Patent ID: 7110473

Claim:
A mode controller for determining a desired operation mode for acquisition or tracking of an incoming data signal, comprising: a data dependence removal element for receiving the incoming data signal and outputting a data-independent signal that indicates a strength of the incoming data signal independent of data contained in the incoming data signal; a signal path comprising a first processor for manipulating the data-independent signal to determine a first intermediate signal; and a first non-linear function element for performing a non-linear function on the first intermediate signal to determine a signal parameter; a noise-related path, comprising a second non-linear function element for performing a non-linear function on the data-independent signal to determine a second intermediate signal; a second processor for manipulating the second intermediate signal to determine a noise-related parameter; and a third processor for processing the signal parameter and the noise-related parameter to determine a mode-controlling parameter indicative of the relative signal strength of the incoming data signal.