Self-synchronizing half duplex matrix switch

1. A datalink for operatively linking one or more computers to one or more computer peripheral devices and monitors remotely located from said one or more computers, the datalink comprising:

a plurality of master state devices, each including a master transceiver for operatively linking one of said computers to the datalink, and each constructed and adapted to receive a stream of computer data packets from a computer connected thereto, to sample the computer data packets into a stream of consecutive computer samples, and to load the consecutive computer samples, sample-by-sample, into a stream of master frames, one sample per master frame;

one or more slave state devices, each including a slave transceiver for operatively linking one or more peripheral devices to the datalink, and each constructed and adapted to receive one or more streams of peripheral data packets from peripheral devices connected thereto, to sample the peripheral data packets into one or more streams of consecutive peripheral samples, and to load said peripheral samples into a stream of slave frames; and

a matrix switch including:

cross-point connection circuitry providing switchable paths between selected master state devices and selected one or more slave state devices; and

a processor, out of the switchable paths, controlling the establishment of said switchable paths,

wherein each said master state device is further constructed and adapted to send as a downstream transmission a master frame in its stream of master frames to a slave transceiver connected thereto via a datalink path, to be decoded at the slave transceiver connected thereto into a stream of computer data packets and,

wherein each slave state device is further constructed and adapted to send as an upstream transmission a slave frame in its stream of slave frames to a master transceiver connected thereto via a path in the datalink, said one of the slave frames to be decoded at the master transceiver connected thereto into streams of peripheral data packets,

said selected master state devices self-synchronizing communications with said selected one or more slave state devices independently of each other's downstream transmissions of available computer data bits and awaiting receipt of upstream transmissions of corresponding available peripheral data bits.

2. The datalink of claim 1 , wherein the streams of peripheral data packets includes one from the group consisting of: mouse data, mouse clock, keyboard data and keyboard clock.

3. The datalink of claim 2 wherein at least one of the streams of peripheral data packets further includes asynchronous data.

4. A datalink as in claim 1 wherein the one or more computer peripheral devices comprise a keyboard and a mouse.

5. A method, in a system comprising a datalink for operatively linking one or more computers to one or more computer peripheral devices remotely located from said one or more computers, the datalink having (a) a plurality of master state devices; (b) one or more slave state devices, and (c) a matrix switch with: (c1) cross-point connection circuitry providing switchable paths between selected master state devices and selected one or more slave state devices; and (c2) a processor, out of the switchable paths, controlling the establishment of said switchable paths, the method comprising:

forming, in said datalink, a first path between a first computer and a first peripheral device, each operatively connected to the datalink, and forming, in said datalink, a second path between a second computer and a second peripheral device, each operatively connected to the datalink;

receiving, in a master state device corresponding to a first on of the computers, a first stream of computer data from said first computer, sampling the first stream of computer data into a first stream of computer data samples, and framing the first stream of computer data samples into first computer-side frames;

receiving, in a slave state device corresponding to a first one of the computer peripheral devices, a first stream of peripheral device data from said first peripheral device, sampling the first peripheral device data into a first stream of peripheral data samples, and loading at least some of the first stream of peripheral data samples into a first peripheral-side frame;

receiving, in another master state device corresponding to a second one of the computers, a second stream of computer data from said second computer, sampling second first stream of computer data into a second stream of computer data samples, and framing the second stream of computer data samples into second computer-side frames;

receiving, in another slave state device corresponding to a second one of the computer peripheral devices, a second stream of peripheral device data from said second peripheral device, sampling the second peripheral device data into a second stream of peripheral data samples, and loading at least some of the second stream of peripheral data samples into a second-peripheral-side frame;

sending, via the first path, the first peripheral-side frame upstream to the first computer and the first computer-side frames downstream to the first peripheral device; and

sending, via the second path, the second peripheral-side frame upstream to the second computer and the second computer-side frames downstream to the second peripheral device;

self-synchronizing communications between said first and second computers and said first and second computer peripheral devices, respectively, by cueing, independently of each other, downstream transmissions of computer data and, independently of each other, awaiting receipt of upstream transmission of peripheral data.

6. A method as in claim 5 , wherein the first and second streams of peripheral data includes one from the group consisting of: mouse data, mouse clock, keyboard data and keyboard clock.

7. A method as in claim 5 , wherein the first and second peripheral devices are selected from the group consisting of: mouse and keyboard.