Method and apparatus for transferring data on a bus to or from a device to be controlled by said bus

The IEEE1394 bus communication protocol has three layers: physical layer, link layer, and transaction layer. A link layer IC implements the interface to an external application and prepares data for sending on the bus, or interprets incoming data packets from the IEEE1394 bus. A physical layer IC implements the direct electrical connection to the bus and controls many functions including arbitration for sending data on the bus. The procedure for sending data from a link layer IC onto the bus is that the link layer IC requests access to the bus and then waits until the physical layer IC grants the desired access. Upon detecting the grant status, the link layer IC is free to send data onto the bus. But if in the meantime the link layer IC refrains from sending data onto the bus, the granted bus access will not be given up. As a consequence the bus is blocked for an indefinite time period because the bus access granted cannot be overwritten by the physical layer IC. According to the invention an additional timer function is implemented in the link layer IC. This 'bus grant missed' timer function controls the link layer IC in such a way that it automatically gives back the bus control to the physical layer IC after a predetermined time period has elapsed during which the link layer IC has sent no data onto the bus.