Patent Application
20120141073
(a) Field
The subject matter disclosed relates to the field of opto-electrical connection devices. More particularly, it relates to devices for interconnecting optical fibers.
(b) Related Prior Art
Optical interconnect modules are widely used in the field of optical telecommunication for connecting different optical fibers so that the laser emitted in one fiber is transmitted to the other fiber with the least possible amount of losses in signal strength and light dispersion. Optical interconnect modules comprise a circuit board including an optical connector assembly for processing/converting optical and electric signals.
An optical interconnect module 100 such as that shown in
The optical ferrule of the optical cable connector and that of the optical interconnect module 100 constitute a male-female match, whereby the male ferrule such as the ferrule 102 shown in
In order to maintain the two optical ferrules in a tight engagement when an optical cable connector (not shown) is inserted in the optical interconnect module 100, a positive pressure is applied by the optical cable connector of the optical cable assembly onto the optical ferrule 102 of the optical interconnect module 100. This pressure is usually provided by a spring which presses onto the ferrule of the optical cable connector to keep the two optical ferrules in tight engagement.
For instance, in the example of
This way, when the female-ferrule is coupled to the male-ferrule 102, and the spring provides a positive bias toward the circuit board 115 as indicated by arrow 120, the female ferrule of the an optical cable connector and the male ferrule 102 remain in a tight engagement and the corresponding fibers remain aligned with each other.
However, this mechanism results in optical interconnect modules having large unused board space 122, and un-necessarily long fibers 112 which are not suitable for short-reach optical data connectivity.
According to an aspect, there is provided an optical sub-assembly adapted to interface with an optical cable assembly. The optical sub-assembly is for installation within a casing. The optical sub-assembly comprises optical fibers having an axis and an interlock portion for interaction with the casing, the interaction between the interlock portion and the casing being sufficient to resist a pressure exerted on the optical sub-assembly in a direction corresponding to the axis thereby relieving the strain applied on the optical sub-assembly.
According to another aspect, there is provided an optical interconnect module for interfacing with an optical cable assembly comprising optical fibers. The optical interconnect module comprising: a casing for receiving the optical cable; and an optical ferrule adapted to interface with the optical cable assembly. The optical sub-assembly comprising optical fibers and an interlock portion for interaction with the casing. The interaction between the interlock portion and the casing being sufficient to resist a pressure exerted on the optical sub assembly by the optical cable assembly thereby relieving the strain applied on the optical sub-assembly while maintaining the optical sub-assembly and the optical cable assembly in a tight engagement.
Features and advantages of the subject matter hereof will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of selected embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying figures. As will be realized, the subject matter disclosed and claimed is capable of modifications in various respects, all without departing from the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the drawings and the description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive and the full scope of the subject matter is set forth in the claims.
Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.
An embodiment discussed herein describes an optical interconnect module for interfacing optical fibers. An optical interconnect module in accordance with an embodiment comprises a casing including a projection and an optical sub-assembly including a notch for receiving the projection of the casing.
The optical sub-assembly carries a plurality of optical fibers, and couples face-to-face with an optical cable assembly for aligning the corresponding fibers together. The optical cable assembly is usually provided with an optical cable connector, along with a spring which compresses when the optical cable connector is inserted in the optical interconnect module.
The pressure provided by the spring is applied to the optical ferrule included in the optical cable assembly. The pressure is transmitted to the optical sub-assembly of the optical interconnect module. The optical sub-assembly applies this pressure to the projection received in the notch thereof for maintaining a tight engagement with the other optical cable assembly.
With this arrangement it is possible to position the optical ferrule closer or in contact with the optical connector assembly and save circuit board space and reduce the length of the optical fibers, which results in optical interconnect modules which may achieve high speed short-reach optical data connectivity in a small form factor and at low cost.
Now referring to the drawings,
As shown in the embodiment of
The optical cable assembly includes an optical cable connector 201, a spring 208 and a cable optical ferrule 210. The spring 208 is in direct contact with the cable optical ferrule 210, for providing positive pressure as indicated by arrow 212 to keep the cable optical ferrule 210 of the optical cable connector 201, and the optical ferrule 206 of the optical interconnect module 200 in a tight engagement when the optical cable connector 201 is inserted in the optical interconnect module 200.
When the optical cable connector 201 is pushed into the optical interconnect module 200, a pressure is applied on the spring 208 which snaps the optical cable connector 201 in position when it reaches the notches 205 provided in the casing the optical interconnect module 200. The pressure is transferred from the spring 208 to the cable optical ferrule 210 of the optical cable connector 201 and thereby, to the optical ferrule 206 of the optical interconnect module 200.
The body comprises an interlock portion (here represented by notches 214) for interaction with the casing. The interlock portion could also be embodied in one or more projections which interact with the casing. The interaction between the interlock portion and the casing is sufficient to resist a pressure exerted on the optical ferrule 206 in a direction corresponding to the axis; i.e., direction 212.
As shown in
In an embodiment, the optical connector assembly 204 is in direct contact with the optical ferrule 206, whereby the space 122 between the optical connector assembly 114 and the ferrule 102 of
The optical interconnect module 200 exemplified in
The body of the optical ferrule 206 comprises two ends through which the optical fibers respectively enter and exit and wherein the interlock portion is located between the two ends. The ferrule further comprises two opposite sides between the two ends. Each one of the two opposite sides has a notch.
The optical fibers, for installation a hollow portion of the optical ferrule 206, each have a flat end. One of the two ends of the optical ferrule 206 comprises a flat portion. When installed in the optical ferrule 206, the flat ends of the optical fibers are flush with the flat portion of the optical ferrule 206.
According to an embodiment the optical ferrule 206 comprises, at the end of the body comprising the flat portion, holes adapted to receive pins (i.e., a pin and hole combination) for alignment with the cable optical ferrule.
An optical interconnect module in accordance with the embodiments described herein is ideal for high-speed data communications and computing applications where very short reach bandwidth bottlenecks are incumbent because, the optical interconnect module 200 exemplified above is smaller in size, occupies less board space, and requires fewer components and shorter fibers.
While preferred embodiments have been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that modifications may be made without departing from this disclosure. Such modifications are considered as possible variants comprised in the scope of the disclosure.
