Patent ID: 7720134

Claim:
A method for canceling interference at a wireless code division multiple access (CDMA) communication receiver, the wireless CDMA communication receiver receiving a stream of chips generated by spreading data symbols formed by grouping bits of information at a wireless CDMA communication transmitter which are broadcast at a certain chip-rate, the method comprising: formatting the stream of chips into distinct blocks of chips at the wireless CDMA communication transmitter; spreading each data symbol within the stream of chips, and then interleaving the stream of chips before broadcasting; and performing an iterative block decision feedback equalization at the wireless CDMA communication receiver in a frequency domain at the chip-rate of the stream of chips to remove inter-symbol interference by defining a transfer function of feed-forward filters and feedback filters based upon iteration cycles as a function of data detected in a preceding iteration cycle, the iterative block decision feedback equalization being linear equalization when no feedback is available and being non-linear equalization when feedback is available; and de-spreading the stream of chips after the equalization, and reconstructing the symbols pertaining to this and other CDMA communication transmitters being reconstructed; with a first iteration of the iterative block decision feedback equalization being a linear equalization before the de-spreading and having an inactive feedback signal associated therewith, and with subsequent iterations of the iterative block decision feedback equalization being a non-linear equalization after the de-spreading and having active feedback signals associated therewith.