Patent ID: 6987758

Claim:
A network switching system, comprising: a gateway; one or more extension nodes, each identified with a unique physical identifier and selectively identified with a unique telephone number; and a serial bus interconnecting said gateway and said one or more extension nodes, wherein stream data transferred on said serial bus are exchanged through said gateway between an outside line and an extension node, or between a first extension node and a second extension node, wherein at least one said extension node comprises: a control/memory unit for storing physical identifiers and telephone numbers of said gateway and extension nodes and for controlling said network, thereby allowing said at least one extension node to transmit and receive stream data from outside telephone numbers and from telephone numbers of other extension nodes; an asynchronous interface, for selecting said extension node and controlling a switching timing, connected with said control/memory unit; a rate conversion unit for converting a data rate of said stream data in said network into that in said outside line, or for converting a data rate of stream data in said outside line into that of said network switching system; and an isochronous interface, for transmitting and receiving said stream data, connected with said rate conversion unit.