Patents Assigned to SnapTrack, Inc.
-
Patent number: 9379631Abstract: There is disclosed a power supply stage, comprising: generating means for generating a power supply voltage from a high efficiency variable voltage supply in dependence on a reference signal; adjusting means for receiving the generated power supply voltage, and adapted to provide an adjusted selected power supply voltage tracking the reference signal in dependence thereon.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2014Date of Patent: June 28, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventors: Martin Wilson, Shane Flint
-
Patent number: 9379671Abstract: A power supply stage and a method of controlling the same comprising: a means for generating an intermediate supply signal in dependence on a reference signal representing a desired power supply; and a plurality of adjusting means, each adapted to generate an adjusted supply signal tracking the reference signal, in dependence on the generated intermediate supply signal and the reference signal.Type: GrantFiled: January 29, 2015Date of Patent: June 28, 2016Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc.Inventor: Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9356559Abstract: There is disclosed a method and apparatus for generating an output signal comprising a replica of an input signal, comprising the steps of: generating a replica signal representing the low frequency content of the input signal; generating an error signal representing an error in the replica signal; combining the replica signal with the error signal to generate an output signal; and wherein the step of generating the error signal further includes the steps of: generating a delay signal being a delayed version of the input signal; and determining a difference between the output signal and the delay signal which difference is the error signal.Type: GrantFiled: September 9, 2014Date of Patent: May 31, 2016Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc.Inventor: Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9350246Abstract: A buck-boost converter comprising: a voltage source; an inductor, wherein a first terminal of the inductor is switchably connected to the voltage source; and a plurality of capacitors switchably connected to a second terminal of the inductor, wherein a respective plurality of output voltages are formed across the plurality of capacitors, further comprising: an error determination means, for determining an error in each of the plurality of voltages, an inner control loop adapted to switchably connect one of the plurality of capacitors to the second terminal of the inductor in dependence on the determined errors; and an outer control loop adapted to control switching between buck mode and boost mode in dependence upon the determined errors.Type: GrantFiled: March 26, 2015Date of Patent: May 24, 2016Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc.Inventor: Martin Paul Wilson
-
Patent number: 9350302Abstract: An envelope tracking power amplifier system comprising an RF input path and an envelope path for providing a modulated power amplifier supply, further comprising a plurality of envelope detectors for detecting the envelope of a plurality of frequency bands of an input signal and each generating an output signal, and a combiner for combining the output of the envelope detectors.Type: GrantFiled: October 21, 2014Date of Patent: May 24, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9344041Abstract: A method of optimizing a transmitter, the transmitter including a polar amplification stage including a main signal path and a magnitude signal path, a receiver being located with the transmitter, the method comprising: generating an amplified signal for transmission at the output of the amplifier; tuning the receiver to a frequency to reject the intended transmit signal of the transmitter; determining a characteristic of a signal detected in the receiver representing an indication of distortion in the transmitted signal; and adjusting a setting of the transmitter in dependence on the determined characteristic.Type: GrantFiled: March 13, 2012Date of Patent: May 17, 2016Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc.Inventor: Kevin Cobley
-
Patent number: 9337788Abstract: There is disclosed a power supply stage, and a corresponding method, comprising: a plurality of amplifiers for amplifying an input signal, each amplifier receiving a power supply voltage; a common selection means for selecting one of a plurality of power supply voltages in dependence on a reference signal representing a desired power supply voltage; and a plurality of adjusting means, corresponding to the plurality of amplifiers, adapted to generate an adjusted selected power supply voltage for a respective amplifier tracking the reference signal in dependence on the one selected power supply voltage and the reference signal.Type: GrantFiled: April 3, 2013Date of Patent: May 10, 2016Assignee: SnapTrack, Inc.Inventor: Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9338216Abstract: A method for implementing a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)-based streaming service is disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. The method includes: a server receives a request from a client, and returns, to the client according to a request for a media presentation description file, a response that carries the media presentation description file; the server sets up a time synchronization relationship with the client; and the server receives a uniform resource locator from the client, obtains a corresponding media fragment file, and returns the media fragment file to the client for playing on the client, where the uniform resource locator is a uniform resource locator of a media fragment that is determined by the client and is required to be played, and is used for the client to request the media fragment file from the server.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 2011Date of Patent: May 10, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Shaobo Zhang
-
Patent number: 9331636Abstract: The invention relates to a method of calibrating an envelope path and an input path of an amplification stage including an envelope tracking power supply, the method comprising: generating input signals having a known relationship for each of the input and envelope paths; and varying an amplitude and a delay of the signal in one of the envelope and input paths in order to reduce the variation in the power detected in a signal at the output of the amplification stage.Type: GrantFiled: May 16, 2012Date of Patent: May 3, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Ben Bartram
-
Patent number: 9294043Abstract: Apparatus and methods for envelope tracking calibration are provided. In one embodiment, a power amplifier system includes a power amplifier, an envelope tracker that generates the power amplifier's supply voltage, a power detector, and a calibration module. The envelope tracker includes an envelope shaping table generated at a desired gain compression and a scaling module that scales an amplitude of an envelope signal. The power detector measures the power amplifier's output power, and the calibration module provides calibration data to the scaling module to change the scaling of the envelope signal's amplitude. The calibration module sets the calibration data to a first value corresponding to a supply voltage level associated with substantially no gain compression, and reduces the supply voltage level by changing the calibration data until the power detector indicates that the gain compression of the power amplifier is about equal to the desired gain compression.Type: GrantFiled: December 23, 2014Date of Patent: March 22, 2016Assignees: SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS, INC., SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventors: David Steven Ripley, Sabah Khesbak, Benjamin Bartram, Kevin Lee Cobley, Robert Astle Henshaw, Julian Hildersley, Robert John Thompson
-
Patent number: 9270230Abstract: There is disclosed a multi-stage amplifier comprising: a first amplifier stage; a second amplifier stage; a first voltage supply stage arranged to provide a supply voltage to the first amplifier in dependence on an average power of a signal to be amplified; and a second voltage supply stage arranged to provide a supply voltage to the second amplifier in dependence on an instantaneous power of a signal to be amplified.Type: GrantFiled: February 21, 2014Date of Patent: February 23, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventors: Robert Henshaw, Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9257941Abstract: There is provided a bias arrangement for an amplifier adapted to amplify a varying input signal, the arrangement comprising a control circuit arranged to adaptively vary a bias current to the amplifier in dependence on an envelope of the varying input signal.Type: GrantFiled: November 26, 2014Date of Patent: February 9, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Russell Fagg
-
Patent number: 9252724Abstract: There is provided an amplification stage including an envelope tracking modulated supply for tracking a reference signal, comprising a low frequency path for tracking low frequency variations in the reference signal and for providing a first output voltage, and a high frequency path for tracking high frequency variations in the reference signal and for providing a second output voltage, and a combiner for combining the first and second output voltages to provide a third output voltage, the amplification stage further comprising a first amplifier arranged to receive the first output voltage as a supply voltage, and a second amplifier arranged to receive the third output voltage as a supply voltage, wherein the first and second amplifiers are enabled in different modes of operation.Type: GrantFiled: January 31, 2014Date of Patent: February 2, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9231624Abstract: A method of calibrating a polar amplification stage including a main signal path and a magnitude signal path, the method comprising: generating signals (108, 142) for the main signal path and the magnitude signal path for operating an amplifier (102) between a linear mode of operation and a saturated mode of operation; detecting (114) first and second peaks in a signal at the output of the amplifier (102) representing transitions between the linear and saturated modes of operation; and adjusting (124) the timing in one of the main signal path and the amplitude signal path in dependence on a relative difference between the size of the detected first and second peaks.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 2012Date of Patent: January 5, 2016Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Nicholas Shute
-
Patent number: 9225292Abstract: An amplification stage comprising: an input scaling block for scaling an input signal in dependence on an input scaling factor to generate a scaled version of the input signal; a power amplifier for generating an amplified version of the scaled input signal; an envelope detector for generating a signal representing the envelope of the input signal; an envelope scaling block for scaling the envelope signal in dependence on an envelope scaling factor to generate a scaled version of the envelope signal; a non-linear mapping block for generating a voltage representative of the supply voltage in dependence on the scaled envelope signal; a modulator for generating a power supply voltage for the amplifier in dependence on the voltage generated by the non-linear mapping block; and a power control block for maintaining a linear relationship between the envelope scaling factor and the input scaling factor.Type: GrantFiled: January 8, 2015Date of Patent: December 29, 2015Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventors: Gerard Wimpenny, Robert Henshaw
-
Publication number: 20150365053Abstract: There is disclosed an envelope tracking modulated supply arranged to generate a modulated supply voltage in dependence on a reference signal, comprising a low frequency path for tracking low frequency variations in the reference signal and including a switched mode power supply, a correction path for tracking high frequency variations in the reference signal and including a linear amplifier, a feedback path from the output of the linear amplifier to the input of the linear amplifier, and a combiner for combining the output of the switched mode power supply and the output of the linear amplifier to generate a modulated supply voltage.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 31, 2014Publication date: December 17, 2015Applicant: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Gerard WIMPENNY
-
Publication number: 20150358486Abstract: There is disclosed a voltage supply stage comprising an input supply voltage, a first (102) and second (104) switch connected in series, the first (102) and second (104) series-connected switches being connected in parallel with the input supply voltage between first and second terminals of the input supply voltage, a third (106) switch and capacitor connected in series, the series-connected third (106) switch and capacitor being connected in parallel with the first (102) switch, a fourth (108) switch connected between the connection of the third switch and the capacitor and an output, and a fifth (110) switch connected between the output and a terminal of the input supply voltage, wherein: in a first phase of operation, the first and the fourth switch are closed, and the second, third and fifth switches are open; in a second phase of operation, the second, third and fifth switches are closed, and the first and fourth switches are open; and the duty cycle of the first and second phases is controlled such thatType: ApplicationFiled: January 31, 2014Publication date: December 10, 2015Applicant: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Gerard WIMPENNY
-
Patent number: 9209751Abstract: There is disclosed a power supply stage, and a method of controlling such, comprising: a means for generating an intermediate supply signal in dependence on a reference signal representing a desired power supply; and a plurality of adjusting means, each adapted to generate an adjusted supply signal tracking the reference signal, in dependence on the generated intermediate supply signal and the reference signal.Type: GrantFiled: November 25, 2010Date of Patent: December 8, 2015Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Gerard Wimpenny
-
Patent number: 9197128Abstract: Apparatus and methods for voltage converter bypass circuits are provided. In one embodiment, a voltage conversion system includes a bypass circuit and a voltage converter including an inductor and a plurality of switches configured to control a current through the inductor. The bypass circuit includes a first p-type field effect transistor, a second p-type field effect transistor, a first n-type field effect transistor, and a second n-type field effect transistor. The first and second n-type field effect transistors are electrically in series between a first end and a second end of the inductor. Additionally, the first and second p-type field effect transistor transistors are electrically connected in series between the first end and the second end of the inductor.Type: GrantFiled: June 18, 2014Date of Patent: November 24, 2015Assignees: SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS, INC., SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventors: Peter Harris Robert Popplewell, Jakub F. Pingot, Florinel G. Balteanu, Martin Wilson, Mark Tuckwell
-
Patent number: 9190958Abstract: A radio frequency amplification stage comprising: an amplifier for receiving an input signal to be amplified and a power supply voltage; and a power supply voltage stage for supplying said power supply voltage, comprising: means for providing a reference signal representing the envelope of the input signal; means for selecting one of a plurality of supply voltage levels in dependence on the reference signal; and means for generating an adjusted selected power supply voltage, comprising an ac amplifier for amplifying a difference between the reference signal and one of the selected supply voltage level or the adjusted selected supply voltage level, and a summer for summing the amplified difference with the selected supply voltage to thereby generate the adjusted supply voltage.Type: GrantFiled: July 12, 2013Date of Patent: November 17, 2015Assignee: SNAPTRACK, INC.Inventor: Martin Paul Wilson