Systems and methods for dynamically controlling a tuner

• US 7,945,233 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2006
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: SiPort, Inc. (Intel Corporation)
• Inventors: Arad, Oren
• Primary Examiner(s): Urban; Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hannon; Christian A
• Application Number:
  US11/454,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20060287009A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,796 Days
• Field of Search: 455/161.2, 455/161.3, 455/226.1, 455/226.2, 455/226.3, 455/234.2, 455/239.1, 455/343.1
• US Class Current: 455/343.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1027 assessing signal quality or detecting noise/interference for the received signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/30 for homodyne or synchrodyne receivers demodulator circuits H03D1/22

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamically controlling a tuner are provided. In exemplary embodiments, the tuner receives control signals generated by digital signal processing hardware (DSPHW). These control signals control noise figure and linearity characteristic of components within the tuner by adjusting a current supply to those components, according to a desired configuration determined by the DSPHW. As a result, the DSPHW can optimize power consumption of the tuner while allowing for sufficient tuner performance for reliable demodulation of received signals.

Claims

1. A system for power conservation in a receiver device, the system comprising:

a tuner configured to receive a terrestrial broadcast signal;

digital signal processing hardware that;

measures signal-to-noise ratio of a demodulated signal of interest, wherein the demodulated signal of interest is based on the terrestrial signal, and

determines an average power of an in-band signal within the demodulated signal of interest; and

tuner management logic executable to generate a control signal that independently switches a plurality of components within the tuner between a plurality of modes to conserve power, wherein the control signal is based on a comparison of the average power of the in-band signal within the demodulated signal of interest and the measured signal-to-noise ratio of the demodulated signal of interest.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the modes comprise a low gain mode, a medium gain mode, and high gain mode.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the modes comprise a low linearity, a medium linearity, and a high linearity mode.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the modes comprise intermediate gain modes and intermediate linearity modes.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of components that are independently controlled through control signals from the execution of the tuner management logic include a low noise amplifier, a first low pass filter, and a second low pass filter.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the tuner further comprises probes configured to measure power at several points along a path of the received signal.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the digital signal processing hardware further demodulates signals received from the tuner.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the tuner further comprises at least one filter having a plurality of filter stages, the filter stages being selectively switched off when less filter stages are required in order to reduce power consumption of the tuner.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the terrestrial broadcast signal is an NRSC-5 standard signal.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of modes includes at least three modes.

11. A system for power conservation in a receiver device, comprising:

a tuner configured to;

receive a NRSC-5 standard signal, and

measure power at several points along a path of the received NRSC-5 standard signal;

digital signal processing hardware that;

measures signal-to-noise ratio of the received NRSC-5 standard signal, and

determines an average power of a desired in-band signal within the received NRSC-5 standard signal; and

tuner management logic executable to generate a control signal that independently switches a plurality of components within the tuner between a plurality of modes to conserve power, wherein the control signal is based on a comparison of the average power of the desired in-band signal within the received NRSC-5 standard signal and the measured signal-to-noise ratio of the received NRSC-5 standard signal.