Patent ID: 7480852

Claim:
A method for improving the decoding efficiency in a wireless receiver to obtain a correct decoded data string, the method comprising: generating a state metric matrix of a received codeword, wherein the state metric matrix comprises state metrics of one or more time instances associated with the received codeword; calculating a differential metric matrix that represents differences in the metrics for one or more time instances in the state metric matrix; identifying a maximum likelihood path and one or more alternative paths based on the differential metric matrix; deriving a first decoded data string corresponding to the maximum likelihood path; deriving a second decoded data string for each of the one or more alternative paths, respectively; examining the an integrity the first decoded data string to determine if the first decoded data string is erroneous; examining the an integrity each of the second decoded data strings if the first decoded data string is determined to be erroneous; and deriving a correct decoded data string based on the first decoded data string and the second decoded data strings.