Patent ID: 8509057

Claim:
A communication system comprising a first communication apparatus, a second communication apparatus, and a plurality of third communication apparatuses that communicate with the second communication apparatus, wherein the first communication apparatus includes: a communicating section that communicates with the second communication apparatus via a first data signal line; an alive signal receiving section that receives, via a first alive signal line, an alive signal indicating whether the second communication apparatus is in an alive state in which it is capable of communicating with the first communication apparatus; and a reset signal transmitting section that, when the second communication apparatus is not in the alive state, transmits a reset signal to the second communication apparatus, the second communication apparatus includes: a communicating section that communicates with the first communication apparatus via the first data signal line; an alive signal transmitting section that transmits the alive signal via the first alive signal line; and a reset signal receiving section that, upon receiving a reset signal, resets the communicating section of the second communication apparatus, the communicating section of the first communication apparatus transmits to the second communication apparatus, via the first data signal line, a reset request that includes apparatus identification information identifying which third communication apparatuses are to be reset from among the plurality of third communication apparatuses, and the communicating section of the second communication apparatus resets the third communication apparatuses corresponding to the apparatus identification information included in the reset request received via the first data signal line.