Patent ID: 7426207

Claim:
A data transmitting method for use with a network line which connects a transmitting apparatus in a network segment and a plurality of receiving apparatuses in the same network segment as the transmitting apparatus and which permits said transmitting apparatus to transmit data to a desired one of said receiving apparatuses, comprising the steps of: in each of said receiving apparatuses, holding a MAC (Media Access Control) address that is peculiar to that receiving apparatuses and a changeable IP (Internet Protocol) address; in said transmitting apparatus, holding the MAC address and IP address of said desired one of said receiving apparatuses so as to correspond to each other; outputting the IP address of said desired one of said receiving apparatuses from said transmitting apparatus to said network line and, if said transmitting apparatus detects completion of a line connection to said desired one of said receiving apparatuses, transmitting said data from said transmitting apparatus to said desired one of said receiving apparatuses; and if said transmitting apparatus detects a defect of said line connection, outputting a transmitting request for the IP address and the MAC address from said transmitting apparatus to each of said receiving apparatuses, and if said transmitting apparatus detects a coincidence between the MAC address of said desired one of said receiving apparatuses held therein and a received MAC address, allowing said transmitting apparatus to update the IP address corresponding to the MAC address of the desired one of said receiving apparatuses held therein to the received IP address, and transmitting said data to the desired one of said receiving apparatuses.