Optical network unit

• US 9,401,764 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2012
• Issued: 07/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xieon Networks S.A.R.L. (Infinera Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xieon Networks S.A.R.L. (Infinera Corp.)
• Inventors: Gottwald, Erich, Schmidt, Ernst-Dieter, Lankl, Berthold
• Primary Examiner(s): Sedighian, M. R.
• Application Number:
  US14/350,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20140255032A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 398/71, 398/72, 398/70, 398/66, 398/67, 398/68
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/2575 Radio-over-fibre, e.g. radio frequency signal modulated onto an optical carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/25752 Optical arrangements for wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/2581 Multimode transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0247 Sharing one wavelength for at least a group of ONUs
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0282 WDM tree architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0298 with sub-carrier multiplexing [SCM]

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus, in particular an optical network unit, which comprises a first part operably coupled to an arm of an optical fiber network, the first part comprises an optical module including an optical-electric interface and/or an electric-optical interface locked on a preset wavelength band, and an interface module, and at least one second part operably coupled to a network entity of a communication network, each comprising a control unit, a signal processing unit and an interface module. One of the control units of the at least one second part is set by a optical line terminal of the optical fiber network as a master control unit configured to tune and control the optical module of the first part. The first part and the at least one second part are wireless coupled with respect to each other via the interface modules.

Claims

1. An optical network unit, comprising:

a first part operably coupled to an arm of an optical fiber network, the first part comprising an optical module including an optical-electric interface and/or an electric-optical interface locked on a preset wavelength band, and an interface module; and

at least one second part operably coupled to a network entity of a communication network, each at least one second part comprising a control unit, a signal processing unit and an interface module,

wherein one of the control unit of the at least one second part is set by an optical line terminal of the optical fiber network as a master control unit configured to tune and control the optical module of the first part; and

wherein the first part and the at least one second part are wirelessly coupled with respect to each other via the interface modules.

2. The optical network unit according to claim 1, wherein the first part of the optical network unit is coupled with the at least one second part of the optical network unit by means of a microwave radio link.

3. The optical network unit according to claim 1, wherein the first part of the optical network unit is coupled with the at least one second part of the optical network unit by means of at least one of a free-space optics link, coax link or Plastic Optical Fiber link.

4. The optical network unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a digital signal processing unit.

5. The optical network unit according to claim 1, wherein the first part and the second part comprising the master control unit are configured to exchange control information data with each other by means of a radio signal.

6. The optical network unit according to claim 5, wherein the first part and the second part comprising the master control unit are configured to exchange control information data with each other by means of low modulation index amplitude modulation of the radio signal, wherein the modulation index is 5% of the radio signal.

7. The optical network unit according to claim 1, wherein the network entity of the communication network is a base station for a wireless network.

8. The optical network unit according to claim 7, wherein the at least one second part is coupled with the base station for the wireless network by means of fibre link or by means of an Ethernet link.

9. The optical network unit according to claim 1, wherein the interface modules of the first part and the at least one second part include phased arrays antennas.

10. A transport network system, comprising:

an optical communication system; and

a radio communication system,

wherein the transport network system comprises an optical network unit, the optical network unit comprising a first part operably coupled to an arm of an optical fiber network, the first part comprising an optical module including an optical-electric interface and/or an electric-optical interface locked on a preset wavelength band, and an interface module, and at least one second part operably coupled to a network entity of a communication network, each at least one second part comprising a control unit, a signal processing unit and an interface module,

wherein the control unit of one of the at least one second part is set by an optical line terminal of the optical fiber network as a master control unit configured to tune and control the optical module of the first part; and

wherein the first part and the at least one second part are wireless coupled with respect to each other via the interface modules.

11. A transport network system according to claim 10, wherein the optical communication system includes an Ultra-Dense Wavelength Division Multiplex (UDWDM) coherent network.

12. A transport network system according to claim 10, wherein the optical communication system includes a Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) coherent network.

13. A transport networks system according to claim 10, wherein the optical communication system and the radio communication system share a common management system.