MANAGEMENT OF A COMMUNICATION LINK EXTENDED TO ONE OR MORE SLAVE DEVICES
First Claim
1. A master device for managing a communications link to one or more slave devices, the master device comprising a processor and a memory for storing instructions to be carried out by the processor and wherein the processor is arranged to endow the link with a thread of time points at which slave devices following the thread must ordinarily comply with a requirement of being ready to receive information from the link and the processor is arranged to provide an indication to a slave device capable of causing that slave device to not comply with said requirement at one or more of said points.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A master device for managing a communications link to slave devices (for example in the context of a Wireless USB cluster), wherein the master device is configured to facilitate avoidance of unnecessary waking of the slave devices.
16 Citations
19 Claims
- 1. A master device for managing a communications link to one or more slave devices, the master device comprising a processor and a memory for storing instructions to be carried out by the processor and wherein the processor is arranged to endow the link with a thread of time points at which slave devices following the thread must ordinarily comply with a requirement of being ready to receive information from the link and the processor is arranged to provide an indication to a slave device capable of causing that slave device to not comply with said requirement at one or more of said points.
- 4. A master device for managing a communications link to one or more slave devices, the master device comprising a processor and a memory for storing instructions to be carried out by the processor and wherein the processor is arranged to endow the link with a first thread of time points at which slave devices following the first thread must comply with a requirement of readiness to receive information from the link and the processor is arranged to endow the link with a second thread of time points at which slave devices following the second thread must comply with said requirement, wherein an interval separating a pair of adjacent points in said first thread differs from an interval separating a pair of adjacent points in said second thread.
- 7. Apparatus comprising a hardware portion and a software element, wherein the software element interacts with the hardware portion to produce several different master devices, wherein the master devices are arranged to manage respective communications links to respective slave devices and to endow their respective links with respective threads of time points at which attached slave devices must comply with a requirement of readiness to receive information from the respective links and wherein the apparatus is arranged to run the threads at least partly in parallel.
- 11. A slave device for participating in a communications link managed by a master device and containing time points, specified by the master device, at which the slave device must comply with a requirement of being ready to receive information from the link, wherein the slave device comprises means for receiving information from the link and means for providing information to the master device for influencing the separation of the time points.
- 14. A method of managing a communications link from a master device to one or more slave devices, the method comprising endowing the link with a thread of time points at which slave devices following the thread must ordinarily comply with a requirement of being ready to receive information from the link and providing an indication to a slave device capable of causing that slave device not comply with said requirement at one or more of said points.
- 17. A method of managing a communications link from a master device to one or more slave devices, the method comprising endowing the link with a first thread of time points at which slave devices following the first thread must comply with a requirement of readiness to receive information from the link and endowing the link with a second thread of time points at which slave devices following the second thread must comply with said requirement, wherein an interval separating a pair of adjacent points in said first thread differs from an interval separating a pair of adjacent points in said second thread.
Specification