Local area network with biasing arrangement for facilitating accesscontention between work stations connected to a common bus

Abstract From the Canadian patent

Abstract, A local area data distribution system includes a plurality of data processing stations connected to a common bus. Individual data processing stations contend with each other for access to the bus while the bus is held at a predetermined and controlled but overridable logic state by applying their priority code bit by bit to the bus and comparing the logic state of the bus with the bit they are applying thereto. A biasing arrangement holds the bus at the predetermined and controlled logic state during the contention interval at a signal level that may be easily overridden by an output of any one of the individual data processing stations.