Patent ID: 6470391
Filing Date: 2002-10-22
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method for transmitting data from a data source via a network wherein the transmission of a data packet of the data is acknowledged by an acknowledgment packet returned from a receiving side to a transmitting side,wherein said transmitting side carries out the steps of: (1) dividing a data block received from said data source into a plurality of divided data packets each having a data size smaller than that of an acknowledgement (ACK) unit, said ACK unit being a unit of data for which an acknowledgment packet must be returned to said data source so that a next data block can be transmitted from said data source to said transmitting side, (2) furnishing each of the divided data packets with an identifier indicating a pre-division position sequence in said data block of the divided data packet, and (3) transmitting said divided data packets without waiting for an acknowledgment packet from said receiving side to arrive for each divided data packet transmitted, and wherein said receiving side carries out the steps of: (4) merging said divided data packets upon receipt in accordance with the identifiers thereof, and (5) returning to said transmitting side, for each of said divided data packets received, an acknowledgment packet provided with receipt information indicating whether the divided data packet has been normally received, and wherein said transmitting side carries out the step of: (6) returning an acknowledgment packet to said data source when normal transmission of all of said divided data packets has been verified with said acknowledgment packets received from said receiving side, thereby to enable said data source to transmit the next data block.