Patent ID: 7129823

Claim:
A method of transferring a master function of a first device used to set a house code or a terminal address of a second device and connected to a communications network system which performs data communications among a plurality of devices through a power line, the device including the master function and an address table holding terminal addresses which are assignable to other devices comprising the steps of: transmitting the address table from a first device to a second device when the first device receives from the second device an address table transmission request indicating a transmission request of the address table, upon receipt of the address table from the first device, retrieving by the second device from the address table an unused address which is assignable as a terminal address to the first device, and transmitting to the first device a request to change a terminal address into the unused address and a request to invalidate the master function; and enabling a master function of the second device when the first device changes a terminal address thereof into the unused address, and invalidates the master function of the first device.