Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
  • H03J—TUNING RESONANT CIRCUITS; SELECTING RESONANT CIRCUITS
  • H03J7/00—Automatic frequency control; Automatic scanning over a band of frequencies
  • H03J7/18—Automatic scanning over a band of frequencies
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
  • H03J—TUNING RESONANT CIRCUITS; SELECTING RESONANT CIRCUITS
  • H03J1/00—Details of adjusting, driving, indicating, or mechanical control arrangements for resonant circuits in general
  • H03J1/0008—Details of adjusting, driving, indicating, or mechanical control arrangements for resonant circuits in general using a central processing unit, e.g. a microprocessor
  • H03J1/0033—Details of adjusting, driving, indicating, or mechanical control arrangements for resonant circuits in general using a central processing unit, e.g. a microprocessor for voltage synthesis with a D/A converter

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to receivers for TVRO earth stations which receive audio and video signals from a plurality of orbiting earth satellites. More par icularly, the invention relates to a TVRO receiver system which automatically adjusts the bandwidth of the tuner to correspond to the bandwidth of the particular signal to which the TVRO receiver is tuned at any given time.
• a transmitting earth station In satellite communication systems, a transmitting earth station generates a modulated carrier in the form of electromagnetic waves up to a satellite, forming an "uplink.”
• the incident electromagnetic waves are collected by tlie satellite, processed electronically to reformat tlie modulated carrier in some way, and re ⁇ transmitted to receiving earth stations, forming "downlinks.”
• the earth stations in these systems basically consist of a transmitting and/or receiving power station functioning in conjunction with an antenna subsystem and form strategic parts of tlie satellite communi a ion system.
• a TVRO earth station typically comprises a receiving antenna such as a paraboloidal dish, a low noise block converter (or a low noise amplifier (LNA) and a down converter) located at an outdoor antenna - __.- site, and a receiver located near an indoor television set.
• the down converter and the receiver are usually connected by a coaxial cable.
• a single transponder in a satellite can carry a color television channel, including both the video and audio information, and also several auxiliary services such as radio stations, newservice feeds, special news teletypewriter channels, high-speed stock market and commodity exchange data feeds, and/or teletext data services.
• a transponder normally has a usable modulating signal bandwidth of 8 to 10 MHz, and the video information normally occupies the band up to about 4.2 MHz.
• the audio portion of the television channel is placed on an FM subcarrier -in the 5.8 to 7.4 MHz range (usually either 6.2 or 6.8 MHz), which leaves available all the other FM subcarrier frequencies located above 4.2 MHz.
• transponder owners feed separate audio subcarriers at 5.8, 6.2, 6.8 and 7.4 MHz.
• Other transponders on the same satellites carry music services at 5.58 and 5.76 MHz.
• a satellite transponder may also be used to carry multiple narrow-band audio signals in place of a wide ⁇ band video signal. These audio signals may be interspersed with other types of auxiliary services, and thus the exact frequency of the audio subcarriers can vary widely among the large number of transponders presently in orbit, and new subcarriers can become available at any time as more subcarrier services are squeezed onto existing transponders and as additional satellites are placed in orbit. Moreover, there is no fixed relationship among the numerous audio signals themselves.
• the particular problem addressed by the present invention is that the numerous audio signals have widely varying bandwidths. Indeed, even the video signal bandwidths can vary; there is at least one satellite that currently transmits video signals in 18-MHz half-transponder format rather than the standard 36-MHz format. These varying bandwidths present a problem in the receiver, particularly in the audio tuner, because the receiver must have a passband wide enough to receive those signals having the widest bandwidths in order to avoid distortion, but then the receiver picks up a large amount of noise with those signals having much narrower bandwidths.
• a related object of the invention is to provide such an improved receiver system which is particularly useful in TVRO earth stations because it eliminates the need for the user to manually adjust the receiver when it is tuned to a signal having a bandwidth different from that of the previous signal.
• a further object of the invention is to provide an improved satellite receiver system which is simple and inexpensive to implement in an otherwise standard satellite receiver, and which does not significantly affect the overall cost of the receiver system.
• Yet another object of this invention is to provide * an improved satellite receiver system which does not require any input data or other intelligence concerning the bandwidths of the audio signals.
• a TVRO receiver having a tuner producing output signals having bandwidths which vary from channel to channel is improved by providing an automatic bandwidth control system comprising bandpass filtering means receiving the output signals and having a controllably adjustable pass band, bandwidth detecting means responsive to the output signals for producing a control signal in response to deviations of the bandwidth of the current output signal beyond the current pass band of the filtering means, and control means responsive to the control signal for adjusting the pass band of the filtering means to correspond to the bandwidth of the current output signal.
• the bandpass filtering means comprises a plurality of IF passband filters for receiving signals having bandwidths which vary from channel to channel, the filters having pass bands of different widths
• the control means comprises switching means associated with the filters and responsive to the control signal for feeding the current output signals to a selected one of the filters having a pass band corresponding to the bandwidth of the current output signal.
• FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a conventional TVRO earth station
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the audio tuner included in the TVRO earth station of FIG. 1 and embodying the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a more detailed schematic diagram of the automatic bandwidth control system included in the tuner of FIG. 2.
• FIG. 1 a functional block diagram of a TVRO earth station for the reception of satellite signals.
• the system includes an antenna 11, which is typically a paraboloidal dish equipped with a low noise block (LNB) converter and related accessories and positioning mechanisms, for capturing signals transmitted from orbiting satellites; and a receiver system including a tuner 12, a demodulator 13, a video processing and amplification section 14, and an audio tuner 15.
• LNB low noise block
• the antenna 11 receives signals transmitted from the satellite in the four-GHz frequency band (3.7 to 4.2 GHz); and this entire block of frequencies is converted to a 1st IF frequency range of 950 to 1450 MHz by the block converter located at the antenna site.
• the 1st IF signals are then sent via coaxial cable to the tuner 12 which selects a particular channel for viewing and converts the signals in that particular channel to a 2nd IF frequency range.
• the 2nd IF frequency range is preferably high enough to permit the 2nd IF VCO frequencies to be above the 1st IF block of frequencies, to prevent the VCO from interfering with the desired signals.
• a particularly preferred 2nd IF center frequency in the system of the present invention is 612 MHz.
• the 2nd IF signal is passed through an amplifier and a filter and on to a conventional video detector which demodulates the frequency-modulated signal to the baseband of the original video signal (e.g., 0 to 10 MHz), producing a composite video signal output.
• the filter preferably has a pass band that is only about 22 MHz wide; a pass band of this width passes the essential video and audio information while rejecting unwanted noise received by the antenna on the edges of the selected channel.
• the output of the demodulator comprises the baseband signals which range from DC to about 8.5 MHz; this includes video information from about 15 KHz to 4.2 MHz, and subcarriers from about 4.5 to 8.5 MHz.
• the output of the mixer 22 is passed through an amplifier 23 and a filter 24 to a discriminator or detector 25 which is tuned to
• the frequency of the desired signal will be raised to - l- ⁇ an IF center frequency of 10.7 MHz at the output of the mixer 22.
• the detector 25 will then produce the desired audio output if it is tuned to the IF center frequency of 10.7 MHz, which is a typical IF center frequency for FM receivers.
• the entire detector 25 is conventional and is included, for example, in the integrated circuit uPC1211V made by NEC Corporation. This particular circuit even includes an "AFC output", which is the signal that is conventionally used for "automatic frequency control” by applying it to a varactor diode included in the tuning circuit of the audio VCO 20.
• the system illustrated in FIG. 2 is duplicated to permit simultaneous reception of stereo broadcasts.
• the audio outputs of the two parallel systems are then fed to a conventional stereo processor.
• a processor is capable of processing either monaural signals or any of the three types of stereo signals currently used for stereo broadcasts via satellite, namely:
• Multiplex Stereo which uses an FM subcarrier for a left-plus-right audio signal, a double sideband suppressed AM subcarrier for a left-minus-right signal, and a synchronizing signal for a stereo demodulator reference.
• the receiver includes an automatic bandwidth control system comprising bandpass filtering means receiving the output signals with bandwidths that vary from channel to channel, the filtering means having a controllably adjustable pass band; bandwidth detecting means responsive to the output signals for producing a control signal in response to deviations of the bandwidth of the current output signal beyond the current pass band of the filtering means; and control means responsive to the control signal for adjusting the pass band of the filtering means to correspond to the bandwidth of the current output signal.
• the passband adjustment automatically optimizes the receiver so that it both eliminates noise outside the bandwidth of the selected signal, and avoids signal distortion due to deviation of the signal bandwidth outside the pass band of the receiver.
• the automatic pass band adjustment may be continuously variable over the required range, or variable only among a discrete number of preselected pass bands.
• the filter 24 includes four different filters 24a-24d tuned to different bandwidths.
• the four filters 24a-24d may have pass bands of 100 KHz, 200 KHz, 400 KHz and 800 KHz, respectively.
• the four filters can be - n - connected to, and disconnected from, the system by two bands of controllable switches 51a-51d and 52a-52d which receive controlling signals from a bandwidth detection and control system to be described below.
• the output of the detector 25 is fed through an amplifier 26 and then on through an audio gain select circuit 27 which provides a stabilized and relatively constant range of demodulated output regardless of the bandwidth setting of the filter 24.
• the output of the audio gain select circuit 27 forms the audio output, and is also processed by a bandwidth detection and control system 28 to produce a control signal which varies with changes in the bandwidth of the detector output. More specifically, the bandwidth detection and control system 28 produces a DC voltage whose magnitude varies linearly with changes in the deviation of the bandwidth of the audio output (from circuit 27) from the 3-dB bandwidth of the filter 24.
• the filter 24 passes these deviations because the edges of the filter response characteristic below the 3-dB level are not sharp enough to cut off the deviations at those levels.
• the DC voltage output of the system 28 controls the audio bandwidth of the receiver by controlling the switches 51a-51d and 52a-52d to determine which of the four filters 24a-24d is used for the processing of the particular audio signal to which the receiver is tuned at any given time.
• the bandwidth detection control system 28 serves as a means of automatically varying the receiver bandwidth on the basis of the modulation bandwidth of the selected signal.
• the bandwidth control system 28 also controls the audio gain select circuit 27 to maintain a constant signal level at all the bandwidth settings, as will be described in more detail below.
• FIG. 3 there is shown a more detailed diagram of the audio gain select circuit 27 and the automatic bandwidth detection and control system 28-
• the output of the amplifier 26 is passed through the audio gain select circuit 27 which includes four parallel resistors 27a-27d which can be selected by opening and closing four corresponding switches 29a- 29d.
• the output of the gain select circuit 27 - is fed through an amplifier 30 to a peak detector 31.
• the maximum output of the peak detector 31 is kept at a relatively constant level regardless of the bandwidth setting of the filter 24.
• this arrangement provides similar audio volume levels for both narrow and wide band signals.
• the output of the peak detector 31 is supplied as a variable input to each of a pair of comparators 32 and 33, with the input to the second comparator 33 being supplied through a resistor 34.
• the other inputs to the comparators 32 and 33 are fixed inputs from a reference voltage V REF which is applied to the comparators through a voltage divider formed by a series of three resistors 35, 36 and 37 leading from the source of V REF to ground.
• the outputs of the comparators 32 and 33 are tied together into one input of a monostable multivibrator 38 (referred to hereinafter as the "bandswitch one- shot”).
• the output of the bandswitch one-shot is applied to the clock input of a shift register 39 having four outputs Q0-Q3. These four outputs are connected to four band select lines 40a-40d which in turn control the two banks of band switches Sla-Sld and S2a-S2d that determine which of the individual filters 24a-24d is connected into the system at any given time.
• the bandswitch one-shot 38 and the shift register 39 also receive inputs from a reset one-shot 43.
• a control line 44 receives a signal, designated as • the "auto/narrow" signal, which forms the input to the reset one-shot 43 after being processed by an edge detector 45.
• the auto/narrow control signal is generated in response to actuation of a channel selection switch on the front panel of the receiver and is set high each time a new channel or station is selected by the user.
• the edge detector 45 functions to produce an output any time the status of the auto/narrow signal changes. This changes the output of the reset one-shot 43 which in turn resets the shift register 39 and also actuates the bandswitch one-shot 38 so that binary zeros are clocked into all the shift register output lines. In this mode the system selects the filter that has the most narrow bandwidth. Thus, every time a new station is selected, the audio bandwidth of the receiver is set to the minimum of the available range, which is the optimum setting for the reception of signals broadcast with a narrow modulation bandwidth.
• the peak detector 31 senses this deviation and increases the variable input signal to the comparator 32.
• the comparator 32 compares this input with its fixed input from the reference voltage V REF and produces an. output only if the signal from the peak detector 31 exceeds the fixed reference voltage V REF by a predetermined amount, e.g., if the peak detector output is at least 140% of REF .
• the peak detector 31 has a fast rise or "attack” time so that it responds quickly to any single peak, and a relatively slow decay time so that its output can be held long enough to cause the second comparator 33 to respond to a series of smaller peaks which are below the threshold level that produces an output from the first comparator, e.g., below 140% of V REp .
• a series of such small peaks will not produce a signal above the threshold of the first comparator and yet the rate of occurrence and/or the widths of the peaks may still indicate that the bandwidth of the desired signal is exceeding the pass band of the currently selected filter.
• the output of .the peak detector is supplied to a capacitor 46 via the resistor 34 so that a series of small peaks within a relatively short time period, e.g., 2 or 3 minutes, will gradually increase the signal level at the variable input to the comparator 33.
• the fixed reference input to this comparator is at a level such that the comparator produces an output only if its variable input exceeds 105% of the reference voltage V REF .
• -An output signal from the comparator 33 has the same effect as the output of the comparator 32, i.e., a filter having the next widest bandwidth is switched into the system.
• the above arrangement ensures that both significant deviations and sustained marginal deviations of the audio signals beyond the bandwidth of a given filter setting are tracked in order to ' control the filter bandwidth.
• the output of the comparator 32 changes immediately, thereby causing a shift to the filter having the next widest bandwidth.
• the comparator 32 does not respond, but the comparator 33 responds if the marginal deviation persists long enough and/or occurs frequently enough to cause the variable input to the comparator 33 to exceed 105% of the reference voltage V RE p.
• This feature avoids the undesired shifting of filters due to spurious peaks which are more likely to occur at the lower magnitudes.
• a bandswitch disable delay timer 47 holds the system in this narrowest bandwidth mode for a selected time interval following each reset pulse.
• the shift register 39 is clocked so that one of the outputs of the shift register goes high. This, in turn, causes the filter with the next widest bandwidth to be switched into the system. This process is automatic and continues until the filter with the largest bandwidth is switched into the system. Simultaneously with the automatic " filter switching, corresponding changes in the audio gain select circuit 27 are also effected so that each time a different filter is activated the detector output is prescaled to the constant voltage range to which the peak detector is designed to be sensitive.
• the edge detector 45 detects this change in status and triggers the reset one-shot 43 which in turn triggers the bandswitch one-shot 38 and changes the data status of the shift register section 39. This results in a resetting of all the data lines in the shift register 39 to a binary zero, and the automatic bandwidth selection procedure as described above is again set into motion.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
• Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
• Circuits Of Receivers In General (AREA)
• Superheterodyne Receivers (AREA)

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• 1988
  • 1988-09-23 FR FR8812487A patent/FR2637139A1/fr active Pending
  • 1988-09-30 WO PCT/GB1988/000808 patent/WO1990003696A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1988-09-30 JP JP50804088A patent/JPH03502154A/ja active Pending
  • 1988-09-30 EP EP19880908717 patent/EP0389493A1/de not_active Withdrawn

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