Signal demodulating apparatus for a reproduced video signal

Abstract: A signal demodulating apparatus, for demodulating FM video signals with which a pilot signal is mixed, comprises an input circuit, a first deriving circuit, a pilot canceling signal generating circuit (16,17,18), a mixing circuit (15), a limiter (19) and a demodulator (20). The input circuit admits the mixed frequency-modulated video signals and pilot signal. The first deriving circuit is connected to the input circuit and derives the pilot signal from the mixed signals. The pilot canceling signal generating circuit is connected to the first deriving circuit and generates a pilot canceling signal based on the derived pilot signal. The mixing circuit is connected to the input circuit and the pilot canceling signal generating circuit and mixes the mixed frequency-modulated video signals and pilot signal and the pilot canceling signal. The limiter is connected to the mixing circuit and limits the pilot-canceled frequency-modulated video signals to a predetermined level. The demodulator is connected to the limiter and demodulates the frequency-modulated video signals.

Description: This invention relates to signal demodulating apparatus. While the invention has general applicability in the field of signal demodulation, it will be described hereinafter (by way of example) with reference to a signal demodulating apparatus for use with video disc players that reproduce data from video discs having video signals recorded thereon in the so-called MUSE (Multiple Sub-Nyquist Sampling Encoding) format used for the Japanese high-definition television system known as Hi-vision. EP-A-0 433 032 discloses a signal demodulating apparatus for demodulating frequency modulated (FM) video signals with which a pilot signal is combined. The apparatus comprises an input for receiving the FM video signal combined with the pilot signal and means connected to the input for deriving the pilot signal. A frequency demodulator demodulates the FM video signal and a subtracter combines the demodulated signal with a signal which cancels the pilot signal. The cancelling signal is produced by adjusting the gain applied to, or amplitude of, the derived pilot signal in accordance with a gain adjustment signal. The gain adjustment signal is produced by multiplying the derived pilot signal with the residual component of the cancelled signal, sampling the product once per line or field and comparing the sample with a reference (e.g. zero). The feedback of the residual component operates to maintain the output of the multiplier near to the reference, e.g. zero. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a recording apparatus for recording Hi-vision video signals in the MUSE format onto video discs. In Fig. 1, an FM modulator 51 frequency-modulates input video signals on a 12.5 MHz carrier and supplies an FM signal fc to an adder 52. The frequency deviation of the FM signal fc is ± 1.9 MHz, and the black and white levels thereof are 10.6 (=12.5 - 1.9) MHz and 14.4 (=12.5 + 1.9) MHz, respectively. The adder 52 is also fed with a pilot signal fl at 2.3 MHz (=f H x 135/2; where f H stands for the horizontal scanning frequency). The pilot signal is used in a TBC (time base corrector) and spindle servo upon playback. The adder 52 adds the FM signal fc and pilot signal fl and supplies the result to a limiter 53. In turn, the limiter 53 limits the amplitude of the received signal to a predetermined level. The output signals from the limiter 53 are supplied to a laser disc cutting machine that records the signals onto video discs. Fig. 2 is a view of the frequency allocation of MUSE-format signals recorded on video discs. When the limiter 53 limits the amplitude of the mixed signal composed of the FM signal (main carrier) fc and pilot signal fl, there are generated a lower sideband fp and an upper sideband fp+. That is, as shown in Fig. 3 (A), addition of the pilot signal fl to the FM signal fc causes a vector Fl related to the pilot signal fl to rotate around the tip of a vector Fc of the FM signal fc in accordance with the phase change in the pilot signal fl. Consequently, the mixed signal has not only the phase change (i.e., frequency-modulated component) but also the amplitude change (i.e., amplitude-modulated component). When the amplitude of the mixed signal is limited to a predetermined level, as depicted in Fig. 3 (B), the vector Fl is formed from two vectors: vector Fp related to the lower sideband fp, and vector Fp+ related to the upper sideband fp+. Even if the vectors Fp and Fp+ rotate in accordance with the phase change, the vector Fl does not rotate; a length of the vector Fl varies in the direction perpendicular to the vector Fc. At this time, the amplitude of the vectors Fp and Fp+ becomes half that of the vector Fl. Both the lower sideband fp and the upper sideband fp+ are recorded on the video disc together with the FM signal fc. When the frequency of the FM signal fc is 10.6 MHz (i.e., when the picture appears blackish), the frequency allocation of the mixed signal is as shown in Fig. 4. And when the mixed signal is supplied the limiter 53 , the upper sideband fp+ at 18.9 (=10.6 + 8.3) MHz is generated, as illustrated in Fig. 5. That frequency is higher than the frequency fc (=10.6 MHz) of the main carrier by 8.3 (=10.6 - 2.3) MHz, i.e., by the difference between the frequency of the main carrier fc and that of the pilot signal fp. A signal phase of the upper sideband fp+ is opposite to a signal phase of the lower sideband fp. Fig. 6 is a view showing the frequency band of the base band MUSE signal. As illustrated, the MUSE frequency band has a range of up to about 8.1 MHz. Meanwhile, an interference beat carrier derived from the difference between the main carrier (FM signal) fc and the pilot signal fp is 8.3 (=10.6 - 2.3) MHz. Because the interference beat carrier is close to the MUSE frequency band, it appears as a stripe noise pattern in the picture. Where the frequency of the main carrier fc is near 14.4 MHz (i.e., when the picture appears whitish), the frequency of the interference beat carrier is 12.1 (=14.4 - 2.3) MHz. The latter frequency is appreciably higher than the MUSE frequency band of up to 8.1 MHz, so that the presence of the interference beat carrier becomes negligible. It follows that beat interference is insignificant when the picture is on the white side. Conventionally, the pilot signal (lower sideband) fp in the 2.3 MHz band is removed from the RF signal reproduced from the video disc before the main carrier fc is frequency-demodulated. However, the upper sideband fp+ contained in the reproduced signal of the video disc makes it impossible to fully suppress the beat component even after removal of the lower sideband fp. Conventional attempts to remove the upper sideband fp+ have largely failed because the upper sideband frequency is dependent on the frequency of the main carrier fc and is thus variable. In addition, the interference beat carrier near 8.3 MHz is difficult to remove because that frequency band is close to the proper frequency band of the MUSE system. These disadvantages of the prior art have contributed to making full suppression of the interference from the pilot signal difficult to accomplish. According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a signal demodulating apparatus for demodulating frequency modulated (FM) video signals with which a pilot signal is combined comprising: an input for receiving the FM video signal (a) combined with the pilot signal (fp), means connected to the input for deriving the pilot signal (fp) from the FM video signal (a), a signal combiner coupled to the input, limiting means coupled to the signal combiner, demodulating means coupled to the limiter, and means for providing to the signal combiner a signal derived from the pilot signal and which, after limiting in the limiter is in phase opposition to the pilot signal and of a magnitude as to substantially cancel the pilot signal. In an embodiment of the invention the providing means comprises a circuit for phase inverting the derived pilot signal (fp) and a level adjusting circuit for increasing the amplitude of the phase inverted derived pilot signal to a level greater than the amplitude limit of the limiter. In another embodiment of the invention the providing means comprises means for producing phase quadrature components (C, S) of the derived pilot signal (fp), and means for modulating the quadrature components (C, S) in accordance with the amplitude of the residual component (F) of the cancelled pilot signal. A further embodiment of the invention comprises means for actuating the providing means in response to a video signal subject to significant interference from the pilot signal. Preferred embodiments of the invention described hereinbelow provide a signal demodulating apparatus capable of effectively suppressing beat interference caused by a pilot signal. In a preferred structure according to the invention, the deriving means is a band-pass filter connected to a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit. The output of the PLL circuit is connected to a time base corrector (TBC) circuit for correcting any time base error in the output from the demodulating means. In this setup, the frequency-modulated video signals are mixed with a signal whose phase is opposite to that of the pilot signal and whose level is double that of the pilot signal. This makes it possible to suppress the pilot signal effectively. In another preferred structure according to the invention, an inverter is used to invert the phase of the output from a PLL circuit connected to a band-pass filter, the output being fed to a phase shift circuit. This structure, employed where FM signals are reproduced from a disc, allows the phase of the PLL output to be inverted upon a track jump of the reproducing position on the disc. Another band-pass filter is provided by which to extract a pilot signal from the FM signals, the pilot signal being balanced-modulated by balanced modulators for output to an adder which adds the balanced-modulated pilot signal to the FM signals. In a further preferred structure according to the invention, the pilot signal component in the output signal from the limiting means is extracted by the bandpass filter. The level of the extracted pilot signal component is synchronously detected by synchronous detectors. In accordance with the detected level, the balanced modulators balanced-modulate a first and a second signal generated by the phase shift circuit. The adder adds (or subtracts) the two phase-shifted signals to (or from) the FM signals. This setup thus allows the phase and level of the added signals to be adjusted automatically. In a yet further preferred structure according to the invention, the balanced-modulated output of the balanced modulators is added to the FM signals in a manner dependent on the output frequency of the demodulating means. This setup suppresses interference illustratively in dark pictures. The invention will now be further described, by way of illustrative and non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a recording apparatus for recording Hi-vision video signals of the MUSE format onto video discs; Fig. 2 is a view of the frequency allocation of MUSE-format signals recorded on video discs; Fig. 3 is a set of views showing how upper and lower sidebands of a pilot signal are generated by a limiter 53 in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view of a frequency spectrum in the input to the limiter 53 in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view of a frequency spectrum in the output from the limiter 53 in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a view depicting how beat interference is caused by the pilot signal when a conventional MUSE-format video disc is played back; Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus applied in a video disc player and practiced as a first embodiment of the invention; Fig. 8 is a set of vector diagrams illustrating how the embodiment of Fig. 7 works; Fig. 9 is a set of frequency spectrum diagrams showing how the embodiment of Fig. 7 works; Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus applied in a video disc player and practiced as a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 11 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus practiced as a third embodiment of the invention; Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus practiced as a fourth embodiment of the invention; Fig. 13 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus practiced as a fifth embodiment of the invention; Fig. 14 is a set of views depicting how the upper sideband is affected by an MTF characteristic; and Fig. 15 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus practiced as a sixth embodiment of the invention. Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus applied in a video disc player and practiced as the first embodiment of the invention. In Fig. 1, a video disc 11 contains Hi-vision video signals in the MUSE format. The video disc 11 is rotated by a spindle motor 12. An optical head 13 emits a laser beam to the video disc 11 and reproduces from the reflected light the signals recorded on the disc. RF signals derived from the optical head 13 are fed to band-pass filters (BPF's) 14 and 16. Of the input signals, those signals in the frequency band centering on 12.5 MHz (i.e., main carrier fc) are extracted by the BPF 14 and sent to an adder 15. The BPF 16 derives a pilot signal fp at 2.3 MHz from the RF signals and supplies the derived pilot signal to a phase shift circuit 17. The phase shift circuit 17 inverts the phase of the received pilot signal fp before supplying the signal to a level adjusting circuit 18. The level adjusting circuit doubles the level of the pilot signal received from the phase shift circuit 17, and supplies the result to the adder 15. The adder 15 adds the output of the BPF 14 (a mixture of the main carrier fc, the pilot signal (lower sideband) fp and the upper sideband fp+) and the output of the level adjusting circuit 18. The result of the addition is supplied to a limiter 19. The limiter 19 limits the mixed signal from the adder 15 to a predetermined level and supplies the limited result to a frequency demodulator 20. The frequency demodulator 20 frequency-demodulates the output of the limiter 19 and supplies the demodulated result to a TBC (time base corrector) circuit 22. In operation, the optical head 13 first plays back the video disc 11 to reproduce RF signals therefrom. The reproduced RF signals are supplied to the BPF's 14 and 16. The RF signals including the main carrier (FM signal) fc and having frequencies lower than that of the latter are extracted by the BPF 14 and supplied to the adder 15. On the other hand, the pilot signal fp is extracted by the BPF 16 and fed to the phase shift circuit 17. The phase shift circuit 17 inverts the phase of the received pilot signal fp by 180 degrees (i.e., to the opposite phase) before supplying the pilot signal to the level adjusting circuit 18. The level adjusting circuit 18 doubles the level of the opposite-phase pilot signal -fp and supplies the result to the adder 15. The adder 15 adds the output of the BPF 14 and the pilot signal -2fp having the opposite phase and the doubled level, and supplies the result to the limiter 19. The limiter 19 limits the level of the mixed signal from the adder 15 to a predetermined level. The operations above will be described below in more detail with reference to Fig. 8. As described, the signals reproduced from the video disc 11 by the optical head 13 comprise the main carrier fc and the upper and lower sidebands fp and fp+. These signal components have those phase relations with one another which are illustrated in Fig. 8 (A). The BPF 16 derives the lower sideband fp from the rest, and the phase shift circuit 17 derives the opposite-phase pilot signal -fp from the lower sideband. The level adjusting circuit 18 doubles the level of the opposite-phase pilot signal -fp to produce the pilot signal -2fp. The adder 15 adds the pilot signal -2fp to the lower sideband fp fed from the BPF 14. The output signals of the adder 15 take on the characteristics shown in Fig. 8 (C). Specifically, the vector -Fp corresponding to the lower sideband -fp of the opposite phase and the vector Fp+ corresponding to the upper sideband fp+ rotate around the tip of the vector Fc of the main carrier fc in the directions opposite to each other. As a result, in the combined vector of Fig. 8 (C), the tip of the vector Fc moves crosswise. That is, the FM component is removed from the mixed signal, leaving the AM component alone. The signal of Fig. 8 (C) is then limited by the limiter 19 to a predetermined level. This affords the main carrier (FM signal) fc completely rid of the pilot signal component. After the process above, the output fc of the limiter 19 is supplied to the frequency demodulator 20 for frequency demodulation. This arrangement suppresses almost all beat interference caused by the pilot signal component. The frequency-demodulated signal from the frequency demodulator 20 is rid of its unnecessary radio frequency component by a low-pass filter (LPF) 21 before supplying the TBC circuit for time base error correction. The time base error-corrected signal is then supplied to a CRT or the like, not shown, for display. Fig. 9 is a set of frequency spectrum diagrams showing the energy spectrum of each of the components constituting the embodiment of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 (A) illustrates the frequency spectrum of the RF signal derived from the optical head 13. As illustrated, the RF signal comprises a lower sideband of 2.28 MHz (= about 2.3 MHz) at -22 dB and an upper sideband of 18.9 MHz at -33 dB. Fig. 9 (B) depicts the frequency spectrum of the output from the limiter 19, and Fig. 9 (C) shows the frequency spectrum of the output from the TBC circuit 22. As illustrated in Fig. 9 (B), the level of the lower sideband, at -34 dB when the output of the level adjusting circuit 18 is not added by the adder 15, is brought to -47 dB when the addition does take place. Similarly, the level of the upper sideband, at -37 dB when the output of the level adjusting circuit 18 is not added by the adder 15, is attenuated to -48 dB when the addition is carried out. In Fig. 9 (C), the level of the interference beat carrier of 8.3 MHz is reduced, when the output of the level adjusting circuit 18 is added by the adder 15, by 14 dB from the level in effect when the addition is not performed. Fig. 10 is a block diagram of a signal demodulating apparatus applied in a video disc player and practiced as the second embodiment of the invention. Of the parts in Fig. 10, those also shown in Fig. 7 are designated by like reference numerals. In the second embodiment, the output of the band-pass filter (BPF) 16 is supplied to a PLL circuit 32 via a limiter 31. The PLL circuit 32 comprises a phase comparator circuit 41, a low-pass filter (LPF) 42, a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) 43 and a divider circuit 44. The phase comparator circuit 41 compares phase of the signal supplied from the limiter 31 with a phase of the output of the divider circuit 44, and generates any phase error detected. The LPF 42 extracts the low-pass component from the output of the phase comparator circuit 41. The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) 43 generates clock pulses in accordance with the output of the LPF 42. The divider circuit 44 divides the output of the VCO 43 by 12 and supplies the result to the phase comparator circuit 41 and phase shift circuit 17. The output of the VCO 43 is also supplied to the TBC circuit 22. The other components of the second embodiment are identical to their counterparts in the first embodiment of Fig. 7. In the second embodiment, the pilot signal extracted by the BPF 16 is supplied to the PLL 32 via the limiter 31 and a new pilot signal is generated in synchronism with the extracted pilot signal. As a result, if the pilot signal drops out or varies in level, the phase shift circuit 17 is supplied with a pilot signal of the stable phase and the stable level. The feature affords the second embodiment a better S/N ratio than that of the first embodiment. Originally, the TBC circuit 22 needs to be fed with a clock signal in synchronism with reproduced signals and is thus connected to a phase-locked loop circuit. If the PLL circuit is shared for supplying the pilot signal, there is no need to add a specialized circuit arrangement for the purpose. That means no cost increase is necessary for furnishing the feature described above. In the first and the second embodiments of Figs. 7 and 10, the amount of phase shift by the phase shift circuit 17 and the amount of level adjustment by the level adjusting circuit 18 are both fixed at a manufacturing stage. These adjustment stage may be eliminated by another embodiment, i.e., the third embodiment whose constitution is shown in Fig. 11. In the third embodiment of Fig. 11, the output of the band-pass filter (BPF) 16 is fed to a phase shift circuit 69. The phase shift circuit 69 converts the received pilot signal fp into a first signal c and a second signal s, the two signals being 90 degrees apart in phase. The first signal c is supplied to a balanced modulator 65 and a synchronous detector 63 and the second signal s is supplied to a balanced modulator 68 and a synchronous detector 66. The synchronous detectors 63 and 66 synchronously detect the output of an amplifier 62 using the first and the second signals c and s, respectively, and supplies the detected output to low-pass filters (LPF's) 64 and 67. The outputs of the LPF's 64 and 67 are sent as a third and a fourth signal to the balanced modulators 65 and 68, respectively. The balanced modulator 65 balanced-modulates the first signal c from the phase shift circuit 69 using the third signal Lc from the LPF 64, and supplies the result to the adder 15. The balanced modulator 68 balanced-modulates the second signal s from the phase shift circuit 69 using the fourth signal Ls from the LPF 67, and supplies the result to the adder 15. The adder 15 adds the outputs P and Q of the balanced modulators 65 and 68 with their polarity inverted (i.e., for subtraction) to the RF signal coming from the optical head 13, and sends the result to the limiter 19. The output of the limiter 19 is fed to the frequency demodulator 20, and part of the limiter output is supplied to a BPF 61 whereby the pilot signal component is extracted. The output of the BPF 61 is amplified by the amplifier 62, and the output of the amplifier 62 is supplied to the synchronous detectors 63 and 66 as previously described. The third embodiment works as follows: The BPF 61 first extracts from the output of the limiter 19 the pilot signal component not removed therefrom. The pilot signal component is amplified by the amplifier 62, and the output of the amplifier 62 is fed to the synchronous detectors 63 and 66. In turn, the synchronous detectors 63 and 66 detect synchronously the pilot signal component from the amplifier 62 using the first signal c and the second signal s from the phase shift circuit 69. The low-pass components in the outputs of the synchronous detectors 63 and 66 are extracted by the LPF's 64 and 67, respectively. Thus the LPF's 64 and 67 generate the third signal Lc and the fourth signal Ls, respectively. That is, the third signal Lc and the fourth signal Ls are provided by use of the following expressions: Lc = LPF (kc·c·F) Ls = LPF (ks·s·F) where, kc and ks denote the demodulation sensitivities of the synchronous detectors 63 and 66, respectively. In other words, the third signal Lc is the low-pass component represented by the product of F, c and kc, and the fourth signal Ls is the low-pass component given by the product of F, s and ks. The balanced modulator 65 balanced-modulates the first signal c from the phase shift circuit 69 using the third signal Lc from the LPF 64. Thus the output P of the balanced modulator 65 is provided by use of the expression: P = Lc·Gc·c where Gc denotes the modulation sensitivity of the balanced modulator 65. The balanced modulator 68 balanced-modulates the second signal s from the phase shift circuit 69 using the fourth signal Ls from the LPF 67. Thus the output Q of the balanced modulator 68 is given by the expression: Q = Ls·Gs·s where Gs stands for the modulation sensitivity of the balanced modulator 68. As described, the signal Y supplied to the adder 15 contains the main carrier (FM signal) fc and the lower sideband fp and upper sideband fp+ of the pilot signal (see Fig. 8 (A)). From the latter two signals (upper and lower sidebands), the signals P and Q generated by the balanced modulators 65 and 68 are subtracted in the adder 15. A signal representing the difference upon subtraction is derived from the adder 15. The output of the adder 15 is fed to the limiter 19 whereby the adder output is limited to a predetermined level. As a result, the sideband component is generated as described but is offset so that the pilot signal contained in the limiter output Z becomes zero. This is because the pilot signal component in the limiter output Z from the limiter 19 is extracted by the BPF 61 and detected by the synchronous detectors 63 and 66 for control processing. Consequently, the BPF 61, the amplifier 62, the synchronous detectors 63 and 66, the LPF's 64 and 67, the balanced modulators 65 and 68, and the adder 15 combine to form a feedback loop that automatically removes the pilot signal component. In the third embodiment of Fig. 11, the output of the BPF 16 is fed direct to the phase shift circuit 69. This arrangement can let the S/N ratio of the output signal deteriorate due to the change in the pilot signal entered into the adder 15 for canceling purposes. This disadvantage is circumvented by another embodiment, i.e., the fourth embodiment whose constitution is shown in Fig. 12. As with the second embodiment of Fig. 10, the fourth embodiment of Fig. 12 has the PLL circuit 32 interposed between the BPF 16 and the phase shift circuit 69 so that the pilot signal fp generated by the PLL circuit 32 will be fed to the phase shift circuit 69. While the third embodiment of Fig. 11 has the outputs of the balanced modulators 65 and 68 supplied direct to the adder 15, the fourth embodiment of Fig. 12 allows the outputs of the balanced modulators 65 and 68 to be supplied to an adder 70 for addition. The output of the adder 70 is fed the adder 15 via a BPF 71. If the signals P and Q generated by the balanced modulators 65 and 68 include any distortion, the pilot signal could not be canceled precisely, except that the BPF 71 removes the signal component containing that distortion. This allows the pilot signal to be canceled more accurately than before. The video disc 11 has one frame of video signals recorded thereon per revolution. The Hi-vision (i.e., MUSE-format) video signal is made of 1,125 horizontal scanning lines per frame. The frequency of the pilot signal is set to 135/2 times that of the horizontal scanning lines. In other words, the pilot signal occurs at a rate of 135/2 waves per horizontal scanning period. Thus the number of pilot signal waves per frame (one revolution of video disc 11) is 75,937 + 1/2 (=1,125 × 135 ÷ 2). This means that if the optical head 13 jumps one track on the video disc 11, the pilot signal becomes 180 degrees out of phase. This disadvantage is circumvented by the fifth embodiment of Fig. 13 in which the pilot signal fp derived from the PLL circuit 32 is inverted in phase by an inverter 83 before being sent to the phase shift circuit 69. In this setup, an input terminal 81 first admits a command ordering the optical head 13 to jump one track. Given the jump command, a flip-flop circuit 82 inverts the logic of its output. A switch 84 is set illustratively to the left side (see Fig. 13) if the logic output of the flip-flop circuit 82 is "1" and to the right if the logic output is "0." This causes the phase of the pilot signal fp generated by the PLL circuit 32 to be inverted 180 degrees every time the optical head 13 jumps to the adjacent track. The phase-inverted pilot signal is sent to the phase shift circuit 69. This prevents the pilot signal input to the adder 15 and the signals P and Q generated by the balanced modulators 65 and 68 from getting out of phase with one other immediately after a track jump, thereby affording the unfailing cancellation of the pilot signal component. In the fifth embodiment of Fig. 13, the inverter 83 is used to invert the phase of the pilot signal. Alternatively, the phase of the pilot signal may be inverted by use of the PLL circuit 32 or phase shift circuit 69. Where the frequency of the FM signal fc as the main carrier is low, the interference frequency (fc - fp) resulting from the pilot signal fp also becomes low and the beat interference involved tends to be pronounced. If the main carrier fc is heightened in frequency, the interference frequency (fc - fp) is raised out of the MUSE signal band. This makes beat interference less conspicuous. Where the frequency of the main carrier fc goes up and down, the levels of the upper and lower sidebands become unbalanced under the influence of the MTF (modulation transfer function) characteristic involving the optical head 13. The higher the frequency component, the lower the output level thereof. This is because the MTF characteristic is similar to the characteristic of the low-pass filter. Consequently, as shown in Fig. 14 (A), low frequencies of the main carrier fc entail relatively low frequencies of the upper sideband fp+. This leaves the level of the upper sideband fp+ relatively high. When the frequency of the main carrier fc is raised, the frequency of the upper sideband fp+ also goes up, as depicted in Fig. 14 (B). Thus the level of the upper sideband fp+ in Fig. 14 (B) becomes lower than that in Fig. 14 (A). As a result, the level of the pilot signal to be canceled at low frequencies of the main carrier fc differs from the level at high frequencies. Where any one of the third through the fifth embodiments in Figs. 11 through 13 is utilized, the appropriate level of the pilot signal to be canceled is set appropriately and automatically despite the above-described unbalanced levels of the upper and lower sidebands. It should be noted that the outputs of the LPF's 64 and 67 constitute the low-pass component in the varying contents of the pilot signal from the limiter 19. This means that it is difficult to respond to these outputs very quickly. For example, abrupt transition from a relatively bright picture to a dark one can involve pronounced beat interference immediately after the changeover. This disadvantage is bypassed by another embodiment, i.e., the sixth embodiment whose constitution is shown in Fig. 15. The sixth embodiment of Fig. 15 has the outputs of the LPF's 64 and 67 fed to the balanced modulators 65 and 68 via switches 93 and 95, respectively. Voltage-holding capacitors 94 and 96 are interposed between the switches 93 and 96 on the one hand, and the balanced modulators 65 and 68 on the other. The switches 93 and 95 are controlled by a comparator circuit 91. The comparator circuit 91 compares the reference voltage generated by a reference voltage generating circuit 92 with the level of the signal from the LPF 21. That is, the comparator circuit 91 compares the level of the video signal from the LPF with the reference voltage from the reference voltage generating circuit 92. The reference voltage derived from the reference voltage generating circuit 92 is set to a threshold voltage corresponding to the brightness of pictures wherein beat interference is conspicuous (e.g., a 20% voltage with respect to the 100% voltage for the brightest picture). The comparator circuit 91 turns on the switches 93 and 95 when the level of the video signal demodulated by the frequency demodulator 22 is lower than the reference voltage; the switches 93 and 95 are turned off when the level of the video signal is higher than the reference voltage (i.e., for brighter pictures with the main carrier fc at higher frequencies). As a result, when the level of the video signal is lower than the predetermined reference value (i.e., for dark pictures), a servo loop is activated to cancel the pilot signal contained in the signal supplied to the adder 15. For brighter pictures, the switches 93 and 95 are turned off. However, the output voltages of the LPF's 64 and 67 in effect immediately before the switches 93 and 95 were turned off are held in the capacitors 94 and 96. Later, when a change from the bright picture back to a dark picture causes the switches 93 and 95 to be turned on, the voltages held in the capacitors 94 and 96 are used quickly to start canceling the pilot signal. Thus beat interference is minimized immediately after the changeover from the bright to the dark picture. The sixth embodiment of Fig. 15 causes the pilot signal component to be canceled even in the bright picture by use of the voltages held in the capacitors 94 and 96. Alternatively, the canceling of the pilot signal may be stopped completely whenever a bright picture is detected. The alternative arrangement is viable because beat interference is not conspicuous in bright pictures. The arrangement is implemented illustratively by interposing a switch between the adder 70 and the BPF 71. This switch is operated in response to the output of the comparator circuit 91: turned off when a bright picture is detected and turned on when a dark picture is detected. Although the description above contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, the invention may be applied not only to the video disc player, as described above, but also to any other apparatuses in which the frequency-modulated signal is demodulated from the transmitted signal mixture comprising the frequency-modulated signal and the pilot signal. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims rather than by the examples given.

Claims: A signal demodulating apparatus for demodulating frequency modulated (FM) video signals with which a pilot signal is combined comprising: an input for receiving the FM video signal (a) combined with the pilot signal (fp), means (16) connected to the input for deriving the pilot signal (fp) from the FM video signal (a), a signal combiner (15) coupled to the input, limiting means (19) coupled to the signal combiner, demodulating means (20) coupled to the limiter (19), and means (17, 18; 61-69) for providing to the signal combiner (15) a signal derived from the pilot signal and which, after limiting in the limiter (19) is in phase opposition to the pilot signal and of a magnitude as to substantially cancel the pilot signal. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the providing means (17, 18) comprises a circuit (17) for phase inverting the derived pilot signal (fp) and a level adjusting circuit for increasing the amplitude of the phase inverted derived pilot signal to a level greater than the amplitude limit of the limiter (19). Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the level adjusting circuit doubles the amplitude of the phase inverted derived pilot signal (fp). Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the providing means (61-69) comprises means (69) for producing phase quadrature components (C, S) of the derived pilot signal (fp), and means (61-68) for modulating the quadrature components (C, S) in accordance with the amplitude of the residual component (F) of the cancelled pilot signal. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said deriving means (16) includes a band pass filter circuit (16). A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein the deriving means (16) includes a phase locked loop circuit (32) for providing the pilot signal. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, further comprising: time base corrector means (22) connected to said demodulating means for removing any time base error of the demodulated video signals obtained at the output of said demodulating means (20). A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in any proceeding claim, wherein said frequency-modulated video signals are MUSE video signals and said pilot signal is a carrier of about 2.3 MHz. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said frequency-modulated video signals and said pilot signal are obtained from a video disc. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the modulating means (61-68) includes: further deriving means (61, 62) connected between said limiting means (19) and said demodulating means (20) for deriving the residual component (F) of the pilot signal. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said modulating means further includes a pair of synchronous detecting means (63, 66) having first inputs for receiving the residual component (F) and second inputs for receiving respective ones of the quadrature components (C, S) for producing signals (LC, LS) related to the amplitude of the residual component (F) and a pair of balanced modulating means (65, 68) for modulating the said quadrature components (C, S) with the amplitude related signals (LC, LS). A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein outputs of said synchronous detecting means (63, 66) are supplied to said balanced modulating means (65, 68) by way of a pair of low pass filter means (64, 67). A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said outputs of said balanced modulating means (65, 68) are supplied to said combiner (15) by way of an adding circuit (70) and a band pass filter circuit (71). A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, further including a phase inverting circuit (83) coupled to the deriving means (16) for selectively inverting the phase of the derived pilot signal (fp). A signal demodulating apparatus according to any preceding claim, comprising means (93, 95) for actuating the providing means (61, 69) in response to a video signal subject to significant interference from the pilot signal. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 15 when dependent on claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein the actuating means (93, 95) includes a pair of switch means (93, 95) interposed between said balanced modulating means (65, 68) and said synchronous detector means (63, 66) and a pair of capacitor means (94, 96) coupled to the balanced modulator means (65, 68) for storing the outputs of the synchronous detector means (63, 66). A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 16. further comprising: switch signal generating means responsive to a video signal obtained from said demodulating means (20) for generating a switch signal in response to a video signal subject to significant interference from the pilot signal. A signal demodulating apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein said switch signal generating means includes a reference voltage source (92) and comparator means (91), said comparator means for comparing the video signal from the demodulating means with the reference voltage and for supplying said switch signal to said switch means.

Inventors: YAMASHITA NORIYUKI, YAMASHITA, NORIYUKI, Yamashita, Noriyuki, c/o Intellectual Prop.Div.
Applicants: SONY CORP, SONY CORPORATION
Application year: 1993
Main classification: H04N9
IPC codes: H04N9