Wideband switching system

• US 4,769,833 A
• Filed: 03/31/1986
• Issued: 09/06/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Information Systems Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Information Systems Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Helton, John S., Liu, Frank C., Farleigh, Scott E., Larson, Allen L.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/846,327
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: 379/53, 379/54, 379/102, 379/105, 358/85, 358/86, 455/4, 455/5
• US Class Current: 379/102.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/068 using time division multiplex techniques; integrated services digital networks H04Q11/0428
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/04 for time-division multiplexing H04Q11/0001 takes precedence

Abstract

The subject wideband switching network provides inexpensive point-to-point wideband communication connections. Wideband source and destination terminal equipment are either connected to modems which encode the analog signals used by the wideband source terminal equipment into digital signals for transmission through the wideband switching network and decode the received digital signals into analog signals used by the wideband destination terminal equipment; or are directly connected to the wideband switching network if source and destination terminal equipment transmit and receive digital signals. The modems are connected to the wideband switching network by optical fibers. The wideband switching network is a point-to-point space division switch that is comprised of a matrix of high frequency semiconductor crosspoints. Wideband communication connections are originated by a subscriber transmitting connection control signals to the wideband switching network controller on a dial-up basis from a telephone station set, on a data link from a computer or directly from a keyboard associated with the wideband switching network controller. The wideband switching network can concurrently switch any combination of voice, audio, video, data.

Claims

1. A wideband switching system for interconnecting wideband terminal devices comprising:

business communication system connected to and serving a plurality of telephone station sets;

wideband switching adjunct connected to and serving a plurality of wideband sources and destination terminal devices wherein a set of said plurality of wideband sources are controllable wideband source devices;

wherein said business communication system includes;

means responsive to a subscriber at one of said telephone station sets dialing a wideband connect code identifying a desired wideband connection between an identified controllable wideband source device and an identified wideband destination device for generating a wideband communication connection control message;

means connected to and interconnecting said business communication system and said wideband switching adjunct for transmitting said wideband communication connection control message therebetween;

wherein said wideband switching adjunct includes;

a plurality of coder means connected on a one-to-one basis to each of said wideband source devices for converting the output of said source devices to digitally encoded signals;

a plurality of decoder means connected on a one-to-one basis to each of said wideband destination devices for converting said digitally encoded signals to signals for said wideband destination devices;

a plurality of fiber optic link means connected on a one-to-one basis to each of said coder means and said decoder means for carrying said digitally encoded signals;

means connected to said fiber optic link means in response to said wideband communication connection control message for directly connecting said digitally encoded signals from said coder means associated with said identified controllable wideband source device to said decoder means associated with said identified wideband destination device;

said connecting means comprises a wideband switching adjunct processor means for providing synthesized voice prompts to guide said subscriber in controlling said wideband switching adjunct and said identified controllable wideband source;

said generating means further responsive to said subscriber dialing a wideband select code identifying an operation to be performed by said identified controllable wideband source for generating a wideband communication selection control message;

said transmitting means responsive to said wideband communication selection control message for transmitting the latter message to said wideband switching adjunct;

said wideband switching adjunct processor means further responsive to said wideband communication selection control message for transferring said wideband communication selection control message to said identified controllable wideband source; and

said identified controllable wideband source responsive to the transferred wideband communication selection control message for performing the identified operation.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said directly connecting means comprises a wideband space division switching network for establishing connections between fiber optic link means associated with said identified wideband source device and fiber optic link means associated with said identified wideband destination device.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said wideband space division switching network comprises a matrix type switch whose crosspoints carry said wideband signals.

4. A method for interconnecting wideband sources and terminal devices using a wideband switching system having a business communication system connected to and serving a plurality of telephone station sets and a wideband switching adjunct connected to and serving a plurality of wideband sources and destination terminal devices and a set of said plurality of wideband sources are controllable wideband source devices, comprising the steps of:

identifying by said business communication system in response to a subscriber at one of said telephone station sets dialing a wideband connect code a desired wideband connection between an identified controllable wideband source device and an identified wideband destination device to generate a wideband communication connection control message specifying said desired connection;

interconnecting said business communication system and said wideband switching adjunct for transmitting said wideband communication connection control message therebetween;

converting the output of said source devices to digitally encoded signals by a plurality of coders in said wideband switching adjunct connected on a one-to-one basis to each of said wideband source devices;

converting said digitally encoded signals to signals for said wideband destination devices by a plurality of decoders in said wideband switching adjunct connected on a one-to-one basis to each of said wideband destination devices;

carrying said digitally encoded signals by a plurality of fiber optic links connected on a one-to-one basis to each of said coders and said decoders;

directly connecting by said wideband switching adjunct in response to said wideband communication connection control message said digitally encoded signals from said coder associated with said identified controllable wideband source device to said decoder associated with said identified wideband destination device;

providing synthesized voice prompts by said wideband switching adjunct to guide said subscriber in controlling said wideband switching adjunct and said identified controllable wideband source device;

said generating step further responsive to said subscriber dialing a wideband select code to identify an operation to be performed by said identified controllable wideband source to generate a wideband communication selection control message;

said transmitting step further responsive to said wideband communication selection control message to transmit the latter message to said wideband switching adjunct;

transferring said wideband communication selection control message to said controllable wideband source by said wideband switching adjunct further in response to said wideband communication selection control message; and

performing the identified operation by said identified controllable wideband source in response to the transferred wideband communication selection control message.