Patent ID: 7656336

Claim:
A system for converting an analog signal value to a digital signal value, the system comprising: a sample and hold circuit that follows and then holds the analog signal value in response to a duration of one of a plurality of phase signals; a circuit for generating a ramp, starting at the held analog signal value and ending at a preset threshold, to convert the held analog signal value into a pulse having a starting and ending transition and a duration that is proportional to the magnitude of the analog signal value; a multiphase oscillator having a period of oscillation and providing the plurality of phase signals, each oscillating at the period of the multiphase oscillator; and a time-to-digital converter for converting the pulse into the digital signal value, wherein the time to-digital converter includes a counter that counts during the pulse the periods of the multiphase oscillator and a plurality of sampling elements that capture at the ending transition of the pulse the plurality of phase signals of the multiphase oscillator; wherein the counter and the plurality of sampling elements make up the digital signal value.