Abstract: An extrema coding circuit comprising a differentiator and a noisy limiting-amplifier. The limiting-amplifier may comprise any one of a number of commercially available limiting-amplifier integrated circuits, for example, a limiting-amplifier front end of an FM IF amplifier and detector integrated circuit. The limiting-amplifier is operated so that the input voltages provided to it are in the order of magnitude of broadband noise generated internally by the limiting-amplifier stages. Accordingly, the limiting-amplifier stages encode the differentiated analog signal and the internally generated noise signal into an extrema coded signal, i.e., a signal wherein the times of occurrence of extrema are represented as transitions of a binary signal. Because of the high gain of the limiting-amplifier stages, these stages perform infinite clipping. The extrema coded signal contains information sufficient to enable substantial reproduction of the original analog signal therefrom.

Abstract: A system for converting analog input waveforms into digital signals is disclosed. The system reduces the bit rate required for the transmission of signals over a transmission channel such that the reproduced analog signals at the receiver are perceived still to be of subjectively high quality to the human sensory system, e.g., the human ear. The system includes an extrema coder for encoding only the times of occurrence of extrema, or maximum and minimum values in the input analog waveform, including the times of occurrence of naturally occurring or injected substantially random, broadband noise. The output of the extrema coder is coupled to an interface circuit, which in one embodiment, wherein a delta modulator digitizing stage is used, comprises an integrator. The output of the interface circuit is fed to a digitizing stage, e.g., in one embodiment, a delta modulator. The output of the digitizing stage is then coupled to the transmission channel for transmission to the receiver.