JP2003004970A - Optical wiring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily prevent the light from a light emitting means and light from all incidence/projection parts from leaking as to an optical wiring device equipped with a light guide having a plurality of incidence/projection parts. SOLUTION: On a motherboard 12, an optical wiring board 14 and an electric wiring board 16 are provided and the electric wiring board 16 is optically connected to the optical wiring board 14 through an optical connector 20. A sensor 22 detects the optical wiring board 14 and electric wiring board 16 being mounted and demounted and an AND generating circuit 28 detects whether all electric wiring boards 16 are connected to correct positions. A power supply control circuit 30 controls power supply to the light emitting means according to the judgment result of the AND generating circuit. When all the electric wiring boards are correctly connected, electric power is supplied to the light emitting means to prevent not only the light emitted by the light emitting means, but also light from the incidence/projection parts of the light guide of the optical wiring board 14 from leaking.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical wiring device for transmitting between boards or chips by an optical signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the problems to be solved by the invention
An optical bus circuit for optically transmitting data between boards or chips has been proposed for the purpose of increasing the data speed and reducing electromagnetic noise. One example thereof is the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-329962 filed by the applicant of the present application.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-329962 discloses an optical wiring board in which a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit sections is arranged. The light guide path of the optical wiring board is composed of a sheet-shaped light guide body, a diffusion member for diffusing light input to the light guide body, and a plurality of optical fibers optically connected to the light guide body. The one end of this optical fiber serves as an entrance / exit portion. The light entering from the input / output parts of the plurality of optical fibers is diffused by the light diffusing member and is output from the input / output parts of the plurality of optical fibers arranged on the other side through the light guide body. An electric wiring board having a light emitting element and a light receiving element is connected to the input / output section to form an optical bus.

When assembling or maintaining such an optical bus, it is necessary to attach or detach the electric wiring board from the optical wiring board. In this case, if the signal light leaks from the light emitting element of the electric wiring board or the light guide path of the optical wiring board, there is a risk of damaging the eyes of the human body particularly when the signal light is laser light.

As a general measure against the leakage of laser light, for example, JP-A-9-281359 and JP-A-2001-1 are available.
It is known in Japanese Patent No. 3356. JP-A-9-
The invention disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 281359 is an optical output device which has a female part of an optical connector in a device housing and which outputs an optical signal to the outside through a male part of an optical connector attached thereto. A sensor for detecting the insertion of the male part of the connector is provided in the female part of the optical connector, and when the male part of the optical connector is inserted, the sensor is turned on and light is output, and the male part of the optical connector is removed. In this state, the light output is stopped. The invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-13356 is an optical coupling device, in which a pressure-sensitive filter that transmits light when pressed is provided inside the optical coupling device, and the tip of the optical fiber is pressed against the pressure-sensitive filter. Only if it is to be optically coupled.

However, the above-mentioned conventional example is limited to the proposal of the countermeasure against the laser light leakage only in the emitting portion of the optical signal and the optical coupling portion. In an optical wiring device having a plurality of light entrance / exit sections with a light guide path such as the above-mentioned optical bus, even if the laser light leakage of one light emitting means or one entrance / exit section is prevented, other light emitting means and light exit / eject There is a problem that it is not possible to prevent laser light leakage at some parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to easily prevent light emission from a light emitting means and light leakage from all of the entrance / exit parts in an optical wiring device having a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit parts. .

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides three simple means. The first is electrical means, the second is mechanical means, and the third
Is a combination of them. That is, the first feature of the present invention is that, in an optical wiring device having a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit sections, a coupled member may be optically coupled to each of the entrance / exit sections of the light guide path. A power supply control means that is detachably connected and that receives light from the light emitting means at at least one of the input / output portions and supplies power to the light emitting means when all the input / output portions have attached members to be coupled. Is provided in the optical wiring device. Since the power is supplied to the light emitting means when all the members to be coupled are attached, it is possible to prevent light emission from all the light emitting means and leakage of light from the entrance / exit portion. On the contrary, the power supply control means may prohibit or suppress the power supply to the light emitting means when the coupled member is removed from any one of the input / output sections.

Further, a detection means for detecting the connection state of the members to be connected is provided, and when the detection result of the detection means determines that the members to be connected are attached to all of the input / output parts, the light emitting means is powered. It is also possible to use a power supply control means for supplying On the contrary, the power supply control means may be configured to prohibit or suppress the power supply to the light emitting means when it is determined that the coupled member has been removed from any one of the input / output sections.

A second feature of the present invention is that in an optical wiring device having a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit sections, a coupled member is connected to the entrance / exit section of the light guide path, and at least one member is connected. The entrance / exit portion is an optical wiring device in which light from the light emitting means is incident and a light shielding member is provided in the entrance / exit portion to which the coupled means is not connected. The entrance / emission part to which the coupled means is not connected is shielded by the light shielding member, and light can be prevented from leaking from all the entrance / emission parts. The light blocking member is
It is provided so as to be selectively attachable / detachable to / from the coupled member, and an arbitrary input / output unit is selected to determine whether or not to optically connect. It is possible to prevent the leakage of light by attaching a light shielding member instead of.

A third feature of the present invention is that, in an optical wiring device having a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit parts, a coupled member is optically coupled to each of the entrance / exit parts of the light guide path. As described above, light is emitted from the light emitting means to at least one entrance / exit portion, and a light shielding member is detachably attached to the entrance / exit portion to which the coupled means is not connected, and all of the entrance / exit portions are provided. The optical wiring device is provided with a power supply control means for supplying power to the light emitting means when a member to be coupled or a light shielding member is attached. On the contrary, the power supply control means may be configured to prohibit or suppress the power supply to the light emitting means when the coupled member or the light shielding member is removed from any one of the input / output portions. Therefore, a light-shielding member is attached to the input / output unit that is not optically connected, and all the input / output units are optically coupled by the members to be coupled, or the light-shielding member is attached so that power is supplied to the light emitting means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent light from leaking doubly.

The light emitting means may or may not be provided on the member to be joined, but the light emitting means is provided on the member to be joined to serve as an electric wiring board, while the light guide path is provided on the optical wiring board. A plurality of electric wiring boards can be coupled to the optical wiring board so as to form an optical bus.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5, the first aspect of the present invention
Is shown. In FIG. 1, an optical wiring device 10 includes a mother board 12, an optical wiring board 14 provided on the mother board 12, and an electric wiring board 16 that is erected on the mother board 12 and the optical wiring board 14 and constitutes a member to be coupled. Have and. A plurality of, for example, four electric wiring boards 16 are provided, and are electrically connected to the mother board 12 via an electric connector 18. Further, a light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown) are provided on the electric wiring board 16, and the light emitting element and the light receiving element are optically connected to the optical wiring board 14 via the optical connector 20. The electrical wiring board 16 is the electrical connector 1
8 and the optical connector 20 are detachable.

The optical connector 20, as shown in FIG.
For example, a sensor 22 including a mechanical switch is provided,
The sensor 22 includes a first contact 24 provided at an end of the electric wiring board 16 and a second contact 24 provided on the optical wiring board 14.
And the contact 26 of the electric wiring board 16 for detecting attachment and detachment of the electric wiring board 16. That is, when the electric wiring board 16 is attached to the optical connector 20, the first
The contact point 24 of the sensor 22 is connected to the second contact point 26 of the sensor 22.
When the electric wiring board 16 is removed from the optical connector 20, the first contact point 24 and the second contact point 26 are separated from each other, and the sensor 22 outputs “0”.
In this embodiment, the sensor 22 is composed of a mechanical switch, but it is not limited to this, and not only other known mechanical means but also known optical means or electrical means. Can be used.

The logical performance generating circuit 28 is provided, for example, on the mother board 12, the input side is connected to the sensor 22 described above, and the output side is connected to the power supply control circuit 30.
The output side of the power supply control circuit 30 is connected to the electric wiring board 16 via the electric connector 18, and
The power supply to the whole or the light emitting element is controlled. That is, in the state where all of the electric wiring board 16 is attached, “1” is output from the logic record generation circuit 28,
Power is supplied to the electric wiring board 16 by the power supply control circuit 30, and on the other hand, in the state where any one electric wiring board 16 is removed, "0" is output from the logic value generation circuit 28, and the power supply control circuit Electrical wiring board 1 by 30
The power supply to 6 is prohibited or suppressed, and it is possible to prevent the light emitting element from emitting light and affecting the human body.

In FIG. 3, an example of the circuit configuration is shown. The logic value generation circuit 28 has an AND circuit 32, the output from the sensor 22 is divided by the resistors 34 and 36, and the CR composed of the resistor 38 and the capacitor 40. It is input to the AND circuit 28 via the circuit. The power supply control circuit 30 has a transistor 42 and controls power supply to a drive circuit 46 that drives the light emitting element 44. If all of the sensors 22 are turned on and the inputs to the AND circuit 32 of the logical product generation circuit 28 are all "1", "1" is output from the AND circuit 32 and the transistor 42 of the power supply control circuit 30 is output. Is turned on, power is supplied to the drive circuit 46, and the light emitting element 44 is ready to emit light. On the other hand, if any one of the sensors 22 is turned off, “0” is input from one input terminal of the AND circuit 28, “0” is output from the AND circuit 28, and the power supply control circuit 30 outputs. The transistor 42 is turned off, power supply to the drive circuit 46 is prohibited, and none of the light emitting elements 44 can emit light.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the optical wiring board 14 is
The light guide path 50 is provided on the support substrate 48, and the light guide path 50 is formed in a sheet shape and in a step shape, for example, 4
It is composed of a sheet of light guide body 52. These light guide path bodies 52 are arranged in parallel on the support substrate 48, and are made of, for example, a plastic material such as polymethylmethacrylate, polycarbonate, amorphous polyolefin, or inorganic glass. In addition, the light guide body 52
Has, for example, four reflection step portions 54 formed at predetermined intervals. The reflection step portion 54 is cut at an angle of 45 degrees toward the back surface, a reflection layer is formed on the cut portion, and an entrance / exit portion 56 is formed on the upper surface portion of the reflection step portion 54.

A reflective diffusion layer 58 is provided on one end surface of the main road body 52. The light diffusion layer 58 is composed of a diffusion transmission layer and a reflection layer provided on the back surface thereof. As the diffusion / transmission layer, a transparent resin base material such as acrylic, polycarbonate, or polyester, on which an epoxy layer is formed and cured by ultraviolet rays to form a pattern, or on the resin base material, a nickel electroformed master is used. It is known that the pattern is directly formed by thermo-compression bonding, LSD
It is commercially available under the name of (Light Shaping Diffusers). Aluminum or the like can be used for the reflective layer.

The above-mentioned optical wiring board 14 and electric wiring board 1
6 is an optical connector 20 so that the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the electric wiring board 16 are arranged corresponding to the input / output section 56.
The input / output units 56 are arranged in a matrix to form a 4-node 4-bit optical bus.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, when all the electric wiring boards 16 are connected to the optical connector 20 of the optical wiring board 14,
Since the first contact 24 of the electric wiring board 16 is joined to the second contact 26 of the optical wiring board 14, all the sensors 2
The output from 2 is "1". Therefore, “1” is output from the AND circuit 32 of the logical product generation circuit 28, the transistor 42 of the power supply control circuit 30 is turned on, and power is supplied to the drive circuit 46 of the light emitting element 44. In this case, all the light emitting elements and the light receiving elements of the electric wiring board 16 are optically connected to the input / output section 56 of the optical wiring board 14. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting element enters the light guide path body 52 from the entrance / exit section 56 of the light guide path body 52, is reflected by the reflection step portion 54, passes through the light guide path body 52 while being totally reflected, and is reflected and diffused. The light is reflected and diffused by 58, again passes through the light guide body 52 in the opposite direction, changes its direction by the reflection step portion 54, is emitted from the incident / emission portion 56, and is received by the light receiving element of the electric wiring board 16.

Here, when one electric wiring board 16 is removed for maintenance, for example, the output of the corresponding one sensor 22 becomes "0" and the output of the AND circuit 32 of the logical product generating circuit 28 becomes. Switch to "0". Therefore, the transistor 42 of the power supply control circuit 30 is turned off,
Power supply to the drive circuit 46 of the light emitting element 44 is prohibited,
Even if a drive signal is input to the drive circuit 46, the light emission of the light emitting element 44 is blocked.

In addition, as in the case of assembly, the electric wiring board 16 is removed from a state in which the electric wiring board 16 is not attached.
When all the electric wiring boards 16 are attached, the output of the logic generation circuit 28 does not become "1" unless all the electric wiring boards 16 are properly attached, and the light emission of the light emitting element 44 is blocked. Only when it is properly attached, the output of the logic record generation circuit 28 becomes “1”, and the light emitting element 44 can emit light. In particular, when there are a plurality of nodes as in the above embodiment, one electric wiring board 1
Although the light emitted from 6 may leak from the input / output section 56 of another node, the light emission of the light emitting element 44 is stopped unless all the electric wiring boards 16 are properly connected.
Not only the light emission from the light emitting element but also the leakage of light from the incident / emission unit 56 can be prevented.

A first modification is shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. In this modification, the optical wiring board 14
Is a sheet-shaped light guide path body 52 having a clad layer 58 on the front and rear sides, and a light-shielding layer 60 also formed in a sheet shape.
And a plurality of layers are alternately stacked in the vertical direction to form the light guide path 50. Electric wiring boards 16 are erected on the mother board 12 on both left and right sides of the optical wiring board 14. The optical connector 20 is fixed to the electric wiring board 16,
The light emitting element and the light receiving element provided on the electric wiring board 16 are connected directly or via an optical fiber or the like to the entrance / exit portions 56 provided on the front and rear surfaces of the light guide body 52. At the lower end of the optical connector 20, the electric wiring board 16
A sensor 22 is provided to detect attachment and detachment of the.

The light-shielding member 62 is made of, for example, an opaque resin or metal, and is provided in the entrance / exit portion 56 of the optical wiring board 14 to which the electric wiring board 16 is not connected, and the light leaks from the entrance / exit portion 56 which is not connected. Is being prevented. The light shielding member 62 has the same shape as the optical connector 20 and is attachable to and detachable from the optical wiring board 14.
Therefore, the light shielding member 62 can be selectively attached to and removed from the electric wiring board 16 having the optical connector 20, and the number and position of the electric wiring boards 16 to be connected can be designed arbitrarily. The optical connector 20 can be attached to the unconnected portion in the same manner. Further, at the lower end of the light shielding member 62, a sensor 22 for detecting attachment / detachment is provided similarly to the optical connector 20. Like the other sensors, the sensor 22 of the light shielding member 62 is also connected to the above-described logic generation circuit, and the electric wiring board 1
When all of 6 and the light shielding member 62 are correctly connected to the optical wiring board 14, light emission from the light emitting element is permitted.

In FIG. 9, a second modification is shown. In this modification, the optical wiring board 14 has a sheet-shaped light guide path body 52 and, for example, three optical fibers 64 connected to one end of the light guide path body 52. The optical fiber 64 for the light guide path is the support substrate 4
It is located at 8. The other ends of the light guide body 52 and the light guide optical fiber 64 constitute an entrance / exit portion 56, and a connection optical fiber 66 which is a member to be coupled is connected to the entrance / exit portion 56 via the optical connector 20. There is. However, as in the first modification, a light shielding member 62 is provided in the input / output unit 56 to which the connecting optical fiber 66 is not connected.

In the above embodiment, the power supply control means prohibits the power supply to the light emitting means when any one of the coupled members is not coupled to the light guide path. It is not necessary to prohibit it, and the power supply to the light emitting means can be reduced to a level at which the light emitted from the light emitting means or the light guide path does not damage the human body. Further, the power supply control means controls the power supply to the light emitting means according to the output of the detection means. However, for example, a confirmation means is provided, and the power supply is performed based on the information from both the detection means and the confirmation means. It is also possible to control by inputting other information such as control.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an optical wiring device provided with a light guide having a plurality of entrance / exit sections, not only the light emission from the light emitting means removed from the light guide but also the light guide is conducted. It is possible to suppress light leaking from the entrance / exit portion of the optical path, and to ensure safety during maintenance and assembly of the optical wiring device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an optical wiring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a sensor portion used in the optical wiring device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a circuit example of an optical wiring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an optical wiring board used in an optical wiring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a light guide body used in the optical wiring device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an optical wiring device according to a first modification of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an optical wiring device according to a first modification of the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 7, showing an optical wiring device according to a first modification of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an optical wiring device according to a second modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Optical wiring equipment 12 motherboard 14 Optical wiring board 16 Electric wiring board 20 optical connector 22 sensors 28 Logical Performance Generation Circuit 30 Power supply control circuit 44 Light emitting element 46 Drive circuit 50 light guide path 52 Light guide body 56 Input / output unit 62 Light-shielding member

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hidenori Yamada             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ken Uemura             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Junji Okada             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Sakai             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tsutomu Hamada             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinobu Ozeki             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Nori Takanashi             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaaki Miura             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Kobayashi             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takehiro Niitsu             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomao Baba             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shoji Hisada             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Toshima             430 Sakai, Nakai-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture             Kunakai Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2H036 QA00                 2H037 AA01 BA02 BA11 DA03 DA04                       DA06 DA31 DA35                 5E338 AA00 BB75 CC10 EE60

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. In an optical wiring device comprising a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit sections, a coupled member is detachably connected to each of the entrance / exit sections of the light guide path so as to be optically coupled to at least one member. The input / output section is provided with a power supply control means for supplying power to the light emitting means when light from the light emitting means is incident and the coupled members are attached to all of the input / output sections. Wiring device. 2. An optical wiring device having a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit sections, wherein a member to be coupled is detachably connected to each of the entrance / exit sections of the light guide path so as to be optically coupled. The input / output unit is provided with a power supply control unit that prohibits or suppresses power supply to the light emitting unit when light from the light emitting unit is incident and the coupled member is removed from any one of the input / output units. An optical wiring device characterized in that 3. An optical wiring device comprising a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit sections, wherein a member to be coupled is detachably connected to each of the entrance / exit sections of the light guide path so as to be optically coupled to at least one member. Light from the light emitting means is incident on the input / output section, and detection means for detecting the coupling state of the coupled members, and the detection result of the detection means, it is determined that the coupled members are attached to all of the input / output sections. And a power supply control means for supplying power to the light emitting means. 4. An optical wiring device comprising a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit parts, wherein a coupled member is detachably connected to each of the entrance / exit parts of the light guide path so as to be optically coupled to at least one member. Light from the light emitting means is incident on the entrance / exit portion, and the detection means for detecting the combined state of the combined members, and the detection result of the detection means, the combined member is removed from any one of the entrance / exit portions. And a power supply control means for prohibiting or suppressing the power supply to the light emitting means when it is determined that the optical wiring device is provided. 5. An optical wiring device comprising a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit parts, wherein a member to be coupled is connected to the entrance / exit part of the light guide path, and at least one entrance / exit part receives light from a light emitting means. An optical wiring device, characterized in that a light shielding member is provided at an incident / emission part which is incident and to which the coupled means is not connected. 6. The light shielding member is provided so as to be selectively attachable to and detachable from the member to be coupled.
The optical wiring device described. 7. An optical wiring device comprising a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit parts, wherein a member to be coupled is detachably connected to the entrance / exit part of the light guide path so as to be optically coupled to at least one entrance part. Light from the light emitting means is incident on the emitting portion,
A light-shielding member is detachably provided in the input / output unit to which the coupled unit is not connected, and power is supplied to the light-emitting unit when the coupled member or the light-shielding member is attached to all of the input / output units. An optical wiring device comprising means. 8. An optical wiring device comprising a light guide path having a plurality of entrance / exit parts, wherein a member to be coupled is detachably connected to the entrance / exit part of the light guide path so as to be optically coupled to at least one entrance part. Light from the light emitting means is incident on the emitting portion,
A light-shielding member is detachably provided in the input / output unit to which the coupled unit is not connected, and power is supplied to the light-emitting unit when the coupled member or the light-shielding member is removed from any one of the input / output units. An optical wiring device comprising a power supply control means for inhibiting or suppressing. 9. The light emitting means is provided on a member to be coupled, the light guide path is provided on an optical wiring substrate, and a plurality of members to be coupled are coupled to the optical wiring substrate.
9. The optical wiring device according to any one of 8 to 8. 10. A coupled member having a light emitting means and a light receiving means, an optical wiring board having a light guide path coupled to the light emitting means and the light receiving means of the coupled member, and a light emitting means and a light receiving means of the coupled member. And a power supply control means for controlling the power supply to the light emitting means according to the result of the detection means. Optical wiring device. 11. The optical wiring device according to claim 1, wherein the light guide has a light guide main body formed in a sheet shape.