Multicommunication protocol controller

A data processing system for transmitting data between a host processing device and one of a plurality of remote terminal devices comprising:

• a communication channel coupled between said host processing device and each of said remote terminal devices;
• a look-up table coupled to said host processing device for storing a plurality of sets of program instructions, each set controlling the transmission of data between one of said remote terminal devices and said host processing device in accordance with a different communication protocol;
• a controller mounted in each of said terminal devices and coupled to said communication channel for controlling the transmission of data between said one of said remote terminal devices and said host processing device over said communication channel, said controller including a processing member;
• and
• a manually operated hexadecimal rotary switch member mounted in said controller and coupled to said processing member, said switch member settable to one of a plurality of positions in which each position will output a plurality of different binary signals to said processing means for identifying the controller whereby said processing member transmits over the communication channel the identifying binary signals to said host processing device enabling the host processing device, using the identifying binary signals as an address, to retrieve from said look-up table a set of program instructions controlling the transmission of data between the host processing device and the remote processing terminal controlled by said controller, said host processing device transmitting the set of program instructions to said controller enabling the controller to control the transmission of data between the host processor and said one of said remote terminal devices.

A method for establishing the communication protocol for a data processing system which includes a host processor and a plurality of remote terminal devices comprising the steps of:

• storing a plurality of sets of program instructions in a look-up memory in which each set of instructions represents a different communication protocol which controls the transmission of data between the host processor and a remote terminal device;
• manually setting a hexadecimal rotary switching member mounted on a remote terminal device to one of a plurality of positions enabling the switching member to generate a plurality of binary signals representing the address of the selected remote terminal device in the data processing system;
• addressing the look-up memory using the binary signals generated as an address to retrieve a predetermined set of program instructions representing a communication protocol from the memory for use by the selected remote terminal device;
• and
• transmitting the selected predetermined set of program instructions to the remote terminal device for controlling the transfer of data betwen the host processor and the selected remote terminal device.