Northern Telecom Limited

David J Robertson

Ronald J Maginley

Alan S Chapman

Terence N Thomas

Nadir Nizamuddin

George Frank Irwin

Robert S Morley

Alan M Redmond

John W Williams

Timothy J Littlewood

Paul J Smelters

Relocation and/or replacement of terminal apparatus in telecommunications systems including, but not necessarily limited to, key telephone systems, usually entails reassignment of administration data; for example, features. When a station or terminal apparatus is moved physically from one port to another within a telecommunications system which comprises a plurality of ports connected to a central processor, interface means operative on initial connection of said terminal apparatus transmits to the central processor an identifier unique to such terminal apparatus within such system. The central processing means has storage for each said identifier together with administration data specific to said terminal apparatus and the number of the port to which said terminal apparatus set is connected. Following receipt of an identifier, the central processor updates said storage means to assign said administration data corresponding to said identifier to the present port.

Digital key telephone system

A key telephone system includes a plurality of ports being linked by port associated bidirectional communication channels which are synchronously switched by transferring bit states between ones of the channels to provide communication paths between the ports as directed by a central processor. The ports are also linkable to and via the central processor by port associated message channels. An interface circuit is responsive to the central processor and message channel signals for regulating flow of messages received by the central processor and for effecting single and plural channel distribution of messages from the central processor. The message channels permit telephony operating features and functions to be provided either within the central processor or by appropriate apparatus means being connected at any of the ports.

Communication paths in a digital key telephone system are operated by sequentially transferring bit states from origin channels associated with communication ports to exclusively dedicated time slots in a parallel transmission medium. Time slot bit states are selectively stored at designated memory locations corresponding to destination channels associated with the communication ports. The memory locations are read in synchronism with the channel occurrences and bit states from the designated memory locations are asserted in the corresponding channels, any remaining channels having predetermined bit states asserted therein.

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Ottawa, Canada

David J Robertson