Patent ID: 7299303

Claim:
A computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure for use in a pendant bus communications system that includes a host device and pendant peripheral devices that are serially chained together, the data structure comprising: a first data field including a device identifier having a current value, the current value being modified each time the data structure is evaluated by one of the pendant peripheral devices in the pendant bus communications system, wherein the current value matches a predetermined value if the data structure reaches one of the pendant peripheral devices with which the data structure is associated; wherein the predetermined value is the same value for each of the pendent peripheral devices; a second data field including a packet type identifier, wherein the packet type identifier includes information that describes actions to be taken by the associated pendant peripheral device in response to receiving the data structure; and a third data field including data bits, wherein a format of the data bits is defined by the packet type identifier in the second data field.