CN110198187B

CN110198187B - Optical communication device

Info

Publication number: CN110198187B
Application number: CN201810159556.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张朝钦; 蔡博文; 杨胜傑
Original assignee: Lite On Technology Corp
Current assignee: Lite On Technology Corp
Priority date: 2018-02-26
Filing date: 2018-02-26
Publication date: 2020-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 2038-02-26
Also published as: CN110198187A

Abstract

The optical communication device comprises a first circuit board, a second circuit board, a light guide structure, a driver, an optical receiver and an optical transmitter. The first circuit board has an upper surface. The second circuit board is arranged opposite to the first circuit board and is provided with a lower surface. The light guide structure is connected to the second circuit board and located between the first circuit board and the second circuit board. The driver is connected with the light guide structure to drive the light guide structure and the second circuit board to rotate. The light receiver is arranged on the upper surface of the first circuit board. The light emitter is arranged on the lower surface of the second circuit board, and the light emitter emits a signal light to the light receiver through the light guide structure.

Description

Optical communication device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an optical communication device, and more particularly, to an optical communication device having an optical transmitter and an optical receiver.

Background

Conventional optical communication devices typically include an optical receiver and an optical transmitter disposed within a hollow shaft of a motor. However, this requires an additional design of the hollow shaft of the motor, and the matching regions of the light receiver and the light emitter are also limited to only the inside of the hollow shaft of the motor. This limits the flexibility in the design of optical communication devices.

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an optical communication device, which can improve the problems in the prior art.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an optical communication device is provided, which includes a first circuit board, a second circuit board, a light guide structure, a driver, a first optical receiver, and a first optical transmitter. The first circuit board has an upper surface. The second circuit board is arranged opposite to the first circuit board and is provided with a lower surface. The light guide structure is connected with the second circuit board and is positioned between the first circuit board and the second circuit board. The driver is connected with the light guide structure to drive the light guide structure and the second circuit board to rotate. The first light receiver is arranged on the upper surface of the first circuit board. The first light emitter is arranged on the lower surface of the second circuit board, and the first light emitter emits a first signal light to the first light receiver through the light guide structure.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an optical communication apparatus is provided. The optical communication device comprises a first circuit board, a second circuit board, a driver, a first optical receiver and a plurality of first optical transmitters. The first circuit board has an upper surface. The second circuit board is arranged opposite to the first circuit board and is provided with a lower surface. The driver is connected with the second circuit board to drive the second circuit board to rotate, and the driver is provided with a shell peripheral surface. The first light receiver is arranged on the upper surface of the first circuit board. The plurality of first light emitters are arranged on the lower surface of the second circuit board, and each first light emitter emits a first signal light to the first light receiver. The first light emitters are located outside a projection area of the shell body peripheral surface projected to the lower surface.

The invention is described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific examples, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of an optical communication device according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 1B and 1C illustrate exploded views of the optical communication device of fig. 1A;

FIG. 1D shows a top view of the optical communication device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1E depicts a cross-sectional view of the optical communication device of FIG. 1D along direction 1E-1E';

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of an optical communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the optical communication device of FIG. 2A along the direction 2B-2B';

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of an optical communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B illustrates a cross-sectional view of the optical communication device of FIG. 3A along the direction 3B-3B';

fig. 4A and 4B are exploded views of an optical communication device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4C illustrates a top view of the second circuit board, the turret, the first optical transmitter, and the second optical receiver of FIG. 4A;

fig. 4D is a schematic view illustrating a coverage of the first signal light of the optical communication device of fig. 4A.

Wherein the reference numerals

100. 200, 300, 400: optical communication device

110: first circuit board

110 a: through hole

110 u: upper surface of

120: second circuit board

120 b: lower surface

130: light guide structure

131: top part

131 s: first reflecting surface

131 r: concave part

131 u: upper surface of

132: side part

132 s: second reflecting surface

132 b: lower surface

132 r: groove

140. 440, a step of: connecting piece

140a1, 140a2, 440 a: fixing hole

145: closure element

150. 450: rotary table

150 a: opening holes

160: driver

160 s: peripheral surface of the housing

161: rotating shaft

170: first light emitter

180: first light receiver

270: second light emitter

280: second light receiver

A1: luminous angle

C1: axial direction of rotation

C2: center of a ship

L1: first signal light

L2: second signal light

H1: distance between two adjacent plates

R1: projection area

Detailed Description

The invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings, which are provided for illustration purposes and the like:

referring to fig. 1A to 1E, fig. 1A is a schematic diagram of an optical communication device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention, fig. 1B and 1C are exploded views of the optical communication device 100 of fig. 1A, fig. 1D is a top view of the optical communication device 100 of fig. 1A, and fig. 1E is a cross-sectional view of the optical communication device 100 of fig. 1D along a direction 1E-1E'. The optical communication device 100 can be applied to a laser range finder or other electronic products with data transmission requirements.

As shown in fig. 1A to 1C, the optical communication device 100 includes a first circuit board 110, a second circuit board 120, a light guide structure 130, a connector 140, a turntable 150, a driver 160, a first optical transmitter 170, and a first optical receiver 180.

The first circuit board 110 is disposed opposite to the second circuit board 120. The first circuit board 110 has an upper surface 110u, and the second circuit board 120 has a lower surface 120 b. The light guide structure 130 is connected to the second circuit board 120 and located between the first circuit board 110 and the second circuit board 120. The driver 160 is connected to the light guide structure 130 to drive the light guide structure 130 and the second circuit board 120 to rotate. The first light receiver 180 is disposed on the upper surface 110u of the first circuit board 110. The first optical transmitter 170 is disposed on the lower surface 120b of the second circuit board 120, wherein the first optical transmitter 170 emits a first signal light L1 (shown in fig. 1E) to the first optical receiver 180 through the light guide structure 130, so that the signal of the second circuit board 120 can be transmitted to the first circuit board 110 through the light guide structure 130. In one embodiment, the first light emitter 170 is, for example, a light emitting diode.

As shown in fig. 1E, the first circuit board 110 has a via 110a, and the driver 160 is disposed through the via 110a with a clearance from the via 110 a. Thus, when the driver 160 operates, the vibration of the driver 160 is not transmitted to the first circuit board 110, and therefore, the stability of the first circuit board 110 is not adversely affected, and the quality of signal transmission between the first circuit board 110 and the second circuit board 120 can be ensured.

As shown in fig. 1E, the second circuit board 120 may be fixed to the turntable 150 to rotate with the turntable 150. The driver 160 includes a rotation shaft 161. The rotation shaft 161 is fixed to the first fixing hole 140a1 of the connection member 140. As shown in fig. 1B and 1C, at least one locking element 145 (shown in fig. 1B) passes through the turntable 150, the light guide structure 130 and the connecting member 140 to fix the relative positions of the turntable 150, the light guide structure 130 and the connecting member 140. Thus, when the rotating shaft 161 rotates, the connecting member 140, the light guiding structure 130 and the turntable 150 are driven to be linked.

As shown in fig. 1B, the connecting member 140 has at least one second fixing hole 140a 2. The locking element 145 passes through the through hole 130a of the light guide structure 130 and then locks to the second fixing hole 140a2 to fix the relative positions of the turntable 150, the light guide structure 130 and the connecting member 140. In one embodiment, the through hole 130a may not have a thread structure, so as to prevent the thread structure from adversely affecting the light transmission quality in the light guide structure 130.

As shown in fig. 1E, the light guide structure 130 includes a top portion 131 and a side portion 132 connected together. The top portion 131 and the side portion 132 provide an optical path for guiding the first signal light L1 to be transmitted from the first optical transmitter 170 to the first optical receiver 180. As shown, side 132 circumferentially surrounds top 131 and surrounds a recess 132 r. The aforementioned coupling member 140 is located within the recess 132r and the driver 160 is partially located within the recess 132 r. In this way, the overall thickness of the optical communication device 100 can be reduced. As shown, the top portion 131 has an upper surface 131u and a first reflective surface 131s, the junction of the top portion 131 and the side portion 132 has a second reflective surface 132s, and the side portion 132 has a lower surface 132 b. The optical path of the first signal light L1 passes through the upper surface 131u, the first reflection surface 131s, the second reflection surface 132s, and the lower surface 132b in this order.

As shown in fig. 1E, the first reflective surface 131s is formed by a recess 131r of the light guide structure 130, wherein the recess 131r provides a space for accommodating the rotating shaft 161 of the driver 160, so that an end of the rotating shaft 161 can extend into the recess 131 r. In this way, the overall thickness of the optical communication device 100 can be reduced. The aforementioned recess 131r is, for example, a tapered recess such as a conical recess. As shown, the second reflective surface 132s may be formed by the oblique angle of the light guide structure 130.

In addition, since the side portion 132 surrounds the top portion 131 in a full circle manner (i.e., the side portion 132 has a closed ring shape), the first signal light L1 is not leaked from the side portion 132. In detail, if the side portion 132 is in an open ring shape (e.g., has a notch), the first signal light L1 is lost through the notch of the side portion 132. As such, when the first optical transmitter 170 transmits the first signal light L1 at the higher frequency, the first optical receiver 180 is more likely to miss the first signal light L1. In contrast to the present embodiment, since side portion 132 is of a full-circle type, the problem of missed signals does not occur even when optical communication apparatus 100 operates at a high frequency. In addition, as shown in fig. 1E, the entire lower surface 132b is equal in height, so that when any portion of the lower surface 132b of the light guiding structure 130 is rotated to face the first light receiver 180, the distances H1 therebetween are substantially equal to ensure the signal transmission quality.

As shown in fig. 1E, the rotation axis C1 of the second circuit board 120 passes through the first light emitter 170 and the first reflection surface 131s, and the first light emitter 170 and the first reflection surface 131s are disposed adjacent to each other, so that the first signal light L1 emitted by the first light emitter 170 can be incident on the first reflection surface 131s when the second circuit board 120 rotates.

As shown in fig. 1E, the first light receiver 180 faces the lower surface 132b to receive the first signal light L1 emitted from the lower surface 132 b. Preferably, but not limited to, the first light receiver 180 is located opposite to the optical axis of the first signal light L1 to receive the strongest light intensity of the first signal light L1, so as to obtain better signal quality.

As shown in fig. 1E, the turntable 150 carries the second circuit board 120 and has an opening hole 150 a. The first light emitter 170 and the upper surface 131u of the light guiding structure 130 are located in the opening 150a, so that the first signal light L1 emitted from the first light emitter 170 can be confined in the opening 150a and incident on the upper surface 131u in the opening 150a, thereby reducing the amount of light leakage.

In addition, as shown in fig. 1E, the first light emitter 170 is located outside the rotation axis 161 of the driver 160. In this case, the rotating shaft 161 may be a solid shaft, but may also be a hollow shaft. In one embodiment, the driver 160 is, for example, a motor. In summary, due to the design of the light guide structure 130, the driver 160 of the embodiment of the present invention can use a motor having a solid shaft.

Referring to fig. 2A and 2B, fig. 2A is a top view of an optical communication device 200 according to another embodiment of the invention, and fig. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the optical communication device 200 of fig. 2A along a direction 2B-2B'.

The optical communication device 200 includes a first circuit board 110, a second circuit board 120, a light guide structure 130, a connector 140, a turntable 150, a driver 160, a first optical transmitter 170, a first optical receiver 180, a second optical transmitter 270, and a second optical receiver 280.

The second optical receiver 280 is disposed on the lower surface 120b of the second circuit board 120, and the second optical transmitter 270 is disposed on the upper surface 110u of the first circuit board 110, wherein the second optical transmitter 270 transmits the second signal light L2 to the second optical receiver 280 through the light guide structure 130. In this way, the signal of the first circuit board 110 can be transmitted to the second circuit board 120 through the light guide structure 130. In the present embodiment, the first circuit board 110 and the second circuit board 120 can transmit signals to each other, so the optical communication device 200 is a duplex optical communication device.

As shown in fig. 2B, the first light receiver 180 and the second light emitter 270 face the lower surface 132B. Preferably, but not limited to, the first light receiver 180 can be located opposite to the optical axis of the first signal light L1 to receive the strongest light intensity of the first signal light L1. The optical axis of the second signal light L2 of the second light emitter 270 faces the lower surface 132b, so that the second signal light L2 is incident on the lower surface 132b with the strongest light intensity. Thus, the signal transmission quality between the first circuit board 110 and the second circuit board 120 can be improved. In one embodiment, second light emitter 270 is, for example, a light emitting diode.

As shown in fig. 2B, the second optical receiver 280 and the first optical transmitter 170 are disposed adjacent to the rotation axis C1, and the rotation axis C1 passes through the first reflection surface 131s of the light guide structure 130, so that the second optical receiver 280 can receive the second signal light L2 through the first reflection surface 131s and the first optical transmitter 170 can emit the first signal light L1 through the first reflection surface 131s to be incident into the light guide structure 130.

In addition, the frequency of the first signal light L1 and the frequency of the second signal light L2 may be different, so as to reduce or even avoid the interference between the first signal light L1 and the second signal light L2, thereby ensuring the signal transmission quality.

As shown in fig. 2B, the second signal light L2 is opposite to the optical path direction of the first signal light L1. For example, the optical path of the first signal light L1 passes through the upper surface 131u, the first reflective surface 131s, the second reflective surface 132s and the lower surface 132b in sequence, and the optical path of the second signal light L2 passes through the lower surface 132b, the second reflective surface 132s, the first reflective surface 131s and the upper surface 131u in sequence.

Referring to fig. 3A and 3B, fig. 3A is a top view of an optical communication device 300 according to another embodiment of the invention, and fig. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the optical communication device 300 of fig. 3A along a direction 3B-3B'.

The optical communication device 300 includes a first circuit board 110, a second circuit board 120, a light guide structure 130, a connector 140, a turntable 150, a driver 160, a first optical transmitter 170, a first optical receiver 180, a second optical transmitter 270, and a second optical receiver 280. The optical communication device 300 of the present embodiment has the same or similar structure as the optical communication device 200, except that the second optical transmitter 270 and the second optical receiver 280 of the optical communication device 300 are configured differently.

As shown in fig. 3A and 3B, the second optical transmitter 270 and the second optical receiver 280 are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the center C2 of the first circuit board 110. For example, the second optical transmitter 270 and the second optical receiver 280 are arranged at an orientation of 180 degrees from the central angle of the center C2. In another embodiment, the central angles of the second optical transmitter 270 and the second optical receiver 280 with respect to the center C2 may be any angle.

Referring to fig. 4A and 4B, exploded views of an optical communication device 400 according to another embodiment of the invention are shown. The optical communication device 400 includes a first circuit board 110, a second circuit board 120, a connector 440, a turntable 450, a driver 160, a plurality of first optical transmitters 170, a first optical receiver 180, a plurality of second optical transmitters 270, and a second optical receiver 280. The optical communication device 400 of the present embodiment has the same or similar structure as the aforementioned optical communication device, except that the optical communication device 400 omits the light guide structure 130 and the number of the first optical transmitters 170 and the second optical transmitters 270 is plural.

As shown in fig. 4A and 4B, the second circuit board 120 may be fixed on the turntable 450 to rotate with the turntable 450. The rotation shaft 161 of the driver 160 is fixed to the fixing hole 440a of the link 440. At least one locking member 145 may pass through the turntable 450 and the connection member 440 to fix the relative positions of the turntable 450 and the connection member 440. Thus, when the rotating shaft 161 rotates, the connecting member 440 is driven to move with the turntable 450.

Referring to fig. 4C and 4D, fig. 4C is a top view of the second circuit board 120, the turntable 450, the first optical transmitter 170 and the second optical receiver 280 of fig. 4A, and fig. 4D is a schematic diagram illustrating a coverage area of the first signal light L1 of the optical communication device 400 of fig. 4A.

The actuator 160 has a housing peripheral surface 160s (shown in fig. 4A), and the housing peripheral surface 160s is the outermost peripheral surface of the housing of the actuator 160. As shown in fig. 4C, a region where the housing peripheral surface 160s is perpendicularly projected to the lower surface 120b of the second circuit board 120 is a projection region R1. As shown, the first optical transmitter 170 and the second optical receiver 280 disposed on the second circuit board 120 are located outside the projection region R1. Although not shown, the second optical transmitter 270 and the first optical receiver 180 disposed on the first circuit board 110 are also located outside the projection region R1. Since the first light emitter 170 and the second light emitter 270 of the embodiment of the invention are both disposed outside the casing peripheral surface 160s, the signal light emitted by the light emitters is not excessively obstructed by the driver 160, and can smoothly irradiate the opposite circuit boards.

As shown in fig. 4D, the areas where the adjacent two of the plurality of first signal lights L1 of the plurality of first light emitters 170 irradiate the upper surface 110u of the first circuit board 110 are partially overlapped. In other words, the plurality of first signal lights L1 covers the upper surface 110u all around. Thus, when the second circuit board 120 rotates, although the plurality of first light emitters 170 rotate therewith, the first light receiver 180 can still be kept in a state of being continuously irradiated by the plurality of first signal lights L1, so that the first light receiver 180 can be prevented from missing the signal of the first signal light L1. With such a design, the first optical receiver 180 can receive the complete signal of the first signal light L1 even if the optical communication device 400 operates at a high frequency.

In the present embodiment, the number of the first light emitters 170 is four, and the light emitting angle a1 of each first light emitter 170 is not less than 90 degrees, so as to form a full circle coverage. However, the light emitting angle a1 of each first light emitter 170 may depend on the arrangement position and the number of the first light emitters 170. The embodiments of the present invention are not limited.

Similarly, although not shown, the areas of the lower surface 120b of the second circuit board 120 irradiated by two adjacent ones of the second signal lights L2 of the second light emitters 270 partially overlap. In other words, the plurality of second signal lights L2 entirely covers the lower surface 120 b. Thus, when the second circuit board 120 rotates, although the second light receiver 280 rotates therewith, the second light receiver 280 can still be kept in a state of being continuously irradiated by the plurality of second signal lights L2, so that the second light receiver 280 can be prevented from being missed by the signal of the second signal light L2. With such a design, the second optical receiver 280 can receive the complete signal of the second signal light L2 even if the optical communication device 400 operates at a high frequency.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it should be understood that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An optical communication apparatus, comprising:

a first circuit board having an upper surface;

a second circuit board, which is configured opposite to the first circuit board and has a lower surface;

the light guide structure is connected with the second circuit board and positioned between the first circuit board and the second circuit board, the light guide structure comprises a top part and a side part which are connected, and the side part surrounds the top part in a full circle mode and surrounds a groove;

the driver is connected with the light guide structure to drive the light guide structure and the second circuit board to rotate, and the driver is partially positioned in the groove;

a first light receiver disposed on the upper surface of the first circuit board; and

the first light emitter is arranged on the lower surface of the second circuit board and emits a first signal light to the first light receiver through the light guide structure.

2. The optical communication device according to claim 1, wherein the light guide structure has a first reflective surface, a second reflective surface, and an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other; the optical path of the first signal light sequentially passes through the upper surface, the first reflecting surface, the second reflecting surface and the lower surface.

3. The optical communication device according to claim 2, wherein the light guide structure comprises the top portion having the upper surface and the first reflective surface, the connection portion of the top portion and the side portion having the second reflective surface, and the side portion having the lower surface.

4. The optical communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a turntable for bearing the second circuit board and having an opening, the first light emitter being located in the opening;

the driver comprises a rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is fixed on the turntable, and the first light emitter and the first light receiver are located outside the rotating shaft.

5. The optical communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a second light receiver disposed on the lower surface of the second circuit board; and

and the second optical transmitter is arranged on the upper surface of the first circuit board, and the second optical transmitter transmits a second signal light to the second optical receiver through the light guide structure.

6. The optical communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a frequency of the first signal light is different from a frequency of the second signal light.

7. The optical communication device according to claim 5, wherein the light guide structure has a first reflective surface, a second reflective surface, and an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other; the optical path of the second signal light sequentially passes through the lower surface, the second reflecting surface, the first reflecting surface and the upper surface.

8. The optical communication device according to claim 5, wherein the light guiding structure has a lower surface, and the first optical receiver and the second optical transmitter are opposite to the lower surface.

9. An optical communication apparatus, comprising:

a first circuit board having an upper surface;

a driver connected to the second circuit board to drive the second circuit board to rotate, the driver having a housing peripheral surface;

a plurality of first optical transmitters arranged on the lower surface of the second circuit board, each first optical transmitter transmitting a first signal light to the first optical receiver;

the plurality of first light emitters are located outside a projection area of the shell body peripheral surface projected to the lower surface.

10. The optical communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein areas where adjacent two of the first signal lights of the plurality of first optical transmitters irradiate the upper surface are partially overlapped.

11. The optical communication apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a plurality of second optical transmitters arranged on the upper surface of the first circuit board, each second optical transmitter transmitting a second signal light to the second optical receiver;

wherein the plurality of second light emitters are located outside the projection area.

12. The optical communication apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the areas of the lower surface irradiated by the adjacent two of the second signal lights of the second optical transmitters are partially overlapped.