US7331819B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Media converter
Assignee: Ii Vi Optical Systems Inc
•
Filing: 2006-05-09
•
Granted: 2008-02-19
•
Expires: 2026-05-09
Abstract
Abstract Media converters for use in optical-to-electrical and electrical-to-optical conversion. A media converter includes an outer housing, an electrical plug disposed on one end of the outer housing, an optical cable disposed on an opposite end of the outer housing, and circuitry that connects to both the electrical plug and the optical cable. In this example, the circuitry receives electrical signals from the electrical plug and outputs corresponding optical signals to the optical cable. In addition, the circuitry also receives optical signals from the optical cable and outputs corresponding electrical signals to the electrical plug.
Inventors
- 👤 Stephen T. Nelson
- 👤 Kishore Kamath
- 👤 Atikem Haile-Mariam
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 15:07
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/66; H01R13/665; H01R13/6658; G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/42; G02B6/4201; G02B6/4274; G02B6/4284; H01R24/00; H01R24/60; H01R24/62; H01R24/64
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 37
Claim 1
Independent Claim
105 words
A media converter comprising: a housing; an optical transmit port and an optical receive port disposed on one end of the housing; an electrical plug disposed on the housing comprising: a first pin dedicated for transmitting a first electrical signal; a second pin dedicated for receiving a second electrical signal; and a third pin associated with at least one of a TxD signal and a RxLOS signal; and circuitry configured to convert a third electrical signal received by the optical receive port into the first electrical signal and to convert the second electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal transmitted by the optical transmit port.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
105 words
A media converter comprising: a housing; an optical transmit port and an optical receive port disposed on one end of the housing; an electrical plug disposed on the housing comprising: a first pin dedicated for transmitting a first electrical signal; a second pin dedicated for receiving a second electrical signal; and a third pin associated with at least one of a TxD signal and a RxLOS signal; and circuitry configured to convert a third electrical signal received by the optical receive port into the first electrical signal and to convert the second electrical signal into a fourth electrical signal transmitted by the optical transmit port.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electrical plug is RJ-45 compliant.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electrical plug comprises a fourth pin through which the circuitry is configured to receive power.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
75 words
The media converter as recited in claim 3 , wherein the third pin is dedicated for receiving the transfer disable signal, the electrical plug further comprising a fifth pin dedicated for receiving the receiver loss signal, and wherein the fourth and fifth pins are positioned at a first end of the electrical plug and the first, second, and fourth pins are positioned at a second end opposite to the first end of the electrical plug.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
109 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein: the circuitry is configured to receive the second electrical signal from the electrical plug at gigabit speeds, convert a first format of the second electrical signal to a second format of the fourth electrical signal, and output the fourth electrical signal to the optical transmit port at gigabit speeds; and the circuitry is configured to receive the third electrical signal from the optical receive port at gigabit speeds, convert the second format of the third optical signal to the first format of the first electrical signal, and output the first electrical signal to the electrical plug at gigabit speeds.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
80 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electrical plug further comprises: a fourth pin dedicated for receiving power; a fifth pin dedicated for receiving ground; a sixth pin dedicated for transmitting a signal opposite in polarity to the first electrical signal; a seventh pin dedicated for receiving a signal opposite in polarity to the second electrical signal; and an eight pin associated with the TxD signal, wherein the third pin is associated with the RxLOS signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
38 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is configured to convert electrical signals having a first format that complies with an electrical standard to a second format that complies with an optical standard.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
110 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , further comprising: an optical cable disposed on a second end of the housing; an optical transmitter disposed within the housing and optically connected with the optical cable; an optical receiver disposed within the housing and optically connected with the optical cable; wherein the circuitry connects to the electrical plug, the optical transmitter, and the optical receiver, the circuitry being configured to receive electrical signals from the electrical plug and to output corresponding electrical signals to the optical transmitter, the circuitry also being configured to receive electrical signals from the optical receiver and to output corresponding electrical signals to the electrical plug.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the third electrical signal is received by the optical receive port as an optical signal and is converted into the third electrical signal by the optical receiver.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the fourth electrical signal is converted into an optical signal by the optical transmitter for transmission to the optical cable.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
51 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the optical receiver acts as an opto-electric transducer by transforming the third electrical signal from an optical form into the electrical form and the optical transmitter acts as an electro-optical transducer by transforming the fourth electrical signal into an optical signal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , further comprising a post amplifier electrically connected to the optical receiver and a laser driver electrically connected to the optical transmitter.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
28 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the optical receiver includes a photodiode and the optical transmitter includes a laser, a VCSEL, and/or an LED.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , further comprising a power connector at least partially positioned in the housing and configured to interface with a second power supply that is independent from the electrical plug, the power connector being electrically connected to the circuitry.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the optical cable includes at least one of a single mode fiber optic cable, a multimode fiber optic cable and/or a plastic optical fiber optic cable.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
24 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the optical cable is permanently attached to an optical port of the media converter.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The media converter as recited in claim 8 , wherein the optical cable is not permanently attached to an optical port of the media converter.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The media converter as recited in claim 17 , wherein the optical ports include a MU, LC, SC, and/or MT-RJ optical cable connector.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the media converter further comprises an alternating current to direct current converter electrically connected to the power connector.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The media converter as recited in claim 19 , wherein the alternating current to direct current converter is disposed inside the housing.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
The media converter as recited in claim 19 , wherein the alternating current to direct current converter is disposed outside the housing.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electrical plug is RJ-11, RJ-14, RJ-25, RJ-48, RJ-61 and/or RJ-45 compliant.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
23 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein electrical signals received by the electrical plug include electrical signals of opposite polarities.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
26 words
The media converter as recited in claim 23 , wherein the electrical signals of opposite polarities include both Transmit+ (“Tx+”) and Transmit− (“Tx−”) of opposite polarities.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
26 words
The media converter as recited in claim 23 , wherein the electrical signals of opposite polarities include both Receive+ (“Rx+”) and Receive− (“Rx−”) of opposite polarities.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the electrical signals include multiple data bits in parallel.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
26 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to multiplex signals prior to transmission by the optical transmit port.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
24 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to demultiplex signals received by the optical receive port.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
19 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , wherein the circuitry includes a single chip or multiple chips.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
22 words
The media converter as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a wall mount for mounting the media converter to a wall.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
33 words
The media converter as recited in claim 5 , wherein the first format is associated with an electrical data transmission protocol and the second format is associated with an optical data transmission protocol.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
20 words
The media converter as recited in claim 31 , wherein the electrical data transmission protocol includes a Gigabit Ethernet protocol.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
43 words
A system comprising: two media converters as recited in claim 1 , a first of the media converters disposed at a first end of an optical cable and a second of the media converters disposed at a second end of the optical cable.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
23 words
A system as recited in claim 33 , wherein the two media converters are permanently attached to the ends of the optical cable.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
73 words
A system as recited in claim 33 , wherein the system further comprises two optical cables, a first of the optical cables coupling the receive port of the first of the media converters with the transmit port of the second of the media converters, and a second of the optical cables coupling the transmit port of the first of the media converters with the receive port of the second of the media converters.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
A network comprising a media converter as recited in claim 1 connected to a storage device.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2011-02-18 | 2011-08-20 | 2012-02-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2015-02-18 | 2015-08-20 | 2016-02-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2019-02-18 | 2019-08-20 | 2020-02-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |