Dense shuttered fiber optic connectors and assemblies suitable for establishing optical connections for optical backplanes in equipment racks

Description

BACKGROUND
Field of the Disclosure

The technology of the disclosure relates to dense fiber optic connectors, and related fiber optic components, housings, and modules for facilitating optical connections for information processing modules (e.g., a server blade) disposed in an equipment rack.

Technical Background

A data center is a facility used to remotely house computer systems and associated components. These systems may be used for a variety of purposes. Examples include telecommunications such as telecommunications and storage systems applications, server farms for web page accesses, remote storage, such as for backup storage purposes, and providing access to Enterprise applications. To provide for efficient management of these computer systems, data centers include equipment racks, such as the equipment rack 10 illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, the equipment rack 10 in FIG. 1 is comprised of rails 12A, 12B extending in a vertical direction and spaced a distance apart to support a plurality of modular housings 14 disposed between the rails 12A, 12B in vertical space for efficient use of data center space. The modular housings 14 are configured to support information processing devices 16, such as computer servers and data storage devices, as examples, in the form of cards 18, also referred to as “blades 18.” The blades 18 may be printed circuit boards (PCBs) containing computer-based components and electrical traces for connections between components. The modular housings 14 may also include a backplane (not shown) connected to power and other data transfer devices which are coupled to the information processing devices 16 when installed in the modular housing 14 and connected to the backplane.

As the demand for access to remote applications and data storage increases, it will be desirable to find ways to increase computational power and data throughput of data center computer devices. It will be desirable to find ways to increase computational power and data throughput of data center computer devices without necessarily having to increase floor space of data centers.

SUMMARY

Embodiments disclosed herein include dense shuttered fiber optic connectors and assemblies suitable for establishing optical connections for optical backplanes in equipment racks. In this regard in one embodiment, a fiber optic connector assembly is provided. The fiber optic connector assembly comprises a fiber optic connector. The fiber optic connector assembly also comprises a slideable shutter disposed in the fiber optic connector. The slideable shutter has an opening(s) configured to be aligned with a plurality of optical fibers disposed in the fiber optic connector in an open position, and configured to block access to the plurality of optical fibers disposed in the fiber optic connector in a closed position. The fiber optic connector assembly also comprises an actuation member coupled to the slideable shutter configured to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.

In another embodiment, a method of providing access to a plurality of lenses in a fiber optic connector assembly is provided. The fiber optic connector assembly may be a fiber optic connector assembly configured to support a high density fiber count. The method comprises providing a fiber optic connector. The fiber optic connector comprises a fiber optic connector body having a first end, a second end, and an internal chamber disposed between the first end and the second end. The fiber optic connector also comprises a fiber optic ferrule comprising a plurality of lenses. The fiber optic ferrule is disposed through a first end of the fiber optic connector body and extending in the internal chamber. The fiber optic connector also comprises a slideable shutter disposed adjacent an end face of the fiber optic ferrule. The slideable shutter has at least one opening configured to be aligned with the plurality of lenses in the fiber optic ferrule in an open position, and configured to block access to the plurality of lenses in the fiber optic ferrule in a closed position. The fiber optic connector also comprises an actuation member coupled to the slideable shutter. The actuation member is configured to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position. The method also comprises actuating the actuation member to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.

In another embodiment, a fiber optic connector assembly is provided. The fiber optic connector assembly comprises a fiber optic plug having a plurality of plug lens chambers. The fiber optic plug comprises a fiber optic plug body. The fiber optic plug also comprises a fiber optic plug ferrule comprising a plurality of plug fiber openings. The fiber optic plug ferrule is disposed in the fiber optic plug body wherein the plurality of plug fiber openings are optically aligned with the plurality of plug lens chambers. The fiber optic plug also comprises a slideable plug shutter having at least one opening configured to be aligned with the plurality of plug lens chambers in the fiber optic plug body in an open position. The slideable plug shutter is configured to block access to the plurality of plug lens chambers in the fiber optic plug body in a closed position. The fiber optic plug also comprises a plug actuation member coupled to the slideable plug shutter. The plug actuation member is configured to move the slideable plug shutter from the closed position to the open position.

This fiber optic connector assembly also comprises a fiber optic receptacle. The fiber optic receptacle comprises a fiber optic receptacle body having a plurality of receptacle lens chambers. The fiber optic receptacle also comprises a fiber optic receptacle ferrule comprising a plurality of receptacle fiber openings. The fiber optic receptacle ferrule is disposed in the fiber optic receptacle body wherein the plurality of receptacle fiber openings are optically aligned with the plurality of receptacle lens chambers. The fiber optic receptacle also comprises a slideable receptacle shutter having at least one opening configured to be aligned with the plurality of receptacle lens chambers in the fiber optic receptacle body in an open position, and configured to block access to the plurality of receptacle lens chambers in the fiber optic receptacle body in a closed position. The fiber optic receptacle also comprises a receptacle actuation member coupled to the slideable receptacle shutter. The receptacle actuation member is configured to move the slideable receptacle shutter from the closed position to the open position. The fiber optic connector assembly also comprises a mating actuation member disposed on at least one of the fiber optic plug body and fiber optic receptacle body, the mating actuation member configured to engage with at least one of the receptacle actuation member and the plug actuation member, respectively to actuate the at least one of the receptacle actuation member and the plug actuation member, respectively to move at least one of the slideable receptacle shutter and slideable plug shutter, respectively, from the closed position to the open position when the fiber optic plug is mated to the fiber optic receptacle.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detailed description which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing the embodiments as described herein, including the detailed description that follows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description present embodiments, and are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the disclosure. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments, and together with the description serve to explain the principles and operation of the concepts disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an exemplary equipment rack supporting rack module housings each supporting a plurality of information processing modules;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of exemplary information processing modules disposed in rack module housings disposed in an equipment rack, with optical backplane extension modules directly optically connected to information processing modules in the rear of the rack module housings;

FIG. 2B is a rear perspective view of the optical backplane extension modules in FIG. 2A optically connected in the rear of the rack module housings to the information processing modules;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the optical backplane extension modules in FIG. 2B optically connected in the rear of the rack module housings to information processing modules, with the doors of the optical backplane extension modules open to show the interior routing and cable management space in the optical backplane extension modules;

FIG. 4A is a right side perspective view of the optical backplane extension module in FIG. 2B optically connected to the information processing modules in the rear of a rack module housing;

FIG. 4B is a right side perspective view of the information processing modules in FIG. 4A with rack module housing removed, and illustrating an exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly facilitating direct optical connections to the information processing modules through the optical backplane extension module in FIGS. 2A-3;

FIG. 4C is a close-up view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly in FIG. 4B;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly in FIG. 4B comprised of dense information processing module fiber optic receptacles (“blade fiber optic receptacles”) configured to receive and optically connect to dense optical backplane extension module fiber optic plugs (“backplane fiber optic plugs”);

FIG. 6A is a close-up perspective view of the backplane fiber optic plugs in FIG. 5;

FIG. 6B is a close-up perspective view of the blade fiber optic receptacles in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7A is a perspective exploded view of the backplane fiber optic plugs in FIGS. 5 and 6A;

FIG. 7B schematically depicts a method for laser processing a plurality of optical fibers disposed in the backplane fiber optic plugs in FIG. 7A using a protection element disposed between a first row and a second row of optical fibers;

FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view of the blade fiber optic receptacles in FIGS. 5 and 6B;

FIG. 9A is a perspective quarter cut view of an exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly configured to support GRIN lenses that may be employed in the blade fiber optic receptacles in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8;

FIG. 9B is a perspective cross-section view of an exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly supporting blind holes and lenses that may be employed in the blade fiber optic receptacles in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are right side perspective views of the shuttered fiber optic receptacles that can be employed as the blade fiber optic receptacles in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8 with the slideable shutters disposed in open and closed positions, respectively;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are rear perspective views of another exemplary shuttered fiber optic receptacle that can be employed as the blade fiber optic receptacles in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8 with the slideable shutter disposed in closed and open positions, respectively;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are side cross-sectional views of the shuttered fiber optic receptacles in FIGS. 11A, and 11B, respectively, illustrating the slideable shutter disposed in closed and open positions, respectively;

FIG. 13A is a rear perspective view of an exemplary shuttered fiber optic plug that can be employed as the backplane fiber optic plug in FIGS. 5, 6A, and 7 with the slideable shutter disposed in a closed position;

FIG. 13B is a rear perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic plug in FIG. 13A, with an actuation mechanism of the slideable shutter actuated to dispose the slideable shutter in an open position;

FIG. 13C is a close-up view of the slideable shutter actuated to dispose the slideable shutter in an open position in FIG. 13B;

FIG. 14 is a rear perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic plug illustrated in FIG. 13A;

FIG. 15A is a side perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic receptacle in FIGS. 11A and 11B with the actuation members unactuated to place the slideable shutters in closed positions before the shuttered fiber optic receptacle receipt of the fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 13A-14;

FIG. 15B is a side perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic receptacle in FIGS. 11A and 11B with the actuation members actuated to place the slideable shutters in open positions as the shuttered fiber optic receptacle receives and is mated with the fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 13A-14;

FIG. 16A is a right side perspective view of the front of a rack module housing with information processing modules disposed therein;

FIG. 16B is a right side perspective view of the information processing modules in FIG. 16A without the rack module housing illustrated, and illustrating another exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly to facilitate optical connections to the information processing modules through the optical backplane extension module in FIGS. 2A-3;

FIG. 17A is a side perspective view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly in FIG. 16B comprising a blade fiber optic plug configured to receive a backplane fiber optic plug;

FIG. 17B is a side perspective view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly in FIG. 16B with the blade fiber optic plug receiving the backplane fiber optic plug;

FIG. 18A is a side perspective, exploded view of another exemplary blade fiber optic receptacle and backplane fiber optic plug of a dense fiber optic connector assembly;

FIG. 18B is another close-up perspective, exploded view of the blade fiber optic receptacle and backplane fiber optic plug of the dense fiber optic connector assembly in FIG. 18A;

FIG. 19 is another close-up view of the blade fiber optic receptacle and backplane fiber optic plug of the dense fiber optic connector assembly in FIGS. 18A and 18B;

FIGS. 20A and 20B are front and rear views, respectively, of an exemplary molded fiber optic plug body that may be employed in a dense fiber optic connector assembly;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the molded fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 20A and 20B, respectively;

FIG. 22A is a close-up view of the rear perspective view of lead-in detail of the molded fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 20A and 20B;

FIG. 22B is a close-up cutaway view of the lead-in detail of the molded fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 20A and 20B;

FIG. 23A is a front perspective view of an intermediate organizer ferrule configured to facilitate fiber ribbonization and be disposed in the molded fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 20A and 20B;

FIG. 23B is a rear perspective view of the organizer ferrule in FIG. 23A;

FIG. 23C is the organizer ferrule in FIGS. 23A and 23B receiving optical fibers;

FIG. 24A is a rear perspective cutaway view of the organizer ferrule in FIGS. 23A-23C received in the molded fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 20A and 20B;

FIG. 24B is a close-up cutaway view of FIG. 24A;

FIG. 25A is a perspective view of a projected fiber guide mold element that may be used to mold the fiber lead-in structure of the fiber optic plug body in FIGS. 21A-22B and organizer ferrule in FIGS. 23A-23C, respectfully;

FIG. 25B is a perspective close-up view of the tips of the projected fiber guide mold element in FIG. 25A;

FIGS. 26 and 27 are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the optical backplane extension module in FIGS. 2A-3;

FIG. 28 is a rear perspective view of the optical backplane extension module in FIG. 27 illustrating a close-up view of the backplane fiber optic plugs disposed in the rear of the optical backplane extension module and interconnection fiber optic adapters disposed through interconnection ports in the side of the optical backplane extension module;

FIG. 29 is a close-up view of the interconnection fiber optic adapters disposed through interconnection ports in the side of the optical backplane extension module;

FIGS. 30A and 30B are rear and front perspective views, respectively, of exemplary information processing modules disposed in rack module housings, with another exemplary optical backplane extension module disposed in the rear of the rack module housing and optically connected to the information processing modules in the rear of the rack module housings using a dense fiber optic connector assembly;

FIGS. 31A and 31B are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the optical backplane extension module in FIGS. 30A and 30B;

FIG. 32A is a close-up view of alignment members disposed in the optical backplane extension module to align the optical backplane extension module with the information processing modules disposed in a rack module housing;

FIG. 32B is a close-up perspective view of backplane fiber optic plugs disposed between alignment members in the optical backplane extension module in FIGS. 30A and 30B;

FIG. 33 is a side perspective view and close-up view of bias wheels that provides a lower datum for the information processing modules disposed in the rack module housing; and

FIG. 34 is a side perspective view and close-up view of spring-loaded biasing members configured to push information processing modules down against the bias wheels in FIG. 33 to securely align the information processing modules in the rack module housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments are shown. Indeed, the concepts may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Whenever possible, like reference numbers will be used to refer to like components or parts.

Embodiments disclosed herein include shuttered fiber optic connectors and assemblies suitable for establishing optical connections for optical backplanes in equipment racks and the like. In this regard in one embodiment, a fiber optic connector is provided. The fiber optic connector comprises a fiber optic connector body having a first end, a second end, and an internal chamber disposed between the first end and the second end. The fiber optic connector also comprises a fiber optic ferrule comprising a plurality of lenses. The fiber optic ferrule is disposed through a first end of the fiber optic connector body and extending in the internal chamber. The fiber optic connector also comprises a slideable shutter disposed adjacent an end face of the fiber optic ferrule. The slideable shutter has at least one opening configured to be aligned with the plurality of lenses in the fiber optic ferrule in an open position, and configured to block access to the plurality of lenses in the fiber optic ferrule in a closed position. The fiber optic connector also comprises an actuation member coupled to the slideable shutter, the actuation member configured to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.

In this regard, FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a data center 20 illustrating front and rear perspective views, respectively of an exemplary equipment rack 22. Although only one equipment rack 22 is illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, it is understood that a plurality of equipment racks 22 may be present at the data center 20. The equipment rack 22 is configured to support information processing modules 24 in rack module housings 26 disposed in the equipment rack 22. For example, the information processing modules 24 may include computer servers, switches, and computer storage devices, and which may be referred to as server blades and storage blades, respectively. As will be discussed in greater detail below, the present disclosure provides fiber optic connectors, connector assemblies, cables, housings, and other related fiber optic components and methods that may be employed to connect and interconnect the information processing modules 24 to increase the data throughput of information process modules 24 thus increasing the throughput of the data center 20. Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noise operation, and thus higher data throughput as a result.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, because fiber optic components are used to connect and interconnect the information processing modules 24, fiber optic cables are employed. It may be needed or desired to provide fiber optic cable management and neat storage and routing to avoid complexity in maintaining the data center 20 and to avoid or minimizing interfering with air flow between the information processing modules 24 disposing in the rack module housings 26. In this regard, as will be discussed in more detail below, optical backplane extension modules 28 can be provided. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the optical backplane extension modules 28 are configured to be attached to the rear side 30 of the equipment rack 22 and a rack module housing 26 to manage and route fiber optic cables 32 extending from fiber optic connections to the information processing modules 24.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 generally and described later in this disclosure, the optical backplane extension modules 28 each comprise an interior space 34 defined by an extension module housing 35 for maintaining and routing of the fiber optic cables 32. As illustrated in the close-up view of the optical backplane extension module 28 in FIG. 3, the optical backplane extension modules 28 also support a plurality of backplane fiber optic connectors 36 attached to the fiber optic cables 32. The optical backplane extension module 28 supports disposing the backplane fiber optic connectors 36 through a rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 to form an optical backplane. The optical backplane is configured to be directly optically connected to complementary fiber optic connectors disposed in information processing modules 24 to establish fiber optic connections when the optical backplane extension modules 28 are installed. By “directly connected,” it is meant that there is not intermediate cabling used to make the connection. One connector is directly connected to another connector. The fiber optic connections can be intraconnections between information processing modules 24 within the same rack module housing 26 and thus the same optical backplane extension module 28. However, in one embodiment, the optical backplane extension modules 28 also contain optical interconnection ports 40 to allow interconnections between optical backplane extension modules 28 and/or direction to information processing modules 24.

Embodiments disclosed herein include dense fiber optic connector assemblies and related connectors and fiber optic cables suitable for establishing optical connections for optical backplanes in equipment racks. In this regard, FIG. 4A illustrates a right side perspective view of the optical backplane extension module 28 in FIG. 2B directly optically connected in the rear of the rack module housing 26 to the information processing modules 24. FIGS. 4B and 4C are right side perspective views of the information processing modules 24 with the rack module housing 26 removed. As illustrated in FIG. 4B and the close-up view in FIG. 4C, an exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 is illustrated and provided to facilitate direct optical connections to the information processing modules 24 through the optical backplane extension module 28 in FIGS. 2A-3. A dense fiber optic connector assembly or related component is one in which a large number of optical fibers are supported to provide larger fiber optic connections in a dense area. Providing dense fiber optic connections can provide greater data throughput. For example, the dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 in FIGS. 4B and 4C support any suitable number of fiber optic connections such as sixty-four (64), one-hundred and twenty-eight (128), two-hundred and fifty-six (256) or more optical fibers for providing the desired number of fiber optic connections.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 4A-4C, and as will be described in greater detail below, the dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 is comprised of one or more fiber optic connectors, which are backplane fiber optic plugs 44 in this embodiment. The backplane fiber optic plugs 44 are configured to be disposed through the rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 (see FIG. 3). By the term “backplane,” it refers to disposition in the optical backplane extension module 28. The dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 also comprises one or more blade fiber optic connectors, which are blade fiber optic receptacles 46 in this embodiment, mounted on the information processing modules 24. By the term “blade,” it is meant to refer to a card, board, or other carrier used to provide the components of an information processing module 24 that is mechanically received in the rack module housing 26. The blade fiber optic connectors 46 are connected to components in the information processing modules 24 to facilitate transfer of data from these components. Thus, when the backplane fiber optic plugs 44 are mated to the blade fiber optic receptacles 46, optical connections are established to the information processing modules 24. These optical connections can be routed through the fiber optic cables 32 connected to the backplane fiber optic plugs 44 (see FIG. 3) to other information processing modules 24 through intraconnections in the optical backplane extension module 38 and/or interconnections through the optical interconnection ports 40.

FIG. 5 is a close-up perspective view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 in FIGS. 4B and 4C. In this example, the dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 is comprised of dense information processing module fiber optic receptacles (“blade fiber optic receptacles 46”) configured to receive and directly optically connect to dense optical backplane extension module fiber optic plugs (“backplane fiber optic plugs 44”). FIG. 6A is a close-up perspective view of the backplane fiber optic plugs 44 in FIG. 5. FIG. 6B is a close-up perspective view of the blade fiber optic receptacles 46 in FIG. 5. Note that the dense fiber optic connector assembly 42 is not limited to this connector configuration. For example, the blade fiber optic receptacles 46 could be configured as plugs, and the backplane fiber optic plugs 44 could be configured as receptacles.

FIG. 7A is a perspective exploded view of the backplane fiber optic plugs 44 in FIGS. 5 and 6A. With reference to FIGS. 5, 6A, and 7, the backplane fiber optic plugs 44 are comprised of four (4) backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) in this embodiment. Each backplane fiber optic plug 44 supports sixty-four (64) optical fibers 48(1)-48(4). As will be described in more detailed below, the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are configured to support multiple fiber optic cables 32(1)-32(4) to provide a high density optical fiber count in the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4). In this embodiment, the fiber optic cables 32(1)-32(4) are each comprised of a plurality of ribbonized fiber optic cables; however, other embodiments may use optical fibers without cable such as optical fibers that are ribbonized or not. Providing backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) that are configured to receive ribbonized fiber optic cables is one method of allowing the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) to support high density optical fiber count since ribbonized fiber optic cables are flat and efficient in terms of optical fiber count versus space. Further in this embodiment, each of the fiber optic cables 32(1)-32(4) are comprised of a plurality of ribbonized cables which allows flexibility in providing intraconnections and interconnections facilitated by the optical backplane extension module 28. Each fiber optic cable 32(1)-32(4) does not have to be intraconnected or interconnected to the same fiber optic connector depending on the design.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 6A and 7, each of the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are disposed in a backplane connector frame 50 to group the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) together. The backplane connector frame 50 may be comprised of a plastic member that is molded or stamped, as non-limiting examples. The backplane connector frame 50 contains a plurality of openings 52(1)-52(4) configured to receive the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4). The backplane connector frame 50 also contains a suitable number of mounting features such as two tabs 54(1), 54(2) extending from ends 56(1), 56(2) of the connector frame 50 for mounting the backplane connector frame 50 to the rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 (see FIG. 3). Each mounting tab 54(1), 54(2) contains an opening 57(1), 57(2) that is configured to receive a fastener to secure the backplane connector frame 50 with the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) to the extension module housing 35 (see FIG. 3) to form an optical backplane for connection to the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4).

FIG. 7A also illustrates more detail of the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4). Each backplane fiber optic plug 44(1)-44(4) is comprised of a fiber optic connector body in the form of a fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) and a fiber optic ferrule in the form of a fiber optic plug ferrules 60(1)-60(4). The fiber optic plug ferrules 60(1)-60(4) are configured to be disposed through first ends 62(1)-62(4) of the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) and disposed in internal chambers in the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4). Optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) may be exposed and prepared from the sheaths 64(1)-64(4) of the fiber optic cables 32(1)-32(4) if necessary are aligned with fiber openings 66(1)-66(4) disposed in end faces 68(1)-68(4) of the fiber optic plug ferrules 60(1)-60(4). The second ends 69(1)-69(4) of the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) contain lenses 70(1)-70(4) are configured to be aligned with the fiber openings 66(1)-66(4) of the fiber optic plug ferrules 60(1)-60(4). The lenses 70(1)-70(4) allow for optical connections to be made to the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) when the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are mated to the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4). With continuing reference to FIG. 7A, the purpose of the fiber optic plug ferrules 60(1)-60(4) is to hold the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) together during fiber processing and during their insertion into the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4). Laser processing of the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) can provide a quick and efficient method for producing a high-quality end face on the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) for termination. Examples of laser processing that can be provided to the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/028,799 filed on Feb. 16, 2011 and titled “METHODS FOR LASER PROCESSING ARRAYED OPTICAL FIBERS ALONG WITH SPLICING CONNECTORS”. In this regard, FIG. 7B depicts a first method for laser processing the plurality of optical fibers 48 using a protection element 71. Protection element 71 is used for protecting the optical fibers 48 in the array that are not intended for laser processing since they are located at a further distance from the laser than the optical fibers optical fibers 48 intended for processing. By way of example, the fiber optic plug ferrules 60 have the optical fibers 48 disposed in a first row 73 at a first distance and a second row 75 at a second distance so that the laser could not be focused for both distances. More or fewer rows can be provided as desired. As shown, the first row 73 and second row 75 of the optical fibers 48 are schematically shown disposed within the fiber optic plug ferrules 60. The protection element 71 can reflect, absorb and/or disperse the laser energy after it passes the optical fibers being processed depending on the type of material used for the same. For instance, if the protection element 71 is a material that has a smooth surface such as a machined aluminum, stainless steel, etc. it will have a high-degree of reflection. On the other hand, if the protection element 71 is formed from a mica, carbon, ceramic plate or other similar porous material it will have a high-degree of absorption. Still further, the degree of dispersion caused by protection element 71 can depend on the surface finish. In other words, the rougher the surface, the greater the dispersion. Examples of surface finishes on protection element 71 that can create dispersion are grooves, knurling, etc.

With continued reference to FIG. 7B, the protection element 71 has a smooth surface that has a relatively high degree of reflection of the laser energy that impinges on the same. The protection element 71 allows the laser energy to reach the optical fibers being processed, but inhibits the laser energy from damaging the optical fibers not being processed, other portions of structure 30, or from creating a safety issue, but the protection element 71 may also absorb and/or disperse a portion of the energy depending on the material used. This laser process method also uses an optional laser absorption element 77 to contain the reflected laser energy. As shown in FIG. 7B, the protection element 71 is positioned near the ends of the optical fibers 48, and the absorption element 77 is disposed above the first row 73 of optical fibers 48 to inhibit the travel of any reflected laser energy from the protection element 71.

With reference back to FIG. 7A, the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) can be configured to provide optical transmission to the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) disposed through the fiber optic plug ferrules 60(1)-60(4) through lenses that are molded-in, GRIN lenses, or other suitable lenses disposed in the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4). If molded-in lenses are used, the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) are preferably manufactured of a light transmission material to provide blind holes internal to the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) with lenses that extend to the second ends 69(1)-69(4) of the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4).

FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view of the blade fiber optic receptacles 46 in FIGS. 5 and 6B. With reference to FIGS. 5, 6B and 8, the blade fiber optic receptacles 46 are comprised of four (4) blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) in this embodiment. Each blade fiber optic receptacle 46(1)-46(4) supports sixty-four (64) optical fibers 72(1)-72(4). As will be described in more detailed below, the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) are configured to support multiple fiber optic cables 74(1)-74(4) to provide the a high optical fiber count in the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4). In this embodiment, the fiber optic cables 74(1)-74(4) are each comprised of a plurality of ribbonized fiber optic cables. Providing blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) that are configured to receive ribbonized fiber optic cables is one method of allowing the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) to support high density optical fiber count since ribbonized fiber optic cables are flat and efficient in terms of optical fiber count versus space. Further in this embodiment, each of the fiber optic cables 74(1)-74(4) are comprised of a plurality of ribbonized cables which allows flexibility in providing fiber optic connections to different component and/or to different areas on the information processing modules 24.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 6B and 8, each of the backplane fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) are disposed in a blade connector frame 76 to group the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) together when disposed on the information processing module 24. The blade connector frame 76 may be comprised of a plastic member that is molded or stamped as examples. The blade connector frame 76 contains an opening 78 configured to receive the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4). The blade connector frame 76 also includes suitable mounting features such as two tabs 80(1), 80(2) extending from ends 82(1), 82(2) of the blade connector frame 76 for mounting the blade connector frame 76 to a surface of the information processing module 24 (see FIG. 3). Each mounting tab 80(1), 80(2) contains an opening 84(1), 84(2) that is configured to receive a fastener to secure the blade connector frame 76 with the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) to the information processing module 24 (see FIG. 3) for optical connections. Washers or spacers 85(1), 85(2) may be provided and disposed between the surface of the information processing module 24 and the blade connector frame 76. The spacers 85(1), 85(2) may be elastomeric elements that are intended to allow resilient coupling of the blade fiber optic receptacle 46 with the backplane fiber optic plug 44. By the spacers 85(1), 85(2) being elastomeric elements, when the backplane fiber optic plug 44 starts to mate with the blade fiber optic receptacle 46, the spacers 85(1), 85(2) allow the blade fiber optic receptacle 46 to be flexible and move slightly to allow for the backplane fiber optic plug 44 to properly mate with the blade fiber optic receptacles 44 in the event that the backplane fiber optic plug 46 and the blade fiber optic receptacles 44 are not perfectly aligned.

FIG. 8 also illustrates more detail of the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4). Each blade fiber optic receptacle 46(1)-46(4) is comprised of a fiber optic connector housing in the form of fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(1)-86(4) and a fiber optic ferrule in the form of fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4). The fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4) are configured to be disposed through first ends 90(1)-90(4) of the fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(1)-86(4) and disposed in internal chambers 92(1)-92(4) in the fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(1)-86(4). Optical fibers 72(1)-72(4) that are exposed and prepared from the sheaths 94(1)-94(4) of the fiber optic cables 74(1)-74(4) are aligned with fiber openings 96(1)-96(4) disposed in end faces 98(1)-98(4) of the fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4). Optical connections to the optical fibers 72(1)-72(4) disposed in the fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4) are made when the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are inserted into the internal chambers 92(1)-92(4) of the fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(1)-86(4). The fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(1)-86(4) align the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) (FIG. 7A) and their lenses 70(1)-70(4) with the fiber openings 96(1)-96(4) in the end faces 98(1)-98(4) of the fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4).

With continuing reference to FIG. 8, the fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4) can be configured to provide optical transmission to the optical fibers 72(1)-72(4) disposed therein through lenses such as molded-in, GRIN lenses, or the like disposed in the fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4). By way of example, fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4) may support GRIN lenses in bores. In this regard, FIG. 9A is a perspective quarter cut view of the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8, wherein the fiber optic connector bodies 86(1)-86(4) are configured to support GRIN lenses.

To assemble the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4), the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) are disposed through the blade connector frame 76. The fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(1)-88(4) are disposed through a rear blade connector frame 97. The blade connector frame 76 and rear blade connector frame 97 are secured to each other by latches 101 that contain protrusions 103 configured to engage with openings 105 disposed in the back connector frame 76. Springs 107(1)-107(4), 109(1)-109(4) are included to provide spring loading of the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) to the blade connector frame 76 and rear blade connector frame 97 to allow for movement, when needed, to be connected to the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4).

As illustrated in FIG. 9A, a fiber optic receptacle sub-carrier 99(1) of the fiber optic receptacle body 86(1) is configured to receive the fiber optic receptacle ferrule 88(1). In this embodiment, the fiber optic receptacle sub-carrier 99(1) is comprised of GRIN lens internal chambers 100(1) aligned with GRIN lens openings 95(1). The GRIN lens internal chambers 100(1) are configured to support GRIN lenses whose end portions are disposed at the end face 98(1) through the GRIN lens openings 95(1). The fiber optic receptacle sub-carrier 99(1) is also comprised of internal fiber chambers 102(1) to support the optical fibers 72(1) and align the optical fibers 72(1) with the GRIN lens internal chambers 100(1) to align the optical fibers 72(1) with GRIN lenses. The internal fiber chambers 102(1) are comprised of a coated fiber chamber 102A(1) and a bare fiber chamber 102B(1) to securely support the coated portions 72A(1) and bare portions 72B(1) of the optical fibers 72(1) to avoid movement of the optical fibers 72(1) in the fiber optic receptacle sub-carrier 99(1). Note that although only the fiber optic receptacle sub-carrier 99(1) and fiber optic receptacle ferrule 88(1) are discussed with regard to FIG. 9A, the discussion of FIG. 9A is equally applicable to the other fiber optic receptacle ferrules 88(2)-88(4) and their fiber optic receptacle sub-carriers 99(2)-99(4).

Alternatively, the fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(1)-86(4) can be manufactured of a light transmission material having molded-in lenses at the end of blind holes for receiving optical fiber for optical transmissions at the interface. In this regard, FIG. 9B is a perspective cross-section view of the fiber optic receptacle body 86(1) providing a blind hole lens holder that may be employed in the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 9B, in this embodiment, a fiber optic receptacle sub-carrier is not employed. The fiber optic receptacle body 86(1) in this embodiment is comprised of blind hole lenses 104(1). The blind hole lenses 104(1) are disposed in the fiber optic receptacle body 86(1). The fiber optic receptacle body 86(1) is comprised of a light transmissive material forming blind holes 106(1) that allow light from the optical fibers 72(1) to be transmitted through the light transmissive material and through the blind hole lenses 104(1). The fiber optic receptacle body 86(1) is comprised of internal fiber chambers 102(1), like in FIG. 9A, to support the optical fibers 72(1) and align the optical fibers 72(1) with the blind hole lenses 104(1). The internal fiber chambers 102(1) are comprised of a coated fiber chamber 102A(1) and a bare fiber chamber 102B(1) to securely support the coated portions 72A(1) and bare portions 72B(1) of the optical fibers 72(1) to avoid movement of the optical fibers 72(1) in the fiber optic receptacle body 86(1). Note that although only the fiber optic receptacle body 86(1) is discussed with regard to FIG. 9B, the features of FIG. 9B can be applicable to the other fiber optic receptacle bodies 86(2)-86(4).

As will be described in more detail below with regard to FIGS. 10A-15B, the lenses 70(1)-70(4) can be shuttered. Shuttering allows for the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) to not be exposed through the lenses 70(1)-70(4) when the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are not mated to prevent debris from entering the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) and affecting optical transmissions when the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are not mated. When the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) are mated, the shutter exposes the optical transmission paths to the optical fibers 48(1)-48(4) through the lenses 70(1)-70(4).

Debris entering the fiber optic plug bodies 58(1)-58(4) and entering through the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, can attenuate optical transmissions. As will be described in more detail below with regard to FIGS. 10A-15B, the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, can be shuttered. Shuttering for the dense fiber optic connections can be provided in the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) and the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) when not mated to prevent debris from entering and affecting optical transmissions. When the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) and blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) are mated, the shutter can be designed to be actuated to expose the optical transmission paths.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are right side perspective views of shuttered blade fiber optic receptacles 46′(1)-46′(4) that can be employed as the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8 with slideable shutters 108(1)-108(4) disposed in open and closed positions, respectively. FIGS. 11A and 11B are rear perspective views of an exemplary shuttered fiber optic receptacle 46′ that can be employed as the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4) in FIGS. 5, 6B, and 8 with the slideable shutter 108 disposed in closed and open positions, respectively. FIGS. 12A and 12B are side cross-sectional views of the shuttered fiber optic receptacle housing 86′ in FIGS. 11A, and 11B, respectively, illustrating the slideable shutter 108 disposed in closed and open positions, respectively.

With reference to FIGS. 10A-12B, the shuttered fiber optic receptacle body 86′ may be a dense fiber optic receptacle housing. The slideable shutter 108 is disposed in the optical transmission paths of the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, of the fiber optic receptacle body 86′. The slideable shutter 108 has openings 110 configured to be aligned with the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, in the fiber optic receptacle body 86′ in an open position, as illustrated in FIG. 11B. The openings 110 of the slideable shutter 108 is also configured to block access to lenses disposed in the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, in a closed position, as illustrated in FIG. 11A. As illustrated in FIGS. 11A and 11B, an actuation member 112 is coupled to the slideable shutter 108. The actuation member 112 is configured to move the slideable shutter 108 from the closed position in FIG. 11A to the open position in FIG. 11B. The actuation member 112 may be a linear action actuation member configured to be linearly moved to linearly move the slideable shutter 108. By way of example, the slidable shutter is movable in a plane that is generally perpendicular to the optical axis of the fiber optic connector.

In this embodiment, because high density fiber count is supported by the fiber optic receptacle ferrule 88′, a low actuation distance is provided. The slideable shutter 108 can be configured to move at least the distance of the inner diameter of the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, to achieve dust sealing and/or eye safety. The slideable shutter 108 is planar, thin, and requires little actuation distance. It can be actuated in a linear fashion with no rotation by the actuation member 112, as will be described in more detail below. The slideable shutter 108 can be use in collimated beam paths.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12A, when the actuation member 112 is not pressed down as is provided in FIG. 12B, the slideable shutter 108 is not in an open position. Solid sections 114 adjacent the openings 110 in the slideable shutter 108 are aligned with the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, in a closed position, and thus block light transmission in FIG. 12A. In FIG. 12B, the solid sections 114 of the slideable shutter 108 are offset from the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, and the openings 110 are aligned with the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, in an open position, and thus light transmission is not blocked.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are perspective views of an exemplary shuttered backplane fiber optic plug 44′ that can be employed as the backplane fiber optic plug 44 in FIGS. 5, 6A, and 7, with a slideable shutter 116 disposed in a closed and open position, respectively. FIG. 13C is a close-up view of FIG. 13B illustrating the slideable shutter in an open position. The slideable shutter 116 is an optical path of the lenses 70 disposed in the fiber optic plug ferrule 60′ (see FIG. 7A). FIG. 14 is a bottom perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic plug 44′ illustrated in FIG. 13A. The shuttered backplane fiber optic plug 44′ may be a dense backplane fiber optic plug. The slideable shutter 116 has openings 118 configured to be aligned with the lenses 70 in the fiber optic plug ferrule 60 in an open position, as illustrated in FIGS. 13B and 13C. The slideable shutter 116 in this embodiment is protected behind a face plate 117 that is configured with openings 119 having the same geometry as openings 118, but the face plate 117 is optional. The openings 118 of the slideable shutter 116 are also configured to block access to the lenses 70 in a closed position, as illustrated in FIG. 13A. As illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13C, an actuation member 120 is coupled to the slideable shutter 116. The actuation member 120 is configured to move the slideable shutter 116 from the closed position in FIG. 13A to the open position in FIGS. 13B and 13C.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 13A, when the actuation member 120 is not pressed down as is provided in FIGS. 13B and 13C, the slideable shutter 116 is not in an open position. Solid sections 122 adjacent the openings 118 in the slideable shutter 116 are aligned with the lenses 70 in a closed position, and thus block light transmission in FIGS. 13A and 14. In FIGS. 13B and 13C, the solid sections 122 of the slideable shutter 116 are offset from the GRIN lens openings 95(1)-95(4) or blind hole lenses 104(1)-104(4), as the case may be, and the openings 118 are aligned with the lenses 70 in an open position, and thus light transmission is not blocked.

FIG. 15A is a side perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic receptacle body 86′ in FIGS. 11A and 11B with the actuation members 112, 120 unactuated to place the slideable shutters 108, 116 in closed positions before the shuttered fiber optic receptacle body 86′ receipt of the fiber optic plug body 58′ in FIGS. 13A-14. FIG. 15B is a side perspective view of the shuttered fiber optic receptacle body 86′ in FIGS. 11A and 11B with the actuation members 112, 120 actuated to place the slideable shutters 108, 116 in open positions as the shuttered fiber optic receptacle body 86′ receives and is mated with the fiber optic plug body 58′ in FIGS. 13A-14.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 15A and 15B, the fiber optic plug body 58′ contains a mating actuation member 124. The mating actuation member 124 is comprised of a mount 126 supporting an actuation arm 128. The actuation arm 128 is configured to engage the fiber optic receptacle actuation member 112 when the fiber optic plug body 58′ is received by the fiber optic receptacle body 86′. The actuation arm 128 contains a protrusion 130 disposed on a distal end 132 of the actuation arm 128. As the fiber optic plug body 58′ is received in the blade fiber optic receptacle 46′, an end portion 134 of the actuation arm 128 is disposed in an engagement orifice 136 wherein the protrusion 130 will cause a lifting force to be disposed in the engagement orifice 136 to move the slideable shutter 108 in the blade fiber optic receptacle 46′ from a closed to an open position. As the backplane fiber optic plug 44′ penetrates the blade fiber optic receptacle 46′, the actuation member 120 is indexed to open the slideable shutter 116 disposed in the backplane fiber optic plug 44′ to an open position.

Other embodiments of dense fiber optic connector assemblies and related connectors and fiber optic cables suitable for establishing optical connections for optical backplanes in equipment racks are possible and disclosed herein. In this regard, FIG. 16A illustrates rack module housing 26 with information processing modules 24 disposed therein. FIG. 16B is a perspective view of the information processing modules 24 with the rack module housing 26 removed. As illustrated in FIG. 16B, another exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly 131 is illustrated and provided to facilitate direct optical connections to the information processing modules 24 through the optical backplane extension module 28 illustrated previously in FIGS. 2A-3. As non-limiting examples, the dense fiber optic connector assembly 131 in FIG. 16B can support sixty-four (64), one-hundred and twenty-eight (128), two-hundred and fifty-six (256) optical fibers to provide one hundred twenty eight (128) or two hundred fifty six (256), or more fiber optic connections, respectively.

FIG. 17A is a side perspective view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly 131 in FIG. 16B comprising a blade fiber optic receptacle 133 configured to receive a backplane fiber optic plug 135. FIG. 17B is a side perspective view of the dense fiber optic connector assembly 133 in FIG. 16B with the blade fiber optic receptacle 133 receiving the backplane fiber optic plug 135 to establish an optical connection between information processing modules 24 and the optical backplane extension module 28 illustrated previously in FIGS. 2A-3.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 16B-17B, the fiber optic connector assembly 131 is comprised of one or more the backplane fiber optic plugs 135 configured to be disposed through the rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 (see FIG. 3). As illustrated in FIG. 17A, the backplane fiber optic plug 135 is configured to receive a plurality of fiber optic cables 138 or optical fibers. In this embodiment, the fiber optic cables 138 are ribbon cables that are stacked on top of each other with their wide axis W₁disposed along the short axis S₁of the backplane fiber optic plug 135. This arrangement allows the backplane fiber optic plug 135 to support a high fiber count and thus provide a dense backplane fiber optic plug 135.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 16B-17B, the fiber optic connector assembly 131 also comprises one or more blade fiber optic receptacles 133 mounted on the information processing modules 24. The blade fiber optic receptacles 133 are connected to components in the information processing modules 24 to facilitate transfer of data from these components. As illustrated in FIG. 17A, the blade fiber optic receptacle 133 is configured to receive a plurality of fiber optic cables 143 or optical fibers that may be ribbonized. In this embodiment, the fiber optic cables 143 are ribbon cables that are stacked on top of each other with their wide axis W₂disposed along the short axis S₂of the blade fiber optic receptacle 135. This arrangement allows the blade fiber optic receptacle 135 to support a high fiber count and thus provide a dense blade fiber optic receptacle 135.

When the backplane fiber optic plugs 135 are mated to the blade fiber optic receptacles 133, optical connections are established to the information processing modules 24. These optical connections can be routed through the fiber optic cables 32 connected to the backplane fiber optic plugs 135 (see FIG. 3) to other information processing modules 24 through intraconnections in the optical backplane extension module 28 and/or interconnections through the optical interconnection ports 40 (see FIG. 3). The blade fiber optic receptacle 133 include a mounting structure 139 that may be spring loaded to allow the blade fiber optic receptacles 133 to move when mounted on information processing modules 24 to assist in axis alignment and connection to the backplane fiber optic plug 135.

Another exemplary dense fiber optic connector assembly 131′ is illustrated in FIGS. 18A-19B. FIG. 18A is a side perspective, exploded view of a blade fiber optic receptacle 133′ and backplane fiber optic plug 135′ of a dense fiber optic connector assembly 131′. FIG. 18B is another close-up perspective, exploded view of the blade fiber optic receptacle 133′ and backplane fiber optic plug 135′ of the dense fiber optic connector assembly 131′ in FIG. 18A. FIG. 19 is another close-up view of the blade fiber optic receptacle 133′ and backplane fiber optic plug 135′ of the dense fiber optic connector assembly 131′ in FIGS. 18A and 18B. The dense fiber optic connector assembly 131′ in FIGS. 18A-19 is similar to the dense fiber optic connector assembly 131 in FIGS. 16B-17B. However, as will be discussed below in more detail, the dense fiber optic connector assembly 131′ in FIGS. 18A-19 includes organizer ferrules that allow wider, higher fiber count, ribbonized fiber optic cables to be stacked and organized along their wide axis to be supported in the blade fiber optic receptacle 133′ and the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ to support a dense fiber count.

With reference to FIGS. 18A and 18B, the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ supports up to two-hundred and fifty-six (256) optical fibers 137 or more in a single connector form factor. As will be described in more detailed below, the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ is configured to support multiple stacked fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) or optical fibers for providing a high optical fiber count in the backplane fiber optic plug 135′. In this embodiment, the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) are each comprised of a plurality of ribbonized fiber optic cables. As illustrated in FIG. 18A, the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) are stacked along their wide axis W₃. Providing a backplane fiber optic plug 135′ that is configured to receive ribbonized fiber optic cables is one method of allowing the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ to support high density optical fiber count since ribbonized fiber optic cables are flat and efficient in terms of optical fiber count versus space. Further in this embodiment, each of the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) are each comprised of a plurality of ribbonized cables which allows flexibility in providing intraconnections and interconnections facilitated by the optical backplane extension module 28 (see FIG. 3). Each fiber optic cable 138(1)-138(4) does not have to be intraconnected or interconnected to the same fiber optic connector depending on the design.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 18A and 18B, the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ is comprised of a fiber optic plug body 140. The fiber optic plug body 140 may be a ferrule body. The fiber optic plug body 140 is configured to receive an organizer ferrule 142 that receives the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) in an opening 144 disposed in the organizer ferrule 142. The organizer ferrule 142 is particularly well suited to facilitate ribbonization and insure that optical fibers engage the connector body 154 in an array structure. In this manner, the organizer ferrule 142 disposes end portions 146(1)-146(4) of the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) in a compacted high density to be disposed in an opening 148 in the fiber optic plug body 140. The organizer ferrule 142 also facilitates pre-insertion laser processing of massed optical fibers exposed from the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) for laser processing, including, without limitation, using the laser processing examples discussed above. In this embodiment, the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) are disposed in the organizer ferrule 142 along the wide axis W₄of the ferrule organizer 142. An adhesive may be provided to secure the organizer ferrule 142 in the fiber optic plug body 140 during assembly. The fiber optic plug body 140 and organizer ferrule 142 may be comprised of a plastic member that is molded or stamped, as examples. As illustrated in FIGS. 18B and 19, the fiber optic plug body 140 has an end face 149 that has a plurality of lenses 151 disposed therein to provide an optical transmission path to the end portions 146(1)-146(4) of optical fibers 147(1)-147(4) exposed from the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4).

With continuing reference to FIGS. 18A-19, the fiber optic plug body 140 also contains two tabs 150(1), 150(2) extending from the fiber optic plug body 140 for mounting the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ to the rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 (see FIG. 3). Each mounting tab 150(1), 150(2) contains an opening 152(1), 152(2) (FIG. 18B) that is configured to receive a fastener to secure the backplane connector frame 50 with the backplane fiber optic plugs 44(1)-44(4) to the extension module housing 35 (see FIG. 3) to form an optical backplane for connection to the blade fiber optic receptacles 46(1)-46(4).

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate details regarding the components of the blade fiber optic receptacle 133′. The blade fiber optic receptacle 133′ includes a fiber optic receptacle body 154 and an organizer ferrule 156. The fiber optic receptacle body 154 is configured to receive the organizer ferrule 156, which then receives fiber optic cables 158(1)-158(4) from the information processing module 24 in an opening 160 disposed in the organizer ferrule 156. In this manner, the organizer ferrule 156 disposes end portions 162(1)-162(4) of the fiber optic cables 158(1)-158(4) in a compacted high density to form to be disposed in an opening 164 (FIG. 18B) in the fiber optic receptacle body 154. As illustrated in FIG. 18A, in this embodiment, the wide axis W₅of the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4) are disposed in the organizer ferrule 142 along the wide axis W₆of the ferrule organizer 142. An adhesive may be provided to secure the organizer ferrule 156 in the fiber optic receptacle body 154 during assembly. A soft elastomer 165 may be disposed in the fiber optic receptacle body 154 as illustrated in FIG. 19 to enable small movements of the organizer ferrule 156 in the connection direction axis. The fiber optic receptacle body 154 and organizer ferrule 156 may be comprised of a plastic member that is molded or stamped, as examples.

As illustrated in FIG. 18B, the fiber optic receptacle body 154 has an end face 167 disposed in a lens block 168 that has a plurality of lenses 170 disposed therein to provide an optical transmission path to end portions 162(1)-162(4) of the optical fibers 166(1)-166(4) (FIG. 18A) exposed from the fiber optic cables 158(1)-158(4). As illustrated in FIG. 19, the lens block 168 also has a plurality of lenses 172 disposed on an end face 173 of the fiber optic plug body 140 side of the fiber optic receptacle body 154 that are configured to be aligned with the end portions 146(1)-146(1) of the fiber optic cables 138(1)-138(4). In this manner, the lens block 168 is configured to provide a transmission path between the lenses 170, 172 to optically connect the end portions 146(1)-146(4) of the optical fibers 147(1)-147(1) disposed in the backplane fiber optic plug 135′ to the end portions 162(1)-162(4) of the optical fibers 166(1)-166(4) disposed in the blade fiber optic receptacle 133′.

To provide the dense fiber optic connector disclosed herein, the dense fiber optic connectors may be molded. In this regard, FIGS. 20A and 20B are front and rear views, respectively, of an exemplary molded fiber optic plug body 180 that may be employed in a dense fiber optic connector assembly. FIGS. 21A and 21B are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the molded fiber optic plug body 180 in FIGS. 20A and 20B. The molded fiber optic plug body 180 may be employed either as a blade fiber optic connector or a backplane fiber optic connector.

As illustrated in FIGS. 20A and 21A, the molded fiber optic plug body 180 has an end face 182 that includes fiber openings 184 disposed at a first end 186 to provide optical transmission paths to end portions of optical fibers disposed in the molded fiber optic plug body 180. The fiber openings 184 may be formed by curvatures formed in the end face 182 of the molded fiber optic plug body 180 wherein the molded fiber optic plug body 180 is formed from transmissive material having molded-in lenses, as previously described. Alternatively, the fiber openings 184 may receive GRIN lenses disposed in the molded fiber optic plug body 180 and end portions of the GRIN lenses disposed through the openings, as previously described. The top row 181 and the bottom row 183 of fiber openings disposed in the molded fiber optic plug body 180 are provided by the mold in this embodiment for mold robustness only, for example so that another strong material such as steel, can be inserted therein.

As illustrated in FIGS. 20B and 21B, an internal chamber 187 forming an opening 188 is molded into fiber optic plug body 180 on a second end 190. The opening 188 is configured to receive an organizer ferrule 192 illustrated in FIGS. 23A-23C and described below. A fiber lead-in structure 194 is disposed in the rear 196 of the internal chamber 187 to receive end portions of optical fibers disposed through the organizer ferrule 192. FIG. 22A is a close-up view of the rear perspective view of fiber lead-in structure 194 as a detail of the molded fiber optic plug body 180. As illustrated therein and in FIG. 22B, the fiber lead-in structure 194 is formed as part of the mold forming the internal chamber 187. The fiber lead-in structure 194 is comprised of row structures 198 with intermediate fiber lead-in areas 200 disposed therebetween. Vertical members 202 are disposed between the row structures 198 and spaced apart by width W to form openings 204 for receiving end portions of optical fibers. The number of row structures 198 and vertical members 202 and the width W between the vertical members 202 determine the number of optical fibers that can be supported by the molded fiber optic plug body 180. As an example, the outer diameter of the intermediate fiber lead-in areas 200 may be fifty (50) micrometers (μm) or more to support a high density of optical fibers in molded fiber optic plug body 180. MT technology or wire EDM may be leveraged to form intermediate fiber lead-in areas 200. The use of wire EDM to form the molded fiber optic plug body 180 can provide the fiber lead-in structure 194. For example, for a target one hundred (100) μm fiber coating, a ten to fifteen (10-15) μm “window” on either side of the square intermediate fiber lead-in areas 200 is available for fiber centering.

FIG. 23A is a front perspective view of the molded intermediate organizer ferrule 192 configured to facilitate optical fiber ribbonization and be disposed in the molded fiber optic plug body 180 in FIGS. 20A and 20B to form a dense fiber optic plug 206 in FIG. 24A. FIG. 23B is a rear perspective view of the organizer ferrule 192 in FIG. 23A. FIG. 23C is the organizer ferrule 192 receiving end portions 208 of optical fibers 210. As illustrated in FIG. 23A, the molded organizer ferrule 192 has an end face 212 that includes openings 214 disposed at a first end 216 to receive the end portions 208 of the optical fibers 210 disposed in the organizer ferrule 192, as illustrated in FIGS. 23C-24B. Note the inclusion of corner ribs 213 in the organizer ferrule 192 to allow high centering accuracy while still allowing draft, whether a ribbon, loose tube, or collection of small ribbon fibers are used.

As illustrated in FIG. 23B, an internal chamber 217 forming an opening 218 is molded into organizer ferrule 192 on a second end 220. The opening 218 is configured to receive the end portions 208 of the optical fibers 210 as illustrated in FIGS. 23C-24B and described below. A fiber lead-in structure 222 is disposed in the rear 224 of the internal chamber 217 to receive the end portions 208 of the optical fibers 210 disposed through the organizer ferrule 192. FIG. 24B is a close-up view of the rear perspective view of fiber lead-in structure 222 of the first end 216 of the organizer ferrule 192 interfaced with the fiber lead-in structure 194 of the molded fiber optic plug body 180. As illustrated therein and in FIG. 23B, the fiber lead-in structure 222 is formed as part of the mold forming the internal chamber 217. The fiber lead-in structure 222 is comprised of a plurality of the through holes 226 disposed in the rear 224 of the molded organizer ferrule 192 that form the openings 214 in the end face 212, as illustrated in FIG. 24B. The number of through holes 226 determines the number of optical fibers that can be supported by the organizer ferrule 192.

FIG. 25A is a perspective view of a projected fiber guide mold element 230 that may be used to mold the internal chambers 187, 217 and fiber lead-in structures 194, 222 in the fiber optic plug body 180 in FIGS. 21A-22B and the organizer ferrule 192 in FIGS. 23A-23C, respectfully. FIG. 25B is a perspective close-up view of the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 of the projected fiber guide mold element 230 in FIG. 25A. The projected fiber guide mold elements 230 may be constructed out of a suitable steel. As illustrated in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 of the projected fiber guide mold element 230 form the negative of the fiber lead-in structures 194, 222. The number of fiber lead-in mold tips 232 dictates the number of optical fibers supported. As illustrated in FIGS. 25A and 25B, there are up to two-hundred and fifty-six (256) fiber lead-in mold tips 232 or more to support up to two hundred fifty six (256) optical fibers or more.

As illustrated in FIG. 25B, the intermediate members 238 are square-shaped to form square-shaped passages when molding using the projected fiber guide mold element 230. Square-shaped passages can provide stronger mold elements as opposed to circular-shaped passages. Square-shaped passages also allow easier optical fiber insertion to reduce friction on the optical fiber and to provide additional space to support epoxy placing less sheer force on the optical fibers inserted therein. The end portions 234 of the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 are also square-shaped.

One purpose of the design of the mass array of the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 was to allow them to be brought against or adjacent to a planar mold surface. This may simplify the projected fiber guide mold element 230 by eliminating the need for a female side in which the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 are inserted into. In one embodiment, the array of fiber lead-in mold tips 232 could be brought into contact with a planar surface and open up the square-shaped members end portions 234 by a brushing or grinding operation. As an example, the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 of the projected fiber guide mold element 230 can be brought proximate to a planar surface in the mold. A secondary operation can be provided to open up the internal chambers 187, 217 formed by the fiber lead-in mold tips 232. The projected fiber guide mold element 230 used in a mold where the projected fiber guide mold element 230 is brought up against a planar mold surface such that the fiber lead-in mold tips 232 seal off.

With continuing reference to FIG. 25B, the side length or width of the tips 232 is SL (e.g., 100 um). The end portions 234 of the tips 232 are formed at the end of a length L of end sections 236 of the tips 232. The end section 236 is designed to provide a lead-in for a bare optical fiber and is sized appropriately. The intermediate member 238 is designed to provide a lead-in for a coated optical fiber and thus is sized larger than the end section 236. In one embodiment, the length L of the end sections 236 of the tips 232 is approximately one to three times the length of the side length SL of the end portions 234 of tips 232. This sizing is provided to provide an angled lead-in for the optical fiber as it is disposed in a lead-in formed by the fiber lead-in mold tip 232. If the ratio of length L of the end sections 236 of the tips 232 to the length of the side length SL of the end portions 234 of tips 232 is less than one (1), suppression of angular error may not be accomplished introducing optical attentuation.

More detail regarding the optical backplane extension module 28 illustrated in FIGS. 2A-3 will now be described. In this regard, FIGS. 26 and 27 are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the optical backplane extension module 28. The optical backplane extension module 28 comprises the interior space 34 defined by the extension module housing 35 for maintaining and routing of the fiber optic cables 32 (see FIG. 3). The optical backplane extension module 28 support a plurality of backplane fiber optic connectors 36 attached to the fiber optic cables 32, which in this embodiment are backplane fiber optic plugs 44 described above.

As illustrated in FIGS. 26-28, the optical backplane extension module 28 supports disposing the fiber optic connectors 36 through a rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 to form an optical backplane 240. The fiber optic connectors 36 are disposed through the rear side 38 of the extension module housing 35 along longitudinal axis A₁. The optical backplane 240 is provided to allow the backplane fiber optic connectors 36 to be directly optically connected to blade fiber optic connectors disposed in information processing modules 24. The backplane fiber optic connectors 36 may be comprised of different types of fiber optic connectors supporting different numbers of optical fibers. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 26 and 27, the backplane fiber optic connector 36A is configured to be connected to a blade switch fiber optic connector. As an example, the switch fiber optic connector could be a monolithic connector that has enough fiber count to support connections to the other backplane fiber optic connectors 36B, with the fiber count being multiple of the number of other backplane fiber optic connectors 36B. The backplane fiber optic connectors 36B are configured to be connected to a server or data storage information processing modules 24.

With continuing reference to FIG. 26, the extension module housing 35 defines the interior space 34 by a base 242, a left side 244 disposed on a left end 245 of the base 242, and a right side 246 disposed on a right end 247 of the base 242. The rear side 38 is disposed on a rear end 248 of the base 242. A top side 250 is disposed on a top end 252 of the base 242. The base 242, left side 244, right side 246, rear side 38, and top side 250 form the extension module housing 35. A door 254 is hinged to base 242 to allow the internal chamber 34 to be closed off and opened for access.

The optical interconnection ports 40 are illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 28 and 29. The optical interconnection ports 40 are disposed through the extension module housing 35 to allow fiber optic interconnections between the backplane fiber optic connectors 36 forming the optical backplane 240 and backplane fiber optic connectors 36 located outside of the extension module housing 35. For example, it may be desirable to optically connect one or more backplane fiber optic connectors 36 to other information processing modules 24 not optically connected to the backplane extension module 28 and/or other backplane extension modules 28 located in other areas of an equipment rack. Otherwise, the door 254 could not be fully closed on the backplane extension module 28 if fiber optic interconnections are desired. In this regard, fiber optic adapters 256 can be disposed in the optical interconnection ports 40 to allow for fiber optic interconnections in the backplane extension module 28. Debris shutters 258 may be provided as part of the fiber optic adapters 256 to prevent debris from entering the fiber optic adapters 256 when not in use. FIG. 28 shows the debris shutters 258 closed, and FIG. 29 shows the debris shutters 258 open.

Other forms of the backplane extension module are possible. For example, FIGS. 30A and 30B are rear and front perspective views, respectively, of another backplane extension module 28′ attached to a rack module housing 26. The rack module housing 26 supports information processing modules 24 as previously described. In this embodiment, the backplane extension module 28′ includes an extension module housing 35′ that is not rectangular and does not have the same height along the optical backplane. The extension module housing 35′ is configured with different minimum height H₁and maximum height H₂to improve air flow from the information processing modules 24 in the rack module housing 26. This is because the fiber optic connectors disposed in the extension module housing 35′ are not the same height, as illustrated in FIGS. 31A and 31B discussed below. Thus, the height of the extension module housing 35′ can be tailored to avoid unnecessarily reducing air flow.

FIGS. 31A and 31B are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the optical backplane extension module 28′ in FIGS. 30A and 30B. As illustrated in FIG. 31B, a number of backplane fiber optic connectors 36′ are disposed through a rear side 38′ of the extension module housing 35′ to provide an optical backplane 41 similar to that described above with respect to the optical backplane extension module 28. As illustrated, some of the backplane fiber optic connectors 36A′ are less in height than other backplane fiber optic connectors 36B′. Thus, the height of the extension module housing 35′ is provided as a non-planar height to avoid the height of the extension module housing 35′ being greater than needed to support the backplane fiber optic connectors 36A′ and backplane fiber optic connectors 36B′ forming the optical backplane 41. This will reduce the surface area of the rear side 38′ that is abutted adjacent to the rack module housing 26 when the extension module housing 35′ is installed to reduce blocking air flow. Also, the backplane fiber optic connectors 36A′ and 36B′ are provided in pairs for redundant fiber optic connections in this embodiment.

When installing the optical backplane extension module 28′ to a rack module housing 28, it is important to align the optical backplane 41 with the fiber optic connectors disposed on the information processing modules 24 for proper connection. Any alignment errors increase among stacked rack module housings 28. In this regard, FIG. 32A is a close-up view of alignment members 260 disposed in the rear side 38′ of the optical backplane extension module 28′ to align the optical backplane extension module 28′ with the information processing modules 24 disposed in a rack module housing 26. FIG. 32B is a close-up perspective view of backplane fiber optic connectors 36 disposed between alignment members 260 in the optical backplane extension module 28′. The alignment members 260 are disposed on the exterior side of the rear side 38′ of the extension module housing 35′.

With reference to FIGS. 32A and 32B, the alignment members 260 are configured to engage with a complementary alignment member disposed in the rack module housing 26 to align the plurality of backplane fiber optic connectors 36 with the plurality of blade fiber optic connectors. The intent of providing the alignment members 260 is to provide a more accurate rack module housing 26 for optical information processing modules 24, which may in turn allow simplified fiber optic connectors to be employed.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 32A and 32B, in this embodiment, the alignment members 260 are formed from a non-planar surface 262 disposed in the rear side 38′ of the extension module housing 35′. The non-planar surface 262 is comprised of a plurality of protrusions 264 forming a plurality of grooves 266 each formed between adjacent protrusions 264 among the plurality of protrusions 264. Because the backplane fiber optic connectors 36′ are disposed through the rear side 38′ of the extension module housing 35′ in a fixed, known location, the backplane fiber optic connectors 36 are located in known fixed location with respect to the alignment members 260. When the alignment members 260 mate with complementary grooves and alignment members 260 in the rack module housing 26, an alignment is forced to the extension module housing 35′ that will assist in proper connection between the backplane fiber optic connectors 36′ and the blade fiber optic connectors. The alignment members 260 may be disposed in the optical backplane extension module 28 in FIGS. 2A-3 as well.

It may also be desired to provide for the base member 267 in which the alignment members 260 are disposed to extend out beyond the rear side 38′ of the backplane extension housing 35′ to extend into the rack module housing 26. In this manner, the information processing modules 24 can be disposed on their bottom ends with the base member 267 and register with the base member 267 through a registration means. In this case, since both the information processing modules 24 and the backplane fiber optic connectors 36′ would be fixedly disposed in the base member 267, alignment is forced to exist between the backplane fiber optic connectors 36′ and the blade fiber optic connectors 46 (see FIG. 4B).

Even with alignment of backplane fiber optic connectors 36, 36′ aligned with the rack module housing 26, the information processing modules 24 can be aligned and provided in known locations in the rack module housing 26. In this manner, alignment of an optical backplane extension module 28, 28′ with the rack module housing 26 will ensure an alignment between the backplane fiber optic connectors 36, 36′ and the blade fiber optic connectors. It may be desired to provide both vertical and horizontal alignment of the information processing modules 24 in the rack module housing 26.

In this regard, FIG. 33 is a side perspective view and close-up view of bias wheels 270 that provides a lower datum for the information processing modules 24 disposed in the rack module housing 26. Only one bias wheel 270 is shown, but a plurality of bias wheels 270 can be provided, including one for each information processing module 24. The bias wheel 270 is mounted to a mounting structure 273. The bias wheel 270 is allowed to rotate in the mounting structure 273. As illustrated in FIG. 33, the bias wheel 270 is disposed in an interior space 272 on a base 274 of the rack module housing 26 in alignment with an insertion slot for an information processing module 24. For example, the base 274 may be the base member 267 in which the alignment members 260 are disposed to extend out beyond the rear side 38′ of the backplane extension housing 35′ to extend into the rack module housing 26. When the information processing module 24 is inserted in rack module housing 26, a bottom 276 of the information processing module 24 will engage the bias wheel 270. The bias wheel 270 will ensure the information processing module 24 is disposed in a fixed, known vertical location with the rack module housing 26 for vertical alignment.

To provide an upper datum for horizontal alignment of information processing modules 24 disposed in the rack module housing 26, FIG. 34 is provided. FIG. 34 illustrates a side perspective view and close-up view of spring-loaded biasing members 280. A spring-loaded biasing member 280 may be provided for each slot in the rack module housing 26 that can accept an information processing module 24. The spring-loaded biasing member 280 is installed at the top interior side 282 of the rack module housing 26 to be disposed above an information processing module 24 when installed in the rack module housing 26. The spring-loaded biasing member 280 comprises an alignment member 284 configured with a slot 286 to receive a spring 288. The spring 288 abuts the top interior side 282 of the rack module housing 26. When an information processing module 24 is inserted into the rack module housing 26, the top interior side 282 of the information processing module 24 is configured to abut and the alignment member 284 is configured push down against information processing module 24 to form an upper datum. Along with the lower datum provided by the bias wheels 270 in FIG. 33, the spring-loaded biasing member 280 assists in vertical alignment of the information processing module 24 disposed in the rack module housing 26.

Further, as used herein, it is intended that terms “fiber optic cables” and/or “optical fibers” include all types of single mode and multi-mode light waveguides, including one or more optical fibers that may be upcoated, colored, buffered, ribbonized and/or have other organizing or protective structure in a cable such as one or more tubes, strength members, jackets or the like. The optical fibers disclosed herein can be single mode or multi-mode optical fibers. Likewise, other types of suitable optical fibers include bend-insensitive optical fibers, or any other expedient of a medium for transmitting light signals. An example of a bend-insensitive, or bend resistant, optical fiber is ClearCurve® Multimode fiber commercially available from Corning Incorporated. Suitable fibers of this type are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2008/0166094 and 2009/0169163, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the embodiments set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the embodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. For example, embodiments provide for fiber optic plugs to be disposed on the optical backplane extension module and fiber optic receptacles to be disposed on the information processing modules, the opposite configuration could be provided and is encompassed within the scope of the disclosure and the claims. Fiber optic receptacles could be disposed in the optical backplane extension module and fiber optic plugs disposed on the information processing modules.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the description and claims are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. It is intended that the embodiments cover the modifications and variations of the embodiments provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A fiber optic connector assembly, comprising: a fiber optic connector;a slideable shutter disposed adjacent an end face of the fiber optic connector, the slideable shutter having at least one opening configured to be optically aligned with a plurality of lenses disposed in the fiber optic connector in an open position, and configured to block access to the plurality of lenses in a closed position; andan actuation member coupled to the slideable shutter, the actuation member configured to be moved an actuation distance to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.
2. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the slideable shutter is movable in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the fiber optic connector.
3. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the slideable shutter is comprised of a planar body.
4. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the actuation member is comprised of a linear action actuation member configured to be linearly moved an actuation distance to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.
5. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the fiber optic connector comprises a fiber optic connector body having a first end, a second end, and an internal chamber disposed between the first end and the second end; a fiber optic ferrule comprising a plurality of fiber openings, the fiber optic ferrule disposed through a first end of the fiber optic connector body and extending in the internal chamber.
6. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the fiber optic connector is comprised of a fiber optic plug body, and wherein the end face of the fiber optic ferrule is adjacent a second end of the fiber optic connector body.
7. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the fiber optic connector body is comprised of a fiber optic receptacle body, and wherein the end face of the fiber optic ferrule is disposed in the internal chamber between the first end and the second end.
8. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the actuation member is configured to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position when the fiber optic connector is mated to a complementary fiber optic connector.
9. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the actuation member extends through the fiber optic connector and is exposed external to the fiber optic connector.
10. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 9, further comprising an engagement orifice disposed on an end of the actuation member exposed external to the fiber optic connector, wherein an engagement of the engagement orifice is configured to actuate the actuation member to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.
11. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 9, further comprising an engagement tab disposed on an end of the actuation member exposed external to the fiber optic connector, wherein an engagement of the engagement tab is configured to actuate the actuation member to move the slideable shutter from the closed position to the open position.
12. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, further comprising a face plate disposed on an end of the fiber optic connector, the face plate comprising at least one opening configured to align with the at least one opening of the slideable shutter when the slideable shutter is in the open position.
13. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 12, wherein the at least one opening is comprised of a plurality of row openings, the slideable shutter configured to align the plurality of row openings to the plurality of lenses in the open position, and configured to block access to the plurality of lenses in the closed position.
14. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the actuation distance is at least the diameter of a lens among the plurality of lenses.
15. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the slideable shutter is comprised of a metal material to dissipate heat.
16. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, disposed in a backplane of an optical backplane extension module.
17. The fiber optic connector assembly of claim 1, disposed in an information processing module blade.
18. A method of providing access to plurality of lenses in a fiber optic connector assembly, comprising: providing a fiber optic connector; andactuating an actuation member coupled to a slideable shutter disposed adjacent an end face of the fiber optic connector to move the slideable shutter to align at least one opening disposed in the slideable shutter with a plurality of lenses in an open position.
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising deactuating the actuation member block access to the plurality of lenses through the at least one opening disposed in the fiber optic connector.
20. The method of claim 18, comprising actuating the actuation member when the fiber optic connector is mated to a complementary fiber optic connector.
21. The method of claim 18, wherein actuating the actuation member comprises engaging an engagement orifice disposed on an end of the actuation member exposed external to the fiber optic connector.
22. The method of claim 18, wherein actuating the actuation member comprises engaging an engagement tab disposed on an end of the actuation member exposed external to the fiber optic connector.

PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/US12/23626 filed Feb. 2, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Application No. 61/438,847, filed Feb. 2, 2011, both applications being incorporated herein by reference. The present application is related to PCT Patent Application PCT/US12/23635 filed on Feb. 2, 2012 and entitled “DENSE FIBER OPTIC CONNECTOR ASSEMBLIES AND RELATED CONNECTORS AND CABLES SUITABLE FOR ESTABLISHING OPTICAL CONNECTIONS FOR OPTICAL BACKPLANES IN EQUIPMENT RACKS,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present application is also related to PCT Patent Application PCT/US12/23622 filed on Feb. 2, 2012 and entitled “OPTICAL BACKPLANE EXTENSION MODULES, AND RELATED ASSEMBLIES SUITABLE FOR ESTABLISHING OPTICAL CONNECTIONS TO INFORMATION PROCESSING MODULES DISPOSED IN EQUIPMENT RACKS,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

US Referenced Citations (1123)

Number	Name	Date	Kind
620013	Barnes	Feb 1899	A
864761	Erickson	Aug 1907	A
2528910	Poe	Nov 1950	A
2614685	Miller	Oct 1952	A
3081717	Yurevich	Mar 1963	A
3175873	Blomquist et al.	Mar 1965	A
3212192	Bachmann et al.	Oct 1965	A
3433886	Myers	Mar 1969	A
3494306	Aguilar	Feb 1970	A
3545712	Ellis	Dec 1970	A
3568263	Meehan	Mar 1971	A
3646244	Cole	Feb 1972	A
3664514	Drake	May 1972	A
3683238	Olds et al.	Aug 1972	A
3701835	Eisele et al.	Oct 1972	A
3880396	Freiberger et al.	Apr 1975	A
3906592	Sakasegawa et al.	Sep 1975	A
3991960	Tanaka	Nov 1976	A
4047797	Arnold et al.	Sep 1977	A
4059872	Delesandri	Nov 1977	A
4119285	Bisping et al.	Oct 1978	A
4148454	Carlson et al.	Apr 1979	A
4239316	Spaulding	Dec 1980	A
4244638	Little et al.	Jan 1981	A
4285486	Von Osten et al.	Aug 1981	A
4303296	Spaulding	Dec 1981	A
4354731	Mouissie	Oct 1982	A
4457482	Kitagawa	Jul 1984	A
4525012	Dunner	Jun 1985	A
4540222	Burrell	Sep 1985	A
4561615	Medlin, Jr.	Dec 1985	A
4563057	Ludman	Jan 1986	A
4564163	Barnett	Jan 1986	A
4597173	Chino et al.	Jul 1986	A
4611875	Clarke et al.	Sep 1986	A
4635886	Santucci et al.	Jan 1987	A
4645292	Sammueller	Feb 1987	A
4657340	Tanaka et al.	Apr 1987	A
4681288	Nakamura	Jul 1987	A
4702551	Coulombe	Oct 1987	A
4711518	Shank et al.	Dec 1987	A
4736100	Vastagh	Apr 1988	A
4744629	Bertoglio et al.	May 1988	A
4747020	Brickley et al.	May 1988	A
4752110	Blanchet et al.	Jun 1988	A
4753510	Sezerman	Jun 1988	A
4787706	Cannon, Jr. et al.	Nov 1988	A
4792203	Nelson et al.	Dec 1988	A
4798432	Becker et al.	Jan 1989	A
4805979	Bossard et al.	Feb 1989	A
4808774	Crane	Feb 1989	A
4824193	Maeda et al.	Apr 1989	A
4824196	Bylander	Apr 1989	A
4826277	Weber et al.	May 1989	A
4838643	Hodges et al.	Jun 1989	A
4840449	Ghandeharizadeh	Jun 1989	A
4865280	Wollar	Sep 1989	A
4898448	Cooper	Feb 1990	A
4900123	Barlow	Feb 1990	A
4911662	Debortoli et al.	Mar 1990	A
4913514	Then	Apr 1990	A
4948220	Violo et al.	Aug 1990	A
4949376	Nieves et al.	Aug 1990	A
4971421	Ori	Nov 1990	A
4986625	Yamada et al.	Jan 1991	A
4988831	Wilson et al.	Jan 1991	A
4991928	Zimmer	Feb 1991	A
4995688	Anton et al.	Feb 1991	A
5001602	Suffi et al.	Mar 1991	A
5005941	Barlow et al.	Apr 1991	A
5017211	Wenger et al.	May 1991	A
5023646	Ishida et al.	Jun 1991	A
5024498	Becker et al.	Jun 1991	A
5028114	Krausse et al.	Jul 1991	A
5037175	Weber	Aug 1991	A
5048918	Daems et al.	Sep 1991	A
5060897	Thalenfeld	Oct 1991	A
5066149	Wheeler et al.	Nov 1991	A
5067784	Debortoli et al.	Nov 1991	A
5071211	Debortoli et al.	Dec 1991	A
5071220	Ruello et al.	Dec 1991	A
5073042	Mulholland et al.	Dec 1991	A
5074635	Justice et al.	Dec 1991	A
5076688	Bowen et al.	Dec 1991	A
5080459	Wettengel et al.	Jan 1992	A
5100221	Carney et al.	Mar 1992	A
5104336	Hatanaka et al.	Apr 1992	A
5125060	Edmundson	Jun 1992	A
5127082	Below et al.	Jun 1992	A
5127851	Hilbert et al.	Jul 1992	A
5129030	Petunia	Jul 1992	A
5129607	Satoh	Jul 1992	A
5133039	Dixit	Jul 1992	A
5138678	Briggs et al.	Aug 1992	A
5138688	Debortoli	Aug 1992	A
5142598	Tabone	Aug 1992	A
5142607	Petrotta et al.	Aug 1992	A
5150277	Bainbridge et al.	Sep 1992	A
D330368	Bourgeois et al.	Oct 1992	S
5152760	Latina	Oct 1992	A
5153910	Mickelson et al.	Oct 1992	A
5157749	Briggs et al.	Oct 1992	A
5167001	Debortoli et al.	Nov 1992	A
5170452	Ott	Dec 1992	A
5189723	Johnson et al.	Feb 1993	A
5199099	Dalgoutte	Mar 1993	A
5204929	Machall et al.	Apr 1993	A
5209572	Jordan	May 1993	A
5214735	Henneberger et al.	May 1993	A
5224186	Kishimoto et al.	Jun 1993	A
5230492	Zwart et al.	Jul 1993	A
5231687	Handley	Jul 1993	A
5231688	Zimmer	Jul 1993	A
5233674	Vladic	Aug 1993	A
5239609	Auteri	Aug 1993	A
5243679	Sharrow et al.	Sep 1993	A
5253320	Takahashi et al.	Oct 1993	A
5260957	Hakimi et al.	Nov 1993	A
5261633	Mastro	Nov 1993	A
5265187	Morin et al.	Nov 1993	A
5274729	King et al.	Dec 1993	A
5274731	White	Dec 1993	A
5278933	Hunsinger et al.	Jan 1994	A
5280138	Preston et al.	Jan 1994	A
5285515	Milanowski et al.	Feb 1994	A
5291570	Filgas et al.	Mar 1994	A
5315679	Baldwin et al.	May 1994	A
5317663	Beard et al.	May 1994	A
5323478	Milanowski et al.	Jun 1994	A
5323480	Mullaney et al.	Jun 1994	A
5329520	Richardson	Jul 1994	A
5333193	Cote et al.	Jul 1994	A
5333221	Briggs et al.	Jul 1994	A
5333222	Belenkiy et al.	Jul 1994	A
5337400	Morin et al.	Aug 1994	A
5339379	Kutsch et al.	Aug 1994	A
5347603	Belenkiy et al.	Sep 1994	A
5353367	Czosnowski et al.	Oct 1994	A
5359688	Underwood	Oct 1994	A
5363466	Milanowski et al.	Nov 1994	A
5363467	Keith	Nov 1994	A
5366388	Freeman et al.	Nov 1994	A
5367598	Devenish, III et al.	Nov 1994	A
5373421	Detsikas et al.	Dec 1994	A
5383051	Delrosso et al.	Jan 1995	A
5390272	Repta et al.	Feb 1995	A
5398295	Chang et al.	Mar 1995	A
5398820	Kiss	Mar 1995	A
5399814	Staber et al.	Mar 1995	A
5401193	Lo Cicero et al.	Mar 1995	A
5402515	Vidacovich et al.	Mar 1995	A
5408557	Hsu	Apr 1995	A
RE34955	Anton et al.	May 1995	E
5412751	Siemon et al.	May 1995	A
5416837	Cote et al.	May 1995	A
5418874	Carlisle et al.	May 1995	A
5420956	Grugel et al.	May 1995	A
5420958	Henson et al.	May 1995	A
5421532	Richter	Jun 1995	A
5438641	Malacarne	Aug 1995	A
5442725	Peng	Aug 1995	A
5442726	Howard et al.	Aug 1995	A
5443232	Kesinger et al.	Aug 1995	A
5444804	Yui et al.	Aug 1995	A
5448015	Jamet et al.	Sep 1995	A
5450518	Burek et al.	Sep 1995	A
5458019	Trevino	Oct 1995	A
5471555	Braga et al.	Nov 1995	A
5479505	Butler et al.	Dec 1995	A
5481634	Anderson et al.	Jan 1996	A
5481939	Bernardini	Jan 1996	A
5490229	Ghandeharizadeh et al.	Feb 1996	A
5495549	Schneider et al.	Feb 1996	A
5497416	Butler, III et al.	Mar 1996	A
5497444	Wheeler	Mar 1996	A
5511144	Hawkins et al.	Apr 1996	A
5511798	Kawamoto et al.	Apr 1996	A
5519804	Burek et al.	May 1996	A
5530786	Radliff et al.	Jun 1996	A
5535970	Gobbi	Jul 1996	A
5538213	Brown	Jul 1996	A
5542015	Hultermans	Jul 1996	A
5546495	Bruckner et al.	Aug 1996	A
5548641	Butler et al.	Aug 1996	A
5553183	Bechamps	Sep 1996	A
5553186	Allen	Sep 1996	A
5563971	Abendschein	Oct 1996	A
5572617	Bernhardt et al.	Nov 1996	A
5575680	Suffi	Nov 1996	A
5577151	Hoffer	Nov 1996	A
5590234	Pulido	Dec 1996	A
5595507	Braun et al.	Jan 1997	A
5596670	Debortoli et al.	Jan 1997	A
5600020	Wehle et al.	Feb 1997	A
5602954	Nolf et al.	Feb 1997	A
5608606	Blaney	Mar 1997	A
5613030	Hoffer et al.	Mar 1997	A
5617501	Miller et al.	Apr 1997	A
5638474	Lampert et al.	Jun 1997	A
5640476	Womack et al.	Jun 1997	A
5640482	Barry et al.	Jun 1997	A
5647043	Anderson et al.	Jul 1997	A
5647045	Robinson et al.	Jul 1997	A
5650334	Zuk et al.	Jul 1997	A
5668910	Arnett	Sep 1997	A
5668911	Debortoli	Sep 1997	A
5671273	Lanquist	Sep 1997	A
5689605	Cobb et al.	Nov 1997	A
5689607	Vincent et al.	Nov 1997	A
5692079	Iso	Nov 1997	A
5694511	Pimpinella et al.	Dec 1997	A
5701380	Larson et al.	Dec 1997	A
5704573	de Beers et al.	Jan 1998	A
5708742	Beun et al.	Jan 1998	A
5708751	Mattei	Jan 1998	A
5710851	Walter et al.	Jan 1998	A
5717810	Wheeler	Feb 1998	A
5721564	Patel	Feb 1998	A
5734776	Puetz	Mar 1998	A
5740300	Hodge	Apr 1998	A
5742982	Dodd et al.	Apr 1998	A
5751874	Chudoba et al.	May 1998	A
5751882	Daems et al.	May 1998	A
5754724	Peterson et al.	May 1998	A
5758003	Wheeler et al.	May 1998	A
5758004	Alarcon et al.	May 1998	A
5761026	Robinson et al.	Jun 1998	A
5765698	Bullivant	Jun 1998	A
5769908	Koppelman	Jun 1998	A
5774612	Belenkiy et al.	Jun 1998	A
5778122	Giebel et al.	Jul 1998	A
5778130	Walters et al.	Jul 1998	A
5781686	Robinson et al.	Jul 1998	A
5788087	Orlando	Aug 1998	A
5790741	Vincent et al.	Aug 1998	A
5793920	Wilkins et al.	Aug 1998	A
5793921	Wilkins et al.	Aug 1998	A
5796908	Vicory	Aug 1998	A
5806687	Ballesteros et al.	Sep 1998	A
5823646	Arizpe et al.	Oct 1998	A
5825955	Ernst et al.	Oct 1998	A
5825961	Wilkins et al.	Oct 1998	A
5828807	Tucker et al.	Oct 1998	A
5832162	Sarbell	Nov 1998	A
5835657	Suarez et al.	Nov 1998	A
5835658	Smith	Nov 1998	A
5838847	Pan	Nov 1998	A
5862290	Burek et al.	Jan 1999	A
5870519	Jenkins et al.	Feb 1999	A
5874733	Silver et al.	Feb 1999	A
5877565	Hollenbach et al.	Mar 1999	A
5880864	Williams et al.	Mar 1999	A
5881200	Burt	Mar 1999	A
5883995	Lu et al.	Mar 1999	A
5884003	Cloud et al.	Mar 1999	A
5887095	Nagase et al.	Mar 1999	A
5887106	Cheeseman et al.	Mar 1999	A
5892877	Meyerhoefer	Apr 1999	A
5894540	Drewing	Apr 1999	A
5901220	Garver et al.	May 1999	A
5903693	Brown	May 1999	A
5906342	Kraus	May 1999	A
5909298	Shimada et al.	Jun 1999	A
5913006	Summach	Jun 1999	A
5914976	Jayaraman et al.	Jun 1999	A
5915055	Bennett et al.	Jun 1999	A
5923804	Rosson	Jul 1999	A
5930425	Abel et al.	Jul 1999	A
5933557	Ott	Aug 1999	A
5940563	Kobayashi et al.	Aug 1999	A
5943460	Mead et al.	Aug 1999	A
5945633	Ott et al.	Aug 1999	A
5946440	Puetz	Aug 1999	A
5949946	Debortoli et al.	Sep 1999	A
5953962	Hewson	Sep 1999	A
5956439	Pimpinella	Sep 1999	A
5956444	Duda et al.	Sep 1999	A
5956449	Otani et al.	Sep 1999	A
5966492	Bechamps et al.	Oct 1999	A
5969294	Eberle et al.	Oct 1999	A
5975769	Larson et al.	Nov 1999	A
5978540	Bechamps et al.	Nov 1999	A
5980303	Lee et al.	Nov 1999	A
5987203	Abel et al.	Nov 1999	A
5993071	Hultermans	Nov 1999	A
5995700	Burek et al.	Nov 1999	A
5999393	Brower	Dec 1999	A
6001831	Papenfuhs et al.	Dec 1999	A
6009224	Allen	Dec 1999	A
6009225	Ray et al.	Dec 1999	A
6011831	Nieves et al.	Jan 2000	A
6027252	Erdman et al.	Feb 2000	A
6027352	Byrne	Feb 2000	A
6041042	Bussiere	Mar 2000	A
6044193	Szentesi et al.	Mar 2000	A
6049963	Boe	Apr 2000	A
6058235	Hiramatsu et al.	May 2000	A
6061492	Strause et al.	May 2000	A
6078661	Arnett et al.	Jun 2000	A
6079881	Roth	Jun 2000	A
6088497	Phillips et al.	Jul 2000	A
6118075	Baker et al.	Sep 2000	A
6118868	Daoud	Sep 2000	A
6127627	Daoud	Oct 2000	A
6130983	Cheng	Oct 2000	A
6134370	Childers et al.	Oct 2000	A
6141222	Toor et al.	Oct 2000	A
6149313	Giebel et al.	Nov 2000	A
6149315	Stephenson	Nov 2000	A
6151432	Nakajima et al.	Nov 2000	A
6160946	Thompson et al.	Dec 2000	A
6163643	Bergmann	Dec 2000	A
6170784	MacDonald et al.	Jan 2001	B1
6172782	Kobayashi	Jan 2001	B1
6175079	Johnston et al.	Jan 2001	B1
6181861	Wenski et al.	Jan 2001	B1
6188687	Mussman et al.	Feb 2001	B1
6188825	Bandy et al.	Feb 2001	B1
6192180	Kim et al.	Feb 2001	B1
6200170	Amberg et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6201919	Puetz et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6201920	Noble et al.	Mar 2001	B1
6208796	Williams Vigliaturo	Mar 2001	B1
6212324	Lin et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6215938	Reitmeier et al.	Apr 2001	B1
6216987	Fukuo	Apr 2001	B1
6227717	Ott et al.	May 2001	B1
6229948	Blee et al.	May 2001	B1
6234683	Waldron et al.	May 2001	B1
6234685	Carlisle et al.	May 2001	B1
6236795	Rodgers	May 2001	B1
6240229	Roth	May 2001	B1
6241398	Correa	Jun 2001	B1
6243522	Allan et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6245998	Curry et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6247851	Ichihara	Jun 2001	B1
6250816	Johnson et al.	Jun 2001	B1
6259850	Crosby, Jr. et al.	Jul 2001	B1
6263141	Smith	Jul 2001	B1
6265680	Robertson	Jul 2001	B1
6269212	Schiattone	Jul 2001	B1
6273532	Chen et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6275641	Daoud	Aug 2001	B1
6278829	BuAbbud et al.	Aug 2001	B1
6278831	Henderson et al.	Aug 2001	B1
D448005	Klein, Jr. et al.	Sep 2001	S
6289618	Kump et al.	Sep 2001	B1
6292614	Smith et al.	Sep 2001	B1
6301424	Hwang	Oct 2001	B1
6305848	Gregory	Oct 2001	B1
6307997	Walters et al.	Oct 2001	B1
6318824	LaGrotta et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6321017	Janus et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6322279	Yamamoto et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6324575	Jain et al.	Nov 2001	B1
6325549	Shevchuk	Dec 2001	B1
6327059	Bhalla et al.	Dec 2001	B1
RE37489	Anton et al.	Jan 2002	E
6343313	Salesky et al.	Jan 2002	B1
6344615	Nolf et al.	Feb 2002	B1
6347888	Puetz	Feb 2002	B1
6353696	Gordon et al.	Mar 2002	B1
6353697	Daoud	Mar 2002	B1
6357712	Lu	Mar 2002	B1
6359228	Strause et al.	Mar 2002	B1
6363198	Braga et al.	Mar 2002	B1
6363200	Thompson et al.	Mar 2002	B1
6370309	Daoud	Apr 2002	B1
6371419	Ohnuki	Apr 2002	B1
6375129	Koziol	Apr 2002	B2
6377218	Nelson et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6379052	De Jong et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6381642	O'Donnell et al.	Apr 2002	B1
6385374	Kropp	May 2002	B2
6385381	Janus et al.	May 2002	B1
6389214	Smith et al.	May 2002	B1
6392140	Yee et al.	May 2002	B1
6397166	Leung et al.	May 2002	B1
6398149	Hines et al.	Jun 2002	B1
6406314	Byrne	Jun 2002	B1
6410850	Abel et al.	Jun 2002	B1
6411767	Burrous et al.	Jun 2002	B1
6412986	Ngo et al.	Jul 2002	B1
6418262	Puetz et al.	Jul 2002	B1
6419519	Young	Jul 2002	B1
6424781	Puetz et al.	Jul 2002	B1
6425694	Szilagyi et al.	Jul 2002	B1
6427045	Matthes et al.	Jul 2002	B1
6431762	Taira et al.	Aug 2002	B1
6434313	Clapp, Jr. et al.	Aug 2002	B1
6438310	Lance et al.	Aug 2002	B1
6452925	Sistanizadeh et al.	Sep 2002	B1
6456773	Keys	Sep 2002	B1
6464402	Andrews et al.	Oct 2002	B1
6466724	Glover et al.	Oct 2002	B1
6469905	Hwang	Oct 2002	B1
D466087	Cuny et al.	Nov 2002	S
6478472	Anderson et al.	Nov 2002	B1
6480487	Wegleitner et al.	Nov 2002	B1
6480660	Reitmeier et al.	Nov 2002	B1
6483977	Battey et al.	Nov 2002	B2
6484958	Xue et al.	Nov 2002	B1
6494550	Chen et al.	Dec 2002	B1
6496640	Harvey et al.	Dec 2002	B1
6504988	Trebesch et al.	Jan 2003	B1
6507980	Bremicker	Jan 2003	B2
6510274	Wu et al.	Jan 2003	B1
6532332	Solheid et al.	Mar 2003	B2
6533472	Dinh et al.	Mar 2003	B1
6535397	Clark et al.	Mar 2003	B2
6539147	Mahony	Mar 2003	B1
6539160	Battey et al.	Mar 2003	B2
6542688	Battey et al.	Apr 2003	B1
6544075	Liao	Apr 2003	B1
6550977	Hizuka	Apr 2003	B2
6554485	Beatty et al.	Apr 2003	B1
6560334	Mullaney et al.	May 2003	B1
6567601	Daoud et al.	May 2003	B2
6568542	Chen	May 2003	B1
6571048	Bechamps et al.	May 2003	B1
6577595	Counterman	Jun 2003	B1
6577801	Broderick et al.	Jun 2003	B2
6579014	Melton et al.	Jun 2003	B2
6584267	Caveney et al.	Jun 2003	B1
6585423	Vergeest	Jul 2003	B1
6587630	Spence et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6588938	Lampert et al.	Jul 2003	B1
6591051	Solheid et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6591053	Fritz	Jul 2003	B2
6592266	Hankins et al.	Jul 2003	B1
6597670	Tweedy et al.	Jul 2003	B1
6600106	Standish et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6600866	Gatica et al.	Jul 2003	B2
6601997	Ngo	Aug 2003	B2
6612515	Tinucci et al.	Sep 2003	B1
6612874	Stout et al.	Sep 2003	B1
6614978	Caveney	Sep 2003	B1
6614980	Mahony	Sep 2003	B1
6621975	Laporte et al.	Sep 2003	B2
6622873	Hegrenes et al.	Sep 2003	B2
6624389	Cox	Sep 2003	B1
6625374	Holman et al.	Sep 2003	B2
6625375	Mahony	Sep 2003	B1
6631237	Knudsen et al.	Oct 2003	B2
6640042	Araki et al.	Oct 2003	B2
RE38311	Wheeler	Nov 2003	E
6644863	Azami et al.	Nov 2003	B1
6647197	Marrs et al.	Nov 2003	B1
6648520	McDonald et al.	Nov 2003	B2
6654536	Battey et al.	Nov 2003	B2
6668127	Mahony	Dec 2003	B1
6669149	Akizuki	Dec 2003	B2
6677520	Kim et al.	Jan 2004	B1
6679604	Bove et al.	Jan 2004	B1
6687450	Kempeneers et al.	Feb 2004	B1
6693552	Herzig et al.	Feb 2004	B1
6695620	Huang	Feb 2004	B1
6701056	Burek et al.	Mar 2004	B2
6710366	Lee et al.	Mar 2004	B1
6715619	Kim et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6719149	Tomino	Apr 2004	B2
6721482	Glynn	Apr 2004	B1
6728462	Wu et al.	Apr 2004	B2
6741784	Guan	May 2004	B1
6741785	Barthel et al.	May 2004	B2
6746037	Kaplenski et al.	Jun 2004	B1
6748154	O'Leary et al.	Jun 2004	B2
6748155	Kim et al.	Jun 2004	B2
6758600	Del Grosso et al.	Jul 2004	B2
6768860	Liberty	Jul 2004	B2
6771861	Wagner et al.	Aug 2004	B2
6773297	Komiya	Aug 2004	B2
6778525	Baum et al.	Aug 2004	B1
6778752	Laporte et al.	Aug 2004	B2
6786647	Hinds et al.	Sep 2004	B1
6786743	Huang	Sep 2004	B2
6786896	Madhani et al.	Sep 2004	B1
6788871	Taylor	Sep 2004	B2
6792190	Xin et al.	Sep 2004	B2
6792191	Clapp, Jr. et al.	Sep 2004	B1
6798751	Voit et al.	Sep 2004	B1
6804447	Smith et al.	Oct 2004	B2
6810194	Griffiths et al.	Oct 2004	B2
6813412	Lin	Nov 2004	B2
6816660	Nashimoto	Nov 2004	B2
6818834	Lin	Nov 2004	B1
6819856	Dagley et al.	Nov 2004	B2
6819857	Douglas et al.	Nov 2004	B2
6822874	Marler	Nov 2004	B1
6826174	Erekson et al.	Nov 2004	B1
6826346	Sloan et al.	Nov 2004	B2
6826631	Webb	Nov 2004	B2
6830489	Aoyama	Dec 2004	B2
6839428	Brower et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6839438	Riegelsberger et al.	Jan 2005	B1
6840815	Musolf et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6845207	Schray	Jan 2005	B2
6847614	Banker et al.	Jan 2005	B2
6848862	Schlig	Feb 2005	B1
6850685	Tinucci et al.	Feb 2005	B2
6853637	Norrell et al.	Feb 2005	B1
6854894	Yunker et al.	Feb 2005	B1
6856334	Fukui	Feb 2005	B1
6856505	Venegas et al.	Feb 2005	B1
6863444	Anderson et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6865331	Mertesdorf	Mar 2005	B2
6865334	Cooke et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6866541	Barker et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6868216	Gehrke	Mar 2005	B1
6869227	Del Grosso et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6870734	Mertesdorf et al.	Mar 2005	B2
6870997	Cooke	Mar 2005	B2
6879545	Cooke et al.	Apr 2005	B2
6915058	Pons	Jul 2005	B2
6920273	Knudsen	Jul 2005	B2
6920274	Rapp et al.	Jul 2005	B2
6923406	Akizuki	Aug 2005	B2
6925241	Bohle et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6934451	Cooke	Aug 2005	B2
6934456	Ferris et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6935598	Sono et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6937807	Franklin et al.	Aug 2005	B2
6944383	Herzog et al.	Sep 2005	B1
6944389	Giraud et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6945701	Trezza et al.	Sep 2005	B2
6952530	Helvajian et al.	Oct 2005	B2
6963690	Kassal et al.	Nov 2005	B1
6968107	Belardi et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6968111	Trebesch et al.	Nov 2005	B2
6985665	Baechtle	Jan 2006	B2
6993237	Cooke et al.	Jan 2006	B2
7000784	Canty et al.	Feb 2006	B2
7005582	Muller et al.	Feb 2006	B2
7006748	Dagley et al.	Feb 2006	B2
7007296	Rakib	Feb 2006	B2
7025275	Huang et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7027695	Cooke et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7027706	Diaz et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7031588	Cowley et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7035510	Zimmel et al.	Apr 2006	B2
7038137	Grubish et al.	May 2006	B2
7048447	Patel et al.	May 2006	B1
7054513	Herz et al.	May 2006	B2
7066748	Bricaud et al.	Jun 2006	B2
7068907	Schray	Jun 2006	B2
7070459	Denovich et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7077710	Haggay et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7079744	Douglas et al.	Jul 2006	B2
7090406	Melton et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7090407	Melton et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7094095	Caveney	Aug 2006	B1
7097047	Lee et al.	Aug 2006	B2
7101093	Hsiao et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7102884	Mertesdorf et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7103255	Reagan et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7110654	Dillat	Sep 2006	B2
7111990	Melton et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7113679	Melton et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7113686	Bellekens et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7113687	Womack et al.	Sep 2006	B2
7116491	Willey et al.	Oct 2006	B1
7116883	Kline et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7118281	Chiu et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7118405	Peng	Oct 2006	B2
7120347	Blackwell, Jr. et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7120348	Trebesch et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7120349	Elliott	Oct 2006	B2
7127143	Elkins, II et al.	Oct 2006	B2
7128471	Wilson	Oct 2006	B2
7136555	Theuerkorn et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7139462	Richtman	Nov 2006	B1
7140903	Pulizzi et al.	Nov 2006	B2
7147383	Sullivan	Dec 2006	B2
7170466	Janoschka	Jan 2007	B2
7171099	Barnes et al.	Jan 2007	B2
7171121	Skarica et al.	Jan 2007	B1
7181142	Xu et al.	Feb 2007	B1
7186134	Togami et al.	Mar 2007	B2
7193783	Willey et al.	Mar 2007	B2
7194181	Holmberg et al.	Mar 2007	B2
7195521	Musolf et al.	Mar 2007	B2
7200314	Womack et al.	Apr 2007	B2
7200316	Giraud et al.	Apr 2007	B2
7201595	Morello	Apr 2007	B1
7217040	Crews et al.	May 2007	B2
7218526	Mayer	May 2007	B2
7220065	Han et al.	May 2007	B2
7221832	Tinucci	May 2007	B2
7228036	Elkins, II et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7228047	Szilagyi et al.	Jun 2007	B1
7231125	Douglas et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7234878	Yamauchi et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7236677	Escoto et al.	Jun 2007	B2
7239789	Grubish et al.	Jul 2007	B2
7245809	Gniadek et al.	Jul 2007	B1
7259325	Pincu et al.	Aug 2007	B2
7266283	Kline et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7270485	Robinson et al.	Sep 2007	B1
7272291	Bayazit et al.	Sep 2007	B2
7274852	Smrha et al.	Sep 2007	B1
7284785	Gotou et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7287913	Keenum et al.	Oct 2007	B2
7289731	Thinguldstad	Oct 2007	B2
7292769	Watanabe et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7298950	Frohlich	Nov 2007	B2
7300216	Morse et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7300308	Laursen et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7302149	Swam et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7302153	Thom	Nov 2007	B2
7302154	Trebesch et al.	Nov 2007	B2
7308184	Barnes et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7310471	Bayazit et al.	Dec 2007	B2
7310472	Haberman	Dec 2007	B2
7315681	Kewitsch	Jan 2008	B2
7325975	Yamada et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7330624	Isenhour et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7330625	Barth	Feb 2008	B2
7330626	Kowalczyk et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7330629	Cooke et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7331718	Yazaki et al.	Feb 2008	B2
7340145	Allen	Mar 2008	B2
7349615	Frazier et al.	Mar 2008	B2
7352946	Heller et al.	Apr 2008	B2
7352947	Phung et al.	Apr 2008	B2
7373071	Douglas et al.	May 2008	B2
7376321	Bolster et al.	May 2008	B2
7376323	Zimmel	May 2008	B2
7391952	Ugolini et al.	Jun 2008	B1
7397996	Herzog et al.	Jul 2008	B2
7400813	Zimmel	Jul 2008	B2
7404736	Herbst et al.	Jul 2008	B2
7409137	Barnes	Aug 2008	B2
7414198	Stansbie et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7417188	McNutt et al.	Aug 2008	B2
7418182	Krampotich	Aug 2008	B2
7418184	Gonzales et al.	Aug 2008	B1
7421182	Bayazit et al.	Sep 2008	B2
7428363	Leon et al.	Sep 2008	B2
7435090	Schriefer et al.	Oct 2008	B1
7437049	Krampotich	Oct 2008	B2
7439453	Murano et al.	Oct 2008	B2
7454113	Barnes	Nov 2008	B2
7460757	Hoehne et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7460758	Xin	Dec 2008	B2
7461981	Yow, Jr. et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7462779	Caveney et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7463810	Bayazit et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7463811	Trebesch et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7469090	Ferris et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7471867	Vogel et al.	Dec 2008	B2
7474828	Leon et al.	Jan 2009	B2
7477824	Reagan et al.	Jan 2009	B2
7477826	Mullaney et al.	Jan 2009	B2
7480438	Douglas et al.	Jan 2009	B2
7488205	Spisany et al.	Feb 2009	B2
7493002	Coburn et al.	Feb 2009	B2
7496269	Lee	Feb 2009	B1
7499622	Castonguay et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7499623	Barnes et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7507111	Togami et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7509015	Murano	Mar 2009	B2
7509016	Smith et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7510421	Fransen et al.	Mar 2009	B2
7522804	Araki et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7523898	Barry et al.	Apr 2009	B1
7526171	Caveney et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7526172	Gniadek et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7526174	Leon et al.	Apr 2009	B2
7529458	Spisany et al.	May 2009	B2
7534958	McNutt et al.	May 2009	B2
7536075	Zimmel	May 2009	B2
7540666	Luther et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7542645	Hua et al.	Jun 2009	B1
7544085	Baldwin et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7552899	Chen et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7555193	Rapp et al.	Jun 2009	B2
7558458	Gronvall et al.	Jul 2009	B2
7565051	Vongseng	Jul 2009	B2
7567744	Krampotich et al.	Jul 2009	B2
7570860	Smrha et al.	Aug 2009	B2
7570861	Smrha et al.	Aug 2009	B2
7577331	Laurisch et al.	Aug 2009	B2
7596293	Isenhour et al.	Sep 2009	B2
7603020	Wakileh et al.	Oct 2009	B1
7607938	Clark et al.	Oct 2009	B2
7609967	Hochbaum et al.	Oct 2009	B2
7613377	Gonzales et al.	Nov 2009	B2
7614903	Huang	Nov 2009	B1
7620287	Appenzeller et al.	Nov 2009	B2
7641398	O'Riorden et al.	Jan 2010	B2
7668430	McClellan et al.	Feb 2010	B2
7668433	Bayazit et al.	Feb 2010	B2
7672561	Keith et al.	Mar 2010	B1
7676135	Chen	Mar 2010	B2
7689079	Burnham et al.	Mar 2010	B2
7694926	Allen et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7697811	Murano et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7706294	Natarajan et al.	Apr 2010	B2
7715125	Willey	May 2010	B2
7715683	Kowalczyk et al.	May 2010	B2
7734138	Bloodworth et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7738757	Pakravan et al.	Jun 2010	B1
7740409	Bolton et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7743495	Mori et al.	Jun 2010	B2
7748911	Keenum et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7751674	Hill	Jul 2010	B2
7751675	Holmberg et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7756371	Burnham et al.	Jul 2010	B1
7756382	Saravanos et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7760984	Solheid et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7764858	Bayazit et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7764859	Krampotich et al.	Jul 2010	B2
7769266	Morris	Aug 2010	B2
7805044	Reagan et al.	Sep 2010	B2
7809232	Reagan et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7809235	Reagan et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7811136	Hsieh et al.	Oct 2010	B1
7822310	Castonguay et al.	Oct 2010	B2
7837495	Baldwin et al.	Nov 2010	B2
7850372	Nishimura et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7853112	Zimmel et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7856166	Biribuze et al.	Dec 2010	B2
7862369	Gimenes et al.	Jan 2011	B2
7869685	Hendrickson et al.	Jan 2011	B2
7876580	Mayer	Jan 2011	B2
7899298	Cox et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7914332	Song et al.	Mar 2011	B2
7942589	Yazaki et al.	May 2011	B2
7945135	Cooke et al.	May 2011	B2
7945136	Cooke et al.	May 2011	B2
7945138	Hill et al.	May 2011	B2
7970250	Morris	Jun 2011	B2
7991252	Cheng et al.	Aug 2011	B2
8009959	Barnes et al.	Aug 2011	B2
8014171	Kelly et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8014646	Keith et al.	Sep 2011	B2
8020813	Clark et al.	Sep 2011	B1
8059932	Hill et al.	Nov 2011	B2
8093499	Hoffer et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8107785	Berglund et al.	Jan 2012	B2
8131126	Kowalczyk et al.	Mar 2012	B2
8184938	Cooke et al.	May 2012	B2
8206043	Thirugnanam et al.	Jun 2012	B2
8206058	Vrondran et al.	Jun 2012	B2
8220881	Keith	Jul 2012	B2
8226305	Thirugnanam et al.	Jul 2012	B2
8249410	Andrus et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8251591	Barnes et al.	Aug 2012	B2
8270798	Dagley et al.	Sep 2012	B2
8280216	Cooke et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8285104	Davis et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8301004	Cooke et al.	Oct 2012	B2
8331752	Biribuze	Dec 2012	B2
8353494	Peng et al.	Jan 2013	B2
8369679	Wakileh et al.	Feb 2013	B2
8391666	Hertzer et al.	Mar 2013	B2
8472773	de Jong	Jun 2013	B2
8491331	Follingstad	Jul 2013	B2
8528872	Mattlin et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8537477	Shioda	Sep 2013	B2
8538226	Makrides-Saravanos et al.	Sep 2013	B2
8559783	Campos et al.	Oct 2013	B2
8702318	Isenhour et al.	Apr 2014	B2
8824850	Garcia et al.	Sep 2014	B2
9020320	Cooke et al.	Apr 2015	B2
9268091	Jong et al.	Feb 2016	B2
20010010741	Hizuka	Aug 2001	A1
20010029125	Morita et al.	Oct 2001	A1
20020010818	Wei et al.	Jan 2002	A1
20020012353	Gerszberg et al.	Jan 2002	A1
20020014571	Thompson	Feb 2002	A1
20020034290	Pershan	Mar 2002	A1
20020037139	Asao et al.	Mar 2002	A1
20020064364	Battey et al.	May 2002	A1
20020131730	Keeble et al.	Sep 2002	A1
20020136519	Tinucci et al.	Sep 2002	A1
20020141724	Ogawa et al.	Oct 2002	A1
20020150372	Schray	Oct 2002	A1
20020172467	Anderson et al.	Nov 2002	A1
20020180163	Muller et al.	Dec 2002	A1
20020181918	Spence et al.	Dec 2002	A1
20020181922	Xin et al.	Dec 2002	A1
20020191939	Daoud et al.	Dec 2002	A1
20020194596	Srivastava	Dec 2002	A1
20030002802	Trezza et al.	Jan 2003	A1
20030007743	Asada	Jan 2003	A1
20030007767	Douglas et al.	Jan 2003	A1
20030011855	Fujiwara	Jan 2003	A1
20030021539	Kwon et al.	Jan 2003	A1
20030036748	Cooper et al.	Feb 2003	A1
20030051026	Carter et al.	Mar 2003	A1
20030066998	Lee	Apr 2003	A1
20030086675	Wu et al.	May 2003	A1
20030095753	Wada et al.	May 2003	A1
20030123834	Burek et al.	Jul 2003	A1
20030147604	Tapia et al.	Aug 2003	A1
20030156552	Banker et al.	Aug 2003	A1
20030174996	Henschel et al.	Sep 2003	A1
20030180004	Cox et al.	Sep 2003	A1
20030180012	Deane et al.	Sep 2003	A1
20030183413	Kato	Oct 2003	A1
20030199201	Mullaney et al.	Oct 2003	A1
20030210882	Barthel et al.	Nov 2003	A1
20030223723	Massey et al.	Dec 2003	A1
20030223725	Laporte et al.	Dec 2003	A1
20030235387	Dufour	Dec 2003	A1
20040001717	Bennett et al.	Jan 2004	A1
20040013389	Taylor	Jan 2004	A1
20040013390	Kim et al.	Jan 2004	A1
20040022494	Liddle et al.	Feb 2004	A1
20040024934	Webb	Feb 2004	A1
20040067036	Clark et al.	Apr 2004	A1
20040074852	Knudsen et al.	Apr 2004	A1
20040086238	Finona et al.	May 2004	A1
20040086252	Smith et al.	May 2004	A1
20040120679	Vincent et al.	Jun 2004	A1
20040126081	Hong	Jul 2004	A1
20040147159	Urban et al.	Jul 2004	A1
20040151465	Krampotich et al.	Aug 2004	A1
20040175090	Vastmans et al.	Sep 2004	A1
20040192115	Bugg	Sep 2004	A1
20040196522	Lee	Oct 2004	A1
20040196841	Tudor et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040208459	Mizue et al.	Oct 2004	A1
20040228598	Allen et al.	Nov 2004	A1
20040240827	Daoud et al.	Dec 2004	A1
20040240882	Lipski et al.	Dec 2004	A1
20040264873	Smith et al.	Dec 2004	A1
20050002633	Solheid et al.	Jan 2005	A1
20050008131	Cook	Jan 2005	A1
20050026497	Holliday	Feb 2005	A1
20050036749	Vogel et al.	Feb 2005	A1
20050067358	Lee et al.	Mar 2005	A1
20050069248	Jasti et al.	Mar 2005	A1
20050074990	Shearman et al.	Apr 2005	A1
20050076149	McKown et al.	Apr 2005	A1
20050083959	Binder	Apr 2005	A1
20050107086	Tell et al.	May 2005	A1
20050111809	Giraud et al.	May 2005	A1
20050123261	Bellekens et al.	Jun 2005	A1
20050129379	Reagan et al.	Jun 2005	A1
20050178573	James	Aug 2005	A1
20050201073	Pincu et al.	Sep 2005	A1
20050232566	Rapp et al.	Oct 2005	A1
20050233647	Denovich et al.	Oct 2005	A1
20050254757	Ferretti, III et al.	Nov 2005	A1
20050281526	Vongseng et al.	Dec 2005	A1
20050285493	Hu et al.	Dec 2005	A1
20060007562	Willey et al.	Jan 2006	A1
20060018448	Stevens et al.	Jan 2006	A1
20060018622	Caveney et al.	Jan 2006	A1
20060034048	Xu	Feb 2006	A1
20060039290	Roden et al.	Feb 2006	A1
20060044774	Vasavda et al.	Mar 2006	A1
20060045458	Sasaki et al.	Mar 2006	A1
20060072606	Posthuma	Apr 2006	A1
20060077968	Pitsoulakis et al.	Apr 2006	A1
20060093303	Reagan et al.	May 2006	A1
20060103270	Bergesch et al.	May 2006	A1
20060127026	Beck	Jun 2006	A1
20060133736	Sullivan	Jun 2006	A1
20060133759	Mullaney et al.	Jun 2006	A1
20060147156	Tsuchida	Jul 2006	A1
20060147171	Dofher	Jul 2006	A1
20060147172	Luther et al.	Jul 2006	A1
20060153517	Reagan et al.	Jul 2006	A1
20060160377	Huang	Jul 2006	A1
20060165365	Feustel et al.	Jul 2006	A1
20060165366	Feustel et al.	Jul 2006	A1
20060191700	Herzog et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060193590	Puetz et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060193591	Rapp et al.	Aug 2006	A1
20060198098	Clark et al.	Sep 2006	A1
20060204179	Patel et al.	Sep 2006	A1
20060215980	Bayazit et al.	Sep 2006	A1
20060225912	Clark et al.	Oct 2006	A1
20060228087	Bayazit et al.	Oct 2006	A1
20060245694	Chen	Nov 2006	A1
20060269194	Luther et al.	Nov 2006	A1
20060269205	Zimmel	Nov 2006	A1
20060269206	Zimmel	Nov 2006	A1
20060269208	Allen et al.	Nov 2006	A1
20060275008	Xin	Dec 2006	A1
20060275009	Ellison et al.	Dec 2006	A1
20060285812	Ferris et al.	Dec 2006	A1
20070003204	Makrides-Saravanos et al.	Jan 2007	A1
20070025070	Jiang et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070031099	Herzog et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070033629	McGranahan et al.	Feb 2007	A1
20070047891	Bayazit et al.	Mar 2007	A1
20070047894	Holmberg et al.	Mar 2007	A1
20070058641	Cicchetti et al.	Mar 2007	A1
20070086723	Sasaki et al.	Apr 2007	A1
20070104447	Allen	May 2007	A1
20070110373	Dudek et al.	May 2007	A1
20070131628	Mimlitch, III et al.	Jun 2007	A1
20070183709	Furuno	Aug 2007	A1
20070183732	Wittmeier et al.	Aug 2007	A1
20070189692	Zimmel et al.	Aug 2007	A1
20070196071	Laursen et al.	Aug 2007	A1
20070221793	Kusuda et al.	Sep 2007	A1
20070237484	Reagan et al.	Oct 2007	A1
20070257159	Nelson et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070266192	Campini et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20070274718	Bridges et al.	Nov 2007	A1
20080011514	Zheng et al.	Jan 2008	A1
20080025683	Murano	Jan 2008	A1
20080031585	Solheid et al.	Feb 2008	A1
20080063350	Trebesch et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080068788	Ozawa et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080069511	Blackwell, Jr. et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080069512	Barnes et al.	Mar 2008	A1
20080078899	Chen et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080080826	Leon et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080080827	Leon et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080080828	Leon et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080085094	Krampotich	Apr 2008	A1
20080089656	Wagner et al.	Apr 2008	A1
20080095502	McColloch	Apr 2008	A1
20080095541	Dallesasse	Apr 2008	A1
20080100440	Downie et al.	May 2008	A1
20080106871	James	May 2008	A1
20080112681	Battey et al.	May 2008	A1
20080118207	Yamamoto et al.	May 2008	A1
20080121423	Vogel et al.	May 2008	A1
20080124039	Gniadek et al.	May 2008	A1
20080131068	Mertesdorf et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080145013	Escoto et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080152294	Hirano et al.	Jun 2008	A1
20080166094	Bookbinder et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080166131	Hudgins et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080175541	Lu et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080175550	Coburn et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080175551	Smrha et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080175552	Smrha et al.	Jul 2008	A1
20080193091	Herbst	Aug 2008	A1
20080205823	Luther et al.	Aug 2008	A1
20080205843	Castonguay et al.	Aug 2008	A1
20080205844	Castonguay et al.	Aug 2008	A1
20080212928	Kowalczyk et al.	Sep 2008	A1
20080219632	Smith et al.	Sep 2008	A1
20080219634	Rapp et al.	Sep 2008	A1
20080236858	Quijano	Oct 2008	A1
20080247723	Herzog et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080267573	Douglas et al.	Oct 2008	A1
20080285934	Standish et al.	Nov 2008	A1
20080292261	Kowalczyk et al.	Nov 2008	A1
20080296060	Hawley et al.	Dec 2008	A1
20080298763	Appenzeller et al.	Dec 2008	A1
20080310810	Gallagher	Dec 2008	A1
20090010607	Elisson et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090016685	Hudgins et al.	Jan 2009	A1
20090022470	Krampotich	Jan 2009	A1
20090038845	Fransen et al.	Feb 2009	A1
20090060439	Cox et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090060440	Wright et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090067800	Vazquez et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090074371	Bayazit et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090080849	Hankins et al.	Mar 2009	A1
20090097813	Hill	Apr 2009	A1
20090110347	Jacobsson	Apr 2009	A1
20090121092	Keith	May 2009	A1
20090136194	Barnes	May 2009	A1
20090136195	Smrha et al.	May 2009	A1
20090136196	Trebesch et al.	May 2009	A1
20090146342	Haney et al.	Jun 2009	A1
20090148117	Laurisch	Jun 2009	A1
20090166404	German et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090169163	Abbott, III et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090175588	Brandt et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090180737	Burnham et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090180749	Douglas et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090184221	Sculler	Jul 2009	A1
20090185782	Parikh et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090191891	Ma et al.	Jul 2009	A1
20090194647	Keith	Aug 2009	A1
20090196563	Mullsteff et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090202214	Holmberg et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090207577	Fransen et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090208178	Kowalczyk et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090208210	Trojer et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090212679	Frousiakis et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090214171	Coburn et al.	Aug 2009	A1
20090220200	Sheau Tung Wong et al.	Sep 2009	A1
20090220204	Ruiz	Sep 2009	A1
20090226142	Barnes et al.	Sep 2009	A1
20090238531	Holmberg et al.	Sep 2009	A1
20090245743	Cote et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090252472	Solheid et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090257726	Redmann et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090257727	Laurisch et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090257754	Theodoras, II et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090263096	Solheid et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090263122	Helkey et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090267865	Miller et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090269016	Korampally et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090269018	Frohlich et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090269019	Andrus et al.	Oct 2009	A1
20090274429	Krampotich et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090274430	Krampotich et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090274432	Iwaya	Nov 2009	A1
20090290842	Bran de Leon et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090290843	Reagan et al.	Nov 2009	A1
20090297111	Reagan et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090304342	Adomeit et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20090324189	Hill et al.	Dec 2009	A1
20100003000	Rapp et al.	Jan 2010	A1
20100012671	Vrondran et al.	Jan 2010	A1
20100027953	Russell	Feb 2010	A1
20100054665	Jones et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054681	Biribuze et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054682	Cooke et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054683	Cooke et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054684	Cooke et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054685	Cooke et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054686	Cooke et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100054687	Ye et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100061693	Bran de Leon et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100074587	Loeffelholz et al.	Mar 2010	A1
20100080517	Cline et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100086267	Cooke et al.	Apr 2010	A1
20100086274	Keith	Apr 2010	A1
20100111483	Reinhardt et al.	May 2010	A1
20100119201	Smrha et al.	May 2010	A1
20100129035	Teo	May 2010	A1
20100142544	Chapel et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100142910	Hill et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100150518	Leon et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100158467	Hou et al.	Jun 2010	A1
20100166377	Nair et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100178022	Schroeder et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100183270	Davis et al.	Jul 2010	A1
20100202740	Barlowe et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100202745	Sokolowski et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100202748	Pierce et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100215330	Sokolowski et al.	Aug 2010	A1
20100220967	Cooke et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100220968	Dagley et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100247051	Kowalczyk et al.	Sep 2010	A1
20100266245	Sabo	Oct 2010	A1
20100278499	Mures et al.	Nov 2010	A1
20100296790	Cooke et al.	Nov 2010	A1
20100296791	Makrides-Saravanos et al.	Nov 2010	A1
20100310225	Anderson et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100310226	Wakileh et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100316334	Kewitsch	Dec 2010	A1
20100322554	Barnes et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100322579	Cooke et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100322580	Beamon et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100322581	Cooke et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100322582	Cooke et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100322583	Cooke et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20100329624	Zhou et al.	Dec 2010	A1
20110008004	Liao et al.	Jan 2011	A1
20110058786	Zimmel	Mar 2011	A1
20110069931	Cote et al.	Mar 2011	A1
20110073730	Kitchen	Mar 2011	A1
20110085774	Murphy et al.	Apr 2011	A1
20110085776	Biribuze et al.	Apr 2011	A1
20110097053	Smith et al.	Apr 2011	A1
20110097977	Bubnick et al.	Apr 2011	A1
20110129185	Lewallen et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110129186	Lewallen et al.	Jun 2011	A1
20110186532	Wu	Aug 2011	A1
20110192631	Burek et al.	Aug 2011	A1
20110211799	Conner et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110217014	Dominique	Sep 2011	A1
20110217016	Mullsteff	Sep 2011	A1
20110222821	Pitwon et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110235985	Cote et al.	Sep 2011	A1
20110249950	Chapa Ramirez et al.	Oct 2011	A1
20110262096	Fabrykowski et al.	Oct 2011	A1
20110268404	Cote et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268405	Cote et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268406	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268407	Cowen et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268408	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268409	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268410	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268411	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268412	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268413	Cote et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110268414	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110274402	Giraud et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20110280535	Womack	Nov 2011	A1
20110280537	Cowen et al.	Nov 2011	A1
20120020629	Shiratori et al.	Jan 2012	A1
20120025683	Mattlin et al.	Feb 2012	A1
20120051707	Barnes et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120057836	Andrzejewski et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120057838	Hill et al.	Mar 2012	A1
20120106897	Cline et al.	May 2012	A1
20120106899	Choi	May 2012	A1
20120106911	Cooke et al.	May 2012	A1
20120134639	Giraud et al.	May 2012	A1
20120183263	Wu	Jul 2012	A1
20120183289	Lou et al.	Jul 2012	A1
20120219263	Beamon et al.	Aug 2012	A1
20120288244	Wu et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120288248	Chapa Ramirez et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20120301083	Carter et al.	Nov 2012	A1
20130004136	Brower et al.	Jan 2013	A1
20130056599	Baker et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130058616	Cote et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130072053	Fabrykowski et al.	Mar 2013	A1
20130077927	O'Connor	Mar 2013	A1
20130134115	Hernandez-Ariguznaga	May 2013	A1
20130214108	Irudayaraj et al.	Aug 2013	A1
20130243386	Pimentel et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130251326	Cooke et al.	Sep 2013	A1
20130266282	Cote et al.	Oct 2013	A1
20130308908	Isenhour et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130308915	Buff et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130308916	Buff et al.	Nov 2013	A1
20130328258	Mutsuno	Dec 2013	A1
20140003782	Blackwell, Jr. et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140010510	Blackard	Jan 2014	A1
20140029907	Isenhour et al.	Jan 2014	A1
20140079366	Rodriguez et al.	Mar 2014	A1
20140112628	Keenum et al.	Apr 2014	A1
20140226946	Cooke et al.	Aug 2014	A1
20150027967	Vazquez et al.	Jan 2015	A1
20150185429	Cooke et al.	Jul 2015	A1

Foreign Referenced Citations (196)

Number	Date	Country
2010270959	Feb 2012	AU
2029592	May 1992	CA
2186314	Apr 1997	CA
2765835	Jan 2011	CA
688705	Jan 1998	CH
1228847	Sep 1999	CN
1471649	Jan 2004	CN
102460258	May 2012	CN
8711970	Oct 1987	DE
3726718	Feb 1989	DE
3726719	Feb 1989	DE
4030301	Mar 1992	DE
4231181	Aug 1993	DE
20115940	Jan 2002	DE
10338848	Mar 2005	DE
202005009932	Nov 2005	DE
202007000556	Oct 2007	DE
102007024476	Nov 2008	DE
202010009385	Sep 2010	DE
29512	Jun 1981	EP
0105597	Apr 1984	EP
0250900	Jan 1988	EP
0408266	Jan 1991	EP
0474091	Aug 1991	EP
0468671	Jan 1992	EP
0490698	Jun 1992	EP
0529830	Mar 1993	EP
0544004	Jun 1993	EP
0547778	Jun 1993	EP
0581527	Feb 1994	EP
0620462	Oct 1994	EP
0693699	Jan 1996	EP
0720322	Jul 1996	EP
0776557	Jun 1997	EP
0940700	Sep 1999	EP
0949522	Oct 1999	EP
1041417	Oct 2000	EP
1056177	Nov 2000	EP
1065542	Jan 2001	EP
1162485	Dec 2001	EP
1203974	May 2002	EP
1289319	Mar 2003	EP
1310816	May 2003	EP
1316829	Jun 2003	EP
1367308	Dec 2003	EP
1621907	Feb 2006	EP
1777563	Apr 2007	EP
2060942	May 2009	EP
2159613	Mar 2010	EP
1586331	Feb 1970	FR
2123728	Sep 1972	FR
2378378	Aug 1978	FR
2241591	Sep 1991	GB
2277812	Nov 1994	GB
2367379	Apr 2002	GB
2377839	Jan 2003	GB
3060994	Mar 1991	JP
3172806	Jul 1991	JP
3281378	Dec 1991	JP
5045541	Feb 1993	JP
06018749	Jan 1994	JP
7308011	Nov 1995	JP
7318761	Dec 1995	JP
8007308	Jan 1996	JP
8248235	Sep 1996	JP
8248237	Sep 1996	JP
3487946	Oct 1996	JP
8254620	Oct 1996	JP
3279474	Oct 1997	JP
9258033	Oct 1997	JP
9258055	Oct 1997	JP
2771870	Jul 1998	JP
3448448	Aug 1998	JP
10227919	Aug 1998	JP
3478944	Dec 1998	JP
10332945	Dec 1998	JP
10339817	Dec 1998	JP
11023858	Jan 1999	JP
2000098138	Apr 2000	JP
2000098139	Apr 2000	JP
2000241631	Sep 2000	JP
2001004849	Jan 2001	JP
3160322	Apr 2001	JP
2001119177	Apr 2001	JP
2001133636	May 2001	JP
3173962	Jun 2001	JP
3176906	Jun 2001	JP
2001154030	Jun 2001	JP
2001159714	Jun 2001	JP
2002022974	Jan 2002	JP
2002032153	Jan 2002	JP
2002077236	Mar 2002	JP
2002116337	Apr 2002	JP
2002169035	Jun 2002	JP
3312893	Aug 2002	JP
2002305389	Oct 2002	JP
3344701	Nov 2002	JP
2003029054	Jan 2003	JP
3403573	May 2003	JP
2003169026	Jun 2003	JP
2003215353	Jul 2003	JP
2003344701	Dec 2003	JP
3516765	Apr 2004	JP
2004144808	May 2004	JP
2004514931	May 2004	JP
3542939	Jul 2004	JP
2004246147	Sep 2004	JP
2004361652	Dec 2004	JP
2004361893	Dec 2004	JP
3107704	Feb 2005	JP
2005055748	Mar 2005	JP
2005062569	Mar 2005	JP
2005084241	Mar 2005	JP
2005148327	Jun 2005	JP
2005257937	Sep 2005	JP
2005338618	Dec 2005	JP
2006507606	Mar 2006	JP
3763645	Apr 2006	JP
3778021	May 2006	JP
2006126513	May 2006	JP
2006126516	May 2006	JP
3794540	Jul 2006	JP
2006227041	Aug 2006	JP
3833638	Oct 2006	JP
2006276782	Oct 2006	JP
2006292924	Oct 2006	JP
3841344	Nov 2006	JP
3847533	Nov 2006	JP
200747336	Feb 2007	JP
3896035	Mar 2007	JP
2007067458	Mar 2007	JP
2007511959	May 2007	JP
3934052	Jun 2007	JP
2007179046	Jul 2007	JP
3964191	Aug 2007	JP
3989853	Oct 2007	JP
4026244	Dec 2007	JP
4029494	Jan 2008	JP
4065223	Mar 2008	JP
4093475	Jun 2008	JP
4105696	Jun 2008	JP
4112437	Jul 2008	JP
4118862	Jul 2008	JP
2008176118	Jul 2008	JP
2008180817	Aug 2008	JP
2008533583	Aug 2008	JP
4184329	Nov 2008	JP
2008271017	Nov 2008	JP
2008542822	Nov 2008	JP
2009503582	Jan 2009	JP
2009515242	Apr 2009	JP
2009115962	May 2009	JP
2009229506	Oct 2009	JP
2012065019	Mar 2012	JP
20110037404	Apr 2011	KR
9105281	Apr 1991	WO
9326070	Dec 1993	WO
9520175	Jul 1995	WO
9636896	Nov 1996	WO
9638752	Dec 1996	WO
9712268	Apr 1997	WO
9722025	Jun 1997	WO
9736197	Oct 1997	WO
9744605	Nov 1997	WO
9825416	Jun 1998	WO
9927404	Jun 1999	WO
9959295	Nov 1999	WO
0005611	Feb 2000	WO
0127660	Apr 2001	WO
0130007	Apr 2001	WO
0180596	Oct 2001	WO
0242818	May 2002	WO
03009527	Jan 2003	WO
2003014943	Feb 2003	WO
2004052066	Jun 2004	WO
2005020400	Mar 2005	WO
2006076062	Jul 2006	WO
WO2006076062	Jul 2006	WO
2006108024	Oct 2006	WO
2007050515	May 2007	WO
2007079074	Jul 2007	WO
2007089682	Aug 2007	WO
2007149215	Dec 2007	WO
2008027201	Mar 2008	WO
2008063054	May 2008	WO
2008113054	Sep 2008	WO
2008157248	Dec 2008	WO
2009026688	Mar 2009	WO
2009029485	Mar 2009	WO
2009030360	Mar 2009	WO
WO2009026688	Mar 2009	WO
2009091465	Jul 2009	WO
2009120280	Oct 2009	WO
2010024847	Mar 2010	WO
2010080745	Jul 2010	WO
2011005461	Jan 2011	WO

Non-Patent Literature Citations (331)

Entry
Dec. 15, 2014 Search Report issued in counterpart Chinese Patent Application No. 201280010672.X.
PCT Search Report, Application No. PCT/US2012/023626, May 22, 2012, 4 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Oct. 25, 2012, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/915,682 dated Oct. 24, 2012, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Feb. 3, 2012, 12 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Oct. 18, 2012, 13 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Oct. 4, 2012, 11 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,134 dated Sep. 25, 2012, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Jan. 11, 2013, 6 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,912 dated Dec. 28, 2012, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,118 dated Jan. 7, 2013, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,536 dated Jan. 2, 2013, 20 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/707,889 dated Jan. 2, 2013, 7 pages.
European Search Report for patent application 10790017.7 dated Nov. 8, 2012, 7 pages.
Examination Report for European patent application 09789090.9-2216 dated Aug. 29, 2011, 4 pages.
Examination Report for European patent application 09789090.9-2216 dated Mar. 30, 2012, 6 pages.
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for International patent application PCT/US2009004548, dated Apr. 5, 2011, 6 pages.
European Search Report for European patent application 09789090.9-2217 dated Jan. 24, 2013, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,139 dated Jul. 26, 2012, 12 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,139 dated Feb. 15, 2013, 17 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/751,884 dated Feb. 15, 2013, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Feb. 27, 2013, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/819,065 dated Mar. 4, 2013, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Mar. 7, 2013, 13 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/732,487 dated Mar. 19, 2013, 11 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,134 dated Mar. 21, 2013, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/641,617 dated May 10, 2013, 21 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/090,621 dated Apr. 22, 2013, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated May 1, 2013, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,118 dated May 3, 2013, 11 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/915,682 dated Apr. 18, 2013, 9 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated May 15, 2013, 2 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Jun. 20, 2013, 13 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,536 dated Jun. 6, 2013, 21 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/820,300 dated Apr. 25, 2012, 10 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/871,052 dated Jul. 1, 2013, 12 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,699 dated Jun. 26, 2013, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/090,621 dated Jun. 25, 2013, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/956,475 dated Oct. 4, 2012, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/302,067 dated Jun. 7, 2013, 13 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/771,473 dated Jul. 19, 2013, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/751,884 dated Jul. 17, 2013, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,585 dated Aug. 16, 2013, 14 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,134 dated Aug. 23, 2013, 11 pages.
Ex parte Quayle Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,164 mailed Aug. 16, 2013, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/732,487 mailed Jul. 17, 2013, 22 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Jul. 12, 2013, 3 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,118 dated Jul. 12, 2013, 3 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/641,617 dated Jul. 29, 2013, 3 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,912 dated Aug. 30, 2013, 15 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/771,473 dated Oct. 2, 2013, 3 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/641,617 dated Sep. 4, 2013, 9 pages.
Annex to Form PCT/ISA/2006, Communication Relating to the Results of the Partial International Search, for PCT/US2009/004549 dated Feb. 10, 2010, 2 pages.
Annex to Form PCT/ISA/206, Communication Relating to the Results of the Partial International Search, for PCT/US2009/004548 dated Jan. 19, 2010, 2 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “Corning Cable Systems Products for BellSouth High Density Shelves,” Jun. 2000, 2 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “Corning Cable Systems Quick Reference Guide for Verizon FTTP FDH Products,” Jun. 2005, 4 pages.
Conner, M. “Passive Optical Design for RFOG and Beyond,” Braodband Properties, Apr. 2009, pp. 78-81.
Corning Evolant, “Eclipse Hardware Family,” Nov. 2009, 1 page.
Corning Evolant, “Enhanced Management Frame,” Dec. 2009, 1 page.
Corning Evolant, “Enhanced Management Frame (EMF),” Specification Sheet, Nov. 2009, 24 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “Evolant Solutions for Evolving Networks: Fiber Optic Hardware,” Oct. 2002, 2 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “Fiber Optic Hardware with Factory-Installed Pigtails: Features and Benefits,” Nov. 2010, 12 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “FiberManager System 1- and 3-Position Compact Shelves,” Jan. 2003, 4 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “FiberManager System Frame and Components,” Jan. 2003, 12 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “High Density Frame,” Jul. 2001, 2 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “High Density Frame (HDF) Connector-Splice Shelves and Housings,” May 2003, 4 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US10/35529 dated Jul. 23, 2010, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US10/35563 dated Jul. 23, 2012, 1 page.
International Search Report for PCT/US2008/002514 dated Aug. 8, 2008, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2008/010317 dated Mar. 4, 2008, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2009/001692 dated Nov. 24, 2009, 5 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2010/024888 dated Jun. 23, 2010, 5 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2010/027402 dated Jun. 16, 2010, 2 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “MTX Frames and Accessories,” Feb. 2006, 4 pages.
Panduit, “Lock-in LC Duplex Clip,” Accessed Mar. 22, 2012, 1 page.
International Search Report for PCT/US06/49351 dated Apr. 25, 2008, 1 page.
International Search Report for PCT/US09/57069 dated Mar. 24, 2010, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2009/057244 dated Nov. 9, 2009 3 pages.
International Search Report for PCTUS2009004548 dated Mar. 19, 2010, 5 pages.
International Search Report for PCTUS2009004549 dated Apr. 20, 2010, 6 pages.
Siecor, “Single Shelf HDF with Slack Storage and Heat Shield (HH1-CSH-1238-1V-BS),” Jan. 1998, 12 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “Mass Termination Xchange (MTX) Frame System Equipment Office Planning and Application Guide,” SRP003-664, Issue 1, Mar. 2005, 57 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “Mass Termination Xchange (MTX) Equipment Patch Cord Interbay Vertical Channel,” SRP003-684, Issue 1, Mar. 2005, 8 pages.
Corning Cable Systems, “High Density Frame (HDF) Installation,” SRP003-355, Issue 4, Sep. 2002, 18 pages.
Written Opinion for PCT/US2010/023901 dated Aug. 25, 2011, 8 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Aug. 24, 2011, 3 pages.
Examiner's Answer to Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Mar. 29, 2012, 16 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Feb. 19, 2010, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Jun. 10, 2011, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Jul. 14, 2010, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Jun. 9, 2009, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Dec. 21, 2010, 7 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,483 dated Feb. 16, 2012, 3 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,483 dated Dec. 6, 2011, 14 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,483 dated Jun. 17, 2011, 11 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/950,234 dated Dec. 21, 2011, 3 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/950,234 dated Jun. 17, 2011, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/950,234 dated Mar. 12, 2012, 10 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/950,234 dated Oct. 14, 2011, 10 pages.
Advisory Action dated May 12, 2011, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,423, 3 pages.
Final Rejection dated Mar. 3, 2011, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,423, 17 pages.
Non-Final Rejection dated Aug. 5, 2011, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,423, 13 pages.
Non-Final Rejection dated Sep. 7, 2010, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,423, 18 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,423 dated Jan. 24, 2012, 8 pages.
Examiner's Answer dated Mar. 4, 2011, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,415, 11 pages.
Final Rejection dated Jun. 25, 2010, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,415, 10 pages.
Non-Final Rejection dated Aug. 5, 2011, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,415, 41 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,415 dated Apr. 23, 2012, 11 pages.
Non-Final Rejection dated Dec. 10, 2009, for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,415, 7 pages.
Examiner's Answer to Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,062 dated Dec. 8, 2011, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,062 dated Mar. 8, 2011, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,062 dated Jan. 15, 2010, 11 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/320,062 dated Sep. 30, 2010, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/439,086 dated Feb. 4, 2010, 14 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/439,086 dated May 3, 2010, 11 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/439,086 dated Sep. 21, 2009, 10 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/079,481 dated Mar. 18, 2010, 10 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/079,481 dated Dec. 26, 2008, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/079,481 dated Sep. 16, 2009, 10 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/079,481 dated Jun. 3, 2010, 6 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/079,481 dated Oct. 4, 2010, 4 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Dec. 22, 2011, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Mar. 16, 2012, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Sep. 1, 2011, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,373 dated May 3, 2012, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/809,474 dated Apr. 8, 2008, 13 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/809,474 dated Nov. 13, 2008, 10 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 11/809,474 dated Jul. 6, 2009, 6 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,031 dated Mar. 8, 2011, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,031 dated Jan. 5, 2010, 16 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,031 dated Sep. 30, 2010, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,031 dated Nov. 15, 2011, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/157,622 dated Mar. 31, 2009, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/157,622 dated Oct. 15, 2009, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/157,622 dated Apr. 22, 2010, 4 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/323,395 dated Dec. 8, 2011, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,454 dated Mar. 2, 2012, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,454 dated Sep. 6, 2011, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,454 dated Jan. 13, 2012, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/576,769 dated Feb. 2, 2012, 23 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,454 dated Jun. 19, 2012, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/603,894 dated Oct. 3, 2013, 9 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2009/066779 dated Aug. 27, 2010, 3 pages.
“MPO Fiber Optic Rack Panels now available from L-com Connectivity Products,” article dated Jun. 4, 2007, 16 pages, http://www.l-com.com/content/Article.aspx?Type=P&ID=438.
“19″ Rack Panel with 16 MPO Fiber Optic Couplers—1U high,” product page, accessed Oct. 23, 2012, 2 pages, http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=9767#.UlbgG8XXay5.
“Drawing for L-com 1U Panel with 16 MTP couplers,” May 15, 2007, 1 page, http://www.1-com.com/multimedia/eng_drawings/PR17516MTP.pdf.
“RapidNet Fibre MTP VHD Cassette,” Brochure, Date Unknown, 1 page, http://www.hellermanntyton.se/documents/5000/576_fiber_1U.pdf.
“MPO for Gigabit Ethernet/FAS-NET MTP Solution,” Brochure, Date Unknown, 11 pages, http://www.infinique.com/upload/13182286190.pdf.
“Hubbell OptiChannel High Density 144 Port 1U Fiber Enclosure,” Brochure, Date Unknown, 2 pages, http://www.hubbell-premise.com/literature/PLDF010.pdf.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/771,473 dated Oct. 4, 2012, 6 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/819,081 dated Aug. 21, 2012, 12 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2010/038986 dated Aug. 18, 2010, 1 page.
Unknown, Author, “QuickNet SFQ Series MTP Fiber Optic Cassettes,” Panduit Specification Sheet, Jan. 2009, 2 pages.
Unknown Author, “Cellular Specialties introduces the first simulated in-building location-based tracking solution,” smart-grid.tmenet.com/news, Sep. 14, 2009, 2 pages.
Unknown Author, “CDMA Co-Pilot Transmitter,” Cellular Specialties, Inc., Aug. 2009, 2 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/871,052 dated Sep. 18, 2013, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Sep. 12, 2013, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,139 dated Oct. 2, 2013, 18 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Oct. 4, 2013, 10 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Oct. 4, 2013, 19 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/901,074 dated Oct. 9, 2013, 6 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,134 dated Nov. 4, 2013, 3 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Oct. 29, 2013, 8 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/292,130 dated Oct. 18, 2013, 9 pages.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/035683 dated Sep. 8, 2011, 15 pages.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2010/039218 dated Oct. 27, 2010, 13 pages.
First Office Action for Chinese patent application 201080032453.2 dated Mar. 26, 2013, 6 pages.
Chinese Search Report for Chinese patent application 201080032453.2 dated May 15, 2013, 2 pages.
First Office Action for Chinese patent application 201080031621.6 dated Sep. 26, 2013, 9 pages.
Chinese Search Report for Chinese patent application 201080031621.6 dated Sep. 13, 2013, 2 pages.
Ramdas, “Modern File Systems and Storage,” Proceedings of the 2nd International SANE Conference, May 22-25, 2000, MECC, Maastricht, The Netherlands, Copyright Rodney R. Ramdas, 10 pages.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/035684 dated Jul. 1, 2011, 11 pages.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US11/61754 dated Mar. 26, 2012, 9 pages.
Author Unknown, “144 Fiber Patch Panel 1U,” Technical Data, ADTEK Group Limited, 2009, 2 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Jan. 2, 2014, 3 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/871,052 dated Dec. 24, 2013, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Dec. 27, 2013, 10 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Jan. 8, 2014, 3 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,912 dated Nov. 26, 2013, 3 pages.
Examiner's Answer to the Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,118 dated Dec. 3, 2013, 6 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,549 dated Jan. 14, 2014, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/732,487 dated Dec. 6, 2013, 24 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/956,446 dated Dec. 23, 2013, 12 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,536 dated Dec. 17, 2013, 21 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/819,065 dated Dec. 3, 2013, 8 pages.
International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT/US2011/062353 dated Apr. 10, 2012, 15 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2013/041268 dated Aug. 20, 2013, 5 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/292,130 dated Feb. 14, 2014, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/707,889 dated Feb. 11, 2014, 17 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,699 dated Feb. 3, 2014, 10 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Feb. 13, 2014, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance and Applicant-Initiated Interview Summary for U.S. Appl. No. 12/771,473 dated Feb. 27, 2014, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/081,856 dated Nov. 26, 2013, 11 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,975 dated Jan. 31, 2014, 18 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Mar. 21, 2014, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,585 dated Mar. 18, 2014, 15 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,101 dated Apr. 3, 2014, 9 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Mar. 6, 2014, 3 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/956,446 dated Mar. 20, 2014, 3 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/603,894 dated Mar. 20, 2014, 15 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 dated Aug. 22, 2012, 7 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2012/023622 dated Mar. 9, 2012, 4 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2012/023635 dated Sep. 14, 2012, 3 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2012/023626 dated May 22, 2012, 4 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/951,916 dated Dec. 16, 2013, 12 pages.
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/US2012/052958 dated Mar. 13, 2014, 14 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/947,883 dated Sep. 6, 2013, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/947,883 dated Mar. 31, 2014, 13 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2011/030446 dated Jul. 14, 2011, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2011/030448 dated Jul. 20, 2011, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2011/030466 dated Aug. 5, 2011, 2 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2012/052958 dated Mar. 1, 2013, 7 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2013/041266 dated Aug. 20, 2013, 4 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/621,958 dated Feb. 13, 2014, 10 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/649,417 dated Feb. 13, 2014, 10 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,949 dated Feb. 3, 2014, 19 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,003 dated Apr. 14, 2014, 13 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Apr. 15, 2014, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,139 dated Apr. 22, 2014, 18 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,549 dated Apr. 24, 2014, 10 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/901,074 dated May 9, 2014, 7 pages.
Notice of Panel Decision for Pre-Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 dated Aug. 8, 2012, 2 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 dated Jun. 29, 2012, 3 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 mailed Jun. 12, 2012, 3 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 dated Apr. 16, 2012, 6 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 dated Feb. 7, 2012, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/417,325 dated Jun. 15, 2011, 6 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/487,929 dated Sep. 12, 2012, 4 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/487,929 dated Jun. 13, 2012, 8 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/487,929 dated Apr. 17, 2012, 3 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/487,929 dated Feb. 14, 2012, 6 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/487,929 dated Dec. 5, 2011, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/487,929 dated May 23, 2011, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,253 dated Mar. 11, 2011, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,253 dated Jul. 12, 2010, 11 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,253 dated Apr. 16, 2010, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/415,253 dated Sep. 30, 2009, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/641,617 dated Oct. 5, 2012, 21 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/630,938 dated Jun. 1, 2012, 18 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/630,938 dated Dec. 19, 2011, 15 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/751,884 dated Jul. 2, 2012, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/871,052 dated Aug. 13, 2012, 8 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2010/023901 dated Jun. 11, 2010, 3 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/576,769 dated May 31, 2012, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/576,806 dated Dec. 13, 2011, 6 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/576,806 dated Apr. 18, 2012, 5 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/688,675 dated Jan. 31, 2014, 13 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,217 dated Jul. 26, 2012, 25 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,217 dated Mar. 18, 2013, 48 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,217 dated Oct. 3, 2013, 47 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,217 dated Apr. 25, 2014, 40 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/833,876 dated Apr. 24, 2014, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,536 dated May 20, 2014, 9 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/707,889 dated Jun. 11, 2014, 4 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,585 dated Jun. 17, 2014, 3 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/947,883 dated Jun. 19, 2014, 3 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/732,487 dated Jun. 20, 2014, 24 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/621,958 dated Jun. 20, 2014, 13 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/649,417 dated Jun. 25, 2014, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Jun. 26, 2014, 13 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/746,938 dated Jul. 11, 2014, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/751,895 dated May 20, 2014, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/533,093 dated Jul. 8, 2014, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,549 dated Jul. 8, 2014, 8 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/455,646 dated Jun. 2, 2014, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/819,065 dated Jul. 18, 2014, 10 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Jul. 18, 2014, 27 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/081,856 dated Jul. 2, 2014, 8 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Jul. 16, 2014, 7 pages.
Decision on Appeal for U.S. Appl. No. 12/221,117 dated Jul. 1, 2014, 7 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Jan. 16, 2015, 3 pages.
Notice of Allowance and Examiner-Initiated Interview Summary for U.S. Appl. No. 12/947,883 dated Jan. 13, 2015, 11 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Jan. 5, 2015, 21 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/649,417 dated Jan. 8, 2015, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,217 dated Dec. 29, 2014, 50 pages.
Notice of Allowance and Examiner-Initiated Interview Summary for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,585 dated Feb. 27, 2015, 16 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,101 dated Feb. 20, 2015, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,003 dated Feb. 12, 2015, 14 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Feb. 23, 2015, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/688,675 dated Jan. 26, 2015, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/819,065 dated Mar. 12, 2015, 13 pages.
Examiner's Answer to the Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,139 dated Feb. 5, 2015, 12 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/707,889 dated Feb. 17, 2015, 7 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/902,012 dated Feb. 17, 2015, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/081,856 dated Feb. 9, 2015, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/956,446 dated Dec. 5, 2014, 12 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,975 dated Dec. 24, 2014, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Oct. 31, 2014, 10 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,699 dated Oct. 28, 2014, 9 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Nov. 12, 2014, 8 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,960 dated Nov. 10, 2014, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/081,856 dated Oct. 29, 2014, 10 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/833,876 dated Nov. 7, 2014, 7 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/901,074 dated Nov. 24, 2014, 3 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/751,895 dated Nov. 19, 2014, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Jul. 25, 2014, 10 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Oct. 3, 2014, 3 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,536 dated Aug. 28, 2014, 9 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/901,074 dated Sep. 5, 2014, 7 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,975 dated Aug. 14, 2014, 42 pages.
Corrected Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/533,093 dated Sep. 2, 2014, 7 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/649,417 dated Sep. 8, 2014, 7 pages.
Examiner's Answer to the Appeal for U.S. Appl. No. 12/952,912 dated Sep. 11, 2014, 15 pages.
Advisory Action and Examiner-Initiated Interview Summary for U.S. Appl. No. 13/081,856 dated Sep. 16, 2014, 4 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/455,646 dated Sep. 26, 2014, 9 pages.
Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,949 dated Sep. 25, 2014, 21 pages.
Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/688,675 dated Sep. 30, 2014, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/597,549 dated Oct. 3, 2014, 8 pages.
Decision on Appeal for U.S. Appl. No. 11/320,062 dated Aug. 14, 2014, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,101 dated Oct. 20, 2014, 14 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/533,093 dated Oct. 17, 2014, 9 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/732,487 dated Oct. 7, 2014, 8 pages.
Non-Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/567,288 dated Oct. 8, 2014, 7 pages.
Advisory Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Oct. 15, 2014, 5 pages.
Examiner's Answer to the Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,134 dated Aug. 1, 2014, 7 pages.
Examination Report for European Patent Application No. 10707153.2, dated Mar. 25, 2015, 6 pages.
International Search Report for PCT/US2011/057582 dated Jan. 27, 2012, 3 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/901,074 dated May 30, 2015, 8 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 12/947,883 dated May 21, 2015, 11 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/940,699 dated Jun. 1, 2015, 10 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,949 dated May 5, 2015, 19 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/818,986 dated Jul. 23, 2015, 24 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/956,446 dated Jul. 31, 2015, 14 pages.
Notice of Allowance for U.S. Appl. No. 13/902,012 dated Aug. 5, 2015, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/946,217, dated Jul. 16, 2015, 50 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/394,114 dated Aug. 12, 2015, 8 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/953,039 dated Sep. 3, 2015, 8 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/081,856 dated Sep. 8, 2015, 10 pages.
Examiner's Answer to the Appeal Brief for U.S. Appl. No. 13/663,975 dated Oct. 5, 2015, 14 pages.
Non-final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/819,065 dated Aug. 26, 2015, 13 pages.
Final Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 13/567,288 dated May 8, 2015, 13 pages.

Related Publications (1)

	Number	Date	Country
	20140037251 A1	Feb 2014	US

Provisional Applications (1)

	Number	Date	Country
	61438847	Feb 2011	US

Continuations (1)

	Number	Date	Country
Parent	PCT/US2012/023626	Feb 2012	US
Child	13952014		US

Dense shuttered fiber optic connectors and assemblies suitable for establishing optical connections for optical backplanes in equipment racks

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Original Assignees

Examiners

Agents

CPC

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Term Extension

Abstract