Transmitter

• US 7,560,984 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2006
• Issued: 07/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Collabo Innovations, Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Akizuki, Taiji, Tanabe, Mitsuru
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hieu P
• Application Number:
  US11/434,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20060264186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 330/136, 375295-296, 455/102, 455/108
• US Class Current: 330/136
• CPC Class Codes: H03C 5/00 Amplitude modulation and angle modulation produced simultaneously or at will by the same modulating signal H03C7/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/02 Modifications of amplifiers to raise the efficiency, e.g. gliding Class A stages, use of an auxiliary oscillation
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 1/0222 by using a signal derived from the input signal
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/24 of transmitter output stages
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/045 with means for improving efficiency

Abstract

A transmitter according to the present invention is a transmitter conforming to the EER method, wherein a modulated signal is separated into phase and amplitude components, and the components are input to the high-frequency input terminal and the power supply voltage terminals of a high-frequency power amplifier. This transmitter comprises an amplitude delay corrector and a phase delay corrector capable of correcting delay time so that the phase and amplitude components are optimally synthesized using two or more stages of saturation-type amplifiers constituting the high-frequency power amplifier. With this configuration, a synthesis error can be reduced in each stage of the saturation-type amplifier, and distortion components in the output waveform can be reduced.

Claims

1. A transmitter comprising:

modulated signal generating means for generating a modulated signal,

at least two amplitude amplifying means for amplifying the amplitude component of said modulated signal,

first delay time correcting means for adjusting the amount of delay time of the amplitude component of said modulated signal by adding a predetermined amount of amplitude delay time to the amplitude component of said modulated signal supplied to at least any one amplitude amplifying means of at least said two amplitude amplifying means,

control means for outputting a control signal according to a signal relating to the magnitude of the amplitude component of said modulated signal,

switching means for selecting the amplitude components having different amounts of delay time and being output from at least said two amplitude amplifying means and for outputting the amplitude components to at least two output terminals according to said control signal,

second delay time correcting means for adjusting the amount of delay time of said modulated signal by adding a predetermined amount of phase delay time to said modulated signal and for outputting said modulated signal, and

a high-frequency power amplifier comprising at least two stages of amplifiers, in which said modulated signal, the amount of phase delay time of which is adjusted using said second delay time correcting means, is input to the high-frequency input terminal thereof, at least two amplitude components being output from at least two output terminals of said switching means are input to the power supply terminals of at least said two stages of amplifiers, respectively, and a modulated wave is output eventually, wherein

according to said control signal, said switching means switches whether the amplitude components being output from at least said two amplitude amplifying means, having different amounts of delay time, are supplied to the power supply terminals of at least said two stages of amplifiers separately, or any one of the amplitude components of at least said two amplitude amplifying means is commonly supplied to the power supply terminals of at least said two stages of amplifiers.

2. The transmitter according to claim 1, further comprising phase/amplitude separating means for separating said modulated signal into an amplitude component and a phase component, wherein

the amplitude component of said modulated signal is supplied from said phase/amplitude separating means, and the phase component of said modulated signal is supplied from said phase/amplitude separating means to the high-frequency input terminal of said high-frequency power amplifier.

3. The transmitter according to claim 1, further comprising amplitude extracting means for extracting the amplitude component from said modulated signal, wherein

the amplitude component of said modulated signal is supplied from said amplitude extracting means, and said modulated signal being output from said modulated signal generating means is directly supplied to the high-frequency input terminal of said high-frequency power amplifier.

4. The transmitter according to claim 1, further comprising phase/amplitude separating means for separating said modulated signal into an amplitude component and a phase component, wherein

the signal relating to the magnitude of the amplitude component of said modulated signal is the amplitude component being separated using said phase/amplitude separating means.

5. The transmitter according to claim 1, further comprising amplitude extracting means for extracting the amplitude component from said modulated signal, wherein

the signal relating to the magnitude of the amplitude component of said modulated signal is the amplitude component being extracted using said amplitude extracting means.

6. The transmitter according to claim 1, wherein the signal relating to the magnitude of the amplitude component of said modulated signal is a data rate control signal for setting the data rate of said modulated signal generated using said modulated signal generating means.

7. The transmitter according to claim 1, wherein the signal relating to the magnitude of the amplitude component of said modulated signal is a power level control signal for setting the power level of said modulated signal generated using said modulated signal generating means.

8. The transmitter according to claim 1, wherein an orthogonal modulation circuit is provided in the input section of said high-frequency power amplifier.

9. The transmitter according to claim 1, wherein at least said high-frequency power amplifier and said switching means are integrated as an integrated circuit.