Patent ID: 6925177

Claim:
An echo canceler receiving a receive input signal and a send input signal, the send input signal including a near-end component and an echo component, having a predictive filter for predicting the echo component from the receive input signal and generating an echo replica signal, and an adder for subtracting the echo replica signal from the send input signal, thereby canceling the echo component from the send input signal, the echo canceler also having: an amplifier for modifying a level of the receive input signal according to a specified gain; a clipping circuit for clipping the modified receive input signal output from the amplifier at a specified clipping threshold level and supplying the clipped modified receive input signal to the predictive filter; and a gain controller for specifying the gain and the clipping threshold level; wherein when the receive input signal is present and the near-end component of the send input signal is absent, the gain controller increases the gain until a state is reached in which an output level of the adder exceeds a predetermined value, and sets the clipping threshold level according to the modified level of the receive input signal in said state.