4201890 : Multiport digital switching element

ABSTRACT:   A multiport single sided switching element is described for providing space and time switching between the input ports thereof and the output ports thereof in response to digital command signals for frames of digitally encoded data in a plurality of channels which is phase (bit) asynchronously coupled to any port of the switching element, the command signals being in for example the same channels as is the data. Every port of the single sided switching element is adaptable as either an inlet or an outlet and thus may be configured in a switching network as a one-sided, as a two-sided, or multisided switching element and includes a time division multiplexed bus for providing a space path between the ports of the switching element and further includes transmit and receive logic at each port responsive to command signals for coupling data from the input of any port to the TDM bus and additional logic at each port selectively responsive to command signals for bit synchronously extracting the data from the TDM bus in any channel thereby providing time slot interchange prior to coupling of data from the switching element to other switching elements. In a preferred embodiment, a sixteen port switching element is described.

U.S. REFERENCES:

14 patents reference this one

Patent No. Inventor Issued Title 3781818 Pardoe et al. 12 /1973 DATA BLOCK MULTIPLEXING SYSTEM 3912873 Skaperda 10 /1975 Multiple fault tolerant digital switching system for an automatic telephone system 3997896 Cassarino, Jr. et al. 12 /1976 Data processing system providing split bus cycle operation 4030072 Bjornsson 6 /1977 Computer system operation and control 4031512 Faber 6 /1977 Communications network for general purpose data communications in a heterogeneous environment 4050097 Miu et al. 9 /1977 Synchronization technique for data transfers over an asynchronous common bus network coupling data processing apparatus 4074072 Christensen et al. 2 /1978 Multiprocessor control of a partitioned switching network by control communication through the network EXEMPLARY CLAIM(s): Show all 18 claims We claim: 1. A multiport switching element for providing and maintaining time and space switching for digitally encoded data received phase asynchronously in frames containing a plurality of channels of said data, said element coupling any of said channels at the input of the port receiving said channel to any channel at the output of any port in said element in response to digital command signals received by said port for said channel and in said channel, comprising: time division multiplexed common transmission bus means interconnecting said ports for providing a plurality of time slots, each time slot being dedicated to a particular channel of said frames coupled to the input of each port; means at each port responsive to said digital command signals for coupling said command signals and subsequent frames of data received in the channel in which said digital command signals are received to said common transmission bus means in the time slot dedicated to said channel; and means at each port selectively responsive to said digital command signals coupled to said common transmission bus means for extracting said frames of data from said common transmission bus means in the time slot dedicated to said input channel of said frames and for inserting said frames of data into the output channel designated by said digital command signals. 7. A multiport switching element for providing space and time switching between any ports thereof in response to digital command signals for frames of digitally encoded data in a plurality of channels received bit asynchronously by said switching element, comprising: time division multiplexed common transmission bus means interconnecting said ports; means at each port responsive to said command signals in said channels for coupling said data in said channels bit-synchronously from any of said ports to said common transmission bus; and means at each port selectively responsive to said command signals for extracting said data from said transmission bus in the bus cycle for said channel and for serially transmitting said extracted data bit-synchronously in the output channel designated by said digital command signals from said port. RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS: none FOREIGN APPLICATION PRIORITY DATA: none FOREIGN REFERENCES: none OTHER REFERENCES: "Generic Digital Switching System", by N. J. Skaperda, International Switching Symposium 1976, Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 1976. PRIMARY/ASSISTANT EXAMINERS: Brown; Thomas W.; ADDED TO DATABASE: Aug. 22, 1996