Baseband circuit incorporated in direct conversion receiver free from direct-current offset voltage without change of cut-off frequency

• US 20020037706A1
• Filed: 09/26/2001
• Published: 03/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ichihara, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,127,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/324
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/3052 in bandpass amplifiers (H.F. or I.F.) or in frequency-changers used in a (super)heterodyne receiver H03G3/32, H03G3/34 take precedence

Abstract

A base band circuit forms a part of an automatic gain controller incorporated in a direct conversion receiver, and includes a series of variable gain amplifiers controlled by a gain controller and a feedback loop connected between the output node and the input node of the series of variable gain amplifiers, wherein the feedback loop has an attenuation circuit connected between the output node of the series of variable gain amplifiers and an inverted integrating circuit which, in turn, is connected through an adder and a low pass filter to the input node of the series of variable gain amplifiers so that direct current offset voltage is eliminated from the output signal of the series of variable gain amplifiers without change of cut-off frequency.

Claims

1. A base band circuit for producing an output base band signal from an input base band signal, comprising:

a first low pass filter circuit supplied at an input port thereof with said input base band signal for restricting a frequency band of said input base band signal, and outputting a filtrate signal from an output port thereof,

a series of variable gain amplifiers forming a series circuit together with said first low pass filter, and responsive to an internal gain control signal indicating a gain to be achieved so as to produce said output base band signal from said filtrate signal at an output port of said series circuit through an amplification at said gain; and

a feedback loop connected between said output port of said series circuit and an input port of said series circuit, and including

a direct current component extracting circuit attenuating said output base band signal with an attenuation factor corresponding to said gain and extracting a direct current component from said output base band signal and

an eliminating circuit eliminating said direct current component from said input base band signal.

2. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 1, in which said direct current component eliminating circuit includes

an attenuation circuit connected to said output port of said series circuit and attenuating said output base band signal at said attenuation factor for producing an attenuated signal from said output base band signal, and

a second low pass filter connected between said attenuation circuit and said input port of said series circuit and extracting said direct current component from said attenuated signal for producing a direct current component signal representative of a value of said direct current component.

3. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 2, in which said second low pass filter is an inverting integrating circuit.

4. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 3, in which said inverting integrating circuit includes

a resistor connected to said output port of said series circuit,

an operational amplifier having an inverted input node connected to said resistor, a non-inverted input node connected to a constant voltage source and an output node for outputting said direct current component signal and

a condenser connected between said inverted input node and said output node of said operational amplifier.

5. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 1, in which said direct current component eliminating circuit is an inverting integrating circuit including

a variable resistor connected at an input node thereof to said output port of said series circuit and producing a variable resistance against said output base band signal,

an operational amplifier having an inverted input node connected to an output node of said variable resistor, a non-inverted input node connected to a constant voltage source and an output node for outputting said direct current component signal and

a condenser connected between said inverted input node and said output node of said operational amplifier.

6. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 1, in which said eliminating circuit has an adder for subtracting a value of said direct current component from a value of said input base band signal.

7. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 1, in which said first low pass filter circuit is connected between said eliminating circuit and said series of variable gain amplifiers.

8. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 1, in which said first low pass filter has plural low pass filter circuits.

9. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 8, in which one of said plural low pass filter circuits is connected between adjacent variable gain amplifiers incorporated in said series of variable gain amplifiers.

10. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 8, in which said plural low pass filter circuits are inserted into said series of variable gain amplifiers.

11. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 1, in which said series of variable gain amplifiers is connected to a gain controller responsive to an external gain control signal for changing said gain.

12. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 11, in which said gain controller is further connected to another base band circuit similar in circuit configuration to said base band circuit so as to implement an automatic gain controller.

13. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 12, in which said automatic gain controller is incorporated in a direct conversion receiver.

14. The base band circuit as set forth in claim 13, in which direct conversion receiver further comprises

an antenna for receiving an income signal,

a high frequency band pass filter connected to said antenna for producing a high frequency signal from said income signal,

an amplifier connected to said high frequency band pass filter and increasing the magnitude of said high frequency signal for producing a single-end signal from said high frequency signal,

a local oscillator for producing a local oscillating signal,

a quadrature demodulator connected to said amplifier and said local oscillator for producing two signals representative of values on coordinate axes of a quadrature coordinate from said single-end signal and said local oscillating signal, and

base band filters connected between said quadrature demodulator and said automatic gain controller for producing the input base band signals from said two signals.