Carrier recovery arrangement for sixteen-state amplitude and phase modulation and receiving system for digital data, comprising such an arrangement

Claim 1

A carrier recovery arrangement in a receiving system for digital data which are transmitted by means of sixteen-state amplitude and phase modulation (16 QAM), characterized in that this arrangement comprises successively: (A) an assembly of six parallel paths each including a series arrangement of a multiplying circuit and a low-pass filter, said assembly receiving the output signal from the transmission channel for producing six respective signals grouped sequentially as three pairs of signals (p(t), q(t)), (r(t), s(t)), (u(t), v(t)); (B) selection circuit means comprising an amplitude-and-sign detection circuit receiving a second pair in said three pairs of signals (r(t), s(t)) at the outputs of the respective low-pass filters for producing a digital signal α, which digital signal is equal to 1 or 0 depending on whether or not the value of r(t) 2 +s(t) 2 is located between two predetermined threshold values, and for producing a digital signal β, which digital signal is also equal to 1 or 0 in accordance with the value of the expression {sgn (r(t))⊕sgn (s(t))}⊕sgn{|r(t)|-|s(t)|} where sgn denotes the sign and ⊕ is the Exclusive-OR-operator, and a cascade arrangement of a switching circuit and a Costas signal processing means, said cascade arrangement receiving said three pairs of signals from said assembly and said digital signals α and β from said detection circuit for selectively producing an error signal representative of the phase error of the received signal in response to one of said three pairs of signals, the selection being effected by said switching circuit depending on the values of said digital signals α and β; (C) a phase control circuit comprising a voltage-controlled oscillator and a filter for applying said error signal as a control voltage to said oscillator; and (D) a phase-shifting circuit for coupling the output signal of said oscillator to respective second inputs of said multiplying circuits, this output signal coupling being effected with phase shifts, in sequence, of zero, π/2, θ, θ+π/2, 2θ and 2θ+π/2, θ being equal to tan -1 (1/2).