Up-Conversion Based on Gated Information Signal

• US 20140308909A1
• Filed: 10/15/2013
• Published: 10/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ParkerVision, Inc.
• Original Assignee: ParkerVision, Inc.
• Inventors: Sorrells, David F., Bultman, Michael J., Cook, Robert W., Moses, Charley D. Jr., Looke, Robert C.
• Application Number:
  US14/054,548
• Publication Number:
  US 20140308909A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/118
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 1/62 Modulators in which amplitude of carrier component in output is dependent upon strength of modulating signal, e.g. no carrier output when no modulating signal is present H03C1/28 - H03C1/34, H03C1/46, H03C1/48 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 7/00 Transference of modulation from one carrier to another, e.g. frequency-changing H03D9/00, H03D11/00 take precedence; dielectric amplifiers, magnetic amplifiers, parametric amplifiers used as a frequency-changers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/04 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/0491 with frequency synthesizers, frequency converters or modulators
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/12 Frequency diversity

Abstract

A method and system is described wherein an information signal is gated at a frequency that is a sub-harmonic of the frequency of the desired output signal. In the modulation embodiments, the information signal is modulated as part of the up-conversion process. In a first modulation embodiment, one information signal is phase modulated onto the carrier signal as part of the up-conversion process. In a second modulation embodiment, two information signals are multiplied, and, as part of the up-conversion process, one signal is phase modulated onto the carrier and the other signal is amplitude modulated onto the carrier. In a third modulation embodiment, one information signal is phase modulated onto the “I” phase of the carrier signal as part of the up-conversion process and a second information signal is phase modulated onto the “Q” phase of the carrier as part of the up-conversion process.

Claims

1. A system for modulating and up-converting an information signal, comprising:

gating means for gating the information signal at a rate that is substantially equal to a desired sub-harmonic of a desired frequency of an output signal, thereby generating a gated information signal, said gated information signal having an amplitude that is a function of the information signal;

differentiating means for differentiating said gated information signal to generate a harmonically rich signal having a plurality of harmonics; and

selecting means for selecting at least one of said plurality of harmonics as a desired output signal, said desired output signal being at said desired frequency.