Patent ID: 7917570

Claim:
A sensor device which communicates with another device via a network having a plurality of channels for communication, each of the plurality of channels being associated with a respective channel address of a plurality of channel addresses, said sensor device comprising: an address storage unit storing a channel address to be used for the communication with the other device; a measurement unit measuring a surrounding status a plurality of times at a predetermined interval, and obtaining a newly measured value each of the plurality of times the surrounding status is measured; a table storage unit storing an address table including a plurality of sections, each of the plurality of sections being associated with at least one separate previously identified measured value obtainable by said measurement unit, and including the plurality of channel addresses, such that each of the plurality of sections is associated with a distinct channel address of the plurality of channel addresses; a specification unit (i) obtaining the newly measured value from said measurement unit, and (ii) specifying, from the address table, a channel address, of the plurality of channel addresses, that is associated with a section of the plurality of sections that includes the newly measured value, said specification unit specifying the channel address by referring to the address table each time said measurement unit obtains the newly measured value; an update unit updating the channel address, which is to be used for the communication with the other device and is stored in said address storage unit, to the channel address specified by said specification unit, said update unit performing the update each time the channel address is specified by said specification unit; a receiving unit receiving inquiry data transmitted from the other device; a judgment unit judging whether or not the inquiry data received by said receiving unit is directed to the channel address stored in said address storage unit; a response generation unit generating response data, which is a response to the inquiry data, when said judgment unit judges that the inquiry data is directed to the channel address stored in said address storage unit; and a transmission unit transmitting the response data generated by said response generation unit to the other device.