Patent ID: 8639867

Claim:
A method for bus arbitration, comprising: assigning each user that communicates via a bus a uniquely identifying sequence of identification units, a number n of numbered bidirectional communication channels being used, the number n being greater than one; initiating, by at least one communications user, a communication; at a beginning of communication in a first time interval with respect to the communication initiation, checking, by the at least one communications user, whether a further user having a higher priority is initiating a communication, the priority being determined by comparing information sent out via the communication channels upon initiating communication and information received from the further user via the communication channels upon initiating communication, the first time interval including a plurality of time segments; in a first time segment, transmitting an identification unit by a communications user via the communication channels, and at the same time, detecting signals present on all communication channels; upon agreement of the detected signals with the transmitted identification unit, in a time segment following the first time segment, continuing, by the communications user, with a next identification unit; and after transmitting a complete identification, beginning, by the communications user, a transmission of useful data; wherein, in response to deviation of the detected signals from the transmitted identification unit, the communications user ascertains, from the deviating detected signals, the priorities of the further communications users which have transmitted signals, and in a time segment following the current time segment, the communications user continues with a next identification unit if no user possesses a higher priority; wherein the communication channels are frequency bands, differing from each other, on one common carrier; wherein a communication channel is evaluated by a communications user as receiving a signal when a signal is detected on at least one subchannel of the communication channel; and wherein a communications user transmits a signal on a reserved communication channel when it is definite for the communications user, based on the signals present on the bus, that it will win an arbitration process, and the communications users which receive a signal on the reserved communication channel terminate drop out of the arbitration if they are not winners of the arbitration process.