Patents by Inventor Andreas Wichern

Andreas Wichern has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6794941
    Abstract: A gain-controlled amplifier comprises two signal output stages arranged in parallel to drive an output load in series. A maximum-gain stage provides a maximum of signal gain and the other minimum-gain stage fixes the minimum overall amplifier signal gain. Gain-control input signals differentially applied to the two such stages balance the contributions of the respective gain stages delivered to the common output load. In one aspect, a third shunting transistor is used across the minimum-gain stage. In another version, the output load is a tapped resistor and the respective maximum and minimum gain stages drive different taps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventors: Andreas Wichern, Niels Gabriel
  • Patent number: 6762655
    Abstract: To provide a circuit arrangement for filtering and/or selecting single frequencies or frequency ranges, particularly of signals intended for at least an integrated circuit and/or signals generated by at least an integrated circuit, said circuit arrangement (100) comprising at least two electric resonant circuits (10; 20; 30) with at least an inductive element (12; 22; 32) and at least a capacitive element (14; 24; 34), which, at a given low power supply voltage, provides a dynamic range complying with the current requirements, on the one hand, and has a maximal quality factor (Q), on the other hand, and can be realized in an inherently symmetrical arrangement and combined with a differential or balanced circuit technique to be preferred in integrated techniques, it is proposed that the resonant circuits (10; 20; 30), particularly the inductive elements (12; 22; 32) are magnetically fixedly coupled to each other, and in that at least a part, preferably all resonant circuits (10; 20; 30) of the circuit arran
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 6703886
    Abstract: In a circuit arrangement for rectifying a signal, in which two transconductors are controllable with opposite phase by means of the signal to be rectified, the outputs of the transconductors are connected to a first circuit point via a first diode and to a second circuit point via a second diode having an opposite polarity with respect to the first diode. The circuit points are connected to a predetermined potential. A rectified signal can be derived from at least one of the circuit points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2004
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern
  • Publication number: 20030071647
    Abstract: In a method and an arrangement for determining the high-frequency behavior of active circuit elements in circuits arranged on a wafer, in which, substitutionally for the active circuit elements in the circuits, active circuit elements are utilized in process control modules which are also arranged on the wafer, the oscillation frequency of ring oscillators comprised in the process control modules and constituted by active circuit elements is measured and evaluated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2002
    Publication date: April 17, 2003
    Inventors: Martin Schaefer, Andreas Wichern
  • Publication number: 20030042964
    Abstract: In a circuit arrangement for rectifying a signal, in which two transconductors are controllable with opposite phase by means of the signal to be rectified, the outputs of the transconductors are connected to a first circuit point via a first diode and to a second circuit point via a second diode having an opposite polarity with respect to the first diode. The circuit points are connected to a predetermined potential. A rectified signal can be derived from at least one of the circuit points.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2002
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern
  • Publication number: 20020130717
    Abstract: A controllable amplifier arrangement is described, the arrangement comprising
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2001
    Publication date: September 19, 2002
    Inventors: Andreas Wichern, Niels Gabriel
  • Publication number: 20020053955
    Abstract: To provide a circuit arrangement for filtering and/or selecting single frequencies or frequency ranges, particularly of signals intended for at least an integrated circuit and/or signals generated by at least an integrated circuit, said circuit arrangement (100) comprising at least two electric resonant circuits (10; 20; 30)
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 21, 2001
    Publication date: May 9, 2002
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 6198359
    Abstract: An oscillator arrangement is described including a resonant circuit having two poles from which an oscillation generated in the oscillator arrangement can be taken and including a differential amplifier of two emitter-coupled transistors having two collector electrodes of which each one is connected to one of the poles of the resonant circuit, and having two base electrodes cross-coupled to the poles of the resonant circuit. Such an oscillator arrangement can be constructed so as to generate a low-noise oscillation by means of a minimal number of circuit elements in that the base electrodes are each coupled to the poles of the resonant circuit via a diode configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2001
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 6178320
    Abstract: A radio receiver having a double-balanced mixer stage comprising two pairs of emitter coupled transistors (T1 to T4), the common emitters of each pair of transistors being connected to identical current sources (T5, T6 and T9). A local oscillator signal is applied differentially to junctions (58, 60) of the base electrodes of the first and fourth transistors (T1, T4) and the second and third transistors (T2, T3), respectively. The rf input signal is applied to the common emitter junctions (50, 52) via damping resistors (R3, R4) which also are connected to respective current sources. Outputs from the pairs of emitter coupled transistors are coupled to cascode stages (66, 68). Further damping resistors (R1, R2) are connected between the differential local oscillator input (22A, 22B) and the junctions (58, 60) of the base electrodes. The damping resistors are of a low value typically 25 ohms and serve to stabilize the double-balanced mixer circuit and prevent it from going into oscillation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2001
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventors: Anthony H. Richards, Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 6075979
    Abstract: A receiver has a crystal oscillator (10) whose frequency can be adjusted in response to temperature compensation (TC) and automatic frequency control (afc) signals. The TC and afc signals are summed and applied to an op-amp (70) having a fixed gain functioning as a current to voltage converter. An output of the op-amp (70) is applied to the crystal oscillator (10). If the receiver is switched--on and--off in accordance with say a time division protocol, the output of the op-amp (70) is applied by way of a switch (72) to a storage circuit (30,C) which when the switch is open applies a bias voltage on the crystal oscillator (10) to maintain its output frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventors: Knud Holtvoeth, Andreas Wichern, Wilfried Knop
  • Patent number: 5963082
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement (16) for producing a D.C. current, includes a feedback loop for producing a reference current from an output terminal (27) with a negative temperature coefficient. The feedback loop includes a current-source stage (17, 18) which feeds a current mirror stage (19, 20, 21) in response to a measuring current supplied from a current bank (24, 25, 28, 29), which also produces the output reference current. The output of the current mirror stage (19, 20, 21) drives a working impedance formed by the main current path of a transistor 22, across which a control voltage is developed which is applied to a control input (23) of the current bank (24, 25, 28, 29). The circuit arrangement is advantageously combined with a reference current source (1) arranged as a bandgap circuit for producing a reference current on an output terminal (2) with a positive temperature coefficient, by enabling the user to select a current reference with either a positive or negative temperature coefficient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 5, 1999
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventors: Burkhard Dick, Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 5648741
    Abstract: A circuit arrangement having an input arranged to receive an input signal (U20) and an output for providing an output signal (U22). The circuit has an overall transfer function defined as the ratio between the output signal and the input signal and which is obtained by adding individual transfer functions of at least two different amplifiers with different slopes in their linear ranges and/or different limit values in their saturation ranges and/or different zero points alternately with positive and negative signs in a manner such that, at least partly, it corresponds substantially to a function of at least the third degree. This circuit arrangement generates, in a simple manner, an overall transfer function of at least the third degree, which can be used advantageously, for example, for the compensation of the temperature-verses-resonant-frequency characteristic function of a quartz crystal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 15, 1997
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 5619152
    Abstract: A high frequency amplifier circuit arrangement has an output current path having one end coupled to a reference potential for supplying an alternating signal current at an output terminal. The influence of parasitic inductances in the output current path on the amplitude of the alternating signal current is reduced or cancelled in that compensation is provided for the influence of a parasitic inductance in the coupling between the output current path and the reference potential by means of a compensation circuit which applies an alternating compensation current to a (first) node between the output current path and the parasitic inductance. This compensation current is in phase opposition to and of at least substantially the same magnitude as the alternating signal current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1997
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventors: Knud Holtvoeth, Andreas Wichern
  • Patent number: 5235277
    Abstract: A surface coil for magnetic resonance examinations is formed by two longitudinal conductors and a plurality of transverse conductors which interconnect the longitudinal conductors in a plane. A coupling device couples the coil to an RF transmitter or an RF receiver. An RF magnetic field is produced by the coil parallel to the plane defined by the transverse conductors. The transverse conductors each include at least one capacitor. One of the two outer transverse conductors forms a part of the coupling device. The conductors and the capacitors are proportioned and have values so that the current through the outer transverse conductor forming a part of the coupling device is uniformly distributed between the other transverse conductors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 10, 1993
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventor: Andreas Wichern