JP4259547B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

    The present invention relates to a communication device having a supervising node and a terminal node, and more particularly to a supervising node capable of managing other nodes and a terminal node managed by the supervising node.

  IEEE 1394 is known as a serial interface standard capable of high-capacity and high-speed transfer. An interface conforming to the IEEE 1394 standard or a device having the interface (hereinafter collectively referred to as an IEEE 1394 device) includes an IEEE 1394 bus protocol (lower layer) composed of hardware as one node, and device control thereon. And protocol (upper layer) such as isochronous transfer control is implemented by software.

  FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a protocol stack of a general AV (audio / visual) device in which an upper layer of mLAN (trademark) is mounted. mLAN is an application that conforms to the IEEE 1394 standard and is positioned above it, and is a digital network system for music.

  The lower layer includes, for example, each of a physical layer (Physical Layer), a link layer (Link Layer), a transaction layer (Transaction Layer), and a bus management (Serial Bus Management).

  In the physical layer, physical and electrical interfaces are defined. The physical layer is generally composed of hardware.

  In the link layer, a one-way transfer service called a subaction and a service (Packet Handler) related to packet transmission / reception are provided. Similar to the physical layer, the link layer is generally configured by hardware. In the link layer, for example, services related to asynchronous (asynchronous) transmission and isochronous transmission (Isochronous Transmission) are provided.

  In particular, for isochronous transfer, signals that require high-speed processing, such as audio signals and video signals, are handled, and all services are provided in the link layer, which is hardware.

  In the transaction layer, processing related to asynchronous transfer is performed. A transaction is a request-response type data transfer, and there are three types: a read transaction, a write transaction, and a lock transaction.

  The read transaction is a transaction for reading data from the target specific address space, and the write transaction is a transaction for writing data to the target specific address space. The lock transaction is a transaction for updating data in a specific address space on the target based on the reference data.

  The bus management is a module for centrally managing resources on the bus. In bus management, power supply management, topology map and speed map management, isochronous resource management, and the like are performed.

  The upper layer is software for managing the lower layer and the entire node, and includes, for example, a 1394AV protocol (IEC-61883) and an mLAN upper layer.

  In the 1394AV protocol, a CIP (Common Isochronous Packet) format for expressing data contents of isochronous packets, a CMP (Connection Management Protocol) for defining virtual “plugs” to manage connections, and an IEEE 1394 bus An FCP (Function Control Protocol) for managing other connected devices is defined.

  The mLAN upper layer is a protocol layer for transferring audio / music information according to the IEEE 1394 standard. The mLAN upper layer is composed of an audio / music information transfer protocol and a connection management protocol, both of which comply with the 1394AV protocol.

  The audio / music information transfer protocol adds a format for transferring audio / music information to the CIP definition. The connection management protocol is a protocol for making CMP intelligent and performing autonomous connection management on each node.

  These upper layers and lower layers are mounted on all IEEE 1394 devices connected to the IEEE 1394 bus even though there are some differences in their functions.

  Since the upper layer is more complex than the lower layer, the hardware resources required to implement the upper layer are increased compared to the lower layer. For this reason, if an upper layer is mounted on all IEEE 1394 devices, the manufacturing cost increases.

  In addition, since the upper layer is often related to the user interface as compared to the lower layer, there are more opportunities to feed back improvement requests from users, and a structure that can be easily changed to a new specification is desirable. However, all IEEE 1394 devices If the upper layer is made a structure that can be easily upgraded, the manufacturing cost will be increased.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a device conforming to the IEEE 1394 standard with reduced manufacturing costs.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a device conforming to the IEEE 1394 standard that can manage other nodes.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a first lower layer in at least one network protocol having a first register, a first upper layer in a network protocol that controls the first lower layer, and a central node via the network communicate A communication apparatus having a hierarchical structure including a second upper layer in a network protocol that controls a lower layer in a network protocol of a specific terminal node that is possible, wherein the communication apparatus functions as the central node and the first lower layer Is a communication means that is controlled based on the data written in the first register and is included in the first lower layer, the other node generating the first instruction and the second instruction, and the specific end node Communication means for transmitting / receiving signals to / from the network via the network, and a first means included in the first higher layer A first generation unit configured to generate a first control signal for controlling a first lower layer process in response to a first instruction received from the other node; and the first control signal First communication means for writing to one register, and when the specific terminal node is connected to the network, the communication device operates as a proxy for the function of the specific terminal node, and the second host Second generation means included in a layer, the second generation unit generating a second control signal for controlling a second lower layer included in the specific terminal node according to a second instruction received from the other node; And generating means and second writing means for writing the second control signal to a second register of a second lower layer provided in the specific terminal node via the network.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a terminal node and a supervising node form part of a network, and the terminal node and the supervising node are communicably connected via the network, and the terminal node and the supervising node are connected to each other. The overall note has at least a register and a lower layer in a network protocol controlled by data written in the register, and the communication device functioning as the end node is a communication means included in the lower layer, It has a communication means that transmits and receives signals to and from other nodes connected to the network and generates instructions, and generates control signals whose procedures are defined in the lower layer in response to instructions from the other nodes Instead of having an upper layer that performs processing for writing the generated control signal to the lower layer register, the terminal Via the network by generating said control signal, characterized in that it is controlled by the dominating node for writing a control signal thus generated to the register of the lower layer of the dominated node according to the instruction on behalf of the node.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the apparatus based on the IEEE1394 standard which suppressed the manufacturing cost can be provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a device compliant with the IEEE 1394 standard that can manage other nodes.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an IEEE 1394 bus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The IEEE 1394 bus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes, for example, a general node 2a and a general node 2b that implement an upper layer and a lower layer, a terminal node 3a that does not have an upper layer, an upper layer, a lower layer, and other nodes (terminal nodes). 3a and 3b) are connected to each other via the IEEE 1394 cable.

  The general nodes 2a and 2b are any one of an electronic musical instrument, an audio device, an AV device, a personal computer, various external storage devices, etc. having an IEEE1394 interface. The general nodes 2a and 2b are mounted with an upper layer A, a lower layer A, an upper layer E, and a lower layer E, respectively.

  The terminal node 3a is any one of an electronic musical instrument, an audio device, an AV device, a personal computer, various external storage devices, and the like having an IEEE 1394 interface, and is a powered speaker, for example. The terminal node 3a does not mount the upper layer, but only the lower layer B. Since the terminal node 3a does not have an upper layer mounted thereon, a single node cannot normally communicate with the general node 2a or 2b using a protocol defined by the upper layer.

  As described above, since the terminal node 3a does not implement an upper layer, it cannot normally process a command based on the 1394AV protocol or a command based on the mLAN standard, which is processed in the upper layer, Since isochronous transfer is implemented in the lower layer, it can be processed alone.

  For example, when the end node 3a is a powered speaker, a sound signal for sound generation is normally transmitted by isochronous transfer and can be processed only in the lower layer. On the other hand, setting of connections such as reception channels, volume control, etc. are normally processed by the terminal node 3a alone having only the lower layer because the command is received by the upper layer and written to the function register corresponding to the command. I can't do it.

  The terminal node 3a is a terminal node, and the ID that identifies the type of the upper layer necessary for the node that supervises the terminal node 3a is recorded in a CSR (Control and Status Registers) memory to be described later. Also, the GUID (Global Unique Identifier) of the supervising node that supervises the current node is recorded in the CSR memory.

  The supervising node 4 is any one of an electronic musical instrument, an acoustic device, an AV device, a personal computer, various external storage devices, and the like having an IEEE1394 interface, and is configured by a personal computer having an external storage device, for example. In addition to the lower layer C and its own upper layer C, the supervising node 4 has upper layers B and D for managing the lower layers of the end nodes 3a and 3b. These upper layers B and D can communicate with the general node 2a or 2b according to the protocol defined in the upper layer as a proxy for the upper layer of the end nodes 3a and 3b.

  The supervising node 4 records the GUID of the terminal node that can be managed by the supervising node 4 in association with software (upper layer) for managing the terminal node.

  The end node 3b has substantially the same configuration as the end node 3a, but has an upper layer D 'and a lower layer D mounted thereon. The terminal node 3b can be managed by the upper layer D of the supervising node 4 by stopping the function of the mounted upper layer D '. Note that the upper layer D ′ of the terminal node 3 b may manage only a part of the functions, and the insufficient functions may be managed by the upper layer D of the supervising node 4. The function of the upper layer D ′ that is mounted can be executed or stopped by an external command.

  Similarly to the terminal node 3a, the terminal node 3b also records an ID that identifies the type of the upper layer necessary for the node that controls the node itself, in the CSR memory. Further, when the function of the upper layer D ′ mounted is stopped, the GUID of the supervising node that supervises the current node is recorded in the CSR memory.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the CSR memory of the end node 3a (or 3b) according to the present embodiment.

  The CSR memory of the terminal node 3a (or 3b) includes, for example, a CSR core register, a serial bus register, a configuration ROM having Y address information, and a device specific register having an AV / C area and a Y area.

  The CSR core register and serial bus register have the same configuration as that of the well-known IEEE 1394 device.

  The Y address information indicates the addresses of the read-only area, the read / write area, the general node ID in the read / write area, the lower layer function register area, and other areas included in the Y area with respect to other nodes (particularly the central node). It is open to the public.

  In the supervising node ID, the GUID of the supervising node that manages the own device is recorded.

  A node (general node) having a GUID recorded in the general node ID can detect the address of a register necessary for managing the end node by reading this Y address information.

  Alternatively, it may be set so that only the node having the GUID recorded in the overall node ID can write to the device specific register. In this way, it is possible to prevent the supervising nodes from competing even when the supervising nodes whose GUID is not recorded in the supervising node ID exist on the same bus.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the CSR memory of the supervising node 4 according to this embodiment.

  The CSR memory of the central node 4 includes, for example, a CSR core register, a serial bus register, a configuration ROM, and a device specific register having an AV / C area.

  The CSR core register and serial bus register have the same configuration as that of the well-known IEEE 1394 device, and the other configurations are almost the same as the CSR memory of the end node 3a (or 3b) in FIG.

  The characteristic of the CSR memory of the supervising node 4 is that information related to the function of the terminal node under management is recorded in the config ROM in addition to its own information. By adding the function of the terminal node under the management to the configuration ROM, it seems to the other nodes that the supervising node has the function of the terminal node.

    FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing communication between the general node 2a and the general node 2b.

  First, the end node 3a receives a command write command (packet 1) for an address corresponding to the function of the upper layer E from the general node 2a (transmission side). Next, the lower layer E of the general node 2b (receiving side) executes a command write to an address for the function of the upper layer E based on the write command.

  Thereafter, the upper layer E of the general node 2b receives the write command (packet 1), and issues a write command to the lower layer E to the register (function register) corresponding to the command. That is, the upper layer E interprets the received command and writes control data corresponding to the content of the command to a register (function register) of the lower layer E corresponding to the function to be managed by the command. As described above, the lower layer E can perform an operation corresponding to the command transmitted from the general node 2a based on the control data written in the register.

  When the writing is normally performed, the lower layer E of the general node 2b transmits the packet 2 indicating that the write command has been normally performed to the general node 2a.

  In this way, nodes having higher layers can write to the function register and manage other devices with each other via the higher layers.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing communication between the general node 2a and the end node 3a according to this embodiment. In this example, it is assumed that the supervising node 4 does not exist on the IEEE 1394 bus 1.

  First, a command write command (packet 1) for an address corresponding to an upper layer function is received from the general node 2a (transmission side). Next, the lower layer B of the end node 3a (receiving side) tries to execute writing in response to the write command. However, since the upper layer is not implemented in the terminal node 3a, there is no address corresponding to the function of the upper layer, and the lower layer B transmits an error (packet 2) to the general node 2a. . That is, since the terminal node 3a does not have an upper layer, the writing of the command corresponding to the received packet 2 fails, and therefore the control for the lower layer B corresponding to the command is not performed.

  Thus, since the end node 3a returns an error to the command corresponding to the function of the upper layer, it can be seen that the end node 3a does not implement the upper layer.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the supervising node 4 implements a higher layer of the terminal node 3a and performs communication with the general node 2a as a proxy.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing communication between the general node 2a and the end node 3a via the supervising node 4 according to this embodiment. The supervising node 4 is set to manage the terminal node 3a by the terminal node management setting process described later.

  First, the lower layer C of the supervising node 4 receives a command write command (packet 1) for an address corresponding to the function of the upper layer B of the end node 3a from the general node 2a (request source).

  Next, the lower layer C of the supervising node 4 writes a command to an address corresponding to the function of the upper layer B based on the received write command. Thereafter, the upper layer B detects the address of the function register of the lower layer B in the terminal node 3a corresponding to the function instructed by the command, and writes a control data write command (in response to the command to the detected address ( Packet 2) is transmitted to the end node 3a.

  Thereafter, the lower layer B of the end node 3a executes the received write command (packet 2), that is, writes the control data to an address corresponding to the function register of the lower layer B, and outputs the result (packet 3). , To the supervising node 4. The lower layer B performs an operation corresponding to the command transmitted from the general node 2 a to the upper layer B of the supervising node 4 based on the written control data.

  The supervising node that has received the processing result (packet 3) from the end node 3a transmits a response (packet 4) to the original command to the general node 2a that issued the request (sent the command). .

  The general node 2a receives the response (packet 4) from the supervising node 4 and recognizes that the processing has been normally performed.

  In this way, the supervising node 4 performs the role that the upper layer of the end node should originally play, and transmits the signal to be processed in the upper layer to the end node in a format that can be processed in the lower layer, whereby the upper layer It is possible to write commands to terminal nodes that do not have.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the terminal node management setting process in the supervising node 4 of this embodiment. This end node management setting process is performed by normal bus reset (occurs when a topology change occurs, such as when a new node is connected to the bus or a previously connected node is removed from the bus). It is activated every time.

  In step SA1, the terminal node management setting process is started and the process proceeds to the next step SA2.

  In step SA2, the end node management process is initialized. Here, for example, the function corresponding to the upper layer of the end node described in the configuration ROM of the supervising node is cleared. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SA3.

  In step SA3, the GUID of the terminal node to be managed is read from the rewritable storage device. For the convenience of the following explanation, it is assumed that one terminal node GUID to be managed is recorded in advance in the supervising node of this embodiment. Actually, the number is not limited to one, and there may be a plurality of cases, or there may be no one.

  In addition, the user may input the GUID of the terminal node to be managed. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, a write command for an address corresponding to a higher-layer function may be transmitted to the terminal node, and the GUID of the terminal node that returned an error may be read from the configuration ROM of the terminal node. When the GUID of the terminal node to be managed is read, the process proceeds to the next step SA4.

  In step SA4, the GUID of the node connected to the IEEE1394 bus 1 is read. Here, the GUID of one node is read out, but the GUIDs of all nodes are read out by repeating this step SA4. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SA5.

  In step SA5, it is determined whether the GUID read in step SA4 is equal to the GUID of the terminal node to be managed read in step SA3. If the GUID read in step SA4 is equal to the GUID of the terminal node to be managed read in step SA3, the process proceeds to step SA6 indicated by a YES arrow, and if not, the process proceeds to step SA10 indicated by a NO arrow.

  In step SA6, information necessary for managing the terminal node is read from the configuration ROM of the terminal node in which the GUID and GUID of the terminal node to be managed in step SA5 match. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SA7.

  In step SA7, based on the information read in step SA6, a software instance (upper layer for the managed end node) corresponding to the end node to be managed is created in the upper layer of the own device (supervising node). Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SA8.

  Here, creating a software instance corresponding to a terminal node means that a command (for example, an AV / C command) that should be received by the upper layer of the terminal node is received by the upper layer of the supervising node instead of the terminal node. It is to make a state. That is, after the processing of step SA7, the supervising node can accept commands from other nodes for the terminal node managed by itself.

  In step SA8, its own GUID is written in the overall node GUID storage area (FIG. 2) of the end node to indicate that it is the overall node that manages the end node. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SA9.

  By writing its own GUID in the terminal node to be managed, it is possible to indicate to the other supervising node that the terminal node has already been managed.

  In step SA9, the function of the end node is added by adding the function information of the end node to its own configuration ROM. By doing this, it is possible to make it appear from other nodes as if it has the function of a terminal node managed by the supervising node. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SA10.

  A function corresponding to an upper layer having a terminal node to be managed (an upper layer corresponding to a terminal node connected to the bus) among the upper layers prepared in advance by the management node is written in the configuration ROM of the management node. A function corresponding to an upper layer without an end node to be managed (an upper layer corresponding to an end node not connected to the bus) is not written.

  In step SA10, it is determined whether the GUIDs of all nodes connected to the IEEE 1394 bus 1 have been read. When the GUIDs of all the nodes are read, the process proceeds to step SA11 indicated by a YES arrow. If the GUIDs of all the nodes have not been read, the process returns to step SA4 indicated by a NO arrow, and the subsequent processing is repeated.

  In step SA11, a terminal node management setting completion notification is issued in order to make other nodes recognize that the terminal node is managed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the next step SA12, and the terminal node management setting process is terminated.

As a result, the supervising node can be recognized as having the function of a terminal node. In step SA11, a bus reset is issued so that other nodes connected to the same IEEE 1394 bus 1 as the supervising node recognize software instances created in the upper layer of the supervising node. You may make it recognize that the end node 3a provided with the layer exists.
In any case, a command corresponding to the function of the upper layer of the managed end node is transmitted to the supervising node.

  Since communication by isochronous transfer can be directly processed by the lower layer, it is transmitted directly to the end node without going through the central node.

  By performing the above-mentioned end node management setting process, the supervising node processes all accesses to the upper layer of the end node managed by itself, and performs a transaction determined for the corresponding end node as necessary. It can be issued and the end node operation status can be confirmed or changed.

  In addition, when a new terminal node joins the bus and when any terminal node is removed from the bus, the supervising node executes the processing of FIG. 7 in response to the generated bus reset. Then, the description of the function of the newly joined terminal node appears in the configuration ROM of the supervising node, or the description of the function of the detached terminal node disappears from the configuration ROM.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for helping understanding of the concept of processing in each node for performing the communication shown in FIG. It is assumed that the terminal node management setting process shown in FIG. 7 has already been performed in the supervising node. Also, dotted arrows in the figure indicate packet transmission.

  Steps SB1 to SB4 are processing at the request issuer (general node 2a in FIG. 6).

  In step SB1, the request issuer process is started, and the process proceeds to the next step SB2.

  In step SB2, a request for a software instance (upper layer B of the overall node 4 in FIG. 6) corresponding to the function of the end node is transmitted. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the next step SB3. The request transmitted here is received by the supervising node in step SB6 described later.

  In step SB3, the processing result of the end node transmitted from the supervising node in step SB9 described later is received. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the next step SB4, and the request issuer process is terminated.

  Steps SB5 to SB10 are processing in the supervising node (supervising node 4 in FIG. 6).

  In step SB5, the supervising node process is started, and the process proceeds to the next step SB6.

  In step SB6, a request for a software instance (upper layer B of the central node 4 in FIG. 6) corresponding to the function of the terminal node created in the upper layer of the central node is received. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the next step SB7.

  In step SB7, a write command is transmitted to the function register of the end node. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SB8. As described above, the supervising node stores the function of the terminal node under its management in the configuration ROM. Further, the supervising node records various information for controlling the terminal node (information on the function of the terminal node, the address of the function register of the terminal node corresponding to the function, etc.) in the work memory in the supervising node. The write command transmitted here is received by the end node in step SB12 described later.

  In step SB8, the processing result in the terminal node transmitted in step SB14 described later is received. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SB9.

  In step SB9, based on the processing result in the terminal node received in step SB8, the processing result in the terminal node is transmitted to the original request issuer. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the next step SB10, and the overall node process is terminated.

  The processing of steps SB11 to SB15 is processing at the terminal node (terminal node 3a in FIG. 6).

  In step SB11, the end node processing is started and the process proceeds to the next step SB12.

  In step SB12, the write command for the function register transmitted from the supervising node in step SB7 is received and written to the function register. Since transmission / reception of a write command and processing based on the write command are performed by a transaction layer which is a lower layer, it can be normally performed even at a terminal node having no upper layer. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SB13.

  In step SB13, the function corresponding to the function register is executed. For example, a fixed value or the like is written to the function register. Thereafter, the process proceeds to next Step SB14.

  In step SB14, the processing result of the write command is transmitted to the supervising node. Thereafter, the process proceeds to the next step SB15, and the end node process is terminated.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to manage a device (end node) that does not mount an upper layer using the IEEE 1394 standard by the IEEE 1394 device serving as a central node.

  As a result, the terminal node having no higher layer can be controlled from the IEEE 1394 device corresponding to the general node through the supervising node.

  In addition, a plurality of end nodes can be managed by one supervising node. As a result, the upper layer update using the IEEE 1394 standard such as the user interface (including not only “upper protocol update” but also “bug correction” and “performance improvement”) is performed for each device. There is no need to do this, and it can be done easily.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, by mounting the upper layer on the central node, it is possible to provide a node without the upper layer while maintaining the interchangeability with the upper layer using the IEEE 1394 standard.

  Furthermore, by omitting the upper layer from the end node, hardware and software resources for implementing the upper layer can be saved, and the end node can be provided at a low price.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the function of the upper layer of the terminal node on which a part or all of the upper layer is mounted can be stopped and managed by the supervising node. In this case, by updating the upper layer of the supervising node, the same effect as that of updating the upper layer mounted on the terminal node can be obtained.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when an upper layer using the new IEEE 1394 standard is defined, the terminal node can be made to correspond to the new standard by updating only the upper layer of the supervising node.

  If the supervising node is a personal computer or the like and has the ability to simultaneously execute a plurality of software (upper layers) for managing the terminal nodes, the GUIDs of the terminal nodes managed by the respective running software Are managed and recorded so as to avoid a race condition in which one terminal node is managed by a plurality of software.

  In the present embodiment, the case where only one supervising node exists on the IEEE1394 bus 1 has been described. However, a plurality of supervising nodes may be connected to the IEEE1394 bus 1. When a plurality of superordinate nodes are connected on the same IEEE 1394 bus 1, it is necessary to make adjustments so that terminal nodes managed by the supervised nodes do not overlap.

  In addition, you may make it implement a present Example by the commercially available computer etc. which installed the computer program etc. corresponding to a present Example.

  In that case, the computer program or the like corresponding to the present embodiment may be provided to the user while being stored in a storage medium that can be read by the computer, such as a CD-ROM or a floppy disk.

  When the computer or the like is connected to a communication network such as a LAN, the Internet, or a telephone line, a computer program or various data may be provided to the computer or the like via the communication network.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, improvements, combinations, and the like can be made.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an IEEE 1394 bus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the CSR memory of the terminal node 3a (or 3b) by a present Example. It is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the CSR memory of the supervising node 4 by a present Example. It is a block diagram showing communication between the general node 2a and the general node 2b. It is a block diagram showing communication between the general node 2a and the terminal node 3a by a present Example. It is a block diagram showing communication between the general node 2a and the terminal node 3a via the supervision node 4 by a present Example. It is a flowchart showing the management setting process of the terminal node in the management node 4 of a present Example. It is a flowchart showing the process in each node for performing communication shown in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the protocol stack of the common AV (audio visual) apparatus which mounted mLAN upper layer.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... IEEE 1394 bus, 2 ... general node, 3 ... terminal node, 4 ... overall node

Claims (13)

A first lower layer in at least one network protocol having a first register, a first upper layer in a network protocol that controls the first lower layer, and a network protocol of a specific end node that can communicate with the central node via the network a communication apparatus having a hierarchical structure including a second upper layer in the network protocol for controlling the lower layer of,
The communication device functions as the central node, and the first lower layer is controlled based on data written to the first register,
A communication means included in the first lower layer, wherein the communication means transmits and receives a signal via the network with another node that generates a first instruction and a second instruction and the specific terminal node; ,
First generation means included in the first upper layer, wherein the first generation means generates a first control signal for controlling the first lower layer processing in response to a first instruction received from the other node. When,
First writing means for writing the first control signal to the first register;
When the specific end node is connected to the network, the communication device operates as a proxy for the function of the specific end node;
Second generation means included in the second upper layer, wherein a second control signal for controlling a second lower layer included in the specific terminal node according to a second instruction received from the other node; Second generating means for generating;
2. A communication apparatus comprising: a second writing unit that writes the second control signal to a second register of a second lower layer included in the specific terminal node via the network. Receiving means for receiving the result of the write process from the specific end node to the second register via the network;
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the processing result to another node that has transmitted the second instruction as a response to the second instruction. 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second generation unit holds the second instruction and generates the second control signal by analyzing the held second instruction. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first holding unit configured to hold information related to the function of the specific terminal node when performing the function of the specific terminal node. Communication equipment. The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first holding unit is accessible from the other node via a network. And identification information holding means for holding identification information in cooperation with the second upper layer;
Reading means for reading identification information from each node connected to the network;
It is determined whether or not the read identification information matches the held identification information. When the read identification information matches the held identification information, a node corresponding to the identification information is set. 6. The communication according to claim 1, further comprising: an execution start unit that specifies the specific terminal node and starts executing a function acting on behalf of the function of the specified terminal node. apparatus. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific terminal node includes a second holding unit that holds identification information of a supervising node acting as a function of the node. . Furthermore, when the communication device functions as a central node acting as a proxy function for the specific terminal node, the communication device further includes identification information writing means for writing the identification information of the communication device in the second holding means of the specific terminal node. Item 8. The communication device according to Item 7. A terminal node and a supervising node form part of a network, and the terminal node and the supervising node are communicatively connected via the network, and the terminal node and the supervising note are at least registered in the register and the register, respectively. A communication device having a lower layer in a network protocol controlled by written data and functioning as the end node,
A communication means included in the lower layer, the communication means connected to the network to generate an instruction, or a communication means for transmitting and receiving signals with the overall notebook,
Instead of having an upper layer that generates a control signal whose procedure is defined in the lower layer in response to an instruction from the other node and performs processing for writing the generated control signal to the register in the lower layer The terminal node is controlled by a central node that generates the control signal in response to the instruction as a proxy of the terminal node and writes the generated control signal to a register in a lower layer of the terminal node via the network. Communication device. Further, in accordance with an instruction from the other node, a control signal having a procedure defined in the lower layer is generated, and an upper layer that performs processing for writing the generated control signal in the register in the lower layer is provided. The communication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that the information has not been issued. Furthermore, it has first identification information holding means for holding identification information for specifying the type of higher layer required by the supervising node acting on behalf of the higher layer function of the communication device operating as a terminal node. The communication device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that Furthermore, it has a 2nd identification information holding | maintenance means to hold | maintain the identification information which identifies the said supervising node acting on the function of the said upper layer of the said communication apparatus which operate | moves as a terminal node. The communication apparatus according to claim 1. 13. The communication apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the central node holding the identification information in the second identification information holding unit is allowed to write to the register of the communication apparatus.

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