METHOD OF OPERATING A ROUTER

• US 20130145058A1
• Filed: 01/21/2013
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Grass Valley Canada (Belden Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Miranda Technologies Limited (Belden Inc.)
• Inventors: Shuholm, Kevin J., Evans, Jeffrey S., Hudelson, Robert W., Meyer, Charles S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,996,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/12 using hardware independent of the central processor, e.g. channel or peripheral processor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/00 Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23602 Multiplexing isochronously with the video sync, e.g. according to bit-parallel or bit-serial interface formats, as SDI
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams

Abstract

A router has multiple channel inputs and multiple channel outputs and a switch core for selectively connecting at least two of the channel outputs to respective channel inputs. Each channel output is connected to an output signal path containing a FIFO register and the router is configured so that first and second channel outputs are connected to a pair of channel inputs respectively. The router configuration is changed so that the first and second channel outputs are connected to first and second channel inputs respectively. The FIFO registers in the output signal paths of the first and second channel outputs are forced to equal fullness.

Claims

1. A method of operating a router having a plurality of channel inputs and a plurality of channel outputs and a switch core for selectively connecting at least two of the channel outputs to respective channel inputs, wherein each channel output is connected to an output signal path comprising a FIFO register and the router is configured so that first and second channel outputs are connected to a pair of channel inputs respectively, said method comprising changing the router configuration so that the first and second channel outputs are connected to first and second channel inputs respectively, and forcing the FIFO registers in the output signal paths of the first and second channel outputs to equal fullness.

2. A method according to claim 1, for routing a digital signal composed of a succession of packets, comprising:

dividing each packet into first and second related subpackets,

supplying the succession of first subpackets to said first channel input and the succession of second subpackets to said second channel input,

examining at least one of the subpackets, and

forcing the FIFO registers to equal fullness ahead of the first and second subpackets in the event that the examining step reveals that the digital signal is in accordance with a predetermined format.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein a packet of a digital signal in accordance with said predetermined format includes at least first and second header elements and the step of dividing, as applied to a packet of a digital signal in accordance with said predetermined format, comprises placing said first and second header elements in said first and second subpackets respectively and the step of examining, as applied to a subpacket that comprises a header element of a packet of a digital signal in accordance with said predetermined format, comprises examining header elements present in the subpacket.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step of examining comprises determining whether at least one of the first and second header elements characterizes said predetermined format.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein the digital signal is in accordance with said predetermined format and the method further comprises outputting the first and second subpackets from the FIFO registers and combining the first and second subpackets output by the FIFO registers to create a packet of a signal in accordance with said predetermined format.

6. A method according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined format is Dolby E format.

7. A method of operating a router having a plurality of channel inputs and a plurality of channel outputs and a switch core for selectively connecting at least two of the channel outputs to respective channel inputs, wherein each channel output is connected to an output signal path comprising a FIFO register and the router is configured so that first and second adjacent channel outputs are connected to first and second channel inputs, said method comprising changing the router configuration so that the first and second channel outputs are connected to adjacent channel inputs respectively and forcing the FIFO registers in the output signal paths of the first and second adjacent channel outputs to equal fullness