System and method for communicating optical signals upstream and downstream between a data service provider and subscribers

• US 20070077069A1
• Filed: 10/05/2006
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Solutions, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Enablence USA Fttx Networks, Inc. (Enablence Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Whittlesey, Paul, Quinn, Patrick, Vella, Emmanuel, Tighe, Thomas, Kenny, John, Farmer, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,606,492 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0226 Fixed carrier allocation, e.g. according to service
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0227 Operation, administration, maintenance or provisioning [OAMP] of WDM networks, e.g. media access, routing or wavelength allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0232 for downstream transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0238 Wavelength allocation for communications one-to-many, e.g. multicasting wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0247 Sharing one wavelength for at least a group of ONUs
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0252 Sharing one wavelength for at least a group of ONUs, e.g. for transmissions from-ONU-to-OLT or from-ONU-to-ONU
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/028 WDM bus architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0282 WDM tree architectures

Abstract

An optical fiber network can include an outdoor bandwidth transforming node that can be positioned in close proximity to the subscribers of an optical fiber network. The outdoor bandwidth transforming node does not require active cooling and heating devices that control the temperature surrounding the bandwidth transforming node. The bandwidth transforming node can adjust a subscriber'"'"'s bandwidth on a subscription basis or on an as-needed basis. The bandwidth transforming node can also offer data bandwidth to the subscriber in preassigned increments. Additionally, the bandwidth transforming node lends itself to efficient upgrading that can be performed entirely on the network side. The bandwidth transforming node can also provide high speed symmetrical data transmission. Further, the bandwidth transforming node can increase upstream and downstream bandwidth and transmission speed by propagating data signals at different wavelengths.

Claims

1-29. -29. (canceled)

30. An optical network system comprising

a data service hub;

at least one optical tap, the optical tap further comprising a spectral slicer for passively extracting wavelengths of downstream optical signals and for passively combining upstream optical signals;

at least one subscriber optical interface connected to the optical tap for receiving the extracted wavelengths of downstream optical signals and for sending upstream optical signals;

a bandwidth transforming node disposed between the data service hub and the optical tap, for propagating upstream signals to the data service hub and propagating downstream optical signals to the subscriber optical interface, the bandwidth transforming node receiving downstream signals from the data service hub and upstream optical signals from the subscriber optical interface, the bandwidth transforming node comprising a routing device for apportioning bandwidth in the electrical domain between subscribers and using a look-up table for processing both upstream and downstream electrical signals, the bandwidth transforming node converting downstream electrical signals exiting from the routing device into the optical domain for transmission to the subscriber optical interface.

31. The optical network system of claim 30, further comprising a plurality of subscribers and wherein each subscriber is assigned similar wavelength.

32. The optical network system of claim 30, wherein the slicer reflects upstream optical signals received from one or more subscribers.

33. The optical network system of claim 32, wherein the slicer comprises an optical filter that reflects a tuned wavelength region while passing wavelengths outside the tuned wavelength region.

34. The optical network system of claim 33, further comprising a plurality of subscriber optical interfaces, wherein the subscriber optical interfaces can simultaneously transmit upstream optical signals.

35. The optical network system of claim 34, wherein the bandwidth transforming node further comprises at least one wavelength division multiplexer.

36. The optical network system of claim 35, wherein the bandwidth transforming node further comprises at least one wavelength division de-multiplexer.

37. The optical network system of claim 32, wherein the bandwidth transforming node further comprises:

at least one multiplexer coupled to an optical tap routing device;

at least one optical transmitter connected to the at least one multiplexer, for transmitting downstream optical signals received from the data service hub to at least one subscriber optical interface of the optical network system; and

at least one optical receiver connected to each multiplexer, for receiving and converting upstream optical signals from at least one subscriber optical interface of the optical network system.

38. The optical network system of claim 37, wherein the bandwidth transforming node accepts gigabit Ethernet optical signals from the data service hub and partitions the Ethernet optical signals into a predetermined number of groups.

39. The optical network system of claim 37, wherein the bandwidth transforming node is mountable on a strand in an overhead plant environment.

40. The optical network system of claim 37, wherein the bandwidth transforming node is housed within a pedestal in an underground plant environment.

41. The optical network system of claim 37, wherein the routing device allocates additional or reduced optical bandwidth to at least one subscriber optical interface relative to other subscriber optical interfaces in the optical network system.

42. The optical network system of claim 41, wherein the routing device manages upstream and downstream optical signal protocols.

43. The optical network system of claim 42, wherein data bit rates for the upstream and downstream optical signals are substantially symmetrical.

44. The optical network system of claim 43, wherein each optical tap comprises at least one optical splitter.

45. The optical network system of claim 44, wherein one of the optical taps servicing a particular group of subscriber optical interfaces is connected to another optical tap.

46. A method for communicating optical signals from at least one subscriber to a data service provider comprising the steps of:

passively transmitting upstream optical signals with a slicer from a first optical tap, the first optical tap selecting a first set of wavelengths;

receiving the upstream optical signals at a bandwidth transforming node from the optical tap;

converting the upstream optical signals to electrical signals at the bandwidth transforming node;

combining upstream electrical signals in the bandwidth transforming node;

apportioning bandwidth with a routing device in an electrical domain for the first and second subscriber in the bandwidth transforming node;

using a look-up table with the routing device for processing the upstream electrical signals; and

propagating the combined upstream electrical signals to the data service provider.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the steps of transmitting upstream optical signals from the first and second optical tap occur simultaneously.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising the step of combining respective upstream optical signals originating from a plurality of subscriber optical interfaces with at least one optical tap.

49. The method of claim 49, further comprising the step of feeding the first optical tap with optical signals from the second optical tap.

50. The method of claim 49, further comprising the step of maintaining substantially symmetrical data bit rates between the downstream optical signals and the upstream optical signals.

51. A method for communicating optical signals from a data service provider to at least one subscriber comprising the steps of:

dividing the downstream electrical signals with a routing device between preassigned multiplexers in the bandwidth transforming node, the preassigned multiplexers corresponding to a grouping of subscribers;

multiplexing the downstream electrical signals at the preassigned multiplexers;

assigning wavelength for single tap;

apportioning bandwidth with the routing device in the electrical domain between subscribers in the bandwidth transforming node;

using a look-up table with the routing device for processing the downstream electrical signals;

converting the downstream electrical signals to optical signals in the wavelength region for each of said groups of optical taps; and

propagating respective combined downstream optical signals to at least one subscriber along at least one optical waveguide.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising the step of providing one of video, telephone, and internet services via the optical signals.

53. The method of claim 51, further comprising the steps of:

extracting selected wavelengths from the downstream optical signals with at least one optical tap; and

propagating the sliced downstream optical signals to at least one subscriber along at least one optical waveguide.

54. The method of claim 51, further comprising the step of feeding one optical tap with optical signals from another optical tap.

55. The method of claim 51, wherein the step of apportioning bandwidth further comprises the step of allocating additional or reduced optical bandwidth for at least one particular subscriber optical interface relative to other subscriber optical interfaces in the optical network system.

56. The method of claim 51, further comprising the steps of:

compensating for shifts in an optical transmitter output due to temperature fluctuations by generating sets of wavelengths with the optical transmitter; and

assigning each set of wavelengths to a particular optical tap.