Patent ID: 7333727

Claim:
A reconfigurable, multi-user optical communications network, with low latency time, comprising: a first transmitter configured to generate a first brightness-modulated light signal from a first digital data signal, a second transmitter configured to generate a second brightness-modulated light signal from a second digital data signal optical means configured to combine and transport the first and second light signals to at least one receiver, wherein each of the first and second transmitters comprise, a pseudo-random code generator configured to transmit a code generated from a predetermined software key, means to encode the data signal with said code and configured to output an encoded digital signal, light emission means, comprising a multimode light source whose optical power is directly modulated by a signal consisting of the encoded digital signal to generate a corresponding encoded light signal, and wherein the at least one receiver comprises, direct optical detection means configured to generate an analog electrical signal characteristic of the sum of the combined first and second light signals transmitted, a pseudo-random code generator identical to the pseudo-random code generator of either the first and second transmitter, and means to decode said analog signal using a code transmitted by said code generator with a key identical to the predetermined software key associated with at least one of the first and second transmitters and configured to recreate the data signal intended for the user.