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US 2015/0318948 A1Published application
System and Method for Monitoring Filters in an Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer
AssigneeTyco Electronics Subsea Communications LLC
InventorsFranklin Webb Kerfoot, III, Lara Denise Garrett
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for monitoring one or more filter configurations in an optical add-drop multiplexer for detecting faults in the filter configurations. A monitoring system is configured to filter the outputs of the filter configurations using one or more of a plurality of predetermined filter shapes corresponding to intended add, through, drop and/or branch through channels. The monitoring system detects power passing through the filter shapes to detect faults in the filter configurations.
Claims17
An optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
- a trunk filter configuration configured to receive a wavelength division multiplex (WDM) trunk signal comprising one or more through channels and one or more drop channels, the trunk filter configuration being nominally configured to pass the through channels onto a through traffic path and the drop channels onto a drop traffic path;
- a branch filter configuration configured to receive a WDM branch signal comprising one or more add channels and one or more branch through channels, the branch filter configuration being nominally configured to pass the add channels onto an add traffic path and the branch through channels onto a branch through traffic path;
- and
- a monitoring system configured to filter at least one of:
- the through channels passed onto the through traffic path;
- the drop channels passed onto the drop traffic path;
- the add channels passed onto the add traffic path;
- the branch through channels passed onto the branch through traffic path;
- boundary channels at a boundary between the add channels and the through channels or boundary channels at a boundary between the drop channels and the branch through channels, using at least one predetermined filter shape, the monitoring system being further configured to detect power in channels passed through the at least one predetermined filter shape.
6 more elements
An optical add-drop multiplexer, comprising:
- a trunk filter configuration configured to receive a wavelength division multiplex (WDM) trunk signal comprising one or more through channels and one or more drop channels, the trunk filter configuration being nominally configured to pass the through channels onto a through traffic path and the drop channels onto a drop traffic path;
- a branch filter configuration configured to receive a WDM branch signal comprising one or more add channels and one or more branch through channels, the branch filter configuration being nominally configured to pass the add channels onto an add traffic path and the branch through channels onto a branch through traffic path;
- a trunk coupler configuration coupled to the through traffic path and the add traffic path and configured to combine channels on the through traffic path and the add traffic path into an aggregate trunk output signal;
- a branch coupler configuration coupled to the branch through traffic path and the drop traffic path and configured to combine channels on the branch through traffic path and the drop traffic path into an aggregate branch output signal;
- and
- a monitoring system configured to filter at least one of a trunk monitor signal representative of the aggregate trunk output signal and a branch monitor signal representative of the aggregate branch output signal using a plurality of predetermined filter shapes, each of the plurality of predetermined filter shapes being configured to pass the add channels, the through channels, the drop channels, the branch through channels, boundary channels at a boundary between the add channels and through channels or boundary channels at a boundary between the drop channels and the branch through channels, the monitoring system being further configured to detect power in channels passed through the plurality of predetermined filter shapes.
3 more elements
A method of monitoring trunk and branch filter configurations in an optical add-drop multiplexer, the method comprising:
- coupling the output of the trunk filter configuration and the output of the branch filter configuration to a monitoring system;
- filtering the output of the trunk filter configuration and the branch filter configuration using associated predetermined filter shapes, each of the predetermined filter shapes being configured to pass intended add channels, through channels, drop channels, branch through channels, boundary channels at a boundary between the intended add channels and the intended through channels or boundary channels at a boundary between the intended drop channels and the intended branch through channels;
- and
- detecting power passing through the predetermined filter shapes.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.