Patent ID: 7013059

Claim:
A method for protecting data signals comprising: transmitting the data signals bi-directionally between first and second optical switching devices via at least two operational optical conductor sets each including first and second optical conductor; determining a data signal interference in a failed operational optical conductor of one of the at least two operational optical conductor sets in a receiving device of the first optical switching device; switching the data signals from the failed operational optical conductor of the one of the at least two sets of operational optical conductors in which failure is determined to a stand-by optical conductor set in the first optical switching device; determining a data signal failure, due to the switching of the data signals, in the second operational optical conductor of the failed operational optical conductor set, with the second optical switching device and switching the data signal of the failed operational optical conductor set in the second optical switching device to the stand-by optical conductor set; transmitting the data signal bi-directionally between the first and second optical switching devices via the stand-by optical conductor set; and switching the data signals of the failed operational optical conductor set to the stand-by optical conductor set according to an allocated priority in the event of an interference failure of a plurality of the at least two sets operational optical conductor sets connected to the first and second optical switching devices.