The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 31, 2023
Filed:
Nov. 12, 2021
Ess Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Dustin Dale Forman, Kelowna, CA;
ESS Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
Described herein is a method and apparatus for enhancing the dynamic range of a digital-to-analog conversion circuit. Dynamic range enhancement (DRE) is accomplished by modifying the gain of components of the circuit so that the gain of components generating noise is effectively reduced. In a circuit utilizing a plurality of 1-bit DACs, analog signal gain is decreased when the full nominal gain of the analog portion of the circuit is not needed to obtain a desired peak output amplitude. The reduction is accomplished by effectively 'disconnecting' some of the plurality of 1-bit DACs. Some or all of the 1-bit DACs are configured to have a third or 'tri-state' in which there is no connection to the normal two reference levels thus providing no output. If some portion of the 1-bit DACs is placed in the tri-state, both the signal and noise gain will be reduced.