Patent ID: 9166815
Filing Date: 2015-10-20
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A communication apparatus in a ring network that interconnects a plurality of ring networks comprising: a frame receiver operative to receive a frame to be transmitted to a target ring network of the plurality of ring networks from each of the plurality of ring networks; and a frame transmitter operative to transmit: a passing frame to be transmitted from a first device within said target ring network to a second device within said target ring network, within a first data amount predefined for the passing frame, and a crossing frame, to be transmitted to a device in said target ring network from a device in another ring network different from said target ring network that is within a second data amount for the crossing frame predefined separately from the first data amount, wherein the frame transmitter comprises: a first transmitter configured to transmit a frame in a first direction in said target ring network; and a second transmitter configured to transmit a frame in a second direction in said target ring network, said second direction being different from the first direction, wherein each of the first transmitter and the second transmitter transmits the crossing frame to said target ring network so that the sum of a data amount of the crossing frame transmitted in the first direction and a data amount of the crossing frame transmitted in the second direction is within the second data amount, and wherein said sum is within the second data amount when a bit rate determined by said sum is within a predefined upper limit bit rate for a crossing frame.