Communication timing control method and apparatus, node, and communication system

A communication timing control apparatus provided in each of a plurality of nodes in a communication system, the communication timing control apparatus comprising:

• a state variable signal communication unit for intermittently transmitting, to at least two other nodes in the communication system, an output state variable signal indicating an operating state or operating timing of its own node, and receiving, from the at least two other nodes in the communication system, input state variable signals indicating an operating state or operating timing of the at least two other nodes;
• a timing decision unit for generating transitions in the operating state or operating timing of its own node, the transitions occurring at a basic transition rate, but at timings adjusted according to the input state variable signals;
• a data signal communication unit for transmitting data from its own node in time slots responsive to timing of the transmission of the output state variable signal, and receiving data signals from the at least two other nodes;
• a collision detector for detecting collisions between the data signals received from the at least two other nodes;
• and
• a dummy communication timing decision unit for generating dummy transitions in the operating state or operating timing of its own node, the dummy transitions occurring at a basic transition rate, but at timings adjusted according to the input state variable signals and the output state variable signal, thereby causing the state variable signal communication unit to transmit a dummy output state variable signal between the input state variable signals received from a pair of nodes among the at least two other nodes when the collision detector detects a collision between data signals received from the pair of nodes, so that when the collision detector detects the collision, the state variable signal communication unit and data signal communication unit change transmission timings of the output state variable signal and the data, thereby changing the time slots.