Data transmission

• US 20060050808A1
• Filed: 09/02/2005
• Published: 03/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony United Kingdom Limited (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony United Kingdom Limited (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Page, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 7,817,650 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/295
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/05 Electric or magnetic storage of signals before transmitting or retransmitting for changing the transmission rate

Abstract

A data communication transmitting node is provided, the transmitting node comprising: a plurality of buffers for storing data from a respective plurality of input data streams; means for monitoring an occupancy level of each of the plurality of buffers to detect if the occupancy level is sufficient to provide a complete data block to the transmission stream; and a transmission controller operable to select, in turn, a buffer from the plurality of buffers to output a data block to a transmission data stream, the selection being performed according to a buffer selection order. If the buffer selected by the transmission controller is detected to have an insufficient occupancy level when selected, a dummy data block is supplied to the data transmission stream in place of a data block from the selected buffer.

Claims

1. A data communication system comprising:

a plurality of buffers for storing data from a respective plurality of input data streams;

logic to monitor an occupancy level of each of said plurality of buffers to detect if said occupancy level is sufficient to provide a complete data block to said transmission stream; and

a transmission controller to select, in turn, a buffer from said plurality of buffers to output a data block to a transmission data stream, said selection being performed according to a buffer selection order;

in which, if said buffer selected by said transmission controller is detected to have an insufficient occupancy level when selected, a dummy data block is supplied to said data transmission stream in place of a data block from said selected buffer.

2. A data communication system according to claim 1, in which said buffer selection order is cyclic.

3. A data communication system according to claim 1, comprising a block label generator operable to associate with said data block, a block label comprising an input stream identifier.

4. A data communication system according to claim 3, in which said block label comprises synchronisation information.

5. A data communication system according to claim 1, in which said plurality of input data streams comprise input data streams each having a respective data format selected from a group of different data formats.

6. A data communication system according to claim 1, in which said plurality of input data streams comprise audio data.

7. A data communication system according to claim 1, in which said plurality of input data streams comprise input data streams each having a respective data sampling rate selected from a group of different data sampling rates.

8. A data communication system according to claim 1, comprising a frame header generator operable to generate header data associated with a plurality of data blocks and operable to add said header data to said plurality of data blocks to form a data frame for output to said transmission data stream.

9. A data communication system according to claim 8, in which said header data comprises timing information for a plurality of base clocks.

10. A data communication system according to claim 9, comprising a generator to generate configuration data for output to said transmission data stream.

11. A data communication system according to claim 10, in which said configuration data comprises data specifying a particular one of said plurality of base clocks to be associated with each of said plurality of input data streams.

12. A data communication system according to claim 10, in which said configuration data comprises a sample rate multiplier specifying a relationship between said particular base clock and said sampling rate of said associated input data stream.

13. A data communication system according to claim 10, in which said configuration data comprises data specifying a data format associated with each of said plurality of input data streams.

14. A data communication system according to claim 1, in which said transmission controller is operable to supply said transmission data stream across a physical layer of a communication link using a predetermined communication protocol.

15. A data communication system according to claim 14, in which said predetermined communication protocol is Gigabit Ethernet.

16. A transmitting method for use in a data communication system, said method comprising the steps of:

storing data from a respective plurality of input data streams in a plurality of buffers;

monitoring an occupancy level of each of said plurality of buffers to detect if said occupancy level is sufficient to provide a complete data block to said transmission stream; and

selecting, in turn, a buffer from said plurality of buffers to output a data block to a transmission data stream, said selection being performed according to a buffer selection order so that if said buffer selected by said transmission controller is detected to have an insufficient occupancy level when selected, a dummy data block is supplied to said data transmission stream in place of a data block from said selected buffer.

17. A programmable logic device for use with a plurality of input data streams stored in a respective plurality of buffers, said device being programmed so as to implement a method comprising the steps of:

monitoring an occupancy level of each of said plurality of buffers to detect if said occupancy level is sufficient to provide a complete data block to said transmission stream; and

selecting, in turn, a buffer from said plurality of buffers to output a data block to a transmission data stream, said selection being performed according to a buffer selection order so that if said buffer selected by said transmission controller is detected to have an insufficient occupancy level when selected, a dummy data block is supplied to said data transmission stream in place of a data block from said selected buffer.