JP4990810B2 - Optical transceiver and locking structure thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an SFP type (SFP: Small Form Factor Plaggable) optical transceiver and its locking structure.

The SFP type optical transceiver is designed based on the MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) standard, and is configured to be inserted into and removed from a cage provided on the motherboard (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). .
9 to 11 show an example of this type of optical transceiver. The optical transceiver 50 includes a housing 51 that can be inserted into and removed from the cage 2, and a photoelectric conversion unit ( (Not shown) and an unlocking mechanism 54 for releasing the locking of the cage 2 with respect to the housing 51.
As shown in FIG. 9, the housing 51 is configured such that the optical connector 53 is inserted from the insertion port 51a.
As shown in FIG. 10, a locking protrusion 51 b that can be locked in a locking hole 6 a formed in the engagement plate 6 of the cage 2 is formed on the lower surface of the housing 51.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the lock release mechanism 54 includes a release member 52 that releases the lock between the lock protrusion 51 b and the lock hole 6 a, and a handle 55 that operates the release member 52. Yes.
As shown in FIG. 12, in the optical transceiver 50, by operating the release member 52, the engagement plate 6 is pressed and displaced in the direction away from the housing 51, and the engagement protrusion 51b and the engagement hole 6a are engaged. Can be released. As a result, the optical transceiver 50 can be extracted from the cage 2.
JP 2004-311207 A JP 2002-353471 A

However, in the conventional optical transceiver 50, when performing the above-described unlocking operation by the unlocking mechanism 54, the operational feeling differs depending on the cage 2 to be used, and a smooth unlocking operation may be difficult.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optical transceiver capable of a smooth unlocking operation and its locking structure regardless of the type of cage used.

The present invention can be inserted into and removed from a cage provided on a motherboard, and has an optical connector and an optical connector between the optical connector inserted into the housing and the motherboard. A photoelectric conversion unit that converts signals; a latch member that has a locking projection that can be locked in a locking hole formed in the engagement plate of the cage; and the engagement of the locking projection with respect to the locking hole. A lever that releases the stop, and the latch member is configured to be rotatable, and the lever presses and rotates the latch member, thereby displacing the locking protrusion to the locking hole. Ri releasable der locking, the lever, the locking projection can prevent the rotation of the latch member engaged with the latch member in a state that engages the engaging hole engaging portion And the engaging portion is In the course of operation of the lever for rotating the latch member, to provide an optical transceiver that is formed so as to engage deviates with respect to the latch member.
The latch member has a shaft portion serving as a fulcrum of the rotation operation, a main body portion extending in one direction from the shaft portion, and extending in the other direction from the shaft portion, and the locking protrusion is formed. Preferably, the lever includes an extending portion, and the lever is configured to rotate the latch member to displace the locking protrusion by pressing the main body portion.
It is preferable that the lever is configured to press and rotate the latch member by moving in a direction in which the housing is extracted from the gauge .
The present invention can be inserted into and removed from a cage provided on a motherboard, and has an optical connector and an optical connector between the optical connector inserted into the housing and the motherboard. A photoelectric conversion unit that converts signals; a latch member that has a locking projection that can be locked in a locking hole formed in the engagement plate of the cage; and the engagement of the locking projection with respect to the locking hole. And an optical transceiver having a lever for releasing the lock, wherein the latch member is configured to be rotatable, and the lever presses and rotates the latch member. Accordingly, the locking projection to displace Ri releasably der locking to said locking hole, said lever is engaged with the latch member in a state where the locking projection is engaged with the engagement hole And An engaging portion capable of preventing rotation of the member, and the engaging portion is formed so as to disengage from the latch member in the process of operation of the lever for rotating the latch member. An optical transceiver locking structure is provided.

According to the present invention, the latch member can be unlocked by rotating the latch member, so that the latch release operation can be performed without displacing the engagement plate of the cage. .
For this reason, the operation feeling does not differ depending on the mechanical characteristics of the engagement plate compared to the case where the engagement plate is displaced to release the lock, and the lock release operation is smooth regardless of the type of cage used. Is possible.
Further, since the latch member can be unlocked by turning, the operating range of the latch member can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the optical transceiver.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of an optical transceiver 1 which is an embodiment of an optical transceiver according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the main part of the optical transceiver 1. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the latch member 23 used in the optical transceiver 1. 4, 6, and 8 are cross-sectional views of the optical transceiver 1. 5 and 7 are side views of the optical transceiver 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an optical transceiver 1 is an SFP type (Small Form-Factor Plaggable) optical transceiver defined in the MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) standard, and is a cage 2 (FIG. 4 and FIG. 4). 9).
Prior to the description of the optical transceiver 1, the cage 2 and the optical connector plug 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The cage 2 is formed in a sleeve shape having an opening 2a on the front side. The cage 2 has a connection terminal (not shown) electrically connected to a circuit on the mother board 4 side, and is provided on the mother board 4.

The cage 2 is formed with an engagement plate 6 extending toward the opening 2a. The engagement plate 6 can be elastically bent and deformed so that the tip can move in a direction toward and away from the optical transceiver 1. The engagement plate 6 is made of a metal plate, for example.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the illustrated example, the engagement plate 6 is formed on a side plate 2b that is one of the four side plates constituting the cage 2 having a substantially rectangular cross section. It can be elastically deformed so that the tip moves in a direction approaching and separating from the opposing side plate 2c.
As shown in FIG. 10, the engagement plate 6 is formed with a locking hole 6a for locking a locking projection 28 of the optical transceiver 1 described later. The front end portion 6b of the engagement plate 6 is inclined in the separation direction as it goes in the front end direction.

The optical connector plug 3 inserted into the optical transceiver 1 can be exemplified by a multi-core or single-core optical connector.
As shown in FIG. 4, the optical connector plug 3 includes a ferrule 32 in the housing 31.

Next, the optical transceiver 1 will be described.
In the following description, as shown in FIG. 4, the side of the housing 11 where the insertion port 11a is formed may be referred to as the front, and the opposite direction may be referred to as the rear. Moreover, the A1 direction in FIGS. 1-5 may be called upper direction, and A2 direction may be called downward. Further, the B1 and B2 directions in FIGS. 1 and 2 are sometimes referred to as the width direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the optical transceiver 1 is connected to the housing 11 that can be inserted into and removed from the cage 2, the photoelectric conversion unit 12 provided in the housing 11, and the photoelectric conversion unit 12. A circuit board (not shown), a latch member 23 having a locking projection 28 that can be locked in the locking hole 6a of the engagement plate 6, and a lever 24 that operates the latch member 23 to release the locking. A cover 25 (pressing member) for pressing the latch member 23 is provided.

The housing 11 includes a main body portion 16 having an insertion port 11 a into which the optical connector plug 3 is inserted, and an insertion portion 17 extending rearward from the rear portion of the main body portion 16.
The main body portion 16 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a rectangular cross section. The insertion portion 17 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a rectangular cross section that is slightly narrower than the main body portion 16, and can be inserted into the cage 2 through the opening 2a.

As shown in FIG. 4, the photoelectric conversion unit 12 includes a connection component 21 that faces the ferrule 32 of the optical connector plug 3 inserted into the optical transceiver 1, and a photoelectric conversion element 22.
The photoelectric conversion element 22 has one or both of a function of converting an optical signal into an electric signal and a function of converting an electric signal into an optical signal. The photoelectric conversion element 22 receives light from a light emitting element such as a semiconductor laser or a photodiode. An element can be illustrated.
The photoelectric conversion element 22 is connected to an optical fiber built in the ferrule 32 through an optical fiber built in the connection component 21 so that an optical signal can be transmitted or received.

  The circuit board (not shown) can be connected to a connection terminal (not shown) of the cage 2 when the insertion portion 17 is inserted into the cage 2. For this reason, the photoelectric conversion element 22 can be electrically connected to the circuit on the mother board 4 side via the circuit board and the connection terminal (see FIGS. 4 and 9).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the latch member 23 is formed in a block-shaped main body portion 30, a substantially plate-like extension portion 29 extending rearward from the main body portion 30, and the extension portion 29. Shaft portions 27, 27, and a locking projection 28 protruding downward from the rear end portion of the extension portion 29 are provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, an opening 30 a is formed in the rear part of the main body 30.
At the center in the width direction on the upper surface side of the main body 30, a groove-shaped recess 30 b is formed along the front-rear direction. The groove-shaped recess 30b is formed from the front end of the main body 30 to the opening 30a, and at least a part of the bottom surface 30d of the bottom 30c rises toward the front in the locked state (described later) shown in FIG. It is inclined to.
Engagement recesses 30e, 30e (latch side engagement portions) are formed on the lower surface side of the front end portion of the main body portion 30. The engaging recesses 30e and 30e are formed on both side edges of the main body 30, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the shaft portion 27 serves as a fulcrum for the rotation operation of the latch member 23, and is formed to extend outward on both side surfaces of the front portion of the extension portion 29. Yes. The shaft portions 27 and 27 can be fitted into bearing concave portions 19 a and 19 a formed in the side plate portions 19 and 19 of the main body portion 16 of the housing 11.
Since the shaft part 27 is formed in the front part of the extension part 29, the main body part 30 extends forward (one direction) from the shaft part 27, and the extension part 29 is substantially rearward (other direction). It will be extended.
As shown in FIG. 3, the latch member 23 can be rotated with the shaft portion 27 as a fulcrum, so that the latch protrusion 28 can move in the direction of approaching and separating from the engagement plate 6. .

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 25 includes a cover main body 33 and a plate-shaped pressing piece 34 extending obliquely rearward from the cover main body 33. The cover 25 is preferably formed of a metal plate.
The cover main body 33 includes a main portion 37 having a bottom plate portion 35 and side plate portions 36 and 36 erected on both side edges thereof, and an extending portion 38 extending rearward from the main portion 37.
The cover 25 is attached to the housing 11 by a locking projection 19b formed on the outer surface of the side plate 19 of the housing 11 being locked in a locking hole 36a formed in the side plate 36.

A concave portion 35a having a rectangular shape in plan view is formed on the lower surface of the bottom plate portion 35, and the pressing piece 34 is formed in the concave portion 35a. By forming the concave portion 35a, the strength of the bottom plate portion 35 can be increased and the pressing force of the pressing piece 34 can be stabilized.
The extending portion 38 includes a bottom plate portion 39 and side plate portions 40 and 40 erected on both side edges. The bottom plate portion 39 is formed with an opening 39 a through which the locking projection 28 of the latch member 23 can pass. The side plate portion 40 is formed with a locking hole 40 a that is locked to a locking projection 17 a formed on the outer surface of the insertion portion 17 of the housing 11.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pressing piece 34 can be elastically bent and deformed, and is configured to urge the main body portion 30 of the latch member 23 in a direction approaching the housing 11 due to its elasticity.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lever 24 rotates the latch member 23 to release the locking projection 28 from the locking hole 6a. A rear extending portion extending rearward from the upper portion of the lever main body 41;
The lever body 41 includes an operation unit 43 and an insertion unit 44 extending rearward from the operation unit 43.
The insertion portion 44 is configured so as to be inserted between the side plate portions 19 and 19 of the housing 11 so as to be movable back and forth, and at the lower portion of the rear end portion, engagement convex portions 44a and 44a (lever protruding) Side engaging portion) is formed. The engaging convex portion 44 a can be engaged with an engaging concave portion 30 e formed at the front end portion of the latch member 23.

The rear extension 42 extends rearward from the upper surface of the insertion portion 44, and a pressing protrusion 45 protruding downward is formed on the lower surface of the tip.
The pressing protrusion 45 presses and rotates the latch member 23, and its front surface 45a is inclined so as to rise as it goes forward.

Next, the operation when inserting the optical transceiver 1 into the cage 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the optical transceiver 1 is inserted into the cage 2 through the opening 2a.
In the process of inserting the insertion portion 17 of the housing 11 into the cage 2, the distal end portion 6 b of the engagement plate 6 is pressed downward by the locking projection 28, and the engagement plate 6 is elastically bent and deformed.
When the optical transceiver 1 is further moved in the insertion direction and the locking projection 28 reaches the locking hole 6a, the engagement plate 6 moves in a direction approaching the housing 11 by elastic force, and the locking projection 28 is moved to the locking hole 6a. To fit. As a result, the movement of the optical transceiver 1 is restricted and the drop-out is prevented. This state is called a locked state.
In this state, since the circuit board (not shown) of the optical transceiver 1 is connected to the connection terminal (not shown) of the cage 2, the photoelectric conversion element 22 is connected to the motherboard 4 via the circuit board and the connection terminal. Electrically connected to the circuit.

  When the optical connector plug 3 is inserted into the optical transceiver 1, the tip surface of the ferrule 32 faces the connection component 21, and an optical fiber (not shown) built in the ferrule 32 transmits an optical signal through the connection component 21. It is connected to the photoelectric conversion element 22 so that transmission or reception is possible.

Next, an operation when the optical transceiver 1 is extracted from the cage 2 will be described.
In the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rearward extending portion 42 of the lever 24 is located in the groove-like recess 30 b of the main body portion 30 of the latch member 23, and the pressing protrusion 45 is located behind the bottom portion 30 c. (See FIG. 4).
The engaging convex portion 44a formed at the rear end of the lever 24 is fitted into an engaging concave portion 30e formed at the front end portion of the latch member 23 (see FIG. 5). The main body 30 is restricted from moving downward by the engagement of the engagement convex portion 44a and the engagement concave portion 30e. For this reason, even if force is applied to the latch member 23, the latch member 23 does not rotate.
In addition, illustration of the cage 2 was abbreviate | omitted in FIGS. 5 and 7, the illustration of the cover 25 is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, when the lever 24 is pulled forward (the direction in which the optical transceiver 1 is pulled out), the engaging convex portion 44a also moves forward, and the engaging convex portion 44a engages with the engaging concave portion 30e. Is removed, and the main body 30 can move downward (see FIG. 7).
As the lever 24 moves, the pressing protrusion 45 also moves forward and abuts against the bottom surface 30d of the bottom 30c of the latch member 23 (see FIG. 6).

As shown in FIG. 8, when the lever 24 is moved further forward, the pressing protrusion 45 presses the bottom 30c forward. Since the bottom surface 30d of the bottom portion 30c is an inclined surface, a force is exerted obliquely downward on the main body portion 30, and the latch member 23 is counterclockwise with the shaft portion 27 as a fulcrum against the elastic force of the pressing piece 34. Rotate.
As a result, the locking projection 28 at the rear end of the latch member 23 is displaced upward and is disengaged from the locking hole 6 a of the engagement plate 6. At this time, the engagement plate 6 is brought into contact with the extending portion 38 of the cover 25 and is prevented from rising.
Since the locking projection 28 is disengaged from the engagement plate 6, the optical transceiver 1 can be extracted from the cage 2.

Since the optical transceiver 1 can release the locking of the locking projection 28 with respect to the locking hole 6a by rotating the latch member 23, the locking operation can be performed without displacing the engaging plate 6. Can do.
Therefore, the operational feeling does not differ depending on the mechanical characteristics of the engagement plate 6 as compared with the case where the engagement plate 6 is disengaged and the engagement is released, and the engagement is smooth regardless of the type of the cage 2 to be used. Stop release operation is possible.
Further, since the latch member 23 can be unlocked by turning, the operating range of the latch member 23 can be reduced. Therefore, the optical transceiver 1 can be downsized.

Further, in the optical transceiver 1, the latch member 23 can be rotated by the movement of the lever 24 in the extraction direction, so that the operation of extracting the optical transceiver 1 from the cage 2 can be performed in the front range of the optical transceiver 1. .
For this reason, when a plurality of cages 2 are used side by side, it is not necessary to secure a large space around each cage 2 and high-density mounting is possible.

  Further, the latch member 23 has a configuration including a shaft portion 27, a main body portion 30 extending forward from the shaft portion 27, and an extending portion 29 extending rearward from the shaft portion 27. The operating range of direction can be reduced. Therefore, further miniaturization of the optical transceiver 1 can be achieved.

Since the lever 24 has the engaging convex portion 44a that engages with the engaging concave portion 30e of the latch member 23 when the latch member 23 is in the locked state, even if a force is applied to the latch member 23 in the locked state. The latch member 23 does not rotate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the latch member 23 from being unlocked by mistake.
Further, since the engaging convex portion 44a is disengaged from the engaging concave portion 30e in the process of moving the lever 24 in the extracting direction, another operation for releasing this engagement is not necessary, and the ease of operation is impaired. There is nothing.

In the illustrated example, a latch member 23 having a main body portion 30 extending forward from the shaft portion 27 and an extending portion 29 extending rearward from the shaft portion 27 is used, and the main body portion 30 is pushed down to extend. Although the protruding portion 29 is raised to raise the locking projection 28, the latch member in the present invention is not limited to this as long as the locking can be released by turning.
For example, it is possible to employ a configuration in which a latch member having a shaft portion at the front portion is used and the latch protrusion is raised and the latch is released by pushing up the rear portion of the latch member with a lever.
In the illustrated example, the engagement recess 30e of the latch member 23 and the engagement protrusion 44a of the lever 24 are engaged in the locked state, but the engagement structure in the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, you may employ | adopt the structure which the engagement convex part formed in the latch member and the engagement recessed part formed in the lever engage in a latching state.
In addition, if the lever is locked to the latch member in the locked state to prevent the latch member from rotating, and the lock is released in the process of moving the lever in the pull-out direction, There may be no configuration corresponding to the engaging convex portion.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the principal part of one Embodiment of the optical transceiver which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the latch member used for the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is a side view of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is a side view of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the conventional optical transceiver. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the optical transceiver shown in FIG. 9. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the optical transceiver shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the principal part of the optical transceiver shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical transceiver, 2 ... Cage, 3 ... Optical connector plug (optical connector), 4 ... Motherboard, 6 ... Engagement plate, 6a ... Locking hole, 11 ... · Housing, 11a ... insertion slot, 12 ... photoelectric conversion part, 11a ... insertion slot, 23 ... latch member, 24 ... lever, 27 ... shaft, 28 ... Locking projection, 29... Extension portion, 30... Body portion, 44 a.

Claims (4)

A housing (11) that can be inserted into and removed from a cage (2) provided on the mother board (4) and has an insertion port (11a) for the optical connector (3);
An opto-electric conversion unit (12) for converting an optical signal and an electric signal between the optical connector inserted into the housing and the motherboard;
A latch member (23) having a locking projection (28) that can be locked in a locking hole (6a) formed in the engagement plate (6) of the cage;
A lever (24) for releasing locking of the locking protrusion with respect to the locking hole,
The latch member is configured to be rotatable,
The lever, by pressing and rotating the latch member, Ri releasably der locking to said locking hole by displacing the locking projections,
The lever includes an engaging portion (44a) that engages with the latch member in a state where the locking projection is locked in the locking hole and prevents the latch member from rotating.
The optical transceiver (1) , wherein the engaging portion is formed so as to be disengaged from the latch member in a process of operation of the lever for rotating the latch member . The latch member includes a shaft portion (27) serving as a fulcrum for the rotation operation, a main body portion (30) extending in one direction from the shaft portion, and extending in the other direction from the shaft portion. An extension portion (29) formed with a stop projection,
2. The optical transceiver according to claim 1, wherein the lever is configured to displace the locking protrusion by rotating the latch member by pressing the main body portion. 3. 3. The optical transceiver according to claim 1, wherein the lever is configured to press and rotate the latch member by moving in a direction in which the housing is extracted from the gauge . 4. A housing (11) that can be inserted into and removed from a cage (2) provided on the mother board (4) and has an insertion port (11a) for the optical connector (3);
An opto-electric conversion unit (12) for converting an optical signal and an electric signal between the optical connector inserted into the housing and the motherboard;
A latch member (23) having a locking projection (28) that can be locked in a locking hole (6a) formed in the engagement plate (6) of the cage;
An optical transceiver (1) having a lever (24) for releasing locking of the locking protrusion with respect to the locking hole;
The latch member is configured to be rotatable,
The lever, by pressing and rotating the latch member, Ri releasably der locking to said locking hole by displacing the locking projections,
The lever includes an engaging portion (44a) that engages with the latch member in a state where the locking projection is locked in the locking hole and prevents the latch member from rotating.
The engaging structure of the optical transceiver, wherein the engaging portion is formed so as to be disengaged from the latch member in a process of operation of the lever for rotating the latch member .

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