Patent ID: 7434115

Claim:
A decoder that operates on data represented in a sequence of received symbols, wherein the sequence of received symbols comprises a source sequence of symbols and a first and a second sequence of codewords, comprising: primary decoding means for decoding the first sequence of codewords in combination with the source sequence of symbols to produce a sequence of primary decoded symbols; interleaving means for performing intra-block and inter-block permutations on, respectively, the source sequence of symbols and the sequence of primary decoded symbols to produce, respectively, a sequence of interleaved symbols and a sequence of intermediate symbols; secondary decoding means for decoding the second sequence of codewords in combination with the sequence of interleaved symbols and the sequence of intermediate symbols to produce a sequence of secondary decoded symbols; and de-interleaving means for performing inter-block and intra-block permutations on the sequence of secondary decoded symbols to produce a sequence of estimated symbols, said decoder not including means for providing the sequence of deinterleaved secondary decoded symbols to the primary decoder means.