Network repeater, repeater controlling method and program product

• US 7,970,282 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2008
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Nagatomo, Shoichi, Iizuka, Nobuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanderpuye; Ken N
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGO, TANYA T
• Application Number:
  US12/130,019
• Publication Number:
  US 20080298812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 398118-131, 398/96, 398/103, 398/6, 398/37, 398/62, 398/94, 398/126, 398/173
• US Class Current: 398/126
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

A bridge controller, which controls relay between terminals including emission units and addresses assigned to the terminals, acquires coordinates of a light-received element in an light receiving unit at which light emitted from an emission unit is received, and stores the acquired coordinates in a location information table memory in association with a logical location on the network. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the stored coordinates differ from newly acquired coordinates. When it is determined that the stored coordinates differ from the newly acquired coordinates, the logical location associated with the coordinates stored in the storage unit is controlled to be changed and stored.

Claims

1. A network relaying apparatus which controls relay to and from a node indicated by a light emitting device and a logical location assigned to the node on a network, the network relaying apparatus comprising:

a light detector including light receiving elements which are two-dimensionally arranged with regularity;

a coordinate acquiring unit configured to acquire coordinates of a light receiving element in the light detector which detects light emitted from the light emitting device;

a storage unit configured to store the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquiring unit in association with a logical location of the node on the network;

a holding unit configured to acquire detection status of light by the light detector at a predetermined cycle and to temporarily hold the coordinates of the light receiving element which detects the light;

a determination unit configured to determine whether or not the coordinates stored in the storage unit differ from the coordinates temporarily held by the holding unit;

a storage controller configured to perform control so as to update the coordinates stored in the storage unit by the coordinates temporarily held by the holding unit and to change the logical location associated with the coordinates stored in the storage unit to the updated coordinates when the determination unit determines that the coordinates stored in the storage unit differ from the coordinates temporarily held by the holding unit;

a receiver unit configured to receive data from the network;

a logical location detector configured to detect from the data received by the receiver unit a logical location of a destination of the data;

a first transmitter configured to transmit the data to the coordinates stored in the storage unit in association with the logical location when the logical location detector detects the logical location;

a response detection determination unit configured to determine whether or not the light detector detects a response light in response to a transmission from the first transmitter; and

a transmission control unit configured to control the first transmitter such that the first transmitter transmits the data based on contents held in the holding unit when the response detection determination unit determines that the light detector does not detect the response light during a control processing period of the storage controller.

2. The network relay apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an information generator configured to generate information assigned uniquely to the node from a temporal change in luminance of the light emitting device when the luminance of the light emitting device changes temporally,

wherein the storage unit stores the information generated by the information generator in association with the logical location of the node on the network.

4. The network relay apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a second transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit the data to a destination indicated by the information generated by the information generator when the response detection determination unit determines that the light detector does not detect the response light after a control processing period of the storage controller.

3. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to function as elements comprising:

a coordinate acquiring unit configured to acquire coordinates of a light receiving element in a light detector including light receiving elements two-dimensionally arranged with regularity which detects light emitted from a light emitting device;

a storage unit configured to store the acquired coordinates in a storage in association with a logical location of a node on a network;

a holding unit configured to acquire detection status of light by the light detector at a predetermined cycle and to temporarily hold the coordinates of the light receiving element which detects the light;

a determination unit configured to determine whether or not the coordinates stored in the storage differ from the coordinates temporarily held by the holding unit;

a storage controller configured to perform control so as to update the coordinates stored in the storage by the coordinates temporarily held by the holding unit and to change the logical location associated with the coordinates stored in the storage to the updated coordinates when it is determined that the coordinates stored in the storage differ from the coordinates temporarily held by the holding unit;

a logical location detector configured to detect from data received from the network a logical location of a destination of the data;

a first transmitter configured to cause a transmitting device to transmit the data to the coordinates stored in the storage in association with the logical location when the logical location detector detects the logical location;

a response detection determination unit configured to determine whether or not the light detector detects a response light in response to a transmission from the first transmitter; and

a second transmitter configured to cause the transmitting device to transmit the data based on contents held in the holding unit when the response detection determination unit determines that the light detector does not detect the response light during a control processing period of the storage controller.