Distributed control switching network for multi-line telephone communications

US5255264A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• IPC Information Systems, LLC · US

Inventors

• John M. Cotton · East Norwalk, US
• Neil C. Olsen · Milford, US
• Alex T. Wissink · Woodbridge, US
• Gary V. Pieper · Wallingford, US
• William A. Oswald · Rochester, US
• Nicholas Necula · Penfield, US
• Enrique Abreu · Stamford, US
• Maurice J. Mascarenhas · Stamford, US
• Rudy De Bruyn · Derby, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 26, 1991
• Grant date: Oct 19, 1993
• Expiry date: Sep 26, 2011

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04Q2213/13174
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A communication switching system with distributed control processing is provided. The system includes a digital switching network having a modular array of intelligent digital switching elements each having processors and memory to set up communication paths for voice and data between the terminal module processors such as line cards and telephone units. Each addressable location in the system is assigned a logical address code (LAC). When a route is requested, a switch element processor interprets the destination LAC and selects a route through the switch toward the destination with each switch element in the communication path setting a route toward that destination. The switching network provides duplex paths for flexible communication. With such a duplex path speech is directed from a first terminal unit such as a telephone station and a second terminal unit such as a line card into a bridge port which sums the speech data from the two sources. The summed speech is then sent from the bridge port to the terminal units.