High Resolution Encoding Circuit and Process for Analog to Digital Conversion

PatentAn analog-to-digital converter in which an analog input signal is folded by a plurality of folding circuits whose moduli, and hence half folding periods, are mutually prime with respect to one another. Each folding circuit has an associated comparator ladder having one less comparator than the modulus of the folding circuit. The collective output of the ladders, i,e, the states of the comparators in the ladders, uniquely corresponds to input signal magnitude over a dynamic range equal to the product of the folding circuits' moduli, permitting a greater dynamic range for the converter for the number of comparators used