Communication device and method

Abstract

A communication device for transmitting a sequence of data, which is transmitted thereto at a given transmission rate, at a desired transmission rate greater than the former transmission rate over a transmission line. The device comprises a mapping unit, in order to map the sequence of data into a plurality of frames in a predetermined form, each of which consists of a plurality of blocks, for assigning a predetermined amount of data to a data transmission area in each of the plurality of blocks included in each frame so that the sequence of data is nearly-uniformly arranged over the plurality of blocks included in each frame. A control unit is provided for controlling the mapping unit in such a manner that the mapping unit provides a stuff area for a predetermined one of the plurality of blocks included in each frame and determines whether or not to map part of the sequence of data into the stuff area, so as to transmit the plurality of frames at the desired transmission rate, then maps either part of the sequence of data or null data into the stuff area according to a determination result, and provides a stuff present identifier indicating whether or not part of the sequence of data is mapped into the stuff area for each frame.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.