Loop carrier system for telecommunication and data services

Abstract

A versatile loop communication system is disclosed wherein recurring frames of the ring carrier signal are divided by a movable partition into a dynamically allocated time division channel portion and a data packet communication portion. A common signal channel, in the ring carrier frame, is used to logically connect and disconnect stations for either circuit or packet communication on a common bus extending from terminals located in the loop. The loop controller automatically forms a contiguous group of time division channels or signal bytes at one end of the ring carrier frame. The format of the time division multiplexing channels is such that dynamic time slot interchanges of signal bytes are produced by the controller without the necessity of counting circuitry in the terminals to identify specific channel locations. The dynamic time slot interchange or byte displacement function is provided by additional memory arrangements both for the signals being transported by the ring and control functions in the time division switch located in the controller. The remaining portion of the frame serves as a shared channel for packet header switched data. In order to provide a flexible basis for packet switching, the controller assigns address tags and retains a map of the system.