Granted Patent B2

US 12,228,774 · App. 18/453,795 · Granted Feb 18, 2025

Inventors: Jimmy Jun-Fu Chang (Worcester, MA); Kazuyoshi Takano (Tokyo, JP)

Assignee: Senko Advanced Components, Inc.

G02B6/3885G02B6/3825G02B6/3831G02B6/3849G02B6/3853G02B6/3879

Abstract

Claims (30)

1. An adapter having a receptacle configured to receive four separate optical connectors in the receptacle at operative positions for making an optical connection, the adapter comprising:

a housing defining the receptacle, the housing having a housing perimeter comprising first and second side walls spaced apart along a width of the housing and upper and lower walls spaced apart along a height of the housing; and

four pairs of ferrule alignment sleeves in the receptacle at four spaced apart locations along the width of the housing, each pair of ferrule alignment sleeves comprising first and second ferrule alignment sleeves spaced apart along the height of the housing;

wherein the adapter is configured to latch with the four optical connectors to retain the four optical connectors in the operative positions such that first and second optical fiber ferrules of each of the four optical connectors are received in the first and second ferrule alignment sleeves of a respective one of the four pairs of ferrule alignment sleeves;

wherein the housing perimeter is accommodated in a quad small form-factor pluggable (QSFP) transceiver footprint.

2. The adapter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adapter is configured to retain the four optical connectors in the receptacle such that the four optical connectors are side-by-side in the receptacle.

3. The adapter as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the adapter is free of any wall located between sidewalls of the four optical connectors received side-by-side in the receptacle.

4. The adapter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the upper wall of the adapter housing comprises four alignment recesses spaced apart along the width of the housing, each alignment recess configured to receive an alignment key of a respective one of the four optical connectors retained in the operative positions.

5. The adapter as set forth in claim 4 , wherein the lower wall of the adapter housing is not a mirror image of the upper wall such that the lower wall blocks reception of the alignment keys when the four connectors are inserted into the receptacle in an inverted orientation.

6. The adapter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adapter is configured to and latch with each of the four optical connectors via a latch hook received in a latch recess.

7. The adapter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adapter comprises four alignment sleeve holders, each of the four alignment sleeve holders holding one of the four pairs of alignment sleeves.

8. The adapter as set forth in claim 7 , wherein a portion of each alignment sleeve holder is configured to be received within a front end portion of one of the four optical connectors when the four optical connectors are retained in the operative positions.

9. The adapter as set forth in claim 8 , wherein the adapter includes a widthwise gap on each lateral side of each of the four alignment sleeve holders.

10. The adapter as set forth in claim 9 , wherein the adapter is configured to receive front portions of opposite first and second side walls of each of the four optical connectors in the widthwise gaps when the four optical connectors are retained in the operative positions.

11. The adapter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the adapter is configured to receive a portion of a push-pull latch mechanism of each of the four separate optical connectors in the receptacle and to allow for displacement of each push-pull latch mechanism inside the receptacle for individually releasing any of the four separate optical connectors from the receptacle after the four separate optical connectors are latched with the adapter, whereby the first and second optical fiber ferrules of the respective optical connector are extracted from the first and second ferrule alignment sleeves of the respective pair of ferrule alignment sleeves.

12. An adapter having a receptacle configured to receive two separate optical connectors in the receptacle at operative positions for making an optical connection, the adapter comprising:

a housing defining the receptacle, the housing having a housing perimeter comprising first and second side walls spaced apart along a width of the housing and upper and lower walls spaced apart along a height of the housing; and

two pairs of ferrule alignment sleeves in the receptacle at two spaced apart locations along the width of the housing, each pair of ferrule alignment sleeves comprising first and second ferrule alignment sleeves spaced apart along the height of the housing;

wherein the adapter is configured to latch with the two optical connectors to retain the two optical connectors in the operative positions such that first and second optical fiber ferrules of each of the two optical connectors are received in the first and second ferrule alignment sleeves of a respective one of the two pairs of ferrule alignment sleeves;

wherein the housing perimeter is accommodated in a small form-factor pluggable (SFP) transceiver footprint;

wherein the adapter is configured to retain the two optical connectors in the receptacle such that the two optical connectors are side-by-side in the receptacle;

wherein the adapter is free of any wall located between sidewalls of the two optical connectors received side-by-side in the receptacle.

13. The adapter as set forth in claim 12 , wherein the upper wall of the adapter housing comprises two alignment recesses spaced apart along the width of the housing, each alignment recess configured to receive an alignment key of a respective one of the two optical connectors retained in the operative positions.

14. The adapter as set forth in claim 13 , wherein the lower wall of the adapter housing is not a mirror image of the upper wall such that the lower wall blocks reception of the alignment keys when the two connectors are inserted into the receptacle in an inverted orientation.

15. The adapter as set forth in claim 12 , wherein the adapter is configured to and latch with each of the two optical connectors via a latch hook received in a latch recess.

16. The adapter as set forth in claim 12 , wherein the adapter comprises two alignment sleeve holders, each of the two alignment sleeve holders holding one of the two pairs of alignment sleeves.

17. The adapter as set forth in claim 16 , wherein a portion of each alignment sleeve holder is configured to be received within a front end portion of one of the two optical connectors when the two optical connectors are retained in the operative positions.

18. The adapter as set forth in claim 17 , wherein the adapter includes a widthwise gap on each lateral side of each of the two alignment sleeve holders.

19. The adapter as set forth in claim 18 , wherein the adapter is configured to receive front portions of opposite first and second side walls of each of the two optical connectors in the widthwise gaps when the two optical connectors are retained in the operative positions.

20. The adapter as set forth in claim 12 , wherein the adapter is configured to receive a portion of a push-pull latch mechanism of each of the two separate optical connectors in the receptacle and to allow for displacement of each push-pull latch mechanism inside the receptacle for individually releasing any of the two separate optical connectors from the receptacle after the two separate optical connectors are latched with the adapter, whereby the first and second optical fiber ferrules of the respective optical connector are extracted from the first and second ferrule alignment sleeves of the respective pair of ferrule alignment sleeves.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (9)

References Cited (400)