SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADAPTIVELY ADJUSTING CODEC RATES FOR COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

• US 20090080423A1
• Filed: 09/24/2008
• Published: 03/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Synapse Wireless Incorporated (Mcwane Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Synapse Wireless Incorporated (Mcwane Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ewing, David B.
• Application Number:
  US12/237,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20090080423A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0014 by adapting the source coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0019 in which mode-switching is based on a statistical approach
• 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

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for adaptively controlling codec rates based on a quality of a communication link such that the codec rate used for data communicated over the communication link automatically changes as the quality of the communication link changes. In one exemplary embodiment, a high codec rate is enabled if the quality of the communication link is high. If a parameter indicative of a quality of the communication link falls below a threshold, the codec rate is decreased. Decreasing of the codec rate generally decreases the quality of the encoded voice data that is to be routed through the network. However, decreasing of the codec rate also decreases the amount of encoded data that is to be routed through the network. Therefore, when the codec rate is decreased, a higher percentage of the encoded data provided by the codec is likely to be received by an end device that is playing the voice data to a user resulting in an improved voice message.

Claims

1. A network node, comprising:

a transceiver;

a coding element having at least one codec, the coding element configured to receive voice data and to encode said voice data thereby providing encoded data at a first rate;

a protocol stack configured to packetize the encoded data thereby providing a plurality of data packets to be communicated through a channel of a network;

a transceiver configured to transmit the data packets through the channel; and

logic configured to determine a value indicative of a current quality of the channel, the logic configured to adaptively update the coding element based on the value such that the coding element provides the encoded data at a second rate that is different than the first rate.

2. The network node of claim 1, wherein the coding element comprises a first codec and a second codec, the first codec configured to encode data at the first rate and the second codec configured to decode data at the second rate, and wherein the logic is configured to enable the second codec and to disable the first codec based on the value.

3. The network node of claim 1, wherein the logic is configured to compare the value to a threshold.

4. The network node of claim 1, wherein the coding element comprises a first codec and a second codec, the first codec configured to encode data at the first rate and the second codec configured to decode data at the second rate, wherein the logic is configured to adaptively select, based on the value, one of the first and second codecs for encoding the voice data.

5. The network node of claim 1, wherein the logic is configured to determine the value based on acknowledgements received by the network node from other nodes of the network.

6. A network node, comprising:

a first codec configured to encode data at a first rate;

a second codec configured to encode data at a second rate that is different than said first rate;

a protocol stack;

a transceiver configured to communicate data packets through a channel of a network; and

logic configured to determine a value indicative of a current quality of the channel, the logic configured to adaptively select one of the first and second codecs for encoding voice data based on the value, wherein the selected codec is configured to encode the voice data thereby providing encoded data and to provide the encoded data to the stack, and wherein the protocol stack is configured to packetize the encoded data into a plurality of data packets for transmission by the transceiver through the channel.

7. The network node of claim 6, wherein the logic is configured to compare the value to a threshold.

8. The network node of claim 6, wherein the logic is configured to determine the value based on acknowledgements received by the network node from other nodes of the network.

9. A method for adaptively changing codec rates based on varying conditions for a network channel, comprising the steps of:

receiving voice data;

encoding the voice data for transmission through a network thereby providing encoded data;

packetizing the encoded data thereby providing a plurality of data packets;

transmitting the data packets through a channel of the network;

determining a value based on a current quality of the channel; and

adaptively adjusting a rate of the encoding step based on the value.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of comparing the value to a threshold, wherein the adjusting step is based on the comparing step.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of receiving acknowledgements from nodes of the network, wherein the determining step is based on the received acknowledgements.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the encoding step is performed by a first codec and a second codec, and wherein the method further comprises the step of adaptively selecting one of the first and second codecs for encoding the voice data based on the value, wherein the adjusting step is based on the selecting step.

13. A method for adaptively changing codec rates based on varying conditions for a network channel, comprising the steps of:

receiving voice data;

encoding, via a first codec, a first portion of the voice data for transmission through a network thereby providing first encoded data;

packetizing the first encoded data thereby providing a first plurality of data packets;

transmitting the first plurality of data packets through a channel of the network;

determining a value indicative of a quality of the channel during the transmitting step;

comparing the value to a threshold;

adaptively selecting, based on the comparing step, a second codec for encoding a second portion of the voice data for transmission through the network;

encoding, via the second codec, the second portion of the voice data thereby providing second encoded data;

packetizing the second encoded data thereby providing a second plurality of data packets; and

transmitting the second plurality of data packets through the channel.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of receiving acknowledgements from nodes of the network, wherein the determining step is based on the received acknowledgements.