The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 13, 1988
Filed:
Jun. 02, 1986
C A Burns, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Calvin H DeCoursey, Reno, NV (US);
Hans H Junker, Mountain View, CA (US);
IBM Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A communication switching system in which control functions are distributed homogeneously, as opposed to being distributed by individual function, throughout the system. A plurality of controllers are coupled to a time division multiplex (TDM) bidirectional bus. Each controller includes a microprocessor to perform control functions. An interface element on the controller accesses the TDM bus while a switching element on each controller controls access between the interface element and the microprocessor. The switching element and interface element include storage areas which are double buffered to allow for more efficient operation and use of the memory space. The TDM bus is divided into a plurality of time slots. Each controller is assigned certain of the time slots and utilizes those time slots to communicate with other controllers. The system includes provisions for dynamic allocation of time slots.