US Patent 11914191 Optical branching/coupling device and optical branching/coupling method

To provide an optical branch coupler which facilitates communizing the design of an optical transmission path, the optical branch coupler comprising: a first add drop unit for outputting a third optical signal to a first line in which a first optical signal received from the first line and a second optical signal inserted into the first line are multiplexed and outputting the first optical signal; and a second add drop unit for receiving the first optical signal, receiving a sixth optical signal from a second line different from the first line in which a fourth optical signal and a fifth optical signal dropped from the second line are wavelength multiplexed, demultiplexing the fourth and fifth optical signals, and outputting a seventh optical signal to the second line in which the fourth optical signal and the first optical signal transmitted by the first add drop unit are multiplexed.