Data transmission method

• US 6,891,799 B1
• Filed: 11/30/1999
• Issued: 05/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Horii, Seiji, Matsui, Yoshinori, Hagai, Makoto, Ohnishi, Tatsuya, Fukushima, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, DUC CHI
• Application Number:
  US09/450,670
• Time in Patent Office: 1,988 Days
• Field of Search: 370/229, 370/230, 370/230.1, 370/231, 370/232, 370/233, 370/234, 370/235, 370/236, 370/235.1, 370/241, 370/241.1, 370/242, 370/243, 370/244, 370/246, 370/249, 370/250, 370/252, 370/253, 370/216, 370/428, 370/429, 714/748, 714/751, 714/776, 714/779, 375/240, 375/240.01, 375/240.02, 375/240.05, 375/240.07, 375/240.26, 375/240.27, 348/387.1, 348/390.1, 348/425.1, 348/425.2
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/004 by using forward error control H04L1/0618 takes precedence; coding, decoding or code conversion, for error detection or correction H03M13/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/165 Variable formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/18 Automatic repetition systems, e.g. Van Duuren systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1887 Scheduling and prioritising arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/50 Queue scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/624 Altering the ordering of packets in an individual queue
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9057 Arrangements for supporting packet reassembly or resequencing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

In a data transmission method of the present invention, not only when relay of input packets is performed but also transmission of a retransmission packet or a correction packet is performed, changes in an output rate due to output rate control is suppressed, and data transmission is efficiently performed according to a capacity of an output channel. A data transmission device comprises a packet priority decision unit 15 for deciding priorities of input packets, a retransmission packet, and an FEC packet, an output delay calculation unit 17 for calculating a delay time until data of the respective packets is reproduced by a receiving terminal, and an FEC packet generation unit 19 for generating an FEC packet containing an error correcting code which corresponds to a packet designated on the basis of the priorities of the respective packets. When transmission of the retransmission packet and the FEC packet together with the input packets is performed, lower priority packets corresponding to a size of packets which are additionally transmitted are thinned out.

Claims

1. A data transmission method for performing relay processing of relaying plural input packets which are successively input from a transmitting end, to output the same to a receiving end, and for performing at least one of processing of retransmitting an input packet which is instructed to be retransmitted from the receiving end and processing of transmitting a correction packet containing an error correcting code for a predetermined input packet, said method comprising:

deciding a priority attached to each input packet input from the transmitting end and priorities attached to at least one additional packet constituted by at least one of the correction packet and the input packet which is instructed to be retransmitted;

thinning out the input packets and the at least one additional packet on the basis of the priority, and outputting the remaining packets which have remained after said thinning out; and

transmitting the remaining packets;

wherein, in said thinning out, lower priority packets having lower priorities than the at least one additional packet, corresponding to a size of the at least one additional packet, are thinned out.

2. A data transmission method for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said method comprising:

deciding a priority attached to each of the plural packets; and

rearranging the successively input plural packets into plural groups each comprising a predetermined number of packets such that the packets in each group are transmitted in the order of descending priorities;

wherein, in said rearranging, a range of the packets in each of the plural groups which are to be subjected to said rearranging is decided such that all packets from a first input packet to a last input packet in the respective group are received by the receiving end in time for reproduction times in which the data are reproduced at the receiving end.

3. A data transmission method for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said method comprising:

deciding a priority and reproduction time information attached to each of the input plural packets;

thinning out lower priority packets having lower priorities than a predetermined value in the input plural packets on the basis of the priority of each respective packet to output the remaining packets; and

thinning out a part of the packets among the remaining packets on the basis of the reproduction time information of the remaining packets such that time intervals between data reproduction for remaining packets having same priorities at the receiving end are equal.

4. A data transmission method for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said method comprising:

deciding a sequence number attached to each of the plural packets;

deciding a priority attached to each of the plural packets; and

thinning out part of the plural packets on the basis of the priority to output the remaining packets;

wherein, in said thinning out, discrete sequence numbers of the remaining packets are sequentially renumbered.

5. A data transmission method for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said method comprising:

detecting a priority attached to each of the plural packets which are successively input from the transmitting end;

detecting an error occurring rate on an output end channel; and

transmitting the input plural packets to the receiving end on the basis of the priority of each of the plural packets and the error occurring rate;

wherein, in said transmitting of the input plural packets, when the error occurring rate is a predetermined rate or higher, a higher priority packet among the input plural packets is repeatedly transmitted, and a correction packet containing an error correcting code which corresponds to the higher priority packet is transmitted, and

wherein, in said transmitting of the input plural packets, when the error occurring rate is lower than the predetermined rate, the input plural packets are transmitted without repeatedly transmitting the higher priority packet among the input plural packets and without transmitting the correction packet corresponding to the higher priority packet.

6. A data transmission device for performing relay processing of relaying plural input packets which are successively input from a transmitting end, to output the same to a receiving end, and for performing at least one of processing of retransmitting an input packet which is instructed to be retransmitted from the receiving end and processing of transmitting a correction packet containing an error correcting code for a predetermined input packet, said device comprising:

a decision unit operable to decide a priority attached to each input packet input from the transmitting end and priorities attached to at least one additional packet constituted by at least one of the correction packet and the input packet which is instructed to be retransmitted;

a unit operable to thin out the input packets and the at least one additional packet on the basis of the priority, and to output the remaining packets which have remained after the thinning out;

a transmission unit operable to transmit the remaining packets;

wherein, in the thinning out, lower priority packets having lower priorities than the at least one additional packet, corresponding to a size of the at least one additional packet, are thinned out.

7. A data transmission device for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said device comprising:

a decision unit operable to decide a priority attached to each of the plural packets; and

a unit operable to rearrange the successively input plural packets into plural groups each comprising a predetermined number of packets such that the packets in each group are transmitted in the order of descending priorities;

wherein, in the rearranging, a range of the packets in each of the plural groups which are to be subjected to the rearranging is decided such that all packets from a first input packet to a last input packet in the respective group are received by the receiving end in time for reproduction times in which the data are reproduced at the receiving end.

8. A data transmission device for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said device comprising:

a decision unit operable to decide a priority and reproduction time information attached to each of the input plural packets;

a unit operable to thin out lower priority packets having lower priorities than a predetermined value in the input plural packets on the basis of the priority of each respective packet to output the remaining packets; and

a unit operable to thin out a part of the packets among the remaining packets on the basis of the reproduction time information of the remaining packets such that time intervals between data reproduction for remaining packets having same priorities at the receiving end are equal.

9. A data transmission device for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said device comprising:

a decision unit operable to decide a sequence number and a priority attached to each of the plural packets; and

a unit operable to thin out part of the plural packets on the basis of the priority to output remaining packets;

wherein, during the thinning out, said unit operable to thin out part of the plural packets is further operable to sequentially renumber discrete sequence numbers of the remaining packets.

10. A data transmission device for relaying plural packets which are successively input from a transmitting end to output the same to a receiving end, said device comprising:

a priority decision unit operable to decide a priority attached to each of the plural packets which are successively input from the transmitting end;

a detecting unit operable to detect an error occurring rate on an output end channel; and

a transmitting unit operable to transmit the input plural packets to the receiving end on the basis of the priority of each of the plural packets and the error occurring rate;

wherein, when the error occurring rate is a predetermined rate or higher, said transmitting unit is operable to repeatedly transmit a higher priority packet among the input plural packets, and to transmit a correction packet containing an error correcting code which corresponds to the higher priority packet, and

wherein, when the error occurring rate is lower than the predetermined rate, said transmitting unit is operable to transmit the input plural packets without repeatedly transmitting the higher priority packet among the input plural packets and without transmitting the correction packet corresponding to the higher priority packet.