Synchronous data bus with automatically variable data rate

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A digital data bus system operating asychronously with a fixed clock and having a automatically variable data rate selected by sending and receiving units. A master clock is generated by a master controller and distributed to one or more peripheral controllers of the data bus system through a single clock line. In addition to address/data lines a single, handshake hold signal is shared by the master and all peripheral controllers. All data transfers are executed on a bus clock pulse and data transfer rate is controlled by the sending and receiving units through operation of the hold signal. A receiving unit not ready to receive information on the bus will assert hold signal on hold signal …