Optical connector, optical connection assembly, electrical connector and connection system comprising such an electrical connector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11079552-B2
Application number	US-201816770418-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 5, 2018
Priority date	Dec 5, 2017
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

An optical connector (20) includes a plurality of collimation elements (23a, 23b) which are associated with a plurality of optical fibres (21a, 21b), respectively, and which are carried by a support (24). The support is mounted for rotation in a bearing (27) about a rotation axis (z), the collimation elements (23a) are arranged in the support so as to be equidistant from this rotation axis, and the support has at least one member for angular positioning (28) about the axis. The invention also relates to an optical connection assembly (10) including a first such optical connector and a second optical connector (20′) which is configured to be nested coaxially with the first one. An electrical connector may be provided with such an optical connector, and a connection system may be provided with such an electrical connector.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical connector comprising a plurality of collimation elements associated with a plurality of optical fibres, respectively, and carried by a support,
wherein the support is mounted for rotation in a bearing about a rotation axis, in that the collimation elements are arranged in the support so as to be equidistant from this rotation axis, and in that the support has angular positioning members for fixing the angular position of the support about said rotation axis.

2. The optical connector according to claim 1 , further comprising an additional collimation element located at the rotation axis.

3. The optical connector according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the angular positioning members is a finger protruding from said support.

4. The optical connector according to claim 3 , wherein the support has a plurality of positioning fingers.

5. The optical connector according to claim 3 , wherein the free end of the finger is bevelled.

6. The optical connector according to claim 1 , wherein said support has a planar surface from which extends one at least of the angular positioning members, this surface being perpendicular to the direction of extension of said positioning member.

7. The optical connection assembly comprising a first optical connector according to claim 1 , and a second optical connector comprising a base carrying optical elements and having complementary angular positioning members, each adapted to cooperate with one of the angular positioning members of the first optical connector to fix the relative angular position of the support with respect to the base.

8. The optical connection assembly according to claim 7 , wherein the angular positioning members of the first optical connector, or the complementary angular positioning members of the second optical connector, are made in the form of recesses comprising a guiding portion flared on the side of the recess opening, the openings of said recesses being adjacent to each other.

9. The optical connection assembly according to claim 7 , wherein the optical elements, of the second optical connector are collimation elements, and wherein said angular position of the support with respect to the base, fixed by said positioning members, is a coupling angular position for which a part at least of the collimation elements of the first optical connector is located facing collimation elements of the second optical connector.

10. The optical connection assembly according to claim 9 , having several distinct coupling angular positions, wherein the angular positioning members and the complementary angular positioning members are then arranged so as to fix the relative angular position of the support with respect to the base, indifferently in either one of said coupling angular positions, each coupling angular position being such that, in this position, a part at least of the collimation elements of the first optical connector is located facing collimation elements of the second optical connector.

11. The optical connection assembly according to claim 9 , wherein the number of collimation elements of the first optical connector that are equidistant from the rotation axis is a multiple of the number of coupling angular positions of the optical connection assembly.

12. The optical connection assembly according to claim 7 , wherein for the first optical connector, the at least one of the angular positioning members is a finger protruding from said support, and wherein at least one of said complementary angular positioning members is a recess designed to receive said finger.

13. The optical connection assembly according to claim 7 , wherein for the first optical connector, said support has a planar surface ( 262 ) from which extends one at least of the angular positioning members ( 28 ), this surface ( 262 ) being perpendicular to the direction of extension of said positioning member, and wherein the base comprises a planar face designed to cooperate with said surface perpendicular to the extension of the angular positioning member.

14. An electrical connector comprising a cover, at least one electrically conductive track and an optical connector according to claim 1 , wherein the bearing is integral with the cover and wherein the electrically conductive track surrounds said rotation axis.

15. A connection system comprising:
a first electrical connector, according to claim 14 , and
a second electrical connector comprising a base, at least another electrically conductive track and another optical connector that comprises a base carrying optical elements and that has complementary angular positioning members, each adapted to cooperate with one of the angular positioning members of the optical connector of the first electrical connector to fix the relative angular position of the support with respect to the base.

Assignees

• Ixblue

Inventors

• Arditty Hervé
• Grall Sébastien
• Laporte Jonathan
• Giroussens Christian
• Touin Gildas
• Mosca Frédéric
• Delort Eric
• Chaize Carole

Classifications

• G02B6/3817

  containing optical and electrical conductors (cables including electrical and optical conductors H01B11/22; G02B6/3816 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B6/3604 Primary

  Rotary joints allowing relative rotational movement between opposing fibre or fibre bundle ends · CPC title

• G02B6/3853

  Lens inside the ferrule (lensed connectors G02B6/32) · CPC title

• G02B6/3831

  comprising a keying element on the plug or adapter, e.g. to forbid wrong connection (keying element on the ferrule G02B6/3851; keying element for electrical coupling H01R13/64) · CPC title

• G02B6/3885

  Multicore or multichannel optical connectors, i.e. one single ferrule containing more than one fibre, e.g. ribbon type (optical ribbon cable G02B6/4403, G02B6/448) · CPC title