Patent ID: 7310308

Claim:
In a communication system coupled to a wide area communication network, a method for providing voice and data communications comprising the steps of: transferring packetized data to and from the system with one or more packet-based devices, wherein data are transmitted over at least a first packet bus in packets; transmitting data over at least one time division multiplexed (TDM) bus in frames, each of the frames having a plurality of slots for transmitting data, wherein the data transmitted over the TDM bus includes data for voice communications to and from one or more of a plurality of telephony devices, wherein the TDM bus is selectively coupled to the first packet bus and the wide area communication network; controlling via a processor and a control bus interface circuits that transfer the packetized data to and from the system and the data for voice communications to and from the one or more of the plurality of telephony devices; wherein the processor controls processing of the packetized data and the data for voice communications within the system; wherein a switch/multiplexer selectively controls the providing of data to and from particular slots of particular frames; wherein a processor selectively controls voice communications from one or more telephony devices over the TDM bus and packet-based communications over the first packet bus, wherein voice communications that stay in a circuit-switched form in the system occur over the TDM bus and the wide area communication network.