Modular broadband bidirectional programmable switch system with stacked modular switch arrangement
US5481073A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 9, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 9, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05K2201/10568
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The basic element of a modular, bidirectional broadband programmable switch system is a switch module having a thin rectangular housing with a single first connector preferably in the center of an elongated rear face and n second connectors equally spaced along the elongated front face. Broadband switches within the module selectively connect the single first connector with any one of the second connectors to provide an n.times.1 or 1.times.n switch. Up to n of the switch modules can be stacked side-by-side with an additional module extending transversely with its n second connectors connected to the first connectors on the stacked modules to provide an n.sup.2 .times.1 or 1.times.n.sup.2 switch. The first connectors on the additional modules of two such stacks can be connected to provide an n.sup.2.times.n.sup.2 switch. The switch modules contain a printed circuit board (PCB) on which the bidirectional, broadband switches, and in some instances splitters/combiners and/or couplers, are mounted in a tree configuration and connected by microstrip lines laid out in a candelabra pattern, both symmetric about a central axis, such that the paths between the single first connector and any…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.