Broadband information communications network system with coherent optical data transmission lines

Claim 3

The apparatus according to claim 1, character­ized in that said signal exchange means (24) comprises: multiplexer means (46) for decoding using a demulti­plexing scheme said electrical signals supplied from said signal input means (20); switching means (44) con­nected to said multiplexer means (46), for executing a data exchanging operation; and multiplexer means (48) connected to said switching means (44), for coding again using a multiplexing scheme output signals of said switching means (44).

Claim 4

The apparatus according to claim 2, charac­terized in that said bypass means includes direct con­nection lines (30, 42) which are larger in data transmission rate than said switching means (44).

Claim 5

The apparatus according to claim 3, character­ized by further comprising controller means (26), con­nected to said signal input means (20), said switching means (44), and said signal output means (22), for extracting said selected signals from all the input sig­nals being externally supplied to said apparatus, for supplying said switching means (44) with said selected signals, and for supplying simultaneously said bypass means with the remaining signals of said input signal.

Claim 6

The apparatus according to claim 4, character­ized in that said signal input means (20) comprises sig­nal extract means (36) for extracting a network control signal containing a destination data from said input information signals, and for sending said network con­trol signal to said controller means (26).

Claim 7

The apparatus according to claim 5, character­ized in that said controller means (26) controls the signal exchanging operation of said switching means (44) in response to said network control signal (Snc).

Claim 8

A signal processing method applied to an opti­cal information communications system (10) including a selected number of terminal stations (12) which bidirec­tionally communicate with one another by optical data transmission lines, characterized in that said method comprises the steps of: disassembling optical informa­tion signals, which are time-division multiplexed and optical frequency-division multiplexed when transmitted to a certain terminal station (12i) from certain ones of the other associating terminal stations (12), into a number of electrical time-division multiplexed information signals; selecting specific signals from among said electrical time-division multiplexed informa­tion signals in accordance with a predetermined algorithm; supplying said specific signals to a signal exchange section (24) provided inside said certain ter­minal station, which executes a line exchanging opera­tion for said specific signals thereby to generate exchanged electrical time-division multiplexed informa­tion signals; optical frequency-division mutiplexing the exchanged electrical time-division multiplexed informa­tion signals to produce optical frequency-division and time-division multiplexed information signals, which are then supplied to corresponding ones of external signal transmission lines provided for said certain terminal station (12i); and directly sending outward from said certain terminal station (12i) the remaining ones of said electrical time-division multiplexed information signals to said signal output means (22) without through said signal exchange section (24) in said certain termi­nal station (12i).

Claim 9

A signal processing method applied to an opti­cal information communications system (10) including a selected number of terminal stations (12) which bidirec­tionally communicate with one another by optical data transmission lines, characterized in that said method comprises the steps of: disassembling optical informa­tion signals, which are time-division multiplexed and optical frequency-division multiplexed when transmitted to a certain terminal station (12i) from certain ones of the other associating terminal stations (12), into a number of electrical time-division multiplexed information signals; selecting specific signals from among said electrical time-division multiplexed informa­tion signals in accordance with a predetermined algorithm; supplying said specific signals to a signal exchange section (24) provided inside said certain ter­minal station, which executes a line exchanging opera­tion for said specific signals thereby to generate exchanged electrical time-division multiplexed informa­tion signals; optical frequency-division mutiplexing the exchanged electrical time-division multiplexed informa­tion signals to produce optical frequency-division and time-division multiplexed information signals, which are then supplied to corresponding ones of external signal transmission lines provided for said certain terminal station (12i); and directly sending outward from said certain terminal station (12i) the remaining ones of said electrical time-division multiplexed information signals to said signal output means (22) without through said signal exchange section (24) in said certain termi­nal station (12i).

Claim 10

The method according to claim 7, characterized in that a predetermined kind of information signals of said electrical time-division multiplexed information signals are prevented from being transferred to said signal exchange section (24), said certain signals being externally transmitted in such a form as they are disassembled.

Claim 11

The method according to claim 8, characterized in that said predetermined kind of information signals are larger in their transmission rate than said specific information signals being moved through said line exchange section (24) inside said certain terminal station (12i).

Claim 12

The method according to claim 9, characterized in that an amount of said predetermined kind of informa­tion signals is more than half the total amount of input information signals of said certain terminal station (12i).

Claim 13

A method according to claim 10, characterized in that a control signal (Snc) is generated to represent the destination data of each of said information sig­nals, said control signal being externally transmitted in a predetermined optical frequency to a target termi­nal station prior to the transmission of said informa­tion signals.