Patent ID: 6985534

Claim:
A device for transmitting information over a plurality of partial channels which have different transmission characteristics and which together form a transmission channel, comprising: a unit for grouping ( 102 ) the information as assigned to the partial channels; a unit for coding ( 103 a ) information assigned to a first set of partial channels by means of a first coding method to obtain a first set of coded information symbols, where a first coded information symbol of the first set of coded information symbols has a first amount of information assigned to said first coded information symbol; a unit for coding ( 103 b ) information assigned to a second set of partial channels by means of a second coding method to obtain a second set of coded information symbols, where a second coded information symbol of the second set of coded information symbols has a second amount of information assigned to said second coded information symbol which differs from the first amount of information; a unit for combining ( 104 a ) the coded information symbols of the first set according to a first combination specification so as to generate a first set of combined coded information symbols equal in number to the number of partial channels of the first set of partial channels; a unit for combining ( 104 b ) the coded information symbols of the second set according to a second combination specification so as to generate a second set of combined coded information symbols equal in number to the number of partial channels of the second set of partial channels; and a unit for assigning ( 106 ) the combined coded information symbols of the first set to the first set of partial channels and for assigning the combined coded information symbols of the second set to the second set of partial channels in such a way that each partial channel has a combined coded information symbol assigned to said each partial channel, that each partial channel of the first set of partial channels has the whole information of the information symbols of the first set assigned to said each partial channel of the first set of partial channels, and that each partial channel of the second set of partial channels has the whole information of the information symbols of the second set assigned to said each partial channel of the second set of partial channels; where both the first and the second set of partial channels have at least one partial channel whose signal-to-noise ratio without combining would be lower than a threshold signal-to-noise ratio that is minimally necessary for the coding method used by the set to which this partial channel belongs in order to achieve a predetermined reliability when decoding the information symbols, and whose signal-to-noise ratio as a result of combining is greater than or equal to the threshold signal-to-noise ratio.