| 摘要 |
An optical fiber tap which is especially useful as a node in a local area network, especially a ring topology local area network. The tap, which does not interrupt the physical continuity of the fiber, has an open position and a closed position. In the open position, a signal passing down the optical fiber (14, 122) passes through the tap without alteration. In the closed position, a signal passing down the optical fiber is extracted through a first bend (16) which is put into the fiber by the tap; the extracted signal, or an electrical counterpart thereof, is processed and a counterpart of the extracted signal, or a new signal obtained by operating on the extracted signal, e.g. in a data processor, is injected into the fiber through a second bend (24) which is put into the fiber by the tap. The tap may also contain an attenuator (32) between the signal extractor and injector, so that only that signal injected by the tap propagates down the fiber beyond the tap. |
