Connector housing for fiber-optic module

Details Connector housing for fiber-optic module Connector housing for fiber-optic module

2002-02-19

2004-01-27

Sanghavi, Hemang (Department: 2874)

Optical waveguides

With disengagable mechanical connector

Structure surrounding optical fiber-to-fiber connection

C385S059000, C385S071000, C385S060000, C385S072000, C385S056000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06682228

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fiber optic connectors, and more particularly to fiber optic connectors for fiber-optic transmitters, receivers, and transceivers, collectively referred to as fiber-optic modules.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fiber-optic modules for communication applications are well known in the art. Typically, a plurality of such fiber-optic modules is provided on a printed circuit board (PCB) of a network card. Connectorized optical fibers are used to optically couple these modules to each other and to other optical devices in a system. Some of the optical devices include passive components, such as, fiber cable adapters.
FIG. 1A
illustrates a conventional connector mounted at an end of a single or multiple optical fibers. Strains of multiple optical fibers are referred to as fiber ribbons. The connector
100
comprises a ferrule
108
and a connector housing. The connector housing comprises a boot assembly
102
and a coupling
104
. Residing within the connector housing are optical fibers contained within a fiber ribbon
106
, with the bare fiber ends held in the ferrule
108
.
FIG. 1B
illustrates in more detail the conventional connector. The boot assembly
102
of the connector
100
comprises a boot
1
, a crimp ring
2
, a spring push
3
, a spring
4
, a pin clamp
5
, and a guide pin
6
. The coupling
104
comprises slots
7
along its sides. During manufacturing, the pieces 1-6 of the boot assembly
102
and the coupling
104
are slipped onto the fiber ribbon
106
. Next, the ferrule
108
and the bare fibers within the ferrule
108
are fabricated. The ferrule
108
and fiber ends are polished simultaneously. The boot assembly
102
and coupling
104
are assembled so that the ferrule
108
and a portion of the fiber ribbon
106
reside within the boot assembly
102
and coupling
104
. The assembled connector
100
can then be plugged into a connector receptacle of a transceiver. The spring
4
facilitates a good optical interface between the ferrule
108
in the connector
100
and the connector receptacle in the fiber-optic module. The connector
100
is conventionally known as a MPO connector according to the standard IEC 61754-7, which has an MT ferrule according to the standard IEC 61754-5. Other types of optical connectors also exist in industry.
FIG. 1C
illustrates a conventional connector receptacle. The receptacle may be a part of a fiber-optic module (not shown).or an adapter to mate the conventional connector to another connector. The receptacle
150
comprises an opening
152
. The opening
152
comprises a plurality of fingers
154
. For MPO connectors, such as connector
100
, the receptacle
150
has two fingers
154
. The fingers
154
are capable of flexing outward when force is applied to move them such. When the force is removed, the fingers
154
return to their original positions. When the connector
100
is inserted into the opening
152
of the receptacle
150
, the fingers
154
slide within the slots
7
and engage the coupling
104
.
On a PCB, the fiber-optic modules are typically arranged in an array or multiple staggered arrays, which are positioned between other components. When greater bandwidth is desired, additional PCB's with transceivers can be installed. Alternatively, the number of fiber-optic modules per circuit board can be increased by reducing the area requirement for each module and its associated connector. The latter provides desirable space and cost savings. Referring to
FIG. 1A
, the conventional connector
100
is 46.4 mm in length, 12.55 mm in width, and 7.6 mm in height. This size adds to the area of the fiber-optic module and connector used on the PCB and limits the number of modules that can be placed on the PCB, both in width and length. The space and cost savings and bandwidth per board are thus also limited.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved optical connector that allows increased density for optical devices on circuit boards. The improved optical connector should be cost effective to manufacture. The present invention addresses such a need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A connector housing for a connector to an optical device includes: a body with a bottom wall, a first side wall with a first lip, a second side wall with a second lip, where optical fibers may reside within the bottom, first side, and second side walls, where the first and second lips engage the optical fibers when residing within the bottom, first, and second side walls, where the first and second lips assist in preventing the optical fibers from being removed from the body; a spring coupled to the body and the optical fibers; and a sleeve coupled to the body, including a locking feature for locking the body to the optical device. The connector housing is compact in size, allowing larger numbers of transceivers to reside on a printed circuit board, increasing its density for optical devices. A connector with the connector housing is also more cost effective to manufacture.


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