Optical connection structure of optical backplane to circuit substrate

• US 20070086723A1
• Filed: 10/05/2006
• Published: 04/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hirose Electric Company Limited, NEC Corporation, Hitachi Chemical Company Limited (Resonac Holdings Corp.), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hirose Electric Company Limited, NEC Corporation, Hitachi Chemical Company Limited (Resonac Holdings Corp.), Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Shuji, Masuda, Hiroshi, Kurata, Kazuhiko, Sasaki, Junichi, Kinoshita, Masao, Saito, Kazuhito, Ibaragi, Osamu
• Granted Patent: US 7,645,075 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/137
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3897 Connectors fixed to housings, casing, frames or circuit boards G02B6/44528 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/43 Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections

Abstract

An optical backplane includes an optical connector which receives juxtaposed optical signals transmitted in nonparallel to the main surface of a circuit substrate from the circuit substrate or transmits juxtaposed optical signals in nonparallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate to the circuit substrate. The optical connector disposes and accommodates edge portions of a plurality of optical fibers and the disposing direction of the optical fibers in the optical connector is in nonparallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate.

Claims

1. An optical backplane to which the circuit substrate is disposed at about a right angle and comprising an optical connector which receives juxtaposed optical signals transmitted in nonparallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate from the circuit substrate or transmits juxtaposed optical signals in nonparallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate to the circuit substrate, wherein the optical connector disposes and accommodates edge portions of a plurality of optical fibers and the disposing direction of the optical fibers in the optical connector is in nonparallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate.

2. The optical backplane according to claim 1, wherein:

a plurality of first optical connectors of the optical backplane are disposed in about parallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate,

a plurality of second optical connectors of the optical backplane are disposed at about a right angle to the main surface of the circuit substrate,

each of the plurality of first optical connectors is the optical connector and each of the plurality of second optical connectors is the optical connector, and

the plurality of first optical connectors are connected to the plurality of second optical connectors by the plurality of optical fibers.

3. The optical backplane according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of first optical connectors and each of the plurality of second optical connectors comprise light path converters which light paths are converted from a about parallel direction to a about right-angled direction to the optical backplane or from a about right-angled direction to a about parallel direction to the optical backplane, respectively.

4. An optical backplane to which the circuit substrate is disposed at about a right angle and comprising first optical connectors which receive juxtaposed optical signals transmitted in about parallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate from the circuit substrate or transmit juxtaposed optical signals in nonparallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate to the circuit substrate, and second optical connectors connected to the first optical connectors by the plurality of optical fibers, wherein:

the first optical connectors are disposed in about parallel to the main surface of the circuit substrate;

each of the first optical connectors and each of the second optical connectors dispose and accommodate both the edge portions of the plurality of optical fibers, respectively; and

the disposing direction of the optical fibers at each of the first optical connectors is in about parallel with the main surface of the circuit substrate; and

the disposing direction of the optical fibers at each of the second optical connector is in nonparallel with the main surface of the circuit substrate.

5. A light transmission method comprising:

outputting a plurality of juxtaposed optical signals in nonparallel to a circuit substrate from the circuit substrate, and

receiving the plurality of juxtaposed optical signals by a light connector which is disposed on an optical backplane disposed at about a right angle to the circuit substrate.

6. A light transmission method comprising:

outputting a plurality of juxtaposed optical signals from a light connector which is disposed on an optical backplane disposed at about a right angle to a circuit substrate, to a circuit substrate in nonparallel therewith; and

receiving the plurality of juxtaposed optical signals by the circuit substrate.