GB2208566A - Circuit board back plane assembly with electrical and optical connectors - Google Patents
Circuit board back plane assembly with electrical and optical connectors Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2208566A GB2208566A GB8718649A GB8718649A GB2208566A GB 2208566 A GB2208566 A GB 2208566A GB 8718649 A GB8718649 A GB 8718649A GB 8718649 A GB8718649 A GB 8718649A GB 2208566 A GB2208566 A GB 2208566A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- plane arrangement
- optical
- boards
- electronic boards
- data signals
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K7/00—Constructional details common to different types of electric apparatus
- H05K7/14—Mounting supporting structure in casing or on frame or rack
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
- G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
- G02B6/2804—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers
- G02B6/2817—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals forming multipart couplers without wavelength selective elements, e.g. "T" couplers, star couplers using reflective elements to split or combine optical signals
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
- G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
- G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
- G02B6/381—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres
- G02B6/3817—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres containing optical and electrical conductors
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
- G02B6/4201—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details
- G02B6/4204—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details the coupling comprising intermediate optical elements, e.g. lenses, holograms
- G02B6/4214—Packages, e.g. shape, construction, internal or external details the coupling comprising intermediate optical elements, e.g. lenses, holograms the intermediate optical element having redirecting reflective means, e.g. mirrors, prisms for deflecting the radiation from horizontal to down- or upward direction toward a device
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
- G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
- G02B6/42—Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
- G02B6/43—Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K1/00—Printed circuits
- H05K1/02—Details
- H05K1/14—Structural association of two or more printed circuits
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Optical Communication System (AREA)
- Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)
Abstract
A circuit board back plane assembly comprises a grooved transparent plate 1. The grooves 2, 3 have semi reflective facets 4 transmitting light signals corresponding to data signals along the plate 1 to transceivers 5 attached to circuit boards 6, 7, 8. The facets 4 are also arranged to receive light signals from the transceivers 5 for onward transmission to the transceiver associated with another circuit board of the backplane assembly. The back plane assembly is also provided with an electrical connector for connecting an electrical bus to the boards 6, 7, 8. <IMAGE>
Description
IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO RACK-MOUNIED ELECTRONIC BOARD ASSEMBLIES
This invention relates to rack-mounted electronic board assemblies of the kind commonly used in computers, for example, and relates more specifically to so-called back-plane arrangements for use in such board assemblies to provide data communication paths interconnecting the electronic boards of the assembly whilst affording mechanical support to the boards.
Hitherto back-plane arrangements for electronic board assemblies have taken the form of multi-layer printed circuit boards providing electrically conductive buses for carrying power supplies and data signals to a multiplicity of electronic boards which are electrically and mechanically connected to the back-plane arrangement by electrical multi-way pin and socket connectors.
The large number of electrical connections which need to be made between the back-plane multi-layer board arrangement and each of the electronic boards through the pin and socket connectors not only require considerable physical effort to insert the boards into and to withdraw the boards from the back-plane arrangement but the density of the interconnections between the boards and the back-plane arrangement may cause cross-talk problems and, moreover, the data rate of communication over individual connections is lower than it would otherwise need to be.
The aforesaid and other disadvantages of known back-plane arrangements are at least alleviated by the present invention which provides a back-plane arrangement for use in electronic board assemblies, said back-plane arrangement comprising means for optically transmitting data signals to and for receiving such signals from the electronic boards associated with the back-plane arrangement, the back-plane arrangement also comprising electrical conductor means and suitable connector means for supplying electrical power to the electronic boards.The electrical interconnections between the back-plane arrangement and the electronic boards which may be made by way of pin and socket electrical connectors, but the number of electrical interconnections will be reduced due to the optical connections provided between the back-plane arrangement and the electronic boards for the transmission and reception of the data signals. This reduction in the number and density of the electrical pin and socket connections not only results in overcoming the disadvantages set forth above but it also substantially reduces the risk of faults occurring in the data communication paths due to the presence of dirt and dust. Lower density connections also reduce the need for high tolerance mechanical alignment between the boards and the back-plane arrangement.
In carrying out the present invention the data signals may be optically transmitted from and received into an optical bus (e.g.
plastics light guiding structure) of the back-plane arrangement by way of suitably angled facets of grooves cut or otherwise formed (e.g.
moulded) in the optical bus. Alternatively, the optical paths provided for data signals may comprise line-of-sight optical paths through the back-plane arrangement. In the former case the backplane arrangement may be completely optically passive, that is to say optical transmitters and receivers will be located in the electronic boards rather than in the back-plane arrangement whereas in the latter case the back-plane arrangement and electronic boards will have optical transmitters and receivers for transmitting and receiving data signals over the line-of-sight communications paths.
By way of example the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figures 1 and 2 show diagrammatic plan and side views, respectively, of one back-plane arrangement and associated electronic boards according to the present invention;
Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic plan view of another form of back-plane arrangement and associated boards according to the invention; and,
Figure 4 shows an optical transmitter/receiver for use in the arrangements of Figures 1, 2 and 3.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the back-plane arrangement illustrated comprises a transparent acrylic (e.g.
perspexpplate plate 1 having generally V-shaped single and twin grooves 2 and 3, respectively; cut or otherwise formed therein. These grooves 2 and 3 are provided with semi-reflective or polished suitably angled facets 4 which serve to transmit light signals corresponding to data signals travelling along the plate structure 1 to transceivers (i.e. combined transmitter and receiver) 5 attached to electronic printed circuit boards 6, 7 and 8 associated with the backplane arrangement 1 and to receive data signals from these transceivers 5 and to transmit data signals to the transceiver 5 of another board or boards of the assembly.
As can be seen from Figure 2, the electronic boards of the assembly, such as the board 7, are mechanically attached to the back-plane arrangement 1 by means of mechanical supports 9 and 10 which co-operate with mechanical support bars 11 and 12 of the back-plane arrangement and are also electrically connected to the back-plane arrangement 1 for the purpose of providing the board with electrical power connections by means of electrical connector means 13 which electrically connects an electric bus 14 combined with the board support bar 10 of the back-plane arrangement with power inputs connected on the electronic boards.
As will readily be appreciated, the provision of the optical data communication paths between the back-plane and the electronic boards obviates the previously mentioned problems associated with the provision of large numbers of electrical connections and the inclusion of the data signal path connections therein.
Referring now to Figure 3 of the drawings, this shows a backplane arrangement in which the back-plane comprises a supporting structure 15 which carries an electrical power bus for supplying electronic boards, such as the boards 16, 17 and 18 with electrical power through electrical connector means, such as the connectors 19, 20 and 21. The back-plane arrangement will also include mechanical support means (not shown) for firmly supporting the boards in position relative to the back-plane arrangement.
In this embodiment the back-plane arrangement comprises in respect of each electronic board associated with it an optical transceiver 22 which is arranged to transmit data signals to other electronic boards of the assembly over line-of-sight optical communication paths 23 and to receive such data signals from other electronic boards over said paths. For this purpose each of the electronic boards also includes an optical transceiver 24. As in the case of the Figure 1 and Figure 2 embodiment described above the data signal paths 23 between boards are optical and separate from the physical electrical connections which are made between the back-plane arrangement and the electronic boards for power distribution purposes and in this way the previously mentioned disadvantages are avoided.
Referring finally to Figure 4 of the drawings, this shows a transceiver for use in the embodiments described in Figures 1 to 3.
The transceiver comprises a light source (e.g. light emitting diode) or a light detector (e.g. photo-diode) 25 having an associated collimating lens 26 which is shown as mounted together with the source/detector 25 in a suitable housing 27 but which could be formed integrally with the source detector 25. An associated rightangled bar 28 having mirrored surfaces 29 and 30 will direct collimated light signals derived from the source 25 and bar 26 to the left and right as viewed in the drawing or will direct light signals falling on the mirror sufaces from the left or right through the lens 26 on to the light detector 25.
A still further arrangement for the pick-off or reception of data signals would be to use a piece of plane glass arranged at 450 to the optical axis of the optical bus plate 1 in Figure 1 and 2 and to rely upon the 4 to 5 per cent reflection coefficient to remove some of the data signals.
Claims (8)
1. A back-plane arrangement for use in rack-mounted electronic board assemblies to provide data communication paths interconnecting the electronic boards of the assembly whilst affording mechanical support for the boards, in which the back-plane arrangement comprises means for optically transmitting data signals to and means for receiving such signals from the electronic boards as well as electrical conductor and suitable connector means for supplying electrical power to the electronic boards from the backplane arrangement.
2. A back-plane arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which the data signals are optically transmitted from and received into an optical bus of the back-plane arrangement by way of suitably angled facets of grooves cut or otherwise formed in the optical bus.
3. A back-plane arrangement as claimed in claim 2, in which the optical bus comprises a plastics light guiding structure.
4. A back-plane arrangement as claimed in claim 2 or 3, in which optical transmitting and optical receiving devices for transmitting and receiving the data signals are located on the respective electronic boards.
5. A back-plane arrangement as claimed in claim 1, in which optical paths for the transmission and reception of the data signals comprise line-of-sight optical paths through the back-plane arrangement.
6. A back-plane arrangement as claimed in claim 5, in which the back-plane arrangement and the electronic boards have optical transmitters and receivers for transmitting and receiving data signals over the line-of-sight optical paths.
7. A back-plane arrangement as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, in which transceivers are located on the electronic boards or on the electronic boards and the back-plane arrangement.
8. A back-plane arrangement substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8718649A GB2208566A (en) | 1987-08-06 | 1987-08-06 | Circuit board back plane assembly with electrical and optical connectors |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8718649A GB2208566A (en) | 1987-08-06 | 1987-08-06 | Circuit board back plane assembly with electrical and optical connectors |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB8718649D0 GB8718649D0 (en) | 1987-09-09 |
| GB2208566A true GB2208566A (en) | 1989-04-05 |
Family
ID=10621921
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8718649A Withdrawn GB2208566A (en) | 1987-08-06 | 1987-08-06 | Circuit board back plane assembly with electrical and optical connectors |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2208566A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR2681201A1 (en) * | 1991-09-06 | 1993-03-12 | Framatome Sa | Device for transmitting information by an optical path between different electronic circuits |
| EP1916553A1 (en) * | 2006-10-25 | 2008-04-30 | Sick Ag | Device for the electrical connection |
-
1987
- 1987-08-06 GB GB8718649A patent/GB2208566A/en not_active Withdrawn
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR2681201A1 (en) * | 1991-09-06 | 1993-03-12 | Framatome Sa | Device for transmitting information by an optical path between different electronic circuits |
| WO1993005590A1 (en) * | 1991-09-06 | 1993-03-18 | Framatome | Device for optical transmission of data between different electronic circuits |
| EP1916553A1 (en) * | 2006-10-25 | 2008-04-30 | Sick Ag | Device for the electrical connection |
| US7637749B2 (en) | 2006-10-25 | 2009-12-29 | Sick Ag | Device for electrical contacting |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB8718649D0 (en) | 1987-09-09 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |