Actively monitored optical fiber panel
First Claim
1. A first optical fiber panel unit, comprising:
- a plurality of fiber input ports, each configured to connect to a different one of multiple optical fibers, wherein each fiber input port comprises;
a connector port configured to connect to a respective fiber panel optical path,an optical tap configured to couple to the respective optical path, anda photo-detector coupled to the optical tap and configured to;
detect optical signals carried over the respective optical path, andproduce electrical signals that correspond to the detected optical signals; and
a telemetry circuit, which includes an optical port connected to a fiber link that connects to a second optical fiber panel unit at another location in an optical network, and is configured to;
analyze the electrical signals that correspond to the detected optical signals of each respective optical path,determine at least one of a loss of signal (LOS) or loss of light (LOL) at each of the fiber input ports based on the analysis of the electrical signals, andsend a report, via the optical port to the second optical fiber panel unit, including a status of the first optical fiber panel unit and any determined LOS or LOL at each of the plurality of fiber input ports.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical fiber panel unit includes multiple fiber input ports, each configured to connect to a different one of multiple optical fibers. Each fiber input port includes a connector port configured to connect to a respective fiber panel optical path, an optical tap and a photo-detector. The optical tap is configured to couple to the respective optical path. The photo-detector couples to the optical tap to detect optical signals carried over the respective optical path, and to produce electrical signals that correspond to the detected optical signals. A telemetry circuit analyzes the electrical signals that correspond to the detected optical signals of each respective optical path, and determines at least one of a loss of signal (LOS) or loss of light (LOL) at each of the fiber input ports based on the analysis of the electrical signals.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A first optical fiber panel unit, comprising:
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a plurality of fiber input ports, each configured to connect to a different one of multiple optical fibers, wherein each fiber input port comprises; a connector port configured to connect to a respective fiber panel optical path, an optical tap configured to couple to the respective optical path, and a photo-detector coupled to the optical tap and configured to; detect optical signals carried over the respective optical path, and produce electrical signals that correspond to the detected optical signals; and a telemetry circuit, which includes an optical port connected to a fiber link that connects to a second optical fiber panel unit at another location in an optical network, and is configured to; analyze the electrical signals that correspond to the detected optical signals of each respective optical path, determine at least one of a loss of signal (LOS) or loss of light (LOL) at each of the fiber input ports based on the analysis of the electrical signals, and send a report, via the optical port to the second optical fiber panel unit, including a status of the first optical fiber panel unit and any determined LOS or LOL at each of the plurality of fiber input ports. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method, comprising:
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tapping, within a fiber panel comprising a first plurality of fiber input connector ports and a second plurality of fiber output connector ports, multiple optical paths connected to the plurality of fiber input connector ports and supplying a tapped optical output from each of the multiple optical paths to a respective photodetector; detecting, at each respective photodetector, the tapped optical output to generate electrical signals corresponding to optical signals received via the first plurality of fiber input connector ports and carried via the multiple optical paths; analyzing, using telemetry circuitry within the fiber panel, the electrical signals to determine performance characteristics associated with each one of the plurality of fiber input connector ports; and sending, via a fiber panel connection to an external network device, one or more reports that include the determined performance characteristics with each one of the plurality of fiber input connector ports, wherein the external network device comprises a network administration node and wherein the one or more reports identify equipment connected to each of the ports. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An optical fiber panel unit, comprising:
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a plurality of fiber input ports, each configured to connect to a different one of multiple optical fibers connected to a Central Office (CO) in an optical network, wherein each fiber input port includes a connector connected to a respective fiber panel optical path that carries optical signals within the optical fiber panel unit; a plurality of fiber output ports, wherein each fiber output port includes a connector port connected to the respective fiber panel optical path that carries the optical signals within the fiber panel unit; a network connector port configured to connect to an external network; and a telemetry circuit configured to; analyze optical input received via each of the plurality of fiber input ports and carried via the respective fiber panel optical path, determine performance characteristics associated with each fiber input port of the plurality of fiber input ports of the optical fiber panel unit based on the analysis of the optical input, and send, via the network connector port, one or more reports that include the performance characteristics associated with each fiber input port of the plurality of fiber input ports of the optical fiber panel unit, wherein at least one of the plurality of fiber output ports connects to site equipment at a customer location and wherein the one or more reports identifies the site equipment. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. An optical fiber panel unit, comprising:
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a first fiber input port connected to a first fiber panel optical path and configured to connect to a first input optical fiber, and comprising first components configured to produce first electrical signals that correspond to first optical signals received from the first input optical fiber and carried over the first fiber panel optical path; a first fiber output port connected to the first fiber panel optical path, and configured to connect to a first output optical fiber that further connects to an optical destination device, and tc carry the first optical signals to the first output optical fiber; telemetry components configured to; analyze the first electrical signals, and determine performance characteristics associated with the first fiber input port based on the analysis of the first electrical signals; and an optical service channel (OSC) port connected to the telemetry components and configured to connect to an OSC optical fiber that further connects to the optical destination device, wherein the telemetry components are further configured to; send a report, via the OSC port, to the optical destination device, wherein the report includes a status of the optical fiber panel unit and the determined performance characteristics associated with the first fiber input port. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification