Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/381—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres
  • G02B6/3825—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres with an intermediate part, e.g. adapter, receptacle, linking two plugs
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04B—TRANSMISSION
  • H04B10/00—Transmission systems employing electromagnetic waves other than radio-waves, e.g. infrared, visible or ultraviolet light, or employing corpuscular radiation, e.g. quantum communication
  • H04B10/80—Optical aspects relating to the use of optical transmission for specific applications, not provided for in groups H04B10/03 - H04B10/70, e.g. optical power feeding or optical transmission through water
  • H04B10/801—Optical aspects relating to the use of optical transmission for specific applications, not provided for in groups H04B10/03 - H04B10/70, e.g. optical power feeding or optical transmission through water using optical interconnects, e.g. light coupled isolators, circuit board interconnections
  • H04B10/803—Free space interconnects, e.g. between circuit boards or chips

Definitions

• the present invention relates to connectors, in particular multipolar electrical connectors, used for example in the field of electrical wiring.
• the connectors concerned are used for / in areas requiring both reliability and flexibility, such as wearabie type applications, for example the clothing or equipment of people working in difficult environments (workers, emergency services, soldiers and security forces, patients, etc.) or any other similar use.
• the connector comprises a substantially cylindrical shaped base and a plug, detachably connectable to the base, in which a plurality of contacts are disposed.
• the base comprises a conductive face in the form of a disc on or in which is disposed at least one conductive track forming at least one arc of a circle, the center of which substantially coincides with the center of the conductive face, the track being furthermore arranged so as to allow mechanical electrical coupling with one of said contacts.
• the receptacle and the plug are the two main components that make up the connector.
• This connector allows an easy connection between the two components and also a relative rotation of 360 ° of the parts forming the connector (that is to say the base and the plug).
• the electrical interface as produced in the state of the art has intrinsic limitations when it comes to transferring signals at high speed.
• the path of the electrical signal is of a variable length which results from the angular position of the plug relative to the base and thereby limits the maximum transferable rates.
• an objective of the present invention is to provide solutions for improving the known devices. More particularly, an object of the present invention is to increase the data transmission rate of a pair of connectors while retaining the essential performances which are in particular ergonomics, ease of connection and cleanability, these characteristics being the main attributes of the products described in the state of the art, such as that mentioned above.
• Another object of the present invention is to provide a construction allowing a high data transmission rate, of the order of 10 Gbit / s or more, and / or at least USB 3.0 (also referred to as SuperSpeed USB, SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps and SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps) or more and other values of this order of magnitude.
• Transmitter optical sub-assembly integrating a laser diode, a monitoring photodiode, an optical interface, a plastic or metal case and an electrical interface
• ROSA "Receiver optical sub-assembly”. Receiver optical sub-assembly integrating a photodiode, an optical interface, a plastic or metal case and an electrical interface. It can also integrate an electric amplifier and dichroic filters BOSA "Bi-Directionai optical sub-assembly”. Bidirectional optical sub-assembly integrating ROSA and TOSA in the same package with a single optical interface and wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). The received signal does not have the same wavelength as the transmitted signal.
• WDM wavelength division multiplexing
• a basic idea of the present invention is to replace the electrical interface on the plug and the circular rings on the base (or the opposite), as known from WO2017 / 072620, by an optical interface, or at least to add an optical interface to the electrical contacts present.
• One of the challenges of the present invention is to maintain the property of 360 ° rotation once the plug and the socket are connected without impacting the quality of the optical transmission.
• a mechanism for transmitting optical beams (bidirectional) exhibiting insensitivity to rotation has thus been developed and forms part of the present invention.
• connector covers a base and a plug connected together.
• the connector must be able to rotate on itself, that is to say that the base and the plug can have a relative rotation of 360 °;
• the invention relates to a disconnectable connector part intended to form a base or a plug of the connector, the connector allowing relative rotation between the base and the plug about an axis of rotation of the connector. once these parts are connected.
• the connector part comprises at least optical means for contactless optical transmission in the connector which is insensitive to relative rotation, the optical means comprising at least one laser for emitting a beam and a photodiode for receiving a beam, the optical means comprising at least one laser for emitting a beam and a photodiode for receiving a beam, one of the optical means being on one side of the axis of rotation.
• the optical means are preferably on either side of the axis of rotation.
• the photodiode is preferably aligned with the axis of rotation.
• the connector portion may include an optical element deflecting the laser beam toward the active surface of a photodiode.
• a photodiode and laser mounting plane of said connector part is tilted keeping the center of the active surface of the photodiode on the axis of rotation of the connector.
• the laser is preferably aligned with the axis of rotation of the connector.
• the photodiode is preferably oriented about 90 ° to the axis of rotation and the part includes a filter for deflecting a laser beam received on the photodiode.
• the connector part comprises, for example, a lens and / or a diaphragm.
• the connector part comprises an electronic part for transforming an electrical signal into an optical signal and vice versa.
• the connector portion preferably includes electrical contacts for electrical transmission.
• the connector portion preferably comprises means to facilitate relative rotation between the socket and the plug.
• the means facilitating the rotation comprise for example a ball bearing system.
• the invention relates to a connector comprising a part as described in the present application as a base and / or as a plug.
• the base and the plug comprise means allowing their connection and their alignment with one another.
• Figures 1 to 7 illustrate embodiments of the optical means according to the present invention.
• FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of the principle of a connector according to the present invention.
• FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment in axial section of a connector according to the present invention
• FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment in axial section of a connector according to the present invention.
• Figures 11-14 illustrate embodiments of connector parts and a connector according to the present invention.
• Figures 15 and 16 illustrate embodiments of connector parts and a connector according to the present invention.
• Figures 17-19 illustrate embodiments of connector parts and a connector according to the present invention.
• Figure 20 illustrates connector parts according to another embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment with a laser 1, 1 'and a photodiode 2, 2' on each side of the axis of rotation 3 of the connector.
• This relatively simple solution to implement has the characteristic of having the intensity of the light received depending on the rotation of the connector.
• the photodiode 2, 2 ′ is found in the center of the beam of the laser 1, 1 ′ where the light intensity is the highest while the photodiode 2 is rotated by 180 ° (as illustrated in FIG. 1), 2 'is found at a certain distance from the center of the laser beam 1, 1' and therefore the received light intensity is reduced.
• this can be seen as disadvantageous. In other cases, this is not a problem and this construction is quite acceptable.
• FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment with the lasers 1,1 ′ and the photodiodes 2,2 ′.
• the advantage of this concept is to constantly have the center of the laser beam on the photodiode regardless of the relative rotation of the connector parts.
• the axis of the laser is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the connector.
• FIG. 3 illustrates another embodiment with the lasers 1, 1 'in the axis of rotation of the connector and the photodiodes 2, 2' oriented at 90 ° with a dichroic filter 4, 4 'making it possible to deflect the laser beam on the photodiodes 2, 2 '.
• This solution has the same advantage as the previous one, that is to say that the center of the laser beam always arrives on the photodiode whatever the relative rotation of the parts of the connector.
• the angle of arrival of the laser beam on the photodiode also remains the same during the rotation.
• Focusing the output of the laser with a lens has the same effect as bringing the laser closer to the photodiode on the received light intensity as a function of the lateral displacement. Since the mechanical constraints do not always allow the photodiode to be sufficiently approached from the laser, the addition of the lens at the output of the laser makes it possible to compensate for this distance.
• the photodiode makes it possible to increase the light intensity received by the photodiode even when the latter moves away from the center of the laser beam.
• the active surface of the photodiodes allowing communication at the envisaged flow rates is very small ( ⁇ ⁇ 60um)
• the center of the laser beam is the same as the axis of rotation of the connector (as in the case of BOSA)
• the angle of arrival of the laser beam on the photodiode does not vary with connector rotation and standard plano-convex or biconvex optics are preferred.
• it also corrects a lateral offset between the two parts of the connector by causing the light beam to arrive at a more pronounced angle (which can make the lens serialization problematic).
• the rotating connector must be a connector that can be used outdoors, it is possible that water will get on the interface of the connector through which the laser beam passes.
• this interface In order to limit the deflection of the beam, it is preferable to make this interface as narrow as possible so that the water cannot form a drop with a "spherical" surface and it is also preferable that the beam comes out as perpendicular as possible to that it is not deviated according to the refractive index of the medium (water or air).
• FIG 4 illustrates an embodiment with 5, 5 'lenses to concentrate or focus the beam on the construction of figure 3.
• the laser beam can be inclined relative to the axis of rotation of the connector so as to have its center on the active surface of the photodiode 2, 2 '. If we want to keep the photodiode 2, 2 'and the laser 1, 1' to facilitate assembly, two embodiments are described: the first consists of deflecting the beam using an optical element 6, 6 'illustrated in FIG. 5. This element can for example be a lens or a prism, or other equivalent.
• the advantage of this solution is to have the mounting plane of the laser 1, l 'and of the photodiode 2, 2' perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the connector, on the other hand it requires an additional optical element 6, 6 '.
• the second solution illustrated in figure 6 consists in tilting the entire mounting plane of the photodiode 2, 2 'and of the laser 1, 1' while keeping the center of the active surface of the photodiode on the axis of rotation of the connector. .
• FIG. 7 Another embodiment is illustrated schematically in FIG. 7.
• a monolithic system comprising a diode and a photo-detector.
• a monolithic system comprising a diode and a photo-detector.
• Such a system is marketed by the Broadcom company under the name "AFBR-FS50B00 Transceiver for Opticai Wireless Communications".
• AFBR-FS50B00 Transceiver for Opticai Wireless Communications These transceivers are described for example in the publication "Monolithic VCSEL-PIN Photodiode integration for Bidirectionai Opticai Data Transmission” by Alexander Kern et al., IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, Vol.19, N ° 4, July / August 2013.
• this system uses the principle of the superposition of the transmitting elements 1, 1 'and receiving 2, 2'.
• FIG. 8 illustrates the principle of an embodiment of the invention.
• the system comprises an electronic part 10 in each element of the connector (plug and socket) which transforms the differential electrical signal into optical signal and vice versa.
• the electronic part 10 comprises in particular laser diodes 1, 1 ', the photodiodes 2, 2' the drivers 11, 11 'for the laser, the limiting amplifiers 12, 12' and the amplifiers 13, 13 ', an optical part 14, 14 'allowing the passage of light and limiting reflections and the system comprises a mechanical part 15, 15' allowing connection and alignment (lateral displacement, spacing, rotation) between the two elements 15, 15 'by means of 'alignment 16.
• Figure 9 illustrates a concrete embodiment of an embodiment with the references identified and discussed above.
• the reference 20/20 ′ identifies the part containing in particular the optical means 1, 1 ′, 2, 2 ′, 4, 4 ′, for example an element of the “BOSA” type.
• a diaphragm 21 is preferably added to minimize disturbance in the laser beam 22. 1.
• the diaphragm has for example an opening with a diameter of approximately between 0.1mm and 1mm.
• each of the two parts of the connector comprises a "BOSA” type element comprising an emitter 1, 1 '(for example a laser), a receiver 2, 2' (for example a photodiode) as well as other elements. electronic and optical as illustrated in Figures 7 and 8.
• the "BOSA” type elements make it possible to have the signals emitted and received on the same optical axis.
• This element is modified so that it can be used for contactless transmissions.
• a PCB 10, 10 ′ as well as a lens 5, 5 ′ (for example at the outlet of the BOSA, as illustrated in FIG. 4).
• the PCB 10, 10 ' is shown partially outside the parts of the connector but this illustration is a non-limiting example and it can also be fully integrated and / or contained in the part concerned in all embodiments of the 'invention.
• the diaphragm 21 can be added in order to avoid reflections and make it possible to achieve bit rates of the order of 10 Gbit / s or more depending on the bit rates achieved in the context of the present invention.
• FIG. 10 illustrates an embodiment of the system of FIG. 9 with lenses 5, 5 '. These lenses can be used in all modes of execution.
• FIGS. 11 to 14 illustrate embodiments of a part of a connector or of a connector according to the invention in various views and sections.
• FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of such a male or female connector part 30 (plug or socket).
• FIG. 11 drawing on the right illustrates the open part 30.
• the "optical" construction chosen as an illustrative example of this mode may correspond to that of FIG. 4 or 9 described above.
• FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of such a male or female connector part 30 '(plug or socket).
• Figure 12 drawing on the right illustrates the part 30 'open.
• the "optical" construction chosen as an illustrative example of this mode may correspond to that of FIG. 4 or 9 described above.
• FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of an assembled connector 40 comprising a part 30 and a part 30 ', for example according to FIGS. 10 and 11.
• Figure 14 illustrates a sectional view of the connector of Figure 13.
• Figures 15 and 16 illustrate embodiments using the optical system of Figure 6 in which the laser 1, 1 'and the diode 2, 2' are inclined with respect to each other.
• This mode preferably integrates the same elements as the previous mode (FIGS. 11 to 14).
• the laser 1, 1 ' is offset from the axis of rotation of the connector 41 as in FIG. 6 so as to optimize the transmission of the signal in all positions over an arc of 360 °.
• the signals emitted and received pass through separate optical axes and a lens is advantageously used here.
• This mode also makes it possible to achieve performance up to 10 Gbit / s or more depending on the performance achieved within the scope of the present invention.
• the plug and the base (male and female parts) are referenced 31, 31 ′, the assembled connector 41 and the electronic parts (PCB) 10, and 10 ′.
• Emitter 1 (laser) and receiver 2 (photodiode) are visible in Fig. 16 as are ball bearing type means 50 to facilitate the relative rotation of the two parts of the connector.
• the principles of the present invention can be applied to an electrical connector to form an electrical + optical hybrid construction.
• An example of such an electrical connector to which said principles can be applied is described in publications WO 2017/072620, WO 2019/193564 and WO 2019/193567 (incorporated by reference in the present application) and the principle is illustrated in figure 17 with the tracks 60 and the contacts 61 and light diffusers 62.
• the advantage of this construction is to integrate power transmission by electrical means.
• a "Rigid-Flex" printed circuit is used, making it possible to deport the laser and photodiode part of the printed circuit and to transmit the electrical signals through a flex 72 to the transceiver 73.
• FIG. 18 illustrates this printed circuit 70, with the remote laser / photodiode part 71 and the flex 72.
• FIG. 19 illustrates a connector 80 according to this mode with printed circuit 70/70 ', laser / photodiode part 71/71' remote, flex 72/72 ', transceiver 73/73' and the configuration of optical means is for example according to specifications. figures 6, 14 and 15.
• FIG. 20 illustrates an embodiment of a construction using the monolithic system comprising the diode 1, 1 'and photo-detector 2, 2' assembly of FIG. 7 and in a connector whose principle is illustrated in FIG. 17.
• Such a construction of FIG. 20 can be used for example in the connectors of publications WO 2017/072620, WO 2019/193564 and WO 2019/193567 mentioned above in the context of the description of FIG. 17.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=74191793

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2020
  • 2020-12-17 US US17/777,087 patent/US20230035797A1/en active Pending
  • 2020-12-17 EP EP20842725.2A patent/EP4078858A1/de active Pending
  • 2020-12-17 WO PCT/IB2020/062101 patent/WO2021124193A1/fr unknown

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events