Patent Application
20150234127
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical and optical hybrid connector, and especially relates to a connector providing electrical and optical hybrid connections from a module board to a parallel main board.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,007, issued to Yoshimura et al. on Jan. 27, 2004, discloses an electrical and optical hybrid connection between a substrate and a backplane. Electrical traces on the top surface of a substrate are to be routed to the edge of the substrate and mechanically coupled to a conventional electrical connector in a first receptacle mounted on the backplane. An active layer (optical waveguide) from the substrate is aligned to a vertical coupler in another layer of the backplane. A second receptacle is adhered to the top surface of the backplane. When a multichip module (substrate) is inserted into the first receptacle, flexibility of the active layer enables it to be guided into the second receptacle. In such arrangement, the substrate is perpendicular to the backplane.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention is to provide an electrical and optical hybrid connector connecting parallel module board and main board.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a mezzanine connector assembly adapted to connecting a top PCB and a bottom PCB. The mezzanine connector comprises an upper connector mounted to a bottom side of the top PCB and a lower connector mounted onto a top side of the bottom PCB. The upper connector has an electrical connecting device and an optical connecting device. The electrical connecting device comprises a conductor having an upper end connected to the upper PCB and a lower end opposite to the upper end. The optical connecting device has a flexible optical waveguide with an upper end connected to the upper PCB and a lower end, and a ferrule fixing the lower end. The lower connector has a housing, a turning lens received in the housing, and an electrical contact connected to the bottom PCB for mating with the lower end of the conductor of the upper connector. The turning lens defines an upward opening to receive the ferrule of the upper connector, and a forward opening for insertion of an optical plug couple connected to the bottom PCB.
Accordingly, a second object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly adapted to be mounted onto a module board. The connector assembly comprises a housing, an electrical connecting device and an optical connecting device. The housing is mounted to the module board in a way permitting the housing to float horizontally along the module board. The housing forms a tower having a foot end adapted to be mounted onto the module board and an opposite tip end. The tower comprises a front portion and a rear portion. The electrical connecting device has a conductor received in the rear portion. The conductor has a first contact fixed to the tip end of the tower therefore floatable together with the housing, a second contact adapted to connect the module board and a flexible wire connected between the first contact and the second contact. The optical connecting device has a flexible optical waveguide and a ferrule fixing a first end of the optical waveguide to the tip end of the tower therefore floatable together with the housing. The optical waveguide has an opposite second end opposite to the first end and adapted to connect the module board.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Referring
The lower connector 60 includes an lower insulating housing 220, two conductive pins 68 and a turning lens 66. The lower insulating housing 70 is rigidly fixed to the bottom PCB 106 via two plastic posts 702 that insert into two holes 107 on the bottom PCB 106 and two copper pins 68 that are soldered to the bottom PCB 106.
The lower insulating housing 70 defines a rear cavity 72 and a front cavity 76 both opening upwardly. The lower insulating housing 70 includes a middle wall 74 separating the rear cavity 72 and the front cavity 76, a rear bottom wall 722 in the rear cavity 72 fixing the two conductive pins 68, and a front bottom wall 762 in the front cavity 76 stepping upwardly related to the rear bottom wall 722. The front bottom wall 762 defines a lower cavity 78 having an upward entrance 786 communicating the front cavity 76 and a forward entrance 782 communicating outside of the lower insulating housing 70. The rear bottom wall 722 forms a flexible latch arm 728 forwardly extending into the lower cavity 78 along a bottom side of the lower cavity 78. The latch arm 728 has a latch block 729 bulging upwardly into the lower cavity 78. The insulating housing 72 defines a vertical slot 742 upwardly exposing an upper side of the latch arm 728 to facilitate the molding of the latch arm 728.
The turning lens 66 is inserted into the lower cavity 78 through the forward entrance 782. The turning lens 66 defines a forward opening 668 for receiving an optical plug 80, an upward opening 664 for the optic connection of the upper connector 20 and a downward opening 660. A 45-degree mirror 669 is defined in the downward opening 660 for transferring lights between the optical plug 80 and the optic connections of the upper connector 20. The turning lens 66 further define a pair of guide slot 662 in transversely side faces for mating with a pair of guide ribs 782 formed in the lower cavity 78 of the lower insulating housing 70. The turning lens 66 forms a rear wall 666 behind the downward opening 660. When the turning lens 66 is fully inserted into the lower cavity 78, the latching bock 729 snaps into the downward opening 660 and mating with a front face of the rear wall 666, thereby holding the turning lens 66 inside the lower connector 60. The turning lens 66 can mate to two MT ferrules positioned at 90 degrees relative to each other. The latch arm 728 can be made to release the turning lens 66 for removal by pressing on the latch with a small screwdriver through the vertical slot 742.
The upper connector 20 includes an upper insulating housing 22. The upper insulating housing 22 forms a tower 23 extending downwardly and two mounting flanges 248 oppositely extending from upper end of the tower 23 in a transverse direction. The tower 23 has a foot end adapted to be mounted onto the top PCB 102 and a tip end extending pointing towards the bottom PCB 106. The connector retention plate 32 forms a rectangular frame 320. The rectangular frame 320 defines a center opening 324 with the tower 23 downwardly penetrating therethrough. The rectangular frame 320 further defines two horizontal step faces 322 upwardly abutting the two mounting flange 248. There is enough clearance between the rectangular frame 32 and the tower 23 so that the upper insulating housing 22 can floating in all lateral direction while keeping the mounting flanges 248 abutted upward by the rectangular frame 320. Therefore, the upper connector 20 is allowed to laterally float in order to accommodate misalignment between the bottom PCB 106 and module board 102. The max movement of the upper connector 20 in the lateral directions is about 1.0 millimeter. The retention plate 32 is equipped with a spring device (not shown) that help center the floating upper connector 20 prior to mating. The retention plate 32 is secured to the module board 102 via four M3 screws 34 and nuts (not shown).
The upper insulating housing has a rear branch 232 and a front branch 236 connected by two ribs 234. The upper connector 20 further includes an electrical connecting device 260 and an optical connecting device 280. The rear branch 232 of the upper insulating housing 22 defines two rearward opening slots 220 vertically extending therethrough and an upper cavity 221 to receive the electrical connecting device 260. The front branch 236 of the upper insulating housing 22 defines a front vertical channel 240 receiving the optical connecting device 280.
The electrical connecting device 260 includes two conductors 26 and a receptacle holder part 27. Each of the two conductors 26 includes an upper copper receptacle (upper contact) 262, a lower copper receptacle (lower contact) 264, and a multi-stranded wire (flexible wire) 266 connected therebetween. The two upper copper receptacles 262 are fastened by the receptacle holder part 27 and maintained a set distance and electrically isolated from each other. The upper copper receptacles 262 and the receptacle holder part 27 are received in the upper cavity 221 and allowed to float along lateral direction related to the upper insulating housing 22. The lower copper receptacles 264 are rigidly fixed to the upper insulating housing 22. Each of copper receptacle 262, 264 cramps corresponding ends of the multi-stranded wire 266. The top PCB 102 is equipped with two conductive pins 36 respectively mate into the upper copper receptacles 262, thereby connected to the upper copper receptacles 262. The lower copper receptacles 264 respectively mate with the conductive pins 68 soldered to the bottom PCB 106, thereby connected to the bottom PCB 106. Each of the rearward opening slots 220 defines a guiding groove 222 rearward extending through the upper insulating housing 22 for fixing corresponding one of the two lower copper receptacles 264.
The optical connecting device 280 includes a MT ferrule 284 vertically slidably received in the channel 240, a fiber pigtail (flexible optical waveguide) 286 downwardly extending into the MT ferrule 284, a wire compression spring 287 positioned around the fiber pigtail 286 within the channel 240, a steel spring plate 289 above the wire compression spring 287, and a plastic spring block 29. The upper insulating housing 22 defines a front opening 242 communicating the vertical channel 240 to a front side of the upper insulating housing 22. The plastic spring block 29 has a head 292 received in the vertical channel 240, a pair of spring branches 296 upwardly extending and a pair of positioning ears 298. The head 292 defines a pigtail receiving slot 293 opening rearward. The pair of spring branches 296 are received in the front opening 242 and disposed transversely to define a center slot 297. The fiber pigtail 286 extends forwardly through the center slot 297 to couple with the top PCB 102. The wire compression spring 287 pushes against the MT ferrule 284 and the steel spring plate 289. The steel spring plate 289 is in turn retained by the head 292 of the plastic spring block 29. The upper insulating housing 22 forms a pair of positioning blocks 246 making a snapping engagement with corresponding positioning ears 296 of the plastic spring block 29. The pair of positioning blocks 246 are used to prohibit the plastic spring block 29 from further upward moving. The ferrule 284 is positioned in the vertical channel 240 with a lower end 285 downwardly extending beyond the front branch 236.
During mating of the top PCB 102 and the bottom PCB 106, under a lead-in structure of the lower connector 60, the upper connector 20 laterally moves as required to insure that the upper connector 20 and the lower connector 60 properly align. The rear cavity 72 has a longer bell-shaped mouth 724. The rear branch 232 of the upper insulating housing 22 downwardly extends beyond the front branch 236 so that the rear branch 232 make an engagement with the rear cavity 72 prior to an engagement of the front branch 236 and the front cavity 76. The lower receptacles 264 mate with the conductive pins 68 soldered into the bottom PCB 106. Then, the lower end 285 of the spring-loaded MT ferrule 284 mates into the upward opening 664 of the turning lens 66 and the fiber pigtail 286 is aligned with the 45-degree mirror 669. The forward opening 668 is adapted to receive an optical plug 80 aligned with the 45-degree mirror 669 so that signal light could be transferred between the fiber pigtail 286 and the optical plug 80. The optical pigtail 286 has an upper end terminated with another optical plug 282 for mating with an optical receptacle (not shown) mounted on the top PCB 102, thereby connected to the top PCB 102.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
