Optical cross-connect

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9788089-B2
Application number	US-201414900411-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 11, 2014
Priority date	Jun 20, 2013
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

An optical add-drop apparatus dropping a signal in input optical fibers in an optical cross-connect apparatus or adding a signal into output optical fibers from the cross-connect apparatus, optical cross-connect portions of the cross-connect apparatus connected such that a cross-connect portion internal connection output port is directly connected to an internal connection input port of another cross-connect portion and is indirectly connected via the other cross-connect portion to an internal connection output port of a further cross-connect portion, the add-drop apparatus having: photocouplers connected to part or all of the input fibers connected to each cross-connect portion; and drop signal receiving apparatuses each having optical switches each receiving and alternately selecting a signal output from photocouplers connected to respective different cross-connect portions of the cross-connect portions out of the photocouplers, the drop signal receiving apparatuses selecting a signal of a wavelength for each signal respectively output from the optical switches.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical apparatus disposed in an optical node of a network comprising:
an optical add-drop apparatus that drops a desired signal from a plurality of input optical fibers input to an optical cross-connect apparatus disposed in the optical node in the optical network or adds a desired signal into a plurality of output optical fibers output from the optical cross-connect apparatus, the optical add-drop apparatus comprising:
a plurality of photocouplers connected to a part of or all of the input optical fibers connected to each of multiple optical cross-connect portions; and
a plurality of drop signal receiving apparatuses each:
having a group of optical switches each receiving signal outputs from a group of photocouplers connected to respective different optical cross-connect portions of the multiple optical cross-connect portions out of the plurality of photocouplers and alternately selecting a signal output; and
selecting a signal of a desired wavelength for each of signals respectively output from the group of optical switches; and

the optical cross-connect apparatus including the multiple optical cross-connect portions, each optical cross-connect portion:
having wavelength selective switches routing wavelength division multiplexing signals on the basis of wavelength,
having internode connection input ports, and internode connection output ports respectively connected to a part of the plurality of input optical fibers and a part of the plurality of output optical fibers;
having an internal connection input port and an internal connection output port; and,
being connected such that an internal connection output port of a predetermined optical cross-connect portion is directly connected to an internal connection input port of another optical cross-connect portion and is indirectly connected via said another optical cross-connect portion to an internal connection output port of a further optical cross-connect portion.

2. An optical apparatus disposed in an optical node of a network comprising:
an optical add-drop apparatus that drops a desired signal from a plurality of input optical fibers input to an optical cross-connect apparatus disposed in the optical node in the optical network or adds a desired signal into a plurality of output optical fibers output from the optical cross-connect apparatus, the optical add-drop apparatus comprising:
a plurality of photocouplers connected to a part of or all of the output optical fibers connected to each of multiple optical cross-connect portions; and
a plurality of add signal sending apparatuses each having a group of optical switches
outputting a signal of a desired wavelength to any one of photocouplers in a group of photocouplers connected to respective different optical cross-connect portions of the multiple optical cross-connect portions out of the plurality of photocouplers, and
alternatively selecting a signal output; and

the optical cross-connect apparatus including the multiple optical cross-connect portions, each optical cross-connection portion:
having wavelength selective switches routing wavelength division multiplexing signals on the basis of wavelength,
having internode connection input ports, and internode connection output ports respectively connected to a part of the plurality of input optical fibers and a part of the plurality of output optical fibers;
having an internal connection input port and an internal connection output port; and
being connected such that an internal connection output port of a predetermined optical cross-connect portion is directly connected to an internal connection input port of another optical cross-connect portion and is indirectly connected via said another optical cross-connect portion to an internal connection output port of a further optical cross-connect portion.

3. The optical apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the number of groups of optical switches is equal to the number of the input optical fibers input to the optical cross-connect portion or the number of the output optical fibers output from the optical cross-connect portion.

4. The optical apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the number of groups of optical switches is equal to the number of the input optical fibers input to the optical cross-connect portion or the number of the output optical fibers output from the optical cross-connect portion.

5. The optical apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the number of fibers connected from the input optical fibers of the optical cross-connect portion to a drop signal receiving apparatus is common to all the optical cross-connect portions.

6. The optical apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the number of fibers connected from an add signal sending apparatus to the output optical fibers of the optical cross-connect portion is common to all the optical cross-connect portions.

7. The optical apparatus according to claim 5 , the number of the fibers to the drop signal receiving apparatus from the optical cross-connect portion is determined based on a rate of normalized traffic and/or a blocking rate of the optical node when a drop rate of the optical node is fixed to a predetermined value.

8. The optical apparatus according to claim 6 , the number of the fibers from the add signal sending apparatus to the optical cross-connect portion is determined based on a rate of normalized traffic and/or a blocking rate of the optical node when an add rate of the optical node is fixed to a predetermined value.

Assignees

• Japan Science & Tech Agency

Inventors

• Sato Ken-Ichi
• Hasegawa Hiroshi
• Ishida Hiroto

Classifications

• H04Q2213/1301

  Optical transmission, optical switches · CPC title

• H04J14/0219

  Modular or upgradable architectures · CPC title

• H04J14/0217

  Multi-degree architectures, e.g. having a connection degree greater than two · CPC title

• H04J14/0212

  using optical switches or wavelength selective switches [WSS] · CPC title

• H04Q2011/0015

  using splitting combining · CPC title