Analog and digital signal transmitter

• US 4,593,284 A
• Filed: 03/14/1984
• Issued: 06/03/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Clifford, Mark J., Robinson, Paul J., Jagunich, Douglas M., Hock, Robert H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Myracle, Jerry W.
• Application Number:
  US06/589,441
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 340/870.18, 340/870.07, 340/870.12, 340/870.26, 340/825.58, 128/680, 128/689, 128/903, 128/904
• US Class Current: 340/870.18
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 15/00 Arrangements characterised by the use of multiplexing for the transmission of a plurality of signals over a common path
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry

Abstract

Real time analog and digital information are simultaneously transmitted from a transmitter circuit. In the disclosed embodiment, the analog signals are obtained from ECG apparatus and the digital signals are derived by a process or from analysis of the ECG signals. The system is implemented by summing the output signals from the FM oscillator and the FSK oscillator in an amplitude summing amplifier and transmitting the result in combined waveform, preferably over a phone line, although radio transmission may alternately be used as well as other types of transmission of the resulting signal.

In the present invention, the analog signal is employed to frequency modulate a frequency modulated oscillator, and the digital information signal is used to obtain frequency shift keying of a FSK oscillator. In the disclosed embodiment, the frequency modulated oscillator and the FSK oscillator have frequencies that are within the band pass of the telephone line and, of course, have sufficient separation so that the resulting output signal may be filtered and decoded to obtain the separate analog and digital components. After the FM modulated analog information signal and the digital controlled FSK signals are obtained, they are coupled to an amplitude summing amplifier which provides a single amplitude summation of the two signals as applied to the modem and thus over the phone line. In this manner, the simultaneous transmission of both analog and digital information is provided in efficient but effective system.

Claims

1. A transmitter for transmitting information derived from both analog and digital sources comprising analog signal input means, frequency modulated oscillator means modulated by said analog signal input means, digital signal input means, frequency shift keying oscillator means constructed to operate at a first frequency when said digital input signal means is supplying a digital signal at a first logic level and to operate at a second output frequency when said digital signal input means is at a second output logic level, and an amplitude output summing amplifier for summing together the output of said frequency modulated oscillator means and said frequency shift keying oscillator means.

2. A system as provided in claim 1 wherein said system comprises a processor coupled to receive said analog input signal from said analog signal input means, to analyze said signal and to provide a digital output signal to said frequency shift keying oscillator representative of its analysis.

3. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said analog input signal means is derived from sensing means which senses physiological signals of a patient.

4. A system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said summing amplifier is coupled to transmitting means for transmitting a summed output signal over a telephone line, said FM oscillator is at a nominal frequency within a frequency band width of the telephone line on which the signal is being transmitted and said frequency shift key oscillator operating frequencies are distinguishable from the nominal frequency of said FM oscillator but are still within the band width of said telephone line.