Patent GB-1109507-A (GB)
Title: Electrical distortion corrector
Inventor: MACDIARMID IAN FERGUSON
IPC: H04N9/77
Filed: 1964-08-26
Abstract: 1,109,507. Differential distortion correction; colour television. H.M. POSTMASTER GENERAL. 19 Aug., 1965 [26 Aug., 1964], No. 35001/64. Headings H4F and H4R. Differential gain or phase distortion in a colour television signal, i.e. variations in amplitude or phase of the colour sub-carrier which are caused, after intermodulation, by variations in the luminance signal, are corrected by applying the signal, via input T1, Fig. 1, to a hybrid transformer circuit which has an amplitude dependent balancing network CD so that with small input signals the network CD matches the input impedance of delay network D1 and no signal appears across winding T1W3 and signals pass to the output terminal TO only via the delay network D1 and matching network I while for larger input signals the variation of impedance in CD unbalances the hybrid and allows some signal to pass via winding T1W3, filter F1, tuned to the colour sub-carrier, and transformer T2, to the output circuit to mix with the signal passing via the delay network D1 &c. The delay of the network D1 is such that the signal fed via filter F1 cancels the differential distortion in the signal fed through the network D1. The compensating network CD may include a number of diodes, Fig. 4a (not shown), each biased to a different voltage and carrying predetermined currents so that as the input signal increases the impedance of the network varies in a predetermined fashion. Various types of variable impedance network are shown including diodes or transistors. To provide phase compensation a delay network may be inserted at the input to the compensating network so that the compensating signal added to the signal through delay network D1 is in phase quadrature therewith. To provide gain and phase compensation two networks may be connected to the terminals A-B, Fig. 1, via a hybrid transformer as shown in Fig. 9, where CDG provides gain correction and CDP, via a quadrature phaseshifting delay D2, provides the phase correction. The bias on the components in the non- linear network may be adjusted manually or they may be adjusted automatically in accordance with transmitted reference or pilot signals as in the system of Fig. 10. In this arrangement a test signal is transmitted e.g. in a line interval occurring during a field blanking interval or during a line blanking interval, the test signal comprising three pilot signal bursts consisting of a " colour " burst, a " grey " burst, and a " white " burst superimposed upon steps having levels corresponding to the luminance levels of the test bursts. In Fig. 10 the received signals are applied via black level clamp BC, differential distortion corrector DDN and amplifier AMP to a filter PF tuned to the colour subcarrier frequency and to a synch, separator SP5 which via the timing circuit TC synchronizes the operation of sampling gates PLA1- PLA3 and PLP1-PLP3 so that these gates operate to feed through, and hold the values occurring at their inputs, at the times corresponding to the colour burst for PLA1 and PLP1, the grey burst for PLA2 and PLP2, and the white burst for PLA3 and PLP3. The colour sub-carrier frequency at the output of filter PF is fed to a comparator COMP, to derive a signal dependent on the amplitude of the colour subcarrier, and to a phase detector PD, to derive a signal dependent on the phase of the colour burst relative to that of a regenerated signal from CSR synchronized by the normal colour burst, these signals being applied to the gates PLA and PLP respectively to be fed as signals to the amplitude difference circuits DCG1, DCW1, DCG2, DCW2, so that the outputs of these circuits provide control signals for the non-linear network in the differential distortion correcting device, the control signals representing the amplitude and phase distortion present in the grey and white burst relative to the colour bursts so that the distortion corrector is automatically controlled to reduce the distortion in the output signal to a low level. It is also suggested that the apparatus may be modified to provide correction for other forms of differential distortion, e.g. amplitude-amplitude or phase-amplitude distortion.