Patent ID: 8270463

Claim:
An apparatus including an adaptive signal equalizer for data signals with higher and lower data rates, comprising: first signal equalization circuitry responsive to at least an incoming data signal and a first equalization control signal by selectively filtering said incoming data signal to provide a first equalized data signal with a first equalization; second signal equalization circuitry coupled to said first signal equalization circuitry and responsive to at least said first equalized data signal and a second equalization control signal by selectively filtering said first equalized data signal to provide a second equalized data signal with a second equalization; signal slicing circuitry coupled to said first and second signal equalization circuitries and responsive to at least said first and second equalized data signals by slicing said first and second equalized data signals to provide first and second sliced data signals; and control circuitry coupled to said first and second signal equalization circuitries and said signal slicing circuitry, and responsive to at least said first and second equalized data signals and said first and second sliced data signals by providing said at least first and second equalization control signals and selecting one of said first and second sliced data signals as an output data signal, wherein said first sliced data signal is selected as said output data signal when said incoming data signal has a data rate greater than a predetermined data rate, and said second sliced data signal is selected as said output data signal when said incoming data signal has a data rate less than said predetermined data rate, and wherein: said first equalization comprises a first plurality of available DC-based signal boosts and a first plurality of available AC-based signal boosts; said second equalization comprises a second plurality of available DC-based signal boosts and a second plurality of available AC-based signal boosts; said first plurality of available DC-based signal boosts is greater than said second plurality of available DC-based signal boosts; and said first plurality of available AC-based signal boosts is greater than said second plurality of available AC-based signal boosts.