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US 7,741,606 B2Granted
Motor driven variable optical attenuator with IR sensor closed-loop control
AssigneeAlliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc.
InventorsXinzhong Wang, Yao Li, Andy Zhou
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Abstract
Attenuators used to regulate optical signals are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, an assembly including an IR source and an IR sensor is provided to sense blockage of optical signals transmitted between two collimators via a fixed common light blocker that is driven by a stepper motor. The movement of the light blocker is sensed by a sensing assembly including an IR source and IR sensor. By detecting the photocurrent from the IR sensor and a feedback circuit, the attenuation of the optical signals can be well controlled.
Claims21
An attenuator comprising:
- an enclosed case;
- an input collimator and an output collimator mounted though the case;
- a sensing assembly, housed in the case, including an IR source and an IR sensor, wherein the IR source projects an IR beam at the IR sensor;
- and
- a light blocker actuated by a motor to block some or all of the light beam projected from the input collimator to the output collimator according to an attenuation requirement, wherein a movement of the light blocker is sensed by detecting how much the IR beam is being blocked by the light blocker to indicate how much the light beam has been attenuated by the light blocker, wherein the sensing assembly outputs a photocurrent that is digitized for analysis in a microcontroller that in return provides a control signal to drive the motor controlling the light blocker.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.