Patent ID: 7356627

Claim:
A data handling apparatus capable of operating in a system in which two or more devices are connected by a data bus for a transmission of communications therebetween, the data bus having two or more data lines and each of the two or more devices having: two or more data bus connectors, each for connection to a respective data line of the data bus; an identity acquisition unit capable of functioning in a first mode of operation of the device to receive data transmitted over the data bus and in response to the order in which the bits of one or more data words of a predetermined form are received on the data bus connectors during the first mode of operation determine an identity for the device and store the identity in an identity store of the device; a data handling unit capable of functioning in a second mode of operation of the device to handle communications transmitted over the bus and that specify the identity stored in the identity store as a destination; and a multiplexing arrangement located between the data bus connectors and the data handling unit and arranged to, in at least the second mode of operation, re-order in accordance with the stored identity data received from at least two of the data lines of the bus and passed to the data handling unit.