Abstract: An installation for rolling a metal strip includes a rolling mill through which the strip is rolled as it passes continuously, rolling agents brought into contact with rolls of the rolling mill and with the strip, a strip drawing unit positioned at the outlet of the rolling mill, and a decontamination module with at least one degreaser positioned between the outlet of the rolling mill and the drawing unit so as to remove residual rolling agents from the strip at the outlet from the rolling mill. A strip accumulator is positioned at the outlet of at least part of the drawing unit, particularly so as to keep the speed of travel of the strip at the outlet of the accumulator below a maximum threshold. A paper-strip insertion module is positioned downstream of the outlet from the strip accumulator.

Abstract: An installation for rolling a metal strip includes a rolling mill through which the strip is rolled as it passes continuously, rolling agents brought into contact with rolls of the rolling mill and with the strip, a strip drawing unit positioned at the outlet of the rolling mill, and a decontamination module with at least one degreaser positioned between the outlet of the rolling mill and the drawing unit so as to remove residual rolling agents from the strip at the outlet from the rolling mill. A strip accumulator is positioned at the outlet of at least part of the drawing unit, particularly so as to keep the speed of travel of the strip at the outlet of the accumulator below a maximum threshold. A paper-strip insertion module is positioned downstream of the outlet from the strip accumulator.

Abstract: Optical node (1) comprising at least one input port (PA, PC, PE) and a plurality of output ports (PB, PD, PF), at least one add unit (3B, 3D, 3F) for adding at least one signal on an output port (PB, PD, PF), a broadcasting unit (8) for broadcasting on at least two output ports (PB, PD, PF) the express traffic received on an input port (PA, PC, PE), characterized in that the broadcasting unit (8) is configured for broadcasting at least one added signal on at least two output ports (PB, PD, PF).

Abstract: A device (D2) is dedicated to controlling degradation parameters associated with signals on channels with different wavelengths, possibly arranged in bands of channels, and transmitted by transmission lines (Lj) connecting nodes (Ni) of a transparent optical communication network. The device includes processing means (PM2) adapted, in the event of transmission of signals of at least two channels or bands of channels by at least one transmission line (Lj), to measure for each of said channels or each of said bands of channels, firstly, the value of a parameter representative of the degradation of the signals on the corresponding line (Lj) and, secondly, taking account of said measured values, a power profile to be imposed on the signals so that they have predetermined degradation parameter values.

Abstract: The invention relates to a rolling mill roll with a rotating shell consisting of a tubular shell (1) rotatably mounted on a plurality of pads (3) holding the shell (1), whereby a hydrodynamic lift effect is created by introducing a lubricating fluid between the bering face (31) of the pad (3) and the internal face (13) of the shell (1). According to the invention, the bearing face (31) of each pad is provided with three hydrostatic pockets, one middle pocket (5) and two upstream (7) and downstream (6) lateral pockets, respectively, which are fed with the same fluid under a pressure sufficient to allow an additional oil flow to be introduced into the dragged out film (4) with a local pressure increase, in order to broaden—in the upstream and downstream direction—the hydrodynamic lift angular sector (4) while maintaining, throughout the length thereof, the fluid quantity required for the desired lift effect.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of monitoring the transmission of optical signals including a step of inserting a monitoring signal (S) more particularly suited to monitoring the quality of service. During the transmission of optical signals each carried by a predefined wavelength defining a transmission channel (Ci), said signals are grouped onto the same fiber in a band (B) of channels. The method then includes a step of simultaneously modulating said signals grouped in the band of channels using the monitoring signal to be transmitted, so that each of the signals constitutes a carrier of the monitoring signal.

Abstract: A reconfigurable directional optical system comprises N ports that can be configured individually as inputs or outputs. A system of this kind comprises at least one optical device having unidirectional inputs and outputs the total number of which is equal to or less than N, and an N×N optical switch such that each of the ports can be coupled interchangeably either to one of the inputs or to one of the outputs of the optical device.

Abstract: A device (D) is dedicated to controlling the power of optical signals in a transparent switching node of an optical communication network that switches bands of wavelengths. The device includes, firstly, a controller (12) for comparing input optical power measurements to a selected first threshold and generating instructions representative of the comparison result, secondly, a measuring device (10A) for delivering measurements representative of the input optical power of the optical signals at one output at least of the switch (4), and thirdly, a processor between the switch (4) and the multiplexer (6) of the node and which control the optical power of the signals coming from the switch (4) as a function of the instructions they receive, so that the optical power of the signals at the input of the multiplexer (6) is maintained substantially constant.

Abstract: Optical node (1) comprising at least one input port (PA, PC, PE) and a plurality of output ports (PB, PD, PF), at least one add unit (3B, 3D, 3F) for adding at least one signal on an output port (PB, PD, PF), a broadcasting unit (8) for broadcasting on at least two output ports (PB, PD, PF) the express traffic received on an input port (PA, PC, PE), characterised in that the broadcasting unit (8) is configured for broadcasting at least one added signal on at least two output ports (PB, PD, PF).

Abstract: An optical demultiplexer system for separating adjacent wavelength bands without losing inter-band channels and comprising a first filter stage (210) of relatively narrow passband and relatively high selectivity in order to extract all of the inter-band channels. The first stage is followed by a second filter stage (240) of relatively broad passband and relatively low selectivity to extract the wavelength bands delivered by the first filter stage. Such a system makes it possible to use the inter-band channels, in particular for managing the network and the wavelength bands.

Abstract: The invention relates to methods of upgrading optical transmission networks, upgradeable optical transmission networks, and upgradeable optical transmission nodes. The node of the invention is an upgradeable optical transmission node comprising a plurality of optical fiber transmission lines, a plurality of optical splitters (2) each having one input optical fiber transmission line (20) and a plurality of output optical fiber transmission lines (21 to 24), a plurality of optical combiners (3) each having a plurality of input optical fiber transmission lines (31 to 34) and one output optical fiber transmission line (30), at least one of the output optical fiber transmission lines (23, 24) of at least one of the optical splitters having a free end and at least one of the input optical fiber transmission lines (33, 34) of at least one of the optical combiners having a free end.

Abstract: A device (D) is dedicated to controlling the power of optical signals in a transparent switching node of an optical communication network that switches bands of wavelengths. The device (D) comprises, firstly, control means (12) for comparing input optical power measurements to a selected first threshold and generating instructions representative of the comparison result, secondly, measuring means (10?) for delivering measurements representative of the input optical power of the optical signals at one output at least of the switching means (4), and, thirdly, processing means between the switching means (4) and the multiplexing means (6) of the node and which control the optical power of the signals coming from the switching means (4) as a function of the instructions they receive, so that the optical power of the signals at the input of the multiplexing means (6) is maintained substantially constant.

Abstract: An optical demultiplexer system for separating adjacent wavelength bands without losing inter-band channels and comprising a first filter stage (210) of relatively narrow passband and relatively high selectivity in order to extract all of the inter-band channels. The first stage is followed by a second filter stage (240) of relatively broad passband and relatively low selectivity to extract the wavelength bands delivered by the first filter stage. Such a system makes it possible to use the inter-band channels, in particular for managing the network and the wavelength bands.

Abstract: A device (D2) is dedicated to controlling degradation parameters associated with signals on channels with different wavelengths, possibly arranged in bands of channels, and transmitted by transmission lines (Lj) connecting nodes (Ni) of a transparent optical communication network. The device includes processing means (PM2) adapted, in the event of transmission of signals of at least two channels or bands of channels by at least one transmission line (Lj), to measure for each of said channels or each of said bands of channels, firstly, the value of a parameter representative of the degradation of the signals on the corresponding line (Lj) and, secondly, taking account of said measured values, a power profile to be imposed on the signals so that they have predetermined degradation parameter values.

Abstract: An optical demultiplexing system demultiplexes a multiplex which has at least three levels of granularity and includes m interleaved bands of wavelengths each of which includes p wavelengths. The system includes a 1-to-m deinterleaving demultiplexer for demultiplexing the multiplex into m bands of wavelengths and a 1-to-p deinterleaving demultiplexer for demultiplexing each of the m bands into p wavelengths. The numbers m and p are mutually prime.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of and a device for detecting the flatness of a metal band product at high temperature, using a measuring roll (1) having a cylindrical external face (13) comprising an angular contact sector with the band and a free sector. According to the invention, the roll (1) is cooled down forcibly by circulating a heat exchanging fluid along at least one portion of the free sector of the external face (13) of the roll (1) and one determines the parameters responsible for the cooling efficiency such as the opening angle (B) of cooling sector, the temperature and the circulation flow rate of the heat exchanging fluid, so that the external face (13) of the roll (1) is brought back, at each revolution, to a pre-set equilibrium temperature. The invention applies especially to the hot rolling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

Abstract: The object of the invention is a process for detecting latent flatness defects in a band product (2) applied under tensile load to an angular sector (A) of measuring roll (1) comprising a plurality of detection zones (4) spaced apart each comprising a transmission sensor (3), at each rotation, of a measurement signal having a value under load (i) which is compared, at each rotation, with a reference value, in order to assess, in each longitudinal zone of the band (2), information representative of the tensile load applied in this zone.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of monitoring the transmission of optical signals including a step of inserting a monitoring signal (S) more particularly suited to monitoring the quality of service. During the transmission of optical signals each carried by a predefined wavelength defining a transmission channel (Ci), said signals are grouped onto the same fiber in a band (B) of channels. The method then includes a step of simultaneously modulating said signals grouped in the band of channels using the monitoring signal to be transmitted, so that each of the signals constitutes a carrier of the monitoring signal.

Abstract: The invention relates to a roll (1) for measuring the flatness of a band (M) comprising a tubular body (12) with a cylindrical external face (11) and a number of sensors each consisting of a feeler (2) mounted in a housing (3) provided in a recess in the thickness of the tubular body (12) and closed by a protection wall (50) whose deformations are measured by the feeler (2). According to the invention, each housing (3) is closed by a hollow piece in the shape of a lid (5) comprising a bottom made of an elastically deformable thin wall (50) and a peripheral part in the form of a bushing (53) encased without any clearance in the housing (3) and forming an embedding foot for the thin wall (50).

Abstract: A reconfigurable directional optical system comprises N ports that can be configured individually as inputs or outputs. A system of this kind comprises at least one optical device having unidirectional inputs and outputs the total number of which is equal to or less than N, and an N×N optical switch such that each of the ports can be coupled interchangeably either to one of the inputs or to one of the outputs of the optical device.