Patent Application
20240072462
The present invention relates to a connector, and relates particularly to a connector to be connected to a sheet-like connection target in which a flexible conductor is exposed on at least one surface.
The present invention relates also to a connector assembly in which such a connector is attached to a connection target.
These days, what is called smart clothing, which can acquire biological information of a user such as a heart rate or a body temperature simply by wearing, has attracted attention. The smart clothing includes an electrode placed at a measurement point, and can transmit biological information to a wearable device as a measurement instrument by electrically connecting the wearable device to the electrode.
The connection between the electrode and the wearable device can be made by, for example, using a connector to be connected to a flexible conductor drawn out from the electrode.
As a connector of this type, for example, JP 2018-129244 A discloses a connector like that shown in
By pushing the base member 3 toward the housing 2 in this state, as shown in FIG. 21, a protrusion 3A of the base member 3 is inserted into a protrusion accommodating portion 4C of the contact 4 with the flexible substrate 1 interposed therebetween, and the inner surface of the protrusion accommodating portion 4C comes into contact with the flexible conductor 1A with a predetermined contact force, whereby the contact 4 is electrically connected to the flexible conductor 1A.
Further, as shown in
By fitting a wearable device to the connector disclosed in JP 2018-129244 A, the wearable device can be connected to an electrode made of a flexible conductor.
However, when the flexible conductor 1A is exposed on the back surface of the flexible substrate 1, the connector of JP 2018-129244 A has a problem in that the flexible conductor 1A cannot be electrically connected to the contact 4.
The present invention has been made to solve such an existing problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector and a connector assembly capable of electrically connecting a contact to a flexible conductor of a connection target regardless of whether the flexible conductor is exposed on the front surface or the back surface of the connection target.
A connector according to the present invention comprises:
Hereinbelow, an embodiment of the present invention is described on the basis of the accompanying drawings.
The four plug contacts 13 are arranged in two rows parallel to each other in such a manner as to protrude perpendicularly to the sheet-like conductive member 15.
Here, for the sake of convenience, it is assumed that the sheet-like conductive member 15 spreads along an XY plane, and the arrangement direction of the four plug contacts 13 is referred to as a Y direction and the direction in which the four plug contacts 13 protrude is referred to as a +Z direction. The Z direction is a fitting direction in which the connector 11 is fitted to the other-side connector.
Four plug contacts 13 are placed on the −Z direction side of the top insulator 16, and the sheet-like conductive member 15 is placed on the −Z direction side of the four plug contacts 13. One inner contact 18 is placed on the −Z direction side of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the bottom insulator 17 is placed on the −Z direction side of the inner contact 18. The inner contact 18 corresponds to, among the four plug contacts 13, one plug contact 13 located on the −X direction side and the −Y direction side.
The top insulator 16 and the bottom insulator 17, the four plug contacts 13, and the one inner contact 18 constitute the connector 11.
As shown in
As shown in
A plurality of through holes 17E corresponding to the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16 are formed in the flat plate portion 17A.
As shown in
As shown in
Each of the four plug contacts 13 is formed of a conductive material such as metal, and is connected to the corresponding contact of the other-side connector when part of the not-illustrated other-side connector is accommodated in the recess 16A of the top insulator 16.
As shown in
The fitting axis C is an axis passing through the center of the cylindrical portion 13A and extending in the direction of fitting of the connector 11 and the other-side connector.
Although the cylindrical portion 13A has a circular cylindrical shape, the cross-sectional shape is not limited to a circular shape but may have various cross-sectional shapes such as an ellipse and a polygon as long as the cylindrical portion has the recess 13C in its interior.
Among the four plug contacts 13, one plug contact 13 located on the −X direction side and the −Y direction side is connected to the ground potential and used as a shield terminal, and the other three plug contacts 13 are each used as a signal terminal for transmitting an electric signal.
As shown in
As shown in
The sheet-like conductive member 15 has a circular opening 15J formed in region R1. The opening 15J corresponds to the recess 13C of the plug contact 13, and penetrates the sheet-like conductive member 15 in the Z direction. Further, the sheet-like conductive member 15 has a substantially rectangular protruding portion 15K protruding from an edge portion of the opening 15J into the opening 15J.
On the other hand, in each of the three regions R2 placed on the surface oriented in the +Z direction of the sheet-like conductive member 15, the signal wiring layer 15B is exposed in the +Z direction by removing the insulating layer 15E, the shield layer 15D, and the insulating layer 15C.
Further, the insulating layer 15E is exposed in the region other than regions R1 and R2.
A plurality of through holes 15L corresponding to the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16 are formed in a peripheral edge portion of the sheet-like conductive member 15.
As shown in
Since the opening 15J penetrates the sheet-like conductive member 15 in the Z direction, as shown in
On the back surface oriented in the −Z direction of the sheet-like conductive member 15, the insulating layer 15G is exposed in the region other than the position corresponding to region R1. Further, as shown in
The inner diameter D1 of the small-diameter portion 18D is formed slightly smaller than the width W1 in the X direction of the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C in a portion of the bottom insulator 17 where the pair of temporary holding pieces 17G are formed as shown in
Therefore, by putting the insertion portion 18A of the inner contact 18 on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C of the bottom insulator 17, the pair of temporary holding pieces 17G of the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C are fitted to the interior of the small-diameter portion 18D, and the inner contact 18 can be temporarily held on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C.
A contact portion P1 and a pressing portion P2 placed on opposite sides across the fitting axis C are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 18C. The contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2 are placed in substantially the same position in the Z direction along the fitting axis C; the contact portion P1 is located on the −Y direction side, and the pressing portion P2 is located on the +Y direction side.
The spacing in the Y direction between the contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2, that is, the outer diameter D2 of the large-diameter portion 18C is set slightly larger than a value obtained by subtracting the thickness of the sheet-like conductive member 15 from the inner diameter of a portion of the recess 13C with which the contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2 come into contact when the inner contact 18 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13.
The inner diameter of the large-diameter portion 18C is formed larger than the diameter or the width in the X direction of any portion of the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C.
As shown in
Here, since the spacing in the Y direction between the contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2 is set slightly larger than a value obtained by subtracting the thickness of the sheet-like conductive member 15 from the inner diameter of a portion of the recess 13C with which the contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2 come into contact when the inner contact 18 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13, each of the contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2 receives a force F1 in the Y direction from the inner surface of the recess 13C toward the fitting axis C, and as indicated by the broken line in
Although each of the large-diameter portion 18C and the small-diameter portion 18D of the insertion portion 18A has a circular cylindrical shape with the center at the fitting axis C, the shape is not limited to a circular cylindrical shape, and may be any shape as long as it is, for example, a cylindrical shape having any of various cross-sectional shapes such as an ellipse and a polygon.
The four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16, the four plug contacts 13, the four contact placement regions 15H of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the four recesses 17B of the bottom insulator 17 are placed in positions aligned with each other in the Z direction.
The inner contact 18 is placed in a position aligned in the Z direction with, among the four contact placement regions 15H of the sheet-like conductive member 15, the contact placement region 15H forming region R1 and located on the −X direction side and the −Y direction side and, among the four recesses 17B of the bottom insulator 17, the recess 17B located on the −X direction side and the −Y direction side where the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C is formed.
The plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16, the plurality of through holes 15L of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the plurality of through holes 17E of the bottom insulator 17 are placed in positions aligned with each other in the Z direction.
In assembling the connector assembly, first, the cylindrical portion 13A of each plug contact 13 is inserted from the −Z direction into the corresponding one of the four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16, and the sheet-like conductive member 15 is placed on the −Z direction side of the four plug contacts 13. At this time, the sheet-like conductive member 15 is placed such that the four contact placement regions 15H come into contact with the first flanges 13B of the four plug contacts 13.
Further, the insertion portion 18A of the inner contact 18 is put on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C of the bottom insulator 17, and thereby the inner contact 18 is temporarily held on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C.
In this state, the bottom insulator 17 is pressed in the +Z direction toward the top insulator 16.
Accordingly, the insertion portion 18A of the inner contact 18 temporarily held on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C of the bottom insulator 17 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 through the opening 15J while pushing the protruding portion 15K of the sheet-like conductive member 15 until the sheet-like conductive member 15 is sandwiched between the first flange 13B of the plug contact 13 and the second flange 18B of the inner contact 18.
Further, the three protrusions 17D of the bottom insulator 17 are inserted individually into the recesses 13C of the corresponding plug contacts 13 while pushing regions R2 of the sheet-like conductive member 15.
At this time, region R2 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 while expanding due to the protrusion 17D of the bottom insulator 17; if the stretchability of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is not sufficient, it is desirable that a plurality of notches penetrating the sheet-like conductive member 15 in the Z direction be formed in each region R2 in advance. With this configuration, the protrusion 17D is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 while opening the plurality of notches in region R2.
By pressing the bottom insulator 17 against the top insulator 16, the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16 sequentially penetrate the plurality of through holes 15L of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the plurality of through holes 17E of the bottom insulator 17. Then, as shown in
Each plug contact 13 is fixed to the top insulator 16 and the bottom insulator 17 by the first flange 13B being sandwiched between the top insulator 16 and the bottom insulator 17.
As shown in
Further, the protruding portion 15K protruding in the −Y direction from an edge portion on the +Y direction side of the opening 15J of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is sandwiched between the pressing portion P2 formed on the +Y direction side of the inner contact 18 and the inner surface on the +Y direction side of the recess 13C, and the contact portion P1 formed on the −Y direction side of the inner contact 18 comes into contact with the inner surface on the −Y direction side of the recess 13C.
Consequently, the insertion portion 18A of the inner contact 18 is elastically deformed such that the spacing in the Y direction between the contact portion P1 and the pressing portion P2 is narrowed, and the contact portion P1 of the inner contact 18 elastically comes into contact with the inner surface on the −Y direction side of the recess 13C of the plug contact 13; thus, the inner contact 18 is electrically connected to the plug contact 13.
Further, the protruding portion 15K of the sheet-like conductive member 15 sandwiched between the pressing portion P2 of the inner contact 18 and the inner surface on the +Y direction side of the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 is elastically pressed toward the inner surface on the +Y direction side of the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 by the pressing portion P2.
Here, as shown in
Therefore, the shield layer 15D on the front surface side of the protruding portion 15K comes into contact with the inner surface on the +Y direction side of the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 with a predetermined contact pressure, and the shield layer 15F on the back surface side of the protruding portion 15K comes into contact with the pressing portion P2 of the inner contact 18 with a predetermined contact pressure.
Accordingly, the shield layer 15D exposed on the front surface of the protruding portion 15K of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is directly electrically connected to the plug contact 13, and the shield layer 15F exposed on the back surface of the protruding portion 15K is electrically connected to the plug contact 13 via the inner contact 18. That is, both the shield layers 15D and 15F are connected to the plug contact 13 used as a shield terminal.
Thus, in the connector 11, by using the inner contact 18, both the shield layer 15D placed on the front surface side of the protruding portion 15K of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the shield layer 15F placed on the back surface side can be electrically connected to one plug contact 13 placed in region R1.
On the other hand, in the three regions R2 where the three plug contacts 13 used as signal terminals are placed among the four contact placement regions 15H defined on the front surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15, each protrusion 17D of the bottom insulator 17 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 as shown in
When the protrusion 17D of the bottom insulator 17 is inserted into the recess 13C of the corresponding plug contact 13 while pushing region R2 of the sheet-like conductive member 15, the sheet-like conductive member 15 pushed into the recess 13C is pressed toward the inner surface of the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 by the protrusion 17D.
Here, since the signal wiring layer 15B is exposed in region R2 on the front surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 as shown in
The signal wiring layer 15B has been subjected to predetermined patterning, and three wiring lines formed of the signal wiring layer 15B and insulated from each other are connected individually to the three plug contacts 13 placed in the three regions R2.
As shown in
Although in
Although in the above embodiment the protruding portion 15K of the sheet-like conductive member 15 has a substantially rectangular shape protruding from an edge portion of the opening 15J into the opening 15J, the shape of the protruding portion is not limited to the shape of the protruding portion 15K as long as the protruding portion is one that, when the insertion portion 18A of the inner contact 18 is being inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13, is pushed into the recess 13C together with the insertion portion 18A and is sandwiched between the pressing portion P2 of the insertion portion 18A and the inner surface of the recess 13C.
Further, although in the above embodiment the sheet-like conductive member 15 has one protruding portion 15K protruding into the opening 15J, the number of protruding portions 15K is not limited to one, and also a configuration is possible in which two or more protruding portions 15K protrude from an edge portion of the opening 15J into the opening 15J and these two or more protruding portions 15K are sandwiched between the pressing portion P2 of the insertion portion 18A and the inner surface of the recess 13C.
Further, in the above embodiment, in assembling the connector assembly, the bottom insulator 17 is pressed toward the top insulator 16 after the inner contact 18 is temporarily held on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C of the bottom insulator 17; however, it is not always necessary to temporarily hold the inner contact 18 on the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C.
For example, also the following method is possible: the cylindrical portions 13A of the plug contacts 13 are inserted into the corresponding four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16, and the sheet-like conductive member 15 is placed on the −Z direction side of the four plug contacts 13; in this state, the insertion portion 18A of the inner contact 18 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13 placed in region R1 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 while pushing the protruding portion 15K, and then the bottom insulator 17 is pressed toward the top insulator 16. By this method, the inner contact temporary holding unit 17C of the bottom insulator 17 becomes unnecessary.
In the above embodiment, the plug contact 13 placed in region R1 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is connected to both the shield layer 15D exposed on the front surface side of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the shield layer 15F exposed on the back surface side of the sheet-like conductive member 15; however, for example, also a configuration is possible in which only the shield layer 15F exposed on the back surface side of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is connected to the plug contact 13 placed in region R1.
Although the sheet-like conductive member 15 used in the above embodiment has the multilayer structure shown in
Further, although in the above embodiment the two conductive layers of the shield layer 15D and the shield layer 15F of the sheet-like conductive member 15 are connected to one plug contact 13 used as a shield terminal, the configuration is not limited thereto, and three or more conductive layers may be connected to one plug contact 13.
Further, although the connector 11 in the above embodiment includes four plug contacts 13 including a contact used as a shield terminal and a contact used as a signal terminal, the configuration is not limited to this number of plug contacts 13, and may be any configuration as long as it includes at least one plug contact 13 to be electrically connected to a flexible conductor placed on the front surface side or the back surface side of the sheet main body of the sheet-like conductive member 15.
Although in the connector 11 in the embodiment the sheet-like conductive member 15 is directly placed on the −Z direction side of the top insulator 16, a not-illustrated reinforcing sheet made of an insulating material may be placed between the top insulator 16 and the sheet-like conductive member 15. The reinforcing sheet has an opening formed at the center, and the four plug contacts 13 are inserted into the four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16 through the opening. By using such a reinforcing sheet, a mounting target such as a garment to which the connector 11 is attached can be reinforced.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-137646 | Aug 2022 | JP | national |
