Adaptive-rate coded digital image transmission

• US 6,154,489 A
• Filed: 03/30/1998
• Issued: 11/28/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kleider, John Eric, Abousleman, Glen Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Bocure, Tesfaldet
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bayard, Emmanuel
• Application Number:
  US09/050,504
• Time in Patent Office: 974 Days
• Field of Search: 375/220, 375/221, 375/259, 375/252, 375/257, 375/295, 375/316, 375/358, 375/377, 358/539, 358/407, 358/426, 340/870.42, 714/750, 455/24, 455/69, 370/282, 370/274, 370/278
• US Class Current: 375/221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0014 by adapting the source coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server

Abstract

An adaptive arrangement and method for the coded digital transmission of images includes an adaptive transmitter (101) having an image coder (109) which is operable at multiple image coding rates, a channel coder (111) which is operable at a plurality of channel coding rates, and is further operable to provide a plurality of power outputs, baud rates, and a plurality of image delivery rates. The transmitter (101) further includes a channel status monitor (115) which monitors the communication channel (105) connecting the transmitter (101) to a receiver (103). The channel status monitor (115) responds to changes in the quality of the communications channel by varying one or more of the image coding rate, the channel coding rate, the power, the baud rate, and the image delivery rate.

Claims

1. Apparatus for the transmission of digital images, comprising:

a source of image information in digital form;

a transmitter coupled to said source for the transmission of digital image information;

an image data sink for utilizing received digital image information;

a receiver for receiving said digital image information and providing said received digital image information to said image data sink;

a communications channel between said transmitter and said receiver for transmission of image data from said transmitter to said receiver;

a feedback channel for providing quality information from said receiver to said transmitter, said information being indicative of quality of said received digital image information over said communication channel;

whereby said transmitter is responsive to said quality information such that transmission parameters are varied at said transmitter to provide high quality image information at said receiver; and

said feedback channel comprising;

a channel status monitor; and

a channel status estimator for instructing said channel status monitor to vary power level, baud rate, channel code rate, compression ratio and delivery rate of said transmitter for transmitting said digital image information.

2. The system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said transmitter comprises a channel status monitor for receiving and processing said quality information to generate at least one control signal.

3. The system, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said transmitter is operable to provide a plurality of power output levels and is responsive to said channel status monitor for selecting one of said power output levels.

4. The system, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said transmitter comprises an image encoder for performing image encoding on said image information, said image encoder being operable at multiple encoding rates and responsive to said channel status monitor for selecting one of said multiple encoding rates.

5. The system, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said transmitter comprises a channel coder for providing channel coding to said image information, said channel coder being operable at a plurality of coding rates and responsive to said channel status monitor for selecting one of said coding rates.

6. The system, as claimed in claim 5, wherein:

said channel coder is selectively operable in a plurality of coding strategies, said channel coder being responsive to said channel status monitor for selecting one of said coding strategies.

7. The system, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said transmitter is operable to transmit said digital image information at a plurality of image delivery rates, said transmitter being responsive to said channel status monitor for selecting one of said image delivery rates.

8. The system, as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said transmitter is operable to provide a plurality of power output levels;

said transmitter comprises an image coder for providing image coding to said image information, said image encoder being operable at multiple image coding rates;

said transmitter comprises a channel coder for providing channel coding to said image information, said channel coder being operable at a plurality of channel coding rates; and

said transmitter is responsive to said channel status monitor for selectively changing at least one of;

a present power output level, a present baud rate, a present image coding rate, and a present channel coding rate when said quality information indicates a change in quality of said communications channel.

9. The system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said receiver comprises an image decoder for removing image coding from said communications signal, wherein said image decoder provides at least a portion of said quality information.

10. The system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said receiver comprises a channel decoder for removing channel coding from said communications signal, wherein said channel decoder provides at least a portion of said quality information.

11. The system, as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said quality information is derived from one or more of the following;

a signal to noise parameter, a bit error rate, and a symbol error rate.