Plastic and glass optical fiber bus network having plural line replaceable units transmitting to a mixing rod
First Claim
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1. An optical network architecture comprising:
- a first pair of tapered mixing rods comprising a first mixing rod and a second mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the first pair comprising a small face and a large face;
a first plurality of line replaceable units, each of the first plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a first transmitted optical signal via one of a first plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of the first mixing rod and to receive a first received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a second plurality of optical fibers;
a second pair of tapered mixing rods comprising a third mixing rod and a fourth mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the second pair comprising a small face and a large face;
a second plurality of line replaceable units, each of the second plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a second transmitted optical signal via one of a third plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of third mixing rod and to receive a second received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a fourth plurality of optical fibers;
a further optical fiber having a first end affixed to the small face of one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods and a second end affixed to the small face of one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, and wherein the further optical fiber comprises a hard clad silica optical fiber;
a first loopback optical fiber directly coupled between the small face of the first mixing rod and the small face of the second mixing rod;
a second loopback optical fiber directly coupled between the small face of the third mixing rod and the small face of the fourth mixing rod;
wherein the further optical fiber is configured to communicate the first transmitted optical signal from the one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods directly to the one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods;
a still further optical fiber having a first end affixed to the small face of the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods and a second end affixed to the small face of the other one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods; and
wherein the still further optical fiber is configured to communicate the second transmitted optical signal from the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods directly to the other of the second pair of tapered mixing rods.
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Abstract
An optical network architecture can include a first pair of tapered mixing rods and a second pair of tapered mixing rods. A first plurality of plastic optical fibers is communicatively coupled from the first pair of tapered mixing rods to a first plurality of line replaceable components, and a second plurality of plastic optical fibers is communicatively coupled from the second pair of tapered mixing rods to a second plurality of line replaceable components. At least one optical fiber communicatively coupled from the first pair of tapered mixing rods to the second pair of tapered mixing rods, the at least one optical transmission line comprising a hard clad silica optical fiber.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An optical network architecture comprising:
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a first pair of tapered mixing rods comprising a first mixing rod and a second mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the first pair comprising a small face and a large face; a first plurality of line replaceable units, each of the first plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a first transmitted optical signal via one of a first plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of the first mixing rod and to receive a first received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a second plurality of optical fibers; a second pair of tapered mixing rods comprising a third mixing rod and a fourth mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the second pair comprising a small face and a large face; a second plurality of line replaceable units, each of the second plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a second transmitted optical signal via one of a third plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of third mixing rod and to receive a second received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a fourth plurality of optical fibers; a further optical fiber having a first end affixed to the small face of one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods and a second end affixed to the small face of one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, and wherein the further optical fiber comprises a hard clad silica optical fiber; a first loopback optical fiber directly coupled between the small face of the first mixing rod and the small face of the second mixing rod; a second loopback optical fiber directly coupled between the small face of the third mixing rod and the small face of the fourth mixing rod; wherein the further optical fiber is configured to communicate the first transmitted optical signal from the one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods directly to the one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods; a still further optical fiber having a first end affixed to the small face of the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods and a second end affixed to the small face of the other one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods; and wherein the still further optical fiber is configured to communicate the second transmitted optical signal from the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods directly to the other of the second pair of tapered mixing rods. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of transmitting optical signals comprising:
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receiving, by a first tapered mixing rod, optical signals from a first plurality of plastic optical fibers communicatively coupled to a first plurality of line replaceable units; directing, by the first tapered mixing rod, the optical signals received from the first plurality of plastic optical fibers along each of a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber; receiving, by a second tapered mixing rod, optical signals from the second optical fiber and a third optical fiber; and directing, by the second tapered mixing rod, the optical signals received from the second optical fiber and the third optical fiber along each of a second plurality of plastic optical fibers communicatively coupled to the first plurality of line replaceable units; wherein each of the first optical fiber and the third optical fiber comprises at least one hard clad silica optical fiber. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An aircraft optical network comprising:
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a first pair of tapered mixing rods located at a front end of the aircraft, comprising a first mixing rod and a second mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the first pair comprising a small face and a large face; a second pair of tapered mixing rods located at a back end of the aircraft, comprising a third mixing rod and a fourth mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the second pair comprising a small face and a large face; a first plurality of line replaceable units disposed at a front end of the aircraft, each of the first plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a first transmitted optical signal via one of a first plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of the first mixing rod and to receive a first received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a second plurality of optical fibers; a second plurality of line replaceable units, each of the second plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a second transmitted optical signal via one of a third plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of third mixing rod and to receive a second received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a fourth plurality of plastic optical fibers; at least one further optical fiber directly coupled from the small face of one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods to the small face of one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, wherein the at least one further optical fiber comprises a hard clad silica optical fiber and wherein directly coupled means connected without any intervening mixing rods between the ends that are coupled; a first loopback optical fiber, directly coupled between the small face of a first one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods to a small end of the other one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods; a second loopback optical fiber, directly coupled between the small end of a first one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods to a small end of the other one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods; wherein the further optical fiber is configured to communicate the first transmitted optical signal from the one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods directly to the one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods; at least one still further optical fiber directly coupled from a small end of the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods to a small end of the other of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, wherein the at least one still further optical fiber comprises a hard clad silica optical fiber; wherein the still further optical fiber is configured to communicate the second optical signal from the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods directly to the other of the second pair of tapered mixing rods. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An optical network architecture comprising:
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a first pair of tapered mixing rods comprising a first mixing rod and a second mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the first pair comprising a small face and a large face; a first plurality of line replaceable units, each of the first plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a first transmitted optical signal via one of a first plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of the first mixing rod and to receive a first received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a second plurality of optical fibers; a second pair of tapered mixing rods comprising a third mixing rod and a fourth mixing rod, each tapered mixing rod of the second pair comprising a small face and a large face; a second plurality of line replaceable units, each of the second plurality of line replaceable units configured to transmit a second transmitted optical signal via one of a third plurality of plastic optical fibers to the large face of third mixing rod and to receive a second received optical signal from the large face of the second mixing rod via one of a fourth plurality of optical fibers; a further optical fiber directly coupled from the small face of one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods to the small face of one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, the further optical fiber configured to directly communicate the first transmitted optical signal from the one of the first pair of tapered mixing rods to the one of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, the further optical fiber comprising a hard clad silica optical fiber; and a still further optical fiber directly coupled from the small face of the other of the first pair of tapered mixing rods to the small face of the other of the second pair of tapered mixing rods, the still further optical fiber configured to directly communicate the second transmitted optical signal from the other one of the first pair of mixing rods to the other of the second pair of tapered mixing rods.
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Specification