Patent ID: 7673224

Claim:
An apparatus having a Viterbi decoder, comprising: a first memory having an input and an output; a second memory having an input and an output, the input coupling to the output of the first memory; an equality detector having an output and an input, the input coupling to the output of the first memory; a first FIFO memory having an input and an output, the input coupling to the output of the equality detector; a second FIFO memory having an input and an output, the input coupling to the input of the second memory; and a first multiplexer having two inputs, a select input, and an output, a first one of the two inputs coupling to the output of the second FIFO, a second one of the two inputs coupling to the output of the second memory, and the select input coupling to the output of the first FIFO; wherein the first and second memories are adapted to store survivor state data, and the output of the first multiplexer is an output of the Viterbi decoder.