Patent ID: 11860434
Assignee: TELESCENT INC.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 11:
12. A robotic fiber optic cross-connect system for configuring signal transmission of fiber interconnects across an array of bi-directional connections and comprising a multiplicity of replaceable sub-systems, wherein a reconfiguration utilizes a multi-step process of mechanical rearrangement based on an anti-collision algorithm and electronic sensing, and wherein an arbitrary reconfiguration of the array of bi-directional connections takes at least 30 seconds to complete the multi-step process, wherein the robotic fiber optic cross-connect system comprises a cleaning cartridge system, the cleaning cartridge system comprising:
a source spool of cleaning fabric;
an actuator that drives a fabric advance roller;
a pressure sensor that detects when a fiber end face is in contact with fabric and outputs a contact-indicating signal;
an internal control circuit that drives the actuator to advance the cleaning fabric in time-relation to the contact-indicating signal; and
an external controller that determines proper advance of the cleaning fabric and consumption of the cleaning fabric over time.