Patents by Inventor Andrew Niall Robinson
Andrew Niall Robinson has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 7218442Abstract: An optical communications system initiates automatic power reduction by selecting a portion of a Raman optical pumping signal from optical signals propagating on an optical fiber span. A signal related to a magnitude of the selected portion of the Raman optical pumping signal is generated. Power of at least one of the optical data signals and the optical pumping signals propagating in the optical fiber span is reduced in response to the generated signal.Type: GrantFiled: March 4, 2005Date of Patent: May 15, 2007Assignee: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: Enis Akbaba, John Jacob, Andrew Niall Robinson, John Zyskind, Erik Robert Thoen
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Patent number: 7173756Abstract: An optical communications system includes a plurality of optical fiber spans. An optical loss of one of the plurality of optical fiber spans is different from an optical loss of another one of the plurality of optical fiber spans. At least one of the plurality of optical fiber spans includes an optical loss that is greater than or equal to 35 dB and at least one of the plurality of optical fiber spans includes an optical loss that is less than 30 dB. An optical amplification system includes at least one discrete optical amplifier, at least one distributed optical amplifier, and an optical loss element. The optical amplification system has spectral gain that compensates for substantially all losses experienced by the optical signals propagating in the plurality of optical fiber spans.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2005Date of Patent: February 6, 2007Assignee: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: John Zyskind, Andrew Niall Robinson, Seo Yeon Park, Clement Dowd Burton, John Jacob, Erik Robert Thoen
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Patent number: 6704510Abstract: A fiber optic communications link having PMD characterization across multiple optical channels to identify PMD problems. The communications link has adaptive PMD controls employed along the optical link, whereby PMD phenomena detected by instruments, such as PMD compensators, are interpreted as being either attributable to perturbation of fiber characteristics at large, or by failure of PMD equipment along the link. The present invention avoids taking unnecessary control or maintenance actions upon PMD related controllers and compensators. PMD notifications from various PMD compensators are correlated to identify which portion of the link has undergone a change in polarization characteristics to further identify PMD related errors and problems.Type: GrantFiled: November 27, 2001Date of Patent: March 9, 2004Assignee: WorldCom, Inc.Inventors: Andrew Niall Robinson, Xiaoping Charles Mao
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Patent number: 6493116Abstract: A fiber optic communications link having PMD characterization across multiple optical channels to identify PMD problems. The communications link has adaptive PMD controls employed along the optical link, whereby PMD phenomena detected by instruments, such as PMD compensators, are interpreted as being either attributable to perturbation of fiber characteristics at large, or by failure of PMD equipment along the link. The present invention avoids taking unnecessary control or maintenance actions upon PMD related controllers and compensators. PMD notifications from various PMD compensators are correlated to identify which portion of the link has undergone a change in polarization characteristics to further identify PMD related errors and problems.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 1999Date of Patent: December 10, 2002Assignee: MCI WorldCom, Inc.Inventors: Andrew Niall Robinson, Xiaoping Charles Mao
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Publication number: 20020036811Abstract: A fiber optic communications link having PMD characterization across multiple optical channels to identify PMD problems. The communications link has adaptive PMD controls employed along the optical link, whereby PMD phenomena detected by instruments, such as PMD compensators, are interpreted as being either attributable to perturbation of fiber characteristics at large, or by failure of PMD equipment along the link. The present invention avoids taking unnecessary control or maintenance actions upon PMD related controllers and compensators. PMD notifications from various PMD compensators are correlated to identify which portion of the link has undergone a change in polarization characteristics to further identify PMD related errors and problems.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 27, 2001Publication date: March 28, 2002Inventors: Andrew Niall Robinson, Xiaoping Charles Mao
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Patent number: 6317232Abstract: An all-optical system for regenerating a first optical signal carried in a first direction on an optical transmission medium and a second optical signal carried in a second direction on the optical transmission medium includes a bi-directional clock recovery loop and a bi-directional optical gate. The bi-directional clock recovery loop includes a first optical clock recovery circuit for recovering a first clock signal from the first optical signal and a second optical circuit for recovering a second clock signal from the second optical signal. The first and second optical circuits of the clock recovery loop share at least some common optical circuit elements. The bi-directional optical gate includes a first non-linear optical light mirror circuit for producing a first regenerated signal based on the first optical signal and the first clock signal and a second non-linear optical light mirror circuit for producing a second regenerated signal based on the second optical signal and the second clock signal.Type: GrantFiled: March 25, 1998Date of Patent: November 13, 2001Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: John A. Fee, Andrew Niall Robinson
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Patent number: 6157477Abstract: A bidirectional chromatic dispersion system includes an optical circulator that includes four ports. A first port is coupled to a first optical transmission medium and a third port is coupled to the second optical transmission medium. A first dispersion compensating grating is coupled to a second port, and a second dispersion compensating grating is coupled to a fourth port. The first dispersion compensating grating is operative to reflect wavelengths in a first optical band, and the second dispersion compensating grating is operative to reflect wavelengths in a second optical band. The first dispersion compensating grating is substantially transparent to wavelengths in the second optical band, and the second dispersion compensating grating is substantially transparent to wavelengths in the first optical band. The first dispersion compensating grating is coupled to the second port of the optical circulator through the second dispersion compensating grating and a dispersion compensating fiber.Type: GrantFiled: May 27, 1998Date of Patent: December 5, 2000Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationsInventor: Andrew Niall Robinson
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Patent number: 5822100Abstract: A polarization mode compensation system and method using optical switch elements to establish incremental delays between different polarization modes of an optical data signal is provided. A polarization mode separator separates the optical data signal into first and second orthogonally polarized optical signals. A first variable switching delay element provides a first incremental propagation delay for the first polarized optical signal. A second variable switching delay element provides a second incremental propagation delay for the second polarized optical signal. The first and second variable switching delay elements consist of a series of optical switches optically interconnected by different incremental lengths of optical fiber. For example, 2.times.2 optical switches are provided for switching between a reference fiber segment and a respective delay fiber segment to provide a relative incremental propagation delay.Type: GrantFiled: June 26, 1996Date of Patent: October 13, 1998Assignee: MCI Communications CorporationInventors: Andrew Niall Robinson, John A. Fee
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Patent number: 5726788Abstract: An optical interface device dynamically reconfigures a telecommunications network. The device includes an optically switched backplane connected between two stages of an optical tapped amplifier. Various modules may be plugged into the backplane for performing selective processing of the optical signal without any signal conversion to electrical domain. The modules are electrically controlled by a controller, which is also a module, overseeing the operations upon the optical signal by other modules.Type: GrantFiled: September 30, 1996Date of Patent: March 10, 1998Assignee: MCI CorporationInventors: John A. Fee, Shoa-Kai Liu, Andrew Niall Robinson, Reddy Urimindi