WO2017019084A1

WO2017019084A1 - Transceiver module

Info

Publication number: WO2017019084A1
Application number: PCT/US2015/042886
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kevin LEIGH; John Norton; George Megason
Original assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development Lp
Priority date: 2015-07-30
Filing date: 2015-07-30
Publication date: 2017-02-02

Abstract

One example of a system includes a system board including first contacts, a cage attached to the system board over the first contacts, and a lever coupled to the cage and pivotable with respect to the cage. A removable transceiver module including second contacts is installable in the cage in response to a lateral movement of the transceiver module with respect to the cage to align the second contacts with the first contacts and a vertical movement of the transceiver module with respect to the cage to electrically couple the first contacts to the second contacts. The lever is movable to a first position to align the second contacts with the first contacts and to a second position to electrically couple the first contacts to the second contacts.

Description

TRANSCEIVER MODULE

Background

[0001] Hot-pluggable transceiver modules, such as 1 -lane Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP), 4-lane Quad Small Form-Factor Pluggable (QSFP), and 12- lane CXP, are used for network data communications. The transceiver modules are hot-pluggable to a system board, such as a printed circuit board of a switch module. A system board is typically behind a faceplate where connectors for coupling communication cables (e.g., fiber optic cables) to the transceiver modules are arranged.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0002] Figure 1 illustrates a side view of one example of a system.

[0003] Figure 2A illustrates a side view and Figure 2B illustrates a top view of one example of spring contacts of a substrate.

[0004] Figure 3A illustrates one example of a removable transceiver module.

[0005] Figure 3B illustrates another example of a removable transceiver module.

[0006] Figures 4A-4E illustrate various views of one example of a removable transceiver module.

[0007] Figure 5A illustrates one example of a transceiver cage assembly including a lever in a first position.

[0008] Figure 5B illustrates one example of the transceiver cage assembly including the lever in a second position. [0009] Figures 6A-6C illustrate various views of one example of a system including a transceiver cage for receiving a removable transceiver module.

[0010] Figure 7 illustrates a side view of one example of a removable

transceiver module just prior to installation into a system.

[0011] Figures 8A-8C illustrate various views of one example of a system and a removable transceiver module with the lever in the first position.

[0012] Figures 9A-9C illustrate various views of one example of a system with an installed transceiver module.

Detailed Description

[0013] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the

accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific examples in which the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that other examples may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims. It is to be understood that features of the various examples described herein may be combined, in part or whole, with each other, unless specifically noted otherwise.

[0014] A transceiver module includes a set of components for receiving communication signals from a first side of the module, a set of components for transmitting communication signals to the first side of the module, a set of components for transmitting communication signals to a second side of the module, and a set of components for receiving communication signals from the second side of the module. The transmitting and receiving components for the first side of the module may be electronic components. The transmitting and receiving components for the second side of the module may be electro-optical components.

[0015] Hot-pluggable transceiver modules, such as 12-lane CXP and 16-lane CDFP, are difficult to cool and occupy a significant amount of space on a system board, thereby limiting the use of other electronic components on the system board. The transceiver modules are typically coupled to a system board via right-angled blindmate connectors, which also occupy significant space on a system board, thereby limiting the implementation of high lane-count

transceivers (e.g., beyond 16 lanes). To minimize the system board space usage, the 12-lane CXP and the 16-lane CDFP pluggable transceiver modules use two Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) - one PCB is for transmitter components and the other PCB is for receiver components. The transceiver modules also occupy a significant amount of faceplate space, thereby limiting the connector density. Each transceiver module has a fixed lane-count. Therefore, break-out cables (e.g., a 4-lane QSFP to four 1 -lane SFPs) are used to connect a larger lane-count pluggable transceiver module to smaller lane-count systems.

[0016] Mid-board optics (MBO) transceivers enable higher faceplate optical connector density and have lower electrical and mechanical overheads compared to hot-pluggable transceiver modules. In addition, MBOs may be cooled easier and may enable better signal integrity than hot-pluggable transceiver modules since the heat sink of the MBO chips is fully exposed to air flow and the MBOs may be placed more flexibly on a system board. MBOs, however, are pre-installed in a system and are not serviceable without removing the system from service.

[0017] Accordingly, this disclosure describes Actuated-Lever Pluggable (ALP) transceiver modules and systems for receiving the ALP transceiver modules. An ALP transceiver module as described herein may be hot-pluggable and thus transceivers may be easily replaced for servicing or for different lane-count transceivers and/or different lane-count cable connectors. A system for receiving an ALP transceiver module includes a system board (e.g., PCB) and a cage mounted on the system board that can accept ALP transceiver modules by using the surface of the system board for contacts (e.g., pad array or chip socket).

[0018] Figure 1 illustrates a side view of one example of a system 100. System 100 includes a device 102, such as a switch module, and a removable transceiver module 104 (i.e., an ALP transceiver module). Device 102 includes a system board 106 (e.g., PCB), a socket contact assembly 108, a cage 1 10, a carrier 1 12, a lever 1 14, and a lever lock 1 16. Socket contact assembly 108 includes a plurality of contacts to electrically couple system board 106 to transceiver module 104. In one example as shown in Figure 1 , socket contact assembly 108 may include spring contacts on the bottom side of the socket contact assembly for the socket contact assembly 108 to be modularly coupled to system board 106. In another example, socket contact assembly 108 may include solder balls (not shown) on the bottom side of the socket contact assembly for the socket contact assembly 108 to be permanently coupled to system board 106. Cage 1 10 is attached to system board 106 over socket contact assembly 108.

[0019] Carrier 1 12 is within cage 1 10 and vertically movable with respect to cage 1 10. Carrier 1 12 includes rails 120 for receiving transceiver module 104. Carrier 1 12 also includes lever-action blindmate mechanisms 1 18 to move carrier 1 12 vertically relative to cage 1 10. With transceiver module 104 within carrier 1 12, transceiver module 104 may be blindmated to socket contact assembly 108 on system board 106 by moving carrier 1 12 from a first (i.e., up position) to a second (i.e., down) position using lever 1 14.

[0020] Lever 1 14 is between carrier 1 12 and cage 1 10 and pivotable with respect to cage 1 10 at lever hinge 1 15. Lever 1 14 may be moved to a first (i.e., up) position to enable insertion and removal of transceiver module 104 into cage 1 10. With lever 1 14 in the first position, transceiver module 104 may be inserted laterally into cage 1 10 and approximately aligned with socket contact assembly 108 on system board 106. Lever 1 14 may be moved to a second (i.e., down) position to electrically couple transceiver module 104 to system board 106 via socket contact assembly 108. Transceiver module 104 and socket contact assembly 108 may include final alignment features for

transceiver module 104 to blindmate to socket contact assembly 108 when lever 1 14 is moved to the second position. With lever 1 14 in the second position, lever lock 1 16 may be used to latch lever 1 14 such that lever 1 14 is maintained in the second position. [0021] Transceiver module 104 includes a module board 130 (e.g., PCB or substrate), a module hood 132, and an optical or electrical connector 136. Module hood 132 is attached to module board 130 and encloses transceiver devices (not shown), which are electrically coupled to module board 130.

Module hood 132 includes guides 134 on the sides of module hood 132, which are received by rails 120 of carrier 1 12 when transceiver module 104 is installed in device 102. Electrical or optical connector 136 is electrically or optically coupled to the transceiver devices enclosed by module hood 132, respectively. An electrical or optical cable 140 terminated to an electrical or optical connector 138 may be electrically or optically coupled to electrical or optical connector 136, respectively.

[0022] Figure 2A illustrates a side view and Figure 2B illustrates a top view of one example of spring contacts 150 of a substrate 152. Spring contacts 150 may be used for contacts of a socket contact assembly, such as socket contact assembly 108 (Fig. 1 ). Contacts 150 have different heights for hot blindmating. For example, contact 154 may be a ground contact, contact 156 may be an ID contact, contact 158 may be a power contact, and contact 160 may be a signal or present contact.

[0023] Contact 154 may have the same height as contact 156. Contact 156 has a greater height than contact 158, and contact 158 has a greater height than contact 160. The contacts 150 may have different shapes (and/or thickness) as illustrated in Figure 2B in addition to different heights as illustrated in Figure 2A to maintain consistent compression force while providing adequate performance (e.g., adequate electrical current capacity for power contacts or characteristic impedance for high-speed signal contacts). The contact pads that blindmate to contacts 150 have a size large enough for contacts 150 to slide as the contacts are compressed during blindmating.

[0024] Figure 3A illustrates one example of a removable transceiver module 200. Removable transceiver module 200 includes a module board 202, optical transceivers 204a to 204c, optical cables 206a to 206c, and an optical connector 208. Each optical transceiver 204a to 204c is electrically coupled to module board 202 and optically coupled to optical connector 208 through an optical cable 206a to 206c, respectively. An optical cable 212 terminated to an optical connector 210 may be optically coupled to optical connector 208.

Optical cable 212 may be terminated with one or multiple optical connectors on the other end of the optical cable (not shown). In one example, each optical transceiver 204a to 204c supports 8-lanes such that transceiver module 200 is a 24-lane transceiver module. Transceiver module 200 may be inserted into cage 1 10 and hot-blindmated to socket contact assembly 108 on system board 106 of device 102 previously described and illustrated with reference to Figure 1 .

[0025] Figure 3B illustrates another example of a removable transceiver module 250. Removable transceiver module 250 includes a module board 252, optical transceivers 254a to 254d, optical cables 256a to 256d, and an optical connector 258. Each optical transceiver 254a to 254d is electrically coupled to module board 252 and optically coupled to optical connector 258 through an optical cable 256a to 256d, respectively. An optical cable 262 terminated to an optical connector 260 may be optically coupled to optical connector 258. In one example, each optical transceiver 254a to 254d supports 8-lanes such that transceiver module 250 is a 32-lane transceiver module. Transceiver module 250 may be inserted into cage 1 10 and hot-blindmated to socket contact assembly 108 on system board 106 of device 102 previously described and illustrated with reference to Figure 1 . Module board 202 (Figure 3A) may include parallel-plane-mating contacts (not shown) for 24 lanes on the bottom side of the module board, which may be a subset of parallel-plane-mating contacts (not shown) for 32 lanes on the bottom side of module board 252 (Figure 3B).

[0026] Figure 4A illustrates a top isometric view, Figure 4B illustrates a bottom isometric view, Figure 4C illustrates a top view, Figure 4D illustrates a side view, and Figure 4E illustrates a front view of one example of a removable transceiver module 300 (i.e., an ALP transceiver module). Transceiver module 300 includes a module board 302, a module hood 306, a handle 310, and optical cables 312. Module board 302 includes an array of parallel-plane-mating contacts 304 to electrically couple transceiver module 300 to a system. Module board 302 also includes final alignment pins 314 for aligning contacts 304 to a system board of a system. Transceiver devices (not shown) are electrically coupled to module board 302 and optically coupled to optical cables 312.

Optical cables 312 may be fix-coupled to the transceivers for active optical cable (AOC) applications. In other examples, optical cables 312 may be coupled to the transceivers and terminated on optical connectors attached to module hood 306 for external optical cables to be modularly coupled to removable transceiver module 300.

[0027] Module hood 306 is attached to module board 302 and encloses the transceiver devices. In one example, module hood 306 may include a heat sink material. In another example, module hood 306 may include openings such that air flow within a system may cool the transceivers. Module hood 306 includes guide rails 308a and 308b. A first guide rail 308a and a first guide rail 308b are arranged on a first side of module hood 306 and extend parallel to module board 302. A second guide rail 308a and a second guide rail 308b are arranged on a second side of module hood 306 opposite to the first side and extend parallel to module board 302. Guide rails 308a on opposite sides of module hood 306 extend in a common first plane a first distance from module board 302. Guide rails 308b on opposite sides of module hood 306 extend in a common second plane a second distance from module board 302 greater than the first distance. Handle 310 is attached to and extends from the top of module hood 306 towards the front of transceiver module 300 where optical cables 312 are located. Handle 310 may be used to install transceiver module 300 in a system and to remove transceiver module 300 from a system.

[0028] Figure 5A illustrates one example of a transceiver cage assembly 350 including a lever in a first (i.e., up) position. Figure 5B illustrates one example of transceiver cage assembly 350 including the lever in a second (i.e., down) position. Transceiver cage assembly 350 may include mounting mechanisms (not shown) to mechanically attach transceiver cage assembly 350 to a system board. Transceiver cage assembly 350 includes a cage 352, a carrier 354, and a lever 356. Cage 352 includes a top wall extending between a first side wall and a second side wall parallel to the first side wall. The top wall and the first and second side walls may include a plurality of openings 360 to allow air to flow to a transceiver module installed in transceiver cage assembly 350. The first and second side walls of cage 352 include cage slots 362 for receiving guide pins 374 of carrier 354. The first and second side walls of cage 352 also include openings 364 for receiving lever hinges 380 of lever 356.

[0029] Carrier 354 includes a top wall extending between a first side wall and a second side wall parallel to the first side wall. The top wall and the first and second side walls may include a plurality of openings 372 to allow air to flow to a transceiver module installed in transceiver cage assembly 350. Guide pins 374 extend from the first and second side walls of carrier 354. Carrier 354 is within cage 352 and movable with respect to cage 352 between a first position in which each carrier guide pin 374 is at the top of each corresponding cage slot 362 as illustrated in Figure 5A and a second position in which each carrier guide pin 374 is at the bottom of each cage slot 362 as illustrated in Figure 5B.

[0030] The first and second side walls of carrier 354 include carrier rails 370a and 370b. A first carrier rail 370a and a first carrier rail 370b are arranged on the first side wall of carrier 354 and extend parallel to carrier 354. A second carrier rail 370a and a second carrier rail 370b are arranged on the second side wall of carrier 354 opposite to the first side wall and extend parallel to carrier 354. Carrier rails 370a on opposite side walls of carrier 354 may extend in a common first plane at the bottom of the side walls of carrier 354. Carrier rails 370b on opposite side walls of carrier 354 may extend in a common second plane at the top of the side walls of carrier 354. Carrier rails 370a and 370b are for receiving guide rails 308a and 308b, respectively, (as illustrated in Figure 8C) of transceiver module 300 previously described and illustrated with reference to Figures 4A-4E.

[0031] Lever 356 is between cage 352 and carrier 354 and pivotable with respect to cage 352. Lever 356 includes lever hinges 380, lever arms 384, and a lever handle 386. Lever handle 386 extends outside of cage 352 to enable a user to actuate lever 356. Each lever arm 384 is parallel to the side walls of cage 352 and the side walls of carrier 354. Each lever arm 384 includes slots 388 through which guide pins 374 of carrier 354 extend though to slots 374 of cage 352. The lower back corner of each lever arm 384 opposite to handle 386 is movably coupled to cage 352 via a lever hinge 380 extending through opening 364 of cage 352.

[0032] Each lever hinge 380 includes a lever spring 382. Lever spring 382 maintains lever 356 in a first position as illustrated in Figure 5A when a transceiver module is not installed in transceiver cage assembly 350. A transceiver module may be laterally inserted into transceiver cage assembly 350 with lever 356 in the first position. Lever 356 may be pivoted to a second position as illustrated in Figure 5B after a transceiver module has been laterally inserted into transceiver cage assembly 350. When lever 356 is moved to the first (i.e., up) position, carrier 354 is moved to the first position as illustrated in Figure 5A. When lever 356 is moved to the second (i.e., down) position, carrier 354 is moved to the second position as illustrated in Figure 5B.

[0033] Figure 6A illustrates an isometric view, Figure 6B illustrates a rear view, and Figure 6C illustrates a side view of one example of a system 400. System 400 includes a system board 402, a faceplate 404 perpendicular to system board 402, and a transceiver cage assembly 350. Transceiver cage assembly 350 was previously described and illustrated with reference to Figures 5A and 5B. System board 402 includes a socket contact assembly 410 for electrically coupling a transceiver module to system 400. System board 402 may also include a switch chip (not shown) electrically coupled to socket contact assembly 410 through system board 402. Transceiver cage assembly 350 is attached to system board 402 over socket contact assembly 410.

[0034] A cover 406, a sliding lid 408, and a sliding lid latch (e.g., lock) 41 1 are coupled to faceplate 404. Cover 406 is pivotable with respect to faceplate 404 to a closed position over the opening of transceiver cage assembly 350 as illustrated in Figures 6A-6C when a transceiver module is not installed in transceiver cage assembly 350. Cover 406 is in the closed position when a transceiver module is not installed in transceiver cage assembly 350 to prevent air flow and EMI/RFI leakage from the system. Cover 406 is pivotable with respect to faceplate 404 to an open position as illustrated in Figure 7 when a transceiver module is installed in transceiver cage assembly 350. [0035] Lever handle 386 extends from faceplate 404. Sliding lid 408 is coupled to faceplate 404 above lever handle 386 and movable with respect to faceplate 404. Sliding lid 408 is movable to a first (i.e., up) position when lever handle 386 is in the first (i.e., up) position. Sliding lid 408 is movable to a second (i.e., down) position when lever handle 386 is in the second (i.e., down) position. When sliding lid 408 is in the second position, the sliding lid prevents air flow and EMI/RFI leakage from the system through and around the transceiver module. Sliding lid 408 includes an opening 409, which is engaged by sliding lid latch 41 1 when sliding lid 408 is in the second position. Sliding lid latch 41 1 maintains sliding lid 408 in the second position, which in turn maintains lever 356 in the second position. In one example, sliding lid latch 41 1 is a spring latch that may be released by pressing on the latch through opening 409 when the latch is engaged with opening 409.

[0036] Figure 7 illustrates a side view of one example of a removable

transceiver module 300 just prior to installation into a system 400. Prior to installing a transceiver module 300 in system 400, cover 406 is opened and sliding lid 408 and lever 356 are in the first (i.e., up) position. Guide rails 308a and 308b of transceiver module 300 are then aligned with the carrier rails (not visible in Figure 7). Transceiver module 300 is then laterally inserted into transceiver cage assembly 350.

[0037] Figure 8A illustrates an isometric view, Figure 8B illustrates a side view, and Figure 8C illustrates a rear cross-sectional view of one example of a system 400 and removable transceiver module 300 with lever 356 in the first (i.e., up) position. Transceiver module 300 is inserted laterally into transceiver cage assembly 350 until the transceiver module hits a stop. As illustrated in Figure 8C, guide rails 308a and 308b of transceiver module 300 are received by carrier rails 370a and 370b, respectively. With transceiver module 300 fully laterally inserted into transceiver cage assembly 350, the contacts of module board 302 are aligned with the contacts of socket contact assembly 410 on system board 402a. In addition, a portion of transceiver module 300, including handle 310, may remain outside of transceiver cage assembly 350. [0038] As illustrated in Figures 8B and 8C, transceiver module 300 may include a transceiver substrate 450, optical transceivers 452, and optical cables 454. Transceiver substrate 450 is electrically coupled to module board 302. Each optical transceiver (e.g., optical transceiver chip and associated optical connectors) is electrically coupled to transceiver substrate 450 and optically coupled to optical cables 312 via optical cables 454.

[0039] Figure 9A illustrates an isometric view, Figure 9B illustrates a side view, and Figure 9C illustrates a rear cross-sectional view of one example of system 400 and removable transceiver module 300 with the lever 356 in the second (i.e., down) position. By pivoting lever 356 to the second position, carrier 354 and thus transceiver module 300 is moved vertically within cage 352 such that transceiver module 300 blindmates to socket contact assembly 410. With lever 356 in the second position, sliding lid 408 may be slid down such that opening 409 of sliding lid 408 engages with sliding lid latch 410 to maintain lever 356, and thus carrier 354 in the second position such that transceiver module 300 remains electrically coupled to system board 402.

[0040] Examples of ALP transceiver modules described herein have a footprint that can support a larger and variable number of lanes on one PCB or substrate compared to pluggable transceiver modules that use right-angle connectors and two PCBs (e.g., CXP and CDFP), thereby enabling more efficient use of the space available on a system board. The contacts of the ALP transceiver modules provide better signal integrity and are more easily scaled than right- angle connectors of other pluggable transceiver modules. The ALP transceiver modules are completely inside a system faceplate and the cage may have openings for better cooling of thermally-sensitive transceivers allowing higher component and system reliability. The ALP transceiver modules may be hot- pluggable, simplifying servicing and upgrading of network systems without powering down the systems. The ALP transceiver modules may be hot- pluggable transceiver modules with optical connectors for modular optical cables to be optically coupled, or may have optical cables fix-attached on faceplates for hot-pluggable AOC applications. Further, since an ALP transceiver module can support a higher number of lanes than other pluggable transceiver modules and may use less space, electro-mechanical overhead is lower, which may enable lower overall system costs.

[0041] Although specific examples have been illustrated and described herein, a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific examples shown and described without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specific examples discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that this disclosure be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1 . A system comprising:

a system board comprising first contacts;

a cage attached to the system board over the first contacts;

a lever coupled to the cage and pivotable with respect to the cage; and a removable transceiver module comprising second contacts, the transceiver module installable in the cage in response to a lateral movement of the transceiver module with respect to the cage to align the second contacts with the first contacts and a vertical movement of the transceiver module with respect to the cage to electrically couple the first contacts to the second contacts,

wherein the lever is movable to a first position to align the second contacts with the first contacts and to a second position to electrically couple the first contacts to the second contacts.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a carrier within the cage and movable with respect to the cage, the carrier to receive the transceiver module,

wherein the lever is between the carrier and the cage.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a lever lock to maintain the lever in the second position with the transceiver module installed in the cage.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transceiver module comprises alignment pins to align the second contacts with the first contacts with the transceiver module installed in the cage.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cage comprises an opening to expose the transceiver module to air flow with the transceiver module installed in the cage.

6. A device comprising:

a system board having contacts to electrically couple to a removable transceiver module;

a cage coupled to the system board over the contacts;

a carrier within the cage and movable with respect to the cage, the carrier to receive the transceiver module; and

a lever between the cage and the carrier, the lever pivotable with respect to the cage and movable to a first position to align the transceiver module with the contacts and to a second position to electrically couple the transceiver module to the contacts.

7. The device of claim 6, further comprising:

a socket attached to the system board within the cage, the socket having contacts electrically coupled to the contacts of the system board.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein the contacts comprise spring contacts having different heights.

9. The device of claim 6, further comprising:

a faceplate perpendicular to the system board; and

a cover coupled to the faceplate and pivotable with respect to the faceplate.

10. The device of claim 6, further comprising:

a sliding lid to maintain the lever in the second position and to prevent air flow and EMI/RFI leakage with the transceiver module installed in the cage.

1 1 . The device of claim 6, further comprising: a lever spring to maintain the lever in the first position without a transceiver module installed in the cage.

12. A device comprising:

a module board having a first side and a second side, the first side comprising contacts to electrically couple to contacts of a system board;

a transceiver electrically coupled to the second side of the module board; and

a module hood coupled to the module board and enclosing the

transceiver, the module hood comprising guides on sides of the module hood.

13. The device of claim 12, further comprising:

an alignment mechanism on the first side of the module board to align the contacts of the module board with the contacts of the system board.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the guides comprise rails extending on opposite sides of the module hood.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein the transceiver comprises an optical transceiver.