Patent ID: 6931174

Claim:
An optical add/drop (OAD) device, connectable with a GBIC, for use in transmilling a light beam having a wavelength and for receiving a light beam having the same wavelength, said device comprising: a first adapter for transmitting and receiving a combined light beam, wherein the combined light beam includes an (n)-number of light beams, wherein each light beam has an identifiable wavelength λ k (λ k =λ 1 . . . λ n ); a second adapter for transmitting and receiving an intermediate light beam having light beams with wavelengths (λ 1 through λ k−1 and λ k+1 through λ n ); a means for adding a light beam having the wavelength λk to an intermediate light beam for transmission as a combined light beam from said first adapter; a means for dropping a light beam having the wavelength λ k from a combined light beam, as received by said first adapter, for direction of the light beam having the wavelength λ k to a detector, and for transmission of an intermediate light beam having wavelengths λ k+1 through λ n from said second adapter, as an intermediate light beam; and a third adapter for plugging said CAD device directly into the GBIC.