The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 20, 1998
Filed:
Jul. 25, 1996
Peter J Walsh, Colorado Springs, CO (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An optical power meter for a fiber optic link includes a photodetector that generates a current proportional to the energy of the light transmission in the fiber optic, a current-to-voltage converter that converts the current to a proportional voltage, and a voltage-to-frequency converter that converts the voltage to a digital pulse train proportional to the amplitude of the voltage. The digital pulse train increments a counter, which is read periodically by a microprocessor. The value read by the microprocessor corresponds to the average power in the light transmission. This digital value is converted to a power value in dBm and stored on a mass storage device and displayed on a liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display shows the power level over time so that losses due to intrinsic and extrinsic loss factors can be quickly and easily identified. The power meter also includes software executed by the microprocessor that allows the user to input a range within which the power can fluctuate. If the measured power falls outside of that range, however, the power meter sets off an audible or visual warning signal to indicate a perturbation to the fiber optic link such as a mechanical stress, connector misalignment, or a security breach.