CN-122003629-A - Board mounted optical connector

Abstract

An adapter assembly includes an adapter for receiving at least two fiber optic connectors or at least two fiber optic ferrules side-by-side on each of the first and second sides, and a plurality of dual triggers attached to the body at trigger receiving areas, each of the plurality of dual triggers including a first side trigger and a second side trigger, the first side trigger being located on the first side of the body and the second side trigger being located on the second side of the body and the first side trigger engaging a respective latch of one of the at least two fiber optic connectors on the first side and the second side trigger engaging a fiber optic ferrule on the second side.

Inventors

• J. sig Li
• D. R. Childers
• C. M. Conrad

Assignees

• 美国康涅克有限公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20241010

Priority Date

20231011

Claims (15)

1. 1. An adapter assembly for mating a fiber optic connector or fiber optic ferrule, comprising: An adapter having a body with a first side spaced apart from a second side along a first axis, the body having a top side and a bottom side spaced apart from each other along a second axis and joined to each other by side walls spaced apart along a third axis, and a main opening extending between the first side and the second side to receive at least two fiber optic connectors or at least two fiber optic ferrules side-by-side along the third axis on each of the first side and the second side, and A plurality of dual triggers attached to one of the top side or the bottom side of the body at trigger receiving areas, each of the plurality of dual triggers including a first side trigger and a second side trigger, the first side trigger being located on a first side of the body and the second side trigger being located on a second side of the body, Wherein the first side trigger engages a respective latch of one of the at least two fiber optic connectors on the first side.
2. 2. The adapter assembly of claim 1, wherein the trigger receiving area includes a trigger opening on the first side to receive a trigger tab of the first side trigger for receiving an external force to actuate the first side trigger.
3. 3. The adapter assembly of claim 1, wherein the first side trigger comprises a trigger pad having an outwardly facing surface facing away from the top side and the bottom side.
4. 4. The adapter assembly of claim 1, further comprising: A mount coupled to the sidewall and configured to engage a circuit board, thereby connecting the adapter to the circuit board.
5. 5. The adapter assembly of claim 1, wherein a portion of the opening on the first side of the adapter is configured to receive the at least two fiber optic connectors having connector latches on a housing of the fiber optic connectors.
6. 6. The adapter assembly of claim 1, the second side trigger further comprising a second trigger pad to receive another external force to actuate the second side trigger.
7. 7. The adapter assembly of claim 6, the second side trigger further comprising trigger legs on either side of the second trigger pad, the trigger legs positioned within the body of the adapter and engageable with a fiber stub having a plurality of optical fibers terminated therein.
8. 8. The adapter assembly of claim 7, further comprising a protrusion in a body of the adapter to engage a receiving feature on each of the trigger legs to prevent bending of the trigger legs.
9. 9. An adapter for mating at least two bare fiber ferrules into at least two fiber ferrules in respective housings of at least two fiber optic connectors, the adapter comprising: A body having a main opening extending between a first side and a second side separated by a longitudinal axis, the main opening having a plurality of connector side openings on the first side to receive at least two fiber ferrules in a corresponding housing of a fiber optic connector and a plurality of ferrule side openings on the second side of the body to receive at least two bare fiber ferrules to mate with at least two fiber ferrules on the first side, respectively, and A plurality of posts extending between a top side and a bottom side of the body, the ferrule side opening on the second side being defined by adjacent posts of the plurality of posts; A plurality of dual triggers attached to a top side of the adapter, each dual trigger of the plurality of dual triggers including two triggers, each of the two triggers further including a first side trigger and a second side trigger positioned adjacent the first side and the second side, respectively, the second side trigger positioned at least partially within a corresponding post, Wherein the first side trigger is capable of engaging a corresponding latch mechanism of one of at least two fiber optic connectors on the first side to release the one of the at least two fiber optic connectors from the body of the adapter.
10. 10. The adapter of claim 9, wherein the plurality of dual triggers are attached at a trigger receiving area, and Wherein the trigger receiving area comprises a trigger opening on the first side to receive a trigger tab of the first side trigger for transmitting an external force to actuate a corresponding latch mechanism to release one of the at least two fiber optic connectors from the body of the adapter.
11. 11. The adapter of claim 9, wherein the first side trigger comprises a trigger pad having an outwardly facing surface facing away from the top side and the bottom side and configured to receive an external force.
12. 12. The adapter of claim 9, further comprising: A mount coupled to a sidewall in the body and configured to engage a circuit board to connect the adapter to the circuit board.
13. 13. The adapter of claim 9, wherein the plurality of dual triggers are attached at a trigger receiving area, and Wherein the trigger receiving area includes a trigger opening on the first side to receive a latch mechanism of one of the at least two fiber optic connectors.
14. 14. The adapter of claim 9, the second side trigger further comprising a second trigger pad to receive another external force to actuate the second side trigger.
15. 15. The adapter of claim 9, further comprising a protrusion in a body of the adapter to engage a receiving feature on each of the trigger legs to prevent bending of the trigger legs.

Description

Board mounted optical connector Related cross-reference The present application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63/589,378 filed on day 10/11 of 2023, 35U.S. C. ≡119 (e), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background The on-board optics provide optical interconnection at the edge of the circuit board or card and/or further inside (in the middle of) the circuit board. While card edge optics allow more space, mid-board optics are highly limited in the space that allows transmission of optical signals to and from the optoelectronic/transceiver packages on the board. Furthermore, one challenge with current mid-plate optics is to have a detachable or removable component that can be consistently reattached to the socket on the plate without degradation in mechanical and optical performance. That is, most such interconnects are permanently attached to the board via cured epoxy, which makes the entire board inoperable if the interconnect fails. The tight space also presents accessibility issues to users of such systems. Furthermore, having multiple interconnecting members in the middle of the board, while meeting the force requirements of reliable connection and precise alignment, is also a challenge, again due to the tight space available (e.g., limited horizontal movement). Certain optical interconnect systems allow for the vertical attachment or removal of a single optical adapter and a single fiber optic connector from a direction perpendicular to the plane of the card. Examples of such single midplane optical interconnects using on-board sockets are provided in applicant's commonly owned U.S. patent No.11,249,265. Applicant has developed an adapter and adapter assembly that allows for the connection of different types of connectors and the easy addition and removal of multiple fiber optic connectors from a PCB as shown in fig. 1, and if desired, the addition and removal of adapters that support these fiber optic connectors. Disclosure of Invention The present invention relates to an adapter assembly for mating a fiber optic connector or fiber optic ferrule, the adapter assembly comprising an adapter having a body including a first side spaced apart from a second side along a first axis, the body having a top side and a bottom side spaced apart from each other along a second axis and engaged with each other by side walls spaced apart along a third axis, and a main opening extending between the first side and the second side to receive at least two fiber optic connectors or fiber optic ferrules side by side along the third axis on each of the first side and the second side, and a plurality of dual triggers attached to one of the top side or the bottom side of the body at trigger receiving areas, each of the plurality of dual triggers including a first side trigger and a second side trigger, the first side trigger being located on the first side of the body and the second trigger being located on the second side of the body, the second trigger being located on the first side of the latch. In some embodiments, the trigger receiving region includes a trigger opening on the first side to receive a trigger tab of the first side trigger, the trigger tab for receiving an external force to actuate the first side trigger. In some embodiments, the first side trigger includes a trigger pad having an outwardly facing surface facing away from the top and bottom sides. In some embodiments, the adapter assembly further includes a mount coupled to the sidewall and configured to engage the circuit board to connect the adapter to the circuit board. In other embodiments, the adapter assembly further includes a mount coupled to the sidewall and configured to engage the circuit board to connect the adapter to the circuit board. In some embodiments, a portion of the opening on the first side of the adapter is configured to receive at least two fiber optic connectors having connector latches on a housing of the fiber optic connectors. In other embodiments, the second side trigger further comprises a second trigger pad to receive another external force to actuate the second side trigger. In other embodiments, the second side trigger further comprises trigger legs on either side of the second trigger pad, the trigger legs being positioned within the body of the adapter and engageable with a fiber optic ferrule having a plurality of optical fibers terminated therein. In some embodiments, the adapter assembly further includes a protrusion in the body of the adapter to engage a receiving feature on each trigger leg to prevent bending of the trigger legs. In some embodiments, the adapter assembly further includes a protrusion in the body of the adapter to engage a receiving feature on each trigger leg to prevent bending of the trigger legs. In another aspect, the invention relates to an adapter for mating at least two bare fiber ferrules to at least two fiber ferrules in respective housings of a