Patent ID: 7065076

Claim:
A switching network including rows and columns of switches comprising: a) a first stage of switches defining a first column of said switching network having input lines and output lines and comprising m(n×k) input switches, wherein m is an integer number, n is an integer number representing the number of input lines and k is an integer number representing the number of output lines; b) a second stage of switches defining a second column of said switching network comprising of m(k′×k′) middle switches, k′ is an integer number representing the number of inputs and outputs; and c) a third stage of switches defining a third column of said switching network comprising of m(k×n) switches; and d) a plurality of modules, each module defining a row of the switching network and including one input switch of the first stage of switches, one middle switch of the second stage of switches, one output switch of the third stage of switches, wherein the modules of the plurality of modules are identical and k′ is selected such that m*Q(k′/m)>k (where Q(x/y) denotes the quotient of dividing x by y) to allow using m switches in the second stage.