Patent ID: 7697635

Claim:
A receiver for a digital communication signal, comprising a first decision gate having a first decision threshold for outputting a first decision signal; a second decision gate having a second decision threshold for outputting a second decision signal; a counter for counting events where said first and second decision signals of said first and second decision gates differ from each other; and a controller capable of controlling the decision thresholds of said first and second decision gates in accordance with count values delivered by said counter, wherein said controller is operable to determine an initial decision threshold value by setting said first decision threshold to a maximum threshold value where the first decision signal is in low state for every bit in said received signal or to a minimum threshold value where the first decision signal is in high state for every bit in said received signal, performing counts using said counter for fixed time intervals at different values of said second decision threshold to determine a first measured threshold value where the corresponding count value per time interval approximates a first predetermined value and a second measured threshold value where the corresponding count value per time interval approximates a second predetermined value; and determining said initial threshold value as a mean value between said first and second measured threshold values.