Method and device for transmitting data packets

• US 6,181,712 B1
• Filed: 10/11/1995
• Issued: 01/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: US Philips Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Rosengren, Jurgen F.
• Primary Examiner(s): TON, DANG T
• Application Number:
  US08/537,701
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 370/474, 370/462, 370/461, 370/395, 370/445, 370/444, 370/447, 370/448, 370/449, 370/451, 370/229, 370/516, 370/517, 370/520, 370/514, 370/512, 370/510, 370/509, 370/508, 370/506, 370/503, 370/470, 370/390, 370/475, 370/389, 370/472, 370/442, 370/476, 348/497, 348/469
• US Class Current: 370/474
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5649 Cell delay or jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5652 Cell construction, e.g. including header, packetisation, depacketisation, assembly, reassembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

Method and device for transmitting data packets (P11,P12,P13) from an input stream (TS1) of data packets into an output stream (TS) of packets. When a plurality of transport streams (TS1,TS2) is multiplexed, packet jitter may be introduced to such an extent that decoder buffers can overflow or underflow. This is avoided by associating a time window (LTW) with a data packet and accommodating position information (31-36) in the packet about the position of said data packet within said window.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data packets from an input stream of data packets into an output stream of data packets, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving a data packet in the input stream in association with an input time window in the input stream;

providing position information in the data packet indicating the position of the data packet with respect to said input time window; and

transmitting said data packet within an output time window in the output stream, said output time window corresponding to said input time window.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, in which the position information takes the form of a first parameter included in said data packet.

3. A method for transmitting data packets from an input stream of data packets into an output stream of data packets, said method comprising the steps of:

receiving data packet in the input stream in association with a time window in the input stream;

accommodating position information in said data packet concerning the position of said data packet with respect to said time window;

said position information including a first parameter included in said data packet;

said position information further including a second parameter representing the distance between a plurality of time windows associated with successive data packets from the input stream; and

transmitting said data packet within a corresponding time window in the output stream.

4. A device for transmitting data packets from an input stream of data packets into an output stream of data packets, said device comprising:

means for receiving a data packet in the input stream in association with an input time window in the input stream and for providing position information in the data packet indicating the position of the data packet with respect to said input time window; and

means for transmitting said data packet within an output time window in the output stream, said output time window corresponding to said input time window.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, in which the position information takes the form of a first parameter included in said data packet.

6. A device for transmitting data packets from an input stream of data packets into an output stream of data packets, said device comprising:

means for receiving a data packet in the input stream in association with a time window in the input stream;

means for accommodating position information in said data packet concerning the position of said data packet with respect to said time window;

said position information having a first parameter included in said data packet;

said position information further including a second parameter representing the distance between a plurality of time windows associated with successive data packets from the input stream; and

means for transmitting said data packet within a corresponding time window in the output stream.