Patents by Inventor Donald Kerth

Donald Kerth 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: 7884666
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in circuits. A management strategy is provided to reduce reference spurs and interference in circuits. The management strategy uses a combination of one or more techniques which reduce the digital current, minimize mutual inductance, utilize field cancellation, prevent leakage current, and/or manage impedance. These techniques may be used alone, or preferably, used on combination with one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2011
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: David R. Welland, Donald A. Kerth, Caiyi Wang
  • Publication number: 20100267353
    Abstract: A converter in a radio-frequency (RF) apparatus includes a feedback circuitry. The feedback circuitry has a shielded input and a shielded output. The shielded input and the shielded output of the feedback circuitry tend to reduce interference in the converter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2010
    Publication date: October 21, 2010
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta
  • Publication number: 20100246995
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for performing dual mode image rejection calibration in a receiver. A first image correction factor is acquired using a first known signal associated with a first signal band during a startup mode. The first image correction factor has a plurality of bits including most significant bits (MSBs) and least significant bits (LSBs). The LSBs of the first image correction factor are adjusted incrementally during a normal operation mode. A radio frequency (RF) signal associated with the first signal band is received using the first image correction factor during the normal operation mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: SILICON LABORATORIES, INC.
    Inventors: Tod Paulus, Donald A. Kerth, Srihari Adireddy, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta
  • Patent number: 7783274
    Abstract: A chopped intermediate frequency (IF) wireless receiver is disclosed. The wireless receiver includes a local oscillator (LO), a first and a second mixers, an LO frequency control module, an IF filter, a digital down converter and a down conversion controller. The LO provides a local oscillating signal to the first and second mixers. The first and second mixers converts a received radio frequency signal to an in-phase IF signal and a quadrature IF signal, respectively. The LO frequency control module alternately down converts a channel frequency by changing an oscillation frequency of the LO. Coupled to the digital down converter, the down conversion controller adjusts a complex sine wave within the digital down converter while the in-phase IF signal and the quadrature IF signal are being down-converted by the digital down converter to a baseband signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2010
    Assignee: ST-Ericsson SA
    Inventor: Donald A. Kerth
  • Publication number: 20100166124
    Abstract: A radio-frequency (RF) receiver includes a receiver analog circuitry and a receiver digital circuitry. The receiver analog circuitry resides within a first integrated circuit and the receiver digital circuitry resides within a second integrated circuit. The second integrated circuit couples to the first integrated circuit via a one-bit digital interface. The receiver analog circuitry receives an RF signal and processes the received RF signal to generate a digital signal. The receiver analog circuitry provides the digital signal to the receiver digital circuitry. The receiver digital circuitry includes a digital down-converter circuitry that mixes the digital signal with an intermediate frequency (IF) local oscillator (LO) signal to generate a digital down-converted signal. The receiver digital circuitry also includes a digital filter circuitry that filters the digital down-converted signal to generate a filtered digital signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 1, 2010
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Inventors: Richard T. Behrens, Tod Paulus, Mark S. Spurbeck, Vishnu S. Srinivasan, Donald A. Kerth, Jeffrey W. Scott, G. Tyson Tuttle, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta
  • Publication number: 20100167684
    Abstract: A radio-frequency (RF) apparatus, which may reside in a receiver or transceiver, includes receive-path circuitry. The receive-path circuitry includes a poly-phase filter and a harmonic filter. The poly-phase filter accepts an input signal and generates two output signals. One output signal of the poly-phase filter constitutes an in-phase (I) signal. The other output signal of the poly-phase filter constitutes a quadrature (Q) signal. The a harmonic filter couples to the poly-phase filter. The harmonic filter accepts as input signals the in-phase and quadrature output signals of the poly-phase filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 15, 2009
    Publication date: July 1, 2010
    Inventor: Donald A. Kerth
  • Publication number: 20100102876
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in circuits. A management strategy is provided to reduce reference spurs and interference in circuits. The management strategy uses a combination of one or more techniques which reduce the digital current, minimize mutual inductance, utilize field cancellation, prevent leakage current, and/or manage impedance. These techniques may be used alone, or preferably, used on combination with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2009
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Inventors: David R. Welland, Donald A. Kerth, Caiyi Wang
  • Publication number: 20100102858
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in circuits. A management strategy is provided to reduce reference spurs and interference in circuits. The management strategy uses a combination of one or more techniques which reduce the digital current, minimize mutual inductance, utilize field cancellation, prevent leakage current, and/or manage impedance. These techniques may be used alone, or preferably, used on combination with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2009
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Inventors: David R. Welland, Donald A. Kerth, Caiyi Wang
  • Publication number: 20100102877
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in circuits. A management strategy is provided to reduce reference spurs and interference in circuits. The management strategy uses a combination of one or more techniques which reduce the digital current, minimize mutual inductance, utilize field cancellation, prevent leakage current, and/or manage impedance. These techniques may be used alone, or preferably, used on combination with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2009
    Publication date: April 29, 2010
    Inventors: David R. Welland, Donald A. Kerth, Caiyi Wang
  • Patent number: 7702362
    Abstract: A radio-frequency (RF) receiver includes a receiver analog circuitry and a receiver digital circuitry. The receiver analog circuitry resides within a first integrated circuit and the receiver digital circuitry resides within a second integrated circuit. The second integrated circuit couples to the first integrated circuit via a one-bit digital interface. The receiver analog circuitry receives an RF signal and processes the received RF signal to generate a digital signal. The receiver analog circuitry provides the digital signal to the receiver digital circuitry. The receiver digital circuitry includes a digital down-converter circuitry that mixes the digital signal with an intermediate frequency (IF) local oscillator (LO) signal to generate a digital down-converted signal. The receiver digital circuitry also includes a digital filter circuitry that filters the digital down-converted signal to generate a filtered digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2010
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: Richard T. Behrens, Tod Paulus, Mark S. Spurbeck, Vishnu S. Srinivasan, Donald A. Kerth, Jeffrey W. Scott, G. Tyson Tuttle, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta
  • Patent number: 7689190
    Abstract: A technique includes generating an analog voltage to control a frequency for an oscillator. The analog signal is converted into a digital signal, and the frequency is controlled in response to the digital signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2010
    Assignee: ST-Ericsson SA
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, James P. Maligeorgos, Dylan A. Hester, Lysander Lim, Augusto M. Marques, G. Tyson Tuttle
  • Patent number: 7676210
    Abstract: A method is disclosed for performing dual mode image rejection calibration in a receiver. A first image correction factor is acquired for use in a receiver system using a first known signal associated with a first signal band during a startup mode. The first image correction factor is adjusted incrementally during a normal operation mode. A radio frequency (RF) signal associated with the first signal band is received using the first image correction factor during the normal operation mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2010
    Inventors: Tod Paulus, Donald A. Kerth, Srihari Adireddy, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta
  • Patent number: 7653356
    Abstract: A wireless communication device is disclosed wherein isolation buffers couple to respective active circuits or stages of the device to convey test information regarding such active circuits to a test data line from which status information may be collected. The communication device operates in two modes, namely a normal operational mode wherein the isolation buffers effectively short spurious emissions from the active circuits to a ground, and a test mode wherein the isolation buffers may convey test information from a selected active circuit to the test data line. The isolation buffers prevent spurious emissions from escaping the active circuits to which they are coupled and prevent spurious emissions from traveling from active circuit to active circuit over the test data line throughout the wireless device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2010
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, James Maligeorgos, Xiaochuan Guo, Augusto Manuel Marques
  • Patent number: 7650119
    Abstract: A wireless communication device is disclosed wherein the voltage swing of a local oscillator (LO) signal is controlled to prevent overstressing semiconductor devices in a mixer to which the LO signal is supplied. A quadrature divider supplies the LO signal to the mixer. Digital calibration methodology controls the current that the quadrature divider draws from a power supply to set the voltage swing of the LO signal that the quadrature divider generates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2010
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: Aslam A. Rafi, Donald A. Kerth
  • Patent number: 7609781
    Abstract: A wireless communication device is disclosed which employs a minimal number of power calibrations to set the output power of the device to a specified output power level. In one embodiment, the disclosed communication device includes a self calibrating feature that sets the output power level during initialization of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2009
    Assignee: ST-Ericsson SA
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, Srinath Sridharan
  • Patent number: 7583946
    Abstract: A wireless communication receiver is disclosed that operates in a test mode to determine image correction information that is used to suppress undesired image signals when the receiver switches to a normal operational mode. In one embodiment, the receiver includes a frequency synthesizer coupled by a quadrature divider to an in-phase (I) mixer and a quadrature mixer. The mixers are coupled by respective analog to digital converters (ADCs) to respective I and Q channel inputs of a digital signal processor (DSP). In the test mode, a test tone is provided to the mixer inputs. The test tone is divided down further and provided to clock the frequency synthesizer, the ADCs and the DSP. This configuration locks together the mixers, frequency synthesizer, ADCs and DSP ratiometrically in frequency during the test mode while image correction information is being determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, Srihari Adireddy, Brian Douglas Green, Tod Paulus, Scott D. Willingham
  • Publication number: 20080297217
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in circuits. A management strategy is provided to reduce reference spurs and interference in circuits. The management strategy uses a combination of one or more techniques which reduce the digital current, minimize mutual inductance, utilize field cancellation, prevent leakage current, and/or manage impedance. These techniques may be used alone, or preferably, used on combination with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Publication date: December 4, 2008
    Inventors: David R. Welland, Donald A. Kerth, Caiyi Wang
  • Publication number: 20080272837
    Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for reducing interference in circuits. A management strategy is provided to reduce reference spurs and interference in circuits. The management strategy uses a combination of one or more techniques which reduce the digital current, minimize mutual inductance, utilize field cancellation, prevent leakage current, and/or manage impedance. These techniques may be used alone, or preferably, used on combination with one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Inventors: David R. Welland, Donald A. Kerth, Caiyi Wang
  • Publication number: 20080139157
    Abstract: Radio-frequency (RF) apparatus includes receiver analog circuitry that receives an RF signal and provides at least one digital signal to receiver digital circuitry that functions in cooperation with the receiver analog circuitry. The receiver analog circuitry and the receiver digital circuitry are partitioned so that interference effects between the receiver analog circuitry and the receiver digital circuitry tend to be reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2007
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, Richard T. Behrens, Jeffrey W. Scott, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta, G. Tyson Tuttle, Vishnu Shankar Srinivasan
  • Patent number: 7366478
    Abstract: Radio-frequency (RF) apparatus includes receiver analog circuitry that receives an RF signal and provides at least one digital signal to receiver digital circuitry that functions in cooperation with the receiver analog circuitry. The receiver analog circuitry and the receiver digital circuitry are partitioned so that interference effects between the receiver analog circuitry and the receiver digital circuitry tend to be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Silicon Laboratories Inc.
    Inventors: Donald A. Kerth, Richard T. Behrens, Jeffrey W. Scott, G. Diwakar Vishakhadatta, G. Tyson Tuttle, Vishnu Shankar Srinivasan