Communication Device, Signal Encoding/Decoding Method

• US 20080167865A1
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Published: 07/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: III Holdings 12, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Kaoru, Yamanashi, Tomofumi, Mori, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,653,539 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/226
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/24 Variable rate codecs, e.g. for generating different qualities using a scalable representation such as hierarchical encoding or layered encoding

Abstract

There is provided a communication device for effectively encoding an audio/music signal while maintaining a predetermined quality by controlling the transmission bit rate of the transmission side considering the use environment of the reception side. In this device, a transmission mode decision unit (101) detects an environment noise contained in the background of the audio/music signal in the input signal and decides the transmission mode controlling the transmission bit rate of the signal transmitted from a communication terminal device (150), which is a communication terminal of the partner side, according to the environment noise level. A signal decoding unit (103) decodes encoded information transmitted from the communication terminal device (150) via a transmission path (110) and outputs the obtained signal as an output signal. Here, the signal decoding unit (103) detects a transmission error by comparing the transmission mode information contained in the encoded information outputted from the transmission path (110), to the transmission mode information obtained by the transmission mode decision unit (101) while considering the transmission delay.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A communication apparatus comprising:

a transmission mode determining section that determines a second transmission mode for controlling a transmission bit rate of an input signal of said communication apparatus based on a level of ambient noise included in the input signal at the communication apparatus and a first transmission mode for controlling a transmission bit rate of a signal transmitted from the communication apparatus according to a level of ambient noise included in an input signal at an apparatus of a communicating party and; and

a coding section that performs coding on the input signal at a transmission bit rate corresponding to said second transmission mode and transmits an information source code obtained through the coding and said second transmission mode to the apparatus of the communicating party.

17. The communication apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the transmission mode determining section calculates a maximum value and minimum value of a power value of the input signal for a predetermined time and detects the level of ambient noise included in the input signal using at least one of the maximum value and minimum value of said power value.

18. The communication apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the transmission mode determining section carries out processing of determining a transmission mode when a difference between the detected level of ambient noise and a previously detected level is greater than a predetermined threshold.

15. A communication apparatus comprising:

a decoding section that decodes an information source code obtained through coding at an apparatus of a communicating party;

a transmission mode determining section that determines a transmission mode for controlling a transmission bit rate of an input signal according to a level of ambient noise in the signal decoded at said decoding section; and

a coding section that performs coding on said input signal at a transmission bit rate corresponding to the transmission mode determined at said transmission mode determining section and transmits the information source code obtained through the coding and said transmission mode to the apparatus of the communicating party.

16. A communication apparatus comprising:

a decoding section that decodes an information source code obtained through coding at an apparatus of a communicating party;

a transmission mode determining section that determines a transmission mode for controlling a transmission bit rate of said input signal based on a level of ambient noise included in an input signal and a level of ambient noise of the signal decoded at said decoding section; and

a coding section that performs coding on said input signal at a transmission bit rate corresponding to the transmission mode determined at said transmission mode determining section and transmits the information source code obtained through the coding and said transmission mode to the apparatus of the communicating party.

19. A signal coding/decoding method whereby a first communication apparatus and a second communication apparatus carry out radio communication, said second communication apparatus transmits an information source code obtained by coding an input signal to said first communication apparatus and said first communication apparatus decodes said information source code, the method comprising:

at the first communication apparatus, determining a transmission mode for controlling a transmission bit rate of a signal transmitted from the second communication apparatus according to a level of ambient noise included in the input signal and transmitting said transmission mode to said second communication apparatus;

at the second communication apparatus, coding the input signal at a transmission bit rate corresponding to the transmission mode determined by said first communication apparatus and transmitting the information source code obtained through the coding to said first communication apparatus; and

at the first communication apparatus, decoding the information source code at said transmission bit rate transmitted from said second communication apparatus.