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Digital optical transmitter

  • US 6,373,611 B1
  • Filed: 06/22/1998
  • Issued: 04/16/2002
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1998
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A cable television system having forward and reverse paths for respectively transmitting forward and reverse signals, the cable television system comprising:

  • first and second distribution systems for providing information to system subscribers located, respectively, in first and second geographic regions;

    a headend for generating and transmitting optical signals;

    an optical node, remotely located from the headend, for converting the optical signals to electrical signals and for transmitting the electrical signals over the first and second distribution systems, wherein, in the reverse path, the optical node comprises an optical transmitter, including;

    a first A/D converter for receiving a first analog information signal from subscriber equipment included in the first distribution system and converting the first analog information signal to a first digital information signal;

    a second AID converter for receiving a second analog information signal from subscriber equipment included in the second distribution system and converting the second analog information signal to a second digital information signal;

    a digital pilot tone generator for generating a digital pilot tone;

    summers coupled to the first and second A/D converters and the digital pilot tone generator for adding the digital pilot tone to the first digital information signal to result in a first summed signal and for adding the digital pilot tone to the second digital information signal to result in a second summed signal;

    serializers coupled to the summers to convert the first and second summed signals to first and second serial signals;

    an interleaver coupled to the serializers for interleaving bits of the first summed signal with bits of the second summed signal to generate an interleaved signal; and

    a laser diode coupled to the interleaver for emitting a digital optical signal in accordance with the interleaved signal.

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