Optical cable plug-in detection
AssigneeAvago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
InventorsAlain Zhi Shang, Chung-Yi Su
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical cable system includes switching circuitry, a resistance network, optical-to-electrical conversion circuitry, and electrical-to-optical conversion circuitry. The electrical-to-optical conversion circuitry can convert an electrical transmit signal into an optical transmit signal. When the optical-to-electrical conversion circuitry detects a received optical signal having an optical power exceeding a threshold, the optical-to-electrical conversion circuitry produces a switching signal that causes the switching circuitry to couple the resistance network to a terminal or other node associated with the electrical transmit signal, thereby changing the impedance at that node as perceived by plug-in detection circuitry of a device such as a computer or peripheral.
Claims15
An optical cable system, comprising:
- first switching circuitry configured to switch a first signal associated with a first electrical transmit signal;
- a first resistance network comprising at least one resistor coupled to the first switching circuitry and to a fixed voltage level, the first resistance network contributing to an impedance presented at a node associated with the first electrical transmit signal, the first switching circuitry switching the impedance in response to a first switching signal;
- first optical-to-electrical signal conversion circuitry configured to detect and convert a first optical receive signal into a first electrical receive signal, configured to provide the first electrical receive signal to the first mateable electrical connector, and configured to produce the first switching signal in response to detecting the optical receive signal;
- and
- first electrical-to-optical signal conversion circuitry having an input coupled to the first resistance network, the first electrical-to-optical signal conversion circuitry configured to convert the first electrical transmit signal into a first optical transmit signal.
A method of operation in an optical cable system, the optical cable system comprising first switching circuitry, a first resistance network, first optical-to-electrical signal conversion circuitry, and first electrical-to-optical signal conversion circuitry, the method comprising:
- the first electrical-to-optical signal conversion circuitry converting a first electrical transmit signal into a first optical transmit signal and providing the first optical transmit signal;
- the first optical-to-electrical signal conversion circuitry detecting and converting a first optical receive signal into a first electrical receive signal, the first optical-to-electrical signal conversion circuitry further generating a first switching signal in response to detecting the first optical receive signal;
- the first switching circuitry switching a first signal associated with the first electrical transmit signal in response to the first switching signal;
- and
- switching the impedance presented at a terminal of the first mateable electrical connector associated with the first electrical transmit signal in response to switching of first switching circuitry, a first resistance network contributing to the impedance comprising at least one resistor coupled to the first switching circuitry and to a fixed voltage level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.