US 4,870,637 A · Optical backplane

Abstract

The present invention relates to an optical backplane for use in a switching system or computer for interconnecting a plurality of associated circuit modules. The backplane comprises a switch which is interconnected to each of the associated circuit modules by a separate multifiber ribbon, each ribbon including (1) a plurality of transmit and receive optical fibers, and (2) an optical fiber for providing concurrent synchronization signals to each of the associated circuit modules. The switch includes a switching block for coupling parallel optical signals received from the plurality of receive optical fibers in any multifiber ribbon, transmitted by a sending module, to the transmit fibers of each of the multifiber ribbons for transmission to all of the modules associated with the optical backplane. The switch also includes a timing generation block which generates an optical timing signal that is simultaneously distributed to the separate optical fibers in each of the multifiber ribboons in order to concurrently synchronize all of the associated modules. Each of the associated modules is connected to the backplane via the separate associated optical multifiber ribbon, and includes (1) an interface logic block for interfacing an associated user circuit to the optical backplane, and (2) a means for permitting the module to contend for access to the optical backplane.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A backplane for interconnecting a plurality of N associated user circuits, wherein the backplane comprises:

a plurality of K optical couplers, each of the optical couplers includes a plurality of L input ports and a plurality of M output ports, where (1) a signal received at any one of the L input ports is distributed to each of the M output ports, (2) L can be equal to or different from M, and (3) L and M can be equal to or less than N, and each of the corresponding ones of the L input ports of the plurality of K optical couplers being both associated with a separate one of the N associated user circuits and capable of receiving a separate one of up to K parallel signals forming a transmission signal from the associated user circuit, and each of the corresponding ones of the M output ports of the plurality of K optical couplers being both associated with a separate one of the N associated user circuits and capable of transmitting a separate one of up to K parallel signals forming a transmission signal to the associated user circuit;
and
means for transmitting a timing signal concurrently to each of the N associated user circuits for synchronizing the N user circuits.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Optical backplane

Life of this patent

Optical backplane

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10