Dynamic Address Change for Slave Devices on a Shared Bus

A master/slave data communication system, comprising:

• a shared data bus;
• a plurality of slave devices connected to said shared bus;
• a master device connected to said shared bus, said master device programmed to communicate with said slave devices by commands, one command programmed in said master device is a change address command, said change address command not including a new address;
• an address generator associated with each said slave device, said address generator generating plural addresses so that the address of each said slave device can be changed;
• and
• each said slave device is responsive to a change address command from the master device for changing the respective address thereof, and said slave device that processes said change address command controls its address generator for changing the address thereof;
• and
• said slave devices programmed to not communicate to said master the respective new address.

A master/slave data communication system for use in a printer, comprising:

• a printer for printing characters on a print medium;
• a replaceable container for containing a material that is deposited on the print medium to define the characters;
• a data bus;
• a master device connected to said data bus;
• at least one slave device connected to said bus for receiving commands from said master device on said data bus, said slave device mounted to said replaceable container and carried with said container;
• said slave device identified by a unique address, and means for generating addresses for said slave device so that said slave device can periodically be identified by a new address, and said means for generating addresses located with said slave device and mounted to said replaceable container;
• and
• said master device is programmed to periodically command said slave device to change its address.