US Patent 11711157 Full-duplex communication link using TDM

An automotive communication system includes multiple communication devices and a processor. The communication devices are configured to be installed in a vehicle and to communicate with one another over point-to-point Ethernet links. In each Ethernet link, a first communication device serves as a link master that is configured to set a clock signal for the link, and a second communication device serves as a slave that is configured to synchronize to the clock signal set by the first communication device. The communication devices are configured to receive data from sensors and to transmit the data over the Ethernet links. The processor is configured to receive the data from the communication devices over the Ethernet links, to synchronize the data originating from the multiple sensors to a common time-base based on link-specific clock-signal synchronization achieved on each of the links by each link master, and to process the synchronized data.