Patent ID: 8208527

Claim:
A reconfigurable continuous FIR filter, comprising: an input terminal configured to accept as input a continuous signal to be filtered, and a first output terminal configured to provide as output a first filtered signal; a delay line including at least two delay elements coupled in cascade and disposed between and in electrical communication with said input terminal and a delay line termination node; said delay line including at least one node situated between successive delay elements coupled in cascade; and a filter section comprising: at least three gain-phase elements having a respective first terminal and a respective second terminal, each of said at least three gain-phase elements having said respective first terminal coupled to a selected one of said filter input terminal, said at least one node situated between successive delay elements coupled in cascade, and said delay line termination node, at least one of said at least three gain-phase elements configurable in real time; and a summing circuit having a plurality of inputs at least equal in number to said at least three gain-phase elements and having one output, a respective one of said plurality of inputs coupled to a respective second terminal of one of said at least three gain-phase elements, said summing circuit output coupled to said first output terminal; wherein said reconfigurable continuous FIR filter is configured to exhibit a filter transfer function that is reconfigurable in real time between said input terminal and said first output terminal.