# US 9,001,804 B2 · Sharing multi description coded content utilizing proximate helpers

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- Number: US 9,001,804 B2
- Document ID: US9001804B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/162,153
- Filed: 2011-06-16
- Published: 2012-12-20
- Granted: 2015-04-07
- Earliest claimed: 2011-06-16
- Assignees: QUALCOMM Incorporated
- Applicants: Vijayalakshmi R. Raveendran; Samir S. Soliman; PhaniKumar K. Bhamidipati; Soham V. Sheth; Xun Luo
- Inventors: Vijayalakshmi R. Raveendran; Samir S. Soliman; PhaniKumar K. Bhamidipati; Soham V. Sheth; Xun Luo
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9001804B2

## CPC

- H04L 65/762: {at the source (reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355)}
- H04L 65/65: Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
- H04L 65/764: {at the destination (reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355)}
- H04L 65/80: Responding to QoS
- H04L 67/104: Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)

## Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method utilizing multi-description coding (MDC) and one or more cooperative helper nodes to send streaming content on an uplink to a client over multiple paths. The client receives the multiple descriptions and aggregates them together to ideally obtain the original content at its original quality; however, if one or more of the descriptions is lost in the transmission, then the entire content can be generated from the remaining one or more descriptions that did arrive successfully.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of sending content, comprising:
generating a plurality of descriptions related to the content that are different from one another but related to one another;
transmitting a first one of the plurality of descriptions utilizing an uplink; and
sharing a second one of the plurality of descriptions with a first helper node capable of transmitting the second one of the plurality of descriptions on a second uplink,
wherein the generating the plurality of descriptions comprises encoding a first portion of the content to a first quality, encoding a second portion of the content to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and combining the first portion encoded to the first quality and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide the first one of the plurality of descriptions, wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the content comprises an image.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the first portion comprises a first half of the image, and the second portion comprises a second half complementary to the first half of the image.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the plurality of descriptions further comprises:
encoding the second portion of the content to the first quality;
encoding the first portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and
combining the first portion encoded to the second quality and the second portion encoded to the first quality to provide the second one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the generating the plurality of descriptions further comprises:
partitioning the content into the first portion, the second portion, and at least a third portion;
encoding the third portion to the first quality;
encoding at least the first portion and the second portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and
combining the third portion encoded to the first quality, and at least the first portion and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide a third one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
selecting at least one helper node, including the first helper node, to establish the second uplink for transmit diversity and to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, further comprising sending a request to the at least one helper node to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the sharing of the second one of the plurality of descriptions comprises transmitting the second one of the plurality of descriptions to the first helper node over an out-of-band link.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WLAN air interface.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the WLAN air interface comprises an IEEE 802.11 air interface.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WPAN air interface.

### Claim 12 (depends on 6)

The method of claim 6, wherein the selecting of the at least one helper node comprises:
determining a proximity of the at least one helper node suitable for utilization of an out-of-band link.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The method of claim 12, wherein the determining of the proximity of the at least one helper node comprises at least one of: determining a relationship between an IP address of the helper node and a local IP address; determining a relationship between a user profile of the helper node and a local user profile; or determining a relationship between a P2P network setup for the helper node and a local P2P network setup.

### Claim 14

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
a processor, and a memory coupled to the processor;
an encoder coupled to the processor, for encoding content to generate a plurality of descriptions related to the content that are different from one another but related to one another;
a first transmitter coupled to the processor, for transmitting a first one of the plurality of descriptions utilizing an uplink; and
a second transmitter coupled to the processor, for transmitting a second one of the plurality of descriptions to a first helper node capable of transmitting the second one of the plurality of descriptions on a second uplink,
wherein the encoder is configured to encode a first portion of the content to a first quality, to encode a second portion of the content to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and to combine the first portion encoded to the first quality and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide the first one of the plurality of descriptions, wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the content comprises an image.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first portion comprises a first half of the image, and the second portion comprises a second half complementary to the first half of the image.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the encoder is further configured to encode the second portion of the content to the first quality, to encode the first portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and to combine the first portion encoded to the second quality and the second portion encoded to the first quality to provide the second one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the encoder is further configured to partition the content into the first portion, the second portion, and at least a third portion; to encode the third portion to the first quality; to encode at least the first portion and the second portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and to combine the third portion encoded to the first quality, and at least the first portion and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide a third one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 19 (depends on 14)

The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to utilize the second transmitter to select at least one helper node, including the first helper node, to establish the second uplink for transmit diversity and to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to utilize the second transmitter to send a request to the at least one helper node to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 21 (depends on 19)

The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to utilize the second transmitter to transmit the second one of the plurality of descriptions to the first helper node over an out-of-band link.

### Claim 22 (depends on 21)

The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WLAN air interface.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the WLAN air interface comprises an IEEE 802.11 air interface.

### Claim 24 (depends on 21)

The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WPAN air interface.

### Claim 25 (depends on 19)

The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a proximity of the at least one helper node suitable for utilization of an out-of-band link.

### Claim 26 (depends on 25)

The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the processor, in determining the proximity of the at least one helper node, is further configured to do at least one of: determine a relationship between an IP address of the helper node and a local IP address; determine a relationship between a user profile of the helper node and a local user profile; or determine a relationship between a P2P network setup for the helper node and a local P2P network setup.

### Claim 27

A method of wireless communication, comprising:
receiving a request from a content server to help the server send content to a client node;
receiving, over a first interface, one of a plurality of descriptions of the content from the content server; and
transmitting, over a second interface, the one of the plurality of descriptions of the content to the client node,
wherein the one of the plurality of descriptions of content comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a second quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a first quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 28 (depends on 27)

The method of claim 27, wherein the first interface comprises at least one of a WLAN or a WPAN air interface.

### Claim 29 (depends on 27)

The method of claim 27, wherein the second interface comprises a WWAN air interface.

### Claim 30 (depends on 27)

The method of claim 27, wherein the first interface comprises a WWAN air interface and the second interface comprises at least one of a WLAN or a WPAN air interface.

### Claim 31

A method of wireless communication, comprising:
receiving a first description of content of a plurality of descriptions from a content server;
receiving a second description of the content of the plurality of descriptions from a helper node proximate to the content server; and
selectively combining at least a portion of the first description with at least a portion of the second description to obtain the content having a higher quality, as a whole, than either the first description or the second description taken alone,
wherein the first description comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a first quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 32 (depends on 31)

The method of claim 31, wherein the at least a portion of the first description comprises a first partition of the content, and the at least a portion of the second description comprises a second partition of the content.

### Claim 33

A computer program product for sending content, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code for:
generating a plurality of descriptions related to the content that are different from one another but related to one another;
transmitting a first one of the plurality of descriptions utilizing an uplink; and
sharing a second one of the plurality of descriptions with a first helper node capable of transmitting the second one of the plurality of descriptions on a second uplink,
wherein the code for generating the plurality of descriptions comprises code for encoding a first portion of the content to a first quality, encoding a second portion of the content to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and combining the first portion encoded to the first quality and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide the first one of the plurality of descriptions, wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 34 (depends on 33)

The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the content comprises an image.

### Claim 35 (depends on 34)

The computer program product of claim 34, wherein the first portion comprises a first half of the image, and the second portion comprises a second half complementary to the first half of the image.

### Claim 36 (depends on 33)

The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the code for generating the plurality of descriptions further comprises code for:
encoding the second portion of the content to the first quality;
encoding the first portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and
combining the first portion encoded to the second quality and the second portion encoded to the first quality to provide the second one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 37 (depends on 36)

The computer program product of claim 36, wherein the code for generating the plurality of descriptions further comprises code for:
partitioning the content into the first portion, the second portion, and at least a third portion;
encoding the third portion to the first quality;
encoding at least the first portion and the second portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and
combining the third portion encoded to the first quality, and at least the first portion and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide a third one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 38 (depends on 33)

The computer program product of claim 33, further comprising code for:
selecting at least one helper node, including the first helper node, to establish the second uplink for transmit diversity and to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 39 (depends on 38)

The computer program product of claim 38, further comprising code for sending a request to the at least one helper node to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 40 (depends on 38)

The computer program product of claim 38, wherein the code for sharing the second one of the plurality of descriptions comprises code for transmitting the second one of the plurality of descriptions to the first helper node over an out-of-band link.

### Claim 41 (depends on 40)

The computer program product of claim 40, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WLAN air interface.

### Claim 42 (depends on 41)

The computer program product of claim 41, wherein the WLAN air interface comprises an IEEE 802.11 air interface.

### Claim 43 (depends on 40)

The computer program product of claim 40, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WPAN air interface.

### Claim 44 (depends on 38)

The computer program product of claim 38, wherein the code for selecting the at least one helper node comprises code for:
determining a proximity of the at least one helper node suitable for utilization of an out-of-band link.

### Claim 45 (depends on 44)

The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the code for determining the proximity of the at least one helper node comprises code for at least one of:
determining a relationship between an IP address of the helper node and a local IP address;
determining a relationship between a user profile of the helper node and a local user profile; or
determining a relationship between a P2P network setup for the helper node and a local P2P network setup.

### Claim 46

A computer program product, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code for:
receiving a request from a content server to help the server send content to a client node;
receiving, over a first interface, one of a plurality of descriptions of the content from the content server; and
transmitting, over a second interface, the one of the plurality of descriptions of the content to the client node,
wherein the one of the plurality of descriptions of content comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a second quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a first quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 47

A computer program product, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising code for:
receiving a first description of content of a plurality of descriptions from a content server;
receiving a second description of the content of the plurality of descriptions from a helper node proximate to the content server; and
selectively combining at least a portion of the first description with at least a portion of the second description to obtain the content having a higher quality, as a whole, than either the first description or the second description taken alone,
wherein the first description comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a first quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 48

An apparatus for wireless communication for sending content, comprising:
means for generating a plurality of descriptions related to the content that are different from one another but related to one another;
means for transmitting a first one of the plurality of descriptions utilizing an uplink; and
means for sharing a second one of the plurality of descriptions with a first helper node capable of transmitting the second one of the plurality of descriptions on a second uplink,
wherein the means for generating the plurality of descriptions is configured to encode a first portion of the content to a first quality, to encode a second portion of the content to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and to combine the first portion encoded to the first quality and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide the first one of the plurality of descriptions, wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 49 (depends on 48)

The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the content comprises an image.

### Claim 50 (depends on 49)

The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the first portion comprises a first half of the image, and the second portion comprises a second half complementary to the first half of the image.

### Claim 51 (depends on 48)

The apparatus of claim 48, wherein the means for generating the plurality of descriptions is configured to:
encode the second portion of the content to the first quality;
encode the first portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and
combine the first portion encoded to the second quality and the second portion encoded to the first quality to provide the second one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 52 (depends on 51)

The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the means for generating the plurality of descriptions is configured to:
partition the content into the first portion, the second portion, and at least a third portion;
encode the third portion to the first quality;
encode at least the first portion and the second portion of the content to the second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality; and
combine the third portion encoded to the first quality, and at least the first portion and the second portion encoded to the second quality to provide a third one of the plurality of descriptions.

### Claim 53 (depends on 48)

The apparatus of claim 48, further comprising:
means for selecting at least one helper node, including the first helper node, to establish the second uplink for transmit diversity and to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 54 (depends on 53)

The apparatus of claim 53, further comprising means for sending a request to the at least one helper node to help in the sending of the content.

### Claim 55 (depends on 53)

The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for sharing the second one of the plurality of descriptions is configured to transmit the second one of the plurality of descriptions to the first helper node over an out-of-band link.

### Claim 56 (depends on 55)

The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WLAN air interface.

### Claim 57 (depends on 56)

The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the WLAN air interface comprises an IEEE 802.11 air interface.

### Claim 58 (depends on 55)

The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the out-of-band link comprises a WPAN air interface.

### Claim 59 (depends on 53)

The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the means for selecting the at least one helper node is configured to determine a proximity of the at least one helper node suitable for utilization of an out-of-band link.

### Claim 60 (depends on 59)

The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the means for determining the proximity of the at least one helper node is configured to perform at least one of:
determining a relationship between an IP address of the helper node and a local IP address;
determining a relationship between a user profile of the helper node and a local user profile; or
determining a relationship between a P2P network setup for the helper node and a local P2P network setup.

### Claim 61

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for receiving a request from a content server to help the server send content to a client node;
means for receiving, over a first interface, one of a plurality of descriptions of the content from the content server; and
means for transmitting, over a second interface, the one of the plurality of descriptions of the content to the client node,
wherein the one of the plurality of descriptions of content comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a second quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a first quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 62

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for receiving a first description of content of a plurality of descriptions from a content server;
means for receiving a second description of the content of the plurality of descriptions from a helper node proximate to the content server; and
means for selectively combining at least a portion of the first description with at least a portion of the second description to obtain the content having a higher quality, as a whole, than either the first description or the second description taken alone,
wherein the first description comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a first quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 63

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor,
wherein the processor is configured to:
receive a request from a content server to help the server send content to a client node;
receive, over a first interface, one of a plurality of descriptions of the content from the content server; and
transmit over a second interface, the one of the plurality of descriptions of the content to the client node,
wherein the one of the plurality of descriptions of content comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a second quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a first quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.

### Claim 64

An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor,
wherein the processor is configured to:
receive a first description of content of a plurality of descriptions from a content server;
receive a second description of the content of the plurality of descriptions from a helper node proximate to the content server; and
selectively combine at least a portion of the first description with at least a portion of the second description to obtain the content having a higher quality, as a whole, than either the first description or the second description taken alone,
wherein the first description comprises a combination of a first portion of the content encoded to a first quality and a second portion of the content encoded to a second quality, the second quality lesser than the first quality, and wherein each of the plurality of descriptions is configured such that reception of that description alone enables a version of the content to be decoded as a whole.