Patent Application
20140212098
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to communication apparatus, and particularly to an optical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical connectors include a substrate, a photoelectric unit, a lens unit, and a jumper. The photoelectric unit and the lens unit are positioned on the substrate and the lens unit covers the photoelectric element such that lenses formed on the lens unit are aligned with photoelectric elements of the photoelectric unit. The lens unit is fixed to the substrate using adhesive. However, if the lens unit needs to engage with the jumper after fixing, it may be knocked out of alignment with the photoelectric unit during the engagement.
Therefore, what is needed is an optical connector addressing the limitations described.
The components of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.
The photoelectric unit 11 includes a substrate 110, a number of emitters 111 positioned on the substrate 110, a number of receivers 112 positioned on the substrate 110, and a driver chip 113 positioned on the substrate 110. In this embodiment, the substrate 110 is a printed circuit board (PCB), such as rigid PCB or flexible PCB (FPCB). The emitters 111 are configured for generating and emitting light in the form of optical signals, and the receivers 112 are configured for receiving light in the form of optical signals and converting the optical signals into electrical signals. In this embodiment, the emitters 111 can be light emitting diodes or laser diodes, and the receivers 112 are photodiodes. The driver chip 113 is electrically connected to the emitters 111 and the receivers 112 for driving the emitters 111 and receivers 112 to emit/receive optical signals.
The lens unit 12 is fixed to the substrate 110. The lens unit 12 includes a first surface 12a facing toward the substrate 110, a second surface 12b opposite to the first surface 12a, and a third surface 12c perpendicularly connected to the first surface 12a and the second surface 12b. The lens unit 12 defines a recess 120 in the first surface 12a. The lens unit 12 includes a number of first lenses 121 corresponding to the emitters 111, a number of second lenses 122 corresponding to the receivers 112, a number of third lenses 123 corresponding to the first lenses 121, and a number of fourth lenses 124 corresponding to the second lenses 122. The first and second lenses 121, 122 are formed on a bottom surface of the recess 120, and the third and fourth lenses 123, 124 are formed on the third surface 12b. An optical axis of each of the first and second lenses 121, 122 is substantially perpendicular to the first surface 12a, and an optical axis of each of the third and fourth lenses 123, 124 is substantially perpendicular to the third surface 12c.
The lens unit 12 includes a reflecting surface 125. An angle between the reflecting surface 125 and the optical axis of each of the first, second, third, and fourth lenses 121, 122, 123, 124 is substantially 45 degrees. In this embodiment, the reflecting surface 125 is formed in a groove 128 defined in the second surface 12b.
The lens unit 12 includes a number of protrusions 127 protruding from the first surface 12a. The protrusions 127 are spaced from each other. The protrusions 127 have a same height relative to the first surface 12a. In this embodiment, each protrusion 127 is substantially rectangular. A shape of each protrusion 127 can be changed according to different needs. The lens unit 12 further includes a block wall 126 protruding from the first surface 12a and continuously surrounding an opening of the recess 120. A height of the block wall 126 relative to the first surface 12a is not less than that of the protrusions 127.
In assembly, the lens unit 12 is positioned on the substrate 110 and covers the emitters 111, the receivers 112, and the driver chip 113, in the recess 120. The emitters 111 are aligned with the first lenses 121, and the receivers 122 are aligned with the second lenses 122. The lens unit 12 is fixed to the substrate 110 by an adhesive (not shown) applied between the lens unit 12 and the substrate 110. Because of the protrusions 127 of the lens unit 12, a greater amount of the adhesive can be distributed between the lens unit 12 and the substrate 110, therefore, a larger jointing area between the lens unit 12 and the substrate 110 is thus created and more force can be applied to ensure a steady and stable assembling of the lens unit 12. In addition, a space between adjacent protrusions 12 provides an overflow space for the adhesive. Furthermore, the block wall 126 prevents the adhesive flowing into recess 120 during an assembling process of the lens unit 12, thus keeping the emitters 111, the receivers 112, and the driver chip 113 from being marked or contaminated by the adhesive.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102103221 | Jan 2013 | TW | national |
