Simplified high frequency tuner and tuning method
First Claim
1. A tuner comprising:
- a local oscillator that provides a local oscillator signal having a frequency selected from a plurality of local oscillator frequencies anda continuous-time mixer that mixes an incoming signal with the local oscillator signal so as to translate a lower high frequency spectrum of interest and an upper high frequency spectrum of interest, each spectrum carrying at least a different channel of information from the other spectra, to within a passband,improved wherein the local oscillator frequencies of the plurality are spaced such that any high frequency spectral pair can be tuned from only one local oscillator frequency of the plurality and such that there is substantially no redundant spectral coverage between;
an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest desired to be recovered frequency-translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any first local oscillator frequency of the pluralityand an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest desired to be recovered frequency-translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any local oscillator frequency of the plurality other than the first local oscillator frequency of the plurality,wherein the passband comprises a range of frequencies passed by a low pass filter and excluding DC and the −
3 dB frequency responses of the low pass filter is wider than the near-baseband passband.
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Abstract
A disclosed method tunes a signal from a channelized spectrum having a predetermined channel spacing. A signal of interest having a predetermined maximum bandwidth is mixed with a local oscillator signal, which has a frequency that is an integer multiple of the channel spacing or one-half of a channel spacing displaced from an integer multiple of the channel spacing. The local oscillator signal is selected to frequency translate the signal of interest to within a near-baseband passband whose lower edge is spaced from DC by at least about the maximum bandwidth of the signal of interest. Problems associated with 1/f noise, DC offsets, and self-mixing products are avoided or substantially diminished. Other methods and systems are also disclosed.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A tuner comprising:
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a local oscillator that provides a local oscillator signal having a frequency selected from a plurality of local oscillator frequencies and a continuous-time mixer that mixes an incoming signal with the local oscillator signal so as to translate a lower high frequency spectrum of interest and an upper high frequency spectrum of interest, each spectrum carrying at least a different channel of information from the other spectra, to within a passband, improved wherein the local oscillator frequencies of the plurality are spaced such that any high frequency spectral pair can be tuned from only one local oscillator frequency of the plurality and such that there is substantially no redundant spectral coverage between; an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest desired to be recovered frequency-translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any first local oscillator frequency of the plurality and an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest desired to be recovered frequency-translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any local oscillator frequency of the plurality other than the first local oscillator frequency of the plurality, wherein the passband comprises a range of frequencies passed by a low pass filter and excluding DC and the −
3 dB frequency responses of the low pass filter is wider than the near-baseband passband. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A tuner comprising:
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a local oscillator that provides a local oscillator signal having a frequency selected from a plurality of local oscillator frequencies and a continuous-time mixer that mixes an incoming signal with the local oscillator signal so as to translate a lower high frequency spectrum of interest and an upper high frequency spectrum of interest to within a passband, improved wherein the local oscillator frequencies of the plurality are spaced such that any high frequency spectral pair can be tuned from only one local oscillator frequency of the plurality and such that there is substantially no redundant spectral coverage between; an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any first local oscillator frequency of the plurality; and an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any local oscillator frequency of the plurality other than the first local oscillator frequency of the plurality, wherein the passband comprises a range of frequencies passed by a low pass filter and excluding DC and the information contained in the upper high frequency spectrum differs from the information contained in the corresponding lower high frequency spectrum of interest. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A tuner comprising:
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a local oscillator that provides a local oscillator signal having a frequency selected from a plurality of local oscillator frequencies and a continuous-time mixer that mixes an incoming signal with the local oscillator signal so as to translate a lower high frequency spectrum of interest and an upper high frequency spectrum of interest to within a passband, improved wherein the local oscillator frequencies of the plurality are spaced such that any high frequency spectral pair can be tuned from only one local oscillator frequency of the plurality and such that there is substantially no redundant spectral coverage between; an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any first local oscillator frequency of the plurality; and an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any local oscillator frequency of the plurality other than the first local oscillator frequency of the plurality, wherein the passband comprises a range of frequencies passed by a low pass filter and excluding DC and wherein the upper and lower high frequency spectra of interest translated with one local oscillator frequency are image signals one with respect to other. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A tuner comprising:
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a local oscillator that provides a local oscillator signal having a frequency selected from a plurality of local oscillator frequencies and a continuous-time mixer that mixes an incoming signal with the local oscillator signal so as to translate a lower high frequency spectrum of interest and an upper high frequency spectrum of interest to within a passband, improved wherein the local oscillator frequencies of the plurality are spaced such that any high frequency spectral pair can be tuned from only one local oscillator frequency of the plurality and such that there is substantially no redundant spectral coverage between; an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any first local oscillator frequency of the plurality; and an upper and lower high frequency spectrum of interest translated to the passband when the local oscillator signal has any local oscillator frequency of the plurality other than the first local oscillator frequency of the plurality, wherein the passband comprises a range of frequencies passed by a low pass filter and excluding DC thereby minimizing noise and interference. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification