Node processing system

Claim 1

In a ring-type local area network including a plurality of node stations disposed on a ring channel, a method for determining the configuration of said network comprising the steps of producing in a source node, an adjacent station frame capable of being discriminated only by the immediately succeeding station, sending out said adjacent station frame with the source node address and a node count variable set in an information field of said adjacent station frame, detecting and receiving said adjacent station frame in a destination node, producing a different adjacent station frame by additionally setting the destination node address after the source node address in said information field and by modifying the node count variable in said information field of said received adjacent station frame, sending out said different adjacent station frame, and determining an end of sequence by detecting the presence of the source node address as the first node address in the information field of a received adjacent station frame, said method permitting the number, physical addresses and connection sequence of nodes of the entire ring-type local area network to be known from the contents of a received adjacent station frame.

Claim 5

A method for determining the address and number of nodes in a ring-type local area network having a plurality of station nodes, each node station having an address among which information is transferred, in a transmission direction, by transmission of data packets consisting of a token and a frame, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, in a node station, a frame recognizable only by an adjacent node station, along said transmission direction, said frame containing a node count field and a node address field; (b) modifying said node count field of said frame; (c) writing the address of said node station in said node address field; (d) transmitting said frame over said ring-type local area network; (e) receiving said frame in said second node station; and (f) repeating steps (a) through (d) for each node station in said network.

Claim 6

A method for determining the address and number of nodes in a ring-type local area network having a plurality of station nodes, each node station having an address among which information is transferred, in a transmission direction, by transmission of data packets consisting of a token and a frame, said method comprising the steps of: (a) generating, in a node station, a frame recognizable only by an adjacent node station, along said transmission direction, said frame containing a node count field and a node address field; (b) modifying said node count field of said frame; (c) writing the address of said node station in said node address field; (d) transmitting said frame over said ring-type local area network; (e) receiving said frame in said second node station; and (f) repeating steps (a) through (d) for each node station in said network.