Patent ID: 8896474

Claim:
An analog-to-digital converter (ADC), comprising: an averaging converter configured to receive an analog signal and to output a digital value corresponding to the analog signal based on a set of references, wherein the set of references includes a range of values of the analog signal; and a second averaging converter, electrically coupled to the averaging converter, configured to receive the analog signal and to output a second digital value corresponding to the analog signal based on a second set of references, wherein the second averaging converter is configured to select the second set of references based on the digital value; wherein the second set of references is a subset of the set of references; wherein, in aggregate, the second set of references is closer to an instantaneous value of the analog signal than the set of references; and wherein the averaging converter includes one of: a sigma-delta ADC, a single-slope ADC, a pulse-width modulation ADC, a duty-cycle modulation ADC, and a dual-slope ADC; and wherein the second averaging converter includes one of a second sigma-delta ADC, a second single-slope ADC, a second pulse-width modulation ADC, a second duty-cycle modulation ADC, and a second dual-slope ADC.