Variable-length encoding apparatus and method

Abstract

Items of additional bits 1, 2 are input to right shifters (503, 501), respectively, whereby the data is shifted rightward by numbers of bits corresponding to variable-length code-word lengths that enter from variable-length encoding tables (504, 501), respectively. The additional bits that has been shifted rightward is input to OR gates (508, 510), respectively. The OR gates (508, 510) obtain the ORs between the shifted data and variable-length codes words 1, 2 that enter from variable-length encoding tables (504, 501), respectively. The output of the OR gate (510) is input to a right shifter (511), the other input to which is a number of bits measured by a code-length measurement unit (530) (the number of bits is the number of bits of the code length of variable-length code word 1 plus the number of bits of the additional bits 1). A shifter (511) shifts the output of the OR gate (510) rightward by the number of bits measured. An OR gate (512) calculates the OR between the output of the right shifter (511) and the output of the OR gate (508).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.