Patent ID: 8443110

Claim:
A system for discovering devices on a common bus without a direct communication path between a master and one or more of the other devices communicating on the common bus, comprising: a wired communication bus; a host device; at least two devices communicating on the wired communication bus, wherein the first device is connected to the host device and a second device is connected to the first device wherein the host communicates to the second device via the wired communication bus through the first device; and wherein: the host device transmits a message on the wired communication bus requesting a response from any device on the bus; each device on the bus has a unique identification by which the device can be identified on the bus upon receiving a message from the host device; a broadcasting of a first message transmitted by the host device indicates a range from a minimum designation to a maximum designation; the minimum designation covers up to one unique designation of a device on the bus; the maximum covers virtually all unique designations of devices on the bus; one or no response from a device on the bus indicates no collision and that the message is not to be again sent by the host device for the range, wherein the range is greater than one and the unique identification of the responding device is within the range; two or more responses from devices on the bus indicate a collision, and that the message is to be again sent by the host device to a portion of the range; and two or more responses from devices on the bus having unique designations within the portion of the range indicate a collision and that the message is to be again sent by the host device to a portion of the portion of the range.