Patent ID: 7272314

Claim:
An optical crossconnect apparatus, comprising: a plurality of optical signal input units which receive optical signals from optical transmission paths, respectively, a plurality of optical signal output units which transmit optical signals to other optical transmission paths, respectively, an optical signal switching unit which sets arbitrarily an optical signal path between a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs in which part of the plurality of inputs are connected to the respective optical signal input units and part of the plurality of outputs are connected to the respective optical signal output units, which provides an optical signal path between the optical signal switching unit providing optical signal paths between the optical signal input units and the optical signal output units; a first optical signal repeater, which is connected to a first output and a first input of the optical signal switching unit, receives an optical signal from the first output, and applies a predetermined process to the received optical signal to be supplied to the first input; a second optical signal repeater, which is connected to a second output and a second input of the optical signal switching unit, receives an optical signal from the second output, and applies a predetermined process to the received optical signal to be supplied to the second input; and a control unit which provides optical paths between the inputs and the outputs of the optical signal switching unit and monitors the first optical signal repeater and the second optical repeater, wherein when the optical signal switching unit supplies an optical signal from an arbitrary input to the first output and supplies the optical signal which passed through the first optical signal repeater from the first input to an arbitrary output, the control unit sets an optical path between the arbitrary input and the second output and between the second input and the arbitrary output in order to use the second optical signal repeater, when the first optical signal repeater has a failure and the control unit recognizes the second optical repeater as being in a normal condition.