Patent ID: 7274743

Claim:
A method for performing bit allocation in a multi-channel communication system, comprising the step of: measuring a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each subchannel of a channel; determining a greatest allocable bit number of each subchannel using the measured SNR of the subchannels, and determining a sum of the greatest allocable bit numbers of the subchannels; determining a difference between the sum of the greatest allocable bit numbers of the subchannels and a target bit number; for each subchannel, setting a currently allocated bit number of the subchannel equal to the greatest allocable bit number of the subchannel, if the difference between the sum of the greatest allocable bit numbers an the target bit number is less than or equal to a predetermined value; for each subchannel, setting a currently allocated bit number of the subchannel to a value that is reduced from the greatest allocable bit number of the subchannel by a predetermined ratio, if the difference between the sum of the greatest allocable bit numbers and the target bit number is greater than the predetermined value; and adjusting the currently allocated bit numbers of one or more subchannels until a sum of the currently allocated bit numbers is equal to the target bit number.