Connecting a plurality of circuit boards
US6304690A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 31, 1999 |
| Grant date | Oct 16, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05K1/14
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus connecting electrical circuit boards (1, 2, 3, . . . N) so each board can communicate with each other. Each board has an optical circuit, which in turn has a transmitter module (T) and a receiver module (R). The transmitter module (T) has electrical to optical converters (11B) for converting electrical signals into optical signals, a wavelength multiplexer (12) for multiplexing the optical signals into a single optical waveguide (12A), and an optical splitter (13) for dividing the multiplexed signal into a plurality of identical signals for transmission to each of the receiver modules (R). The receiver module (R) has an optical selector (14) for selecting signals from the transmission modules (T), a wavelength demultiplexer (21) for demultiplexing the selected signal into signals each of a different wavelength (.lambda..sub.1 . . . .lambda..sub.n), and optical to electrical converters (22B) for converting each of the signals of different wavelengths into an electrical signal.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.