Communication system and method for distributing content

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9178709-B2
Application number	US-58853705-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2005
Priority date	Mar 30, 2004
Publication date	Nov 3, 2015
Grant date	Nov 3, 2015

Abstract

A wireless communication system performs high-quality communication using Multicast communication where re-transmission processing is performed. The wireless communication system includes a program distribution unit for distributing a program using the Multicast communication; a first communication path for transmitting the program distributed from the program distribution unit; first communication units; user terminals; and a second and the user terminal and is also a wireless communication path where the re-transmission of a frame is performed, wherein the first communication unit selects a Multicast frame of a program requested by the user terminal from the first communication path, converts the selected Multicast frame into a Unicast frame, and transmits the converted Unicast frame to the user terminal.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A communication system, comprising:
a first communication device; and
a second communication device,
wherein the first communication device includes:
a first content receiving unit operable to receive, via a first communication path, a Multicast frame which stores a content and has a Multicast IP address as a destination address at a Network Layer of the Multicast frame;
a conversion unit operable to convert the received Multicast frame into a Unicast frame addressed to the second communication device, the Unicast frame having only one IP header storing only one Multicast IP address, which is the same as the Multicast IP address of the Multicast frame, as a destination address at a Network Layer of the Unicast frame, the Unicast frame also having a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the second communication device as a destination address at a Data Link Layer of the Unicast frame, the only one Multicast IP address in the Unicast frame being stored in an IP header of the Unicast frame, the MAC address in the Unicast frame being stored in a MAC header of the Unicast frame, the IP header and the MAC header being adjacent to each other with no information therebetween, and the IP header storing the Multicast IP address, wherein there is no IP address between the Multicast IP address stored in the IP header and the MAC header; and
a first content transmission unit operable to transmit the converted Unicast frame to the second communication device via a second communication path, based on a protocol having a re-transmission processing, and
the second communication device includes:
a second content receiving unit operable to receive the Unicast frame transmitted via the second communication path from the first communication device based on the protocol having the re-transmission processing,
wherein the re-transmission processing is performed at a Media Access Control (MAC) layer that is a layer lower than a layer of a communication protocol defining the Multicast frame.

2. The communication system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second communication device further includes a second content request unit operable to request the first communication device to distribute the content, and
the first communication device further includes a first content request receiving unit operable to receive the content request from the second communication device, and
wherein the first content receiving unit is operable to extract from Multicast frames transmitted via the first communication path a Multicast frame which stores a content corresponding to the content request received by the first content request receiving unit, and operable to receive the extracted Multicast frame.

3. The communication system according to claim 2 further comprising a plurality of the second communication devices,
wherein the first content request receiving unit is operable to receive the content requests from the plurality of the second communication devices,
the first content receiving unit is operable to extract from the Multicast frames which are transmitted via the first communication path Multicast frames corresponding to a plurality of contents corresponding to the plurality of the content requests received by the first content request receiving unit, and operable to receive the extracted Multicast frames,
the conversion unit is operable to convert the plurality of the Multicast frames which have been received by the first content receiving unit and are corresponding to the plurality of the contents into Unicast frames which are addressed to the plurality of the second communication devices which have requested the contents, and
the first content transmission unit is operable to transmit the Unicast frames which have been converted by the conversion unit to the plurality of the second communication devices.

4. The communication system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the first communication device further includes a first content duplication unit operable to duplicate a content requested by the plurality of the second communication devices among a plurality of contents included in the Multicast frames received by the first content receiving unit, and
wherein the conversion unit is operable to convert the Multicast frames corresponding to a plurality of the identical contents which have been duplicated by the first content duplication unit into Unicast frames which are addressed to the plurality of the second communication devices which have requested the content, and
the first content transmission unit is operable to transmit the Unicast frames which have been converted by the conversion unit to the plurality of the second communication devices which have requested the content.

5. The communication system according to claim 1 further comprising a third communication device which is connected to the second communication device,
wherein the second communication device further includes a second content transmission unit operable to transmit a content included in the Unicast frame received by the second content receiving unit to the third communication device, and
the third communication device is operable to receive the content transmitted from the second communication device and to provide the received content to a user.

6. The communication system according to claim 5 ,
wherein the second content transmission unit is operable to convert the Unicast frame received by the second content receiving unit into a Multicast frame.

7. The communication system according to claim 5 ,
wherein the second communication device further includes:
a second content request receiving unit operable to receive the content request from the third communication device;
a second content request unit operable to request the first communication device to distribute a content corresponding to the content request received by the second content request receiving unit, and
the first communication device further includes a first content request receiving unit operable to receive the content request from the second communication device, and
wherein the first content receiving unit is operable to extract from Multicast frames which have been transmitted via the first communication path a Multicast frame which stores the content corresponding to the content request received by the first content request receiving unit, and operable to receive the extracted Multicast frame.

8. The communication system according to claim 7 further comprising a plurality of the third communication devices,
wherein the second communication device further includes a second content duplication unit operable to duplicate the content requested by the plurality of the third communication devices among a plurality of contents included in the Unicast frames received by the second content receiving unit, and
the second content transmission unit operable to transmit a plurality of identical contents which have been duplicated by the second duplication unit to the plurality of the third communication devices which have requested the contents.

9. The communication system according to claim 7 further comprising a plurality of the third communication devices,
wherein the second content request unit is operable to request the first communication device to distribute the content after receiving all content requests from the plurality of the third communication devices, in a case where the contents requested by the plurality of the third communication devices are identical.

10. The communication system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first content receiving unit is operable to receive a Multicast frame which stores a plurality of the contents, and
whe

Assignees

• Higashida Masaaki
• Tanaka Shotaro
• Sakanishi Yasuaki
• Horita Seiji
• Inoue Tadayuki
• Taniguchi Kenshi
• Ezaki Toshihiro
• Panasonic Ip Man Co Ltd

Inventors

• Higashida Masaaki
• Tanaka Shotaro
• Sakanishi Yasuaki
• Horita Seiji
• Inoue Tadayuki
• Taniguchi Kenshi
• Ezaki Toshihiro

Classifications

• H04L69/08

  Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion · CPC title

• H04L12/1836 Primary

  with heterogeneous network architecture · CPC title

• H04N21/6408

  Unicasting · CPC title

• H04L12/4633

  Interconnection of networks using encapsulation techniques, e.g. tunneling · CPC title

• H04N21/6405

  Multicasting {(data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18)} · CPC title