Patent ID: 7494287

Claim:
A communications cable for providing a short range, high speed data communications link between information system units comprising: an integral housing with a top housing shell and a bottom housing shell, said integral housing including an electrical connector plug extending from the housing, said connector having a plurality of terminals with at least some terminals assigned to each of a plurality of communication channels, where the sets of terminals of the communication channels are noncoincident and where the electrical connector is adapted to detachably mate with a corresponding electrical receptacle on an external information system unit for transferring an information signal on each of the plurality of channels between the cable and the unit; a circuit board disposed between the top and bottom housing shells; a multi-channel signal converter having a plurality of channels, each with a respective optical transmitter and optical receiver disposed on the circuit board and wherein each channel of the plurality of channels of the signal converter is connected to a respective channel of the electrical connector for converting the information signal on each of the plurality of channels between an electrical signal and a corresponding optical signal; and an optical fiber cable with a first end integrated into said signal converter and extending from the housing for transmitting information signals over a distance between the external unit and a first remote information system unit.