Ciena Corporation
Busbar assembly with alignment and touch-proof features for network elements

Abstract:

Power supply systems are provided for carrying electrical power from a power source to a circuit board mounted on a housing, shelf, cabinet, etc. for supporting networking equipment. A busbar assembly, according to one embodiment, includes a pair of conductive strips configured to carry electrical power. The pair of conductive strips are arranged on a front-facing surface of a non-conductive vertical substrate. The busbar assembly further includes one or more alignment blocks configured to hold the pair of conductive strips in a fixed position with respect to the non-conductive vertical substrate. Each of the one or more alignment blocks is configured to guide a pair of power connectors of a circuit board for making electrical contact with the pair of conductive strips, while allowing simultaneous mating of signal connectors on the circuit board with signal connectors on the substrate, when the circuit board is being installed in a housing.