Audio signal encoding apparatus and method and decoding apparatus and method which eliminate bit allocation information from the encoded data stream to thereby enable reduction of encoding/decoding delay times without increasing the bit rate

Granted: Sep 25, 2001 Filed: Sep 13, 1999

This patent predates the USPTO's electronic file wrapper — prosecution documents from this era exist only in the Patent Office's paper records. A certified copy of the file history can be ordered from the USPTO's paper archives.