2:15 PM -- File under: "Hey, that's interesting."

I just picked up this patent, granted May 2004, in a database search. I, naturally, was looking for something else. It was assigned to Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) in San Jose and it describes a way of helping carriers interconnect their Private Branch eXchange (PBX) equipment with other operators and networking gear, while "avoiding expensive and time consuming switch development to support new protocols."

Here's a bit more, from the abstract:

— Phil Harvey, News Editor, Light Reading