Patent ID: 7466771

Claim:
A method for deriving data from a composite signal by processing multiple blocks of symbols, the method comprising: (a) receiving a composite signal comprising contributions from a plurality of individual signals transmitted over different paths, the plurality of individual signals being used to represent a common data sequence such that each of the individual signals corresponds to a data sequence that is a version of the common data sequence; (b) for each individual signal, calculating soft values of a first type over a block of symbols by taking into account the received composite signal and soft values of a second type, wherein for each symbol, a soft value of the first type is calculated for each possible symbol value of the symbol; (c) generating symbol outputs by taking into account the soft values of the first type from the different individual signals; (d) for each individual signal, calculating soft values of the second type over the block of symbols by taking into account the symbol outputs, wherein for each symbol, a soft value of the second type is calculated for each possible symbol value of the symbol; (e) feeding back the soft values of the second type for subsequent calculations of the soft values of the first type; (f) iteratively updating the soft values of the first type, the symbol outputs, and the soft values of the second type by repeating steps (b), (c), (d), and (e); (g) deriving data using the updated symbol outputs; and (h) wherein multiple blocks of symbols are so processed, and wherein adjacent blocks of symbols partially overlap one another.