Multimedia distribution system using fiber optic lines
US6055077A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 25, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 25, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 25, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q2011/0039
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
System for distributing multimedia information from a central office to multiple subscriber premises includes an optical backbone for transmitting a plurality of optical bands from the central office into a vicinity of the subscriber premises. A controllable switch, positioned outside the subscriber premises, selects a subset of the plurality of optical bands and blocks others that are not contained within the subset, inducing the subset onto an optical transmission pathway. A receiver positioned within the subscriber premises receives at least one optical band of the subset. The controllable switch, in various embodiments, limits the information received at a subscriber premises to only the information to which the subscriber subscribes. In this manner, the need to scramble signals to prevent theft of services is eliminated, since subscribers only receive the services to which they subscribe.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.