TRANSMITTING METHOD, RECEIVING METHOD, TRANSMITTING DEVICE, AND RECEIVING DEVICE

• US 20180160155A1
• Filed: 01/30/2018
• Published: 06/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: IGUCHI, Noritaka, TOMA, Tadamasa
• Granted Patent: US 10,455,260 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23605 Creation or processing of packetized elementary streams [PES]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23805 Controlling the feeding rate to the network, e.g. by controlling the video pump
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/438 Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. retrieving encoded video stream packets from an IP network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8451 using Advanced Video Coding [AVC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/85406 involving a specific file format, e.g. MP4 format

Abstract

A transmitting method includes: inputting, per unit time, a plurality of transfer packets less than or equal to a predetermined number; and transmitting, per the unit time, the plurality of transfer packets that have been input, in a state where definitions compliant with a receiving buffer model are satisfied. Each of the plurality of transfer packets includes a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload. The definitions compliant with the receiving buffer model are predetermined for guaranteeing a buffering operation of a receiving device, and specify converting a first packet into a second packet and outputting the second packet from a buffer of the receiving device at a predetermined extraction rate. The first packet is included in the transfer packets received and includes a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload. The second packet has a fixed-length packet header that is extended.

Claims

1. A transmitting method comprising:

inputting, per unit time, a plurality of transfer packets less than or equal to a predetermined number; and

transmitting, per the unit time, the plurality of transfer packets that have been input, in a state where definitions compliant with a receiving buffer model are satisfied, the definitions being predetermined for guaranteeing a buffering operation of a receiving device,

wherein each of the plurality of transfer packets includes a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload, and

the definitions compliant with the receiving buffer model specify converting a first packet into a second packet and outputting the second packet from a buffer of the receiving device at a predetermined extraction rate, the first packet being included in the plurality of transfer packets received by the receiving device and including a variable-length packet header and a variable length payload, the second packet having a fixed-length packet header that is extended.

2. The transmitting method according to claim 1, further comprising:

storing, per predetermined data unit, the plurality of transfer packets that have been input,

wherein the unit time is one of a plurality of unit transfer periods which are consecutive and do not overlap with one another, and

the plurality of transfer packets to be transmitted are in the predetermined data units used in the storing.

3. The transmitting method according to claim 2,

wherein the predetermined number is a value that is set according to a transfer rate per the predetermined data unit and varies according to the transfer rate.

4. The transmitting method according to claim 2,

wherein the plurality of transfer packets that have been input include:

a first transfer packet storing an actual packet different from an invalid packet; and

a second transfer packet storing the invalid packet,

the storing includes;

counting, as a first packet count, the first transfer packets when storing the first transfer packet into the predetermined data unit; and

counting, as a second packet count, an integer value obtained by dividing a packet size of the second transfer packet by a maximum value of a packet size of the first transfer packet, when storing the second transfer packet into the predetermined data unit, and

a sum of the first packet count and the second packet count is less than or equal to the predetermined number.

5. The transmitting method according to claim 4,

wherein the invalid packet is a NULL packet.

6. The transmitting method according to claim 4,

wherein the maximum value of the packet size of the first transfer packet is 1500 bytes.

7. The transmitting method according to claim 2,

wherein the predetermined data unit is a transfer frame, and

each of the plurality of unit transfer periods corresponds to a length of the transfer frame.

8. The transmitting method according to claim 1,

wherein the predetermined number is a value that is set to prevent the transfer packets having a minimum packet size from being consecutive to one another.

9. A receiving method comprising:

receiving a plurality of transfer packets each including a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload;

converting a first packet into a second packet using a buffer, the first packet being included in the plurality of transfer packets received and including a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload, the second packet having a fixed-length packet header that is extended; and

outputting the second packet from the buffer at a predetermined extraction rate,

wherein a size of the buffer is larger than maximum buffer occupancy calculated using a transfer rate of the plurality of transfer packets, an average packet length of the transfer packets, and the predetermined extraction rate.

10. A transmitting device comprising:

an input terminal into which a plurality of transfer packets less than or equal to a predetermined number are input per unit time; and

a transmitter which transmits, per the unit time, the plurality of transfer packets that have been input, in a state where definitions compliant with receiving buffer model are satisfied, the definitions being predetermined for guaranteeing a buffering operation of a receiving device,

wherein each of the plurality of transfer packets includes a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload, and

the definitions compliant with the receiving buffer model specify converting a first packet into a second packet and outputting the second packet at a predetermined extraction rate from a buffer of the receiving device, the first packet being made up of a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload and being included in the plurality of transfer packets received by the receiving device and including a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload, the second packet having a fixed-length packet header that is extended.

11. A receiving device comprising:

a receiver which receives a plurality of transfer packets, each including a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload; and

a buffer which converts a first packet into a second packet and outputs the second packet at a predetermined extraction rate, the first packet being included in the plurality of transfer packets received and including a variable-length packet header and a variable-length payload, the second packet having a fixed-length packet header that is extended,

wherein a size of the buffer is larger than maximum buffer occupancy calculated using a transfer rate of the plurality of transfer packets, an average packet length of the transfer packets, and the predetermined extraction rate.