Patent ID: 6999833

Claim:
A computer system adapted to operate at least one first realtime program and at least one other program, said computer system comprising: at least one realtime device control program; a control system having a control processor, said control system being adapted for controlling the operation of at least one peripheral device; a clock-controlled switching signal having a switching signal period and a switching signal pulse, and a realtime clock signal having a realtime clock period and a realtime clock pulse, said computer system cyclically switching between said programs within respective realtime clock periods in response to respective switching signal pulses; a communications system having a realtime communications processor and a cyclic communications clock that is independent of the control system, said cyclic independent communications clock being adapted to produce a communications clock signal having a communications clock period and a communications clock pulse, said communications system being adapted to generate said realtime clock signal from said communications clock signal, said control system being connected with said peripheral device by said communications system so that said peripheral device is controlled in accordance with said communications clock; and at least one acyclic task in said other program, said communications processor being adapted to carry out said acyclic task.