Patent ID: 8059669

Claim:
A node device in a tree-type broadcast system formed by participation of a plurality of node devices that form a plurality of hierarchy levels, wherein a broadcast device is located at a top of the plurality of hierarchy levels and the node devices are connected in a tree-like shape through a communication circuit to enable information broadcasted by the broadcast device to be sequentially transferred from a node device among the plurality of node devices located at a higher hierarchy level to a node device among the plurality of node devices located at a lower hierarchy level, the node device comprising: a connection information receiving unit configured to receive connection destination candidate information, which is broadcasted from the broadcast device, is sequentially transferred through the plurality of node devices from the node device located at an upper hierarchy level to the node device located at a lower hierarchy level, and indicates from among the plurality of node devices one or more node devices to be reconnection destination candidates, including at least network address information of the node devices to be the reconnection destination candidates; a reconnection destination candidate specifying unit configured to specify one or more node devices out of the node devices to be reconnection destination candidates indicated in the received connection destination candidate information suitable for attribute information of the node device; a reconnection destination candidate memory unit configured to memorize at least network address information of specified node devices, the specified node devices being the node devices out of the node devices to be reconnection destination candidates specified by the reconnection destination candidate specifying unit; and a connection processing unit configured to carry out a connection process of selecting one node device as a reconnection destination node device out of the specified node devices memorized in the reconnection destination candidate memory unit and to connect to the reconnection destination node device based on the network address information of the reconnection destination node device, in response to determining that the node device is newly reconnected to the reconnection destination node device.