Phase comparison and phase adjustment for synchronization to a reference signal that is asynchronous with respect to a digital sampling clock

• US 6,310,653 B1
• Filed: 04/27/1998
• Issued: 10/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Juergen Lutz, Ronald D. Malcolm Jr
• Original Assignee: Juergen Lutz, Ronald D. Malcolm Jr
• Inventors: Malcolm, Ronald D. Jr., Lutz, Juergen
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Michael
• Application Number:
  US09/067,513
• Time in Patent Office: 1,282 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.512, 348/505, 348/506, 348/507, 348/508, 348/512, 348/517, 348/519, 348/520, 348/536, 348/537, 348/539, 348/549, 327/159, 327/158, 327/156, 327/154, 327/150, 327/147, 327/7, 327/3, 375/376, 375/373, 375/375, 375/371, 331/1.R, 331/1.A, 331/20, 331/25
• US Class Current: 348/537
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/085 concerning mainly the frequency- or phase-detection arrangement including the filtering or amplification of its output signal H03L7/10 takes precedence; circuits for comparing the phase or frequency of two mutually-independent oscillations H03D13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/0994 comprising an accumulator
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/181 a numerical count result being used for locking the loop, the counter counting during fixed time intervals H03L7/1806 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/126 whereby the synchronisation signal indirectly commands a frequency generator
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/45 Generation or recovery of colour sub-carriers

Abstract

A periodic multi-bit digital signal is synthesized having a frequency that is specified by the frequency of a periodic reference signal that is asynchronous with respect to a sampling clock of the periodic digital signal. In a digital video system, for example, a digital color subcarrier is synthesized and synchronized to a reference frequency of a crystal oscillator that is asynchronous with respect to a digital system clock for the digital video system. The periodic digital signal is generated by an adjustable digital oscillator clocked by the sampling clock. The frequency or phase of the periodic digital signal is compared to the frequency or phase of the periodic reference signal to produce an adjustment value for adjusting the periodic digital signal to synchronize the periodic digital signal with the periodic reference signal. The digital oscillator, for example, generates the periodic digital signal at the sampling rate by periodically incrementing an accumulator with the adjustment value. The frequency or phase of the periodic digital signal is compared to the frequency or phase of the periodic reference signal, for example, by an up/down counter that is incremented or decremented each cycle of the reference signal and is decremented or incremented each cycle of the digital carrier signal to compute the adjustment value.

Claims

1. A digital synthesizer comprising:

a) a digital oscillator clocked by a sampling clock for generating a periodic digital signal;

b) a frequency and phase comparator coupled to the digital oscillator for comparing a frequency and a phase of the periodic digital signal to another frequency and another phase of a periodic reference signal, that is asynchronous with respect to the sampling clock for the periodic digital signal wherein the periodic digital signal has multi bit values at a sampling rate of the sampling clock and wherein the multi bit values represent the frequency and the phase of the periodic digital signal, to produce frequency and phase comparison values; and

c) an arithmetic unit having a first input coupled to the digital oscillator for receiving the multi bit values and a second input coupled to the frequency and phase comparator for receiving the frequency and phase comparison values and adjusting the multi bit values by the frequency and phase comparison values to produce an adjusted periodic digital signal synchronized to the periodic reference signal.

2. The digital synthesizer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the digital oscillator includes an accumulator incremented or decremented by a frequency-setting value during cycles of the sampling clock to produce the multi-bit values.

3. The digital synthesizer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the frequency and phase comparator includes a multi-bit register clocked by the sampling clock, the multi-bit register having a data input coupled to the digital oscillator for receiving the multi-bit values, a clock enable input responsive to the periodic reference signal, and a data output coupled to the arithmetic unit for providing data from the register to the arithmetic unit.

4. A method of synchronizing a periodic digital signal to a periodic reference signal that is asynchronous with respect to a sampling clock for the periodic digital signal, said method comprising:

a) comparing a frequency and a phase of a periodic digital signal to another frequency and another phase of a periodic reference signal that is asynchronous with respect to a sampling clock for the periodic digital signal wherein the periodic digital signal has multi bit values at a sampling rate of the sampling clock and wherein the multi bit values represent the frequency and the phase of the periodic digital signal to produce frequency and phase comparison values; and

b) adjusting the multi-bit values with the frequency and phase comparison values to produce an adjusted periodic digital signal synchronized to the periodic reference signal.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the frequency and the phase of the periodic digital signal is compared to the another frequency and the another phase of the periodic reference signal by sampling the periodic digital signal in response to transitions in the periodic reference signal.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the periodic digital signal is sampled in synchronism with the sampling clock.

7. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the multi-bit values are adjusted with the frequency and phase comparison values by computing differences between the multi bit values and the frequency and phase comparison values.

8. A method of synthesizing a digital color subcarrier, said method comprising:

a) generating a periodic digital signal by clocking a digital oscillator with a sampling clock, the periodic digital signal having multi-bit values representing phase of the periodic digital signal;

b) generating a periodic reference signal asynchronous to said sampling clock;

c) comparing the phase of the periodic digital signal to phase of said periodic reference signal to produce phase comparison values;

d) adjusting the multi-bit values with the phase comparison values to produce an adjusted periodic digital signal synchronized to said periodic reference signal; and

e) producing the digital color subcarrier from the adjusted periodic digital signal.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the generating of the periodic digital signal includes periodically incrementing an accumulator in response to said sampling clock.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the generating of the reference frequency signal includes exciting a quartz crystal in an oscillator circuit.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the phase of the periodic digital signal is compared to the phase of the periodic reference signal by sampling the periodic digital signal in response to transitions in the periodic reference signal.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the sampling of the periodic digital signal is synchronized with the sampling clock.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the adjusting of the multi-bit value s with the phase comparison values includes computing differences between the multi-bit values and the phase comparison values.

14. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the producing of the digital color subcarrier includes addressing a table of sinusoidal values with the adjusted periodic digital signal.

15. A digital color subcarrier synthesizer in a digital video system, said digital video system having a system clock for clocking logic circuits for processing video samples, said digital color subcarrier synthesizer comprising, in combination:

(a) a digital oscillator for generating a periodic digital signal synchronous with said system clock, the periodic digital signal having a series of multi-bit values representing phase of the periodic digital signal;

(b) a local oscillator for generating a periodic reference signal asynchronous with said system clock;

(c) a phase comparator for comparing the phase of the periodic digital signal to phase of said periodic reference signal to produce phase comparison values;

(d) an arithmetic unit for adjusting the multi-bit values with the phase comparison values to produce an adjusted periodic digital signal synchronized to said periodic reference signal; and

(e) a sinusoid generator for producing the digital color subcarrier from the adjusted periodic digital signal.

16. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 15, wherein the digital oscillator includes an accumulator for being periodically incremented in response to said sampling clock.

17. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 15, wherein the local oscillator includes a quartz crystal for setting a reference frequency of said periodic reference signal.

18. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 15, wherein the phase comparator includes a register for sampling the periodic digital signal in response to transitions in the periodic reference signal.

19. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 18, which includes a transition detector for producing a transition indicating signal responsive to the transitions in the periodic reference signal, and wherein the register is clocked by the system clock and the register has a clock enable input receiving the transition indicating signal.

20. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 18, wherein the sampling of the periodic digital signal is synchronized with the system clock.

21. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 15, wherein the arithmetic unit computes differences between the multi-bit values and the phase comparison values.

22. The digital color subcarrier synthesizer as claimed in claim 15, wherein the sinusoid generator includes a table of sinusoidal values addressed with the adjusted periodic digital signal.