Comparator and methods for voting therewith

Abstract

A comparator comprising one or more first stage voters (,) operably coupled to a second stage voter (,), and methods of voting with the comparator. The first stage voters receive and vote among a number of instances of a signal (A,-A,, B,-B,), yielding respective first stage voted signals (C,, C,), and the second stage voter operates to receive and vote among the first stage voted signals, yielding a second stage voted signal. In alternative embodiments, the first stage voters independently determine (,) vote conclusion times (T,, T,) that are generally non-coincident, independently determine (,) vote conclusion times (T,, T,′) that are substantially coincident, or one of the first stage voters may determine (,) a common vote conclusion time (T,) which is communicated (,) to the other first stage voters. The respective vote conclusion times determines the time at which time the first stage voted signals are sent to the second stage voter. In another embodiment, the first stage voters receive (,) a plurality of instances of a signal, retrieve characteristic information including, for example, context group information (,) and error status (,) and determine the acceptability of the signals by determining, for example, whether the signals are of the proper context (,) and have a better error status (,) than a predetermined error threshold. Thereafter, the instances of the signal having a positive acceptability criteria may be sent to a second stage voter.