US 5,206,753 A · Optical switching system

Abstract

An optical switching unit requiring no optical-to-electrical conversions on optical data paths being switched through the optical switching unit. The optical switching unit receives optical data information from one terminal and switches it to another terminal. The optical switching unit frame synchronizes the data transmission timing of the terminals in accordance with the data transmission timing of the optical switching unit. This frame synchronization eliminates the need to provide data buffering and frame synchronization in the optical switching unit. The optical switching unit comprises an optical network, system clock, optical input interfaces for receiving information from terminals, and optical output interfaces for transmitting information to terminals. The system clock determines the timing of each terminal using information transmitted to an optical input interface by the terminal. If the timing of a terminal does not match that of the system clock, the system clock blocks the transfer of data information by the optical input interface to the optical network and transmits timing information to the terminal via an optical output interface. If the timing matches, the system clock signals the optical input interface to communicate the data information to the optical network which switches the data information to optical output interfaces for transmission to terminals.

Claims14

Dependent claims

An optical system having all optical communication paths for communication of data, comprising:

a plurality of terminals;
a plurality of optical links;
an optical switching unit for providing all optical communication paths between one of said plurality of terminals and another one of said plurality of terminals via said optical links;
means physically located with said optical switching unit and interconnected to said plurality of optical links responsive to information transmitted via said optical links from said plurality of terminals for synchronizing the internal timing of said plurality of terminals with that of said optical switching unit;
and
said synchronizing means comprises means for blocking data information from one of said plurality of terminals not in synchronization with said optical switching unit from being switched by said optical switching unit.

3 more elements

An optical switching unit for interconnecting terminals via a plurality of input optical links and a plurality of output optical links, comprising:

a plurality of optical input interfaces each connected to one of said plurality of input optical links and;
a plurality of optical output interfaces each connected to one of said plurality of output optical links;
an optical network for interconnecting one of said plurality of optical input interfaces and one of said plurality of optical output interfaces to create an all optical communication path through said one of said plurality of optical input interfaces and said one of said plurality of optical output interfaces and said optical network;
means physically located with said optical network and interconnected to said plurality of optical links responsive to information received from each of said terminals for synchronizing the timing of each of said terminals with that of said optical switching unit via said plurality of output optical links
said synchronizing means comprises means for determining the timing of said terminals via said plurality of input optical links;
and
means responsive to determination of incorrect timing for adjusting the timing of said terminals via said plurality of output optical links.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Optical switching system

Life of this patent

Optical switching system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14