JP2010244080A - Optical module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate fitting of a card edge of a circuit board to a host connector. <P>SOLUTION: The optical module 10 includes a pair of elastic members 21 that come into contact with the outer side face 3a of the host connector 3 arranged on a host substrate 1 and that thereby guide the card edge 13a to the host connector 3. The pair of elastic members 21 form plate-like shape, are bent to be inwardly tapered, and are formed so that the mutual distance is increased toward one end side of the housing. The host connector 3 is housed in a cage 2 installed on the host substrate 1. Accordingly, when the optical module 10 is inserted into the cage 2, the elastic member 21 is brought into contact with the outer side face 3a of the host connector 3, with the position of the optical module 10 prescribed with respect to the host connector 3. Then, the card edge 13a is smoothly guided to the host connector 3. As a result, the fitting of the card edge 13a to he host connector 3 is facilitated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical module connected to a host connector disposed on a host substrate, for example.

  Conventionally, there are technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 as technologies in such fields. The optical modules described in these documents include a circuit board having a card edge portion that fits into a host connector on a host board, and a casing that accommodates the circuit board, and the circuit board has an outer surface of the casing. Positioning is fixed as a reference. On the other hand, a cage into which the optical module is removably inserted is positioned and fixed with respect to the host connector on the host substrate. When the host connector and the optical module are connected, the casing of the optical module is inserted into the gauge, and the card edge portion is fitted to the host connector. Accordingly, it has been important to properly maintain the clearance between the outer surface of the housing and the inner surface of the cage and to ensure the relative position between the cage and the host connector with high accuracy.

US Pat. No. 6,335,869 US Pat. No. 6,439,918

  However, in the conventional techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, there are cases where the host connector and the card edge portion of the circuit board cannot be fitted properly due to a slight shift in the relative position between the host connector and the cage. For example, in the conventional fitting between the host connector and the card edge portion, many dimensions including the mechanical accuracy of each part are related. In particular, the gap between the outer surface of the casing of the transceiver (optical module) and the inner surface of the cage (hereinafter referred to as clearance A) is set so that the width of the card edge portion is introduced with respect to the width of the host connector introduction portion. . Since the host connector and the front end of the receiving portion are chamfered, the card edge portion and the host connector can be fitted if the width of the card edge portion is within the host connector introduction width. If the clearance A is wide, there is a possibility that the card edge width is outside the host connector introduction width. In this case, even if the transceiver is pushed into the cage, the card edge and the host connector are fitted. do not do. In a normal case, the clearance A is set to 0.7 mm, which is an industry standard. Further, this fitting condition is broken even when the relative positional relationship between the host connector and the cage is deviated. That is, when this industry-standard clearance A is provided, if the displacement of the relative position between the host connector and the cage exceeds only 0.17 mm, the card edge portion comes into contact with the front surface of the host connector and the host connector and the card edge portion There is a possibility that the fitting will be hindered.

  In addition, the cage performs electromagnetic shielding by contacting with the front panel, for example, but the cage is deformed by the stress generated at the contact portion between the cage and the front panel, so that the optical module is placed at the designed position in the cage. It was not inserted, and the card edge portion could not be properly fitted to the host connector. Also, in a multiple cage in which a plurality of cages are arranged side by side, when an optical module is inserted into an adjacent cage, the partition between the cages may be deformed, and the card edge portion is also good at the host connector. Could not fit.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide an optical module capable of easily fitting a card edge portion of a circuit board to a host connector.

An optical module according to the present invention is an optical module comprising a circuit board having a card edge part that fits into a host connector, and a housing that houses the optical element and the circuit board. Guide means is provided for contacting the card edge portion to the host connector by contacting the outer surface of the host connector when the card connector is fitted to the host connector, and the guide means sandwiches the outer face of the host connector. It is a pair of elastic members provided on both sides of the body, and the pair of elastic members has a plate shape, bends to form an inward taper, and is distanced from each other toward one end of the housing. It is characterized by being formed to spread .

  According to such an optical module, there is provided guide means for guiding the card edge portion to the host connector in contact with the outer surface of the host connector arranged on the host substrate. The host connector is accommodated in, for example, a cage provided on the host substrate. Therefore, when the optical module is inserted into the cage in order to fit the card edge portion of the circuit board to the host connector, the position of the optical module relative to the host connector is defined by the guide means contacting the outer surface of the host connector. Therefore, the card edge portion is guided to the host connector. This facilitates the fitting of the card edge portion to the host connector, so that it is not necessary to position the host connector with respect to the cage as accurately as before. The outer surface referred to here includes a corner (ridge line) that defines the periphery of the outer surface.

  Further, in this optical module, when the optical module is inserted into the cage, the pair of elastic members are elastically deformed to contact the outer surface of the host connector, and the card edge portion is preferably smoothly guided to the host connector. The card edge portion can be more easily fitted to the host connector. In this case, the elastic member can be configured easily.

Preferably, the pair of elastic members is formed in an arc shape so as to spread after the distance between them is narrowed at one end towards the one end side of the housing. In this case, not only the card edge portion can be smoothly guided to the host connector, but also the optical module can be pulled out by smoothly removing the fitting between the card edge portion and the host connector.

  According to the optical module of the present invention, the card edge portion of the circuit board can be easily fitted to, for example, a host connector on the host board. This eliminates the need to precisely define the relative position between the host connector and the cage on the host board, for example, and eliminates the need for external inspection of the host connector for mounting the host connector on the host board. Cost can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing a transceiver and a host substrate as optical modules according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the transceiver and host board | substrate in FIG. 1 from the bottom face side. It is a perspective view which shows the transceiver in FIG. 1 from the bottom face side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the transceiver in FIG. 1 from the bottom face side. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a transceiver and a host connector in FIG. 2 partially cut away. It is a perspective view which shows the transceiver as an optical module which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention from the bottom face side.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an optical module according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. 1 to 5 are diagrams showing a transceiver as an optical module according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transceiver 10 is a pluggable transceiver employed as a pluggable optical data link used for optical communication. The transceiver 10 is removably inserted into a cage 2 installed on the host board 1, and is detachably connected to a host connector (see FIG. 5) 3 disposed in the cage 2 and fixed to the host board 1. Is. The cage 2 is electromagnetically shielded by contact with the front panel 4.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the transceiver 10 includes a light emitting element unit 11 having a light emitting element (optical element) that emits light, a light receiving element unit 12 having a light receiving element (optical element) that receives light, and the light emission thereof. The circuit board 13 is electrically connected to the element and the light receiving element, and the light emitting element unit 11, the light receiving element unit 12, and the housing 14 for housing the circuit board 13.

  The housing 14 is orthogonal to the frame 15 that forms the basic skeleton of the transceiver 10, the upper surface wall of the transceiver 10, and the heat radiating member 16 that radiates heat from the circuit board 13, the bottom wall 17a of the transceiver 10, and the bottom wall 17a. And a cover 17 having a pair of side walls 17b, 17b. The frame 15 is made of resin, for example, and the cover 17 is made of metal, for example.

  The frame 15 is integrally formed with a receptacle 18 that removably receives an optical connector (not shown) optically coupled to the optical element. An opening 15 a is formed at the center of the frame 15. The heat dissipating member 16 has a thick portion 16 a protruding to the lower surface side, and the thick portion 16 a is inserted into the opening 15 a of the frame 15 and fixed to the frame 15. The heat dissipating member 16 contacts the circuit board 13 disposed on the lower surface side of the thick portion 16a, and dissipates heat from the heat-generating component mounted on the circuit board 13.

  The circuit board 13 has lead pins led out from the light emitting element unit 11 and the light receiving element unit 12 fixed thereto, and electrically connects the light emitting element and the light receiving element. The rear end portion of the circuit board 13 is a card edge portion (card edge connector) 13 a that fits into the host connector 3. The circuit board 13, the light emitting element unit 11, and the light receiving element unit 12 are fixed to the frame 15. The light emitting element unit 11 and the light receiving element unit 12 are fixed by fingers 19 in a state where the light emitting element unit 11 and the light receiving element unit 12 are arranged at predetermined positions of the receptacle 18.

  The bottom wall 17a of the cover 17 is shorter than the side walls 17b and 17b in the longitudinal direction so as to expose the card edge portion 13a. That is, the side wall 17b has an extending portion 17c extending rearward from the bottom wall 17a, and the rear end of the extending portion 17c is located rearward from the card edge portion 13a.

  Here, the housing 14 comes into contact with the corner (ridgeline) 3b (see FIG. 5) of the front end of the outer surface 3a of the host connector 3 when the card edge 13a is fitted to the host connector 3, and the card edge A pair of elastic members (guide means) 21 for guiding the portion 13 a to the host connector 3 is provided. Specifically, the pair of elastic members 21 are formed so as to sandwich the outer side surface 3 a of the host connector 3 between the rear end portions of the side wall 17 b of the cover 17.

  The elastic member 21 is formed integrally with the cover 17 by press working to form a plate shape, and is bent from the rear end portion of the extending portion 17c in the side wall 17b to form an inward taper shape. That is, the pair of elastic members 21 are formed so that the distance between the elastic members 21 increases toward the rear end side of the housing 14. Further, the elastic member 21 has a height substantially equal to the height of the host connector 3 from the lower end of the transceiver 10 in the vertical direction, for example. Note that the distal end portion of the elastic member 21 is located in front of the rear end of the circuit board 13 in the longitudinal direction of the transceiver 10. In consideration of component variations of the cover 17, the distance D1 between the tip portions of the elastic member 21 is slightly smaller than the entire width of the host connector 3 and is smaller than the entire width of the transceiver 10 (13.4 mm in this embodiment). The effect of the present invention can be exhibited by setting the distance D1 between the tips to about 11 mm.

  In such a transceiver 10, it is inserted into the cage 2 from the rear end side (card edge part 13a side). For example, at this time, when the positional relationship between the host connector 3 and the card edge portion 13a is shifted due to the displacement of the cage 2 and the host connector 3, the inclined surface of the elastic member 21 and the corner portion of the host connector 3 are displaced. 3b comes into contact. Therefore, the elastic member 21 is elastically deformed outward in accordance with the positional relationship between the host connector 3 and the transceiver 10, and the position of the transceiver 10 is adjusted by the repulsive force. Then, the card edge portion 13a is smoothly guided to the host connector 3, and the card edge portion 13a is easily fitted to the host connector 3.

  As described above, according to the transceiver 10, even when the position of the host connector 3 is fixed with respect to the host substrate 1 by being shifted from the designed position, the card edge portion 13a is fitted to the host connector 3 by the elastic member 21. Therefore, it is not necessary to position and fix the host connector 3 with respect to the host board 1 with high accuracy as before. Thereby, the appearance inspection of the pad portion for fixing the host connector 3 to the host substrate 1 can be omitted, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Further, as the guide means for guiding the card edge portion 13a to the host connector 3, the pair of elastic members 21 formed integrally with the cover 17 by press working is used, so that the guide means is inexpensive with a simple configuration. Can be formed.

  Next, a transceiver according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a transceiver according to the second embodiment of the present invention from the bottom side. The transceiver 30 of the second embodiment is different from the transceiver 10 of the first embodiment in that a housing 34 having a pair of elastic members 41, 41 is used instead of the housing 14 having a pair of elastic members 21, 21. This is the point used.

  The elastic member 41 contacts the outer surface 3a (see FIG. 5) of the host connector 3 when the card edge portion 13a is fitted to the host connector 3, and guides the card edge portion 13a to the host connector 3. It is a guide means. Specifically, the pair of elastic members 41 are formed so as to sandwich the outer side surface 3 a of the host connector 3 between the rear end portions of the side wall 17 b of the cover 17.

  The elastic member 41 is formed integrally with the cover 37 by pressing to form a plate shape, and has an arc shape that is curved from the rear end portion of the extending portion 17c in the side wall 17b and protrudes inward. That is, the pair of elastic members 41 are formed so as to spread after the distance between the elastic members 41 is once narrowed toward the rear end side of the housing 34. Note that the distal end portion of the elastic member 41 is located in front of the rear end of the circuit board 13 in the longitudinal direction of the transceiver 30. Then, in consideration of component variations of the cover 17, the distance D3 between the tops of the curved surfaces of the elastic member 41 is slightly smaller than the entire width of the host connector 3, and the entire width of the transceiver 30 (13.4 mm in this embodiment). On the other hand, the effect of the present invention can be exhibited by setting the distance D3 between the tops of the curved surfaces to about 11 mm.

  Even if comprised in this way, the effect similar to the transceiver 10 of 1st Embodiment can be acquired, and also the optical module 30 can be pulled out smoothly by removing the fitting between the card edge portion 13a and the host connector 3. It becomes possible.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was concretely demonstrated based on the embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Host connector, 3a ... Outer side surface, 10, 30 ... Transceiver (optical module), 11 ... Light emitting element unit, 12 ... Light receiving element unit, 13 ... Circuit board, 13a ... Card edge part, 14, 34 ... Case, 21, 41 ... Elastic members (guide means).

Claims (2)

In an optical module comprising a circuit board having a card edge portion connected to an optical element and fitted to a host connector, and a housing for housing the optical element and the circuit board,
At one end of the housing, there is a guide means for guiding the card edge portion to the host connector by contacting the outer surface of the host connector when the card edge portion is fitted to the host connector. Provided ,
The guide means is a pair of elastic members provided on both sides of the housing so as to sandwich the outer surface of the host connector.
The pair of elastic members have a plate shape, bend and taper inward, and are formed so that a distance from each other increases toward the one end side of the casing. And optical module. 2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the pair of elastic members are formed in an arc shape so as to spread after the distance from one end becomes narrower toward the one end side of the casing.

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