Data repeating apparatus

Claim 2

In a data repeating apparatus applied to a communication network system as a repeating station wherein serial data, received by the data repeating apparatus, contains a significant data portion bounded by delimiters in order to discriminate the significant data portion from within the serial data which is transferred by means of a transmission line, said data repeating apparatus comprising: a delimiter detecting means for extracting a delimiter from the received serial data, synchronized with a receiving clock so as to produce a delimiter timing signal; a first conversion timing signal generating means for generating a first conversion timing signal synchronized with the receiving clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a sending clock generating means for generating a sending clock; a second conversion timing signal generating means for generating a second conversion timing signal synchronized with the sending clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a serial/parallel converter means for converting said receiving serial data into parallel data by said first conversion timing signal; and a parallel/serial converter means for re-converting said parallel data into serial data by said second conversion timing signal, whereby the re-converted serial data is sent out from said repeating station as sending data.

Claim 3

In a data repeating apparatus applied to a communication network system as a repeating station wherein serial data, received by the data repeating apparatus, contains a significant data portion bounded by delimiters in order to discriminate the significant data portion from within the serial data which is transferred by means of a transmission line, said data repeating apparatus comprising: a delimiter detecting means for extracting a delimiter from the received serial data synchronized with a receiving clock so as to produce a delimiter timing signal; a first conversion timing signal generating means for generating a first conversion timing signal synchronized with the receiving clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a sending clock generating means for generating a sending clock; a second conversion timing signal generating means for generating a second conversion timing signal synchronized with the sending clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a serial/parallel converter means for converting said receiving serial data into parallel data by said first conversion timing signal; a parallel/serial converter means for re-converting said parallel data into serial data by said second conversion timing signal; a computing means for measuring a period of time in which a data frame circulates through the transmission line once and then returns back to the data repeating apparatus thus computing a number of repeating stations within the network system on the basis of the measured period of time; and a preamble setting means for computing a maximum number of bits which are removed from a data transmission on the basis of the computed number of repeating stations, thus setting a preamble portion corresponding to the computed maximum number of bits, whereby the re-converted serial data accompanied with said preamble portion is sent out from said repeating station as sending data.

Claim 4

In a data repeating apparatus applied to a communication network system as a repeating station wherein serial data, received by the data repeating apparatus, contains a significant data portion bounded by delimiters in order to discriminate the significant data portion from within the serial data which is transferred by means of a transmission line, said data repeating apparatus comprising: a delimiter detecting means for extracting a delimiter from the received serial data synchronized with a receiving clock so as to produce a delimiter timing signal; a first conversion timing signal generating means for generating a first conversion timing signal synchronized with the receiving clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a sending clock generating means for generating a sending clock; a second conversion timing signal generating means for generating a second conversion timing signal synchronized with the sending clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a serial/parallel converter means for converting said receiving serial data into parallel data by said first conversion timing signal; a parallel/serial converter means for re-converting said parallel data into serial data by said second conversion timing signal; a computing means for measuring a period of time in which a data frame circulates through the transmission line once and then returns back to the data repeating apparatus thus computing a number of repeating stations within the network system on the basis of the measured period of time; and a preamble setting means for computing a maximum number of bits which are removed from a data transmission on the basis of the computed number of repeating stations, thus setting a preamble portion corresponding to the computed maximum number of bits, whereby the re-converted serial data accompanied with said preamble portion is sent out from said repeating station as sending data.

Claim 5

In a data repeating apparatus applied to a communication network system as a repeating station wherein serial data, received by the data repeating apparatus, contains a significant data portion bounded by delimiters in order to discriminate the significant data portion from within the serial data which is transferred by means of a transmission line, said data repeating apparatus comprising: a delimiter detecting means for extracting a delimiter from the received serial data synchronized with a receiving clock so as to produce a delimiter timing signal; a first conversion timing signal generating means for generating a first conversion timing signal synchronized with the receiving clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a sending clock generating means for generating a sending clock; a second conversion timing signal generating means for generating a second conversion timing signal synchronized with the sending clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a serial/parallel converter means for converting said receiving serial data into parallel data by said first conversion timing signal; a parallel/serial converter means for re-converting said parallel data into serial data by said second conversion timing signal; and a control means for controlling said serial/parallel converter means and said parallel/serial converter means so as to change a bit-conversion size by which the serial/parallel conversion and the parallel/serial conversion are performed, whereby the re-converted serial data is sent out from said repeating station as sending data.

Claim 6

In a data repeating apparatus applied to a communication network system as a repeating station wherein serial data, received by the data repeating apparatus, contains a significant data portion bounded by delimiters in order to discriminate the significant data portion from within the serial data which is transferred by means of a transmission line, said data repeating apparatus comprising: a delimiter detecting means for extracting a delimiter from the received serial data synchronized with a receiving clock so as to produce a delimiter timing signal; a first conversion timing signal generating means for generating a first conversion timing signal synchronized with the receiving clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a sending clock generating means for generating a sending clock; a second conversion timing signal generating means for generating a second conversion timing signal synchronized with the sending clock on the basis of said delimiter timing signal; a serial/parallel converter means for converting said receiving serial data into parallel data by said first conversion timing signal; a parallel/serial converter means for re-converting said parallel data into serial data by said second conversion timing signal; and a control means for controlling said serial/parallel converter means and said parallel/serial converter means so as to change a bit-conversion size by which the serial/parallel conversion and the parallel/serial conversion are performed, whereby the re-converted serial data is sent out from said repeating station as sending data.

Claim 7

A data repeating apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said control means is activated so that the bit-conversion size is changed when a period error between said first and second conversion timing signals is larger than a predetermined allowable value.

Claim 8

A data repeating apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein the bit-conversion size is changed from m bits to n bits (where n>m) when a period error between said first and second conversion timing signals is larger than a predetermined value.