Patent ID: 8670238

Claim:
A guide rail system for mounting one or more optical communications modules on a host circuit board, the guide rail system comprising: the host circuit board having a top surface and a bottom surface, the circuit board having an opening formed therein where a portion of the circuit board is absent; a first portion of the guide rail system having a top surface and a bottom surface, the top surface of the first portion being secured to the bottom surface of the circuit board at locations of the bottom surface of the circuit board adjacent the opening formed in the circuit board, the first portion comprising: a back plate comprising a thermally-conductive material, the back plate having an top surface and a bottom surface; and a subassembly mounted on the top surface of the back plate, the subassembly comprising a thermally-conductive material, the subassembly comprising a plurality of pairs of parallel guide rails including a first pair of adjacent guide rails, each guide rail having a groove therein that extends along the respective guide rail, wherein each pair of guide rails defines a track that is parallel to the grooves and the guide rails, and wherein the grooves on opposite sides of each track are spaced apart by a predetermined distance; and a second portion of the guide rail system disposed on a bottom surface of a first optical communications module, the second portion comprising at least a first guide block having side edges that extend along opposite sides of the guide block, the side edges being parallel to one another and being spaced apart by approximately said predetermined distance, and wherein the side edges are slidingly engaged with the grooves of the first pair of adjacent guide rails to enable the first optical communications module to slide within the track defined by the first pair of adjacent guide rails in directions that are parallel to the grooves of the first pair of adjacent guide rails.