Communication protocol system and method

A master controller for transmitting a data frame to a slave controller, the master controller comprising:

• means for generating a data frame wherein the data frame comprises a control byte comprising a first address bit, a second address bit, and a third address bit for identifying a slave controller, a type bit following the first address bit, the second address bit, and the third address bit for identifying a data type in a data packet, a direction following the type bit for identifying a source of the data frame, a content bit following the direction bit for identifying whether the data packet comprises data, a state bit following the content bit for identifying the state of a master controller, and a run/stop bit following the state bit for identifying a run/stop state of the master controller;
• means for transmitting the data frame from the master controller to the slave controller, wherein the data frame is interpreted by the slave controller.

A method for transmitting a data frame from a master controller to a slave controller, the method comprising the steps of:

• generating a data frame wherein the data frame comprises a control byte comprising a first address bit, a second address bit, and a third address bit for identifying a slave controller, a type bit following the first address bit, the second address bit, and the third address bit for identifying a data type in a data packet, a direction following the type bit for identifying a source of the data frame, a content bit following the direction bit for identifying whether the data packet comprises data, a state bit following the content bit for identifying the state of the master controller, and a run/stop bit following the state bit for identifying a run/stop state of the master controller;
• and,
• transmitting the data frame from the master controller to the slave controller, wherein the data frame is interpreted by the slave controller.

A slave controller for receiving a data frame from a master controller, the slave controller comprising:

• means for receiving a data frame from a master controller wherein the data frame comprises a control byte comprising a first address bit, a second address bit, and a third address bit for identifying a slave controller, a type bit following the first address bit, the second address bit, and the third address bit for identifying a data type in a data packet, a direction following the type bit for identifying a source of the data frame, a content bit following the direction bit for identifying whether the data packet comprises data, a state bit following the content bit for identifying the state of the master controller, and a run/stop bit following the state bit for identifying a run/stop state of the master controller;
• means for decoding the first address bit, the second address bit, the third address bit, and the type bit to confirm said data frame is addressed to said slave controller and said type bit corresponds to said slave controller configuration.