[ 0031 ] fig1 illustrates three different configurations for a fiber optic connection system . options 1 and 3 are configurations of the prior art , while option 2 is the configuration of the present invention . fig1 shows the forces that exist due to the latching configuration utilized . the loops represent the circle of force and how it is distributed in the system , while the bold arrow identifies whether or not a forward force will be applied to the backplane after mating . note that only in the configuration of option 1 , is there a forward force applied to the backplane after mating . latches are solidly colored for easier identification . option 1 shows a prior art daughter card fiber optic connector that is rigidly held to the backplane by external cam latches or card screw mounted in the enclosure . this configuration is utilized , for example , by 3m &# 39 ; s ogi backplane connector . in this configuration , the force is distributed throughout the daughter card and is putting pressure on the retention means ( e . g ., latch or screws ) in an attempt to force the daughter card back out of the system . float in the axis of engagement is provided by springs loaded to an adapter ( not shown ) attached to the connector . this option is viable when the daughter card is relatively small . however , option 1 has disadvantages that make this option undesirable in many circumstances . for example , when the daughter card is no longer small , forces distributed over such distance would be difficult to control and predict . also , when many ferrules are required for each connector , the force required increases and is multiplied by the number of daughter cards . further , this configuration does not lend itself to a wide variety of system configurations . option 3 shows a prior art daughter card fiber optic connector in which the forces are removed from the backplane once the system is fully engaged . this configuration is desirable from the standpoint that because the force on the backplane has been removed , there is eliminated the potential for fatigue in the system or stresses which may damage electrical components . in this latching configuration , the side latches , typically made of plastic , retain the two assembly halves together , and allow the connector on either the daughter card or the backplane to float in the z - direction ( axis of engagement ). the inventors of the present invention believe that u . s . pat . no . 5 , 121 , 454 issued to iwano et al . and diamond gmbh &# 39 ; s e - 2000 ™ connector , for example , utilize this form of latching . as described above in the background section , the fiber optic connector of option 3 is undesirable from the standpoint that it lacks design flexibility and uses up valuable space on a printed circuit board . the fiber optic connector configuration shown in option 2 , which is the preferred embodiment of the present invention , utilizes separable wafer modules . in addition , the configuration of option 2 preferably utilizes separable latching modules . this approach provides an opportunity for stackable components , which act as modular building blocks . also , modular latching provides an ability to distribute forces within a system as desired . by simply adding another latching module into the connector assembly , loads can be distributed over a greater surface area and thus , minimize the force on any given latching module . further , metallic materials may be used if desired to encapsulate the connector , thereby improving the overall system &# 39 ; s shielding and durability . and by employing separable wafer modules , custom designs can be configured without specialty tooling and assembly equipment , thereby providing a vehicle for fast , cost - effective manufacturing cycles and scalability . it should be noted that the position of the latching modules shown in option 2 is solely for illustrative purposes and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention to the configuration shown therein . [ 0036 ] fig2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a fiber optic connector assembly configuration ( in an unmated position ) of option 2 of fig1 generally shown by reference numeral 10 , along with an electrical connector assembly ( in an unmated position ), generally shown by reference numeral 90 . fiber optic connectors of the fiber optic connector assembly 10 and electrical connectors of the electrical connector assembly 90 are attached to first and second printed circuit boards (“ pcb ”) 21 and 22 . fig3 is a perspective view showing only the fiber optic connector assembly 10 of fig2 . as will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the discussion below , the objects of the present invention may be achieved with one , two or more fiber optic connectors attached to each pcb 21 , 22 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the fiber optic connector assembly 10 includes the fiber optic connector 20 for the first pcb 21 , e . g ., backplane , and the mating fiber optic connector 30 for the second pcb 22 , e . g ., a daughter card . the fiber optic connector 20 includes a plurality of wafers 23 , latching modules 26 , and a module carrier 27 , preferably a stiffening member , which holds the wafers 23 and the latching modules 26 . the fiber optic connector 30 includes a plurality of wafers 34 , latching modules 35 , and a module carrier 37 , preferably a stiffening member , which holds the wafers 34 and the latching modules 35 . while the latching modules 26 are shown with fiber optic connector 20 and the latching modules 35 shown with fiber optic connector 30 , it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the location of the modules 26 , 35 may be exchanged without deviating from the function or objectives of the present invention . the design of the fiber optic connectors 20 , 30 allows for modularity because the wafers are similarly sized . this means that accommodating different system configurations or density requirements can be achieved by selecting a suitable stiffening member and number of wafers as desired . note that the latching modules 26 , 35 are also modular , so the number of such modules incorporated and the location of such modules on the fiber optic connectors can be varied . [ 0039 ] fig4 and 5 show one of the plurality of wafers 34 of the fiber optic connector 30 of fig2 and 3 . the wafer 34 includes a support frame 46 , a body 40 and a retractable shroud 41 . the support frame 46 is configured to be attachable to the stiffening member 37 . the retractable shroud 41 has a door 42 that preferably opens outwardly . in fig4 the door 42 is shown in the closed position and in fig5 the door 42 is shown in the opened position . at least one ferrule 44 ( shown in fig5 ) for holding one or more optical fibers 32 is housed in the retractable shroud 41 / body 40 of the wafer 34 . the ferrule 44 may be one of the commercially available ferrules , such as , for example , the mt (“ mechanical transfer ”) ferrule developed by nippon telegraph and telephone corporation or the mac (“ multifiber array connector ”) ferrule developed by at & amp ; t , or the ferrule disclosed in the concurrently filed non - provisional patent application entitled “ optical connector ferrule designed to minimize manufacturing imperfections and mating misalignments by incorporating exact constraint principles ” ( which is incorporated by reference herein ), or any other ferrules that can be incorporated into the wafer design as described herein . the ferrule 44 shown in fig5 is a multi - fiber ferrule , but it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the wafer design of the present invention can be utilized for a single - fiber ferrule , as well as any number of multiple - fiber or single - fiber ferrules . the wafer 34 further includes an alignment pin 31 used to guide and align during mating of the ferrule 44 to a corresponding ferrule of wafer 23 of the fiber optic connector 20 . in addition , the alignment pin 31 is used to open the door 42 , thus protecting the ferrule from possible damage or wear while preventing the optical end face of the ferrule from coming into contact with possible debris or contaminants . and because the door 42 opens outwardly in the preferred embodiment , the door moves dirt , dust and other undesirable debris and contaminants away from the ferrule , where such debris and contaminants may interfere with transmission of optical data . another advantage of the retractable shroud 41 design as shown in fig4 and 5 is that the door 42 does not open to expose the optical fibers 32 until wafers 34 , 23 are mating . this is described in greater detail below . therefore , this design ensures eye safety . it should be noted that while the embodiment described utilizes the alignment pin 31 to push open the door 42 , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other ways to open the door 42 may be utilized without departing from the function or objectives of the present invention . for example , the door may be opened by an actuable member on the outside of the shroud which is actuated when contacted by the shroud of the opposing wafer . further , while the preferred embodiment is a retractable shroud with an externally opening door , the present invention can also function with an internally opening door . a pair of spring members 53 are shown between the body 40 and the support frame 46 . the wafer 34 also has two other pairs of spring members 51 , 52 , which are shown in fig6 a - 6 e . the operation of these spring members and the operation of the different components of the wafer 34 during mating of the wafer 34 to a corresponding wafer 23 are described with respect to fig6 a - 6 e . [ 0042 ] fig6 a - 6 e are not - to - scale drawings of the wafers 23 , 34 , intended only to illustrate the operation of the wafers 23 , 34 during different stages of the mating process . fig6 a shows the wafers 23 , 34 before the mating process has begun . wafer 23 includes a body 60 and a retractable shroud 61 . the body 60 is configured to be attachable to the stiffening member 27 ( shown in fig2 and 3 ). the retractable shroud has a door 62 that opens outwardly . a ferrule 64 for holding one or more optical fibers ( not shown ) is housed in the retractable shroud 61 / body 60 of the wafer 23 . as discussed above with respect to ferrule 44 of wafer 34 , the ferrule 64 may be one of the commercially available ferrules , such as the mt - type or the mac - type ferrule , or the ferrule disclosed in the concurrently filed non - provisional patent application entitled “ optical connector ferrule designed to minimize manufacturing imperfections and mating misalignments by incorporating exact constraint principles ”, or any other ferrules that can be incorporated into the wafer design as described herein . the wafer 23 further includes an alignment pin 71 used to guide and align during mating of the ferrule 64 to the corresponding ferrule 44 of wafer 34 of the fiber optic connector 30 . in addition , the alignment pin 71 is used to push open the door 62 , thus protecting the ferrule from possible damage or wear while preventing the optical end face of the ferrule from coming into contact with possible debris or contaminants . and because the door 62 opens outwardly , the door moves dirt , dust and other undesirable debris and contaminants away from the ferrule , where such debris and contaminants may interfere with transmission of optical data . another advantage of the retractable shroud 61 design is that the door 62 does not open to expose the optical fibers until wafers 23 , 34 are mating . therefore , this design ensures eye safety . as shown , the wafer 23 also includes two pairs of spring members 81 , 82 . it should be noted that while the embodiment described utilizes the alignment pin 71 to push open the door 62 , it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that other ways to push open the door 62 may be utilized without departing from the function or objectives of the present invention . for example , the door may be opened by an actuable member on the outside of the shroud which is actuated when contacted by the shroud of the opposing wafer . [ 0044 ] fig6 a shows the wafers 23 , 34 before the mating process has begun . all of the pairs of spring members 51 , 52 , 53 of wafer 34 and the pairs of spring members 81 , 82 of wafer 23 are in a preloaded state . for wafer 34 , the spring members 51 provide a spring rate k s , the spring members 52 provide a spring rate k f and the spring members 53 provide a spring rate k w . for wafer 23 , the spring members 81 provide a spring rate k a and the spring members 82 provide a spring rate k b . in the preferred embodiment , the spring rates and preloads of springs 51 and 81 are identical , and the spring rates and preloads of springs 52 and 82 are identical . thus , the operation of the springs 81 , 82 in wafer 23 will mirror the operation of the springs 51 , 52 in wafer 34 . in fig6 a - 6 e , the spring members 51 , 52 , 53 , 81 , 82 are shown as pairs of coiled springs . however , it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that anything that is capable of providing a biasing force ( e . g ., magnets , elastic materials ) may be used , and that there could be any number of biasing members used as long as they function in the manner described herein to provide z - axis float . note that for ease of description , the spring rates will be treated as one value for each pair of springs . the sequence of operation will now be described with reference to fig6 b - 6 f . [ 0046 ] fig6 b shows the wafers 23 , 34 at the moment of contact . as the shrouds 41 , 61 make contact , the springs 51 , 81 begin to compress as the preload force is overcome . fig6 f , which is a diagram illustrating force of the springs of wafers 23 , 34 and displacement of components of wafers 23 , 34 during mating , shows the preload force of springs 51 , 81 by reference numeral 94 . at the moment of contact of the shrouds 41 , 61 , the doors 42 , 62 are in a closed position protecting the ferrules 44 , 64 from debris and other contaminants . note that torsion springs 43 , 63 generally bias the doors 42 , 62 , respectively , to a closed position ; thus , forming a sealed chamber protected from debris and other contaminants . as the springs 51 , 81 compress , the doors 42 , 62 are pushed open by alignment pins 31 , 71 , respectively . the displacement of the shrouds 41 , 61 where the alignment pins 31 , 71 cause the doors 42 , 62 to be opened is shown in fig6 f by reference numeral 97 . while the preferred embodiment of the invention shows the doors 42 , 62 generally rotating about hinge pivots , it should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that others manners for opening and closing the doors can be utilized . as the wafers 23 , 34 continue through the mating process , the increasing force applied thereon causes the ferrules 44 , 64 to come into contact . this is shown in fig6 c . the displacement of the shrouds 41 , 61 where the ferrules 44 , 64 come into contact is shown in fig6 f by reference numeral 98 , and the force required is indicated by reference numeral 105 . the preload force of springs 52 , 82 is indicated by reference numeral 93 . as the preload force 93 of springs 52 , 82 is overcome , the springs 52 , 82 begin to compress and the ferrules 44 , 64 and the shrouds 41 , 61 move in parallel at the combined spring rate k s + k f and k a + k b , respectively . in the preferred embodiment , the fiber optic connection system is configured so that the shrouds 41 , 61 bottom out against the bodies 40 , 60 , respectively , as shown in fig6 d . at this point , the shroud displacement is indicated by reference numeral 100 ( see fig6 f ), the ferrule displacement is indicated by reference numeral 99 , the force required to reach this point is indicated by reference numeral 92 , and the butt - couple force between the mated ferrules 44 , 64 is indicated by reference numeral 103 . because the ferrules 44 , 64 cannot be displaced any more , the force on the ferrules is held constant at the required butt - couple force for the remainder of the operations . at the point of maximum ferrule displacement , additional increasing force applied to the wafers 23 , 34 causes the springs 53 of the wafer 34 to begin compressing as the preload force of the springs 53 , which is indicated by reference numeral 91 in fig6 f , is overcome . this is shown in fig6 e . it is this compression of the springs 53 which provides float in the z - axis ( the axis of engagement ) for the fiber optic connection system of the present invention . the z - float range is indicated by reference numeral 102 . note that the position in the z - float range 102 where the system is seated ( i . e ., no further displacement of the connectors ) is determined by the electrical connectors . the maximum force required by the system at maximum z - float displacement is indicated by reference numeral 104 . by using a multi - stage spring design , the fiber optic connector design of the present invention accommodates variable wipe length of the electrical connectors , while minimizing potential optical fiber misalignment , and isolates the inner ferrule forces from the outer assembly . in addition , by selecting the spring members accordingly , the movement of the fiber optic connector can be sequenced to ensure that the appropriate spring members are traveling when desired without the need for isolating faces or positive stops . [ 0050 ] fig7 is a not - to - scale drawing of the wafers of an alternate embodiment of the fiber optic connector assembly of the present invention . in this figure , which is similar in presentation to fig6 a , the wafer 23 of the fiber optic connector 20 attached to the first pcb 21 is the same as in fig6 a . however , the wafer 84 of the fiber optic connector attached to the second pcb 22 is different from the wafer 34 in fig6 a . importantly , this wafer 84 does not have the pair of spring members 53 found in wafer 34 . note that this wafer 84 is generally similar to the wafer 23 in configuration and operation ; however , spring members 92 are longer than the spring members 82 of wafer 23 to provide float in the axis of engagement . while the fiber optic connector assembly shown in fig7 may be suitable in certain cases , it will in other instances be inappropriate because of its limited ability to accommodate wide - ranging variable wipe length . having described the preferred embodiment of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention , it will nevertheless be appreciated that variations and modifications to the described preferred embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , and it is intended that the invention not be limited to the above description or accompanying drawings , but that it be defined in accordance with the following claims . for example , while the preferred embodiment of the invention uses a retractable shroud wafer structure to accommodate variable wipe , it would not be a departure from the scope of the invention to provide a wafer without a retractable shroud to accommodate variable wipe .