Abstract: A data repacker utilizing a multiplexer, one intermediate register, two shifters, and a control for these circuits. The multiplexer output is connected to the intermediate register, which has a storage length greater than the size of data words to be repacked. The first shifter receives the output of the register, and its output can be concatenated with an input data word to form one input to the multiplexer. The output of the register is provided as another input to the multiplexer. The second shifter also receives the output of the multiplexer, and has an output which is the repacker output. Information representing the number of bits in and the number of bits out is used to determine the most and least significant bits of the intermediate data which will be stored in the intermediate register, and to control the shifters.

Abstract: A tape drive system includes a compaction scheme whereby the data to be stored on the media is encoded and formatted to take less space along the tape length. The data to be written to tape is placed into equal byte lengths or sets. The sets of data are directed to a plurality of encoders in turn and compacted through an Arithmetic Binary Coding program having two statistic tables per encoder to allow format compatibility with a higher throughput compaction scheme. The compacted sets are sequenced and formed into packets. Then the packets are autoblocked to delineate the packets while providing a single Inter Block Gap per autoblock length and written on the tape. On read, the data is retrieved from the tape and deblocked to separate the packets. Each packet is separated into compacted sets of data. The compacted sets are directed to a plurality of decoders in turn and decompacted. The decompacted sets are to resequenced to place the data into the same state as originally transmitted.

Abstract: This invention is an image compression device which includes a means to rearrange binary image data in a unit of pixel in accordance with a first conversion table, and a means to encode said rearranged data in accordance with a second conversion table, and which is characterized in that the second conversion table contains a data comprising a code which is added to a predetermined code used for the case where the same logical value continues in the rearranged data and which is based on the number of continuous pixels, a code having the same bit at the leading edge thereof as the leading bit of the predetermined code for the case where the same logical value continues up to the trailing end of the rearranged data, and a code having at its leading edge of a bit different from the leading bit of the predetermined code which is to be used for the data other than above. The above device according to this invention can compress any binary data including line images and dot images at high efficiency and high speed.

Abstract: A method of compressing input characters, and decompressing compressed data to produce the original input characters is provided whereby an input substitution table and an output substitution table are formed by storing an identical set of arbitrary character tokens of a fixed length in each of the tables. Each table entry has a first and second token data field associated with it. The token data fields are representative of either a character token or substitution code token. Input characters are loaded into an input register and pairs of tokens in the input register are replaced with a substitution code token from the input substitution table. The tokens residing in the input resister are transmitted as output tokens to the decompression mechanism. The entries in the input substitution table are then updated by locating a substitution entry in the table which is not referenced by any other substitution table entry and by replacing this entry with the two most recently transmitted output tokens.

Abstract: A data communication system includes a repetitive pattern packet suppression technique which suppresses transmission of entire packets in a data stream when a repeating pattern has been established in the previous packet and then is found to repeat throughout the following packets. An expansion part of the technique fills the resulting hole in the data stream with the last pattern from the previously received packet.

Abstract: An improved method of generating a compressed representation of a source data string, each symbol of which is taken from a finite set of m+1 symbols, a.sub.o to a.sub.m. The method is based on an arithmetic coding procedure wherein the source data string is recursively generated as successive subintervals within a predetermined interval. The width of each subinterval is theoretically equal to the width of the previous subinterval multiplied by the probability of the current symbol. The improvement derives from approximating the width of the previous subinterval so that the approximation can be achieved by a single SHIFT and ADD operation using a suitable shift register.

Abstract: The improved data compression system concurrently processes both strings of repeated characters and textual substitution of input character strings. In this system, the performance of data compression techniques based on textual substitution are improved by the use of a compact representation for identifying instances in which a character in the input data stream is repeated. This is accomplished by nesting a run length encoding system in the textual substitution system. This structure adds the recognition of runs of a repeated character before the processor performs the textual substituted data compression operation. A further performance improvement is obtained by expanding the alphabet of symbols stored in the compressor's dictionary to include both the characters of the input data stream and repeat counts which indicate the repetition of a character.

Abstract: A data compression/decompression system employs two stages of data compression. Information and/or character data is first formatted into M-bit width digital data characteristics for input to the first stage of the data compression system which comprises an expanding run length encoder having N-bit width output character where N>M and the number of M-bit width characters is greater than the number of N-bit width characters. The output of the expanding run length encoder is applied directly to a compatible adaptive string matching second stage data compression encoder of the type which is not degraded or affected by the input.When the input data stream to the two stage system is not of a known format or provided with leader or header bit character width information, a bit analyzer and a chopper are provided in a data stream to prepare the data stream in a bit character width format which matches the input of the expanding run length encoder.

Abstract: The data packer receives n-bit wide parallel data words, and it outputs m-bit wide packed parallel data words, where n is a variable and may change during the operation, and m is a fixed integer. The input data words are applied to a bit shifter and therefrom to a data output circuit where they are stored until the necessary m bits are obtained. In the preferred embodiment a control circuit which comprises an adder, receives information indicating the number of valid data bits in each input word, and it provides a running sum of the number of received valid data bits. When the number of bits in an input word is equal to or greater than m, the control circuit provides a first control signal which occurs simultaneously with an m-bit wide packed parallel output word provided by the output circuit. Any number of input bits which is less than m is added to a remainder of a previous sum which is also less than m.

Abstract: The adaptive data compression apparatus is located within a tape drive control unit which is interposed between one or more host computers and one or more tape transports. The adaptive data compression apparatus functions to efficiently compress a user data file received from a host computer into a bit oriented compressed format for storage on the magnetic tape that is loaded in the tape transport. The data compression apparatus divides each block of an incoming user data file into predetermined sized segments, each of which is compressed independently without reference to any other segment in the user data file. The data compression apparatus concurrently uses a plurality of data compression algorithms to adapt the data compression operation to the particular data stored in the user data file. A cyclic redundancy check circuit is used to compute a predetermined length CRC code from all of the incoming user data bytes before they are compressed.

Abstract: A decoder is capable of decoding on a maximum likelihood basis coded symbols of requivalently high coding rate which are produced by deleting those code bits which are located at particular positions in a time sequence of convolutional symbols of low coding rate. The decoder includes a serial-to-parallel (SP) converter for converting a serial data sequence from a dummy bit inserter into parallel sequences. The frequency division phase of the SP converter is determined by a second timing signal which the dummy bit inserter produces in synchronism with a dummy bit inserted phase. A code synchronization is established, frequency division phase synchronization is automatically established. This eliminates the need for the repetitive trial for frequency division phase synchronization only and thereby reduces a synchronization capture time.

Abstract: In accordance with the present invention source data is encoded by literal codewords of varying length value, with or without the encoding of copy codewords of varying length and displacement value. Copy codeword encoding is central to textual substitution-style data compression, but the encoding of variable length literals may be employed for other types of data compression.

Abstract: A data compression method and apparatus particularly suitable for use in electrical power line fault data recorders. The system performs both gain compression and frequency compression. For gain compression, a predetermined number of samples are analyzed to determine a gain setting common to each sample in the set of samples. A reduced data string consisting of a gain code and data words having fewer bits than the input words are transmitted as a compressed data string. For frequency compression, a sample set representing the input signal is decimated until there remain only a sufficient number of data samples to satisfy the Nyquist criterion for the highest frequency component of interest. The frequency compressed output data string comprises a frequency code representing the highest frequency of interest followed by the set of decimated data samples.

Abstract: A data compression/decompression apparatus employs common circuitry and a single string table for compression and decompression. A throttle control is provided to prevent data under-runs and an optimizing start-up control delays the start-up of the recording device until the compression apparatus has compressed sufficient data to effeciently reduce throttling and loss of compression when the output device is started. The decompression apparatus may operate to decompress compressed data when the compressed data is read in either the same direction as it was recorded, or read in the direction reverse to that in which it was recorded. A further feature is the provision of a counter which is incremented by one after a predetermined number of string codes have been written into the string table. The output of the counter is stored in the string table with each string code and prefix code.

Abstract: In the serializer for converting parallel data into serial data, where the parallel data comprises normal characters all of the same length and a last character of a different length, the characters are each tagged by an extra bit as it enters a FIFO. This tag bit indicates the length of the character and is shifted along with the character as the character is shifted through the FIFO. The normal character length and the length of the last character are stored. As a character emerges from the FIFO, its tag bit identifies it as a normal character or as the last character. Such tag bit is used to select the correct character length in a counter. The character is loaded in a shifter which is controlled by the counter. Therefore, the shifter is controlled by the counter to shift the correct number of times in order to shift the character into a serial bit stream.

Abstract: Data compression/decompression apparatus and methods are provided which exhibit significant data compression improvement over prior art methods and apparatus. This is achieved by providing an adaptive characteristic in which a pair of data compression/decompression translation tables are constructed based on the data which is to be compressed or decompressed. One table is used to compress or decompress while the other is being rebuilt, thus reflecting the characteristics of the most recent input data.

Abstract: A digital limiter limits the amplitude of a digital video signal by replacing input data that lies outside the range defined by lower and upper limit levels. Such data are replaced respectively with (1) an average value of (a) the data preceding the first data lying outside the range and (b) the upper or lower limit level data and (2) an average value of (a) the data following the last data lying outside the range and (b) the upper or lower limit level data. This enables a good soft-limit operation without compromising the linearity of the video signal.