Patent ID: 7844680
Filing Date: 2010-11-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for communicating with a slave device according to the predetermined protocol, the method performed by a master device and the method comprising: performing a generating operation for generating a message to be transmitted to the slave device, according to the predetermined protocol comprising an application layer, a network layer, a data link layer and a physical layer, wherein the master device controls the slave device or monitors a status of the slave device and the slave device responds to a message of the master device and notifies a change of the slave device, wherein the physical layer further comprises a special protocol for providing an interface with a dependent transmission medium, and the predetermined protocol further comprises a home code control sub-layer for setting, managing and processing a home code for network security when the master device and the slave device are connected via the dependent transmission medium, wherein the generating operation comprises transmitting an application layer protocol data unit (APDU) from the application layer to the network layer, transmitting a network layer protocol data unit (NPDU) from the network layer to a home code control sub-layer, when the physical layer is connected to the dependent transmission medium, wherein the NPDU is generated in the network layer, the NPDU comprising an NPDU header and the APDU, wherein the NPDU header comprises a network layer control (NLC) field, wherein the NLC field comprises a network layer packet type (NPT) field and a transmission counter (TC) field, wherein the NPT field is set as one of a first code for specifying a request packet, a second code for specifying a response packet, and a third code for specifying a notification packet, wherein a value of the TC field is set based on the NPT field, wherein when the NPT field is set as the first code or the third code, the value of the TC field is set in a range of 1 to 3, and when the NPT field is set as the second code, the value of the TC field is set as transmitting a home code control sub-layer protocol data unit (HCNPDU) from the home code control sub-layer to the data link layer, wherein the home code control sub-layer protocol data unit (HCNPDU) is obtained by adding a home code field including the home code to the network layer protocol data unit (NPDU), and transmitting a data frame unit based on the HCNPDU from the data link layer to the physical layer; transmitting, via the dependent transmission medium to the slave device, the generated message including the NPT field set as the first code and the TC field set as in case that an error occurs by a response in response to the generated message, re-transmitting, via the dependent transmission medium, the generated message including the NPT field set as the first code and the TC field set as wherein when the slave device receives the generated message from the master device, the slave device ignores another message received from another master device until the response is transmitted to the master device.