Patent ID: 6988114

Claim:
A data conversion process that includes a procedure for converting signals in the form of digital data between an original format, in which the digital data include plural data items and each data item includes a first number of digits, and a compressed format that includes plural compressed data items, in which each compressed data item includes a second number of digits that are less than the first number, the process comprising the operation of associating the data items of the digital data with a configuration including, for each data item of the digital data: creating a first field identifying a number of sub-blocks into which the data item is subdivided; creating a second field that identifies, within the sub-blocks, respective sections, each including a number of digits; and creating a third field that identifies, for each of the sections, a respective one of a plurality of applicable modes that can be adopted for converting the digits in the section between the original format and the compressed format.