SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A SUBSCRIBER POWERED NETWORK ELEMENT

• US 20100150556A1
• Filed: 02/28/2010
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alexander I. Soto, Walter G. Soto
• Original Assignee: Alexander I. Soto, Walter G. Soto
• Inventors: Soto, Alexander I., Soto, Walter G.
• Granted Patent: US 8,543,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/66
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/00 Transmission systems employing electromagnetic waves other than radio-waves, e.g. infrared, visible or ultraviolet light, or employing corpuscular radiation, e.g. quantum communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/27 Arrangements for networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/808 Electrical power feeding of an optical transmission system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 19/08 with current supply sources at the substations generating ringing current H04M19/04

Abstract

A system for powering a network element of a fiber optic wide area network is disclosed. When communication data is transferred between a central office (CO) and a subscriber terminal using a network element to convert optical to electrical (O-E) and electrical to optical (E-O) signals between a fiber from the central office and twisted wire pair, coaxial cable or Ethernet cable transmission lines from the subscriber terminal, techniques related to local powering of a network element or drop site by the subscriber terminal or subscriber premise remote powering device are provided. Certain advantages and/or benefits are achieved using the present invention, such as freedom from any requirement for additional meter installations or meter connection charges and does not require a separate power network.

Claims

1. A network element of a wide area network, the network element having at least one optical port for coupling respectively to at least one optical fiber for communicating with a service provider and having at least one electrical port for coupling respectively to at least one electrical wire pair or cable for communicating with a subscriber, and the network element having at least one electrical coupling device coupled to an electrical port for separating an electrical power signal and an electrical data communications signal from a combined electrical WAN signal, and the network element having at least one communication device coupled respectively to an electrical coupling device for receiving and transmitting the electrical data communication signals, and the network element having at least one power converter coupled respectively to an electrical coupling device for accepting the electrical power signal and for converting the electrical power signal for use by the network element, a method for electrically powering the network element comprising the steps of:

(a) accepting through at least one electrical wire pair or cable the combined electrical WAN signal including the electrical power signal and the electrical data communication signal;

(b) decoupling the electrical power signal and the electrical data communication signal from the combined electrical WAN signal by the electrical coupling device;

(c) providing the decoupled electrical data communication signal to the communication device;

(d) providing the decoupled electrical power signal to the power converter; and

(e) converting the electrical power signal to electrical power by the power converter for use by the network element, whereby

the network element is capable of communicating with the service provider over the optical fiber and the network element is capable of being electrically powered over the electrical wire pair or cable by a subscriber and the network element is capable of communicating with the subscriber over the same electrical wire pair or cable.

2. The method of claim 1, whereby the electrical wire pair or cable is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a 22 gauge twisted wire pair;

a 24 gauge twisted wire pair;

a 26 gauge twisted wire pair;

a single wire pair from a category 3 cable;

a single wire pair from a category 5 cable;

a single wire pair from a category 5e cable;

a single wire pair from a category 6 cable; and

a coaxial cable.

3. The method of claim 1, whereby the electrical wire pair or cable is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a double wire pair from a category 3 cable;

a double wire pair from a category 5 cable;

a double wire pair from a category 5e cable;

a double wire pair from a category 6 cable;

a category 3 cable;

a category 5 cable;

a category 5e cable; and

a category 6 cable.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical coupling device includes one or more means selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a transformer-based circuit;

an optically-based circuit;

a capacitively coupled circuit;

a silicon/integrated circuit-based circuit;

a coupling capacitor;

a coupling transformer;

a center-tapped transformer;

an isolation transformer;

a bridge rectifier;

a blocking inductor;

a common mode choke;

an inductive coupler;

a low pass filter;

a bandpass filter; and

a high-pass filter.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(a0) providing a predetermined resistance load across the electrical wire pair or cable.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication device is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL) modem;

a Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) modem;

a Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL2) modem;

a Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL2+) modem;

a Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) modem;

a Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL2) modem;

a Power Line Carrier modem;

a Power Line Communication modem;

a Data Over Cable Service Specification (DOCSIS) modem;

a Data Over Cable Service Specification 2.0 (DOCSIS 2.0) modem;

a Data Over Cable Service Specification 3.0 (DOCSIS 3.0) modem;

an Ethernet physical layer (PHY) device;

an Ethernet media access control (MAC) device;

a Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) capable device;

a Multimedia over Coax Alliance 2.0 (MoCA 2.0) capable device; and

a ITU.T G.hn capable device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication network is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a point-to-point active Ethernet communication network;

a point-to-multipoint communication network;

a passive optical network (PON);

a fiber to the curb (FTTC) network;

a fiber to the premise (FTTP) network;

a fiber to the home (FTTH) network;

a fiber to the node (FTTN) network; and

a fiber to the basement (FTTB) network;

a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network; and

wherein the network element is selected from the group consisting essentially of;

an optical node of a HFC network;

an optical network unit (ONU); and

an optical network terminal (ONT).

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(f) aggregating the electrical communications signal from one or more subscriber premises at the network element for communication with the service provider over the optical fiber.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(f) powering the network element progressively with the addition of each active subscriber coupled to the network element.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(f) measuring electrical power consumption of the network element.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:

(g) reimbursing the subscriber for the cost of the electricity consumed by the network element.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(f) reducing power consumption of the network element by powering down non-essential devices or reducing line rates of communications.

13. A subscriber terminal of a wide area network, the wide area network having a network element with at least one optical port for coupling respectively to at least one optical fiber for communicating with a service provider and at least one electrical port for coupling respectively to at least one electrical wire pair or cable for communicating with the subscriber terminal, the subscriber terminal having a power source for producing an electrical power signal having a current and a voltage, and the subscriber terminal having a communication device for transmitting and receiving electrical data communications signals, and the subscriber terminal having an electrical coupling device for coupling to the electrical wire pair or cable and for coupling to the power source and for coupling to the communication device and for combining the electrical power signal with the electrical data communications signal as a combined electrical WAN signal onto the electrical wire pair or cable for transmission to the network element, a method for transmitting electrical power and data communication signals from the subscriber terminal at the subscriber premise to the network element of the wide area network comprising the steps of:

(a) providing the electrical power signal having a current and a voltage derived from subscriber premise mains power at the subscriber premise;

(b) coupling the electrical power signal with the electrical data communications signal from the communication device as the combined electrical WAN signal by the electrical coupling device at the subscriber premise; and

(c) transmitting the combined electrical WAN signal to the network element through at least one electrical wire pair or cable coupled between the subscriber terminal and the network element, whereby

the subscriber terminal is capable of providing electrical power derived from the subscriber premise mains power to the network element over the electrical wire pair or cable and the subscriber terminal is capable of electrical data communications with the network element over the same electrical wire pair or cable.

14. The method of claim 13, whereby the electrical wire pair or cable is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a 22 gauge twisted wire pair;

a 24 gauge twisted wire pair;

a 26 gauge twisted wire pair;

a single wire pair from a category 3 cable;

a single wire pair from a category 5 cable;

a single wire pair from a category 5e cable;

a single wire pair from a category 6 cable; and

a coaxial cable.

15. The method of claim 13, whereby the electrical wire pair or cable is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a double wire pair from a category 3 cable;

a double wire pair from a category 5 cable;

a double wire pair from a category 5e cable;

a double wire pair from a category 6 cable;

a category 3 cable;

a category 5 cable;

a category 5e cable; and

a category 6 cable.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the electrical coupling device includes one or more means selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a transformer-based circuit;

an optically-based circuit;

a capacitively coupled circuit;

a silicon/integrated circuit-based circuit;

a coupling capacitor;

a coupling transformer;

a center-tapped transformer;

an isolation transformer;

a bridge rectifier;

a blocking inductor;

a common mode choke;

an inductive coupler;

a low pass filter;

a bandpass filter; and

a high-pass filter.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

(a1) transmitting a low level current sufficient to sense a predetermined resistance load across the electrical wire pair or cable.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the communication device is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL) modem;

a Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) modem;

a Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL2) modem;

a Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL2+) modem;

a Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) modem;

a Very-high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL2) modem;

a Power Line Carrier modem;

a Power Line Communication modem;

a Data Over Cable Service Specification (DOCSIS) modem;

a Data Over Cable Service Specification 2.0 (DOCSIS 2.0) modem;

a Data Over Cable Service Specification 3.0 (DOCSIS 3.0) modem;

an Ethernet physical layer (PHY) device;

an Ethernet media access control (MAC) device;

a Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) capable device;

a Multimedia over Coax Alliance 2.0 (MoCA 2.0) capable device; and

a ITU.T G.hn capable device.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the communication network is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a point-to-point active Ethernet communication network;

a point-to-multipoint communication network;

a passive optical network (PON);

a fiber to the curb (FTTC) network;

a fiber to the premise (FTTP) network;

a fiber to the home (FTTH) network;

a fiber to the node (FTTN) network; and

a fiber to the basement (FTTB) network;

a hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) network; and

wherein the network element is selected from the group consisting essentially of;

an optical node of an HFC network;

an optical network unit (ONU); and

an optical network terminal (ONT).

20. A network element of a wide area network, the network element having at least one optical port for coupling respectively to at least one optical fiber for communicating with a service provider and having at least one electrical port for coupling respectively to at least one electrical wire pair or cable for communicating with a subscriber terminal at a subscriber premise, and including at the subscriber premise, the subscriber terminal having a power source for producing an electrical power signal having a current and a voltage, and the subscriber terminal having a first communication device for transmitting and receiving electrical data communication signals, and the subscriber terminal having a first electrical coupling device for coupling to the electrical wire pair or cable and for coupling to the power source and for coupling to the first communication device and for combining the electrical power signal of the power source with the electrical data communication signals of the first communication device as a combined electrical WAN signal onto the electrical wire pair or cable for transmission to the network element, and including at the network element a second electrical coupling device for coupling to the electrical wire pair or cable and for separating the electrical power signal and the electrical data communication signals from the combined electrical WAN signal, and including at the network element a second communication device coupled to the second electrical coupling device and for receiving and transmitting electrical data communication signals, and including at the network element a power converter coupled to the second electrical coupling device and for accepting the electrical power signal and for providing electrical power for use by the network element, and wherein the network element is capable of communicating with the service provider over an optical fiber, a method for electrically powering the network element comprising the steps of:

(a) providing at the subscriber terminal the electrical power signal having a current and a voltage derived from the subscriber premise mains power;

(b) coupling at the subscriber terminal the electrical power signal with the electrical data communication signals from the first communication device as the combined electrical WAN signal;

(c) transferring the combined electrical WAN signal to the network element through at least one electrical wire pair or cable coupled between the subscriber terminal and the network element,

(d) accepting at the network element the combined electrical WAN signal through at least one electrical wire pair or cable coupled between the subscriber terminal and the network element;

(e) decoupling at the network element the electrical power signal and the electrical data communication signals from the combined electrical WAN signal;

(f) providing at the network element the decoupled electrical data communication signals to the second communication device;

(g) providing at the network element the decoupled electrical power signal to the power converter; and

(h) converting at the network element by the power converter the electrical power signal to electrical power for use by the network element, whereby

the network element is capable of communicating with the service provider over the optical fiber and the network element is capable of being electrically powered over the electrical wire pair or cable from the subscriber terminal and the network element is capable of communicating with the subscriber terminal over the same electrical wire pair or cable.