Patent ID: 7818461

Claim:
A system, comprising: a device loop; a plurality of devices, wherein each device is communicatively connected to the device loop and configured for determining a portion of an asset to be used by the device wherein the asset is shared by all of the plurality of devices; and a controller communicatively connected to the device loop and configured for determining a capacity of the asset and for transferring control information to said plurality of devices wherein the control information includes information representing presently available capacity of the asset, wherein the plurality of devices and the controller are coupled to the device loop such that each device is communicatively coupled to exactly two adjacent devices or is communicatively coupled to exactly one adjacent device and the controller, wherein the controller and the plurality of devices are adapted to receive the control information from a first adjacent device or from the controller and further adapted to transfer the control information to a next adjacent device or to the controller to allow each device to allocate its determined portion from the presently available capacity represented in the control information wherein the control information transferred to the next adjacent device or controller includes an updated presently available capacity reflecting any allocation performed by said each device.