Patent ID: 7088170

Claim:
A multiplexer comprising: a first data input line (TL 1 ) for incoming data (Data 1 ), a second data input line (TL 2 ) for incoming data (Data 2 ), a data output line (TL 3 ) for outgoing data (Data out), a control line ( 20 , 21 , 22 ; 40 , 41 , 42 ) for applying a control signal (clk) to a first switching means (T 1 , T 3 , T 5 ; SR 1 , SR 3 , SR 5 ) and a second switching means (T 2 , T 4 , T 6 ; SR 2 , SR 4 , SR 6 ) for alternatively connecting said first data input line (TL 1 ) over said first switching means (T 1 , T 3 , T 5 ; SR 1 , SR 3 , SR 5 ) and said second data input line (TL 2 ) over said second switching means (T 2 , T 4 , T 6 ; SR 2 , SR 4 , SR 6 ) to said data output line (TL 3 ), and wherein each of said first data input line and said second data input line and said data output line and said control line is a transmission line having a predetermined value of phase velocity; wherein said first switching means comprises a plurality of switching elements connected in parallel between said first data input line and said data output line and being spaced apart along said first data input line and said data output line; wherein said second switching means comprises a plurality of switching elements connected in parallel between said second data input line and said data output line and being spaced apart along said second data input line and said data output line; wherein spacings between successive ones of the switching elements along their respective transmission lines introduce phase shifts imparted by the transmission lines to signals propagating along the respective transmission lines; and wherein said first and second switching means (T 1 –T 6 ; SR 1 –SR 6 ) are spatially arranged in such a way, that said control signal (clk) when applied to said first switching means (T 1 , T 3 , T 5 ; SR 1 , SR 3 , SR 5 ) compared with said control signal (clk) when applied to said second switching means (T 2 , T 4 , T 6 ; SR 2 , SR 4 , SR 6 ) shows a phase shift for sequencing a succession of switchings of signals between the input and the output transmission lines.