Patent ID: 7545804

Claim:
A communications switch for switching data between inputs and outputs, said communications switch comprising: p inputs each for receiving data to be switched to q outputs; p+k information storage buffers each of said information storage buffers comprising p+k storage locations; an input data conditioner, comprising p inputs and p+k outputs, connected between said p inputs of said communications switch and said p+k information buffers, for distributing data received at said p inputs of said input data conditioner to its p+k outputs; an ingress commutator for interconnecting each of said p+k information storage buffers to one of said p+k outputs of said input data conditioner; an output data conditioner comprising p+k inputs and q outputs, for distributing data from its p+k inputs to its q outputs; an egress commutator for interconnecting each of said p+k information storage buffers to one of said p+k inputs of said output conditioner; said ingress commutator operable to cyclically interconnect each of said p+k outputs of said input data conditioner to each of said p+k information buffers to provide data from said each of said p+k outputs of said input data conditioner to said p+k information storage buffers, said egress commutator operable to cyclically interconnect each of said p+k information storage buffers to said p+k inputs of said output data conditioner to provide data from said p inputs to said q outputs; wherein p, q, and k are positive integers.