Patent ID: 7240142
Filing Date: 2007-07-03
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A communications system having a master device and one or more slave devices, the master device including: a first driver that outputs a framing signal that has a series of framing periods; a second driver that outputs a grant signal, the grant signal identifying a slave device that is to receive control over an upstream bus during a subsequent framing period; a number of data receivers that receive a plurality of data signals during each framing period from the upstream bus; a frame counter that counts framing periods, and generates a value that represents either an odd count, or a value that represents an even count, during each framing period; a first grant engine that generates a bus grant signal during each even count that identifies a slave device which is to receive a bus grant during a subsequent framing period of the framing signal; and a second grant engine that generates a bus grant signal during each odd count that identifies a slave device which is to receive a bus grant during a subsequent framing period of the framing signal.