Method and system for reducing signal distortion in a continuously variable slope delta modulation scheme

• US 8,111,179 B2
• Filed: 07/19/2007
• Issued: 02/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Gentex Corporation
• Inventors: Turnbull, Robert R., Watson, Alan R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khai M
• Application Number:
  US11/780,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20080049848A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,664 Days
• Field of Search: 341/143, 341166-168
• US Class Current: 341/143
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/12 Mirror assemblies combined with other articles, e.g. clocks
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 11/0247 for microphones or earphones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0033 Rear-view mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/462 Details of the control circuitry, e.g. of the successive approximation register
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 3/024 using syllabic companding, e.g. continuously variable slope delta modulation [CVSD]

Abstract

A rearview assembly includes a mounting structure for attaching to a vehicle. The mounting structure includes a housing that has a rearview element disposed inside for providing a driver of the vehicle with a view to the rear of the vehicle. The rearview assembly also includes a continuously variable slope delta encoder module in or on the mounting structure configured to generate a feedback signal. The rearview assembly also includes a pre-processing module on or within the mounting structure. The pre-processing module is configured to process a source signal and the feedback signal from the continuously variable slope delta encoder module, and to provide a pre-processed signal to the continuously variable slope delta encoder module based on the value of the source signal and the feedback signal.

Claims

1. A rearview assembly for a vehicle, said rearview assembly comprising:

a mounting structure for attaching to a vehicle, said mounting structure comprising a housing;

a rearview element disposed in said housing for providing the driver with a view to the rear of the vehicle;

a continuously variable slope delta encoder module disposed on or within said mounting structure, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is configured to generate a feedback signal;

a pre-processing module disposed on or within said mounting structure, wherein said pre-processing module is configured to receive a source signal, a feedback signal and a first filtered signal from a first filter to generate a pre-processed signal that is a function of the source signal and the feedback signal, and to supply the pre-processed signal to said continuously variable slope delta encoder module, and

wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module generates the feedback signal as a function of the pre-processed signal received from said pre-processing module.

2. The rearview assembly of claim 1, further comprising at least one microphone disposed on or within said mounting structure and coupled to said pre-processing module, wherein said source signal is an output of said at least one microphone.

3. The rearview assembly of claim 2, further comprising a first wireless audio/data transceiver coupled to at least one of said pre-processing module and said continuously variable slope delta encoder module for transmitting a signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal.

4. The rearview assembly of claim 2, further comprising a switching module for switching between multiple microphones.

5. The rearview assembly of claim 1, wherein said rearview element is a mirror element.

6. The rearview assembly of claim 1, wherein said rearview element is a display element.

7. The rearview assembly of claim 1, further comprising a speaker disposed on or within said mirror mounting structure.

8. The rearview assembly of claim 1, wherein said first filter is a syllabic filter configured to provide at least one syllabic signal indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal.

9. The rearview assembly of claim 8, wherein said pre-processing module comprises a means for varying the amplitude of the source signal, and wherein said means for varying the amplitude of the source signal varies the amplitude of the source signal responsive to the at least one syllabic signal.

10. The rearview assembly of claim 1, wherein said pre-processing module comprises a means for subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal.

11. The rearview assembly of claim 10, wherein said pre-processing module further comprises a second filter for filtering the feedback signal prior to subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal.

12. The rearview assembly of claim 1, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises a delta modulator of at least the second order, said delta modulator in turn comprising a first order delta modulator.

13. The rearview assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first wireless audio/data transceiver coupled to at least one of said pre-processing module and said continuously variable slope delta encoder module for transmitting a signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal.

14. The rearview assembly of claim 13, further comprising a second wireless audio/data transceiver for receiving a signal from said first wireless audio/data transceiver.

15. The rearview assembly of claim 1, wherein the source signal is an audio signal.

16. A system for reducing signal distortion in a device employing a continuously variable slope delta modulation scheme, comprising:

a continuously variable slope delta encoder module, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is configured to generate a first filtered signal and a feedback signal; and

a pre-processing module, wherein said pre-processing module is configured to receive a source signal, the feedback signal and the first filtered signal to generate a pre-processed signal that is a function of the source signal and the feedback signal, and to supply the pre-processed signal to said continuously variable slope delta encoder module, and wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module generates the feedback signal as a function of the pre-processed signal received from said pre-processing module.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises an integrator configured to generate an integrated signal approximating the pre-processed signal, and wherein the feedback signal comprises the integrated signal.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the first filtered signal is provided by a syllabic filter configured to provide said first filtered signal indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said pre-processing module comprises a means for varying the amplitude of the source signal, and wherein said means for varying the amplitude of the source signal varies the amplitude of the source signal responsive to said first filtered signal.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises an integrator configured to generate an integrated signal approximating the pre-processed signal, and wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module further comprises a syllabic filter configured to provide said first filtered signal indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal.

21. The system of claim 16, wherein said pre-processing module comprises a means for subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein said pre-processing module further comprises a second filter for filtering the feedback signal prior to subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises a delta modulator of at least the second order, said delta modulator in turn comprising a first order delta modulator.

24. The system of claim 16, further comprising a first wireless audio/data transceiver coupled to at least one of said pre-processing module and said continuously variable slope delta encoder module for transmitting a signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is mounted in a vehicle.

26. The system of claim 24, further comprising a second wireless audio/data transceiver for receiving a signal from said first wireless audio/data transceiver.

27. The system of claim 16, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is mounted in a vehicle.

28. The system of claim 16, further comprising a microphone coupled to said pre-processing module.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein said microphone is located in a mirror assembly in a vehicle.

30. The system of claim 16, wherein the source signal is an audio signal.

31. The system of claim 16, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is further configured to provide an output signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal, and wherein the output signal is compatible with typical CVSD decoders.

32. An audio/data transceiver device, comprising:

a continuously variable slope delta encoder module, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is configured to generate a feedback signal and a first filtered signal from a first filter;

a pre-processing module, wherein said pre-processing module is configured to receive a source signal, feedback signal and the first filtered signal from said continuously variable slope delta encoder module to generate a pre-processed signal that is a function of the source signal and the feedback signal, and to supply the pre-processed signal to said continuously variable slope delta encoder module, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module generates the feedback signal as a function of the pre-processed signal received from said pre-processing module; and

a wireless audio/data transceiver coupled to at least one of said continuously variable slope delta encoder module and said pre-processing module.

33. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said wireless audio/data transceiver is configured to transmit a signal generated by said continuously variable slope delta encoder module.

34. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said wireless audio/data transceiver is capable of transmitting signals compliant with the BLUETOOTH standard.

35. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises an integrator configured to generate an integrated signal approximating the pre-processed signal, and wherein the feedback signal comprises the integrated signal.

36. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said first filter is a syllabic filter configured to provide at least one syllabic signal indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal, and wherein the feedback signal comprises the at least one syllabic signal.

37. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 36, wherein said pre-processing module comprises a means for varying the amplitude of the source signal, and wherein said means for varying the amplitude of the source signal varies the amplitude of the source signal responsive to the at least one syllabic signal.

38. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises an integrator configured to generate an integrated signal approximating the pre-processed signal, and wherein said first filter is a syllabic filter configured to provide at least one syllabic signal indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal, wherein the feedback signal comprises the integrated signal and the syllabic signal.

39. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said pre-processing module comprises a means for subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal.

40. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 39, wherein said pre-processing module further comprises a second filter for filtering the feedback signal prior to subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal.

41. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises a delta modulator of at least the second order, said delta modulator in turn comprising a first order delta modulator.

42. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is mounted in a vehicle.

43. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, further comprising a microphone coupled to said pre-processing module.

44. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said microphone is located in a mirror assembly in a vehicle.

45. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein the source signal is an audio signal.

46. The audio/data transceiver device of claim 32, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is further configured to provide an output signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal, and wherein the output signal is compatible with typical CVSD decoders.

47. A method for reducing distortion in a system employing continuously variable slope delta modulation (CVSD), comprising the steps of:

providing a continuously variable slope delta encoder module that encodes an input signal;

providing a source signal for encoding by said continuously variable slope delta encoder module;

generating a feedback signal in said continuously variable slope delta encoder module;

altering the source signal based on a first filtered signal and the feedback signal generated in said continuously variable slope delta encoder module to provide a pre-processed signal; and

providing the pre-processed signal, the integrated signal and the first filtered signal as the input signal to said continuously variable slope delta encoder module.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the feedback signal generated in said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises said integrated signal provided by integration circuitry for approximating the pre-processed signal.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein the first filtered signal is a syllabic signal provided by syllabic filter circuitry and indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the step of altering the source signal includes the step of altering the amplitude of the source signal responsive to the syllabic signal.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein the first filtered signal is a syllabic signal provided by a syllabic filter module and indicative of a syllabic rate of speech associated with the pre-processed signal, and further comprises an integrated signal provided by integration circuitry and approximating the pre-processed signal.

52. The method of claim 47, wherein the step of altering the source signal includes the step of subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal to provide the pre-processed signal.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising the step of filtering the feedback signal prior to subtracting the feedback signal from the source signal to provide the pre-processed signal.

54. The method of claim 52, further including the step of transmitting the pre-processed signal via a wireless audio/data transceiver to at least one other audio/data transceiver.

55. The method of claim 47, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module comprises a delta modulator of at least the second order, said delta modulator in turn comprising a first order delta modulator.

56. The method of claim 47, further including the step of transmitting a signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal to a wireless audio/data transceiver.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is mounted in a vehicle.

58. The method of claim 47, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is mounted in a vehicle.

59. The method of claim 47, further including the step of generating the source signal in a microphone.

60. The method of claim 59, wherein the microphone is located in a mirror assembly in a vehicle.

61. The method of claim 47, wherein the source signal is an audio signal.

62. The method of claim 47, wherein said continuously variable slope delta encoder module is further configured to provide an output signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal, and wherein the output signal is compatible with typical CVSD decoders.

63. The method of claim 47, further including the step of providing an output signal from the continuously variable slope delta encoder module that is a function of the pre-processed signal, wherein the output signal is compatible with typical CVSD decoders.

64. A continuously variable slope delta encoder system for reducing signal distortion in an electronic device comprising:

a comparator;

an integrator for providing an integrated signal;

at least one filter for providing a filtered signal;

a pre-processing module configured to receive a source signal, integrated signal and the filtered signal for generating a pre-processed signal that is a function of the source signal and the integrated signal; and

wherein the pre-processed signal and the integrated signal are supplied to the comparator for generating a feedback signal that is a function of the pre-processed signal received from the pre-processing module.