Device for exchanging data between movable units and a central unit

A device for exchanging data between a plurality of rail-supported movable automatic manipulating units for operating a plurality of textile machines with multiple work stations and a common central unit, said device comprising:

• a rail system;
• a lead system connected to said rail system, said lead system comprising at least two and at most three data-transmitting leads, that serve exclusively for data transmission and form a ring conduit via which a freely selected number of said plurality of movable automatic manipulating units may be connected to said common central unit, and further comprising supply leads for supplying electric current to said automatic manipulating units;
• a central unit comprising a central sending and receiving device connected to said data-transmitting leads;
• said plurality of automatic manipulating units movably connected to said rail system and each having first sliding contacts connected to said supply leads, each said automatic manipulating unit having a unit sending and receiving device and having second sliding contacts for connecting said unit sending and receiving device to said data transmitting leads;
• and
• wherein data from said central and unit sending and receiving devices are sent in the from of primary pulses of predetermined duration and of predetermined intervals over a first of said data-transmitting leads, and along with each of said primary impulses is simultaneously sent opposite polarity impulses over a second one of said data-transmitting leads, and wherein said central and unit sending and receiving devices are embodied such that data are received only when the primary and opposite polarity impulses are received simultaneously via said first and second data-transmitting leads and each primary and opposite polarity impulse has a preset minimal impulse energy.