Digital switching network

Claim 2

A switching network for transmitting send time divided multiplex digital signals from any of a plurality of send circuits, sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, to any of a plurality of receive circuits on a time divided multiplex basis in accordance with recurring receive line time slots assigned thereto, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnect highways; send memory circuit means for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex digital signals from the send circuits at assigned send line time slots and for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex digital signals on any of said plurality of interconnect highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring switching time slots, said send memory circuit means including send random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the received send time divided multiplex signals into the send random access memory circuit means and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from the random access memory circuit means to said interconnect highways; receive memory circuit means for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex digital signals transmitted on any of said plurality of interconnect highways at any of said plurality of switching time slots and for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex digital signals to receive circuits at assigned receive line time slots, said receive memory circuit means including, a receive random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways into said receive random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from said random access memory circuit means to the receive circuits, and control circuit means for controlling the send and receive memory circuit means to direct the transfer of the send time divided multiplex digital signals Between designated send and receive circuits by selecting the recurring switching time slots and interconnecting highways by which said digital signals are transferred, said control circuit means operating in response to commands from a processor connected thereto designating the send and receive circuits between which transmission is to take place.

Claim 3

A switching system as defined in claim 1 wherein said control circuit means includes a control circuit for controlling the translation of time divided multiplex signals by a memory circuit, wherein the control circuit receives and stores parallel binary input control data and transmits parallel binary output data in a changeable sequence comprising: a plurality of recirculating memories, a separate one for each parallel bit of digital data to be received, said recirculating memories having a plurality of storage spaces therein that are continually circulating in synchronism between the input and output thereof; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for simultaneously storing parallel binary numbers in corresponding storage spaces in each of the recirculating memories; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for simultaneously erasing any digital information stored in a corresponding storage space in said recirculating memories, and circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for simultaneously transmitting output data in parallel binary form from corresponding storage spaces in said recirculating memories to the memory circuit.

Claim 4

A switching network as defined in claim 1 wherein: said send memory circuit means includes a send recirculating memory means connected to the send random access memory circuit means to control the translation of the send time divided multiplex digital signals from assigned send line time slots to selected switching time slots by the send random access memory circuit means, and said receive memory circuit means includes a receive recirculating memory means connected to the receive random access memory circuit means to control the translation of the send time divided multiplex digital signals from said selected switching time slots to assigned receive line time slots by the receive random access memory circuit means.

Claim 5

A switching network as defined in claim 3 wherein: said send memory circuit means includes a gating circuit for applying the send time divided multiplex signals translated by said send random access memory circuit means to any of said plurality of interconnect highways and highway recirculating memory means connected to control the selection of said gating means of the interconnect highways on each of said send time divided multiplex signals is to transmitted.

Claim 6

A switching network as defined in claim 4 wherein: said receive memory circuit means includes a concentrator circuit connecting each of said interconnect highways to said receive random access memory circuit means.

Claim 7

A switching network as defined in claim 4 wherein: said receive memory circuit means includes a gating circuit for connecting each of said interconnect highways to said receive random access memory circuit means, a receive highway recirculating memory means connected to said gating circuit for controlling the application of the send time divided multiplex signals from said interconnect highways to said receive random access memory circuit means.

Claim 8

A switching network as defined in claim 6 wherein: said send random access memory circuit means includes two memory circuits, and circuit means for controlling said two memory circuits so that during alternate frames of said recurring send time divided multiplex signals, one of said two memory circuits stores said send time divided multiplex signals received from said send lines while the other one of said two memory circuits transmits said send time divided multiplex signals, and during frames between said alternate frames the operation of said two memory circuits reverses, anD said receive random access memory circuit means includes two memory circuits, and circuit means for controlling said two memory circuits so that during alternate frames of said recurring send time divided multiplex signals, one of said two memory circuits stores said send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways while the other one of said two memory circuits transmits said send time divided multiplex signals, and during frames between said alternate frames the operation of said two memory circuits reverses.

Claim 9

A switching network as defined in claim 3 wherein: said send random access memory circuit means stores the time divided multiplexed signals in send memory addresses sequentially with the send line time slots assigned thereto; said send recirculating memory means controls said send random access memory circuit means to transmit said stored signals from send addresses in accordance with the switching time slots assigned thereto; said receive recirculating memory means controls said receive random access memory circuit to store the time divided multiplexed signals in receive memory addresses in accordance with the switching time slots assigned thereto; and said receive random access memory circuit means transmits the time divided multiplexed signals from receive memory addresses sequentially with the receive line time slots assigned thereto.

Claim 10

A switching system as defined in claim 1 wherein said control circuit means includes a control circuit for receiving and storing from an input highway time divided multiplex signals having a recurring assigned time slot in a timing frame and for transmitting time divided multiplex signals on an output highway with the same or different time slots, said control circuit comprising: random access memory circuit means including a separate storage location for each of the time slots in the timing frame, connected to the input and output highways for translating said time divided multiplex signals therebetween; a plurality of recirculating memories, each having a separate storage location therein for each of said storage locations in said random access storage circuit means, said storage locations in said plurality of recirculating memories are continuously recirculating in synchronism between the input and output thereof; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for simultaneously storing digital bits in corresponding storage locations in each of the plurality of circulating memories of a binary number simultaneously the separate bits of which are applied in parallel to the inputs of said plurality of recirculating memories; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for simultaneously erasing digital bits stored in corresponding storage spaces in said plurality of recirculating memories; circuit means for connecting said output circuits of said plurality of recirculating memories to said random access memory circuit means for controlling the time slots at which the time divided multiplex signals are transmitted from said random access memory circuit means to the highway output, and circuit means connecting said random access memories to said input highway for storing in said random access memory circuit means the time divided multiplex switching signals in accordance with their assigned time slots.

Claim 11

A switching system as defined in claim 9 wherein said control circuit means includes: an additional recirculating memory having the same number of storage locations therein as in each of said plurality of recirculating memories and continuously circulating in synchronism therewith; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for storing a digital bit into a storage location in said additional recirculating memory when a binary number is stored in the corresponding storage location in said plurality of recirculating memories; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for erasing a signal bIt from a storage space in said additional recirculating memory when binary data is erased from the corresponding storage spaces in said plurality of recirculating storage memories, and circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for transmitting a digital signal from said storage location in said additional recirculating memory indicating the busy-free condition of the corresponding storage spaces in said plurality of recirculating memories.

Claim 12

A switching system as defined in claim 10 wherein said control circuit means includes: a second additional recirculating memory having the same number of storage locations therein as in each of said plurality of recirculating memories and continuously circulating in synchronism therewith; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for storing a digital bit into a storage location in said second additional recirculating memory corresponding to the assigned time slot of the time divided multiplex signal being transmitted when binary data is stored in a storage location in said plurality of recirculating memories; circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for erasing a signal bit from a storage location in said second additional recirculating memory corresponding to the assigned time slot of the time divided multiplex signal inhibited from being transmitted when binary data is erased from the storage locations in said plurality of recirculating storage memories, and circuit means responsive to an enabling signal for transmitting a digital signal from any one of said storage locations in said second additional recirculating memory for indicating which of the time divided multiplex signals are being transmitted.

Claim 13

A switching network for receiving send time divided multiplex digital signals via a plurality of send highways from a plurality of groups of send circuits, wherein each send group is connected to a separate send highway and the highway and the signals from the send circuits in each send group are sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, for transmitting the send time divided multiplex digital signals on a time divided multiplex basis to any of a plurality of groups of receive circuits via a plurality of receive highways, wherein each receive group is connected to a separate receive highway and the receive circuits in each receive group sample signals from the receive highways in accordance with assigned recurring receive line time slots, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnect highways; a plurality of send memory circuit means, a separate one connected to each of the send highways, each of said send memory circuit means receiving send time divided multiplex digital signals from said send highways and transmitting on an output line said send time divided multiplex digital signals on a time divided multiplex basis, at any one of a plurality of recurring switching time slots; a plurality of send recirculating memory means, a separate one for each of said send memory circuit means for controlling the transmission of the send time divided multiplex digital signals by said send memory circuit means; a plurality of gating circuits, a separate one for each of said send memory circuit means, for connecting the output lines of said send memory circuit means to any of said plurality of interconnect highways; a plurality of highway recirculating memory circuit means connected to said gating circuits for controlling the application of the send time divided multiplex signals transmitted by the send memory circuit means to selected ones of said plurality of interconnect highways; a plurality of receive memory circuit means, a separate one connected to each of the receive highways, each of said receive memory circuit means receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex signals from an input line in accordance with the plurality of switching time slots and transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals to a separate receive highway at receive line time slots; a plurality of receive recirculating memory circuits, a separate one for each of said receive memory circuit means for controlling the receiving and storage of a said send time divided multiplex digital signal over said input lines by the receive memory circuit means; a plurality of concentrator circuits, a separate one for each of said receive memory circuit means, each of said concentrator circuits connecting said plurality of interconnect highways to an input line of separate ones of said receive memory circuit means, and control circuit means for writing and erasing address control signals into and out of said send recirculating memories, said highway recirculating memories, and said receive recirculating memories for controlling the transfer of said send time divided multiplex signals from send highway to receive highways, said control circuit means operating in response to address control codes from a central processor indicating that a signal contained within a designated send line time slot of a send group is to be transferred to a designated receive line time slot of a receive group.

Claim 14

A switching network for receiving send time divided multiplex digital signals via a plurality of send highways from a plurality of groups of send circuits, wherein each send group is connected to a separate send highway and the highway and the signals from the send circuits in each send group are sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, for transmitting the send time divided multiplex digital signals on a time divided multiplex basis to any of a plurality of groups of receive circuits via a plurality of receive highways, wherein each receive group is connected to a separate receive highway and the receive circuits in each receive group sample signals from the receive highways in accordance with assigned recurring receive line time slots, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnect highways; a plurality of send memory circuit means, a separate one connected to each of the send highways, each of said send memory circuit means receiving send time divided multiplex digital signals from said send highways and transmitting on an output line said send time divided multiplex digital signals on a time divided multiplex basis, at any one of a plurality of recurring switching time slots; a plurality of send recirculating memory means, a separate one for each of said send memory circuit means for controlling the transmission of the send time divided multiplex digital signals by said send memory circuit means; a plurality of gating circuits, a separate one for each of said send memory circuit means, for connecting the output lines of said send memory circuit means to any of said plurality of interconnect highways; a plurality of highway recirculating memory circuit means connected to said gating circuits for controlling the application of the send time divided multiplex signals transmitted by the send memory circuit means to selected ones of said plurality of interconnect highways; a plurality of receive memory circuit means, a separate one connected to each of the receive highways, each of said receive memory circuit means receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex signals from an input line in accordance with the plurality of switching time slots and transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals to a separate receive highway at receive line time slots; a plurality of receive recirculating memory circuits, a separate one for each of said receive memory circuit means for controlling the receiving and storage of a said send time divided multiplex digital signal over said input lines by the receive memory circuit means; a plurality of concentrator circuits, a separate one for each of said receive memory circuit means, each of said concentrator circuits connecting said plurality of interconnect highways to an input line of separate ones of said receive memory circuit means, and control circuit means for writing and erasing address control signals into and out of said send recirculating memories, said highway recirculating memories, and said receive recirculating memories for controlling the transfer of said send time divided multiplex signals from send highway to receive highways, said control circuit means operating in response to address control codes from a central processor indicating that a signal contained within a designated send line time slot of a send group is to be transferred to a designated receive line time slot of a receive group.

Claim 15

A switching network as defined in claim 12 wherein: said concentrator circuits include a separate gating circuit for each of said receive memory circuit means for connecting said interconnect highways to the input line of said receive memory circuit means, and a plurality of receive highway recirculating memories, a separate one for each of said gating circuits for controlling the application of the send time divided multiplex signals from said interconnect highways to said receive memory circuit means.

Claim 16

A switching network as defined in claim 13 wherein: said send memory circuit means includes two memory circuits, and circuit means for controlling said two memory circuits so that during alternate frames of said recurring send time divided multiplex signals, one of said two memory circuits stores said send time divided multiplex signals received from said send lines while the other one of said two memory circuits transmits said send time divided multiplex signals, and during frames between said alternate frames the operation of said two memory circuits reverses, and said receive memory circuit means includes two memory circuits, and circuit means for controlling said two memory circuits so that during alternate frames of said recurring send time divided multiplex signals, one of said two memory circuits stores said send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways while the other one of said two memory circuits transmits said time divided multiplex signals, and during frames between said alternate frames the operation of said two memory circuits reverses.

Claim 17

A switching network as defined in claim 14 wherein: said send memory circuit means stores the send time divided multiplex signals in accordance with the send line time slots assigned thereto; said send recirculating memory means controls the time slots at which the send time divided multiplex signals are transmitted from said send memory circuit means; said receive memory stores the send time divided multiplex signals in accordance with the time slots assigned thereto by said send recirculating memory means, and said receive recirculating memory means controls the time slots at which the send time divided multiplex signals are transmitted from said receive memory circuit means.

Claim 18

A switching system for transmitting send time divided multiplex digital signals from any of a plurality of send circuits, sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, to any of a plurality of receive circuits on a time divided multiplex basis in accordance with recurring receive line time slots assigned thereto, said switching system comprising: a plurality of switching networks, each connected between said send circuits and said receive circuits, each of said networks comprising: a. a plurality of interconnect highways, b. send memory circuit means for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex digital signals from the send circuits at assigned send line time slots and for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex digital signals on any of said plurality of interconnect highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring switching time slots, said send memory circuit means including send random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the received send time divided multiplex signals into the send random access memory circuit means and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from the random access memory circuit means to said interconnect highways, c. receive memory circuit means for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex digital signals transmitted on any of said plurality of interconnect highways at any of said plurality of switching time slots and for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex digital signals to receive circuits at assigned receive line time slots, said receive memory circuit means including a receive access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways into said receive random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from said random access memory circuit means to the receive circuits, and d. control circuit means for controlling the send and receive memory circuit means to direct the transfer of the send time divided multiplex digital signals between designated send and receive circuits by selecting the recurring switching time slots and interconnecting highways by which said digital signals are transferred, said control circuit means operating in response to commands from a processor connected thereto designating the send and receive circuits between which transmission is to take place; and supervisory control circuit means for transmitting data between the control circuit means of each switching network identifying which of said switching networks will make a desired connection to designated send and receive circuits.

Claim 19

A switching system for transmitting send time divided multiplex digital signals from any of a plurality of send circuits, sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, to any of a plurality of receive circuits on a time divided multiplex basis in accordance with recurring receive line time slots assigned thereto, said switching system comprising: a plurality of switching networks, each connected between said send circuits and said receive circuits, each of said networks comprising: a. a plurality of interconnect highways, b. send memory circuit means for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex digital signals from the send circuits at assigned send line time slots and for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex digital signals on any of said plurality of interconnect highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring switching time slots, said send memory circuit means including send random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the received send time divided multiplex signals into the send random access memory circuit means and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from the random access memory circuit means to said interconnect highways, c. receive memory circuit means for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex digital signals transmitted on any of said plurality of interconnect highways at any of said plurality of switching time slots and for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex digital signals to receive circuits at assigned receive line time slots, said receive memory circuit means including a receive access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways into said receive random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from said random access memory circuit means to the receive circuits, and d. control circuit means for controlling the send and receive memory circuit means to direct the transfer of the send time divided multiplex digital signals between designated send and receive circuits by selecting the recurring switching time slots and interconnecting highways by which said digital signals are transferred, said control circuit means operating in response to commands from a processor connected thereto designating the send and receive circuits between which transmission is to take place; and supervisory control circuit means for transmitting data between the control circuit means of each switching network identifying which of said switching networks will make a desired connection to designated send and receive circuits.

Claim 20

A switching network for receiving send time divided multiplex signals via a plurality of send highways from a plurality of groups of send circuits, wherein each send group is connected to a separate send highway and the signals from the send circuits are sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, for transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals on a time divided multiplex basis to any of a plurality of groups of receive circuits, wherein each receive group is connected to a separate one of a plurality of receive highways, and the receive circuits in each group are assigned recurring receive line time slots, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnecting highways; a plurality of send memory circuit means, a separate one for each of the send highways for storing the send time divided multiplex signals received from the associated send highway and transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals on any of a plurality of said interconnecting highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring time slots including the assigned send time slots; a plurality of receive memory circuit means, a separate one for each of said receive highways, for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex signals transmitted on said plurality of interconnecting highways and transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals to the receive circuits of the associated receive highways at appropriate receive time slots; control circuit means including register means for receiving and storing in binary form the identity of the send circuit and the send memory circuit means and the rEceive circuit and the receive memory circuit means to be interconnected; switching time slot circuit means for selecting a free time slot for transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals over the interconnect highways by the comparison of busy time slot signals stored within said send memory circuit means and said receive memory circuit means; circuit means connecting said register means and said switching time slot circuit means to said send and receive memory circuit means for establishing a connection between the identified send and receive circuits, said control circuit means being arranged to operate in response to commands from a processor connected thereto designating the send and receive circuits between which transmission is to take place, and duplex circuit means for reversing the identity of the send and receive circuits and the send and receive memory circuit means after an initial connection has been established to complete a duplex connection.

Claim 21

A switching network for receiving send time divided multiplex signals via a plurality of send highways from a plurality of groups of send circuits, wherein each send group is connected to a separate send highway and the signals from the send circuits are sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, for transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals on a time divided multiplex basis to any of a plurality of groups of receive circuits, wherein each receive group is connected to a separate one of a plurality of receive highways, and the receive circuits in each group are assigned recurring receive line time slots, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnecting highways; a plurality of send memory circuit means, a separate one for each of the send highways for storing the send time divided multiplex signals received from the associated send highway and transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals on any of a plurality of said interconnecting highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring time slots including the assigned send time slots; a plurality of receive memory circuit means, a separate one for each of said receive highways, for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex signals transmitted on said plurality of interconnecting highways and transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals to the receive circuits of the associated receive highways at appropriate receive time slots; control circuit means including register means for receiving and storing in binary form the identity of the send circuit and the send memory circuit means and the rEceive circuit and the receive memory circuit means to be interconnected; switching time slot circuit means for selecting a free time slot for transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals over the interconnect highways by the comparison of busy time slot signals stored within said send memory circuit means and said receive memory circuit means; circuit means connecting said register means and said switching time slot circuit means to said send and receive memory circuit means for establishing a connection between the identified send and receive circuits, said control circuit means being arranged to operate in response to commands from a processor connected thereto designating the send and receive circuits between which transmission is to take place, and duplex circuit means for reversing the identity of the send and receive circuits and the send and receive memory circuit means after an initial connection has been established to complete a duplex connection.

Claim 22

A switching network as defined in claim 17 wherein said control circuits means includes: circuit means for modifying the binary information in the register means to compensate for the time delay in the transmission of the send time divided multiplex signals over said interconnect highways, and wherein said modifying means decrements said stored binary identity of the receive circuit by a binary unit.

Claim 23

A switching network as defined in claim 17 wherein said control circuit means includes: trace circuit means, responsive to the receipt by said register means of the identity of at least one of a send and receive circuit and the corresponding one of a send and receive memory circuit means, for identifying the other one of a send and receive circuit and corresponding one of a send and receive memory circuit means connected thereto.

Claim 24

A switching network as defined in claim 19 further comprising: circuit means for sequentially detecting busy ones of at least one of the send and receive circuits, for supplying to said register means the identity of said busy one of said send and receive circuits and the corresponding one of said send and receive memory circuit means and for enabling said trace circuit means upon supplying said register means with the identities of said busy one of said send and receive circuits and of the corresponding memory circuit means.

Claim 25

A switching network as defined in claim 17 wherein: each of said send memory circuit means includes a send random access memory, and a send recirculating memory means to control the translation of the send time divided multiplex signals by said send random access memory; each of said receive memory circuit means includes a receive random access memory, and a receive recirculating memory means to control the translation of the send time divided multiplex signals by said receive random access memory, and said control circuit means connects said register means and said switching time slot circuit means to said send and receive recirculating memory means to establish connections between identified send and receive circuits.

Claim 26

A switching network for receiving send time divided multiplex signals via a plurality of send highways from a plurality of groups of send circuits, wherein each send circuit group is connected to a separate send highway and the signals from the send circuits are sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, for transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals on a time divided multiplex basis to any of a plurality of groups of receive circuits, wherein each receive group is connected to a separate one of a plurality of receive highways, and the receive circuits in each group are assigned recurring receive line time slots, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnecting highways; a plurality of send memory circuit means, a separate one for each of the send highways for storing the send timE divided multiplex signals received from the associated send highway and transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals on any of a plurality of said interconnecting highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring time slots including the assigned send time slots, each of said send memory circuit means including, send random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the received send time divided multiplex signals into the send random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from the random access circuit memory means to said interconnect highways; a plurality of receive memory circuit means, a separate one for each of said receive highways, for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex signals transmitted on said plurality of interconnecting highways and transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals to the receive circuits of the associated receive highways at appropriate receive time slots, each of said receive memory circuit means including, a receive random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways into said receive random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from said random access memory circuit means to the receive circuits, and control circuit means connected to said plurality of send memory circuit means and said plurality of receive memory circuit means for designating the send and receive circuits to be interconnected on the time divided multiplex basis, said control circuit means operating in response to control codes from a central processor indicating that a signal contained within a designated send line time slot of a send group is to be transmitted to a designated receive time slot of a receive group.

Claim 27

A switching network for receiving send time divided multiplex signals via a plurality of send highways from a plurality of groups of send circuits, wherein each send circuit group is connected to a separate send highway and the signals from the send circuits are sampled in accordance with recurring send line time slots assigned thereto, for transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals on a time divided multiplex basis to any of a plurality of groups of receive circuits, wherein each receive group is connected to a separate one of a plurality of receive highways, and the receive circuits in each group are assigned recurring receive line time slots, said switching network comprising: a plurality of interconnecting highways; a plurality of send memory circuit means, a separate one for each of the send highways for storing the send timE divided multiplex signals received from the associated send highway and transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals on any of a plurality of said interconnecting highways on a time divided multiplex basis at any of a plurality of recurring time slots including the assigned send time slots, each of said send memory circuit means including, send random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the received send time divided multiplex signals into the send random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from the random access circuit memory means to said interconnect highways; a plurality of receive memory circuit means, a separate one for each of said receive highways, for receiving and storing the send time divided multiplex signals transmitted on said plurality of interconnecting highways and transmitting the send time divided multiplex signals to the receive circuits of the associated receive highways at appropriate receive time slots, each of said receive memory circuit means including, a receive random access memory circuit means, circuit means for writing the send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways into said receive random access memory circuit means, and circuit means for transmitting the stored send time divided multiplex signals from said random access memory circuit means to the receive circuits, and control circuit means connected to said plurality of send memory circuit means and said plurality of receive memory circuit means for designating the send and receive circuits to be interconnected on the time divided multiplex basis, said control circuit means operating in response to control codes from a central processor indicating that a signal contained within a designated send line time slot of a send group is to be transmitted to a designated receive time slot of a receive group.

Claim 28

A switching network as defined in claim 22 wherein: each of said send memory circuit means includes a send recirculating memory means connected to the send random access memory circuit means to control the translation of the send time divided multiplex signals from assigned send line time slots to selected switching time slots by the send random access memory circuit means, and each of said receive memory circuit means includes a receive recirculating memory means connected to the receive random access memory circuit means to control the translation of the send time divided multiplex signals from said selected switching time slots to assigned receive line time slots by the receive random access memory circuit means.

Claim 29

A switching network as defined in claim 23 wherein: each of said send memory circuit means includes a gating circuit for applying the send time divided multiplex signals translated by said send random access memory circuit means to any of said plurality of interconnect highways and highway recirculating memory means connected to control the selection by said gating means of the interconnect highways on each of said send time divided multiplex signals is to be transmitted.

Claim 30

A switching network as defined in claim 24 wherein: each of said receive memory circuit means includes a concentrator circuit connecting each of said interconnect highways to said receive random access memory circuit means.

Claim 31

A switching network as defined in claim 25 wherein: each of said receive memory circuit means includes a gating circuit for connecting each of said interconnect highways to said receive random access memory circuit means, a receive highway recirculating memory means connected to said gating circuit for controlling the application of the send time divided multiplex signals from said interconnect highways to said receive random access memory circuit means.

Claim 32

A switching network as defined in claim 26 wherein: said send random access memory circuit means, includes two memory Circuits, and circuit means for controlling said two memory circuits so that during alternate frames of said recurring send time divided multiplex signals, one of said two memory circuits stores said send time divided multiplex signals received from said send lines while the other one of said two memory circuits transmits said send time divided multiplex signals, and during frames between said alternate frames the operation of said two memory circuits reverses, and said receive random access memory circuit means includes two memory circuits, and circuit means for controlling said two memory circuits so that during alternate frames of said recurring send time divided multiplex signals, one of said two memory circuits stores said send time divided multiplex signals received from said interconnect highways while the other one of said two memory circuits transmits said send time divided multiplex signals, and during frames between said alternate frames the operation of said two memory circuits reverses.

Claim 33

A switching network as defined in claim 27 wherein: said send random access memory circuit means stores the send time divided multiplex signals in accordance with the send line time slots assigned thereto; said send recirculating memory means controls the time slots at which the send time divided multiplex signals are transmitted from said send random access memory circuit means; said receive random access memory stores the send time divided multiplex signals in accordance with the time slots assigned thereto by said send recirculating memory means, and said receive recirculating memory means controls the time slots at which the send time divided multiplex signals are transmitted from said receive random access memory circuit means.