JP2009192823A - Controller for optical transceiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller for an optical transceiver capable of surely suppressing emission of a laser beam to the outside by controlling a laser output according to insertion/ejection of an optical connector without any special work on a connector side. <P>SOLUTION: The controller controlling the turning ON/OFF of a light output to be output from the optical transceiver according to insertion/ejection of an optical connector is configured to be provided with a magnet disposed in the optical transceiver, a magnetic sensor disposed in the optical transceiver to detect magnetism of the magnet, and a control means for controlling the light output of the optical transceiver in response to the detection signal of the magnetic sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for an optical transceiver, and in particular, when an optical connector is inserted into and removed from an optical transceiver, the laser beam that is the output of the optical transceiver leaks to the outside and is not irradiated on the human body. Relates to the device.

  In recent years, optical transceivers such as XFP (10 Gigabit Small Form Pluggable Module), SFP (Small Form Factor Pluggable Module), and the like in which an opening of an optical component is exposed to the front surface when the apparatus is mounted are increasing.

  Since these products are premised on the replacement of the optical connector in the power supply state, the laser light is emitted from the front surface at the time of replacement. Depending on the strength of the laser, the human body may be affected. Therefore, a shielding structure is necessary.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a shielding structure of a conventional optical transceiver.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 101 denotes a shutter fitted in the optical connector connection port 102 of the optical transceiver casing. The shutter 101 is a leaf spring, and when the optical connector is connected, the shutter 101 falls down along the wall surface of the optical connector to form an optical connector connection port.

  However, such a shutter structure has the following problems.

  That is, since the shutter 101 is a leaf spring, there is a possibility of plastic deformation, and there is a possibility that the shutter 101 falls off when the connector is inserted and removed, and when the connector is connected, the shutter 101 returns to its original position. There was a drawback that the force to try and the connection reliability of the connector was impaired.

  In Patent Document 1, a magnet is provided in the connector 24 and a hall sensor 14 is provided on the transmission module 10 side. The laser light source in the transmission module 10 is turned on only when the hall sensor 14 detects magnetism of the magnet. An interlock system for controlling the system is disclosed.

However, in the case of the above-described Patent Document 1, a magnet must be provided on the connector side, which is expensive, and further, when a connector without a magnet is inserted, the system operates normally. There were many drawbacks, such as not.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-101248 (Claim 1)

  The object of the present invention is made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is to control the laser output according to the insertion / removal of the optical connector without special work on the connector side, It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable new optical transceiver control device that can reliably suppress the emission of laser light to the outside.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention basically employs a technical configuration as described below.

That is, the first aspect of the control device for the optical transceiver according to the present invention is as follows.
In a control device for an optical transceiver that controls on / off of an optical output output from an optical transceiver in accordance with insertion / removal of an optical connector,
A magnet provided in the optical transceiver;
A magnetic sensor provided in the optical transceiver for detecting the magnetism of the magnet;
Control means for controlling the optical output of the optical transceiver in response to a detection signal of the magnetic sensor;
It is characterized by comprising
The second aspect is
The magnet and the magnetic sensor are arranged so as to sandwich the optical connector,
The third aspect is:
The magnetic sensor is an MR sensor.

  Since the optical transceiver control apparatus of the present invention is configured as described above, in order to determine whether or not laser light is emitted by inserting and removing the optical connector, it is possible to reliably release the laser light to the outside when the optical connector is not connected. Can be suppressed.

  In addition, since the structure does not apply an unnecessary force to the optical connector, the reliability is not impaired and the life is extended.

  Further, since the optical connector is not subjected to special work, the usability is improved.

  In the control apparatus for an optical transceiver of the present invention, a magnet 7 and MR sensors 5a and 5b for detecting the magnetism of the magnet 7 are arranged in a housing 1 of the optical module so as to sandwich the attached optical connector 11. ing.

  Since the MR sensors 5a and 5b cannot detect the magnetism of the magnet 7 when the optical connector is not mounted at a predetermined position of the optical transceiver, the control means 10 The power supply to the TOSA (Transmitting Optical Sub-Assembly) 4a and the ROSA (Receiving Optical Sub-Assembly) 4b is stopped. Therefore, the laser beam is not emitted to the outside.

  On the other hand, when the optical connector 11 is mounted at a predetermined position of the optical transceiver, the MR sensors 5a and 5b detect the magnetism of the magnet 7, and based on the detection signals of the MR sensors 5a and 5b, the control means Since power supply to the TOSA 4a and ROSA 4b is started, the operation as an optical transceiver is started.

  Next, the control device for the optical transceiver of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, openings 1 a and 2 b for inserting an optical connector 11 are provided at one end of a housing 1 of the optical module, and an opening through which the connection terminal 3 is exposed at the other end. Is provided.

  The TOSA 4a, ROSA 4b, MR sensors 5a, 5b, and connection terminals 3 in the optical module are mounted on the circuit board 6, and the MR sensors 5a, 5b are fixed to a groove formed on the inner wall of the housing 1. The magnet 7 is fixed to a recess formed in the housing 1.

  The MR sensor 5a and the magnet 7 are arranged so as to sandwich the inserted optical connector 11, and the MR sensor 5b and the magnet 7 are arranged so as to sandwich the inserted optical connector (not shown). Has been placed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the present invention, in which the control means 10 controls the power supply to the optical subunits TOSA 4a and ROSA 4b based on the detection signals of the MR sensors 5a and 5b. is doing.

  The optical module of the present invention configured as described above is configured to be detachable from a cage provided on a substrate such as a mother board of a communication device, for example. When the optical module is mounted in the cage in a parallel posture, the optical module is locked by the cage and is connected to an electrical connector provided on the substrate side. At this time, power supply to the optical module is started, but since the optical connector 11 is not attached, the normal MR sensors 5a and 5b cannot detect the magnetic field 9 from the magnet 7. For this reason, the control means 10 provided on the circuit board 6 does not supply power to the optical subunit 4 composed of the TOSA 4a and the ROSA 4b. For this reason, laser light is not emitted outside.

  On the other hand, an input side optical connector (not shown) for inputting an optical signal from the outside to the optical module is connected to the input side connection port 2b, and an optical signal from the optical module to the outside is connected to the output side connection port 2a. When the output-side optical connectors 11 for outputting are connected, the magnetic field 9 of the magnet 7 is applied to the MR sensors 5a, 5b via the springs 12 made of a magnetic material provided in the respective optical connectors 11. Upon arrival, the control means 10 starts supplying power to the optical subunit 4 including the TOSA 4a and the ROSA 4b, and starts operating as an optical transceiver.

  Further, when one optical connector is pulled out, the magnetic field 9 of the magnet 7 for the MR sensor 5a or 5b is cut off, so that the power supply to the optical subunit 4 is stopped and the laser light is emitted to the outside. Never happen.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 2, when the optical connector 11 is not attached, the MR sensors 5a and 5b are arranged such that the MR sensor 5a and 5b can detect the magnetic field 9 of the magnet 7. The power supply to 4 is stopped.

  When the optical connector 11 is inserted, the magnetic field 9 of the magnet 7 is blocked by the ferrule 13 provided in the optical connector, and the MR sensors 5a and 5b cannot detect the magnetic field 9 of the magnet 7. As a result Then, power is supplied to the optical subunit 4 and operation as an optical transceiver is started.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows the structure of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing | casing 2a, 2b Connection port 3 Connection terminal 4 Optical subunit 4a TOSA
4b ROSA
5a MR sensor 5b MR sensor 6 Circuit board 7 Magnet 9 Magnetic field 10 Control means 11 Optical connector 12 Spring 13 Ferrule

Claims (3)

In an optical transceiver control device that controls on / off of an optical output output from an optical transceiver in accordance with the insertion / removal of an optical connector,
A magnet provided in the optical transceiver;
A magnetic sensor provided in the optical transceiver for detecting the magnetism of the magnet;
Control means for controlling the optical output of the optical transceiver in response to a detection signal of the magnetic sensor;
An optical transceiver control device comprising:   2. The optical transceiver control device according to claim 1, wherein the magnet and the magnetic sensor are disposed so as to sandwich the optical connector.   3. The optical transceiver control device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic sensor is an MR sensor.

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