Monitoring optical decay in fiber connectivity systems

• US 9,219,543 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2013
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CommScope Technologies, LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, Trevor D., Gronvall, Erik, Badar, Timothy G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Payne, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): BARUA, PRANESH K
• Application Number:
  US13/937,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20140016930A1
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 398/38, 398/39
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/0793 Network aspects, e.g. central monitoring of transmission parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/07955 Monitoring or measuring power
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0066 Provisions for optical burst or packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0083 Testing; Monitoring

Abstract

A tracking system includes a tracking arrangement including a processor, memory, and at least a first interface port; and one or more optical modules. Each optical module includes a housing having at least one input port, at least a first output port, and at least a first monitoring port. An optical power splitter arrangement and an optical receiver are disposed within the housing. The splitter arrangement splits optical signals received at the input port onto one or more output lines and one or more monitoring lines. The output lines are routed to the output ports and the monitoring lines are routed to the optical receiver. The optical receiver measures the power of optical signals received from the first monitoring line and provides a measurement signal to the first monitoring port of the housing.

Claims

1. A tracking system comprising:

an optical module including a housing defining an optical input port, a plurality of optical output ports, and a monitor port, the optical module also including an optical splitter arrangement disposed within the housing, the optical splitter arrangement being configured to receive optical signals from the optical input port of the housing, the optical splitter arrangement being configured to split the received optical signals so that some split optical signals are provided to the optical output ports;

a plurality of media reading interfaces disposed at the optical output ports, each media reading interface including an electrical contact accessible from the optical output port;

an optical receiver arrangement disposed within the housing, the optical receiver arrangement being configured to receive other split optical signals from the optical splitter arrangement, the optical receiver arrangement being configured to measure power of the other split optical signals, and the optical receiver arrangement being configured to provide a measurement signal to the monitor port of the housing, the measurement signal indicating the measured power of the other split optical signals;

a circuit board disposed within the housing, the circuit board electrically connecting the media reading interfaces and the optical receiver with the monitor port of the optical module; and

a tracking arrangement including a processor, memory, and at least a first interface port, the first interface port being electrically coupled to the monitor port of the optical module, the processor being configured to analyze signals obtained by the media reading interfaces and to analyze the measurement signals of the optical receiver, and the memory being configured to store the measurement signals of the optical receiver.

2. The tracking system of claim 1, wherein the optical module is one of a plurality of optical modules having respective monitor ports receiving respective measurement signals from respective optical receivers.

3. The tracking system of claim 2, wherein the power measurement signal of each optical receiver is provided to the first interface port of the tracking arrangement.

4. The tracking system of claim 2, wherein the power measurement signal of each optical receiver is provided to a respective interface port of the tracking arrangement.

5. The tracking system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine a decay rate for the optical signals at the optical module.

6. The tracking system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine when the optical signals at the optical module have decayed beyond a predetermined threshold.