Patent ID: RE40810

Claim:
A method of synchronizing with a transmitted signal, said method comprising: receiving said transmitted signal, wherein said signal comprises a periodic information bearing point, at an information rate and wherein an information period is the inverse of said information rate; sampling said signal at a sampling rate greater than said information rate; down sampling from said sampling rate wherein more than N sample points are sampled per information period to a filtering rate of N sample points per information period prior to step of filtering each of N sample points; during a first predetermined number of information periods, filtering each of N sample points for each information bearing point with a pulse-shaping filter and outputting a filtered signal; measuring a variable of said filtered signal at each of said N sample points, wherein said variable is independent of information content in said signal; determining the location of said information bearing point in said signal based on said information content-independent variable; identifying one of the N sample points that most closely corresponds to said information bearing point in said signal; synchronizing processing of said signal with said information bearing point; and during a second number of subsequent information periods, filtering a subset of the N sample points for each subsequent information period, the subset of the N sample points including the identified one of the N sample points.