US 7,263,110 B2 · Synchronizing clock signals of server and client devices in a network system based on power source synchronous pulse signal

Abstract

In a network system, clock signals of a server device and a client device are synchronized with each other without having any influence of a change and a delay of the transmission time of data. Therefore, in the network system in which the client device receives and reproduces information transmitted from the server device, the server device counts the number of clock pulses of a server clock signal used to compress and encode information on the basis of a power source synchronous pulse signal synchronized with a power source frequency. The server device outputs information showing the counted clock pulse number and the compressed and encoded information to the client device. The client device counts the number of clock pulses of a client clock signal used to decode and decompress the compressed and encoded information on the basis of the power source synchronous pulse signal synchronized with the power source frequency. The client device conforms the frequency of the client clock signal to the frequency of the server clock signal on the basis of the clock difference between the clock pulse number received from the server device and the counted clock pulse number.

Claims3

Dependent claims

and said client device receives the information showing the clock pulse number transmitted from said server device, and counts the number of clock pulses of a client clock signal used to decode the audio information or the video information on the basis of a power source synchronous pulse signal synchronized with the power source frequency of electric power supplied to the client device, and the frequency of said client clock signal is conformed to the frequency of said server clock signal on the basis of the difference between the clock pulse number received from said server device and the counted clock pulse number.

A network system comprising a server device for transmitting audio information or video information and a client device for receiving the audio information or the video information transmitted from said server device, wherein said server device has server clock signal generating means for generating a server clock signal, encoding means for encoding the audio information or the video information on the basis of said server clock signal, server binarizing means for generating a power source synchronous pulse signal synchronized with the power source frequency of electric power supplied to the server device, server clock counting means for counting the number of clock pulses of said server clock signal every integer times of one period of the power source synchronous pulse signal outputted by said server binarizing means, and transmitting means for outputting the audio information or the video information encoded by said encoding means and information showing the clock pulse number counted by said server clock counting means;

and said client device has receiving means for receiving the audio information or the video information transmitted from said server device and the information showing the clock pulse number, client clock generating means for generating a client clock signal, decoding means for decoding the audio information or the video information received by said receiving means on the basis of said client clock signal, client binarizing means for generating a power source synchronous pulse signal synchronized with the power source frequency of electric power supplied to said client device, client clock counting means for counting the number of clock pulses of said client clock signal every integer times of one period of the power source synchronous pulse signal outputted by said client binarizing means, and clock difference calculating means for calculating the difference between the clock pulse number received from said server device and the clock pulse number counted by said client clock counting means;
and said client clock generating means conforms the frequency of said client clock signal to the frequency of said server clock signal on the basis of the difference in the clock pulse number calculated by said clock difference calculating means.

and said client device has receiving means for receiving the audio information or the video information transmitted from said server device and the information showing the clock pulse number, decoding means having a buffer for storing the audio information or the video information received by said receiving means, and reading the audio information or the video information stored to this buffer, and decoding the read information on the basis of a client clock signal, client binarizing means for generating a power source synchronous pulse signal synchronized with the power source frequency of electric power supplied to said client device, client clock counting means for counting the number of clock pulses of said client clock signal every integer times of one period of the power source synchronous pulse signal outputted by said client binarizing means, clock counting value correcting means for correcting the clock pulse number counted by said client clock counting means on the basis of the amount of data accumulated in said buffer, clock difference calculating means for calculating the difference between the clock pulse number received by said receiving means and the clock pulse number corrected by said clock counting value correcting means, and client clock signal generating means for outputting the client clock signal conformed to the frequency of said server clock signal to said decoding means on the basis of the difference in the clock pulse number calculated by the clock difference calculating means.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Synchronizing clock signals of server and client devices in a network system based on power source synchronous pulse signal

Life of this patent

Synchronizing clock signals of server and client devices in a network system based on power source synchronous pulse signal

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims3