Patent ID: 6167046
Filing Date: 2000-12-26
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A communication method in a communication network including a plurality of equipments communicating with each other by at least one of transmitting, receiving and processing a packet, each of said plurality of equipments having a communication unit implementing communication function for said communication and a function unit for implementing at least one function other than said communication function,said communication unit having a function information storage for storing a plurality of pieces of function information related to said at least one function of said function unit, whereinsaid communication method includes inquiring, in said communication unit of at least one of said plurality of equipments, whether said plurality of pieces of function information are stored in said function information storage, of each of said plurality of equipments using said packet;wherein said packet stores transmission source information for uniquely designating that one of said equipments which is a source of transmission of said packet, transmission destination information for uniquely designating that one of said equipments which is a destination of transmission of said packet, instruction information for implementing said communication function or any of said at least one function of said function unit and related information related to said instruction information, said communication method comprising a step of receiving an external request, and said method further comprising at least one of:(a) an inquiry packet transmission step for transmitting, in response to received said external request, said packet storing an inquiry as to whether a prescribed function information is present in said plurality of pieces of function information, as said instruction information and said related information, to each of said plurality of equipments; and(b) an answer packet transmission step responsive to reception of said packet transmitted in said inquiry packet transmission step (a), for transmitting said packet storing an answer indicating whether inquired said prescribed function information is present in said function information storage, as said instruction information and said related information;said steps (a) and (b) being performed in said communication unit;and further comprising at least one of the following steps (c) and (d):(c) a step of transmitting said packet storing any of said plurality of pieces of function information as said transmission destination information;(d) (d1) a determination step receiving said packet transmitted in said step (c) of transmission for determining whether or not said transmission destination information in the received packet matches any of said plurality of pieces of function information in said function information storage; and(d2) a process execution step for executing a process in accordance with said instruction information and said related information in the received packet, in accordance with result of determination in said determination step (d1) that the information matches;said steps (c), (d1) and (d2) being performed in said communication unit.