System and method of interleaving transmitted data

A method of operating an interleaver circuit having N shift lines, each of the N shift lines having a shift line input node, a shift line output node, and one or more bit storage elements operating to perform a bit shifting operation between a respective shift line input node and a respective shift line output node, the method comprising:

• storing data bits in each of the bit storage elements in an interleaved pattern;
• sequentially connecting the interleaver output node to respective shift line output nodes to shift stored data bits from the bit storage elements of corresponding shift lines to form an output data stream, such that the interleaver output node is only ever connected to shift lines containing stored data;
• wherein a don't-care bit is shifted into a bit storage element in corresponding shift lines as each of the stored data bits are shifted out,
• wherein at least two of the N shift lines have a different number of the bit storage elements.

An interleaver circuit, comprising:

• N shift lines, each of the N shift lines including zero or more bit-storage elements;
• a first switch having a first input node and N first output nodes connected to first ends of the N shift lines, respectively, operating to selectively connect the first input node to one of the N first output nodes;
• an second switch having N second input nodes connected to second ends of the N shift lines, respectively, and a second output node, operating to selectively connect one of the N second input nodes to the second output node;
• and
• a controller for providing first control signals to direct first connections in the first switch, and second control signals to direct second connections in the second switch,
• wherein the controller can control the second switch to cycle through connecting the second output node with fewer than all of the N second input nodes, before repeating a node connection, and
• wherein at least two of the N shift lines have a different number of the bit storage elements.