METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION ON MULTIPLE INPUT SIGNALS

• US 20150038100A1
• Filed: 10/02/2014
• Published: 02/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: FAY, Luke
• Granted Patent: US 9,197,160 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/313
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 7/165 at least two frequency changers being located in different paths, e.g. in two paths with carriers in quadrature combined with amplitude demodulation H03D1/2245, combined with angle demodulation H03D3/007; N-path filters H03H19/002
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/12 Analogue/digital converters H03M1/001 – H03M1/10 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/122 Shared using a single converter or a part thereof for multiple channels, e.g. a residue amplifier for multiple stages
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/1245 Details of sampling arrangements or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/0025 using a sampling rate lower than twice the highest frequency component of the sampled signal for demodulation of angle-modulated signals H03D3/006

Abstract

A method, computer-readable storage medium, and signal processing apparatus for processing a plurality of input signals. The method includes receiving or generating a first intermediate signal and a second intermediate signal. The first and second intermediate signals are summed and the summed signals are output to a signal analog-to-digital converter having a predetermined sampling frequency.

Claims

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. A method of a signal processing apparatus for processing a plurality of signals, the method comprising:

receiving an output signal from a single analog-to-digital converter (A/D);

extracting, by circuitry of the signal processing apparatus, a first signal from the output signal;

extracting, by the circuitry, a second signal from the same output signal;

demodulating, by the circuitry, the first signal extracted from the output signal; and

demodulating, by the circuitry, the second signal extracted from the same output signal.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein

the first signal corresponds to a third signal carried in a forward application transport (FAT) channel, and

the second signal corresponds to a fourth signal carried in an out-of-band (OOB) channel.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

summing first and second intermediate signals, which correspond to the first and second signal respectively; and

outputting the summed first and second intermediate signals into the single A/D.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the first and second intermediate signals are associated with different channels placed within a predetermined sampling frequency (Fs) of the A/D, in a non-overlapping manner, such that the sampling of Fs spectrally folds down the channels associated with the first and second signals between −

Fs and 0 Hz or 0 Hz to Fs on the frequency spectrum.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the first and second intermediate signals are associated with different channels placed within half of a predetermined sampling frequency (Fs) of the A/D, in a non-overlapping manner, such that the sampling of Fs spectrally folds down the channels associated with the first and second signals between −

0.5Fs and 0 Hz or 0.5Fs and Fs on the frequency spectrum

25. The method according to claim 22, further comprising:

receiving an RF input including a plurality of RF signals;

extracting one of the plurality of RF signals; and

generating the first intermediate signal based on the Fs and a center carrier frequency of the one of the plurality of RF signals.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

receiving the RF input including the plurality of RF signals;

extracting a different one of the plurality of RF signals; and

generating the second intermediate signal based on the Fs and a center carrier frequency of the different one of the plurality of RF signals.

27. The method according to claim 22, wherein

the first intermediate signal has a center frequency of 2Fs−

Fs/4, and

the second intermediate signal has a center frequency of 2Fs−

Fs/16.

28. The method according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the first and second intermediate signals corresponds to a digital television signal.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embedded therein instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to control a signal processing apparatus to perform a method comprising:

receiving an output signal from a single analog-to-digital converter (A/D);

extracting a first signal from the output signal;

extracting a second signal from the same output signal;

demodulating the first signal extracted from the output signal; and

demodulating the second signal extracted from the same output signal.

30. A signal processing apparatus, comprising:

circuitry configured to

receive an output signal from a single analog-to-digital converter (A/D);

extract a first signal from the output signal;

extract a second signal from the same output signal;

demodulate the first signal extracted from the output signal; and

demodulate the second signal extracted from the same output signal.

31. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein

the first signal corresponds to a third signal carried in a forward application transport (FAT) channel,

the second signal corresponds to a fourth signal carried in an out-of-band (OOB) channel.

32. The apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

sum first and second intermediate signals, which correspond to the first and second signal respectively; and

output the summed first and second intermediate signals into the single A/D.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein

the first and second intermediate signals are associated with different channels placed within a predetermined sampling frequency (Fs) of the A/D, in a non-overlapping manner, such that the sampling of Fs spectrally folds down the channels associated with the first and second signals between −

Fs and 0 Hz or 0 Hz to Fs on the frequency spectrum.

34. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein

the first and second intermediate signals are associated with different channels placed within half of a predetermined sampling frequency (Fs) of the A/D, in a non-overlapping manner, such that the sampling of Fs spectrally folds down the channels associated with the first and second signals between −

0.5Fs and 0 Hz or 0.5Fs and Fs on the frequency spectrum

35. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

receive an RF input including a plurality of RF signals;

extract one of the plurality of RF signals; and

generate the first intermediate signal based on the Fs and a center carrier frequency of the one of the plurality of RF signals.

36. The apparatus according to claim 35, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

receive the RF input including the plurality of RF signals;

extract a different one of the plurality of RF signals; and

generate the second intermediate signal based on the Fs and a center carrier frequency of the different one of the plurality of RF signals.

37. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein

the first intermediate signal has a center frequency of 2Fs−

Fs/4, and

the second intermediate signal has a center frequency of 2Fs−

Fs/16.

38. The apparatus according to claim 32, wherein at least one of the first and second intermediate signals corresponds to a digital television signal.