Patent ID: 8270840

Claim:
An optical universal serial bus (USB) device, comprising: an electro-optical converter, configured to receive optical signals from an optical fiber and to convert the first optical signals into first electrical signals, and configured to receive second electrical signals and to convert the second electrical signals into optical signals for transmission to the optical fiber; and a USB 3.0 pin-compatible connector, coupled to the electro-optical converter, wherein the USB 3.0 pin-compatible connector is configured for coupling to a USB 3.0 connector of another USB device, the USB 3.0 pin-compatible connector comprising: a first pair of pins configured for transmitting the first electrical signals from the optical USB device; a second pair of pins configured for receiving the second electrical signals into the optical USB device; and a third pair of pins configured for transceiving third electrical signals according to a non-USB serial bus interface protocol to control and configure the electro-optical converter.