US 11,750,208 B2
Analogue-to-digital converter (ADC)
Antony Sou, Sedgefield (GB); and Adrian Bratt, Sedgefield (GB)
Assigned to PRAGMATIC PRINTING LTD., Sedgefield (GB)
Appl. No. 17/600,684
Filed by PRAGMATIC PRINTING LTD., Sedgefield (GB)
PCT Filed Mar. 17, 2020, PCT No. PCT/GB2020/050685
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 1, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/208333, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 15, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1904931 (GB), filed on Apr. 8, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0173748 A1, Jun. 2, 2022
Int. Cl. H03M 1/34 (2006.01); H03M 1/52 (2006.01)
CPC H03M 1/34 (2013.01) [H03M 1/52 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A dual-slope analogue-to-digital converter (ADC), comprising:
an input signal terminal, configured to provide an analogue signal, and a reference signal terminal, configured to provide a predetermined reference signal;
an integrator, operatively coupled to said input signal terminal and said reference signal terminal via a first switch unit, said first switch unit being configured to selectively connect and disconnect said integrator to and from any one of said input signal terminal and said reference signal terminal;
a voltage supply, operatively coupled to said integrator and configured to selectively provide at least one first supply voltage to said integrator via a second switch unit;
a comparator, operatively coupled to an output of said integrator at a first comparator input and a predetermined threshold voltage at a second comparator input, configured to provide an actuation signal at a comparator output in accordance with a predetermined comparator logic;
a controller, adapted to control any one of said first switch unit and said second switch unit, and
said ADC being adapted to provide a first voltage to said integrator from said voltage supply, so as to integrate over a first time period a first current corresponding to one of said reference signal and said analogue signal, and, following said first time period, to provide a second voltage to said integrator from said voltage supply, so as to integrate over a second time period a second current corresponding to the other one of said reference signal and said analogue signal, in order to generate a digital output signal corresponding to said analogue signal, and wherein said first current and said second current flow in the same direction during respective said first time period and said second time period.