Token Ring

[emard]

One of possibility I had in mind is token ring with
differential I/O, minimal signaling (maybe clock only)
and variable data bit length in terms of 2^n so it could
be 1-bit 2-bit etc up to 32-bit bus.

mixed bit width devices can co-exist in the same ring but then for
example if a 1-bit device is inserted inbetween A and B 32-bit nodes
then 32-bit node A must be serialize traffic to 1-bit and
32-bit node B must de-serialize it to 32-bit again.

This will introduce latency and reduce speed but will be
flexible to let it work. When number of devices are small
like 2-8 it is very efficient reliable and low cost

Token ring has advantage to re-generate signal quality after
each node so it should be less prone to noise and it makes
node wiring simple and no additional chips for bus transievers,
hubs and switches.