Method, article of manufacture and system to determine a bit rate of a signal

1. A signal bit rate determination method, comprising:

determining durations, each duration corresponding to time elapsed between detection of a first logical event of a signal and a second logical event of the signal;

selecting a first duration from the durations, and incrementing a first counter for each occurrence of the first duration to provide a first total value;

incrementing a second counter for each occurrence of a second duration to provide a second total value, the second duration corresponding to the selected first duration plus a time interval;

determining a bit rate of the signal using a weighted average corresponding to the first and the second total values.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining one of the durations includes counting time intervals between detection of the first logical event and detection of the second logical event.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first logical event is detected by sensing a leading edge of a pulse corresponding to the signal.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second logical event is detected by sensing a leading edge of a pulse corresponding to the signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first duration is the shortest duration among the plurality of durations.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bit rate is a mathematical inverse of one-half of the weighted average.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bit rate is a mathematical inverse of the weighted average.

8. A signal bit rate determination method, comprising:

determining a plurality of durations, each duration corresponding to time elapsed between detection of a first logical event of a signal and detection of a second logical event of the signal;

selecting a first duration from among the plurality of durations;

counting durations among the plurality of durations corresponding to the selected first duration to provide a first total value;

counting durations among the plurality of durations corresponding to a second duration to provide a second total value, the second duration corresponding to the first duration plus a time interval;

determining a weighted average for the first and the second total values, and for the first and the second durations; and

setting a bit rate of the signal using the weighted average.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first duration is the shortest of the plurality of durations.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining one of the plurality of durations includes counting time intervals between detection of the first logical event and detection of the second logical event.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first logical event is detected by sensing a leading edge of a pulse corresponding to the signal.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the second logical event is detected by sensing a leading edge of a pulse corresponding to the signal.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining whether the first total value is less than a threshold value; and

if the first total value is less than the threshold value, then selecting another duration from among the plurality of durations, the another duration being the next shortest of the plurality of durations.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining the first total value includes:

setting a counter to zero; and

evaluating each duration of the plurality of durations to determine whether each duration is approximately equivalent to the selected first duration, and incrementing a counter for each duration that is approximately equivalent to the first duration.

15. The method of claim 8 , wherein determining the weighted average includes:

multiplying the selected first duration by the first total value to provide a first product;

multiplying the second duration by the second total value to provide a second product;

adding the first product and the second product to provide a sum of the products;

adding the first total value and the second total value to provide a sum of the total values; and

dividing the sum of the products by the sum of the total values to determine the weighted average.

16. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bit rate is approximately equivalent to a mathematical inverse of one-half of the weighted average.

17. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bit rate is a mathematical inverse of the weighted average.

18. The method of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of durations are determined prior to counting those durations that are approximately equivalent to the selected first duration.

19. The method of claim 8 , wherein counting those durations that are approximately equivalent to the selected first duration begins prior to counting a last of the plurality of durations.

20. The method of claim 8 , wherein a mathematical inverse of the weighted average is used to set the bit rate of the signal.

21. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code instructions embodied therein for causing a computer to determine a bit rate of a signal, the instructions having:

a computer readable program code module to determine durations, each duration corresponding to time elapsed between detection of a first logical event of the signal and detection of a second logical event of the signal;

a computer readable program code module to select a first duration from among the plurality of durations;

a computer readable program code module to count durations among the plurality of durations corresponding to the selected first duration to provide a first total value;

a computer readable program code module to count those durations corresponding to a second duration to provide a second total value, the second duration corresponding to the selected first duration plus a time interval;

a computer readable program code module to determine a weighted average for the first and the second total values, and for the first duration and the second duration; and

a computer readable program code module to set a bit rate of the signal using a weighted average.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the first duration is the shortest of the plurality of durations.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the computer readable program code instructions for causing the computer to determine a plurality of durations include a computer readable program code module for counting time intervals occurring between detection of the first logical event and detection of the second logical event.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the instructions further include a computer readable program code module to cause a computer to determine whether the first total value is less than a threshold value, and if the first total value is less than the threshold value, the computer selects another duration from among the plurality of durations, the another duration being the next shortest of the plurality of durations.

25. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the computer readable program code module to cause the computer to count durations and provide the first total value includes:

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to set a counter to zero;

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to evaluate each duration of the plurality of durations to determine whether each duration is approximately equivalent to the selected first duration; and

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to increment a counter for each duration that is approximately equivalent to the selected first duration.

26. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the computer readable program code module to cause the computer to determine the weighted average includes:

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to multiply the selected first duration by the first total value to provide a first product;

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to multiply the second duration by the second total value to provide a second product;

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to add the first product and the second product to provide a sum of the products;

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to add the first total value to the second total value to provide a sum of the total values; and

a computer readable program code module to cause the computer to divide the sum of the products by the sum of the total values to determine the weighted average.

27. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein a mathematical inverse of the weighted average is used to set the bit rate of the signal.

28. A bit rate determining system, comprising a computer connected to a transmission line carrying a signal having logical events, the logical events including logical ones and logical zeros, the computer having software running thereon, the software being capable of instructing the computer to:

determine durations, each duration corresponding to time elapsed between detection of a first logical event of the signal and a second logical event of the signal;

select a first duration from the durations, and increment a first counter for each occurrence of the first duration to provide a first total value;

increment a second counter for each occurrence of a second duration to provide a second total value, the second duration corresponding to the selected first duration plus a time interval;

determine a bit rate of the signal using a weighted average corresponding to the first and the second total values.

29. The system of claim 28 , wherein the computer has a system clock and the computer determines one of the durations by counting time intervals identified by the system clock.

30. The system of claim 28 , wherein at least one of the logical events is detected by sensing a leading edge of a pulse corresponding to the signal.