COMMUNICATION DEVICE, SYNCHRONIZED COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND SYNCHRONIZED COMMUNICATION METHOD

摘要

Provided are a communication device and method. According to the method, even when communication devices are connected in series to a transmission path, devices connected to the respective communication devices can be synchronized so as to reduce the communication period. A second communication device (2) includes a relay path (260) and a return path (261) which do not pass through a storage device, and a path selector switch (250) for them. A first communication device (1) instructs switching of the return path (261) from a transmission path (5), measures a transmission path delay time, reports it to the second communication device (2), and transmits a reference time of the first communication device for each communication period. The second communication device corrects its reference time according to the transmission path delay time and the reference time. Moreover, when the first communication device (1) finds a new second communication device (2) during a synchronized communication, the first communication device (1) performs a transmission path delay calculation by using the remaining time of the communication period. Furthermore, the first communication device and the second communication device include means for detecting a frame start signal and reducing the transfer delay.