Systems and methods for transmitting routable optical energy packets

• US 10,020,894 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2017
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Jung, Edward K. Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hanh
• Application Number:
  US15/659,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20170324483A1
• Time in Patent Office: 350 Days
• Field of Search: 398171, 398118, 398119, 398128, 398130, 398 45, 398 48, 398 49, 398 51, 398 54, 398 57, 398 79, 398 68, 398 66, 398 72, 398 47, 398158, 398159, 370352, 370392, 370389, 370535, 370225, 370228
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/54 Intensity modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/564 Power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/807 Optical power feeding, i.e. transmitting power using an optical signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0062 Network aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0066 Provisions for optical burst or packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/002 using optical delay lines or optical buffers or optical recirculation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0039 Electrical control
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0073 Provisions for forwarding or routing, e.g. lookup tables

Abstract

A system for transmitting routable energy packets includes an optical power source and a processing circuit. The optical power source is configured to generate an optical power packet having optical energy, generate an optical data packet comprising routing information configured to control a route of the optical power packet, and transmit the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit. The processing circuit is configured to generate the routing information to be transmitted within the optical data packet, and control a transmission by the optical power source.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating routing information configured to control a route of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising the routing information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encrypting data of the optical data packet.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise controlling the route of the optical power packet based on the routing information of the optical data packet.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the routing information includes a destination address.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the optical data packet is transmitted before the optical power packet.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the optical data packet is transmitted after the optical power packet.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the optical power packet comprises a soliton.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the optical data packet comprises a soliton.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the conduit comprises optical fiber.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the conduit comprises free-space.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the conduit comprises a portion of optical fiber and a portion of free-space.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating routing information configured to control a route of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising the routing information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encoding the optical data packet with data configured to enable error detection with respect to at least one of the optical data packet and the optical power packet.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise encrypting data of the optical data packet.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating routing information configured to control a route of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising the routing information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encoding the optical data packet with data configured to enable correction of at least one of the optical data packet and the optical power packet.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise encrypting data of the optical data packet.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the optical data packet is configured to support a plurality of optical power packets.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise identifying at least one of the source and the recipient of the optical power packet based on the identification information of the optical data packet.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the optical data packet is transmitted before the optical power packet.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the optical data packet is transmitted after the optical power packet.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the optical power packet comprises a soliton.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the optical data packet comprises a soliton.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the conduit comprises optical fiber.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the conduit comprises free-space.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the conduit comprises a portion of optical fiber and a portion of free-space.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise encrypting data of the optical data packet.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise identifying at least one of the source and the recipient of the optical power packet based on the identification information of the optical data packet.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encoding the optical data packet within the optical power packet.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the optical data packet is configured to support a plurality of optical power packets.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the identification information is further configured to identify a number of optical power packets supported by the optical data packet.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encrypting data of the optical data packet.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encoding the optical data packet with data configured to enable error detection with respect to at least one of the optical data packet and the optical power packet.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for transmitting routable energy packets, the operations comprising:

generating, with an optical power source, an optical power packet having optical energy;

generating identification information identifying a source and a recipient of the optical power packet;

generating an optical data packet comprising identification information; and

transmitting the optical power packet and the optical data packet via a conduit such that the optical power packet and the optical data packet are co-propagating;

wherein the operations further comprise encoding the optical data packet with data configured to enable correction of at least one of the optical data packet and the optical power packet.

32. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for routing energy packets, the operations comprising:

analyzing routing information of a received optical data packet, wherein the optical data packet comprises the routing information, and wherein the optical data packet was received by a router device; and

routing, using the router device, an optical power packet having optical energy, wherein the optical power packet was co-propagating with the optical data packet and received by the router device, and wherein the optical power packet is routed based on the routing information;

wherein routing the optical data packet includes transmitting the optical data packet to an address specified in the routing information.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting at least one of the optical power packet and the optical data packet to an optical storage device to delay further routing of at least one of the optical power packet and the optical data packet.

34. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for routing energy packets, the operations comprising:

analyzing routing information of a received optical data packet, wherein the optical data packet comprises the routing information, and wherein the optical data packet was received by a router device; and

routing, using the router device, an optical power packet having optical energy, wherein the optical power packet was co-propagating with the optical data packet and received by the router device, and wherein the optical power packet is routed based on the routing information;

wherein at least one of the optical power packet and the optical data packet is routed to an address that is different from an address specified in the routing information.

35. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for routing energy packets, the operations comprising:

analyzing routing information of a received optical data packet, wherein the optical data packet comprises the routing information, and wherein the optical data packet was received by a router device; and

routing, using the router device, an optical power packet having optical energy, wherein the optical power packet was co-propagating with the optical data packet and received by the router device, and wherein the optical power packet is routed based on the routing information;

wherein the operations further comprise transmitting at least one of the optical power packet and the optical data packet to an optical storage device to delay further routing of at least one of the optical power packet and the optical data packet.