Patent ID: 8244124

Claim:
A bi-directional data cable having an electrical interface at at least a first end, the cable comprising: a cable protective housing for the cable; a first optical fiber for transmitting optical signals in a first direction from a first end of the cable to a second end of the cable; a second optical fiber for transmitting optical signals in a second direction from the second end of the cable to the first end of the cable; a transmit optical sub-assembly having an optical transmitter that is optically coupled to the first optical fiber such that when an electrical data signal is received at an electrical interface at the first end of the cable, a corresponding optical data signal is transmitted by the optical transmitter onto the first optical fiber during normal operation; and a receive optical sub-assembly having an optical receiver that is optically coupled to the second optical fiber such that when an optical data signal is received at the optical receiver, a corresponding electrical data signal is produced at the electrical interface at the first end of the cable during normal operation, wherein the first and second optical fibers, the receive optical sub-assembly and the transmit optical sub-assembly are integrated within the cable protective housing with the electrical interface at the first end of the cable being exposable for connection therewith, wherein the transmit optical sub-assembly is configured to perform the following after power-up: an act of determining whether or not the receive optical sub-assembly is detecting a loss of signal on the second optical fiber; if the loss of signal is detected on the second optical fiber, an act of intermittently disabling the optical transmitter; and if the loss of signal is not detected on the second optical fiber, an act of enabling the optical transmitter without intermittently disabling the optical transmitter at least for most of the time until the next time a loss of signal is detected on the second optical fiber.