Toward a General Class of Time-Division-Multiplexed Connecting Networks

A new technique for designing a general class of time-division-multiplexed (TDM) connecting networks is presented. The technique is based on an equivalence transformation operating on a pure space-division network. The methods developed can be used for generating networks that are rearrangeable, conditionally nonblocking or strictly nonblocking. A first-degree TDM network is derived using vertical multiplexing on a pure space Clos network. Analytic equations are presented describing the number of cross-points as well as the distribution of fixed delay elements. A second-degree TDM network is formed by extending the multiplexing scheme an additional degree. The resulting network can be horizontally multiplexed to produce a compact and efficient TDM structure.