Method and apparatus for low current RF signal detection

摘要

A low signal detection circuit for use in an electronic tolling system which wakes up a receiver circuit associated with the tolling system based upon the type of signal received. An RF signal transmitted by the electronic tolling system is Manchester encoded and will therefore have a frequency within predetermined values. The system will detect the incoming RF signals or count the rising and falling edges of the baseband signal and apply the counts to a threshold circuit which will compare the number of counts to a predetermined value. If the number of counts falls within a predetermined range, then a signal indicating the presence of a valid RF signal will be output from the wake-up circuit. A power management circuit receives a clock signal from an oscillator circuit and provides a power signal which will wake up the detection circuitry for only a minimum predetermined period of time.