Remote Optical Fiber Surveillance System and Method

• US 20100166357A1
• Filed: 12/29/2008
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kirkpatrick, James, Laszakovits, Gerald Frank, Huffman, John Sinclair
• Granted Patent: US 8,073,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/12
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/00 Investigating the elasticity of structures, e.g. deflection of bridges or air-craft wings G01M9/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0091 by using electromagnetic excitation or detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/186 using light guides, e.g. optical fibres

Abstract

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosed technology, wireless communications are used in a fiber surveillance system to enable monitoring of remote locations for vibrations, acoustic signals, stresses, stress fatigue or other detectable characteristics. A fiber that is deployed in the structure or region being monitored is connected a wireless transmitter that is used to transmit, to a receiving system, return optical signals obtained with the surveillance system. The return signals can be transmitted in raw form or after partial or total analysis.

Claims

1. An optical fiber surveillance system, comprising:

a first optical fiber;

a source of optical energy configured to inject optical energy into the fiber;

an optical detector configured to detect a return optical signal from the fiber, the return optical signal associated with an acoustic signal impinging on the fiber; and

a wireless transmitter connected to the optical detector and configured to transmit signals representative of the return optical signal.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the fiber is oriented in a two dimensional topology.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the optical fiber is deployed in an airplane, bus, train, ship or submarine.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter is floating on a water surface.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a database of stored historical signals.

7. The system of claim 4 further comprising a database of stored historical signals associated with the airplane, bus, train or submarine.

3. The system of claim 3 further comprising a second fiber overlapping the first optical fiber.

8. A method for determining the location of a source of acoustic energy comprising:

receiving, from an optical fiber, a return optical signal associated with the acoustic energy; and

wirelessly transmitting signals representative of the return optical signal.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the fiber is oriented in a two dimensional topology.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

receiving, from a second optical fiber, a return optical signal associated with the acoustic energy; and

wirelessly transmitting signals representative of the return optical signal associated with the second optical fiber.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the optical fiber is deployed in an airplane, bus, train, ship or submarine.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the signals are transmitted wirelessly by a transmitter that is floating on a water surface.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising comparing the transmitted signals with data in a database of stored historical signals.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the database includes stored historical signals associated with the airplane, bus, train or submarine.

15. The method of claim 8 further comprising deploying the optical fiber from an airplane.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the fiber includes a source of optical energy, a detector of return signals and a wireless transmitter.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the airplane is a drone.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein a plurality of fibers are deployed.

19. A wireless detector configured to receive signals from an optical fiber surveillance system.

20. The wireless detector of claim 19 in which the optical fiber surveillance system comprises an optical fiber oriented in a two dimensional topology.