Time-out control apparatus, terminal unit, time-out control system and time-out procedure

A time out control system for control of time out in transfer of packets between terminal units connected to buses, the system comprising:

• a time out control apparatus including:
• a measuring unit operable to measure response time required for a response packet to be received after a request packet is sent to a terminal unit;
• a list generating unit operable to generate the list by relating proper identification information of the respective terminal units connected via the bus to the response time measured by the measuring unit;
• and
• an information outputting unit operable to read the response time from the list in accordance with a request from the terminal unit and outputting the response time to the terminal unit;
• and
• the terminal unit comprising:
• a timer value acquisition unit operable to acquire the response time of another terminal unit from the time out control apparatus when a packet is sent to the other terminal unit connected via the bus;
• and
• a timer management unit operable to carry out time out procedures in transferring the packet on the basis of the response time acquired from the time out control apparatus.

A time out control method for controlling the time out in transfer of packets between terminal units connected to buses, the method comprising:

• measuring a response time required for a response packet to be received after the sending of a request packet to the terminal units connected via the bus;
• generating a list by relating to the proper identification information of the respective terminal units connected via the bus to the response time measured by the measuring unit;
• and
• outputting the response time read from the list to the respective terminal unit.