Dynamic Cache Hash Table for Image Tile Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for compressing and transmitting visual images over networks are inefficient, especially for high frame rate image streams with repeating content, as they do not effectively utilize caching mechanisms to reduce bandwidth and maintain image quality.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic cache hash table system that encodes and transmits image tiles based on hash values, allowing for efficient compression and transmission by referencing previously encoded tiles, and updates the cache tables to maintain synchronization between the host and client computers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If image data is transmitted over a lossy network without caching mechanisms, then network bandwidth consumption is high, but image quality can be maintained through retransmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-caching image tiles at the client computer before they are needed for display. The system divides the display area into multiple tiles and maintains a cache of previously transmitted tile data. When a tile needs to be displayed, the system checks the cache first and only requests new data if the cached version is not available or has expired, thus preventing bandwidth waste from retransmitting unchanged tiles while ensuring image quality is maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by treating different spatial regions (tiles) of the image differently based on their individual needs. Each tile is independently tracked in the cache with its own validity status and expiration time. This allows the system to optimize bandwidth usage locally for each tile rather than treating the entire image as a single unit, enabling selective retransmission only for tiles that have changed or expired.
2Productivity
If caching mechanisms are implemented to reduce bandwidth, then network efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the display area into multiple independent tiles and maintaining separate cache entries for each tile. This segmentation allows the system to manage cache data in small, manageable units rather than handling entire images at once. Each tile has its own cache validity tracking and expiration management, which simplifies the overall caching logic compared to managing monolithic image caches.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics through the dynamic expiration mechanism for cached tiles. Each cached tile has an associated expiration time that is updated based on whether the tile has changed at the host computer. The cache system dynamically adjusts which tiles are valid and which need retransmission, allowing the system to adapt to changing network conditions and content updates without requiring complex manual management.
3Manufacturing precision
If all image tiles are transmitted with initial encoding, then image quality is ensured, but bandwidth consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies discarding and recovering by allowing cached tile data to expire naturally over time or when changes are detected at the host computer. When a cached tile expires, the system recovers the original image data by requesting a fresh transmission from the host. This approach avoids continuously retransmitting all tiles with initial encoding, instead only recovering data for tiles that have actually changed, thus maintaining image quality while reducing bandwidth consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for communicating image data. In one embodiment, the method comprises transmitting, by a computer comprising at least one processor, (i) an initial encoding of a first image instance of a first spatial tile in a sequence of image frames followed by (ii) an initial encoding of a second image instance of the first spatial tile; transmitting, by the computer, an encoding indicative of a perfect match between pixel values of a first image instance of a second spatial tile in the sequence and the first image instance of the first spatial tile; and transmitting, by the computer, an initial encoding of a second image instance of the second spatial tile based on receiving an indication of an absence of a decoding of the encoding of the first image instance of the first spatial tile.