Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer
First Claim
1. A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
- an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal;
a wavelength blocker optically coupled to said optical splitter, said wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal;
a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters;
a plurality of pluggable optical filters optically coupled to said optical splitter, each of said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal;
a 1;
N optical splitter optically interposed between said optical splitter and said pluggable optical filters, said 1;
N optical splitter splitting the dropped optical signal into N dropped optical signals at least some of which are respectively coupled to a corresponding one of said pluggable optical filters;
an expansion port/splitter optically coupled to an output port of said 1;
N optical splitter, said expansion port/splitter splitting one of the N dropped optical signals at least some of which are respectively coupled to a corresponding one of said pluggable optical filters;
a second cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of said pluggable optical filters; and
an optical combiner optically coupled to said wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, said optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths expressed by said wavelength blocker and the optical add signal;
wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting said pluggable optical filters from the cassette; and
wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be further expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting pluggable optical filters from the second cassette.
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Abstract
A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer is disclosed including an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal; a wavelength blocker optically coupled to the optical splitter, the wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal; a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters; at least one pluggable optical filter optically coupled to the optical splitter, the pluggable optical filter filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal; and an optical combiner optically coupled to the wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, the optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths expressed by the wavelength blocker and the optical add signal.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
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an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal; a wavelength blocker optically coupled to said optical splitter, said wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal; a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters; a plurality of pluggable optical filters optically coupled to said optical splitter, each of said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal; a 1;
N optical splitter optically interposed between said optical splitter and said pluggable optical filters, said 1;
N optical splitter splitting the dropped optical signal into N dropped optical signals at least some of which are respectively coupled to a corresponding one of said pluggable optical filters;an expansion port/splitter optically coupled to an output port of said 1;
N optical splitter, said expansion port/splitter splitting one of the N dropped optical signals at least some of which are respectively coupled to a corresponding one of said pluggable optical filters;a second cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of said pluggable optical filters; and an optical combiner optically coupled to said wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, said optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths expressed by said wavelength blocker and the optical add signal; wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting said pluggable optical filters from the cassette; and wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be further expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting pluggable optical filters from the second cassette. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
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an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal; a wavelength blocker optically coupled to said optical splitter, said wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal; a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters; a plurality of pluggable optical filters optically coupled to said optical splitter, each of said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal; each of said pluggable optical filters having an input port, an output port and an upgrade port; said pluggable optical filters being optically coupled in a daisy chain such that respective upgrade port(s) are connected to corresponding input port(s) in the daisy chain; each of said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal on its output port and a remainder of the wavelengths on its upgrade port; and an optical combiner optically coupled to said wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, said optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths expressed by said wavelength blocker and the optical add signal; wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting pluggable optical filters to/from the daisy chain.
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13. A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
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an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal; a wavelength blocker optically coupled to said optical splitter, said wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal; a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters; a plurality of pluggable optical filters optically coupled to said optical splitter, each of said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal; each of said pluggable optical filters including an optical circulator having a first port, second port and third port, said optical circulators interconnecting the pluggable optical filters into a daisy chain; said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal and a remainder of the wavelengths to its corresponding optical circulator for passage to a next pluggable optical filter in the daisy chain; and an optical combiner optically coupled to said wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, said optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths expressed by said wavelength blocker and the optical add signal. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
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an optical splitter receiving an input optical signal and splitting the input optical signal into a dropped optical signal and an express optical signal; a wavelength blocker optically coupled to said optical splitter, said wavelength blocker blocking particular wavelengths in the express optical signal; a cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of pluggable optical filters; at least one pluggable optical filter optically coupled to said optical splitter, said pluggable optical filter filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal; a plurality of said pluggable optical filters; a 1;
N optical splitter optically interposed between said optical splitter and said pluggable optical filters, said 1;
N optical splitter splitting the dropped optical signal into N dropped optical signals at least some of which are respectively coupled to a corresponding one of said pluggable optical filters;each of said pluggable optical filters filtering wavelengths so as to output a particular wavelength channel from the dropped optical signal, an optical combiner optically coupled to said wavelength blocker and to an optical add path on which an optical add signal may be carried, said optical combiner combining the express optical signal having particular wavelengths blocked by said wavelength blocker and the optical add signal, wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting said pluggable optical filters to/from the cassette, wherein the optical add signal includes a plurality of add wavelength channels; an M;
1 optical combiner optically coupled to said optical combiner;
said M;
1 optical combiner optically combining the plurality of add wavelength channels for output to said optical combiner;an expansion port/splitter optically coupled to an output port of said 1;
N optical splitter,said expansion port/splitter splitting one of the N dropped optical signals at least some of which are respectively coupled to a corresponding one of said pluggable optical filters; and a second cassette having a plurality of slots capable of accepting a plurality of said pluggable optical filters; wherein the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer may be further expanded or contracted by adding or subtracting pluggable optical filters from the second cassette. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
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an input port; an output port; a drop path optically coupled to said input port via an optical splitter; an add path optically coupled to said output port via an optical combiner; an express path optically coupled to both said optical splitter and to said optical combiner; a wavelength blocker optically interposed between said drop path and said add path and along said express path; an 1;
N optical splitter optically coupled to said drop path and optically splitting an optical signal on the drop path into n dropped optical signals;at least one pluggable channel filter optically coupled to said 1;
N optical splitter, said pluggable channel filter filtering a wavelength channel from one of the N dropped optical signals; anda cassette having a plurality of slots; said pluggable channel filter being adapted to be plugged into said cassette; wherein said pluggable channel filter may be plugged into said cassette without disrupting other wavelength channels from the N dropped optical signals. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification