Channel Separation Control Patents (Class 381/10)
  • Patent number: 4710958
    Abstract: A control circuit in an FM radio receiver includes a current mirror circuit which extracts a ripple component caused by a multipath disturbance and superposed on an S-meter output voltage from an intermediate frequency amplifier/detector of the FM radio receiver, and decreases the S-meter output voltage in response to the degree of the ripple component to use the decreased S-meter output voltage as a control voltage for control of separation and high-cut operations of a stereo demodulating stage of the FM radio receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 1, 1987
    Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Satoru Tazaki
  • Patent number: 4703501
    Abstract: A multiplex sound receiver in which a detection signal is extracted from a broadcast to indicate whether the broadcast is monaural, stereo, or multi-lingual. The detection signal is used for controlling the separating of the channels. According to the invention, the detection signal is processed in accordance with the strength of the broadcast or the noise level. For instance, the detection signal is integrated over a period that is increased when the field strength decreases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1986
    Date of Patent: October 27, 1987
    Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiro Sugai, Hiroyuki Kimura
  • Patent number: 4694500
    Abstract: A high-cut and high-blend control voltage generating circuit for activating a noise reduction circuit of an FM stereo receiver is configured to be simply responsive to multipath noises and never to plug noises. A changing and discharging circuit in the control voltage circuit may have a relatively long charging time constant, and the voltage control circuit may be configured to be simply responsive to multipath noises above a predetermined level. Thus the circuit is much less liable to operate erroneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 1986
    Date of Patent: September 15, 1987
    Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Satoru Tazaki, Yasuhiro Yoshioka, Kiyoshi Amazawa
  • Patent number: 4691357
    Abstract: A stereophonic receiving circuit in which automatic switchover from the monaural receiving mode to the stereophonic receiving mode as the input signal strength increases is made more smoothly and effectively by boosting the gradient of a S-meter control voltage above a certain level of the received signal. The conventional S-meter voltage is applied to one input of a differential amplifier, the other input of which receives a reference voltage. The output of the differential amplifier is applied to one input of an analog OR gate, the other input of which receives the S-meter voltage directly. The output of the analog OR circuit, which is the greater of the two inputs to the circuit, is applied to the control inputs of an electronic volume control circuit, a high-cut controller, and a stereophonic demultiplexer circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 1985
    Date of Patent: September 1, 1987
    Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation
    Inventor: Nobuo Kanda
  • Patent number: 4688254
    Abstract: A control circuit in an AM stereophonic receiver examines a detected signal for occurrences of overmodulation and, when a first given level of overmodulation is reached, begins to turn down the correction signal used in the demodulation and, if overmodulation continues, would eventually eliminate the correction signal. At a second given level of overmodulation, the circuit will begin to attenuate the stereo difference signal from the receiver output and eventually eliminate it. When the overmodulation is reduced, operating conditions return toward normal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 1986
    Date of Patent: August 18, 1987
    Assignee: Motorola, Inc.
    Inventor: Lawrence M. Ecklund
  • Patent number: 4674121
    Abstract: A circuit is provided for detecting the level of noises in received FM signals in an AM/FM receiver which includes at least an FM intermediate-frequency amplifier, an FM detector connected thereto, an AM intermediate-frequency amplifier and an AM detector connected thereto. This FM noise level detecting circuit includes a frequency converter receiving the output of the FM detector for converting noise components contained in the output of the FM detector into a noise signal of the AM intermediate-frequency, which is in turn outputted to the AM intermediate-frequency amplifier, so that the converted noise signal is amplified by the AM intermediate-frequency amplifier and then detected by the AM detector to produce a DC signal. The signal thus obtained is not only representative of the level of the noise contained in the received FM signal, but also representative of the received FM signal strength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: June 16, 1987
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Masami Miura, Naotoshi Higashiyama
  • Patent number: 4646348
    Abstract: A blend control circuit for attenuating the L-R signal in a stereo system as a function of a d-c control potential. The circuit is designed to operate with a very low supply voltage and to provide a nearly linear control of stereo separation as a function of control potential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1987
    Assignee: National Semiconductor Corporation
    Inventor: William B. Jett, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4646150
    Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided for receiving and reproducing stereo television sound. A transmitted television signal is received that contains a first component comprising the sum of first and second stereophonically related audio signals and a second component comprising the difference between the first and second stereophonically related audio signals. The first and second components are converted to produce a first sound carrier centered at a first intermediate frequency and a second sound carrier centered at a second intermediate frequency. The first component is detected from the first sound carrier at the first intermediate frequency. The second component is detected from the second sound carrier at the second intermediate frequency. The detected first and second components are combined to produce a left channel audio output and a right channel audio output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 1986
    Date of Patent: February 24, 1987
    Assignee: General Instrument Corporation
    Inventors: Clyde Robbins, Daniel J. Marz
  • Patent number: 4633497
    Abstract: A separation control circuit for a stereophonic receiver in which both the amount of separation between right- and left- channel signals is reduced and the amplification gain for higher frequency components of the two channel signals is reduced as the field strength of the received signal decreases. Thereby, the signal-to-noise ratio of the reproduced signal in the presence of a weak received signal is significantly improved. A single low-pass filter for each channel is used for both functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1986
    Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation
    Inventor: Toshihito Ichikawa
  • Patent number: 4620315
    Abstract: An automatic frequency control circuit is used in an FM stereo radio receiver which includes an intermediate frequency amplifying and detecting circuit producing an output for driving a signal meter and includes a multiplexer, so that the multiplexer effects controls to reduce noises in stereophonic and monophonic reception responsively to the signal meter driving circuit by changing its separation ratio and attenuation ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 1985
    Date of Patent: October 28, 1986
    Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Imagawa
  • Patent number: 4612662
    Abstract: A control circuit is configured to detect by an active filter white noise levels in detection outputs from an intermediate frequency amplifier in an FM stereo demodulation circuit so as to control the separation of outputs from the stereo demodulation circuit into left and right stereo channels, responsively to the white noise level, and is characterized in provision of a current detection circuit which is actuated by the output from the active filter and responsive to a current flowing into a resistor connected between the feedback terminal of the active filter and a reference potential point to control a blend control circuit so as to change the point whereat the separation ratio begins to vary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 1984
    Date of Patent: September 16, 1986
    Assignee: NEC Corporation and Clarion Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takeshi Kuwajima, Kiyoshi Amazawa
  • Patent number: 4607381
    Abstract: A signal mixing circuit for blending two signals, such as left and right channel FM stereo signals, blends the two signals at each of two outputs in response to a variable control voltage, which acts upon a transistor network connected between the two signal paths. When the variable control voltage is determined by an amplitude detector connected in a conventional FM stereo receiver, the output signals will be blended to a greater degree when the received signal strength of the broadcast FM signal becomes weaker. In a further embodiment, capacitors are added to inhibit high-frequency components of one channel and to add in high-frequency components of another channel thereby eliminating and cancelling the noise components normally present in the respective signals and improving the S/N ratio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 1984
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1986
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshio Shimizu
  • Patent number: 4584536
    Abstract: A balance control circuit for controlling the difference in volume between right and left audio stereo signals. DC output voltages of an amplifier provided in a preceding stage to the balance volume control circuit are utilized as bias voltages for amplifiers provided in the rear stage of the balance control circuit, and the sliding contacts of variable resistors are grounded through a single capacitor, with the result that the manufacturing cost of the circuit is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 22, 1986
    Assignee: Pioneer Electronic Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroo Adachi
  • Patent number: 4574389
    Abstract: A stereophonic receiver includes internal separation control in which the sound separation is directly in accordance with noise reduction need and the amplitude and frequency of the sound signals monitored. Each sound channel is similar and includes an input buffer and an output buffer to directly transmit the corresponding channel signal. A variable highpass filter unit interconnects the output buffer of each channel to the opposite channel, and includes a voltage sensitive input to control the transmitted signal level. A control channel includes a high frequency filter to pass the high frequency signal of the stereophonic sound, which signal is rectified and filtered by suitable attack and decay filters. A log-conversion unit senses and converts the filtered signal to a C. logarithmic D.C. signal, which is directly proportional to the amplitude and frequency of the corresponding channel stereophonic signal. The D.C.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1983
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1986
    Inventor: Larry Schotz
  • Patent number: 4466115
    Abstract: An FM stereo signal demodulator for separating a composite stereo signal into left and right signals is disclosed wherein the amplitude of the 38 kHz signal necessary to separate the composite signal is varied in accordance with the field strength of a received signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1979
    Date of Patent: August 14, 1984
    Assignee: Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaru Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 4457012
    Abstract: An output matrix adapted to receive an L+R signal component (made up of the sum of L and R stereo components) and an L-R signal component, and to combine these in a manner to produce a separate L output and a separate R output, with certain modifications to the outputs. The higher frequency portion of the L-R signal is passed through a detector which, in turn, causes a leading edge amplifier to transmit to the matrix only those signal portions where there is a relatively abrupt change of amplitude, these being the signal portions which contain the main stereo information which gives the directional information. Also, the L+R signal component, in addition to being transmitted directly to the matrix, is directed through time delay means to produce a time delayed L+R signal component that is also transmitted to the matrix, so as to provide what are called "ambient" to the output of the matrix.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1982
    Date of Patent: June 26, 1984
    Inventor: Robert W. Carver
  • Patent number: 4415768
    Abstract: Right and left FM stereo signals are combined to form an L plus R value and subtracted to produce an L minus R value. The L minus R value is passed through a high-pass filter which mutes the high frequency portion of the signal only when the amplitude of the signal is low. This is recombined with the L plus R signal to provide a 2L output. A similar process is followed to produce a 2R output.The two left and right outputs are combined and then passed through a mono to stereo converter to produce two phase-shifted signals. These are in turn selectively delayed and passed through respective band pass filters to mute signal portions between approximately five hundred to one thousand Hz. The combined signals, prior to being converted back to a stereo signal are directed through a second band pass filter to mute the frequency portions other than the five hundred to one thousand Hz level, and these are recombined with the rest of the signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1981
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1983
    Inventor: Robert W. Carver