Patent ID: 6970460

Claim:
A multiplexing apparatus comprising: a plurality of terminal interface units, each accommodating a line on a terminal side; a priority control sub-unit which connects said terminal interface units; and a network interface unit connected to said priority control sub-unit, the network interface unit accommodating a line on a network side, wherein each of said terminal interface units converts data received from the line on the terminal side to a packet type data as a certain unit, which is determined by a protocol adopted in said network, and transmits the packet type data to the priority control sub-unit, wherein each of said terminal interface units disassembles packet type data received from the priority control sub-unit, and extracts data to transmit the data onto the corresponding line on said terminal side, wherein said priority control sub-unit, including a plurality of packet type data storing units in corresponding relationships to said terminal interface units for storing the packet type data received from a plurality of said terminal interface units, reads out the packet type data sequentially in a predetermined order from the plurality of packet type data storing units to transmit the packet type data to said network interface unit, stores in the packet type data storing unit in conformity with a destination of the packet type data received from said network interface unit, and transmits the packet type data to the terminal interface unit in conformity with the destination of the packet type data being received, and wherein said network interface unit synchronizes the packet type data received from said priority control sub-unit with the line on said network side to transmit the synchronized packet type data to the line on said network side, and transmits the packet type data received from the line on said network side to said priority control sub-unit.