Information communication apparatus and program storage medium

• US 9,008,070 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2012
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawamoto, Yasutaka, Kubo, Yuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, Ian N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Brian T
• Application Number:
  US13/433,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20120250671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/345
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/624 Altering the ordering of packets in an individual queue
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

An information communication apparatus may include a request buffer, a request sorting device, a sending device, a frame generating device, and a frame transmitting device. A request buffer may store transmission requests corresponding to frames. A request sorting device may sort the transmission requests. A sending device may send the sorted transmission requests in accordance with a transmission timing that is determined based on destinations of the frames and in which a receiving node can receive the frames. A frame generating device may generate frames based on the received transmission requests. A frame transmitting device configured to transmit the generated frames.

Claims

1. An information communication apparatus for transmitting frames to a receiving node comprising:

a non-transitory, storage medium storing;

a request buffer configured to store a plurality of transmission requests corresponding to the frames to be transmitted;

a request sorting device configured to sort the transmission requests;

a sending device configured to send the sorted transmission requests in accordance with transmission timings that are determined based on time periods during which destinations of the frames to be transmitted are able to receive said frames to be transmitted;

a frame generating device configured to receive the sent transmission requests and to generate the frames to be transmitted based on the received transmission requests; and

a frame transmitting device configured to transmit the generated frames to the frame destinations with the transmission timings, so that the transmitted frames are received at the frame destinations during the time periods,

the request sorting device sorting the transmission requests so that a group of the transmission requests, corresponding to a first group of the frames to be transmitted that each have a same destination among the frame destinations, are sent successively by the sending device, so that the frames of the first group are transmitted in succession by the frame transmitting device,

wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests based upon the transmission timings, so that a second group of the frames to be transmitted, which have a group of the frame destinations corresponding to a group of the transmission timings earlier than that of corresponding destinations among the frame destinations of other frames among the frames to be transmitted, are transmitted before said other frames.

2. The information communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests so that one of the transmission requests corresponding to one of the frames to be transmitted, which lacks information relating to a corresponding one of the transmission timings, is arranged at a head of the sorted transmission requests.

3. The information communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests so that one of the transmission requests corresponding to one frame of the frames to be transmitted, that lacks information relating to a corresponding one of the transmission, is arranged last in the sorted transmission requests.

4. The information communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests so that transmission requests that correspond to a third group of the frames to be transmitted, that have a same destination among the frame destinations as a head frame of the frames to be transmitted corresponding to one of the transmission requests that is at a head of the sorted transmission requests, are arranged so that said third group of the frames to be transmitted are successively transmitted with the head frame.

5. The information communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests when the request buffer stores the transmission requests.

6. The information communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests at a predetermined repeating timing.

7. The information communication apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request sorting device sorts the transmission requests when one of the transmission requests is sent by the sending device.

8. An information communication apparatus for transmitting frames to a receiving node, comprising:

a request acquisition firmware or hardware device configured to store a plurality of transmission requests;

a frame generating device configured to generate the frames to be transmitted, the frames to be transmitted corresponding respectively to the transmission requests;

a frame sorting device configured to sort the generated frames;

a sending device configured to send the sorted frames in accordance with transmission timings that are determined based on time periods during which destinations of the sorted frames are able to receive the plurality of frames; and

a frame transmitting device configured to receive the sent frames and transmit the received frames to the frame destinations with the transmission timings, so that the transmitted frames are received at the frame destinations during the time periods,

the frame sorting device sorting the generated frames so that a first group of the generated frames that each have a same destination among the frame destinations, are sent successively by the sending device so that the frames of the first group are transmitted successively by the frame transmitting device,

wherein the frame sorting device sorts the frames based upon the transmission timings, so that a second group of the generated frames, which have a group of the frame destinations corresponding to a group of the transmission timings earlier than that of corresponding destinations of the frame destinations of other frames among the generated frames, are transmitted before said other frames.

9. The information communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames so that one of the generated frames, that lacks information relating to a transmission timing among the transmission timings that corresponds to a corresponding destination among the frame destinations, of the one frame, is arranged at a head of the sorted frames.

10. The information communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames so that one of the generated frames, which lacks information relating to a corresponding transmission timing among the transmission timings, is arranged last in the sorted frames.

11. The information communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames so that a third group of the frames, that have a same destination among the frame destinations as that of a head frame among the generated frames that is at a head of the sorted frames, are arranged to be successively transmitted after the head frame.

12. The information communication apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a request buffer that stores the generated frames, wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames when the request buffer stores the generated frames.

13. The information communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames at a predetermined repeating timing.

14. The information communication apparatus of claim 8, wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames when one of the generated frames is sent by the sending device.

15. An information communication apparatus for transmitting frames to a receiving node, comprising:

a request acquisition firmware or hardware device configured to store a plurality of transmission requests corresponding to the frames to be transmitted;

a frame generating device configured to generate the frames to be transmitted that correspond respectively to the transmission requests;

a frame buffer configured to store the generated frames;

a frame sorting device configured to sort the generated frames so that if the request acquisition firmware or hardware device acquires a transmission request that corresponds to a frame that has a same destination as one or more others of the stored frames, all the generated frames are sorted so that the generated frames that have the same destination are consecutively arranged;

a sending device configured to send the sorted frames in accordance with transmission timings that are determined based on time periods during which destinations, including said same destination, of the generated frames are able to receive the generated frames; and

a frame transmitting device configured to receive the sent frames and transmit the received frames to the frame destinations with the transmission timings, so that the transmitted frames are received at the frame destinations during the time periods,

the frame sorting device sorting the stored frames so that a first group of the generated frames that each have a same destination among the frame destinations as a head frame, are arranged to be successively sent with the head frame by the sending device so as to be transmitted with the head frame so that the frames of the first group are transmitted successively by the frame transmitting device,

wherein the frame sorting device sorts the generated frames based upon the transmission timings, such that a second group of the generated frames, which have a group of the frame destinations corresponding to a group of the transmission timings earlier than that of corresponding destinations among the frame destinations of other frames among the generated frames, are transmitted before said other frames.

16. A non-transitory program storage medium having a computer program for an information communication apparatus for transmitting frames to a receiving node that when implemented executes the steps of:

storing a plurality of transmission requests corresponding to the frames to be transmitted, the frames to be transmitted corresponding to destinations for receiving said frames to be transmitted, the destinations corresponding to transmission timings that are determined based on time periods during which the frame destinations are able to receive said frames;

sorting the transmission requests by

arranging successively a first group of the transmission requests, that correspond to a first group of the frames to be transmitted that each have a same frame destination among the frame destinations,

arranging the transmission requests based upon the transmission timings, so that a second group of the transmission requests, which correspond to a second group of the frames to be transmitted that have a group of the frame destinations corresponding to transmission timings earlier than that corresponding to destinations among the frame destinations of other frames among the frames to be transmitted corresponding to other transmission requests, are arranged before the other transmission requests corresponding to said other frames;

sending the sorted transmission requests in accordance with the transmission timings that are determined based on the time periods during which the destinations of the frames are able to receive the frames;

generating the frames based on the sent transmission requests; and

transmitting the generated frames to the frame destinations with the transmission timings, so that

the transmitted frames are received at the frame destinations during the time periods,

the frames of the first group are transmitted successively, and

the second group of the frames are transmitted before the other frames.

17. A non-transitory program storage medium having a computer program for an information communication apparatus for transmitting frames to a receiving node, that when implemented executes the steps of:

storing a plurality of transmission requests;

generating the frames to be transmitted, the frames to be transmitted corresponding respectively to the stored transmission requests, the frames to be transmitted corresponding to destinations for receiving the frames to be transmitted, the destinations corresponding to transmission timings that are determined based on time periods during which the frame destinations are able to receive the frames to be transmitted;

sorting the generated frames by

arranging successively a first group of the generated frames that each have a same frame destination among the frame destinations, and

arranging a second group of the generated frames based upon the transmission timings, so that the second group of the frames, which correspond to a group of the frame destinations corresponding to a group of the transmission timings earlier than that corresponding to destinations among the frame destinations of other frames among the frames to be transmitted, are arranged before said other frames;

sending the sorted frames in accordance with the transmission timings that are determined based on the time periods during which the frame destinations are able to receive the frames; and

transmitting the sent frames to the frame destinations with the transmission timings so that

the transmitted frames are received at the frame destinations during the time periods,

the sent frames of the first group are transmitted successively, and

the second group of frames are transmitted before the other frames.