Optical fiber taps
First Claim
1. A coupler for an optical fiber, the coupler having an open position in which it does not operate on the fiber and a closed position in which it does operate on the fiber, comprising:
- first bending means through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which the fiber is not bent and a closed position in which the fiber is bent sufficiently to cause at least a portion of an optical signal passing down the fiber to escape and be tapped from the fiber;
detecting means for detecting the tapped optical signal which has escaped from the fiber when it is maintained in a bent configuration by the first bending means;
signal attenuation means, located downstream of the first bending means, through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which an untapped portion of the optical signal passing through the fiber is not attenuated and a closed position in which the untapped portion of the optical signal passing through the fiber is substantially attenuated to prevent confusion between the untapped portion of the optical signal and an optical signal to be injected;
second bending means, located downstream of the signal attenuation means, through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which the fiber is not bent and a closed position in which the fiber is bent sufficiently to permit the injection of an optical signal into the fiber;
injecting means for injecting an optical signal into the bent position of the fiber when it is maintained in a bent configuration by the second bending means; and
bending and attenuation activating means for moving the first and second bending means and the attenuation means between their open and closed positions.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical fiber tap which is especially useful as a node in a ring topology data processing system. The tap, which does not interrupt the physical continuity of the fiber, has an open position and a closed position. In the open position, a signal passing down the optical fiber passes through the tap without alteration. In the closed position, a signal passing down the optical fiber is extracted through a first bend which is put into the fiber by the tap; the extracted signal, or an electrical counterpart thereof, is processed and a counterpart of the extracted signal, or a new signal obtained by operating on the extracted signal, e.g. in a data processor, is injected into the fiber through a second bend which is put into the fiber by the tap.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A coupler for an optical fiber, the coupler having an open position in which it does not operate on the fiber and a closed position in which it does operate on the fiber, comprising:
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first bending means through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which the fiber is not bent and a closed position in which the fiber is bent sufficiently to cause at least a portion of an optical signal passing down the fiber to escape and be tapped from the fiber; detecting means for detecting the tapped optical signal which has escaped from the fiber when it is maintained in a bent configuration by the first bending means; signal attenuation means, located downstream of the first bending means, through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which an untapped portion of the optical signal passing through the fiber is not attenuated and a closed position in which the untapped portion of the optical signal passing through the fiber is substantially attenuated to prevent confusion between the untapped portion of the optical signal and an optical signal to be injected; second bending means, located downstream of the signal attenuation means, through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which the fiber is not bent and a closed position in which the fiber is bent sufficiently to permit the injection of an optical signal into the fiber; injecting means for injecting an optical signal into the bent position of the fiber when it is maintained in a bent configuration by the second bending means; and bending and attenuation activating means for moving the first and second bending means and the attenuation means between their open and closed positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A ring network comprising a plurality of nodes interconnected by a ring-type optical fiber, at least one of the nodes having an optical coupler for tapping light from the optical fiber to derive information represented thereby, and for injecting light into the optical fiber, the injected light representing further information, the optical coupler having an open position in which it does not operate on the fiber and a closed position in which it does operate on the fiber, comprising:
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first bending means through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which the fiber is not bent and a closed position in which the fiber is bent sufficiently to cause at least a portion of an optical signal passing down the fiber to escape and be tapped from the fiber; detecting means for detecting the tapped optical signal which has escaped from the fiber when it is maintained in a bent configuration by the first bending means; signal attenuation to prevent confusion between the untapped portion of the optical signal and an optical signal to be injected means, located downstream from the first bending means, through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which an untapped portion of the optical signal passing through the fiber is not attenuated and a closed position in which the untapped portion of the optical signal passing through the fiber is substantially attenuated; second bending means, located downstream of the signal attenuation means, through which the fiber passes and which has an open position in which the fiber is not bent and a closed position in which the fiber is bent sufficiently to permit the injection of an optical signal into the fiber; injection means for injecting an optical signal into the bent portion of the fiber when it is maintained in a bent configuration by the second bending means; and bending and attenuation activating means for moving the first and second bending means and the attenuation means between their open and closed positions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification