Transceiver device

An apparatus, in particular a transceiver device, for insertion into a receptacle device has at least one connecting element which, when the apparatus is inserted, is placed in contact with at least one corresponding connecting element. This provides improved, user-friendliness of such an apparatus. The apparatus has at least one pivot lever that is pivotably attached to the apparatus in such a way that, by pivoting the pivot lever against the receptacle device, the apparatus can be pushed out of the receptacle device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an electrical and/or optical apparatus, in particular an electro-optical transceiver device, for insertion into a receptacle device having at least one connecting element.

An electrical apparatus of this type is, for example, a car radio that can be removed from the motor vehicle, essentially to protect it against the risk of theft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a transceiver device that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which is based on the object of improving an apparatus of the previously known type with respect to its user-friendliness.

With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an apparatus for insertion into a receptacle device having at least one receptacle connecting element. The apparatus contains an apparatus body and at least one connecting element supported by the apparatus body. When the apparatus body has been inserted in the receptacle device, the connecting element is in contact with the receptacle connecting element. At least one pivot lever is pivotably attached to the apparatus body such that, by pivoting the pivot lever against the receptacle device, the apparatus body can be pushed out of the receptacle device.

According to the above, there is provision for the apparatus to have at least one pivot lever that is pivotably attached to the apparatus in such a way that, by pivoting the pivot lever against the receptacle device, the apparatus can be removed from the receptacle device.

A significant advantage of the apparatus according to the invention is that it can be removed from the receptacle device without a relatively large expenditure of force. This is because, by virtue of the pivot lever, the apparatus can be effortlessly removed from the receptacle device—as a function of the dimensioning of the pivot lever—using pivoting laws. The frictional force that is caused in particular by the internal friction of electrical and/or optical connecting elements (for example plugs, sockets, contact springs etc.) is overcome using the pivot lever without a large degree of expenditure of force.

A further significant advantage of the apparatus according to the invention is that the expenditure of force which is necessary to remove the apparatus is, as it were, independent of the number of connecting elements (or “plug elements”) which are provided at the apparatus end, as the resulting frictional force is readily overcome by the pivot lever and is therefore hardly perceived as disruptive by an operator when removing the apparatus.

A third significant advantage of the invention relates to the fact that the risk of damage when the apparatus is removed is very low as the user of the apparatus does not have to apply any large mechanical force when pulling it out. In particular it is not necessary to “tug” at the apparatus to pull it out as the pivot lever that is provided according to the invention applies the force that is necessary to push out the apparatus.

As, in particular, the internal frictional forces of the connecting elements bring about a high degree of resistance when the apparatus is pulled out of the receptacle device. It is considered advantageous if the apparatus can be pushed out of the receptacle device by the pivot lever at least to the extent that the connecting elements of the apparatus are separated from the corresponding connecting elements of the receptacle device.

The apparatus can be particularly easily, and thus advantageously, pushed out of the receptacle device if the pivot lever has a supporting arm with a supporting projection that is supported on or braced against the receptacle device when the lever pivots. The supporting projection may be supported or braced against, for example, on a front panel of the receptacle device or a guide frame of the front panel of the receptacle device.

In order to permit the pivot lever to be operated from the outside, it is considered advantageous if the pivot lever has an externally accessible activation arm with which the pivot lever can be pivoted against the receptacle device.

The apparatus preferably has at least two pivot levers that are disposed spaced apart from one another and are connected to one another by an activation element, in particular a rod. If, in fact, at least two pivot levers or more are provided, the apparatus is reliably prevented from “tilting” as it is pushed out of the receptacle device.

The activation arm, together with the at least two pivot levers, preferably forms an activation bar with which the apparatus can be pushed out of the receptacle device and then pulled out.

In order to ensure that the expenditure of force when the apparatus is pushed out of the receptacle device is as low as possible, the activation arm should preferably be longer than the supporting arm. The specific dimensioning of the length of the activation arm and that of the supporting arm results from the lever laws.

An apparatus having at least one optical connecting element and/or at least one electrical connecting element may preferably be an electro-optical apparatus that has at least one electro-optical component, in particular an optical transmitter device and/or an optical receiver device. The apparatus according to the invention is preferably an electro-optical transceiver device.

In particular in the case of apparatuses that have optical and electrical connecting elements, a particularly large application of force is necessary when the apparatus is pulled out of the receptacle device because, in fact, the frictional force of electrical and optical connecting elements has to be overcome. It is therefore considered advantageous if the invention is used in apparatuses with electrical and optical connecting elements, that is to say in apparatuses in which at least one optical connecting element and at least one electrical connecting element are present, and the connecting elements each correspond to at least one corresponding connecting element of the receptacle device.

However, in particular in the case of a transceiver device it may instead also be provided that only the electrical connecting elements of the apparatus correspond to respective connecting elements of the receptacle device and the optical elements of the apparatus are accessible at the front.

In order to optically connect, for example, a transceiver device to one or more optical waveguides, the receptacle device preferably has at least one optical connecting element that is connected to the optical waveguide or guides.

Moreover, it may be considered advantageous if the pivot lever is suitable not only for pushing the apparatus out of the receptacle device but also for releasing the apparatus, before the apparatus is removed from the receptacle device. For this reason, it is considered advantageous if the pivot lever is configured in such a way that it can be used to release the apparatus in the receptacle device. For this purpose, the pivot lever preferably has at least one release element.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a transceiver device, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first, particularly, toFIG. 1thereof, there is shown a transceiver device10(as an electrical apparatus) which can be inserted into a receptacle device30in the direction of an arrow20. The receptacle device30has, inter alia, a frame part40and a front panel50with a guide frame60.

The transceiver device10is provided with an apparatus front panel70to which two pivot levers80and90are attached so as to be capable of pivoting about a pivot axis100. Instead of the two pivot levers80and90being attached to the front panel70of the apparatus, they may also be attached to other parts of the apparatus10. The two pivot levers80and90are connected to one another by an activation element that is embodied as a rod110. The two pivot levers80and90and the rod110form an activation bar120for the apparatus10.

At a rear125of the apparatus opposite the front panel70of the apparatus, the transceiver device10has electrical and/or optical connecting elements131. The electrical and/or optical connecting elements131of the transceiver device10correspond to respective electrical and/or optical connecting elements130in the receptacle device30.

If the transceiver device10is pushed into the receptacle device30in the direction of the arrow20, the connecting elements131of the transceiver device10are thus placed in contact—electrically and/or optically—with their corresponding counterparts130on the receptacle device30.

An explanation will now be given of how the bar120is used to pull out the transceiver device10from the receptacle device30with reference to theFIGS. 2 to 9.

FIG. 2shows the transceiver device10in the receptacle device30, which is to say after the transceiver device10has been inserted into the receptacle device30in the direction of the arrow20.

In order to ensure that the transceiver device10is held firmly in the receptacle device30, the transceiver device10is locked in the receptacle device30. Owing to the locking, the transceiver device10cannot readily be pulled out of the receptacle device30. The locking device which is present for locking the transceiver device10in the receptacle device are not illustrated in the figures for the sake of clarity.

The two arrows300inFIG. 2signify how the bar120has to be pivoted to enable the transceiver device10to be removed from the receptacle device30.

FIGS. 3,4,5A and5B show the movement sequence which the bar120carries out as it is pivoted downward. InFIG. 5A, a lower edge400of the two pivot levers80and90is aligned with the longitudinal direction of the transceiver device10, which is indicated inFIG. 5Aby an arrow410.

As soon as the bar120has reached the position illustrated inFIG. 5A, the locking device of the receptacle device30is released by the bar120in such a way that, by pulling on the bar120, it would then be possible to pull out the transceiver device10from the receptacle device30. However, owing to the frictional forces of the electrical and/or optical connecting elements131of the transceiver device10and of the corresponding electrical and/or optical connecting elements130of the receptacle device30a considerable pulling force would be necessary when the transceiver device10was pulled out of the receptacle device30, specifically a pulling force would be required which overcame the internal frictional forces of the connecting elements130,131.

The two pivot levers80and90are provided in order to simplify the user-friendliness when the transceiver device10is pulled out of the receptacle device30. The two pivot levers80and90each have a supporting arm500and an activation arm505(seeFIGS. 5B,6B). The activation arm505is connected to the rod110and is separated from the supporting arm500by the pivot axis100. The supporting arm500has, at its end facing away from the pivot axis100, a supporting projection510which, when the activation arm505and the supporting arm500pivot, is supported on the guide frame60of the front panel50and pushes the transceiver device10out of the receptacle device30.

The supporting arm500and the supporting projection510are illustrated in detail inFIG. 6B; the pushing-out process is shown clearly inFIGS. 5B,6B,7,8and9.

FIG. 5Bshows the transceiver device10and the receptacle device30from the rear.FIG. 5Bshows that the receptacle device30has a base plate530that is connected to the front panel50of the receptacle device30via attachment angles or attachment clips540. The base plate530may be formed for example by a printed circuit board; this may be for example a PCI board.

As is shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, the supporting projections510of the two pivot levers80and90each touch the guide frame60of the receptacle device30. If the bar120is then further pivoted in the direction of the arrow300(angle α according toFIG. 6B), as is shown for example inFIGS. 6A and 6B, the supporting projections510of the two pivot levers80and90are pressed against the guide frame60owing to the pivoting movement, causing the front panel70of the transceiver device10to be pressed away by the guide frame60of the front panel50. In other words, the transceiver device10is pushed out of the receptacle device30by the bar120pivoting.

The process in which the transceiver device10is pushed out of the receptacle device30by pivoting the bar120is also shown in detail inFIGS. 7,8and9. FromFIGS. 7,8and9it is apparent that when the bar120is pivoted further in the direction of the arrow300, the front panel70is increasingly separated from the guide frame60of the front panel50by the supporting projections510of the two pivot levers80and90. The apparatus is pushed out by approximately 2 mm at a pivoting angle of approximately 60°.

The supporting projections510of the two pivot levers80and90are dimensioned here in such a way that by pivoting the bar120the electrical and/or optical connecting elements of the transceiver device10are separated from their corresponding “counterparts” on the receptacle device30so that after the bar120pivots into the lower limit position (seeFIG. 9), the connecting elements of the transceiver device10and those of the receptacle device30are completely separated from one another (reference Δx), and the transceiver device10can then be readily pulled out of the receptacle device30— that is to say without expending a large amount of force.

The transceiver device10has a multiplicity of lasers as optical transmitter devices and a multiplicity of photodiodes as optical receiver devices620so that the multiplicity of connecting elements131, which correspond to a respective multiplicity of connecting elements130in the receptacle device30, is correspondingly present at the rear125of the transceiver device10. Owing to the multiplicity of connecting elements, a very large force is necessary to push out the transceiver device10from the receptacle device30, but this force can be easily overcome with the bar120.

In the transceiver device10, the electrical connecting elements131are disposed, for example, at the rear125of the apparatus, while the optical connecting elements of the transceiver device10are, for example, disposed exclusively on the apparatus front panel70(reference symbol610). For example, one or more optical waveguides can be connected to the front optical connecting elements610.

However, both the electrical and optical connecting elements of the transceiver device10could instead be disposed at the rear125of the apparatus and correspond to the connecting elements130in the receptacle device30. In this case, when the bar120was pivoted, both the electrical and optical connecting elements of the transceiver device10would be separated from the connecting elements130of the receptacle device30.