IP Library Granted Patent US 11,276,955
Granted Patent B2
US 11,276,955 · App. 16/734,529 · Granted Mar 15, 2022

Double-blind mating pluggable-modules holder

Inventors: Daniel Rivaud (Ottawa, CA); Anthony Mayenburg (Carp, CA); Fabien Colton (Kars, CA)
Assignee: Ciena Corporation
H01R13/518H01R43/26
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,276,955
App. No.
16/734,529
Granted
Mar 15, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

A pluggable-modules holder for a plurality of pluggable-modules of a rack-mounted unit is disclosed. The pluggable-modules holder includes a holder body and a plurality of holder ports. Each of the holder ports extends through the holder body and is sized to hold a portion of a respective pluggable-module. The holder body can be configured to connect to a rack-mounted unit before and/or after the plurality of pluggable-modules can be inserted into the plurality of holder ports.

Claims (27)

1. A pluggable-modules holder for a plurality of pluggable-modules, the pluggable-modules holder comprising:

a holder body;

a plurality of holder ports, each of the holder ports being positioned along the holder body and sized to hold a portion of a respective pluggable-module; and

electrical connectors for relaying at least one of control signals and power from one or more of a rack-mounted unit and a fan module.

2. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 1 , wherein the holder body is configured to connect to a rack-mounted unit, directly or indirectly, before or after the plurality of pluggable-modules are inserted into the plurality of holder ports.

3. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 1 , further comprising one or more retention features that restrain the plurality of pluggable-modules in at least a removal direction of the plurality of pluggable-modules when inserted into the plurality of holder ports, the one or more retention features including at least an assembly of a retention rod extending across a length of the pluggable-modules holder, retention arms extending from the retention rod, and a retention switch that moves the retention rods and retention arms into a retention position such that the retention arms overlap with the plurality of holder ports.

4. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 1 , wherein each of the holder ports is shaped to hold a portion of a respective body of the respective pluggable-module.

5. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 3 , wherein each of the holder ports is further shaped to hold at least a portion of a respective head of the respective pluggable-module.

6. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 1 , further comprising an alignment feature including at least one of a rod and a bore that mates with a corresponding feature of a rack-mounted unit.

7. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of cooling holes extending through the holder body.

8. The pluggable-modules holder of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of holder ports are spaced such that the pluggable-modules holder is configured to hold pluggable-modules associated with multiple rack-mounted units received in a carrier.

9. A module assembly comprising:

a plurality of pluggable-modules, each pluggable module including a pluggable transceiver;

a rack-mounted unit including a plurality of unit ports that receive the plurality of pluggable-modules; a pluggable-modules holder including a holder body and a plurality of holder ports, each of the holder ports being positioned along the holder body, positioned in the holder body to align with a respective unit port, and sized to hold a portion of a respective pluggable-module, the pluggable-modules holder comprising electrical connectors for relaying at least one of control signals and power from one or more of the rack-mounted unit and a fan module associated with the module assembly.

10. The module assembly of claim 9 , wherein the holder body is configured to connect to the rack-mounted unit, directly or indirectly, before or after the plurality of pluggable-modules are inserted into the plurality of holder ports.

11. The module assembly of claim 9 , further comprising alignment features including a rod and a bore that align the pluggable-modules holder relative to the rack-mounted unit to align the plurality of holder ports with the plurality of unit ports.

12. The module assembly of claim 9 , wherein the pluggable-modules holder further comprises one or more retention features that restrain the plurality of pluggable-modules in at least a removal direction of the plurality of pluggable-modules when inserted into the plurality of holder ports, the one or more retention features including at least an assembly of a retention rod extending across a length of the pluggable-modules holder, retention arms extending from the retention rod, and a retention switch that moves the retention rods and retention arms into a retention position such that the retention arms overlap with the plurality of holder ports.

13. The module assembly of claim 9 , wherein the pluggable-modules holder further comprises cooling holes extending through the holder body such that cooling air blown by the fan module passes therethrough.

14. A method for assembling a module assembly, comprising:

providing a pluggable-modules holder comprising a holder body, and a plurality of holder ports, each of the holder ports being positioned along the holder body and sized to hold a portion of a respective pluggable-module the pluggable-modules holder comprising electrical connectors for relaying at least one of control signals and power from one or more of the rack-mounted unit and a fan module;

inserting a plurality of pluggable-modules into the plurality of holder ports such that each of the plurality of pluggable-modules is received by a respective holder port; and

connecting the pluggable-modules holder, directly or indirectly, to a rack-mounted unit such that the plurality of holder ports each align with a respective one of a plurality of unit ports of the rack-mounted unit,

wherein each of the plurality of pluggable-modules mate with a respective unit port.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the pluggable-modules holder is connected to the rack-mounted unit before the plurality of pluggable-modules are inserted into the plurality of holder ports.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the pluggable-modules holder is connected to the rack-mounted unit after the plurality of pluggable-modules are inserted into the plurality of holder ports such that the plurality of pluggable-modules mate with the plurality of unit ports simultaneously while the pluggable-modules holder is being connected to the rack-mounted unit.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the pluggable-modules holder is connected to the rack-mounted unit via a carrier.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the pluggable-modules holder is connected to a rack prior to being connected to the rack-mounted unit such that the pluggable-modules holder is a backplane for an assembly of the pluggable-modules holder, the rack-mounted unit, and the pluggable-modules.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 6, 2020
From: RIVAUD, DANIEL; MAYENBURG, ANTHONY; COLTON, FABIEN
To: CIENA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 051420/0858 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210210894A1 · Jul 8, 2021
Cited By (7)
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