The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 30, 1991
Filed:
Dec. 28, 1989
Stuart B Siegel, Canton, MI (US);
Jeffery C Marriott, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Allen-Bradley Company, Inc., Milwaukee, WI (US);
Abstract
A communications network is comprised of master and slave stations. The master stations may receive a master token allowing control of the network for sending messages, and a solicit token that allowing the master stations to solicit other master stations for entry into the network. A master station receiving a solicit message answers with an acknowledgement signal and may immediately begin soliciting for successors. The slave stations receiving a solicit message may not accept the master token or the solicit token but must respond with a negative acknowledgement. Slave stations enter the network to respond to messages only. The use of slave stations allows for the implementation of simpler networks and improves network efficiency. The negative acknowledgement identifies the presence of the slave stations and allows detection of duplicate network nodes.