Patent ID: 8345674
Filing Date: 2013-01-01
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A network system comprising a plurality of cascaded nodes connected in series, wherein each node comprises two sets of receivers and transmitters each performing communication in a single direction, and one node and a next node in the plurality of cascaded nodes connected in series are cascaded by connecting one set of said receiver and transmitter in the one node to one set of said transmitter and receiver in the next node, respectively, said network system comprising: a master node assigning device that causes one of the nodes constituting said network system to function as a master node, said master node generating an audio transport frame, said audio transport frame comprising a plurality of storage regions for audio signals, and transmitting the audio transport frame to an adjacent node cascaded next to the master node in said network system at a constant period; a change instructing device that issues an instruction to change the configuration of said network system by incorporating a node, newly cascaded to one end of the cascaded nodes of the network system, into said network system; and a transmission route forming device that forms a transmission route for transporting the audio transport frame in a loop form among said nodes constituting said network system by setting nodes at both ends of a series of nodes that newly constitute said network system, in response to the instruction to change the configuration issued by said change instructing device such that each of said nodes at both ends loops back the audio transport frame received from an adjacent node constituting said network system and transmits the audio transport frame to the same adjacent node, and setting other nodes such that each of said other nodes does not loop back the audio transport frame received from an adjacent node constituting said network system and transmits the audio transport frame to an adjacent node on another side, wherein the instruction to change the configuration comprises an incorporation instruction issued when there is a node unincorporated in said network system adjacent to said node at one end of said network system, in said plurality of cascaded nodes connected in series, to instruct such that said node is incorporated into said network system, and wherein said transmission route forming device incorporates said unincorporated node into said network system in response to the incorporation instruction by setting said unincorporated node such that said unincorporated node loops back the audio transport frame received from said node at the one end and transmits the audio transport frame to said node at the one end, and setting said node at the one end such that said node at the one end does not loop back the audio transport frame received from an adjacent node cascaded directly to said node at the one end in said network system and transmits the audio transport frame to said unincorporated node, wherein said master node generates a new audio transport frame based on the audio transport frame after circulating through said transmission route and returning thereto and transmits the new audio transport frame, and each of said nodes writes and/or reads audio signals to/from the circulating audio transport frame, to thereby transport the audio signals between nodes constituting said network system, wherein the transport of the audio signals between said nodes by the audio transport frame is continuously performed while said transmission route forming device is performing the setting of said nodes in response to the instruction to change the configuration, and wherein one node of said nodes constituting said network system functions by itself or a plurality of nodes constituting said network system function in cooperation as the master node assigning device, the change instructing device, and the transmission route forming device.