Patent ID: 7145377

Claim:
A device for converting an input signal comprising a bipolar pulse with a positive part and a negative part of same duration into a difference signal, comprising: a delay member with an input for receiving the input signal and an output, for delaying the input signal to obtain a delayed signal and for outputting the delayed signal at an output; a differential amplifier with a first input for receiving the input signal, a second input for receiving the delayed signal and an output for outputting the difference signal formed from the input signal and the delayed signal; wherein the delay member includes a first partial delay member with an input for receiving the input signal and an output for outputting a partially delayed signal and a second partial delay member with an input for receiving the partially delayed signal and an output for outputting the delayed signal; wherein the differential amplifier further comprises an edge detector for detecting an edge of the partially delayed signal and a comparator for determining whether the difference signal is greater than a first predetermined threshold, for determining whether the difference signal is smaller than a second predetermined threshold; and wherein the differential amplifier is implemented to output a binary signal depending on whether the difference signal is greater than the first predetermined threshold and the partially delayed signal comprises a rising edge or whether the partially delayed signal is smaller than the second predetermined threshold end the partially delayed signal comprises a falling edge.