System of large- scale robotic fiber cross-connects using multi-fiber trunk reservation

Abstract

A large scale, non-blocking fiber optic cross-connect system consists of multiple stages, including a central multifiber per connection system. The number of ports of this cross-connect system scales to over 10,000, in an incremental, modular, field expandable approach. Two separate arrays of “edge” cross-connect systems using KBS methodology are positioned on opposite sides of a central core cross-connect system, wherein the core system is comprised of switchable blocks of multi-fiber trunk lines, each terminated in a single connector that is reconfigurable by robotic means. The trunk lines between edge cross-connects are controlled by a trunk line management system to provision/deprovision blocks of multiple connections at a time in a “core” cross-connect circuit block between edge cross-connects. The core system is configured to controllably interconnect the physically separate edge cross-connect systems which concurrently direct data along selected paths to and from the central core circuit block.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . A system for controllably switching optical signal carrying physical links among a variable plurality of optical fibers, the system comprising:
 a first plurality of physical link sorting modules, each including optical fibers that carry different ones of a plurality of separate input optical signals to different optical fiber outputs, each sorting module being constructed and adapted to respond individually to first command signals to interweave different physical links therein to selected ones of the optical fiber outputs;   a plurality of signal transferring core trunk lines receiving the optical signals from the first plurality of physical link sorting modules at different ones of a plurality of multi-fiber trunk line groupings, extending to different ones of a plurality of spaced-apart outputs via variable trunk line interconnections controlled in response to a second set of command signals;   a second plurality of physical link sorting modules constructed and adapted to receive the optical signals transported from the multi-fiber trunk lines, and also constructed and adapted to respond to third command signals to deliver optical signals received from the trunk lines to selected output terminals from each of the second plurality of physical link sorting modules; and   a control system coupled to transmit command signals to control the physical link sorting modules and configure the signal transferring core trunk lines in accordance with requirements then existing for optical signal transmission along different selected physical links.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first plurality of physical link sorting modules and the second plurality of physical link sorting modules are variable in number, and each physical link sorting module has like pluralities of separate inputs and outputs. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein each link sorting module is constructed and adapted to interweave the physical links therein between other fibers in the module without entanglement by transporting the physical links through the system in accordance with an algorithm computing physical links as mathematical strands whose spatial relationships are ordered by the mathematics of knots, braids and strands to ensure entanglement of strands is prevented. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first plurality of physical link sorting modules and the second plurality of physical link sorting modules comprise network topology managers having like numbers of optical fibers in variably determinable paths between inputs and outputs. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of signal transferring core trunk lines define a trunk line manager comprising a multiplicity of multi-fiber trunk line sets, each set comprising a fixed like number of optical fibers which is a fraction of a total number of core trunk lines in a corresponding network topology manager. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the trunk line manager variably interconnects the output terminals of a first network topology manager with input terminals of a second network topology manager in accordance with commands from the control system. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the network topology managers each have about 1,000 or more input fiber ports and 1,000 or more output fiber ports, and the trunk line manager has about the same number of multi-fiber inputs and outputs. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein each input and output is able to be interconnected by multi-fiber trunk lines. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the first and second pluralities of physical link sorting modules each comprise like numbers of network topology manager blocks, each block having a like number of inputs switchable under command signals to selected individual outputs for a given individual block, and wherein the core trunk lines are arranged in like fractional groupings of a limited number of fiber sets equaling in total the like numbers of fibers in the network topology manager blocks. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first plurality of physical link sorting modules and the second plurality of physical link sorting modules and the core trunk lines are bi-directional. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the number of first and second plurality of original physical link sorting modules can be increased and/or decreased during operation. 
     
     
         22 . A switching system for controlling a transfer of optical signals from a plurality of optical input lines to selected optical output lines as determined by control signals, comprising:
 a plurality of optical input lines arranged in a two-dimensional array in a first plane having orthogonal input axes and extending out of the first plane to a parallel second plane wherein the lines are distributed about a first central axis, the lines between the array of the first plane and the second plane being constructed and adapted in a three-dimensional first switching mechanism to be positioned by first activators in response to first control signals in accordance with a knots, braids and strands principle and responsively moved to selectable first switching positions in the first plane;   a second signal controlled multi-line and intermediate switching system coupled to the first switching positions and including multi-lines extending therefrom to a third plane, the intermediate switching system arranged in a two-dimensional array in the third plane having orthogonal input axes and extending out of the third plane to a parallel fourth plane wherein the multi-lines are distributed about a second central axis, the multi-lines between the array of the third plane and the fourth plane being constructed and adapted in a three-dimensional second switching mechanism to be positioned by second activators in response to second control signals in accordance with a knots, braids and strands principle and responsively moved to selectable second switching positions in the third plane;   a third plurality of optical lines operatively coupled to the multi-lines in the intermediate switching system and receiving signals therefrom, the plurality of optical output lines arranged in a two-dimensional array in a fifth plane having orthogonal input axes and extending out of the fifth plane to a parallel sixth plane wherein the lines are distributed about a third central axis, the lines between the array of the fifth plane and the sixth plane being constructed and adapted in a three-dimensional third switching mechanism to be positioned by third activators in response to third control signals in accordance with a knots, braids and strands principle and responsively moved to selectable third switching positions in the fifth plane; and   a central system generating control signals for: (i) the first switching mechanisms, (ii) the second switching mechanisms, and (iii) the third switching mechanisms, said control signals to control a selective transfer of optical signals through the system from input lines to output lines.   
     
     
         23 . The switching system of  claim 22 , wherein rows of the first plane, third plane, and the fifth plane are independently translatable by the activators. 
     
     
         24 . The switching system of  claim 22 , wherein the ordering of lines at the second plane, at the multi-lines at fourth plane, and at the fifth plane is fixed. 
     
     
         25 . The switching system of  claim 22 , wherein the multi-lines number 8, 12, 16, 24 or 32 fibers in a common bundle. 
     
     
         26 . The switching system of  claim 25 , wherein the multi-lines are single mode optical fiber within a common protective jacket. 
     
     
         27 . The switching system of  claim 22 , wherein the control signals cause activator motors to move. 
     
     
         28 . The switching system of  claim 22 , wherein the line and multi-line switching mechanisms each comprise a robotic arm and a connector gripper. 
     
     
         29 . The switching system of  claim 28 , wherein the connector gripper can repeatedly engage single fiber connectors or multiple fiber connectors. 
     
     
         30 . The switching system of  claim 22 , wherein the lines extending from initial coordinates in the first plane merge into a fixed one-dimensional array of locations at the second plane. 
     
     
         31 . The switching system of  claim 30 , wherein the lines extending from the initial coordinates follow substantially straight paths.