Patents by Inventor Charles T Nicholls

Charles T Nicholls 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: 7194050
    Abstract: Narrowband interference in a wideband RF signal is reduced by a notch filter operating at IF between down- and up-converters supplied by a local oscillator (LO) at a frequency controlled by a control circuit. The control circuit detects interference by determining power in each of a plurality of narrowband channels, also at IF via another down-converter with a controlled LO frequency, relative to power of the wideband RF signal and scaled in accordance with the wideband and narrowband bandwidths. The control circuit controls the LOs for scanning the narrowband channels to determine a channel with greatest interference and to filter out this narrowband channel with the notch filter. In the absence of interference, the notch is tuned outside the signal bandwidth.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Charles T. Nicholls, Gregory C. Carleton, Adrian J. Bergsma
  • Patent number: 7058368
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for noise cancellation in communications systems. The method is applicable in situations where an interfering signal or noise must be cancelled within a specified bandwidth. A sample of the interfering signal is used to synthesize a cancellation signal which is of equal amplitude but opposite phase to the original interference signal. Introduction of the cancellation signal into the interference signal path results in substantially complete suppression of the interference signal through vector subtraction of the superposed signal fields. Adaptive cancellation is also provided in that the frequency and bandwidth of the cancellation signal can be controlled. The adaptive nature of the cancellation loop also tracks out imbalances between the interference and cancellation signals caused by temperature variation and component tolerances. The adaptive nature of the cancellation system also allows the system to lock onto and track an interfering signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2006
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Charles T Nicholls, Alain Roussel
  • Publication number: 20040198295
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for noise cancellation in communications systems. The method is applicable in situations where an interfering signal or noise must be cancelled within a specified bandwidth. A sample of the interfering signal is used to synthesize a cancellation signal which is of equal amplitude but opposite phase to the original interference signal. Introduction of the cancellation signal into the interference signal path results in substantially complete suppression of the interference signal through vector subtraction of the superposed signal fields. Adaptive cancellation is also provided in that the frequency and bandwidth of the cancellation signal can be controlled. The adaptive nature of the cancellation loop also tracks out imbalances between the interference and cancellation signals caused by temperature variation and component tolerances. The adaptive nature of the cancellation system also allows the system to lock onto and track an interfering signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2002
    Publication date: October 7, 2004
    Inventors: Charles T. Nicholls, Alain Roussel
  • Publication number: 20040062216
    Abstract: Narrowband interference in a wideband RF signal is reduced by a notch filter operating at IF between down- and up-converters supplied by a local oscillator (LO) at a frequency controlled by a control circuit. The control circuit detects interference by determining power in each of a plurality of narrowband channels, also at IF via another down-converter with a controlled LO frequency, relative to power of the wideband RF signal and scaled in accordance with the wideband and narrowband bandwidths. The control circuit controls the LOs for scanning the narrowband channels to determine a channel with greatest interference and to filter out this narrowband channel with the notch filter. In the absence of interference, the notch is tuned outside the signal bandwidth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2002
    Publication date: April 1, 2004
    Inventors: Charles T. Nicholls, Gregory C. Carleton, Adrian J. Bergsma
  • Patent number: 6429748
    Abstract: There is a manufacturing limit on how small ceramic coaxial resonators can be produced, which leads to a limit on the frequency of resonance for these resonators. One technique to double the effective frequency of a ceramic coaxial resonator is to couple each end of a resonator to a Colpitts oscillator, the oscillators being balanced and out-of-phase by 180°. During operation, the resonator is effectively divided in half with a virtual ground forming in the center. This allows a single resonator to operate as two resonators of half the original size. Hence, the oscillation frequency for each of these balanced oscillators is doubled when compared to the frequency of similar oscillators that have separate ceramic coaxial resonators of similar size. If this technique is further implemented within a push-pull design tuned to the third harmonic, the output oscillation frequency becomes six times that of an oscillator using a separate ceramic coaxial resonator of similar size.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2002
    Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
    Inventors: Charles T. Nicholls, Johan M. Grundlingh
  • Publication number: 20010004225
    Abstract: There is a manufacturing limit on how small ceramic coaxial resonators can be produced, which leads to a limit on the frequency of resonance for these resonators. One technique to double the effective frequency of a ceramic coaxial resonator is to couple each end of a resonator to a Colpitts oscillator, the oscillators being balanced and out-of-phase by 180°. During operation, the resonator is effectively divided in half with a virtual ground forming in the center. This allows a single resonator to operate as two resonators of half the original size. Hence, the oscillation frequency for each of these balanced oscillators is doubled when compared to the frequency of similar oscillators that have separate ceramic coaxial resonators of similar size. If this technique is further implemented within a push-pull design tuned to the third harmonic, the output oscillation frequency becomes six times that of an oscillator using a separate ceramic coaxial resonator of similar size.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2000
    Publication date: June 21, 2001
    Inventors: Charles T. Nicholls, Johan M. Grundlingh