Multiplex communications – Communication over free space – Combining or distributing information via time channels
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-07
2004-06-29
Hsu, Alpus H. (Department: 2665)
Multiplex communications
Communication over free space
Combining or distributing information via time channels
C370S231000, C370S235000, C370S236000, C370S412000, C455S453000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06757273
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to a bandwidth smoothing scheme for streaming video to a streaming client. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus, and an associated method, by which to facilitate the communication of streaming video to a mobile station in a radio communication system. An indication of the buffer size of a buffer at the mobile station at which the streaming video is buffered is utilized in bandwidth smoothing operations. Changes in bandwidth allocations pursuant to the bandwidth smoothing operations are made, as necessary, if the time required to renegotiate the changes in the bandwidth allocations in the radio communication are less than the time during which the bandwidth allocation is to be changed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the introduction of, and popularization of, new types of, and improvements in existing, communication systems. Increasingly large amounts of data are permitted to be communicated at increasingly-high throughput rates through the use of such new, or improved, communication systems. As a result of such improvements, new types of communications, requiring high data throughput rates, are possible. Digital communication techniques, for instance, are increasingly utilized in communication systems to efficiently communicate digital data, and the use of such techniques has facilitated the increased data throughput rates.
Multimedia communications, for instance, are exemplary of new types of communications permitted as a result of the improvements in communication technologies. Multimedia communications refer, generally, to the communication of more than one type of data between a sending station and a receiving station. Typically, the communication of such more than one type of data appears, to a user, to be simultaneous. Multimedia communications include, for instance, voice-over-IP (Internet protocol) applications. Audio signals overlayed upon video signals used to effectuate teleconferencing is an example of a multimedia communication application. Two-way whiteboard communication is exemplary of another multimedia communication application. Various of such multimedia communications utilize streaming multimedia, such as streaming video.
Streaming video or other multimedia data is generated by a streaming proxy and is provided to a streaming client. Streaming multimedia is provided by way of, for example, the Internet. In such an application, the streaming proxy is formed, for instance, of a computer server connected to the Internet, and the streaming client is formed of, for example, a personal computer, or the like. In a streaming video application, downloading, decoding, and playing of the data is performed simultaneously. That is to say, as the streaming video is downloaded, streaming video previously downloaded is decoded, and streaming video previously downloaded and decoded, is played, in an on-line basis.
When the streaming client is formed of a personal computer, or the like, the storage capacity of the streaming client is generally large and is usually not a limiting factor in effectuation of communication of the streaming video. Storage capacity is required at the streaming client to buffer data as the data is received from the streaming proxy.
Additional advancements in communication technologies have permitted the introduction, and widespread usage, of radio communication systems, such as cellular communication systems. A mobile station operable in a cellular, or other, radio, communication system is capable of transceiving data with network infrastructure of the radio communication system by way of a radio link. Existing radio communication systems permit the communication of both and voice and non-voice data.
Proposals have been set forth to provide for multimedia communication, including the communication of streaming multimedia data, to a mobile station. Generally, however, in both wireline and non-wireline applications, the bandwidth, i.e., the bit rate, required to transmit the streaming video is variable. Such variation in the required bandwidth results from compression of the data prior to its transmission. In a radio communication system, such as a cellular communication system, radio resource management is required to allocate the appropriate amount of bandwidth to insure the successful communication of the streaming video. Schemes have been set forth for wireline communication systems by which to deal with the variability of the bandwidth requirements. Caching schemes, sometimes also referred to as buffering or pre-fetching schemes, and bandwidth smoothing schemes are exemplary of such schemes. However, existing implementations of such schemes are generally too inflexible for application to cellular, or other radio, communication systems.
While, and as noted above, the streaming client in a typical wireline implementation includes a fairly large storage capacity at which streaming video can be buffered, when a mobile station forms the streaming client, the memory capacity of the client cannot be assumed to be of the fairly large storage capacity. If the storage capacity of the mobile station is small, the bandwidth of the streaming video must be appropriately altered to insure that buffer overflow does not interfere with communication of the streaming video. Also, because radio resources are limited in a radio communication system, efficient allocation of the radio resources is required to permit efficient operation of the radio communication system. Existing schemes which deal with bandwidth variability of communication of streaming video do not generally take into account the unique need to manage radio resources required in a radio communication system.
If a manner could be provided by which better to facilitate communication of streaming video in a radio communication system, improved communication of streaming video in a radio communication system, would be permitted.
It is in light of this background information related to the communication of streaming video that the improvements of the present invention have evolved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention, accordingly, advantageously provides apparatus, and an associated method, for facilitating the communication of streaming video in a radio communication system to a streaming client, such as a mobile station operable in a cellular communication system.
During operation of an embodiment of the present invention, bandwidth smoothing is performed to facilitate the communication of the streaming video or another multimedia data component to the mobile station. Determination of a bandwidth plan to allocate the bandwidth for the communication of the streaming video to the mobile station is dynamically determined in manners to take into account characteristics of the mobile station.
In one aspect of the present invention, the mobile station includes a buffer at which streaming video is buffered during performance of a communication service in which streaming video is provided to the mobile station. The buffer size of the buffer available for buffering of the streaming video is determined, and an indication of such buffer size is utilized in bandwidth smoothing operations. That is to say, allocations of bandwidth for which to effectuate the communication of the streaming video is dependent, in part, upon the size of the buffer available at the mobile station to buffer the streaming video. The characteristics of the streaming video, such as the number of accumulated bits per frame of the streaming video as a function of a frame number of the streaming video, is also utilized in the allocation of bandwidth to effectuate the communication of the streaming video.
In another aspect of the present, a determination is made at the mobile station of the size of the buffer available to buffer the streaming video to be provided thereto pursuant to a communication service. The buffer size is, for instance, a set size of a memory element dedicated to buffer the streaming video. Or, t
Fraccaroli Federico
Hsu Liangchi
Hsu Alpus H.
Molinari Michael J
Nokia Corporation
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