Method of and system for handling conference calls in digital telephone

Abstract

A telephone exchange linked via PCM channels with subscribers engaged in a conference call includes switching circuits for transmitting to each participating subscriber, during an assigned time slot, the albegraic sum of the digitized voice-current samples from all the other participants. The digitized samples are logarithmically coded, each code consisting of a polarity bit, three range bits and four quantum bits; in order to facilitate correct addition or subtraction of the quantum bits of two codes to be summed (unless these codes signify the two lowest-ranking ranges), according to whether their sign bits are identical or different, the quantum bits of a lower-ranking code are shifted in a register toward less significant bit positions in which they would have their original numerical weight when prefaced by the range bits of the higher-ranking code. The range bits are not summed but only those of the higher-ranking code are preserved, their numerical value being incremented by one in the case of addition but left unchanged or decremented by one (if a negative carry is present) in the case of subtraction. If the difference in rank exceeds the number of quantum bits, i.e. four, the lower-ranking code is ignored.