Contactless connector and contactless connector assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12136953-B2
Application number	US-202217696666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 16, 2022
Priority date	Mar 18, 2021
Publication date	Nov 5, 2024
Grant date	Nov 5, 2024

Abstract

A contactless connector includes: a circuit board; a light emitter arranged on the circuit board and capable of converting electrical signals into optical signals; a light emitter control chip arranged on the circuit board for controlling the operation of the light emitter; and a light-transmitting member at least partially covering the circuit board, the light emitter, and the light emitter control chip.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A contactless connector for mating with another contactless connector to transmit signals, comprising:
a circuit board, having a first side and a second side being opposite to each other;
a light emitter arranged on the first side of the circuit board and capable of converting electrical signals into optical signals;
a light emitter control chip arranged on the first side of the circuit board for controlling the operation of the light emitter; and
a light-transmitting member, having a first surface and a second surface being opposite to each other, the first surface being mated with the another contactless connector, the second surface being partially concaved to cover the circuit board, the light emitter, and the light emitter control chip;
wherein the light-transmitting member includes a first lens formed on the second surface and a second lens formed on the first surface, the first lens faces the circuit board and is arranged to positionally corresponded to the light emitter, and the second lens faces transfers light signals from the first lens to the another contactless connector.

2. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first lens converts the light signals emitted by the light emitter into mutually parallel lights, and the second lens focuses the parallel lights, the second surface of the light-transmitting member is concavely formed with a receiving portion, the circuit board is received in the receiving portion, the light-transmitting member has a pair of inner positioning posts protruded into the receiving portion, the circuit board forms a pair of positioning holes, and the pair of inner positioning posts passes through the pair of positioning holes, respectively.

3. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the circuit board includes a plurality of first conductive pads for inputting electrical signals, and a plurality of second conductive pads for outputting electrical signals, a magnetic element is disposed on the second side of the circuit board between the first conductive pads and the second conductive pads, the magnetic element is used for mutual magnetic attraction with a corresponding magnetic element of the another contactless connector to provide a mating force between the contactless connector and the another contactless connector.

4. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the circuit board further includes a light receiver capable of receiving optical signals and converting the received optical signals into electrical signals and an amplifier chip for amplifying the electrical signals, wherein the light receiver and the amplifier chip are disposed between the pair of positioning holes.

5. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the light emitter control chip and the amplifier chip are integrated into a single chip.

6. A contactless connector assembly comprising:
a first contactless connector comprising:
a first circuit board;
a light emitter arranged on the first circuit board and capable of converting electrical signals into optical signals;
a light emitter control chip arranged on the first circuit board for controlling operation of the light emitter; and
a first light-transmitting member forming a first receiving portion, wherein the first circuit board, the light emitter, and the light emitter control chip are received in the first receiving portion; and

a second contactless connector cooperating with the first contactless connector to transmit signals, the second contactless connector comprising:
a second circuit board;
a light receiver disposed on the second circuit board and capable of receiving optical signals emitted by the light emitter and converting the received optical signals into electrical signals;
an amplifier chip for amplifying the electrical signals; and
a second light-transmitting member forming a second receiving portion, wherein the second circuit board, the light receiver, and the amplifier chip are received in the first receiving portion;
wherein the first light-transmitting member forms a pair of outer positioning posts, the second light-transmitting member forms a pair of positioning recessed potions, the pair of outer positioning posts are inserted in the pair of positioning recessed potions, respectively.

7. The contactless connector assembly as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising magnetic elements on the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector and a Hall sensor between the magnetic elements; wherein the Hall sensor senses the magnetic field formed between the magnetic elements, when the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector are close to each other to start the contactless connector assembly to work.

8. The contactless connector assembly as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising an emitter on one of the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector for emitting light and a receiver on the other of the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector for receiving light from the emitter; wherein the receiver receives the light emitted by the emitter when the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector are close to each other to initiate the contactless connector assembly to work.

9. The contactless connector assembly as claimed in claim 6 , further comprising a emitter for emitting light, a receiver for receiving light, and a reflective element for reflecting light from the emitter back, and wherein the emitter and the receiver are disposed on one of the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector, and the reflective element is disposed on the other of the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector; wherein the receiver receives the light reflected by the reflective element when the first contactless connector and the second contactless connector are close to each other to start the contactless connector assembly in working condition.

10. The contactless connector assembly as claimed in claim 9 , further comprising an amplifier capable of amplifying the optical signal received by the receiver, and the emitter is a light-emitting diode or a laser transmitter.

11. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light-transmitting member has a pair of outer positioning posts protruded outward from the first surface, the pair of outer positioning posts is configured to position the another contactless connector to each other.

12. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 1 , wherein two sides of the light-transmitting member respectively include a pair of protrusions, each of the pair of protrusions is provided with a through hole, a post is installed in each of the through holes, and a pair of springs are correspondingly installed on the posts.

13. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 12 , further comprising a housing, the housing is provided with a receiving groove for correspondingly receiving the spring and the post.

14. The contactless connector as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the springs are configured to elastically push the light-transmitting member to tightly contact with the another contactless connector.

Assignees

• Foxconn Kunshan Computer Connector Co Ltd
• Foxconn Interconnect Technology Ltd

Inventors

• XU Hai-jun
• Lin Tung-Lou

Classifications

• H04B10/501 Primary

  Structural aspects · CPC title

• G02B6/3897 Primary

  Connectors fixed to housings, casing, frames or circuit boards (G02B6/44528 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H05K1/0274

  Optical details, e.g. printed circuits comprising integral optical means (H05K1/0269 takes precedence; coupling light guides with opto-electronic components G02B6/42) · CPC title

• H05K2201/10151

  Sensor · CPC title

• H05K2201/10121

  Optical component, e.g. opto-electronic component · CPC title