Wireless microphone with FM receiver muting system responsive to excessive undesired AM level or low AGC control level

• US 4,107,613 A
• Filed: 02/11/1977
• Issued: 08/15/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Wiremold Co (Legrand SA)
• Original Assignee: Perma-Power Incorporated
• Inventors: Belt, Kenneth W., Queen, Daniel L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Griffin, Robert L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bookbinder, Marc E.
• Application Number:
  US05/767,972
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 325/348, 325/402, 325/403, 325/478
• US Class Current: 455/42
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 3/341 Muting when no signals or only weak signals are present H03G3/344, H03G3/345 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/10 Means associated with receiver for limiting or suppressing noise or interference

Abstract

A wireless microphone and receiver in which the receiver output is muted whenever there is insufficient carrier present at the receiver to provide a clear noise free recovered audio or when there is radio frequency interference of a nature in strength to cause amplitude modulation on the IF envelope at the input to the FM detector. The invention places the receiver into a sampling mode whenever it is in a muted condition to conserve batteries and to provide a visual indication of such condition.

Claims

1. An audio muting system for a remote microphone including an FM transmitter and a receiver having an I.F. section, an F.M. detector, an automatic gain control, an A.M. detector to detect undesired amplitude modulation, said F.M. detector, said automatic gain control and said A.M. detector receiving inputs from said I.F. section, and an audio output comprising a comparator receiving the outputs of said A.M. detector and said automatic gain control, and switch means connected between the output of said F.M. detector and said audio output and controlled by said comparator such that said audio output is disconnected when the output of said A.M. detector exceeds a predetermined level or when the output of said automatic gain control falls below a predetermined level including a low-pass filter connected to the output of said A.M. detector and a differentiator connected between said low-pass filter and said comparator.

2. An audio muting circuit according to claim 1 wherein said switch means is a field effect transistor.

3. An audio muting circuit according to claim 2 wherein said comparator comprises a transistor and an operational amplifier.

4. An audio muting system for a remote microphone including an FM transmitter and a receiver having an I.F. section, an automatic gain circuit, an A.M. detector to detect undersired amplitude modulation, an F.M. detector said automatic gain circuit, said A.M. detector and said F.M. detector receiving inputs from said I.F. section and an audio speaker comprising a first transistor with the output of said A.M. detector coupled to its base electrode, a second transistor with its base coupled to the collector of said first transistor and the output of said automatic gain control circuit connected to its base electrode, a first operational amplifier receiving a fixed reference voltage on a first input and having a second input coupled from the collector of said second transistor, and a switch controlled by said first operational amplifier and connected between said audio speaker and the output of said F.M. detector.

5. An audio muting circuit according to claim 4 wherein said switch comprises a field effect transistor.

6. An audio muting circuit according to claim 5 including a free running multi-vibrator coupled to said field effect transistor.

7. An audio muting circuit according to claim 5 including a second operational amplifier connected between said first operational amplifier and said switch and connected as an inverting integrator.

8. An audio muting system for a remote microphone including an FM transmitter and a receiver having an I.F. section, an F.M. detector, an automatic gain control, an A.M. detector to detect undesired amplitude modulation, said F.M. detector, said automatic gain control and said A.M. detector receiving inputs from said I.F. section, and an audio output comprising a comparator receiving the outputs of said A.M. detector and said automatic gain control, and switch means connected between the output of said F.M. detector and said audio output and controlled by said comparator such that said audio output is disconnected when the output of said A.M. detector exceeds a predetermined level or when the output of said automatic gain control falls below a predetermined level, including a low-pass filter connected between said A.M. detector and said comparator.

9. An audio muting system according to claim 8 including tuning means connected to said comparator means so as to change the receiving frequency of said receiver when said output of said A.M. detector exceeds a predetermined level or the output of said automatic gain control falls below a predetermined level.