occurs only in either the analog domain; in the prior art, gain occurs partly in each domain. The ADC gain is then adjusted to compensate for gain of the PGA and balance the overall gain of the circuit. In another embodiment, the ADC gain is adjusted, and gain of a digital gain element that receives the signal from the ADC is adjusted to compensate for the ADC gain and balance the overall gain of the circuit, eliminating the need for a PGA.

Abstract: Described herein is a method and apparatus for enhancing the dynamic range of a digital-to-analog conversion circuit. Dynamic range enhancement (DRE) is accomplished by modifying the gain of components of the circuit so that the gain of components generating noise is effectively reduced. In a circuit utilizing a plurality of 1-bit DACs, analog signal gain is decreased when the full nominal gain of the analog portion of the circuit is not needed to obtain a desired peak output amplitude. The reduction is accomplished by effectively “disconnecting” some of the plurality of 1-bit DACs. Some or all of the 1-bit DACs are configured to have a third or “tri-state” in which there is no connection to the normal two reference levels thus providing no output. If some portion of the 1-bit DACs is placed in the tri-state, both the signal and noise gain will be reduced.

Abstract: A digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) that generates an output frequency clock signal without drift and can be rapidly locked to an input or reference clock is described. A variable-modulus-fixed-increment form of DCO is configured to divide the frequency of a nominally fixed frequency oscillator. A constant is derived from the ratio of a fixed increment to the desired output frequency; this constant is multiplied by the frequency of the oscillator and the modulus adjusted to keep the ratio of the input clock and the output clock constant. The frequency of the oscillator is conveniently measured by counting the number of cycles between input cycles of a reference frequency. The oscillator must be greater in frequency than the expected output and is most accurate in cases where the reference frequency is low compared to the expected output frequency.

Abstract: A system and method for passively balancing electroacoustic transducers so that sounds other than the transducer's output can be detected. A transducer producing audio output based upon an input audio signal can operate in reverse to produce a signal in response to the impact of external sound upon the transducer from another source. This “reverse” or “microphone” signal represents the sound from the other source. Transducers are operated in monophonic mode, each in opposite polarity to the other thus canceling out and leaving only the microphone signal created by the transducers, i.e., a signal representing the external sound. The microphone signal can be amplified, and can be filtered and processed to identify and/or obtain various types of information about the sound received by the transducers.

Abstract: An improved system and method for recognizing an audio signal due to physical activity and taking a predetermined action in response is disclosed. A “reverse noise signal” created by the sound pressure wave of the physical activity acting on the earpiece transducer is obtained. In some embodiments, an ambient noise signal is inverted and fed back, and the inverted signal is added to the intended audio signal being sent to the earpiece so that the ambient noise is cancelled. In other embodiments, a processor receives the ambient noise signal and predicts the modification to the intended audio signal needed to counteract the ambient noise. In other embodiments, the reverse noise signal may represent a motor or biological activity of a user; the system may take different actions in response to different physical activities, such as a heart beat of the user, or a tap, footfall, or swallowing by the user.

Abstract: An improved system and method for reducing the ambient noise experienced by a user listening to an earpiece without the use of a microphone is disclosed. An “ambient noise signal” created by the sound pressure wave of the ambient noise acting on the earpiece transducer is obtained. In some embodiments, the ambient noise signal is inverted and fed back, and the inverted signal is added to the intended audio signal being sent to the earpiece so that the ambient noise is cancelled. In other embodiments, a processor receives the ambient noise signal and predicts the modification to the intended audio signal needed to counteract the ambient noise. The ambient noise signal may be obtained by comparing the actual signal across the earpiece transducer to the intended audio signal, or by detecting variations in the current across the transducer from the current generated to drive the transducer.

Abstract: An improved system and method for reducing the ambient noise experienced by a user listening to an earpiece without the use of a microphone is disclosed. An “ambient noise signal” created by the sound pressure wave of the ambient noise acting on the earpiece transducer is obtained. In some embodiments, the ambient noise signal is inverted and fed back, and the inverted signal is added to the intended audio signal being sent to the earpiece so that the ambient noise is cancelled. In other embodiments, a processor receives the ambient noise signal and predicts the modification to the intended audio signal needed to counteract the ambient noise. The ambient noise signal may be obtained by comparing the actual signal across the earpiece transducer to the intended audio signal, or by detecting variations in the current across the transducer from the current generated to drive the transducer.

Abstract: A circuit and method is disclosed for filtering an audio signal. The circuit has a first quadrature source and multipliers for multiplying the input signal by the I and Q outputs of the quadrature source. The multiplied inputs are then passed through a pair of low pass filters, which may have an adjustable Q factor. The outputs of the low pass filters are then multiplied in a second pair of multipliers by the I and Q outputs, respectively, of a second quadrature source, which will typically be of the same frequency, but different amplitude and phase, of the first quadrature source. The twice-multiplied signals are then summed by an adder to provide an output signal. The circuit may be modified to include a companding circuit between the low pass filters and the second pair of multipliers that determines the amplitude of the input signal, filters it, and compands the signal in a compandor. The compandor may have adjustable parameters.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for providing output signal swings that are greater than the supply voltage in a class-D amplifier. The amplifier circuit boosts the voltage across the amplifier load, such as a loudspeaker, by using capacitors to “charge pump” the voltage across the load and thus increase the voltage temporarily. This is done by using two or more output bridges rather than one, and connecting the bridges through the capacitors. For signals of less than the supply voltage, only an inner bridge, similar to a full bridge of the prior art, operates. For signals above the supply voltage, an outer bridge charges capacitors, which are then used to ‘boost’ the voltage on the bridge output for the short period of the Class-D switching period. Thus, only relatively small value boosting capacitors are needed, as they do not need to supply charge for very long.

Abstract: A method and system for designing and implementing a finite impulse response (FIR) filter to create a plurality of output signals, each output signal having the same frequency but at a different phase shift from the other output(s), is described. Values are determined for the resistors, or other elements having impedance values, in a FIR filter having a plurality of outputs, such that each output has the same frequency response but a different phase than the other output(s). This is accomplished by the inclusion of a phase factor in the time domain calculation of the resistor values that does not change the response in the frequency domain. The phase shift is constant and independent of the frequency of the output signal.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for providing output signal swings that are greater than the supply voltage in a class-D amplifier. The amplifier circuit boosts the voltage across the amplifier load, such as a loudspeaker, by using capacitors to “charge pump” the voltage across the load and thus increase the voltage temporarily. This is done by using two or more output bridges rather than one, and connecting the bridges through the capacitors. For signals of less than the supply voltage, only an inner bridge, similar to a full bridge of the prior art, operates. For signals above the supply voltage, an outer bridge charges capacitors, which are then used to ‘boost’ the voltage on the bridge output for the short period of the Class-D switching period. Thus, only relatively small value boosting capacitors are needed, as they do not need to supply charge for very long.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for providing output signal swings that are greater than the supply voltage in a class-D amplifier. The amplifier circuit boosts the voltage across the amplifier load, such as a loudspeaker, by using capacitors to “charge pump” the voltage across the load and thus increase the voltage temporarily. This is done by using two or more output bridges rather than one, and connecting the bridges through the capacitors. For signals of less than the supply voltage, only an inner bridge, similar to a full bridge of the prior art, operates. For signals above the supply voltage, an outer bridge charges capacitors, which are then used to ‘boost’ the voltage on the bridge output for the short period of the Class-D switching period. Thus, only relatively small value boosting capacitors are needed, as they do not need to supply charge for very long.

Abstract: A circuit component that is adjustable at run time and a method of designing the circuit are disclosed. The component contains a hierarchy of recursive levels in which a bottom level is a compound element made from two connected simple elements, and each higher level contains two compound elements connected in the same fashion. The described circuit allows for a large number of available values of the component value to be arranged in a logarithmic fashion rather than a linear one as in the prior art, thus generally reducing errors between any desired value for the component and the available values. In addition, such compound elements reduce the power dissipated by the analog element and the susceptibility to noise as compared to prior art adjustable components without adversely affecting the overall gain of the circuit.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for placing some of the elements of a FIR filter into a high impedance state in certain situations. When it is detected that the signal to an impedance element is the same as the previous value, then the driver of that impedance element is “turned off” or goes into a high impedance state, so that no current flows through that impedance element, and it no longer contributes to the filter output. Alternatively, if the impedance elements are the same between two adjacent taps of the delay line, the driver of one of those impedance elements may be turned off or go into a high impedance state. The technique may be particularly useful in differential output filters. Turning off a driver effectively removes the attached impedance element from the filter and reduces current flow and power consumption, thus extending battery life in mobile devices.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for providing a common mode voltage to the inputs of a first differential amplifier which outputs the difference between two signals. A second differential amplifier receives the output of the first differential amplifier, and the output of the second differential amplifier is fed back to the inputs of the first differential amplifier as a common mode voltage. Since both inputs of the first differential amplifier receive the fed back common mode voltage, the first differential amplifier still outputs only the difference in the two signals, but the presence of the common mode voltage allows the first differential amplifier to operate with lower noise if the voltage levels of the inputs to the first differential amplifier vary. The second differential amplifier may be of significantly lower quality and cost than the first differential amplifier, without affecting the performance of the first differential amplifier.

Abstract: Channel select filter circuits are described. One circuit implements a multiplying element and digital-to-analog converter as a differential current mode device. Another circuit implementing a multiplying element and digital-to-analog converter with weighted addition, deferred after multiplication of the digital-to-analog converter and multiplier combination. In one such circuit, substantially equal current source magnitudes are in different columns of the circuit. Another such circuit, with substantially equal current source magnitudes, uses non-radix2. Another such circuit, with substantially equal current source magnitudes, has partial segmentation. Another circuit implements a multiplying element and digital-to-analog converter, with partial segmentation, scrambling bit allocation for elements. One such circuit scrambles bit allocation on equally weighted segments, as described herein.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for inputting digital data on the output channel(s) of an audio subsystem in an audio device, without interfering with normal operation of the audio subsystem. The described circuit includes a resistive element in parallel with the expected load device, such as a headphone or speaker. The resistive element receives a modulated digital signal from a data source or a switch, and the instantaneous current through the resistive element due to the modulated digital signal is reflected in a current feedback mechanism of the audio subsystem. Demodulation logic retrieves the digital signal from the current measured by the current feedback mechanism. A capacitor is provided to prevent the current in the resistive element from the digital signal from impacting the average DC current that the feedback mechanism uses to evaluate the load device.

Abstract: A voltage regulator for providing a constant voltage to a circuit is described in which a series regulator acts as the current source for a shunt regulator and the series regulator in turn is controlled by the current diverted from the output by the shunt regulator. The current being diverted by the shunt regulator is measured, either directly or by measuring a related operating parameter. When current below or above a certain desired amount is being diverted from the load by the shunt regulator, a signal is sent to the series regulator causing the series regulator to provide more or less current respectively, so that the shunt regulator again diverts the desired amount of current and the output voltage remains constant. This configuration results in efficiency near that of a series regulator while maintaining the better frequency response of a shunt regulator.

Abstract: An improved method for the placement and routing of compound elements, each comprising a series/parallel combination of nominally identical elements, is disclosed. The method treats each compound element as a separate cell (the sub-circuit construct commonly used in silicon chip design) so as to treat as a unit all the nominally identical elements that make up a compound value, and place them as a single group in the design of a chip. This results in the compound elements being placed as units and routed in such a way that all of the nominal elements are located together and any effects between compound values are thus relatively localized and optimally isolated.

Abstract: A circuit that provides a rotating coefficient FIR filter with all necessary coefficient sets present at the same time, without the need for delay elements, devices providing for adjustable impedances, or buffers is described. An input signal is sampled in a round robin fashion by a plurality of switches and capacitors. The capacitors are connected directly to sets of impedance devices. Each set of impedance devices implements the coefficients of the desired frequency response of the filter, adjusted to compensate for the decay of samples in the capacitors between samples. The impedance devices in each set are connected to the capacitors in a different order from each other set, so that each set of impedance devices will produce the desired frequency response when a different one of the capacitor contains a new sample of the input signal. Switches connect the sets of impedance devices to an output and a virtual ground, only one switch being connected to the output at a time to provide the output signal.