Method of bus address assignment

A method of assigning bus addresses for a data processing system, the data processing system including a plurality of transmitting and receiving stations and a control unit (master), in which communication between the stations and the control unit and between the stations themselves is via a bus system, the method of assigning bus addresses to the stations comprising:

• a) transmitting with the control unit a command for address generation to the stations,
• b) in response to the command for address generation, determining in each station a respective random address from a preset value range on the bus,
• c) inquiring with the control unit, starting with a lowest address of the preset value range on the bus, whether a station with a respective address exists, and
• d) in response to the inquiring step, sending a reply to the control unit by any station having the address inquired about by the control unit;
• wherein if the control unit receives a reply from a station indicating that a station having that respective address exists, and the reply contains no errors and is therefore a valid reply, the control unit informs that station which sent a reply that the respective address of that station has been accepted,
• setting an address flag in a station that has been informed that the respective address of that station has been accepted by the control unit,
• wherein if the control unit receives a reply from a station which contains an error and is therefore a non-valid reply, the control unit does not acknowledge the station sending the non-valid reply, and
• wherein after receiving a reply containing an error which is therefore a non-valid reply,
• changing with the control unit previously valid addresses to addresses in an ascending sequence starting from a lowest possible address, and
• performing steps a) to d) excluding previously assigned addresses from the preset value range on the bus for the respective random addresses.