Patent ID: 7289532

Claim:
An apparatus for interfacing multiple channels of digitized voice signals with a cell-based communication link comprising: a first port configured to be coupled with a time division multiplexed (TDM) communication link over which respective ones of said multiple channels of digitized voice signals are transported at a first data rate; a second port configured to be coupled with a cell-based communication link over which cell-based communication signals are transported at a second data rate higher than said first data rate; and a multi-channel voice signal buffer containing multiple voice signal buffer sections respectively associated with said multiple channels of digitized voice signals, a respective voice signal buffer section having a storage capacity, in excess of the number of voice signal components contained in a respective cell-based communication signal by an amount that is sufficient to allow said respective cell-based communication signal to be read out from a first portion of said respective voice signal buffer section via said second port and transported over said cell-based communication link, and to allow an incoming cell-based communication signal from said cell-based communication link to be written into said first portion of said respective voice signal buffer section for delivery of digitized voice signals contained in said incoming cell-based communication signal to said first port, prior to newly received digitized voice signals received at said first port from said time division multiplexed (TDM) communication link being written into said first portion of said respective voice signal buffer section.