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. 09, 1990
Filed:
Aug. 28, 1987
Bruce C Eastmond, Downers Grove, IL (US);
Donald L Linder, Palatine, IL (US);
Motorola, Inc., Schaumburg, IL (US);
Abstract
An improved FM companding communication system is disclosed in which noise bursts and pops in the audio output of the receiver, due to weak and Rayleigh-faded signals, are minimized by selectively attenuating the audio signal in the receiver prior to expansion. The amount and rate of attenuation for the noise reduction circuits is determined by a control signal derived from either the average discriminator noise at frequencies above 3 kHz, or from a received RF signal strength indicator, or a combination of both. The audio output is attenuated during weak signals or Rayleigh fades only when the attenuation control signal increases above a predetermined signal-to-noise ratio threshold. Preferably, attenuation increases at a rate greater than the decrease in the received signal strength. The invention includes a circuit for modifying the expansion characteristics of the expandor to minimize signal clipping in the output audio stage of the receiver due to limited dynamic range.