LOOPBACK MODULE

Abstract

A loopback module includes a housing, a circuit board and a thermoelectric cooler. The circuit board is disposed in the housing. The circuit board includes a loopback circuit, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a thermoelectric cooler driver. The thermoelectric cooler is disposed in the housing. The thermoelectric cooler has a first side and a second side located at opposite sides, wherein the first side is in contact with the circuit board and the second side is in contact with the housing. One of the first side and the second side is a cold side and the other one of the first side and the second side is a hot side.

Claims

1. A loopback module comprising: a housing; a circuit board disposed in the housing, the circuit board comprising a loopback circuit, a microcontroller, a temperature sensor and a thermoelectric cooler driver; and a thermoelectric cooler disposed in the housing, the thermoelectric cooler having a first side and a second side located at opposite sides, the first side being in contact with the circuit board, the second side being in contact with the housing; wherein one of the first side and the second side is a cold side and the other one of the first side and the second side is a hot side.

2. The loopback module of claim 1, wherein: the microcontroller is coupled to the thermoelectric cooler; and the thermoelectric cooler driver is coupled to the thermoelectric cooler and the microcontroller; wherein when the present temperature of the circuit board is lower than or equal to a temperature threshold, the microcontroller controls the thermoelectric cooler driver to periodically convert the first side into one of the cold side and the hot side and periodically convert the second side into the other one of the cold side and the hot side until the present temperature automatically reaches dynamic balance.

3. The loopback module of claim 2, wherein when the present temperature of the circuit board is higher than the temperature threshold, the microcontroller controls the thermoelectric cooler driver to retain the first side as the cold side and retain the second side as the hot side.

4. The loopback module of claim 2, wherein the temperature sensor is configured to monitor the present temperature of the circuit board.

5. The loopback module of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a top cover and a bottom cover, and the second side of the thermoelectric cooler is in contact with one of the top cover or the bottom cover.

6. The loopback module of claim 5, wherein the second side of the thermoelectric cooler serves as a heat dissipation surface.

7. The loopback module of claim 1, wherein the thermoelectric cooler is designed to evaluate power consumption, and the thermoelectric cooler has the cold side for cooling and the hot side for heating simultaneously, such that the thermoelectric cooler consumes more power than other components.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a loopback module according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0014] FIG. 2 is an exploded view illustrating the loopback module shown in FIG. 1.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the loopback module shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a loopback module 1 according to an embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded view illustrating the loopback module 1 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating the loopback module 1 shown in FIG. 1.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the loopback module 1 comprises a housing 10, a circuit board 12 and a thermoelectric cooler 14, wherein the circuit board 12 and the thermoelectric cooler 14 are disposed in the housing 10. The loopback module 1 is used for testing the Fiber-Optical transceiver module ports in a datacenter or network system. The loopback module 1 can detect various potential anomalies in the network and evaluate power consumption by the level control signal. In this embodiment, the circuit board 12 comprises a loopback circuit, and the loopback circuit comprises a transmitter (TX) portion 126 and a receiver (RX) portion 128, as shown in FIG. 3. The transmitter (TX) portion 126 transmits data to the receiver (RX) portion 128 for data transmission testing. In general, the loopback module 1 may be further equipped with necessary software and hardware components for operation, and it depends on practical applications.

[0018] The thermoelectric cooler 14 has a first side 140 and a second side 142 located at opposite sides, wherein the first side 140 is in contact with the circuit board 12 and the second side 142 is in contact with the housing 10. In this embodiment, the housing 10 may comprise a top cover 100 and a bottom cover 102, but the invention is not so limited. The thermoelectric cooler 14 may be located between the circuit board 12 and the top cover 100. At this time, the second side 142 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 may be in contact with an inner surface of the top cover 100 of the housing 10. It should be noted that the thermoelectric cooler 14 may also be located between the circuit board 12 and the bottom cover 102 according to practical applications. In other words, the second side 142 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 may be in contact with one of the top cover 100 and the bottom cover 102. In another embodiment, a thermal interface material (TIM) may be disposed between the second side 142 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 and the inner surface of the top cover 100, wherein the thermal interface material may be thermal paste or the like.

[0019] In this embodiment, one of the first side 140 and the second side 142 may be a cold side and the other one of the first side 140 and the second side 142 may be a hot side. In general, the exterior of the thermoelectric cooler 14 may be composed of two top and bottom insulating ceramic substrates, and the interior of the thermoelectric cooler 14 may be composed of multiple sets of P-type and N-type bismuth telluride based thermoelectric materials and conductive copper electrodes connected in series. When the current enters the thermoelectric material from the electrode or enters the electrode from the thermoelectric material, due to the Peltier effect, heat absorption and heat release will occur at the interface where heterogeneous materials are joined, thereby forming cold side and hot side respectively on opposite sides of the thermoelectric cooler 14. By controlling the direction of the current, it can be determined which side of the first side 140 and the second side 142 is the cold side and which side is the hot side.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board 12 may comprise a microcontroller 120 and a thermoelectric cooler driver 122. The microcontroller 120 is coupled to the thermoelectric cooler 14, and the thermoelectric cooler driver 122 is coupled to the thermoelectric cooler 14 and the microcontroller 120. In this embodiment, the microcontroller 120, the thermoelectric cooler driver 122 and the thermoelectric cooler 14 may be coupled to each other through appropriate circuit layout. Furthermore, the microcontroller 120 may comprise a temperature sensor 124 configured to monitor the present temperature of the circuit board 12.

[0021] When the present temperature of the circuit board 12 is lower than or equal to a temperature threshold (e.g. 75 C.), it means that the present temperature is normal. At this time, the microcontroller 120 can control the thermoelectric cooler driver 122 to periodically convert the first side 140 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 into one of the cold side and the hot side and periodically convert the second side 142 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 into the other one of the cold side and the hot side. In other words, when the present temperature is normal, the cold side and the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler 14 can be periodically converted, such that the present temperature of the thermoelectric cooler 14 automatically reaches dynamic balance (e.g. close to 65 C.).

[0022] When the present temperature of the circuit board 12 is higher than the temperature threshold, it means that the present temperature is too high. At this time, the microcontroller 120 can control the thermoelectric cooler driver 122 to retain the first side 140 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 as the cold side and retain the second side 142 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 as the hot side. In other words, when the present temperature is too high, the cold side of the thermoelectric cooler 14 can be retained to contact with the circuit board 12, and the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler 14 can be retained to contact with the housing 10, such that the cold side retains to contact with the circuit board 12, and the hot side retains to contact with the housing 10 for heat dissipation. At this time, the second side 142 of the thermoelectric cooler 14 serves as a heat dissipation surface. Accordingly, the loopback module 1 of the invention is suitable for high-power design and will not cut-off power due to overheating. The thermoelectric cooler 14 of the invention is designed to evaluate power consumption, and the thermoelectric cooler 14 has the cold side for cooling and the hot side for heating simultaneously, such that the thermoelectric cooler 14 consumes more power than other components. This is the original creation of the invention, unlike other designs that use thermoelectric cooler only for cooling or temperature control.

[0023] It should be noted that the aforesaid temperature threshold may be determined according to practical applications.

[0024] As mentioned in the above, the invention replaces the chip power resistor of the prior art with the thermoelectric cooler. For further explanation, the invention can use the cold side of the thermoelectric cooler for cooling, use the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler for heating, and use the thermoelectric cooler as a power consumption component. When the present temperature of the circuit board is lower than or equal to the temperature threshold, it means that the present temperature is normal. At this time, the cold side and the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler can be periodically converted, such that the present temperature of the thermoelectric cooler automatically reaches dynamic balance. When the present temperature of the circuit board is higher than the temperature threshold, it means that the present temperature is too high. At this time, the cold side of the thermoelectric cooler can be retained to contact with the circuit board, and the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler can be retained to contact with the housing, such that the cold side retains to contact with the circuit board, and the hot side retains to contact with the housing for heat dissipation. Accordingly, the loopback module of the invention is suitable for high-power design and will not cut-off power due to overheating.

[0025] Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.