Patent ID: 6018523
Filing Date: 2000-01-25
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
A switching network for routing an input vector of N signals, the signals representative of values, comprising:N network input terminals for receiving the signals, the network input terminals arranged in a first column;a plurality of switching circuits, each switching circuit having first and second inputs for receiving two of the signals and operable to route the two received signals by directing one of the signals to a predetermined one of two outputs and directing the other signal to the other of the two outputs, wherein a controller predetermines to which ouptuts the signals are directed;N network output terminals to which the signals are routed; anda plurality of links that connect a network input terminal to a switching circuit input for each of the N network input terminals, and for connecting a first switching circuit output to a second switching circuit input or a network output terminal for each of the switching circuits;characterized in that, in a layout of the switching network, switching circuits of the plurality are arranged in groups aligned in one direction, but not two directions, and further wherein the layout is divisible into two mirror-image subnetworks along an axis of symmetry.