Method and apparatus for allocation of information to channels of a communication system

• US 20050259613A1
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Nanda, Sanjiv, Garudadri, Harinath, Sagetong, Phoom
• Granted Patent: US 8,855,059 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/36 by determining packet size, e.g. maximum transfer unit [MTU]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/161 Implementation details of TCP/IP or UDP/IP stack architecture; Specification of modified or new header fields
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/166 IP fragmentation; TCP segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/321 Interlayer communication protocols or service data unit [SDU] definitions; Interfaces between layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/102 characterised by the element, parameter or selection affected or controlled by the adaptive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/115 Selection of the code volume for a coding unit prior to coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/124 Quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/152 by measuring the fullness of the transmission buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/164 Feedback from the receiver or from the transmission channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/174 the region being a slice, e.g. a line of blocks or a group of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 : involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 : communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 : Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64707 : for transferring content from a first network to a second network, e.g. between IP and wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 : Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/065 : using assembly or disassembly of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/044 : based on the type of the allocated resource
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1263 : Mapping of traffic onto schedule, e.g. scheduled allocation or multiplexing of flows
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 : Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/04 : Large scale networks; Deep hierarchical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 : Terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/181 : Transcoding devices; Rate adaptation devices

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are described for improving the transmission of information over wireless communication channels. These techniques include determining available communication channels for transmitting information and determining possible physical layer packet sizes of the available channels. An information unit is partitioned into portions wherein the size of the portions are selected so as to match one of the physical layer packet sizes of the available communication channels. Another aspect is partitioning the information into a number of slices that correspond to the number of transmissions that occur during the information unit interval and assigning each partition to a corresponding transmission. The techniques can be used for various types of information, such as multimedia data, variable bit rate data streams, video data, or audio data. The techniques can also be used with various over the air interfaces, such as, Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), or standards based on CDMA such as TIA/EIA-95-B (IS-95), TIA/EIA-98-C (IS-98), IS2000, HRPD, cdma2000, Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), and others.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting information over a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

determining a number of transmissions in a wireless communication system that occur during an interval of an information unit; and

partitioning the information unit into slices, wherein the number of slices is equal to, or less than, the number of transmissions during the interval of the information unit.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein partitioning the information unit comprises an encoder with a rate control module.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the information unit comprises a variable bit rate data stream.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the information unit comprises video data.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the information unit comprises audio data.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication system is a CDMA system.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication system transmits data in time slots.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

determining possible physical layer data packet sizes of available communication channels; and

constraining the slices such that they have a size that does not exceed at least one of the physical layer data packet sizes of the available communication channels.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication system is a GSM system.

10. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication system is an EDGE system.

11. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the communication system is a GPRS system.

12. A method of transmitting information over a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

determining a number of transmissions in available communication channels that occur during an interval of an information unit;

determining possible physical layer data packet sizes of the available channels; and

partitioning the information unit into slices, wherein the number of slices is equal to, or less than, the number of transmissions during the interval of the information unit, and the size of the slices are selected so as not to exceed one of the physical layer data packet sizes of the available communication channels.

13. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein partitioning information comprises a source encoder equipped with a rate controlled module capable of generating partitions of varying size.

14. A method as defined in claim 12 further comprising a plurality of information units wherein the information units occur at a fixed rate.

15. A method as defined in claim 14, wherein the plurality of information units are frames of information.

16. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the information unit comprises a variable bit rate data stream.

17. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the information unit comprises multimedia data.

18. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the information unit comprises video data.

19. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the information unit comprises audio data.

20. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication channels are CDMA channels.

21. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication channels are GSM channels.

22. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication channels are EDGE channels.

23. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication channels are GPRS channels.

24. A method as defined in claim 12, wherein the communication channels are time slot channels.

25. A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising constraining an encoder to partition the information unit into of slices, wherein the sizes of individual slices are equal to, or less than, the sizes of physical layer data packets.

26. A method as defined in claim 12, further comprising constraining an encoder to partition the information unit into of slices, wherein the number of slices is equal to, or less than, the number of transmissions during the interval of the information unit.

27. A method of transmitting information over a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

determining a number of transmissions in a wireless communication system that occur during an interval of an information unit interval; and

partitioning a plurality of information units into slices, wherein the number of slices is equal to, or less than, the number of transmissions during the plurality of information unit intervals.

28. A wireless communication device comprising:

a receiver configured to accept a plurality of communication channels; and

a decoder configured to accept the received plurality of communication channels and to decode the channels, wherein the decoded channels are accumulated to produce a multimedia stream of data.

29. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein a size of data packets received from the communication channels is estimated by the encoder.

30. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein a size of data packets received from the communication channels is indicated in additional signaling.

31. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the multimedia stream of data is a variable bit rate data stream.

32. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the multimedia stream is a video stream.

33. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the multimedia stream is a teleconference stream.

34. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the plurality of communication channels are CDMA channels.

35. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the plurality of communication channels are GSM channels.

36. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the plurality of communication channels are GPRS channels.

37. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 28, wherein the plurality of communication channels are EDGE channels.

38. A wireless communication device comprising:

a controller configured to determine physical layer packet sizes of available communication channels;

an encoder configured to partition data contained in an information unit into packets, wherein individual packet sizes are selected not to exceed one of the available physical layer packet sizes of the available communication channels.

39. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38 further comprising a transmitter configured to transmit the physical layer packets.

40. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the information unit comprises a variable bit rate data stream.

41. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the information unit comprises multimedia data.

42. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the information unit comprises video data.

43. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the information unit comprises audio data.

44. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, further comprising a plurality of information units.

45. A wireless device as defined in claim 44, wherein the plurality of information units occur at a constant rate.

46. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the plurality of communication channels are CDMA channels.

47. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the plurality of communication channels are GSM channels.

48. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the plurality of communication channels are GPRS channels.

49. A wireless communication device as defined in claim 38, wherein the plurality of communication channels are EDGE channels.

50. A computer readable media embodying a method of encoding data, the method comprising:

determining a number of transmissions in a wireless communication system that occur during an interval of an information unit;

partitioning the information unit into slices, wherein the number of slices is equal to, or less than, the number of transmissions during the interval of the information unit.

51. A computer readable media embodying a method of encoding data, the method comprising:

determining possible physical layer packet sizes of available communication channels;

determining a number of transmissions of the available communication channels that occur during an interval of an information unit; and

partitioning data contained in the information unit into slices, wherein the number of slices is equal to, or less than, the number of transmissions during the interval of the information unit and the size of the slices does not exceed a size of a physical layer packet.

52. A computer readable media embodying a method of decoding broadcast content, the method comprising:

accepting a plurality of constant bit rate communication channels; and

decoding the received plurality of communication channels and accumulating them to produce a variable bit rate multimedia stream of data.