EQUALIZER FOR FREQUENCY INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT TRANSMISSION LOSS COMPONENTS WITH A PILOT USED FOR THE FREQUENCY INDEPENDENT COMPONENT

Abstract: In addition to an information signal subjected to a frequency dependent and a frequency independent loss component and delivered to an automatic equalizer through a transmission path which is typically subscriber's com­ munication path between a subscriber's terminal equipment and an exchange, and equalizer input signal comprises a pilot signal subjected to the frequency independent loss component alone. The equalizer comprises a first equalizer (26, 27, 36) responsive to a pilot signal component derived from the pilot signal for compensating for the frequency independent loss component. A second equalizer (31, 32, 37) compensates for the frequency dependent loss component in response to an information signal component derived from the information signal. The first and the second equalizers are cooperative in various manners in equalizing the input signal into an equalizer output signal. The pilot and the information signal components are extracted either directly or indirectly from the input signal. The output signal is fed back to a frequency dependent component detector (31) either directly or indirectly.

Description: This invention relates to an automatic equalizer for use in equalizing an equalizer input signal supplied through a transmission path or channel with the input signal subjected to a transmission loss which can be classified into a frequency independent and a frequency dependent loss component. The transmission path of the type described, is typically a subscriber's communication path between a subscriber's terminal equipment, such as a telephone set, and an exchange. In this event, the equalizer is for use in each of the subscriber's terminal equipment and each input circuit of the exchange, such as each subscriber line circuit. The subscriber's communication path may be a conductor in a cable. During transmission through such a transmission path, an electrical signal is subjected to a transmission loss. In the manner known in the art, it is possible to classify the transmission loss into two components which will herein be called a first and a second loss component. The first loss component is frequency independent, namely, has no frequency dependency. The second loss component is frequency dependent or has a frequency depencency. Typically, the second loss component increases with the frequency and has a gradient which is linearly proportional to the square root of the frequency. Various factors either individually or collectively influence the first and the second loss components. The factors are, for example, the kind of the transmission path and the diameter and the length thereof. The first and the second loss components have a mutual relationship which is not unique. An automatic equalizer is therefore desired, which equalizes the equalizer input signal individually for the first and the second loss components, that is, which separately compensates for the first and the second loss components. Various automatic equalizers of the type are already known. By way of example, an automatic equalizer is described by Toshiro Suzuki et al in a paper submitted to "1983 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference" as Paper No. WPM 7.3 under the title of "A CMOS Switched Capacitor Variable Line Equalizer." The equalizer carries out equalization according to a plurality of compensation characteristics which are determined on the basis of an average loss characteristic of various cables. Another automatic equalizer is reported by Akihiko Takada et al in a paper contributed to "Syôwa-59-nendo Densi Tûsin Gakkai Sôgô Zenkoku Taikai Yokô (1984 National Convention Record of the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineers of Japan)" as Paper No. 2314 under the title of "A √ f Step Equalizer" according to contributors' translation. The latter equalizer comprises a first and a second equalizer which individually compensate for the first and the second loss components and which cooperate in producing an equalized signal as an equalizer output signal. The first and the second equalizers are controlled by a peak voltage of the equalizer output signal in accordance with a distribution law predesigned between those amounts of equalization which the first and the second equalizers should carry out. In other words, the first and the second equalizers are subjected to a common control. Other examples are disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,459,698 issued to Osamu Yumoto et al and in an article which is contributed by Masayuki Ishikawa et al to IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. SC-19, No. 4 (August 1984), pages 506-509, and which has a title of "A CMOS Automatic Line Equalizer LSI Chip Using Active-RC Filtering." Like the automatic equalizers according to Takada et al and Suzuki et al, conventional automatic equalizers are disadvantageous in that the first and the second loss components are compensated for only in a predetermined manner and in that an error inevitably remains in the equalized signal to a certain extent. In DE-A-2620178 there is described an equalizer (Fig. 4) using two pilot signals of low and high frequencies, each of which is set at a frequency greater than 30 MHz. The two pilot signals are susceptible to both first and second loss components (see Figs. 3A and 3B) and are quite different from the pilot signal used in the present invention, which is susceptible only to the first loss component. An automatic equalizer using an input signal which comprises one pilot signal superimposed upon an information signal is not even hinted at in DE-A-2620178. The present invention is defined in claim 1. An automatic equalizer to which this invention is applicable, is responsive to an equalizer input signal supplied through a transmission path with the input signal subjected to a transmission loss for producing an equalizer output signal, where the transmission loss is classified into a first and a second loss component which have substantially no frequency dependency and a frequency dependency, respectively. The automatic equalizer comprises a first and a second equalizer which are for separately compensating for the first and the second loss components, respectively, and are cooperative in producing the equalizer output signal with the first and the second loss components compensated for. According to this invention, the automatic equalizer is characterised in that the input signal is made to comprise a pilot signal in addition to an information signal where the information and the pilot signals are susceptible to both the first and the second loss components and to the first loss component alone, respectively, and that: the first equalizer comprises first loss component detecting means responsive to a pilot signal component derived from the pilot signal and having the above-mentioned no frequency dependency for detecting the first loss component to produce a control signal, and first loss component compensating means responsive to the control signal for compensating for the first loss component; the second equalizer being responsive to an information signal component derived from the information signal and having both the afore-mentioned no frequency dependency and the frequency dependency for compensating for the second loss component. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING: Fig. 1 is a block diagram which outlines an automatic equalizer according to the instant invention; Fig. 2 exemplifies a frequency dependency of a transmission loss which an electrical signal undergoes during transmission through a transmission path; Fig. 3 shows a frequency independent component of the transmission loss illustrated in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 shows a frequency dependent component of the transmission loss depicted in Fig. 2; Fig. 5 shows power spectra for several types of transmission codes; Fig. 6 shows partly in blocks an automatic equalizer according to the preferred embodiment of this invention; Fig. 7 shows a capacitor array used as a variable capacitor in the automatic equalizer depicted in Fig. 6; DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: Referring to Fig. 1, description will be given generally as regards an automatic equalizer according to the present invention. The automatic equalizer comprises first and second equalizers 21 and 22 which are cooperative in various manners which will be described as the description proceeds. The automatic equalizer has an equalizer input terminal 23 supplied with an equalizer input signal through a transmission path or channel of the type described hereinabove. It is possible to understand that the input terminal 23 also shows a part of the transmission path. Until arrival at the input terminal 23, the input signal is subjected to a transmission loss. It is already described heretobefore and will presently be described more in detail, that the transmission loss can be classified into a first and a second loss component. The first loss component has substantially no frequency dependency. The second loss component has a frequency dependency. The first and the second equalizers 21 and 22 are for separately compensating for the first and the second loss components, respectively, and for cooperatively equalizing the input signal to deliver an equalized signal to an equalizer output terminal 24 as an equalizer output signal. The input signal comprises an information or message signal. It has been confirmed as will shortly be exemplified that the information signal has only a small low-frequency component and is scarcely adversely affected when cut off at a low frequency. In consideration of this fact, the input signal is made according to this invention to comprise a pilot signal in addition to the information signal in a frequency band of the low frequency. In the manner which will later become clear, the pilot signal is used in determining an amount or degree of compensation which should be used for compensation of the first loss component. The first equalizer 21 comprises a loss component detecting arrangement 26 for the first loss component. Responsive to a pilot signal component derived from the pilot signal in various manners which will be described as the description proceeds, the arrangement 26 determines or finds the amount of compensation for the first loss component and produces a control signal related to the amount. It is herein said simply that the arrangement 26 is for detecting the first loss component. A loss component compensating arrargement 27 is for compensating for the first loss component in accordance with the control signal. For the automatic equalizer being illustrated, the input signal is delivered to the loss component detecting and compensating arrangements 26 and 27. The loss component compensating arrangement 27 supplies an intermediate output terminal 29 with an intermediate output signal in which the first loss component is optimally compensated for. Inasmuch as related to the first loss component, the arrangements 26 and 27 will be named first loss component detecting and compensating arrangements. For the second equalizer 22, an information signal component is derived from the information signal in various manners like the pilot signal component. Responsive to the information signal component, another loss component detecting arrangement 31 decides or finds an amount of compensation for the second loss component and produces another control signal which is related to the amount of compensation for the second loss component and which is herein called a gain control signal. The detecting arrangement 31 may simply be said to detect the second loss component and will be called a second loss component detecting arrangement. Another loss component compensating arrangement 32 is for compensating for the second loss component in compliance with the control signal and is referred to herein as a second loss component compensating arrangement. For the illustrated automatic equalizer, the second loss component compensating arrangement 32 is supplied with the intermediate output signal and delivers the equalized signal to the equalizer output terminal 24 as the equalizer output signal. The equalizer output signal is fed back directly to the second loss component detecting arrangement 31. It is to be noted here that the information signal component should be derived in this event from the equalizer output signal. Turning to Figs. 2 through 4, the transmission loss has a frequency dependency exemplified in Fig. 2 with the frequency f shown along the abscissa. The transmission loss is substantially constant below a certain frequency f₁ and gradually increases with the frequency f above that frequency f₁. It is possible to classify or decompose the transmission loss into the first and the second loss components which are described heretobefore and depicted in Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. It is now understood that the above-mentioned pilot signal is subjected to the first loss component alone. Further turning to Fig. 5, relative power spectra are depicted for several types of transmission codes which are ordinarily used in the art in carrying the information signal. The abscissa represents a normalized frequency f/f R where f R represents a repetition frequency which code pulses of each sequence have. In any one of the code types of CMI, AMI, WAL1, and WAL2, the information signal has only a small low frequency component and is little affected even cut off at a low frequency. It is now obviously possible to use in a frequency band of the low frequency a pilot signal which can readily be superposed on the information signal and separated for extraction from an electrical signal comprising the pilot signal in superposition on the information signal. The information signal is not substantially affected by the superposition and the separation for extraction. For the automatic equalizer according to this invention, the electric signal is made to comprise such a pilot signal in addition to the information signal and is delivered to the equalizer input terminal 23 (Fig. 1) as an equalizer input signal. The pilot signal used in an automatic equalizer at a local end of a transmission path, is superposed on an information signal at a remote end of the transmission path. Another pilot signal is superposed on an information signal at the local end of another transmission path for use in a like automatic equalizer at the remote end. It is possible to use different frequencies for the pilot signals which are superposed on the respective information signals at the local and the remote ends. For each automatic equalizer, a pilot signal may continuously be sent through the transmission path irrespective of presence and absence of the information signal. Alternatively, the pilot signal may be sent only when the information signal is present. As a further alternative, the pilot signal may be sent periodically or otherwise intermittently with or without regard to the information signal. At any rate, the pilot signal of a single or a plurality of frequencies is used in any desired manner for the automatic equalizer. Referring now to Fig. 6, description will proceed to an automatic equalizer according to the invention. The equalizer has an equalizer input terminal 23, an equalizer output terminal 24, and an intermediate output terminal 29. The equalizer comprises first and second loss component detectors which can be regarded for the time being as equivalents of the first and the second loss component detecting arrangements 26 and 31 (Fig. 1) and will therefore be designated by like reference numerals. The equalizer further comprises first and second loss component compensators which are equivalents of the correspondingly named arrangements 27 and 32 and will be denoted by similar reference numerals. The second loss component compensator 32 will alternatively be called a variable gain amplifier for the reason which will become clear as the description proceeds. The first loss component detector and compensator 26 and 27 have input terminals connected to the equalizer input terminal 23 through a pilot signal extractor 36 and an information signal extractor 37, respectively. Through a transmission path of the type described hereinabove, the input terminal 23 is supplied with an equalizer input signal which comprises an information signal D1 and a pilot signal P1. From the input signal, the pilot signal extractor 36 extracts the pilot signal P1 as a pilot signal component and delivers the pilot signal component to the first loss component detector 26. Similarly, the information signal extractor 37 extracts the information signal D1 as an information signal component and feeds the information signal component to the first loss component compensator 27. Inasmuch as the information signal D1 is not substantially affected by the extraction, the information signal component will be designated also by the reference symbol D1. The pilot signal component will likewise be designated by the reference symbol P1. In the manner described before, the information signal D1 and the pilot signal P1 are equally subjected to the first loss component mentioned above. The first loss component detector 26 may detect a difference or error between a predetermined amplitude and an amplitude which the pilot signal component P1 has. The detector 26 thereby produces a control signal indicative of the difference. The first loss component compensator 27 has a variable or controllable gain which is independent of the frequency and may be attenuation. The control signal is for use in controlling the variable gain so that the compensator 27 may optimally compensate for the first loss component. The compensator 27 thereby delivers an intermediate output signal to the intermediate output terminal 29. The intermediate output signal consists essentially of a processed information signal D2 in which the afore-mentioned second loss component remains although the first loss component is compensated for. The intermediate output signal is delivered to the second loss component compensator 32 of a variable gain or attenuation which is frequency dependent like the second loss component. In an initial state of operation of the automatic equalizer, the second loss component compensator 32 supplies the equalizer output terminal 24 with an equalizer output signal comprising a further processed information signal D3 in which the second loss component is not yet optimally compensated for. The equalizer output signal is fed backwardly to the second loss component detector 31. Like the first loss component detector 26, the second loss component detector 31 delivers a gain control signal to the second loss component compensator 32. The gain control signal controls the variable gain of the second loss component detector 32 so that the equalizer output signal may eventually converge to an equalized signal with the second loss component of the further processed signal D3 optimally compensated for, irrespective of modes of transmission of the pilot signal P1. It is now understood that the first equalizer 21 (Fig. 1) comprises the first loss component detector and compensator 26 and 27 and the pilot signal extractor 36. The second equalizer 22 comprises the second loss component detector and compensator 31 and 32 and the information signal extractor 37. A combination of the second loss component detector and compensator 31 and 32 to which the intermediate output signal is delivered, may be called an equalizer part of the second equalizer 22. Through a series of operation described above, the first and the second equalizers 21 and 22 are cooperative in equalizing the equalizer input signal into the equalized signal. The second loss component compensator 32 eventually produces the further processed information signal D3 as the equalizer output signal in which the first and the second loss components are optimally compensated for. Referring more particularly to Fig. 6 and additionally to Fig. 7, the pilot signal extractor 36 may be either a low-pass or a band-pass filter for the above-mentioned frequency band of the low frequency for the pilot signal P1. The information signal extractor 37 may be either a band-pass or a high-pass filter which cuts off the pilot signal P1 and allows passage of the information signal D1. Each filter may be a switched capacitor filter (SCF), an active filter, or a passive filter. In the example being illustrated, the pilot and the information signal extractors 36 and 37 are switched capacitor band-pass and high-pass filters, respectively. Inasmuch as such an SCF is known in the art, the extractors 36 and 37 will not be described more in detail. If desired, reference should be had to any one of publications that is most readily available. Examples of such publications are an article contributed by P. E. Fleischer et al to "The Bell System Technical Journal," Vol. 58, No. 10 (December 1979), pages 2235-2269, under the title of "A Family of Active Switched Capacitor Biquad Building Blocks," and a book "Analog Filter Design" edited by M. E. Van Valkenburg, Chapter 17 of a title of "Switched Capacitor Filters" (pages 487-521 of the Holt-Saunders International Edition published 1982 in Japan). Incidentally, each unnumbered pair of small circles represents a transfer switch which accompanies a capacitor in the manner depicted also in the above-referenced Yumoto et al patent (Figs. 2 and 4 thereof) and Suzuki et al paper (Fig. 1 thereof). Each of the loss component compensators 27 and 32 is typically a variable gain amplifier having a variable gain (or attenuation). The variable gain may be given by a capacitor array which is depicted in Fig. 6 as a variable capacitor and comprises a plurality of component capacitors in the manner shown in Fig. 7. The component capacitors are selected by component signals S1, S2, S3, and so forth of the control signal produced by the first loss component detector 26 or of the gain control signal produced by the second loss component detector 27. The component signals S1 and others are for use in controlling MOS switches which are connected in series to the respective component capacitors. It is known that the first loss component compensator 27 has a transfer function T₁(z) which is defined by V 1.in (Z) of the information signal component D1 under V 1.out (z) of the processed information signal D2 and is equal to minus (C₁₁/C₁₂) where C₁₁ and C₁₂ are representative of capacities of the variable and the fixed capacitors depicted in Fig. 6 with similar labels. The capacitor with a label C₁₂' has a capacity which is equal to C₁₂. The second loss component compensator 32 has a transfer function T₂(z) which is defined by V 2.in (z) of the processed information signal D2 under V 2.out (z) of the further processed information signal D3 and is equal to: where C₂₁ through C₂₇ are representative of capacities like the capacities C₁₁ and C₁₂. The first loss component detector 26 may comprise a peak amplitude converter 41 and a component signal memory 42, which may be a read-only memory. Responsive to an amplitude which the pilot signal component P1 has, the converter 41 serves as an address signal generator which produces digital codes for use in accessing the memory 42 in which the component signals are preliminarily stored in the manner known in the art. The digital codes are determined by the first loss component. Supplied with the digital codes from the converter 41, the memory 42 delivers that at least one of the component signals to the first loss component compensator 27 which makes the compensator 27 produce the processed information signal D2 in the manner thus far described. The second loss component detector 31 may comprise a comparator 46 for comparing the peak amplitude of the further processed information signal D3 with a reference amplitude R to produce a difference signal related to that part of the second loss component which may remain in the further processed information signal D3 in comparison with the reference amplitude R. A gain control signal memory 47 is similar to the component signal memory 42 and produces component signals, such as S1, of the gain control signal.

Claims: An automatic equalizer responsive to an equalizer input signal supplied through a transmission path, wherein the input signal is subjected to a transmission loss to produce an equalizer output signal, the transmission loss having a first loss component with substantially no frequency dependency and a frequency dependent second loss component, the automatic equalizer including a first (21) and a second (22) equalizer for separately compensating for the first and second loss components, respectively and being characterised in that the input signal includes one pilot signal (P1) in addition to an information signal (D1), the information signal (D1) experiences both the first and the second loss components, the pilot signal (P1) experiences only the first loss component, the first equalizer (21) has first loss component detecting means (26) coupled to respond to the input signals received over the transmission path and is responsive to a pilot signal component which is derived from the pilot signal (P1) and which has no frequency dependency, the first loss component detecting means (26) detecting the first loss component to produce a control signal, the second equalizer (22) has a variable gain amplifier (32) coupled to respond to the receipt of the input signal for producing an amplified output signal which comprises a processed information signal (D2) and a processed pilot signal (P1), the first loss component detecting means (26) has a pilot signal extractor (36) responsive to the amplified output signal for extracting the processed pilot signal as the pilot signal component, and is responsive to the pilot signal component for detecting the first loss component to produce the control signal, the second equalizer (22) further comprises an information signal extractor (37) responsive to the amplifier output signal for extracting the processed information signal (D2) as the information signal component, a first loss component compensating means (27) being responsive to the information signal component and the control signal in order to compensate for the first loss component and produce a local output signal (D3), the second equalizer (22) further comprising a second loss component detector (32) responsive to the local output signal for detecting the second loss component to produce a gain control signal, and means for supplying the gain control signal to the variable gain amplifier in order that the second loss component is compensated for in the processed information signal, and the first loss component compensating means (27) producing the local output signal as the equalizer output signal (24). An automatic equalizer as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the first equalizer (21) further includes an information signal extractor means (37) responsive to the input signal for extracting the information signal as an information signal component, the first loss component compensating means (27) being responsive to the information signal component for compensating for the first loss component to produce the intermediate output signal, and the second equalizer (22) further comprising a part responsive to the intermediate output signal for compensating for the second loss component to produce the equalizer output signal (24). An automatic equalizer as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the first loss component compensating means (27) is responsive to the input signal for compensating for the first loss component to produce the intermediate output signal which comprises a processed information signal (D2) having the first loss component compensated for, the second equalizer including an information signal extractor (37) responsive to the intermediate output signal for extracting the processed information signal as an information signal component, and a part responsive to the information signal component for compensating for the second loss component to produce an equalizer output signal (24). An automatic equalizer as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the first loss component compensating means (27) is also responsive to the control signals for compensating for the first loss component to produce the intermediate output signal (29) which includes a processed information signal (D2) and a processed pilot signal (P2) which have the first loss component compensated for, the first loss component response means (27) comprising a pilot signal extractor (36) responsive to the intermediate output signal for extracting the processed pilot signal as the pilot signal component, and a first loss component detector (26) responsive to the pilot signal component for detecting the first loss component to produce an output signal as the control signal, and the second equalizer being responsive to an information component derived from the processed information output signal (24). An automatic equalizer as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the second equalizer (22) comprises an information signal extractor (37) which is responsive to the intermediate output signal (29) for extracting a processed information signal (D2) as a second processed information signal component, and a part responsive to the information signal component for compensating for the second loss component to produce the equalizer output signal (24). An automatic equalizer as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the second equalizer comprises a variable gain amplifier (32) responsive to the intermediate output signal (D2) for producing an amplifier output signal which comprises a further processed information signal, an information signal extractor (37) responsive to the amplifier output signal for extracting the further processed information signal as a second processed information signal component, a second loss component detector (31) responsive to the information signal component for detecting the second loss component to produce a gain control signal, and means for supplying the gain control signal to the variable gain amplifier in order that the second loss component of the further processed information signal is compensated for, the information signal extractor producing the information signal component as the equalizer output signal (24). An automatic equalizer as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that the second equalizer has a variable gain amplifier (32) responsive to the intermediate output signal for producing an amplifier output signal which includes a further processed information signal, an information signal extractor (37) responsive to the amplifier output signal for extracting the further processed information signal as a second processed information signal component, a second loss component detector (31) responsive to the information signal component for detecting the second loss component to produce a gain control signal, and means for supplying the gain control signal to the variable gain amplifier in order that the second loss component of the further processed information signal is compensated for, the variable gain amplifier thereby producing the amplifier output signal (D3) as the equalizer output signal (24).

Inventors: HIRAIDE, SATOSHI, SHINOZUKA, TAKASHI, SUZUKI, TOSHIO
Applicants: NEC CORPORATION
Application year: 1985
Main classification: H04B3
IPC codes: H04B3