Patent ID: 8285905

Claim:
A redundancy configuration of a main unit, comprising a plurality of main units, one of the main units being a master main unit, the other main units being slave main units, wherein: the master main unit is configured such that when the master unit ceases to function properly, one of the slave main units becomes a new master main unit; the main units have respective priorities, and when the current master main unit ceases to function properly, one of the main units having the highest priority among the other main units becomes a new master main unit; each of the main units compares the priorities of all the other main units and the priority of the main unit itself and becomes a master main unit by itself if the priority of the main unit itself is higher than the priorities of all the other main units, and notifies that the main unit itself is the master main unit in response to an inquiry from the other main units; and each of the main units recognizes that the main unit itself is a slave main unit when it receives a notification from a new master main unit that the main unit is the master main unit.