Satellite Receiver Digital Channel Selection for Scalable Multi-Channel Tuning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional satellite receivers require extensive hardware and increased power consumption as channel capacity grows, making them costly and inefficient for processing multiple channels simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
A scalable satellite receiver system utilizing a down-converter device, analog-to-digital converter, and digital channel selection devices to convert analog signals to digital signals, allowing for efficient processing of multiple channels with reduced circuit area and power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional satellite receivers use analog components (oscillators, mixers, filters) for each tuner to process multiple channels, then channel processing capability is improved, but hardware complexity and power consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces analog components (oscillators, mixers, filters) with digital signal processing components. A single ADC converts the analog intermediate frequency signal to digital, and multiple digital tuners process different channels digitally, eliminating the need for separate analog components for each channel while maintaining processing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal digital processing architecture where a single ADC and shared digital signal processing resources can handle multiple channels simultaneously. The digital tuners can be configured to process any channel within the frequency band, providing multi-functional capability without requiring dedicated hardware for each channel.
2Productivity
If conventional satellite receivers increase the number of analog components to process more channels, then channel capacity is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes power-hungry analog components with more energy-efficient digital signal processing. The ADC converts the signal once to digital domain, and subsequent channel processing is performed digitally, which consumes significantly less power than maintaining multiple analog oscillators, mixers, and filters for each channel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating domain from analog to digital signal processing. By converting the intermediate frequency signal to digital using an ADC, the system can process multiple channels with variable parameters (frequency, bandwidth) through software configuration rather than hardware changes, reducing power consumption while increasing channel capacity.
3Ease of operation
If conventional satellite receivers use fixed-frequency analog filters for each tuner, then channel selection is improved, but circuit area and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical fixed-frequency analog filters with digital filtering implemented in the digital domain. After the ADC converts the signal to digital, channel selection and filtering are performed through digital signal processing algorithms, which require minimal circuit area compared to multiple analog filter banks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the filtering function from analog domain to digital domain. Digital filters can be programmed to select different channels and frequencies without requiring physical filter components, allowing flexible channel selection with minimal circuit area. The filtering parameters can be changed dynamically through software rather than hardware reconfiguration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system enables flexible and efficient processing of multiple channels with minimal increase in circuit area and power consumption, even as the number of channels increases, by using digital components that consume less power than analog counterparts.
Implementation Method 1
The down-converter device can be configured to down-convert a plurality of analog signals from the multi-channel communication system to a plurality of corresponding low intermediate frequency (IF) signals
Implementation Method 2
The ADC can be configured to convert the plurality of corresponding low-IF signals to a plurality of digital signals
Data Source
AI summary
A receiver for a multi-channel communication system can include a down-converter device, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and a plurality of digital channel selection devices. The down-converter device can be configured to down-convert a plurality of analog signals from the multi-channel communication system to a plurality of corresponding low intermediate frequency (IF) signals. The ADC can be configured to convert the plurality of corresponding low-IF signals to a plurality of digital signals. Further, each digital channel selection device from the plurality of digital channel selection devices can be configured to select a digital signal corresponding to a channel of interest from the plurality of digital signals for further processing.