Ciena Corporation

Lance Barley

Thomas R Boyer

Keith Chandler

Melvyn J Leeb

A module housing apparatus protects modules having sensitive electrical, optical, and/or electro-optical components from physical and electrostatic discharge (ESD). The module housing apparatus includes a box constructed or coated with a conductive material and having an open end. Module board guides are formed in opposing inside surfaces of the conductive box and include slots that accept and guide the board edges of the module. The conductive module faceplate mates with the conductive box to form a Faraday cage that protects the components of the module from ESD. The module board guide may be modified to accept the module faceplate inner profile including, for example, a recess that accepts a module holding clip and/or an insertion guide to guide the board edges into the slot. A retaining mechanism such as a strap may be used to hold the module in the housing.

Module housing apparatus

A universal handling container is disclosed that protects ESD sensitive items from physical damage and electrostatic discharge (ESD). The universal handling container is primarily intended as a temporary housing solution such as during the manufacturing or assembly of ESD-sensitive items which often require transportation between assembly stations and for temporary storage. The universal handling container includes a box constructed with a structural conductive material such as conductive corrugated plastic and has a base section, a hinge section and a lid section. The base and lid sections are lined with conductive resilient panels to increase the ESD shield integrity and provide a cushioning effect to protect against physical damage. The universal handling container may shaped like a decahedron with a base section that may be divided into a main section having a rectangular parallel piped shape and a pair side sections having a hexahedron shape on opposite sides of the rectangular parallel piped. The side sections are filled with conductive blocks each of which has a recess formed in a top surface thereof. The recesses accept conductive projections affixed to an inside surface of the lid section to form a closure mechanism that not only holds the container closed but also provides excellent conductivity between the base and lid sections thereby ensuring a good Faraday cage effect. A document holder may be affixed to the top of lid section to hold documents identifying the contents. Adapter blocks may be used to fill voids between the ESD-sensitive item and the container.

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Glen Burnie, MD, United States of America

Lance Barley