Patent ID: 7039104

Claim:
An apparatus including fractionally-spaced signal taps for use in an adaptive signal equalizer in which an equalization feedback signal adaptively equalizes a data signal to form a pre-slicer data signal that is sliced to provide a post-slicer data signal, comprising: a first signal terminal that conveys a first data signal corresponding to a post-slicer data signal and having a data symbol period associated therewith; a second signal terminal that conveys a second data signal corresponding to said first data signal and delayed by a fraction of said data symbol period; fractional delay circuitry, coupled between said first and second signal terminals, that receives and delays said first data signal to provide said second data signal; signal weighting circuitry, coupled to said first and second signal terminals, that receives first and second weighting signals and in response thereto receives and weights said first and second data signals to provide first and second weighted signals; and signal combining circuitry, coupled to said signal weighting circuitry, that receives and combines said first and second weighted signals to provide an equalization feedback signal; wherein said first weighting signal corresponds to a product of a selected weighting factor and a correlation factor, and said second weighting signal corresponds to a product of said selected weighting factor and a difference between a normalized factor and said correlation factor.