Efficient data encoding

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10812102-B2
Application number	US-201916459402-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 1, 2019
Priority date	Jun 29, 2018
Publication date	Oct 20, 2020
Grant date	Oct 20, 2020

Abstract

Circuits, methods, and apparatus for efficiently implementing encoding and decoding between binary and multilevel data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of encoding binary data, the method comprising:
receiving a first number of bits including first branch bits, second branch bits, and remaining bits;
determining if the first branch bits have a first value in a set of possible values, and if they do not, then
encoding the first branch bits into a second number of symbols;
encoding the second branch bits and the remaining bits into a third number of symbols; and if the first branch bits have the first value in the set of possible values, then
assigning an address value to a fourth number of symbols;
not encoding the first branch bits; and
encoding the second branch bits and the remaining bits into a fifth number of symbols.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the second number of symbols, the third number of symbols, the fourth number of symbols, and the fifth number of symbols are three-level symbols, and wherein a sum of the second number and the third number is equal to a sum of the fourth number and the fifth number.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein when the first branch bits do not have the first value, the second branch bits are encoded into a sixth number of symbols, and when the first branch bits have the first value, the second branch bits are encoded as a seventh number of symbols, the seventh number less than the sixth number.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the second number of symbols is 1 symbol, the third number of symbols is 6 symbols, the fourth number of symbols is 2 symbols, and the fifth number of symbols is 5 symbols.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein an identity of the fourth number of symbols assigned to have the address value is based on a value of the second branch bits.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the second branch bits are encoded as a first symbol and the address value is assigned to one of three pairs of symbols.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein groups of three bits are encoded into pairs of symbols, such that 8 of 9 possible combinations for a pair of symbols are used, and 1 of 9 possible combinations is the address value, where the 1 of 9 possible combinations is not included in the 8 of 9 possible combinations.

8. A method of decoding symbol data, the method comprising:
receiving a first number of symbols, the first number of symbols comprising a first symbol and a plurality of symbol pairs;
determining if any of the plurality of symbol pairs has an address value, and if it does then
setting first branch bits to a first value;
setting second branch bits based on a value of the first symbol and an identity of the symbol pair having the address value; and
decoding the plurality of symbol pairs other than the symbol pair having the address value to a second number of bits; and if none of the symbol pairs has the address value, then
decoding the first symbol to the first branch bits; and
decoding the plurality of symbol pairs to a third number of bits.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first symbol and each symbol in the plurality of symbol pairs are three-level symbols.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the second number of bits comprises 6 bits, the third number of bits comprises 9 bits, the first branch bits comprises 2 bits, and the second branch bits comprises three bits.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality of symbol pairs comprises 6 symbols.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the plurality of symbol pairs other than a symbol pair having the address value are decoded based on a position of the address value.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein before decoding, groups of three bits are encoded into pairs of symbols, such that 8 of 9 possible combinations for a pair of symbols are used, and 1 of 9 possible combinations is the address value, where the 1 of 9 possible combinations is not included in the 8 of 9 possible combinations.

14. A method of encoding binary data, the method comprising:
receiving a first number of bits including a first branch bit, second branch bits, and remaining bits;
determining if the first branch bit has a first value, and if it does, then
encoding the second branch bits and the remaining bits into a second number of symbols; and if the first branch bit does not have the first value, then
assigning an address value to a third number of symbols;
not encoding the second branch bits; and
encoding the remaining bits into a fourth number of symbols, the fourth number equal to the second number less the third number.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein an identity of the third number of symbols assigned the address value is based on a value of the second branch bits.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the address value is assigned to a pair of symbols.

17. A method of decoding symbol data, the method comprising:
receiving a plurality of symbols pairs;
determining if only one symbol pair in the plurality of symbol pairs has an address value, and if it does then
setting a first branch bit to a first value;
setting second branch bits based on an identity of the symbol pair having the address value; and
decoding the plurality of symbol pairs other than the symbol pair having the address value to a first number of bits; and if none of the symbol pairs has the address value, then
decoding the plurality of symbol pairs to a second number of bits.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:
if none of the symbol pairs has the address value, then setting the first branch bit to a second value, the second value different from the first value.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the plurality of symbol pairs other than the symbol pair having the address value are decoded based on a position of the address value.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein encoding the second branch bits and the remaining bits into a second number of symbols comprises using an offset value.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Cornelius William P
• Baek Seungyong

Classifications

• H03M7/3059

  Digital compression and data reduction techniques where the original information is represented by a subset or similar information, e.g. lossy compression · CPC title

• H03M7/14

  Conversion to or from non-weighted codes · CPC title

• H03M5/16 Primary

  the pulses having three levels · CPC title

• H03M7/16

  Conversion to or from unit-distance codes, e.g. Gray code, reflected binary code · CPC title

• H03M7/46 Primary

  Conversion to or from run-length codes, i.e. by representing the number of consecutive digits, or groups of digits, of the same kind by a code word and a digit indicative of that kind · CPC title