CONNECTOR HAVING FLOATABLE OPTICAL MODULE

• US 20110299816A1
• Filed: 06/08/2011
• Published: 12/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: YANG, HUI-WEN, YEN, YU-HUNG, WEN, HSIANG-CHI, CHUANG, TING-YEN, KUO, PIN-HAN
• Granted Patent: US 8,622,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/89
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/32 having lens focusing means positioned between opposed fibre ends with lens being an integral part of the single fibre end G02B6/262
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3817 containing optical and electrical conductors cables including electrical and optical conductors H01B11/22; G02B6/3816 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3821 with axial spring biasing or loading means G02B6/3847 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3853 Lens inside the ferrule lensed connectors G02B6/32
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3885 Multicore or multichannel optical connectors, i.e. one single ferrule containing more than one fibre, e.g. ribbon type optical ribbon cable G02B6/4403, G02B6/448

Abstract

A connector includes an insulating seat defining a receiving cavity opening forwards, an optical module movably received in the receiving cavity and an actuating device. The optical module defines lenses at a front mating face thereof and a first touch portion at a rear face thereof. The actuating device is located behind the rear face of the optical module to urge the optical module moving forwards. The actuating device includes a spring coil and a connecting member defining a second touch portion which is urged by the spring coil to contact with the first touch portion. One of the first touch portion and the second touch portion provides a vertex and the other provides a planar so as to arrive a vertex-to-planar contact relationship between the first touch portion and the second touch portion.

Claims

1. A connector comprising:

an insulating seat defines a receiving cavity opening forwards and a receiving room at an opposite side of the receiving cavity, a plurality of conductive terminals exposing in the receiving room;

an optical module movably received in the receiving cavity along a front and rear direction, the optical module defining lenses at a front mating face thereof and a first touch portion at a rear face thereof;

an actuating device located behind the rear face of the optical module to urge the optical module moving forwards, the actuating device comprising a spring coil and a connecting member, the connecting member defining a second touch portion which is urged by the spring coil to contact with the first touch portion;

wherein one of the first touch portion and the second touch portion provides a vertex and the other of the first touch portion and the second touch portion provides a planar so as to achieve a vertex-to-planar contact relationship between the first touch portion and the second touch portion.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the insulating seat defines a positioning post extending towards the receiving cavity and the spring coil connects with the positioning post.

3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the optical module defines a first connecting post projecting rearwards from the rear face thereof, the first connecting post defines a circular convex surface with a vertex at a rear free end thereof which forms said first touch portion, the connecting member defines a planar front free end thereof which forms said second touch portion.

4. The connector according to claim 3, wherein the connecting member comprises a head and a second connecting post, the second connecting post connects with the spring coil at another end opposite to the first positioning post, the head defines said planar front free end.

5. The connector according to claim 4, wherein one of the second connecting post and the positioning post defines a hole to receive the other of the first connecting post and the positioning post.

6. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the optical module defines a planar at the rear face thereof which functioned as the first touch portion, the connecting member defines a convex circular surface with a vertex at a front free end thereof which forms said second touch portion.

7. The connector according to claim 6, wherein the connecting member comprises a head and a second connecting post, the second connecting post connects with the spring coil at another end opposite to the first positioning post, the head defines said convex circular surface at a front free end thereof.

8. The connector according to claim 7, wherein one of the second connecting post and the positioning post defines a hole to receive the other of the first connecting post and the positioning post.

9. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the connecting member is a ball.

10. A connector comprising:

a receiving cavity receiving an optical module, the optical module defining a mating port at a first face thereof and a first touch portion at a second face opposite to the first face;

an actuating device biasing the optical module moving in a mating direction along which a counter optical module is inserted in the receiving cavity to couple with the optical module, the actuating device comprising a spring coil and a connecting member, the connecting member defining a second touch portion which is urged by the spring coil to press against the first touch portion;

wherein the first touch portion and the second touch portion achieve a vertex-to-planar contact relationship therebetween.

11. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the connector defines a positioning post to position the spring coiling.

12. A connector comprising:

an insulative housing defining a receiving cavity;

an optical module back and forth moveable in the receiving cavity along a front-to-back direction and providing lenses on a front end to define an optical mating port, and a first touching portion on a rear portion;

a plurality of fibers located behind and linked to the optical module;

an actuating device essentially located behind the optical module and including a spring equipped with a connecting member providing thereon and a second touching portion which forwardly contacts the first touching portion to constantly urge the optical module to move forward;

wherein one of the first touching portion and the second touching portion defines a convex configuration and the other defines a planar constantly contacting said convex configuration to commonly form a point-to-plane contact therebetween.

13. The connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein the connecting member is discrete from the spring.

14. The connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein the spring is a coil spring.

15. The connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein there is only one point-to-plane contact between the optical module and the actuating device.

16. The connector as claimed in claim 15, wherein said only one point-to-plane contact is located at a center line of the optical module.

17. The connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein a retaining board is assembled to the housing to cooperate with the housing for holding the actuating device therebetween in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction.

18. The connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein said housing further defines an electrical mating port which is essentially at a different level with regard to the optical mating port in a vertical direction perpendicular to said front-to-back direction.

19. The connector as claimed in claim 12, further including a metallic shell enclosing the housing.