Simultaneous signal detector

• US 5,574,360 A
• Filed: 05/12/1995
• Issued: 11/12/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Inventors: Richardson, David L.
• Primary Examiner(s): TOKAR, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US08/439,677
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 324/76.17, 324/76.21, 324/76.23, 324/76.24, 324/76.29, 324/76.39, 324/76.41, 324/76.42, 324/76.55, 324/76.57, 324/76.58, 324/76.82 , 324/77.11, 324/98, 324/99 R
• US Class Current: 324/76.39
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 23/16 Spectrum analysis; Fourier analysis

Abstract

A simultaneous signal detector includes components for scaling, by the total signal strength, the difference signal resulting when signals having different frequencies are simultaneously received. As a result, only those inputs which meet both frequency and amplitude difference criteria result in an active SS indication, thereby reducing the number of false active and inactive indications.

Claims

1. In a simultaneous signal detector for indicating the simultaneous presence of an RF input signal made up of signals having frequencies f1 and f2 separated by a predetermined minimum, including:

a difference signal generating component which includes means for generating and outputting a difference signal proportional to the difference P between frequencies f1 and f2; and

a simultaneous signal (SS) active signal generating component which includes means for evaluating an output of the first component to determine whether the input signal is made up of separate signals, and generating an SS active signal in response to detection of the separate signals;

the improvement comprising;

a splitter having an input connected to the RF input of the detector and two outputs, one of which is connected to an input of the first component, the two outputs forming two parallel processing paths;

a first detector including means for detecting a parameter of the input signal which is independent of the difference in frequencies and which is to be used as a scaling factor for the difference signal, said first detector having as an input a second output of the splitter;

a difference signal scaling component having as inputs respective outputs of the first detector and the difference signal generating component, and including means for scaling the respective outputs of the first detector and the difference signal generating component and outputting a result of the scaling to the input of the evaluating component.

2. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first detector includes means for detecting a total signal strength of the input signal, whereby the signal output by the SS active signal generating component outputs an active SS indication only when the separate SS signals meet predetermined frequency and amplitude separation criteria.

3. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 2, wherein said difference signal generating component includes means for generating a logarithm of the difference signal P, said first detector includes means for generating a logarithm of the total signal strength Q, and the combining component includes means generating a normalized difference signal by subtracting logQ from logP.

4. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the difference signal generating means includes a square law detector connected to an output of the splitter for separating the input signal into the difference signal and a sum signal, and a filter for separating the difference signal from the sum signal.

5. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the filter is a bandpass filter for rejecting the sum signal and a DC component of the difference signal.

6. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 5, wherein the means for generating the difference signal further comprising a linear scaling circuit including means for accounting for differences in gain between the two paths before combination of the signals in the respective paths by the difference signal scaling component.

7. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the SS active signal generating component is a comparator having as one input an output of the subtractor and as a second input a threshold signal, the result being a binary TTL output in which a high level indicates the presence of simultaneous signals and the low level indicates the absence of simultaneous signals.

8. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 5, wherein the SS active signal generating component is a comparator having as one input an output of the subtractor and as a second input a threshold signal, the result being a binary TTL output in which a high level indicates the presence of simultaneous signals and the low level indicates the absence of simultaneous signals.

9. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the SS active signal generating component is a comparator having as one input an output of the subtractor and as a second input a threshold signal, the result being a binary TTL output in which a high level indicates the presence of simultaneous signals and the low level indicates the absence of simultaneous signals.

10. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 4, wherein the means for generating the difference signal further comprising a linear scaling circuit including means for accounting for differences in gain between the two paths before combination of the signals in the respective paths by the difference signal scaling component.

11. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the SS active signal generating component is a comparator having as one input an output of the subtractor and as a second input a threshold signal, the result being a binary TTL output in which a high level indicates the presence of simultaneous signals and the low level indicates the absence of simultaneous signals.

12. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the means for generating the difference signal further comprising a linear scaling circuit including means for accounting for differences in gain between the two paths before combination of the signals in the respective paths by the difference signal scaling component.

13. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the filter is a bandpass filter for rejecting the sum signal and a DC component of the difference signal.

14. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the SS active signal generating component is a comparator having as one input an output of the subtractor and as a second input a threshold signal, the result being a binary TTL output in which a high level indicates the presence of simultaneous signals and the low level indicates the absence of simultaneous signals.

15. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means for generating the difference signal further comprising a linear scaling circuit including means for accounting for differences in gain between the two paths before combination of the signals in the respective paths by the difference signal scaling component.

16. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the filter is a bandpass filter for rejecting the sum signal and a DC component of the difference signal.

17. A simultaneous signal detector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the difference signal generating means includes a square law detector connected to an output of the splitter for separating the input signal into the difference signal and a sum signal, and a filter for separating the difference signal from the sum signal.