Patent Document ID: 20050259766
Application ID: 10851529
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. A method of path metric computation for estimating a maximum likelihood sequence in a wireless communication network, wherein a survival path per sample is determined according to channel impulse response of N samples in the path metric computation, the method comprising the following steps: calculating autocorrelation values S(n) of the channel impulse response corresponding to N samples (n ranges from 0 to N-1); comparing each of the autocorrelation values S(n) to a threshold; judging each of the autocorrelation values S(n) as a significant autocorrelation value if the autocorrelation value is greater than the threshold, else judging the autocorrelation value as insignificant; discarding the insignificant autocorrelation value; and determining the survival path with maximum path metric by considering only the significant autocorrelation values in the path metric computation.