Remote optical fiber surveillance system and method

• US 8,073,294 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2008
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• 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: Huffman, John Sinclair, Laszakovits, Gerald Frank, Kirkpatrick, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Healy, Brian
• Application Number:
  US12/344,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20100166357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 385/12, 385/13, 385/123, 385/88, 385/89, 385/92, 385/94, 340/565, 340/541, 340/552, 340/506, 340/517, 340/521, 340/522, 340/555, 340/556, 340/564, 340/567, 340/578, 348/152, 348/154, 348/61, 348/143, 250/216, 250/221, 367/136, 367/135, 356/73.1
• 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 first optical fiber;

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

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

a database comprising stored signals representative of previously collected return optical signals.

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

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second fiber overlapping the first optical fiber.

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

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

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

19. The optical fiber surveillance system of claim 1, further comprising:

a processor configured to compare the signals representative of the return optical signal to the signals representative of previously collected return optical signals.

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

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

wirelessly transmitting signals representative of the first return optical signal; and

comparing the first return optical signal to a signal representative of a previously collected return optical signal.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the first optical fiber is oriented in a two dimensional topology.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

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

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

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the first optical fiber is deployed in one of an airplane, bus, train, ship or submarine.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the wirelessly transmitted signals are transmitted wirelessly by a transmitter that is floating on a water surface.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the signal representative of a previously collected return optical signal comprises a signal associated with the respective one of airplane, bus, train or submarine.

13. The method of claim 7 further comprising deploying the first optical fiber from an airplane.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the first optical fiber comprises a source of optical energy, a detector of return signals and a wireless transmitter.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the respective airplane is a drone.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein a plurality of optical fibers are deployed.

17. A wireless detector configured to receive signals from an optical fiber surveillance system, the wireless detector comprising:

a database comprising stored signals representative of previously collected signals from the optical fiber surveillance system.

18. The wireless detector of claim 17 in which the wireless detector receives signals from an optical fiber surveillance system comprising an optical fiber oriented in a two dimensional topology.

20. The wireless detector of claim 17, further comprising:

a processor configured to compare the signals received from the optical fiber surveillance system to signals representative of previously collected optical signals.