US 2003/0112812 A1 · Method and device for automatically attributing addresses to a plurality of modules interconnected by a communication network with complex topology

Abstract

The invention concerns a method whereby each module is determined from the address of the module located immediately upstream in the network relative to the central unit, the detected address being transmitted by the upstream module in an attribution message, which triggers off an automatic search phase for the module without address, nearest downstream to a module with an address, during which each downstream module without address receives (50) the address attribution message, triggers (52) a delay whereof the duration is so much longer if the received message reception is low, and if at the end (54) of the delay, no address capture message is detected (53), it transmits (56) such a message, stores (57) the received address, determines the address of the nearest downstream module without address, and triggers (30) the search phase for the nearest downstream module without address.

Claims12

Dependent claims

Method for automatically allocating addresses to a multiplicity of modules interconnected by a network (1 to 6) with an aborescent topology connected to a central unit (UC), the address of each module (M1 to M15) being determined on the basis of the address of the module situated immediately upstream inside the network with respect to the central unit and already having an allocated address, the address determined being transmitted onto the network by the upstream module in an address allocation message, characterised in that it includes a phase for the automatic search for a module not having any allocated address situated closest downstream in the network to a module already having an address, this phase including for each downstream module not having any allocated address:

the receiving (50) by the downstream module of the address allocation message and the triggering (52) by the latter of a delay time whose period is that much greater when the level of reception of the message is low,
if at the end (54) of the delay time the downstream module (53) does not detect in the network any address capture message, the transmission (56) by the latter of an address capture message containing the address to be allocated, the storing (57) by the latter of the address received as a module address, the determination (20 to 29) by the latter of the address of the module not having any allocated address situated the nearest downstream in the network and the triggering (30) by the latter of the phase for the automatic search for the module not having any allocated address situated closest downstream in the network.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it further includes a prior phase for the automatic search for a module having an address situated closest upstream in the network to a module not having any address, this module transmitting on the network a message seeking a module having an address, this phase including for each module already having an address:

the receiving (50) by the module of the message seeking a module having an address and the triggering (52) by the latter of a delay time whose period is that much greater when the level of reception of the message received is low,
if at the end (54) of the delay time the module (53) does not detect on the network any address capture message, the transmission (59) by the latter of an address capture message, the determination (60, 20 to 29) by the latter of the address of the module not having any address situated immediately downstream in the network, and the triggering (30) by the latter of the phase for the automatic search for a module not having any allocated address situated closest downstream in the network.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and device for automatically attributing addresses to a plurality of modules interconnected by a communication network with complex topology

Life of this patent

Method and device for automatically attributing addresses to a plurality of modules interconnected by a communication network with complex topology

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims12