Patent ID: 7397827

Claim:
A method for switching multi-rate communications within a communications format comprised of frames, each frame having multiple timeslots, using a network system that includes a first timeslot interchange and a second timeslot interchange, where the first timeslot interchange outputs a first system data format (SDF) frame and the second timeslot interchange outputs a second SDF frame, the method comprising: obtaining a first data collection comprising m sets of data; allocating p timeslots from a frame to the first data collection, where p is less than m; providing at least one overflow timeslot from the frame for use with different data collections; filling the p timeslots with p sets of data from the m sets of data within the first data collection; loading the at least one overflow timeslot with at least one overflow set of data from the m sets of data within the first data collection; and initializing to perform a first call packing in the second SDF frame and then performing the first call packing in the first SDF frame if a third data collection is of a third type that is different than the first type and a second type.