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US 5,517,383 AGranted
Branching unit for submarine systems
AssigneeSTC Submarine Systems Limited
InventorStephen M. Webb
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSTC Submarine Systems Limited
InventorStephen M. Webb
Estimating the term…
A branching unit for use in submarine telecommunications optical cable systems which employs electrical power feeding for repeater/regenerators of the cable system, in particular a system employing multiple branching units. The unit terminates three line cables (at 1, 2, 3) and a sea earth (at 4) and includes first, second the third high voltage relays (A, A1, B, B1, C, C1), only one of which is energized at a time. When electrical power is supplied between any two line terminations, e.g. 1 and 3, an associated relay coil, e.g. C is energized so that its contacts C1 isolate the third line termination, e.g. 2, and connect it to the sea earth termination (4) via fourth, or fifth, relay contacts (D1, E1 ). The branching unit also includes a plurality of optical regenerators, for optical path switching purposes, which require electrical power feeding and whose power feed circuits 20 are connected in parallel with each of the relay coils. When any relay is energized, i.e. the cable system is powered up, the regenerators are also powered. The zener diodes (21) provide voltage supply to the regenerator power feed circuits as well as providing surge protection for them and the relay coils simultaneously. The fourth-and fifth relays (D, D1, E, E1) serve to prevent arc transfer in the first, second and third relays (FIG. 4).
A branching unit for use in submarine telecommunications optical cable systems employing electrical power feeding, the unit having a respective termination for each of three line cables and a termination for a sea earth, a plurality of optical regenerators requiring electrical power feeding and including a plurality of power feed circuits connected in series with one another, first, second and third electrical relays connected to said power feed circuits and only one of said relays being energisable at a time, and a fourth electrical relay connected to said first, second and third electrical relays, and said electrical relays being connected such that when electrical power is supplied between any pair of line cable terminations the third line cable termination is coupled to the sea earth via the fourth relay which is powered by said electrical power to thereby isolate the third line cable termination from said pair of line cable terminations, and the plurality of power feed circuits of the optical regenerators are disposed in series between said pair of line cable terminations to achieve power feeding of the optical regenerators.
A branching unit for use in submarine telecommunications optical cable systems employing electrical power feeding, the unit having a respective termination for each of three line cables and a termination for a sea earth, a plurality of optical regenerators requiring electrical power feeding and including a plurality of power feed circuits connected in series with one another, first, second and third electrical relays connected to said power feed circuits and only one of said relays being energisable at a time, and fourth and fifth electrical relays connected to said first, second and third electrical relays, the fourth and fifth relays having relay coils arranged in series and the series arranged relay coils being PG,20 arranged in parallel with the plurality of power feed circuits, and including means for operating the fourth relay if current flow is in one direction between a pair of said terminations and for operating the fifth relay if current flow is in an opposite direction to said one direction between said pair of terminations, and including means such that when electrical power is supplied between any pair of line cable terminations the third line cable termination coupled to the sea earth via the fourth relay which is powered by said electrical power to thereby isolate the third line cable termination from said pair of line cable terminations, and the plurality of power feed circuits of the optical regenerators are disposed in series between said pair of line cable terminations to achieve power feeding of the optical regenerators.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.