Patent ID: 7020144

Claim:
A method for performing high capacity conversion of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) formatted cells received from an ATM packet network to a Time Division Multiplexed (TDM) format for delivery to a circuit switched network, said ATM cells including one or more of ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL) 1/2 bearer cells, AAL 3/4 data cells, AAL5 signaling cells and raw AAL0 cells, comprising the steps of: receiving a stream of ATM cells from said ATM packet network; translating cell headers of said ATM cells according to a predetermined translation scheme based on cell payload type, said translated cell headers being applied to said ATM cells as ATM cell headers and containing fields that determine how said ATM cells will be processed; forwarding said ATM cells with said translated ATM cell headers applied thereto; and processing said ATM cells according to said translated cell headers such that said ATM cells are handled according to their payload type.