LAN communicating apparatus and interface between the same and LAN terminal

• US 6,760,326 B1
• Filed: 04/28/2000
• Issued: 07/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shingae, Kenichi, Takeda, Yutaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Ton, Dang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson, Robert W.
• Application Number:
  US09/561,302
• Time in Patent Office: 1,530 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 370/353, 370/354, 370/355, 370/356, 370/286, 370/287, 370/288, 370/289, 370/468, 370/447
• US Class Current: 370/352
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6402 Hybrid switching fabrics

Abstract

In a LAN communication apparatus hooking up a telephone and a LAN terminal, a downstream LAN interface for hooking up a LAN terminal is provided in addition to a telephone interface for hooking up the telephone. Further, a voice-packet from the telephone is transmitted advantageously over a data-packet supplied from the LAN terminal to an upstream LAN. This structure allows the voice data to be transmitted to the upstream LAN advantageously over other data although the LAN terminal hooked up to the downstream LAN sends out volume of data. As a result, the voice data can be transmitted to the upstream LAN without delay.

Claims

1. A local area network (“

LAN”

) communicating apparatus connecting a telephone and a LAN terminal, said apparatus comprising;

(a) a telephone interface for coupling to the telephone;

(b) a downstream LAN interface for coupling to the LAN terminal;

(c) an upstream LAN interface for coupling to an upstream LAN;

(d) a voice processor providing a voice stream from said telephone interface with at least one of an echo-cancellation process, coding process and exchanging process;

(e) a voice internet protocol (“

IP”

) processor for packetizing a voice stream from said voice processor; and

(f) a bridge section for;

receiving voice frames from said voice IP processor;

receiving data frames from said downstream LAN interface;

receiving a volume of traffic which includes data frames from another LAN communicating apparatus, via said upstream LAN interface;

(g) a traffic controller which monitors said volume of traffic and which signals said another LAN communicating apparatus to regulate sending of said data frames in order to adjust said volume.

2. A local area network (“

LAN”

) communicating apparatus coupling together a telephone and a LAN terminal, said apparatus comprising;

(a) a telephone interface for coupling to the telephone;

(b) a downstream LAN interface for coupling to the LAN terminal and providing first media access control (“

MAC”

) frames;

(c) an upstream LAN interface for coupling to an upstream LAN;

(d) a voice processor providing a voice stream from said telephone interface with at least one of an echo-cancellation process, a coding process and an exchanging process;

(e) a voice IP processor packetizing a voice stream following an internet protocol to provide second MAC frames, the voice stream supplied from said voice processor; and

(f) a MAC bridge section for;

receiving the first MAC frames from said voice IP processor,

receiving the second MAC frames from said downstream LAN interface,

receiving a volume of traffic which includes data-MAC frames from another LAN communicating apparatus via said upstream LAN interface; and

(g) a traffic controller which monitors said volume of traffic and which signals said another LAN communicating apparatus to regulate sending of said data-MAC frames in order to adjust said volume.