Patent ID: 7633959

Claim:
A bridging device that is connected to a first network and a second network and realizes communication between an appliance connected to the first network and an appliance connected to the second network, the bridging device comprising: a connection detecting unit that detects an appliance on the second network; a state holding unit that holds either a first state or a second state; an arbitration unit that when an appliance on the second network is detected, determines that the detected appliance is subjected to bridging processing when the second state is held by the state holding unit, and when an appliance on the second network is detected, determines whether the detected appliance is subjected to the bridging processing on the basis of a predetermined confirmation condition when the first state is held by the state holding unit and, when it is determined that the appliance is subjected to the bridging processing, sets the state holding unit in the second state; and a bridging unit that subjects the appliance, which is determined to be subjected to the bridging processing, to the bridging processing.