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:
Nov. 11, 1997
Filed:
Dec. 30, 1994
Thomas Jay Cloonan, Downers Grove, IL (US);
Gaylord Warner Richards, Lisle, IL (US);
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray HIll, NJ (US);
Abstract
A distribution network that has very low internal blocking, similar to that found in large N.times.N single crossbar networks, but without the complexity and cost of such a network. Further, this distribution network has only one stage to simplify and speed up the ability to find a path through the network to fulfill each request. The distribution network is a fabric of small crossbar switches which are organized into a plurality of pipes. Each of the pipes provides a path that could fulfill any request assuming that path is not currently busy. Sophisticated statistics are used to reduce the possibility of internal block to a very low level. The single stage of pipes simplifies the hunt for a path through the distribution network to a hunt for a pipe having the required path that is empty or idle. Because of the single stage and the simplified path hunting, a fabric of switches may be built that has a throughput of over one terabit per second.