Network system and communication apparatus for performing communication among networks having different VLAN settings

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9923733-B2
Application number	US-201214423738-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 28, 2012
Priority date	Aug 28, 2012
Publication date	Mar 20, 2018
Grant date	Mar 20, 2018

Abstract

A network system that comprises a plurality of communication apparatuses, each of the communication apparatuses being capable of performing a VLAN setting by using a VLAN number set for a connection port, that sets a VLAN number for each of the communication apparatuses, and that performs communication among cars of a train, wherein in a case where a specific type of packet that disables a VLAN setting is a packet of a multicast address, when a distribution target apparatus is connected to a communication apparatus that has received the specific type of packet, the communication apparatus transfers the specific type of packet to the distribution target apparatus and, irrespective of a VLAN number set for another communication apparatus, regards a VLAN different from a VLAN of the communication apparatus as a same network and transfers the specific type of packet to the another communication apparatus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A network system comprising:
a plurality of communication apparatuses, each of the communication apparatuses being capable of performing a VLAN setting by using a VLAN number set for a connection port, that sets a VLAN number for each of the communication apparatuses, and that performs communication among cars of a train, wherein
the communication apparatus determines, on a basis of information that is given to a packet and identifies a type of communication, whether a received packet is a packet that is set to be permitted to pass and is a specific type of packet that disables a VLAN setting, and in a case where the communication apparatus receives a packet of a multicast address as the specific type of packet, when a distribution target apparatus is connected to the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus transfers the specific type of packet to the distribution target apparatus, disables setting of a VLAN number set for another communication apparatus, regards a VLAN different from a VLAN of the communication apparatus as a same network, and transfers the specific type of packet to the another communication apparatus.

2. The network system according to claim 1 , wherein the specific type of packet is a packet having a specific MAC address.

3. A network system comprising:
a plurality of communication apparatuses, each of the communication apparatuses being capable of performing a VLAN setting by using a VLAN number set for a connection port, that sets a VLAN number for each of the communication apparatuses, and that performs communication among cars of a train, wherein
the communication apparatus determines, on a basis of information that is given to a packet and identifies a type of communication, whether a received packet is a packet that is set to be permitted to pass and is a specific type of packet that disables a VLAN setting, and in a case where the communication apparatus receives a packet of a unicast address as the specific type of packet, when a destination of the specific type of packet is an apparatus connected to the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus transfers the packet to the apparatus at a desired destination and, when a destination of the specific type of packet is an apparatus connected to another communication apparatus, the communication apparatus disables setting of a VLAN number set for the another communication apparatus, regards a VLAN different from a VLAN of the communication apparatus as a same network, and transfers the specific type of packet to the another communication apparatus.

4. The network system according to claim 3 , wherein the specific type of packet is a packet having a specific MAC address.

5. A communication apparatus comprising:
at least one connection port, wherein the communication apparatus is in a network system that comprises a plurality of communication apparatuses, each of the communication apparatuses being capable of performing a VLAN setting by using a VLAN number set for a connection port, and wherein the communication apparatus sets a VLAN number for each of the communication apparatuses, and that performs communication among cars of a train, wherein the communication apparatus determines, on a basis of information that is given to a packet and identifies a type of communication, whether a received packet is a packet that is set to be permitted to pass and is a specific type of packet that disables a VLAN setting, and in a case where the communication apparatus receives a packet of a multicast address as the specific type of packet, when a distribution target apparatus is connected to the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus transfers the specific type of packet to the distribution target apparatus, disables setting of a VLAN number set for another communication apparatus, regards a VLAN different from a VLAN of the communication apparatus as a same network, and transfers the specific type of packet to the another communication apparatus.

6. The communication apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the specific type of packet is a packet having a specific MAC address.

7. A communication apparatus comprising:
at least one connection port, wherein the communication apparatus is in a network system that comprises a plurality of communication apparatuses, each of the communication apparatuses being capable of performing a VLAN setting by using a VLAN number set for a connection port, and wherein the communication apparatus sets a VLAN number for each of the communication apparatuses, and that performs communication among cars of a train, wherein the communication apparatus determines, on a basis of information that is given to a packet and identifies a type of communication, whether a received packet is a packet that is set to be permitted to pass and is a specific type of packet that disables a VLAN setting, and in a case where the communication apparatus receives a packet of a unicast address as the specific type of packet, when a destination of the specific type of packet is an apparatus connected to the communication apparatus, the communication apparatus transfers the packet to the apparatus at a desired destination and, when a destination of the specific type of packet is an apparatus connected to another communication apparatus, the communication apparatus disables setting of a VLAN number set for the another communication apparatus, regards a VLAN different from a VLAN of the communication apparatus as a same network, and transfers the specific type of packet to the another communication apparatus.

8. The communication apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the specific type of packet is a packet having a specific MAC address.

Assignees

• Shigeeda Tetsuya
• Honda Shingo
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Shigeeda Tetsuya
• Honda Shingo

Classifications

• H04L2012/40293

  the transportation system being a train · CPC title

• H04L47/10

  Flow control; Congestion control · CPC title

• H04L12/4641 Primary

  Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] (LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272) · CPC title

• H04L45/72

  Routing based on the source address · CPC title

• H04L12/18

  for broadcast or conference {, e.g. multicast} · CPC title