Electronically-controllable fiber optic patch panel

• US 6,243,510 B1
• Filed: 07/07/2000
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apcon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Apcon Incorporated
• Inventors: Rauch, Richard B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Palmer, Phan T. H.
• Application Number:
  US09/611,794
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 385/15, 385/16, 385/17, 385/20, 385/89, 385/24, 385/135, 359/128, 359/139, 359/154, 370/354, 370/397
• US Class Current: 385/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/13 Patch panels for monitoring, interconnecting or testing circuits, e.g. patch bay, patch field or jack field; Patching modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 1/145 with switches arranged in a matrix configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2201/804 in optical transmission systems

Abstract

A system and method for connecting an optical input to one or more selected optical outputs. The system includes at least one optical input port, and at least one optical receiver coupled to receive an optical signal via the optical input port. The optical receiver is configured to convert the optical signal into a corresponding electrical signal. The system also includes a plurality of optical output ports, and a plurality of optical transmitters. Each optical transmitter is coupled to a different one of the optical output ports, and is configured to selectively receive the corresponding electrical signal and convert it back to the optical signal for transmission through the optical output port. The system further includes electronic circuitry which is controllable to form an electrical path to convey the corresponding electrical signal from the optical receiver to the optical transmitter coupled to a selected optical output port. As a result, the optical signal received via the optical input port is transmitted through the selected optical output port. Optionally, the system may be configured to receive control instructions via a computer network so that an operator may select the optical output port from a remote location.

Claims

1. An electronically-controllable fiber optic patch panel configured to replicate incoming fiber optic signals on an outgoing fiber optic line, comprising:

a switch matrix having plural electrical inputs and plural electrical outputs;

an electronic controller coupled to the switch matrix;

plural pairs of optical ports, each pair including a fiber optic input and a fiber optic output; and

plural transceivers, where each transceiver is connected to a different one of the plural pairs of optical ports and a different one of the plural electrical inputs and a different one of the plural electrical outputs, and where each transceiver includes

a receiver portion adapted to convert optical signals received at the corresponding fiber optic input into electrical signals, and to transmit the electrical signals to the corresponding electrical input, and

a transmitter portion adapted to convert electrical signals received from the corresponding electrical output into optical signals, and to transmit the optical signals to the corresponding fiber optic output;

where the switch matrix is adapted to be controlled by the controller to connect a selected electrical input to one or more selected electrical outputs, so that optical signals received at the fiber optic input corresponding to the selected electical input are transmitted to the one or more fiber optic outputs corresponding to the one or more selected electrical outputs.

2. The patch panel of claim 1, where the controller is configured to receive instructions from a remote administrator device via a computer network, and to control the switch matrix in response to the instructions.

3. A method of selectively connecting optical data paths, comprising the steps of:

selecting a first optical data path from a plurality of optical data paths;

selecting a second optical data path from the plurality of optical data paths;

forming an electrical data path between the first optical data path and the second optical data path;

receiving an optical data signal via the first optical data path;

converting the optical data signal to a corresponding electrical data signal;

conveying the electrical data signal from the first optical data path to the second optical data path via the electrical data path;

converting the electrical data signal back to the optical data signal; and

transmitting the optical data signal via the second optical data path.

4. The method of claim 3, where the step of forming is performed prior to the steps of receiving the optical data signal and converting the optical data signal into the corresponding electrical data signal.

5. The method of claim 3, where the optical data signal includes at least one computer network destination address, and where the steps of selecting a second optical data path and forming an electrical data path are performed without determining the at least one computer network destination address.

6. The method of claim 3, where the optical data signal is formatted according to a particular one of plural communications protocols, and where each step is performed independent of the particular communications protocols.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of

selecting a third optical data path from the plurality of optical data paths,

eliminating the electrical data path between the first optical data path and the second optical data path, and

forming an electrical data path between the first optical data path and the third optical data path.

8. The method of claim 3, where the first optical data path includes a first fiber optic cable, and where the step of receiving includes receiving an optical data signal from a remote computer network component via the first fiber optic cable.

9. The method of claim 8, where the second optical data path includes a second fiber optic cable, and where the step of transmitting includes transmitting the optical data signal to a remote computer network component via the second fiber optic cable.

10. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of receiving a switching instruction from a remote location via a computer network, where the instruction specifies the first and second optical data paths, and where the steps of selecting the first and second optical data paths are performed in response to the instruction.

11. The method of claim 3, where the first and second optical data paths are each connected to a switch matrix, and where the step of forming includes controlling the switch matrix to form an electrical connection between the first and second optical data paths.

12. A system for connecting an optical input to one or more selected optical outputs, comprising:

at least one optical input port;

at least one optical receiver coupled to receive an optical signal via the at least one optical input port, and configured to convert the optical signal into a corresponding electrical signal;

a plurality of optical output ports;

a plurality of optical transmitters, each coupled to a different one of the optical output ports, and each configured to selectively receive the corresponding electrical signal and convert it back to the optical signal for transmission through the optical output port;

electronic circuitry controllable to form an electrical path to convey the corresponding electrical signal from the at least one optical receiver to the optical transmitter coupled to a selected optical output port, so that the optical signal received via the at least one optical input port is transmitted through the selected optical output port.

13. The system of claim 12, where the electronic circuitry is controllable to form multiple electrical paths, where each electrical path is configured to convey the corresponding electrical signal from the at least one optical receiver to a different one of the plural optical transmitters.

14. The system of claim 12, where the electronic circuitry includes at least one switch matrix.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising a controller coupled to control the at least one switch matrix to selectively form the one or more electrical paths.

16. The system of claim 15, where the controller is configured to receive instructions via a computer network, and to control the at least one switch matrix in response to the instructions.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising a display connected to the controller and adapted to indicate the selected optical output port.

18. The system of claim 15, further comprising one or more control panels connected to the controller, and operable by a user to control the at least one switch matrix.

19. The system of claim 12, where the at least one optical input port includes a plurality of optical input ports, and where the at least one optical receiver includes a plurality of optical receivers each coupled to a different one of the optical input ports, and where the electronic circuitry is controllable to selectively form an electrical path to convey a corresponding electrical signal from any one of the plural optical receivers to any one of the plural optical transmitters.

20. The system of claim 12, where the plurality of optical input ports includes at least eight optical input ports, and where the plurality of optical output ports includes at least eight optical output ports.

21. The system of claim 12, where the at least one input port, the at least one receiver, the plurality of output ports, the plurality of transmitters, and the electronic circuitry are self-contained in a patch panel configuration.

22. A method of constructing a computer network, comprising:

providing a plurality of computer network components configured to communicate via fiber optic communications;

providing at least one fiber optic patch panel having a plurality of fiber optic ports adapted to connect to fiber optic cables, where the at least one patch panel is electronically-controllable to selectively connect any two of the plural fiber optic ports;

coupling each network component to a different one of the plural fiber optic ports with a fiber optic cable;

electronically controlling the at least one patch panel to connect the port coupled to a first one of the plural network components to the port coupled to a second one of the plural network components, so that optical communications from the first network component are received by the second network component.

23. The method of claim 22, where the first and second network components are configured to communicate using a first communication protocol, and where the plural network components include third and fourth network components configured to communicate using a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol, and where the step of controlling includes controlling the at least one patch panel to connect the port coupled to the first network component to the port coupled to the second network component, and to connect the port coupled to the third network component to the port coupled to the fourth network component.

24. The method of claim 23, where the first communication protocol is Fibre Channel.

25. The method of claim 23, where the first communication protocol is Gigabit Ethernet.

26. The method of claim 22, where the at least one patch panel is configured to receive and carry out control instructions, and where the step of controlling includes transmitting one or more control instructions to the at least one patch panel from a remote administrator device.

27. The method of claim 22, where the step of providing at least one patch panel includes

providing a first patch panel and a second patch panel,

coupling a selected fiber optic port on the first patch panel to a selected fiber optic port on the second patch panel with a fiber optic cable, and

electronically controlling the first and second patch panels so that optical communications from one of the plural network components coupled to the first patch panel may be received by one of the plural network components coupled to the second patch panel.

28. The method of claim 27, where the first and second patch panels are adapted to receive and carry out control instructions, and where the step of controlling includes transmitting one or more control instructions to at least one of the first and second patch panels from a remote administrator device.

29. The method of claim 28, where the first patch panel is adapted to forward control instructions to the second patch panel, and where the step of controlling includes controlling the second patch panel by transmitting one or more control signals to the first patch panel.

30. The method of claim 22, where at least some of the network components are configured to communicate using Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop protocol, and where the step of controlling includes controlling the at least one patch panel to connect the at least some network components in a Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop configuration.