Structures and methods for capturing data from data bit streams

Abstract

Structures and methods are provided for capturing data from a data bit stream. They primarily generate successive bit sample sequences that each comprise N interleaved bit sample phases, identify subsampling strings formed of less than N consecutive bit samples with the same bit sample value, invalidate the bit sample phase of any bit sample that adjoins the strings, and then form data with successive bit sample phases that remain valid after the invalidating step. From more than one valid bit sample phases, they identify a preferred valid bit sample phase as one whose bit samples least often adjoin transitions from one bit sample value to a different bit sample value and then form the data with the preferred valid bit sample phase. Preferably, copies of the bit sample sequences are delayed along a delay path to facilitate the identifying and invalidating steps and subsequently, valid bit sample phases are multiplexed from the delay path.