Patent ID: 7779196

Claim:
Apparatus for a data communication network, comprising: an interface for coupling between a first bus and a second bus in a physical layer, wherein the first bus is a dual wire bus and the second bus is a single wire bus, the interface comprising: a first logic unit for unidirectionally passing signals between the busses in a first direction; a second logic unit for unidirectionally passing signals between the busses in a second direction; a first transceiver coupled between the first bus and the first logic unit for receiving and transmitting signals from and to both the first bus and the first logic unit; a second transceiver coupled between the second bus and the second logic unit for receiving and transmitting signals from and to both the second bus and the second logic unit; and a control circuit coupled to the first and second logic units for controlling the direction of signals passing between the busses, wherein, if a dominant bit is sent through the first bus, the control circuit transfers data from the first transceiver to the second transceiver, and, if a dominant bit is sent through the second bus, the control circuit transfers data from the second transceiver to the first transceiver, wherein either of the first and the second buses, through which the dominant bit is sent first, takes priority in transferring the data, wherein an output of the first logic unit is interconnected without one or more intervening functional components to an input of the second logic unit and the output of the first logic unit is coupled to the second transceiver, and wherein an output of the second logic unit is interconnected without one or more intervening functional components to an input of the first logic unit and the output of the second logic unit is coupled to the first transceiver.