Frequency converter capable of preventing level of intermediate frequency signal from lowering due to rise in temperature

• US 20060281430A1
• Filed: 05/01/2006
• Published: 12/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yamamoto, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,620,382 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/313
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 2200/0025 Gain control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 2200/0043 Bias and operating point
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 7/1408 with diodes
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 7/1425 with transistors
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 7/1433 using bipolar transistors H03D7/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 7/1458 Double balanced arrangements, i.e. where both input signals are differential

Abstract

There is provided a bias power supply for setting a collector bias current of a mixer transistor and a collector bias current of an oscillation transistor. When a control voltage is equal to or smaller than a first predetermined value, an output voltage of the bias power supply is set to be increased so that at least one of the collector bias current of the mixer transistor and the collector bias current of the oscillation transistor can be increased.

Claims

1. A frequency converter comprising:

a mixer that frequency-converts a received signal to an intermediate frequency signal and has a mixer transistor;

an oscillation circuit that supplies an local oscillation signal to the mixer and has an oscillation transistor;

a resonating circuit coupled to the oscillation transistor and having a varactor diode, a control voltage for controlling an oscillation frequency being applied to a cathode of the varactor diode; and

a bias power supply for setting a collector bias current of the mixer transistor and a collector bias current of the oscillation transistor,

wherein the received signal and the local oscillation signal are input to the mixer transistor, and

when the control voltage is equal to or smaller than a first predetermined value, an output voltage of the bias power supply is set to be increased so that at least one of the collector bias current of the mixer transistor and the collector bias current of the oscillation transistor can be increased.

2. The frequency converter according to claim 1,

wherein the output voltage of the bias power supply has a positive temperature coefficient.

3. The frequency converter according to claim 2,

wherein the bias power supply includes a power supply-side resistor whose one end is pulled up to a power supply B and a ground-side resistor whose one end is grounded and the other end is connected to the other end of the power supply-side resistor,

the output voltage is output through a connection point between the power supply-side resistor and the ground-side resistor, and

a resistance temperature coefficient of the power supply-side resistor is set to be smaller than a resistance temperature coefficient of the ground-side resistor so that at least one of a resistance value of the power supply-side resistor and a resistance value of the ground-side resistor switches differently when the control voltage is equal to or larger than the first predetermined value and is equal to or smaller than the first predetermined value.

4. The frequency converter according to claim 3,

wherein the bias power supply includes a first bias power supply and a second bias power supply, and

the collector bias current of the oscillation transistor is set by the first bias power supply and the collector bias current of the mixer transistor is set by the second bias power supply.

5. The frequency converter according to claim 4,

wherein, in the first bias power supply, the power supply-side resistor has a first resistor whose one end is pulled up to the power supply and a second resistor connected in parallel to the first resistor through a first switching transistor, and the ground-side resistor has a third resistor whose end is grounded and the other end is connected to the other end of the first resistor, and

the first switching transistor is turned off when the control voltage is equal to or larger than the first predetermined value and is turned on when the control voltage is equal to or smaller than the first predetermined value.

6. The frequency converter according to claim 4,

wherein, in the first bias power supply, the power supply-side resistor has a first resistor whose one end is pulled up to the power supply, and the ground-side resistor has a third resistor whose end is grounded and the other end is connected to the other end of the first resistor and a fourth resistor connected in parallel to the third resistor through a first switching transistor, and

the first switching transistor is turned on when the control voltage is equal to or larger than the first predetermined value and is turned off when the control voltage is equal to or smaller than the first predetermined value.

7. The frequency converter according to claim 4,

wherein a tuning circuit whose tuning frequency is changed by the control voltage is provided at a previous stage of the mixer,

in the second bias power supply, the power supply-side resistor has a first resistor whose one end is pulled up to the power supply and a second resistor connected in parallel to the first resistor through a first switching transistor, and the ground-side resistor has a third resistor whose one end is grounded and the other end is connected to the other end of the first resistor and a fourth resistor connected in parallel to the third resistor through a second switching transistor, and

the first switching transistor is turned off when the control voltage is equal to or larger than the first predetermined value and is turned on when the control voltage is equal to or smaller than the first predetermined value, and the second switching transistor is turned on when the control voltage is within a range between a second predetermined value and a third predetermined value higher than the first predetermined value and is turned off when the control voltage is not within the range.

8. The frequency converter according to claim 4,

wherein the oscillation transistor, the mixer transistor, and the bias power supply are provided within an integrated circuit,

a switching control circuit for switching between on/off of a switching transistor is provided within the integrated circuit, and

frequency data for channel selection is input to the switching control circuit.