Methods and apparatus for a passive access subnetwork
US9112635B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 13, 2012 |
| Grant date | Aug 18, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 4, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J14/021
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An access subnetwork node herein comprises one or more add-drop modules, each module including one or more passive optical filters. The one or more add-drop modules are configured to selectively drop a fixed band of wavelength channels from an access subnetwork, via a passive directional coupler, to each of multiple client nodes that actively select to receive client-specific channels within the fixed band. The one or more add-drop modules are also configured to selectively add the fixed band of wavelength channels to the access subnetwork, as received via a passive directional coupler from the multiple client nodes that actively select to transmit client-specific channels within the fixed band. With an access subnetwork node and a client node configured in this way, embodiments herein reduce the complexity and accompanying cost of nodes in an optical network, while also maintaining flexibility for assigning wavelength channels in the network.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.