US 10,230,456 B2 · Branching configuration including a cross-coupling arrangement to provide fault tolerance and topside recovery in the event of subsea umbilical assembly failure and system and method including same

Abstract

In general, a branching configuration used in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical communication system, consistent with an embodiment of the present disclosure, includes a branch path with two or more optical paths cross-coupled to each other to provide redundant add and/or drop channel wavelengths to a branch terminal on each cross-coupled path. Accordingly, a fault condition affecting some of the cross-coupled optical paths may occur physically downstream from the cross-coupling, e.g., within a subsea umbilical cable or associated termination equipment. However, so long as at least one of the cross-coupled optical paths remains operational, then branch terminal equipment in the branch terminal may continue to receive channel wavelengths associated with a faulted optical path via an operational optical path by virtue of cross-coupling. Thus, the cross-coupled configuration reduces or otherwise eliminates the necessity of allocating spare optical paths within the subsea umbilical cable.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) optical system comprising:

at least one trunk terminal configured to provide a trunk signal on a trunk path, the trunk signal occupying a plurality of channel wavelengths;
at least one branch terminal configured to provide a branch signal on a branch path, the branch signal occupying at least one channel wavelength of the plurality of channel wavelengths;
and
at least one branching configuration located in an undersea environment and coupled between the trunk path and the branch path for receiving the trunk signal and the branch signal and for adding and dropping channel wavelengths to and from the trunk path, the branching configuration comprising:
a branching unit;
and
a plurality of optical paths for communicating signals between the branching unit and the at least one branch terminal, the plurality of optical paths comprising at least a first optical path cross-coupled to a second optical path to redundantly introduce the same signals onto both the first and the second optical paths in the same direction towards the branching unit or the at least one branch terminal.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Branching configuration including a cross-coupling arrangement to provide fault tolerance and topside recovery in the event of subsea umbilical assembly failure and system and method including same

Life of this patent

Branching configuration including a cross-coupling arrangement to provide fault tolerance and topside recovery in the event of subsea umbilical assembly failure and system and method including same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20