Q-quenching super-regenerative receiver
First Claim
1. A super-regenerative receiver, comprising:
- a quenchable oscillator, said quenchable oscillator having a tuned circuit approximately resonant at a frequency of a desired signal and a signal output;
a quench circuit having a control input with first and second logic states, said quench circuit being coupled to the tuned circuit of said quenchable oscillator when the control input is in the first logic state, and said quench circuit being decoupled from the tuned circuit of said quenchable oscillator when the control input is in the second logic state; and
a signal detection circuit, said signal detection circuit having an input coupled to the signal output of said quenchable oscillator and a control output coupled to the control input of said quench circuit, wherein if a signal level from the signal output is greater than a certain value then the control output of said signal detection circuit is at the first logic level and if the signal level from the signal output is equal to or less than the certain value then the control output of said signal detection circuit is at the second logic level.
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Abstract
A super-regenerative receiver uses controlled Q-quenching and may limit the resonant tank circuit amplitude by loading the tank circuit as soon as regenerative oscillation is detected. An amplitude detector is coupled to the regenerative amplifier and controls a Q loading circuit coupled to the tank circuit of the regenerative amplifier. The amplitude detector turns on the Q loading circuit which then stops the regenerative amplifier from oscillating, and the Q-loading remains on for a brief time to insure that the regenerative amplifier has stopped oscillating. After the brief time, the Q loading circuit is turned off and the regenerative amplifier goes into oscillation again. This cycle repeats controllably over and over, resulting in a lower self-induced noise floor and improved received signal sensitivity. The super-regenerative receiver may be used in the very low frequency (VLF), low frequency (LF), medium frequency (MF), high frequency (HF), very high frequency (VHF) and super high frequency (SHF) ranges to receive continuous wave (CW), amplitude modulated (AM) and frequency modulated (FM) radio signals.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A super-regenerative receiver, comprising:
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a quenchable oscillator, said quenchable oscillator having a tuned circuit approximately resonant at a frequency of a desired signal and a signal output;
a quench circuit having a control input with first and second logic states, said quench circuit being coupled to the tuned circuit of said quenchable oscillator when the control input is in the first logic state, and said quench circuit being decoupled from the tuned circuit of said quenchable oscillator when the control input is in the second logic state; and
a signal detection circuit, said signal detection circuit having an input coupled to the signal output of said quenchable oscillator and a control output coupled to the control input of said quench circuit, wherein if a signal level from the signal output is greater than a certain value then the control output of said signal detection circuit is at the first logic level and if the signal level from the signal output is equal to or less than the certain value then the control output of said signal detection circuit is at the second logic level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for receiving a signal with a super-regenerative receiver, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a quenchable oscillator having a tuned circuit approximately resonant at a frequency of a desired signal and a signal output of the quenchable oscillator;
providing a quench circuit for quenching oscillations of the quenchable oscillator;
detecting a signal level from the quenchable oscillator wherein if the detected signal level is greater than a certain value then coupling the quench circuit to the tuned circuit of the quenchable oscillator, and if the detected signal level is less than or equal to the certain value then decoupling the quench circuit from the tuned circuit of the quenchable oscillator. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification