Automatic gain control circuit for a modem receiver

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic gain control circuit for a modem receiver that improves gain tracking for a large range of twisted pair loops.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic gain control circuit for a modem receiver that improves gain ripple after modem convergence to minimize noise contribution.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided an automatic gain control circuit for a modem receiver, said receiver having an analog automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier to attenuate an input signal X prior to being digitized to a signal Y by an analog-to-digital converter, said automatic gain control circuit comprising: a programmable loop gain for scaling the signal Y to a first prescribed level during a first mode of operation and to a second prescribed level during a second mode of operation; and means for converting the scaled signal Y into an analog gain control signal for input to the analog AGC.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an automatic gain control circuit for a modem receiver, said receiver having an analog automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier to attenuate an input signal X prior to being digitized to a signal Y by an analog-to-digital converter, said automatic gain control circuit comprising: (a) means for obtaining an AGC signal from the signal Y; (b) means for subtracting the AGC signal from a prescribed reference signal to form a delta signal; (c) scaling means for reducing the delta signal by a prescribed value; (d) an integrator for integrating the scaled delta signal to form an AGC level control signal; and (e) conversion means for converting the AGC level control signal to an analog AGC control signal for the analog AGC amplifier to attenuate the input signal X.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided an a method of attenuating an input signal X in an automatic gain control circuit of a modem receiver, said receiver having an analog automatic gain control (AGC) amplifier to attenuate the input signal X prior to being digitized to a signal Y by an analog-to-digital converter, the method comprising the steps of: (a) scaling the signal Y to a first prescribed level during a first mode of operation and to a second prescribed level during a second mode of operation; and (b) converting the scaled signal Y into an analog gain control signal for input to the analog AGC