Packet switching apparatus using pipeline controller
US5455701A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 28, 1994 |
| Grant date | Oct 3, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 28, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q11/0066
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A high-speed, high-capacity, asynchronous transfer mode packet switching system comprises electronic and optical components. The switching system may be a high-capacity multiple-gigabit-per-second optical system controlled by a relatively low-speed electronic controller operating at one hundred megabit-per-second rates. The switching system comprises a plurality of N input lines. Each of the N lines carries a succession of data packets or cells to the switching system. Each of the cells is input to the switch in time slots or cell periods of predetermined duration. A laser transmitter producing a separate and distinct carrier frequency identifying its associated input is responsive to each of the N input lines. The laser transmitters are connected to the input of an optical star coupler which is connected to a series of tunable receivers. There is one tunable receiver for each output of the switching system. Groups of tunable receivers are connected to the inputs of a series of relatively small packet switching modules. The receivers are tuned by a relatively low-speed electronic controller. The controller is responsive to header information in the incoming cells and produces a ser…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.