Patent ID: 7818649

Claim:
An iterative error correcting decoder operable to decode a codeword, the codeword consisting of a plurality of N-bit messages, the iterative error correcting decoder comprising: a first set of nodes each having N bits of resolution; and a second set of nodes each having N bits of resolution, each node of the second set of nodes being coupled to at least one node of the first set of nodes, each node of the second set of nodes being coupled to a node of the first set of nodes by a corresponding set of M wires, wherein each node of the first set of nodes is operable to transfer the bits of a given N-bit message of the codeword over the corresponding set of M wires to a coupled node of the second set of nodes during a single iteration cycle, each of the M wires carrying i bits, where N is an integer greater than M, and N=M*i, wherein the first set of nodes and the second set of nodes implement a difference data transmission scheme in which each of the first set of nodes and each of the second set of nodes transmits only a first signal for those bits of a given N-bit message that have been changed, and transmits a second signal, different than the first signal, for those bits of the N-bit message that have not changed.