Crossbar switch

Crossbar telephone exchange of 1903 for four subscribers (vertical bars), having four cross-bar talking circuits (horizontal bars), and one bar to connect the operator (T). The lowest cross-bar connects idle stations to ground to enable the signaling indicators (F). The switch is operated manually with metal pins that create a connection between the horizontally and vertically arranged bars.[1]

In electronics and telecommunications, a crossbar switch (cross-point switch, matrix switch) is a collection of switches arranged in a matrix configuration. A crossbar switch has multiple input and output lines that form a crossed pattern of interconnecting lines between which a connection may be established by closing a switch located at each intersection, the elements of the matrix. Originally, a crossbar switch consisted literally of crossing metal bars that provided the input and output paths. Later implementations achieved the same switching topology in solid-state electronics. The crossbar switch is one of the principal telephone exchange architectures, together with a rotary switch, memory switch,[2] and a crossover switch.

  1. ^ Kennedy, Rankin (1903 edition (five volumes) of pre-1903 four volume edition.) Electrical Installations, vol. V, London: Caxton
  2. ^ "Crossbar Systems – Telecommunications Heritage Group". Retrieved 2023-05-03.