| 摘要 |
<p>A power line network (1) comprises a plurality of similar power line modems (2), which connect a plurality of corresponding computer devices (4) into a power line (3) of the network (1) so that a new modem (2) may be connected into the network (1), or a modem (2) may be removed from the network (1) without the need for altering the addresses of the modems (2) in the network (1) or the new modem (2) being connected into the network (1). The network (1) operates on a token passing protocol, and the modems (2) are assigned different numerical address. The token is passed from one modem (2) to its next adjacent modem (2) in increasing order of numerical address. In order to detect the presence of a new modem in the network (1), each modem (2) on receiving the token polls a first address, the value of which lies between the numerical value of its own address and that of its next adjacent modem (2). Initially, each modem (2) polls a first address of value equal to its own address plus one, and in the absence of an acknowledgement the first address is incremented by one.</p> |
