Patent ID: 8363638
Filing Date: 2013-01-29
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A voice packet forwarding apparatus in a digital communication system comprising: a switched vocoder module comprising a plurality of switches to switchably connect inputs and outputs of the vocoder module for: directly passing a voice packet received from a packet terminal to a digital communication network or a pulse code modulation (PCM) signal decoded from the voice packet to the digital communication network; and directly passing a voice packet received from the digital communication network to the packet terminal, converting the voice packet and transmitting the changed voice packet to the packet terminal, or transmitting voice packet coded from a PCM signal received from the digital communication network, the packet terminal being able to communicate with another packet terminal or a public switched telephone network (PSTN) terminal over the digital communication network; a data inserter coupled with at least one of said inputs and said outputs of said switches for, in the presence of data other than a voice to be transmitted to the packet terminal, inserting the data in the voice packet received from the switched vocoder module and transmitting the voice packet with the data to the packet terminal if the communications with the digital communications network is packet interfacing; and a controller coupled with said switches for controlling the plurality of switches of the switched vocoder module and the data inserter depending on whether communications with the digital communication network are PCM interfacing or packet interfacing wherein the switched vocoder module further comprises: a voice encoder coupled between at least two of said switches for generating the voice packet by encoding the received PCM signal a voice decoder coupled between at least two of said switches for generating the PCM signal by decoding the received voice packet and the plurality of switches for selectively connecting inputs and outputs of the digital communication network, the packet terminal, the voice decoder, and the voice encoder, wherein the controller is configured to determine, on a frame by frame basis, a data rate for the voice encoder according to a size of the data for inserting the data in the voice packet when the data is transmitted to the packet terminal, and determine the data rate as a full data rate for the voice encoder when the data is not transmitted to the packet terminal, and wherein the plurality of switched comprise a first switch for connecting the output of the digital communication network or the voice decoder to the input of the voice encoder to the data inserter a third switch for connecting the output of the digital communication network or the packet terminal to the input of the voice decoder and a fourth switch for connecting the output of the voice decoder or the packet terminal to the digital communication network.