Receiver architectures utilizing coarse analog tuning and associated methods
First Claim
1. A receiver for tuning a channel within a signal spectrum, comprising:
- local oscillator (LO) circuitry having a channel selection signal as an input and having a coarse-tune analog mixing signal as an output, the output mixing signal being selected from a plurality of predetermined output mixing signals depending upon a desired channel to be tuned;
analog coarse tune circuitry having the coarse-tune analog mixing signal as an input and having a signal spectrum as an input, the signal spectrum including a plurality of channels within a frequency range, and the analog coarse tune circuitry being configured to use the coarse-tune analog mixing signal to output a coarsely tuned signal spectrum such that the desired channel within the coarsely tuned signal spectrum is mixed down to a variable location within a frequency range around DC, the variable location being dependent upon the desired channel and the selected coarse-tune analog mixing signal; and
digital fine tune circuitry having the coarsely tuned signal spectrum as an input and having as an output digital baseband signals for the desired channel;
wherein the LO circuitry comprises phase-lock-loop (PLL) circuitry including a phase detector and a controlled oscillator, the phase detector receiving a first signal representative of a reference frequency, receiving a second signal representative of an output frequency of the controlled oscillator, and generating at least one control signal to adjust the output frequency of the controlled oscillator; and
wherein the LO circuitry further comprises control circuitry configured to receive a channel selection signal and to control divider circuitry that provides the first and second signals to the phase detector based upon divided versions of the reference frequency and the output of the controlled oscillator, the control circuitry acting to select the coarse-tune analog mixing signal output by the PLL circuitry.
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Abstract
Receiver architectures and associated methods are disclosed that provide initial analog coarse tuning of desired channels within a received signal spectrum, such as a set-top box signal spectrum for satellite communications. These architectures provide significant advantages over prior direct down-conversion (DDC) architectures and low intermediate-frequency (IF) architectures, particularly where two tuners are desired on the same integrated circuit. Rather than using a low-IF frequency or directly converting the desired channel frequency to DC, initial coarse tuning provided by analog coarse tuning circuitry allows for a conversion to a frequency range around DC. This coarse tuning circuitry can be implemented, for example, using a large-step local oscillator (LO) that provides a coarse tune analog mixing signal. Once mixed down, the desired channel may then be fine-tuned through digital processing, such as through the use of a wide-band analog-to-digital converter (ADC) or a narrow-band tunable bandpass ADC.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A receiver for tuning a channel within a signal spectrum, comprising:
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local oscillator (LO) circuitry having a channel selection signal as an input and having a coarse-tune analog mixing signal as an output, the output mixing signal being selected from a plurality of predetermined output mixing signals depending upon a desired channel to be tuned; analog coarse tune circuitry having the coarse-tune analog mixing signal as an input and having a signal spectrum as an input, the signal spectrum including a plurality of channels within a frequency range, and the analog coarse tune circuitry being configured to use the coarse-tune analog mixing signal to output a coarsely tuned signal spectrum such that the desired channel within the coarsely tuned signal spectrum is mixed down to a variable location within a frequency range around DC, the variable location being dependent upon the desired channel and the selected coarse-tune analog mixing signal; and digital fine tune circuitry having the coarsely tuned signal spectrum as an input and having as an output digital baseband signals for the desired channel; wherein the LO circuitry comprises phase-lock-loop (PLL) circuitry including a phase detector and a controlled oscillator, the phase detector receiving a first signal representative of a reference frequency, receiving a second signal representative of an output frequency of the controlled oscillator, and generating at least one control signal to adjust the output frequency of the controlled oscillator; and wherein the LO circuitry further comprises control circuitry configured to receive a channel selection signal and to control divider circuitry that provides the first and second signals to the phase detector based upon divided versions of the reference frequency and the output of the controlled oscillator, the control circuitry acting to select the coarse-tune analog mixing signal output by the PLL circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A satellite set-top box for tuning a program channel within a satellite signal spectrum, comprising:
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a receiver configured to receive a satellite signal spectrum including a plurality of transponder channels and to tune a transponder channel within the signal spectrum, each transponder channel including a plurality of program channels, comprising; local oscillator (LO) circuitry having a channel selection signal as an input and having a coarse-tune analog mixing signal as an output, the output mixing signal being selected from a plurality of predetermined output mixing signals depending upon a desired channel to be tuned; analog coarse tune circuitry having the coarse-tune analog mixing signal as an input and having a signal spectrum as an input, the signal spectrum including a plurality of channels within a frequency range, and the analog coarse tune circuitry being configured to use the coarse-tune analog mixing signal to output a coarsely tuned signal spectrum such that the desired channel within the coarsely tuned signal spectrum is mixed down to a variable location within a frequency range around DC, the variable location being dependent upon the desired channel and the selected coarse-tune analog mixing signal; and digital fine tune circuitry having the coarsely tuned signal spectrum as an input and having as an output digital baseband signals for the desired channel; and a demodulator coupled to receive a digital baseband output signal from the receiver representative of a tuned transponder channel, the demodulator being configured to tune a program channel within the tuned transponder channel and to provide the tuned program channel as an output; wherein the LO circuitry comprises phase-lock-loop (PLL) circuitry including a phase detector and a controlled oscillator, the phase detector receiving a first signal representative of a reference frequency, receiving a second signal representative of an output frequency of the controlled oscillator, and generating at least one control signal to adjust the output frequency of the controlled oscillator; and wherein the LO circuitry further comprises control circuitry configured to receive a channel selection signal and to control divider circuitry that provides the first and second signals to the phase detector based upon divided versions of the reference frequency and the output of the controlled oscillator, the control circuitry acting to select the coarse-tune analog mixing signal output by the PLL circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification