JP2005110096A - Communication apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently utilize a high-speed cable-wire communication function by providing a fault detecting method and a fault dealing method in addition to a control information communication means and a data information communication means. <P>SOLUTION: In a network composed of a host PC 101 comprising both a high-speed cable-wire communication path 116 and a low-speed wireless communication path 117 and a plurality of apparatuses 102, 103, the high-speed cable-wire communication path 116 is used to communicate data information 118 and the low-speed wireless communication path 117 is used to communicate control information 119 and status information 120, separately, Thereby efficiently communicating only the data information 118 via the high-speed cable-wire communication path 116. Further, fault information is notified between the apparatuses via the low-speed wireless communication path 117 in parallel with communication using the high-speed communication path, thereby efficiently utilizing the high-speed cable-wire communication path 116 even if a fault occurs. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and method that efficiently uses a high-speed wired communication path.

  A conventional prioritized host PC environment network will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a conventional prioritized host PC environment network, in which 701 is a host PC, 702 and 703 are devices, 704 to 706 are wired devices, 707 to 709 are wired data buffers, and 710 is a high-speed wired network. It is a communication path.

In the network shown in FIG. 8, the host PC 701 and the plurality of devices 702 and 703 are provided with wired devices 704 to 706 and wired data buffers 707 to 709 in order to realize a high-speed wired communication function, and are connected via a high-speed wired communication path 710. Has been. Further, the communication priority is determined for the plurality of devices 702 and 703 by the host PC 701. In the case of a relatively small network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a PAN (Personal Area Network) in which such a configuration is often used, a failure occurs in a high-priority device 702 or a high-speed wired communication path When a failure occurs in 710 and communication becomes unstable, the host PC 701 performs processing such as data retransmission and communication check test in order to maintain maximum communication with the high-priority device 702 (for example, , See Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2.)
JP-A-8-204777 (first figure) JP-A-11-13066 (first figure)

  In the conventional network shown in FIG. 8, since the host PC 701 and the plurality of devices 702 and 703 are connected only through one system communication path, failure information is notified to the host PC 701 and other devices 702 and 703 when a failure occurs. It is impossible. In addition, since data such as data retransmission and communication check test is sent to the high-speed wired communication path 710 to the device in which the failure has occurred, a problem arises that the high-speed wired communication function cannot be utilized to the maximum extent. Further, as used in a large-scale network, a method of connecting a host PC 701 and a plurality of devices 702 and 703 using two or more high-speed wired communication paths 710 of the same system and function is used as an embedded device. Have major problems in terms of usage and cost.

  The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a fault detection method and a fault handling method in addition to control information communication means and data information communication means, and efficiently uses a high-speed wired communication function. Objective.

  In order to achieve this object, the communication method and apparatus of the present invention comprises two communication means: a high-speed wired communication function for communicating main data and a low-speed wireless communication function for communicating control information. I have.

  The high-speed wired communication function performs communication of data and similar data information, and the low-speed wireless communication function performs control information for the high-speed wired communication function. The low-speed wireless communication function is also used as a means for notifying another device of its own state. Therefore, even if a failure occurs in the high-speed wired communication function as in the past and the communication status becomes unstable or incapable of communication, all devices connected to the network through the low-speed wireless communication function detect the failure. And deal with it. In addition, it is possible to determine whether a failure has occurred in any device or a failure in the high-speed wired communication function based on the control information of the low-speed wireless communication function. It can correspond to.

  By using the above means, control information is not sent unnecessarily through the high-speed wired communication path, so that data information can be efficiently communicated.

  As described above, in the communication method and apparatus of the present invention, in a network in which a plurality of apparatuses are connected by two communication paths of a high-speed wired communication path and a low-speed wireless communication path, a wireless monitoring means and a slave are connected to a master apparatus. By providing the priority monitoring device in the device, it becomes possible to efficiently use the high-speed wired communication path both during normal times and when a failure occurs.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As an embodiment in the following description, a description will be given based on a network composed of a host PC and two devices. However, the present invention is applicable to a network in which a master and a plurality of slaves exist in a network in which a plurality of communication devices are connected, and priority is assigned to communication on a high-speed wired communication path for each slave.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The wired devices 104 to 106, the wired data buffers 107 to 109, and the high-speed wired communication path 116 in FIG. 1 are the same as the wired devices 704 to 706, the wired data buffers 707 to 709, and the high-speed wired communication path 710 in FIG. is there. 1, 101 is a host PC, 102 and 103 are devices, 110 to 112 are wireless devices, 113 to 115 are wireless data buffers, 117 is a low-speed wireless communication path, 118 is data information, 119 is control information, 120 Indicates state information.

  Here, the host PC 101 and the devices 102 and 103 are connected by a high-speed wired communication path 116 and a low-speed wireless communication path 117. In this embodiment, the high-speed wired communication path 116 is used for communication of the data information 118. Further, the control information 119 and the state information 120 are communicated using the low-speed wireless communication path 117. The control information 119 is information for controlling the high-speed wired communication path 116, and the status information 120 is for notifying the status of the devices 102 and 103 and the high-speed wired communication path 116.

  For example, consider a case in which IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 1394) is used for the high-speed wired communication path 116 and Bluetooth is used for the low-speed wireless communication path 117. Note that IEEE 1394 performs isochronous communication. Consider a case in which the device 103 is newly connected while the host PC 101 and the device 102 are already communicating the data information 118. In this case, in IEEE 1394, communication of all data information 118 is interrupted and a bus reset is performed. Thereafter, the host PC 101 and the devices 102 and 103 perform tree identification and self-identification. Furthermore, by mutually exchanging and analyzing the identification information, a network is formed again and communication is resumed. However, in the first embodiment, the new connection request of the device 103 is communicated to the host PC 101 using the low-speed wireless communication path 117 as the status information 120 and the IEEE 1394 identification information as the control information 119. Therefore, the host PC 101 can start communication with the newly connected device 103 without interrupting communication of the data information 118 with the device 102 in communication.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which IEEE 1394 is used for the high-speed wired communication path 116 and Bluetooth is used for the low-speed wireless communication path 117 is shown. However, the high-speed wired communication path 116 and the low-speed wireless communication path 117 are relatively connected. As long as the communication means can be distinguished, the high-speed wired communication path 116 can be efficiently used in exactly the same manner.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the case where a failure occurs is not considered. Next, the case where a failure occurs in the high-speed wired communication function will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a network configuration diagram when a communication path failure occurs in the second embodiment. 2, wired devices 104 to 106, wired data buffers 107 to 109, wireless devices 110 to 112, wireless data buffers 113 to 115, high-speed wired communication path 116, low-speed wireless communication path 117, data information 118, The control information 119 and the status information 120 are the same as those in FIG. Further, reference numeral 221 in FIG. 2 denotes a wired monitoring unit, which is a device for monitoring the wired device 105 and the wired data buffer 108 and exists in the device 202. Similarly, the wired monitoring unit 222 is for monitoring the wired device 106 and the wired data buffer 109 and exists in the device 203.

  The second embodiment is a method for dealing with the host PC 101 and the devices 202 and 203 when a failure occurs in the high-speed wired communication path 116. The failure here assumes a state where communication is impossible or a state where communication is unstable, such as disconnection of the high-speed wired communication path 116 or an increase in error rate due to noise.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a failure detection method for the high-speed wired communication path 116 by the wired monitoring means 221 and 222 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step S301, it is confirmed whether the device 202 is in a communicable state and is already connected to the host PC 101. If the connection has not been made yet, step S301 is continued until the connection is confirmed. Next, in step S302, it is determined whether or not the transmission power is stable. If the transmission power is unstable or the power level is zero (including a case where the power level is close to zero), a high-speed wired communication path failure is determined. In step S309, a priority lowering request is made. If the transmission power is stable in step S302, a data check is performed in step S303. Next, in step S304, a data error is determined. If an error is detected in the received data in step S304, a NACK request that is a response signal between communication devices is made in step S305, and then an error occurrence rate within a certain time is calculated in step S306. In step S307, the error occurrence rate obtained in step S306 is determined. Specifically, if the error rate exceeds a predetermined value, it is determined that there is a lot of noise on the transmission path, a high-speed wired communication path failure is detected, the process proceeds to step S309, and a priority lowering request is issued. Do. The wired monitoring unit 221 also monitors the wired data buffer 108. Therefore, the wired monitoring unit 221 can determine whether or not a threshold value appropriately determined with respect to the buffer size has been exceeded when the data received by the wired device 105 is stored in the wired data buffer 108. When this threshold value is exceeded, the wired monitoring unit 221 can request the host PC 101 to issue a priority lowering request in step S309, thereby preventing the wired data buffer 108 from overflowing.

  As described above, the wired monitoring unit 221 that detects a failure in the high-speed wired communication path 116 notifies the host PC 101 of the failure using the wireless device 111. When the host PC 101 receives a failure occurrence notification for an unstable communication state, the host PC 101 decreases the priority with the device 202 and increases the priority with the device 203 that can normally communicate. Further, when the host PC 101 receives a failure occurrence notification for a state incapable of communication, the device 202 is deleted from the communication target list and its control information 119 is notified to the device 202. Furthermore, the host PC 101 can allocate the resources allocated to the device 202 that has become unable to communicate to the device 203 that can normally communicate.

  The host PC 101 manages a communication target list in order to determine a plurality of devices 202 and 203 in a communicable state. For example, when a new device 203 is connected to a network formed by the host PC 101 and the device 202, the device 203 is added to the communication target list managed by the host PC 101. Further, the device 202 in which a failure has occurred as described above is deleted from the communication target list, and the host PC 101 determines that the device 202 is not communication target.

  As described above, the host PC 101 that has detected the failure of the high-speed wired communication path 116 has means for dynamically changing the communication priority with respect to the devices 202 and 203, so that the device 202 related to the failure occurrence can receive data. There is no need to transmit control information 119 and data information 118 for retransmission, communication check test, and the like using the high-speed wired communication path 116. In addition, it is possible to always maintain the device 203 having a high communication priority, and it is possible to efficiently use the high-speed wired communication function.

  In addition, regarding the device 202 whose communication on the high-speed wired communication path 116 has become unstable and the communication priority has been lowered, the recovery information on the high-speed wired communication path 116 is notified to the host PC 101, so that it again appears in the communication target list. It becomes possible to register.

  In the second embodiment, the failure of the high-speed wired communication path 116 with respect to one device 202 has been described. However, the failure can be applied to failures with any of a plurality of devices.

(Embodiment 3)
When a failure occurs in the devices 202 and 203 themselves in the configuration of FIG. 2, the failure monitoring information is not notified to the host PC 101 from the wired monitoring means 221 and 222, so that the control information 119 and the data information 118 are not changed as in the prior art. And unnecessary data may flow through the high-speed wired communication path 116.

  In the third embodiment, it is assumed that a failure occurs in the device 202 itself, and this will be described with reference to FIG. 4, devices 102 and 103, wired devices 104 to 106, wired data buffers 107 to 109, wireless devices 110 to 112, wireless data buffers 113 to 115, high-speed wired communication path 116, low-speed wireless communication path 117, data Information 118, control information 119, and status information 120 are exactly the same as those in FIG. Also, reference numeral 421 in FIG. 4 denotes a wireless monitoring unit, which is a device for monitoring the wireless device 110 and the wireless data buffer 113 and exists in the host PC 401.

  In the third embodiment, a method for coping with the host PC 401 and the devices 102 and 103 when a failure occurs in the devices 102 and 103 is solved. The failure here is assumed to be a situation where the wireless devices 111 and 112 cannot be used, such as failure of the devices 102 and 103 themselves, and system hang-up when the devices 102 and 103 are PCs. doing.

  First, a failure detection method for the device 102 by the wireless monitoring unit 421 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the host PC 401 and the device 102 are already connected, and the device 103 is newly connected.

  Here, the device 102 connected to the host PC 401 notifies the host PC 401 of the status information 120 indicating that the normal communication is possible at regular intervals. The wireless monitoring unit 421 performs two processes, a flow F501 for processing the state information and a flow F502 that is activated by interruption at regular intervals.

  First, the former flow F501 will be described. Information obtained through the low-speed wireless communication path 117 includes control information 119 and status information 120. Therefore, the wireless monitoring unit 421 determines which information is received in step S503. When the status information 120 is received, it is determined in step S504 whether the information is received from the device 102 in the communication target list (not shown). Here, in the case of status information received from a new device 103 that does not exist in the communication list, it is added to the communication target list in step S505. Thereafter, in step S506, the timers of the devices 102 and 103 corresponding to the state information transmission source are initialized.

  Next, the latter flow F502 will be described. In F502 activated by interruption at regular intervals, in step S507, the timers for all the devices 102 and 103 registered in the communication target list are inspected, and when a device 102 that has timed out is detected, in step S508, the timer 102 The device 102 is deleted from the communication target list. If no time-out device is detected, it is checked in step S509 whether the timers for all devices have been inspected, and execution is repeated in step S507 until the timers for all devices have been inspected.

  By using the state information received at regular intervals from the devices 102 and 103 connected in this way, it is possible to detect the device 102 in which a failure has occurred.

  As described above, the wireless monitoring unit 421 that has detected that a failure has occurred in the device 102 controls the host PC 401 to disconnect the device 102 and deletes the device 102 from the communication target list. The host PC 401 can use the high-speed wired communication path 116 to the maximum extent by allocating the resources allocated to the deleted device 102 to the remaining normally operating devices 103.

  In addition, despite the fact that no failure occurred in the device 102 by the above method, an Ack code (ACKnowledgement code) or equivalent is returned for the communication of the data information 118 on the high-speed wired communication path 116. If not, the host PC 401 can detect that a failure has occurred in the high-speed wired communication path 116. In this case, the host PC 401 notifies the device 102 of the occurrence of the failure through the low-speed wireless communication path 117, disconnects from the device 102, and deletes the resource allocated to the device 102 by deleting it from the communication target list. It can be assigned to the remaining devices 103 that are operating normally.

  According to the present embodiment, even if a failure occurs in either the device 102 or the high-speed wired communication path 116, it is possible to perform appropriate processing within a limited time, and the device 103 that is operating normally. It is possible to efficiently use the high-speed wired communication path 116 between them.

(Embodiment 4)
In any case of the configuration of FIG. 1, the configuration of FIG. 2, or the configuration of FIG. 4, it is not possible to detect a failed device between the devices. Therefore, the device 103 must transmit the data information 118 to the device 102 or 202 via the host PC 101 or 401. In the fourth embodiment, a method for suppressing communication between devices performed via a host PC is solved.

  Hereinafter, a method for suppressing communication between the devices 202 and 203 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  6, wired data buffers 107 to 109, wireless devices 110 to 112, wireless data buffers 113 to 115, high-speed wired communication path 116, low-speed wireless communication path 117, data information 118, control information 119. 1, 2 and 4, the devices 202 and 203, the wired monitoring means 221 and 222 are shown in FIG. 2, and the host PC 401 and the wireless monitoring means 421 are those shown in FIG. 4. The same thing.

  Step S624 in FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a communication target list management method managed by the devices 202 and 203, and step S625 is a flowchart showing a method of suppressing communication of data information 118 between the devices 202 and 203.

  First, the wired monitoring unit 221 that detects a failure in the high-speed wired communication path 116 using the above method transmits the information to the host PC 401 through the low-speed wireless communication path 117. The host PC 401 that has received the information transmits information on the device 202 in which the failure has occurred to another normal device 203. Further, the priority for the device 202 is lowered, and the priority of another normal device 203 is raised. In step S624, the normal device 203 that has received the failure information deletes the failure-occurring device 202 from the communication target list. Further, by suppressing or stopping the data information 118 for the faulty device 202 that has been transmitted via the host PC 401, the data information 118 that is not necessary is not transmitted on the high-speed wired communication path 116 in step S625. Similarly, when it is detected that the high-speed wired communication path 116 has been recovered, the host PC 401 and the device 203 can know the recovery information. At this time, in step S624, the device 203 adds the device 202 recovered from the failure to the communication target list.

  Next, using the above method, the wireless monitoring unit 421 that has detected a failure in the device 202 deletes the failure occurrence device 202 from the communication target list. Furthermore, information on the faulty device 202 is notified to another normal device 203 using the low-speed wireless communication path 117. The device 203 that has received the information stops communication of the data information 118 to the failure-occurring device 202 using the above method.

  From the above, the host PC 401 and the device 203 configuring the network can share the failure occurrence information. As a result, the host PC 401 can dynamically change the priority with respect to the faulty device 202 or delete it from the communication target list. Therefore, the high-speed wired communication path 116 can be efficiently used for communication with other normal devices 203. Further, the normal device 203 can suppress or stop the communication of the data information 118 to the failure occurrence device 202 via the host PC 401. Furthermore, since the device 202 affected when a failure occurs in the high-speed wired communication path 116 maintains the minimum communication with the host PC 401 by the low-speed wireless communication path 117, the high-speed wired communication path 116 is restored. Communication can be easily resumed.

  The communication method and apparatus according to the present invention can efficiently use a high-speed wired communication path both in the normal state and in the event of a failure by providing wireless monitoring means in the master device and priority monitoring device in the slave device. It is useful as a communication apparatus that efficiently uses a high-speed wired communication path and a method using the same.

Network configuration diagram in Embodiment 1 Network configuration diagram when a high-speed wired communication path failure occurs High-speed wired communication path failure detection method flowchart Network configuration diagram when a device failure occurs Flow chart of device failure detection method Network configuration diagram of data communication suppression between slaves Flow chart of data communication suppression method between slaves Configuration diagram of conventional priority host PC environment network

Explanation of symbols

101 Host PC (with wired / wireless communication function)
102, 402 Equipment (with wired / wireless communication function)
103, 403 Equipment (with wired / wireless communication function)
104, 704 Wired device 105, 705 Wired device 106, 706 Wired device 107, 707 Wired data buffer 108, 708 Wired data buffer 109, 709 Wired data buffer 110 Wireless device 111 Wireless device 112 Wireless device 113 Wireless data buffer 114 Wireless data buffer 115 Wireless data buffer 116 High-speed wired communication path 117 Low-speed wireless communication path 118 Data information 119 Control information 120 Status information 202 Device (with wired monitoring means)
203 Equipment (with wired monitoring means)
221 Wired monitoring means 222 Wired monitoring means 401 Host PC (with wireless monitoring means)
421 Wireless monitoring means 701 Host PC (wired communication function only)
702 Device (wired communication function only)
703 Device (wired communication function only)

Claims (11)

In a network type communication device in which a master and a plurality of slaves are connected via a wired communication path,
Separately provided a wireless communication path common to the master and the plurality of slaves,
While the master and any one of the plurality of slaves are communicating via the wired communication path, the master communicates simultaneously with any one of the plurality of slaves via the wireless communication path. A communication device. Wire monitoring means for monitoring the output state to the wired communication path in each of the plurality of slaves,
If the wired monitoring unit detects a failure in any of the plurality of slaves, the slave notifies the master of a priority reduction request via the wireless communication path according to an instruction from the wired monitoring unit,
The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the master that has received the notification reduces the priority of communication via the wired communication path to the slave. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the lowering of the communication priority in the master is executed by deleting the slave from a communication target list that manages communication target devices. In the slave, when the wired monitoring means detects recovery, the slave notifies the master of recovery information via the wireless communication path according to an instruction from the wired monitoring means,
The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the master that has received the notification of recovery increases the priority of communication in the wired communication path by adding the slave to the communication target list again. . Wireless monitoring means for monitoring the output status of the master to the wireless communication path,
In communication via the wireless communication path from the master to each of the plurality of slaves, the wireless monitoring unit detects a slave that does not respond from among the slaves registered in a communication target list that manages communication target devices. In this case, the priority of communication via the priority communication path from the master to the slave is reduced by deleting the slave from the communication target list. Communication device. Wire monitoring means for monitoring the output state to the wired communication path in each of the plurality of slaves,
If the wired monitoring unit detects a failure in any of the plurality of slaves, the slave notifies the master of a priority reduction request via the wireless communication path according to an instruction from the wired monitoring unit,
When the wireless monitoring means detects the notification, the failure information of the slave is notified to the plurality of slaves other than the slave via the wireless communication path,
The communication device according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of slaves other than the slave stop communication via the wired communication path to the slave according to the failure information. The communication apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the communication from the master to each of the plurality of slaves via the wireless communication path is confirmation of the presence or absence of a timeout of the timer function of the plurality of slaves. The communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the wireless monitoring unit detects communication from a slave not registered in the communication target list, the slave is added to the communication target list. In a communication method in a communication device in which a master and a plurality of slaves are connected via a wired communication path and a wireless communication path,
When a failure in the wired communication path is detected in any of the plurality of slaves, the priority of communication from the slave to the master is reduced via the wireless communication path. A first step requesting,
A communication method comprising: a second step of lowering the priority of communication via the wired communication path to the slave according to a priority lowering request. In the detection of the failure that the transmission power level is unstable, the detection that the amount of data received via the wired communication path exceeds the threshold of the amount of data received, or in communication with the slave The communication method according to claim 9, which is any one of detecting that the error occurrence rate has exceeded a threshold value of error frequency. In a communication method in a communication device in which a master and a plurality of slaves are connected via a wired communication path and a wireless communication path,
In the master, when a time-out of the timer function is detected in any of the plurality of slaves via the wireless communication path, the priority of communication via the wired communication path to the slave is reduced. A first step;
A second step in which the master notifies the plurality of slaves other than the slave of the occurrence of a failure in the slave;
A communication method, comprising: a third step in which the plurality of slaves other than the slave reduce the priority of communication via the wired communication path to the slave.

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