Carrier independent timing recovery system for a vestigial sideband modulated signal

• US 5,805,242 A
• Filed: 09/06/1996
• Issued: 09/08/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RCA Thomson Licensing Corporation
• Original Assignee: Thomson Consumer Electronics Incorporated (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Jaffe, Steven Todd, Strolle, Christopher Hugh
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, UYEN T
• Application Number:
  US08/704,787
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: 348/725, 348/726, 348/426, 348/720, 348/369, 455/204, 455/47, 375/355, 375/321, 329/357
• US Class Current: 348/726
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 1/2254 and a phase locked loop
• CPC Class Codes: H03D 1/24 for demodulation of signals wherein one sideband or the carrier has been wholly or partially suppressed receiver circuits H04B1/302
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/03382 Single of vestigal sideband
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/0363 Feature restoration, e.g. constant modulus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0305 using blind adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0307 using blind adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/061 providing hard decisions only; arrangements for tracking or suppressing unwanted low frequency components, e.g. removal of dc offset removal of dc offset in coupling arrangements H04L25/029, H04L25/0296
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/067 providing soft decisions, i.e. decisions together with an estimate of reliability H04L25/068 and H04L25/069 take precedence; sequence estimation techniques H04L25/03178
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/02 Amplitude-modulated carrier systems, e.g. using on-off keying; Single sideband or vestigial sideband modulation H04L27/32 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 27/066 Carrier recovery circuits H04L27/2271 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/0278 Band edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/211 Ghost signal cancellation H04N23/81 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/455 Demodulation-circuits

Abstract

A television signal receiver for processing an HDTV signal transmitted in a vestigial sideband (VSB) format includes input complex filters shared by a timing recovery network (30) and a carrier recovery network (50). The filter network includes a pair of upper and lower band edge filters (20, 22) mirror imaged around the upper and lower band edges of the VSB signal for producing suppressed subcarrier AM output signals. The timing recovery network includes a phase detector (28, 38, 62) and responds to an AM signal derived from the two filters (via 26) for synchronizing a system clock (CLK). The carrier recovery network (50) also includes a phase detector (54, 60, 62, 64), and responds to outputs from one or both of the filters for producing an output error signal (Δ) representing a phase/frequency offset of the VSB signal. The error signal is used to reduce or eliminate the offset to produce a recovered baseband or near baseband signal. A subsequent equalizer eliminates any residual phase offsets in the recovered signal.

Claims

1. In a system for receiving a high definition television (HDTV) signal transmitted as a modulated vestigial sideband (VSB) signal formatted as a one-dimensional data constellation of symbols representing digital image data and subject to exhibiting a carrier offset, a timing recovery network for establishing timing synchronism between a local receiver symbol clock and a transmitter symbol clock, said timing recovery network being capable of achieving said synchronism independent of said carrier offset when present in said received signal, said timing recovery network comprising:

an input network (14,16) for receiving said VSB signal;

a filter network responsive to an output signal from said input network, comprising a first band edge filter (20) and a second band edge filter (22) having band edge responses respectively associated with upper and lower band edges of a frequency spectrum of said VSB signal for producing double sideband amplitude modulated (AM) signals at respective outputs of said first and second filters;

a phase detector network (28,38) for processing a double sideband AM output signal from said filter network to produce a control signal representative of a timing error; and

a clock signal generator (40) responsive to said control signal for generating said symbol clock.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said first and second filters are complex digital filters with responses that are complementary to the frequency spectrum of the VSB input signal at band edges said filters respectively filter.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said received VSB signal exhibits a frequency spectrum with band edge responses at a frequencies f_c -1/4 f_st and f_c +1/4 f_st respectively, with respect to a mid-band carrier frequency f_c +/-Δ

; and

said first filter exhibits a band edge response at a Nyquist frequency f_c -1/4 f_st and said second filter exhibits a band edge response at a Nyquist frequency f_c +1/4 f_st, where

f_c is the carrier frequency of said transmitted VSB signal;

f_st is the transmitted symbol frequency; and

Δ

is a carrier offset when present.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said input network includes an analog-to-digital converter (16) for converting a received signal to digital form, said converter being response to said symbol clock.

5. A system according to claim 1 and further including

a multiplier (26) having first and second inputs for receiving output signals from said filters, respectively, and an output coupled to an input of said phase detector network.

6. A system according to claim 5, and further including:

means (25) for conjugating one of the output signals from said first and second filters before being applied to said multiplier.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein

an output signal of said multiplier is a suppressed carrier double sideband AM signal centered around a frequency 1/2 f_st, where f_st is the transmitted symbol frequency.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein

input signal to said phase detector network is a complex signal having real and imaginary components;

and

said phase detector network includes means for cancelling said imaginary component in an output signal from said phase detector network.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein

said received VSB signal is an 8-VSB signal having a one dimensional data symbol constellation defined by the following eight data symbols:

-7 -5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7.

10. In a system for receiving a high definition television (HDTV) signal transmitted as a vestigial sideband (VSB) modulated signal formatted as a one-dimensional data constellation of symbols representing digital image data, apparatus comprising:

an input network (14,16) for receiving said VSB signal;

a filter network responsive to an output signal from said input network, comprising a first band edge filter (20) and a second band edge filter (22) having band edge responses respectively associated with upper and lower band edges of a frequency spectrum of said VSB signal for producing double sideband amplitude modulated (AM) signals at respective outputs of said first and second filters;

a timing recovery network (30) responsive to output signals from said first and second filters for establishing timing synchronism between a local receiver symbol clock and a transmitter symbol clock; and

a carrier recovery network (50) responsive to output signals from said first and second filters for frequency shifting said received VSB signal toward baseband.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein

said first and second filters are digital filters with responses that are complementary to the frequency spectrum of said input VSB signal at band edges said filters respectively filter.