Systems and methods for assigning an address to a network device added to an existing network
First Claim
1. A system for establishing communication over a network bus comprising:
- an initial set of network devices in electrical communication with the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of said initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network devices on the network bus;
a bus controller in electrical communication with the network bus for establishing communication with network devices connected to the network bus using the logical address assigned to each network device; and
at least one additional network device electrically connected to the network bus after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices,wherein said bus controller is capable of assigning a logical address to said additional network devices, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication wit the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller assigns logical addresses to each of said additional network devices tat do not currently have an associated logical address,wherein the logical address for each network device is assigned based on a unique aspect of the network device, wherein said bus controller initially assigns a unique logical address to each network device of said set of initial network devices, and wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with said set of initial network devices, assigns a logical address to said additional network device subsequently connected to the bus network based on a unique aspect of said additional network device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides systems, methods, and bus controllers (12) for establishing communication with various network systems located on a network system (10). Importantly, the systems, methods, and bus controllers (12) of the present invention are capable recognizing that a new network device (16, 18, 20) has been added to an existing network and assigning it an address such that the added network device is identifiable on the network. Further, the systems, methods, and bus controllers (12) of the present invention may update the operating schedule that outlines communication in the network system between the bus controller (12) and the network devices (16, 18, 20) to include commands for communicating with the added network device. The systems, methods, and bus controllers (12) of the present invention may also detect when a network device (16, 18, 20) has been disconnected from a network system (10) and remove the commands associated with the networked device from the command schedule.
76 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A system for establishing communication over a network bus comprising:
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an initial set of network devices in electrical communication with the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of said initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network devices on the network bus; a bus controller in electrical communication with the network bus for establishing communication with network devices connected to the network bus using the logical address assigned to each network device; and at least one additional network device electrically connected to the network bus after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices, wherein said bus controller is capable of assigning a logical address to said additional network devices, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication wit the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller assigns logical addresses to each of said additional network devices tat do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein the logical address for each network device is assigned based on a unique aspect of the network device, wherein said bus controller initially assigns a unique logical address to each network device of said set of initial network devices, and wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with said set of initial network devices, assigns a logical address to said additional network device subsequently connected to the bus network based on a unique aspect of said additional network device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 6)
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5. A system for establishing communication over a network bus comprising:
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an initial set of network devices in electrical communication with the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of said initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network devices on the network bus; a bus controller in electrical communication with the network bus for establishing communication with network devices connected to the network bus using the logical address assigned to each network device; and at least one additional network device electrically connected to the network bus after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices, wherein said bus controller is capable of assigning a logical address to said additional network devices, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller assigns logical addresses to each of said additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein each of said additional network devices initially has a common null address prior to connection to the network bus, and wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus still having an associated common null address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller replaces the common null address associated with each of said additional network devices with a logical address.
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7. A system for establishing communication over a network bus comprising:
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an initial set of network devices in electrical communication with the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of said initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network devices on the network bus; a bus controller in electrical communication with the network bus for establishing communication with network devices connected to the network bus using the logical address assigned to each network device; and at least one additional network device electrically connected to the network bus after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices, wherein said bus controller is capable of assigning a logical address to said additional network devices, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller assigns logical addresses to each of said additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein said bus controller communicates with network devices connected to the network bus according to an command schedule, wherein after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices according to the command schedule, if said additional network device is connected to the network bus, said bus controller continues communication with said initial set of network devices based on the command schedule and assigns a logical address to said additional network device during predefined pauses in the command schedule.
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8. A system for establishing communication over a network bus comprising:
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an initial set of network devices in electrical communication with the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of said initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network devices on the network bus; a bus controller in electrical communication with the network bus for establishing communication with network devices connected to the network bus using the logical address assigned to each network device; and at least one additional network device electrically connected to the network bus after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices, wherein said bus controller is capable of assigning a logical address to said additional network devices, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller assigns logical addresses to each of said additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein said bus controller communicates with network devices connected to the network bus according to an command schedule, wherein after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices according to the command schedule, if said additional network device is connected to the network bus, said bus controller postpones communication with the network devices, assigns a logical address to said additional network device, and resumes the command schedule.
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9. A system for establishing communication over a network bus comprising:
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an initial set of network devices in electrical communication with the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of said initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network devices on the network bus; a bus controller in electrical communication with the network bus for establishing communication with network devices connected to the network bus using the logical address assigned to each network device; and at least one additional network device electrically connected to the network bus after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices, wherein said bus controller is capable of assigning a logical address to said additional network devices, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the network devices of said initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller assigns logical addresses to each of said additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein said bus controller communicates with network devices connected to the network bus according to an command schedule, wherein said additional network device includes an associated type identifier based on a function of the network device, and wherein after said bus controller has established communication with said initial set of network devices according to the command schedule, if said additional network device is connected to the network bus, said bus controller assigns a logical address to said additional network device and adds said additional network device to the command schedule based on the type identifier associated with the additional network device.
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10. A method for establishing communication between a bus controller and network devices via a network bus comprising the steps of:
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communicating between the bus controller and an initial set of network devices connected to the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of the initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network device on the network bus; connecting at least one additional network device to the network bus after said communicating step has commenced communication between the bus controller and the initial set of network devices; and assigning a logical address to the additional network device added in said connecting step such that the additional network device can be identified on the network bus, wherein said assigning step comprises after said communicating step has commenced communication with the network devices of the initial set of network devices the step of transmitting a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond, and thereafter automatically arid independent of user input assigning logical addresses to each of the additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein the logical address for each network device is assigned based on a unique aspect of the network device, wherein said assigning step initially assigns a unique logical address to each network device of the set of initial network devices, and wherein said assigning going step assigns a logical address to the additional network device subsequently connected to the bus network by said connecting step based on a unique aspect of the additional network device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18)
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14. A method for establishing communication between a bus controller and network devices via a network bus comprising the steps of:
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communicating between the bus controller and an initial set of network devices connected to the network bus, wherein each of the network devices of the initial set of network devices has an assigned logical address identifying the network device on the network bus; connecting at least one additional network device to the network bus after said communicating step has commenced communication between the bus controller and the initial set of network devices; and assigning a logical address to the additional network device added in said connecting step such that the additional network device can be identified on the network bus, wherein said assigning step comprises after said communicating step has commenced communication with the network devices of the initial set of network devices the step of transmitting a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus not having an assigned logical address respond, and thereafter automatically and independent of user input assigning logical addresses to each of the additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address, wherein each of the additional network devices connected in said connecting step initially has a common null address prior to connection to the network bus, wherein said transmitting step transmits a query on the network bus requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus still having an associated common null address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said assigning step replaces the common null address associated with each of the additional network devices with a logical address. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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19. A bus controller for establishing communication with network devices via a network bus using a logical address assigned to each network device, wherein said bus controller is capable of establishing communication with an initial set of network devices connected to the network bus each having an assigned logical address identifying the network device and thereafter assigning a logical address to at least one additional network device subsequently connected to the network bus, wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the network devices of the initial set of network devices, transmits a query on the network bus to all network devices at substantially the same time requesting that additional network devices connected to the network bus riot having an assigned logical address respond to said bus controller, and thereafter said bus controller automatically and independent of user input assigns logical addresses to each of the additional network devices that do not currently have an associated logical address,
wherein the logical address for each network device is assigned based on a unique aspect of the network device, wherein said bus controller initially assigns a unique logical address to each network device of the set of initial network devices, and wherein said bus controller after establishing communication with the set of initial network devices, assigns a logical address to the additional network device subsequently connected to the bus network based on a unique aspect of the additional network device.
Specification