connector

Abstract

To provide a connector which can electrically connect a contact to a conductor of a connection object even if exposing a conductor to each of a front surface and a back surface of a connection object.SOLUTION: An inner contact 18 includes: a holding part 18A that is electric connected to a plug contact 13 that is held in a concave part 13C of the plug contact 13; a flat plate part 18B that is opposite to a back surface of a flange 13B of the plug contact 13; a plurality of front surface side projections 18D that is projected from a front surface of the flat plate part; and a plurality of back surface side projections 18E that is projected from the back surface of the flat plate part at a position that is different from the plurality of front surface side projections. One part of a sheet-like conductive member 15 is nipped between the back surface of the flange 13B in a direction along a fitting shaft and a plurality of font surface side projections 18D of the inner contact 18, and the back surface of the flange 13B is contacted to the front surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the plurality of font surface side projections 18D is contacted to the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 17

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector to be connected to a sheet-like connection object having a conductor exposed on at least one surface thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, so-called smart clothing has been attracting attention because it can acquire a user's biometric information, such as heart rate and body temperature, simply by wearing the clothing. This smart clothing is equipped with electrodes placed at measurement locations, and by electrically connecting the electrodes to a wearable device acting as a measuring instrument, it becomes possible to transmit the biometric information to the wearable device. The electrode and the wearable device can be connected, for example, by using a connector that is connected to a conductor extending from the electrode.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses this type of connector as shown in Figure 21. The connector has a housing 2 and a base member 3 arranged on either side of a flexible substrate 1 with the flexible substrate 1 sandwiched therebetween, with cylindrical portions 4A of contacts 4 passing through contact through holes 2A in the housing 2 and flanges 4B of the contacts 4 sandwiched between the housing 2 and conductors 1A exposed on the surface of the flexible substrate 1.

[0004] In this state, by pushing the base member 3 toward the housing 2, as shown in Figure 22, the protrusion 3A of the base member 3 is inserted into the protrusion accommodating portion 4C of the contact 4 with the flexible substrate 1 sandwiched therebetween, and the inner surface of the protrusion accommodating portion 4C contacts the conductor 1A with a predetermined contact force, thereby electrically connecting the contact 4 to the conductor 1A. As shown in FIG. 21, housing fixing posts 3B formed on the base member 3 to protrude are press-fitted into post receiving portions 2B of the housing 2, whereby the housing 2 and the base member 3 are fixed to each other. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-129244 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] By fitting a wearable device into the connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, the wearable device can be connected to an electrode made of a conductor. However, when the conductor 1A is exposed on the rear surface of the flexible substrate 1, the connector of Patent Document 1 has a problem in that the conductor 1A cannot be electrically connected to the contact 4.

[0007] This invention has been made to solve these conventional problems, and its object is to provide a connector that can electrically connect contacts to conductors of an object to be connected, regardless of whether the conductors are exposed on the front or back surface of the object to be connected. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The connector according to the present invention comprises: a conductive plug contact having a cylindrical portion extending along a mating axis and having a recess formed on the inside thereof, and a flange extending from an end of the cylindrical portion in a direction perpendicular to the mating axis; a bottom insulator having a support surface extending in an orthogonal direction; a conductive inner contact disposed on the support surface and partially inserted into the recess; Equipped with the inner contact has a holding portion that is held in the recess and contacts the inner surface of the recess to be electrically connected to the plug contact; an elastically deformable flat plate portion that is connected to the holding portion and extends in a direction perpendicular to the holding portion to face the back surface of the flange; a plurality of front-side protrusions that protrude from the front surface of the flat plate portion toward the back surface of the flange; and a plurality of back-side protrusions that protrude from the back surface of the flat plate portion toward the support surface at positions different from the plurality of front-side protrusions; A portion of the sheet-like connection object, with a conductor exposed on at least one surface, is sandwiched between the back surface of the flange of the plug contact and the multiple surface-side protrusions of the inner contact in a direction along the mating axis, with the back surface of the flange contacting the surface of the connection object and the multiple surface-side protrusions contacting the back surface of the connection object, so that when the conductor is exposed on the surface of the connection object, the plug contact is electrically connected directly to the conductor, and when the conductor is exposed on the back surface of the connection object, the plug contact is electrically connected to the conductor via the inner contact.

[0009] It is preferable that, when the multiple front-side protrusions contact the back surface of the object to be connected and the multiple back-side protrusions contact the support surface, the flat plate portion elastically deforms so that the spacing along the mating axis between the tips of the multiple front-side protrusions and the tips of the multiple back-side protrusions narrows, and the multiple front-side protrusions elastically contact the back surface of the object to be connected.

[0010] The flat plate portion extends while curving around the fitting axis, It is preferable that the plurality of front-side protrusions and the plurality of back-side protrusions are arranged alternately along the direction in which the flat plate portion extends.

[0011] The holding portion preferably has a pair of contact portions spaced apart from each other in perpendicular directions and each contacting the inner surface of the recess. The holding portion may have a flat plate shape extending along a plane including the fitting axis. The bottom insulator preferably has a protrusion for temporarily holding the inner contact. In this case, the holding portion has a notch extending toward the support surface, The projection preferably has a backrest surface extending along the holding portion, and a protrusion protruding from the backrest surface and fitted into the notch.

[0012] a top insulator having a contact through hole formed therein, the through hole being smaller than the flange and through which the cylindrical portion of the plug contact passes; It is preferable that the cylindrical portion of the plug contact is passed through the contact through hole and that the top insulator is fixed to the bottom insulator so that the flange of the plug contact, the connection object, and the flat portion of the inner contact are sandwiched between the top insulator and the bottom insulator. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to this invention, the inner contact has a holding portion that is held within the recess of the plug contact and that contacts the inner surface of the recess to be electrically connected to the plug contact, an elastically deformable flat plate portion that extends in a direction perpendicular to the fitting axis and faces the back surface of the flange, a plurality of front-side protrusions that each protrude from the front surface of the flat plate portion toward the back surface of the flange, and a plurality of back-side protrusions that protrude from the back surface of the flat plate portion toward the support surface at positions different from the plurality of front-side protrusions, and a part of the connection object is sandwiched between the back surface of the flange of the plug contact and the plurality of front-side protrusions of the inner contact in the direction along the fitting axis, and the back surface of the flange contacts the front surface of the connection object and the plurality of front-side protrusions contact the back surface of the connection object, so that when the conductor is exposed on the front surface of the connection object, the plug contact is electrically connected to the conductor directly, and when the conductor is exposed on the back surface of the connection object, the plug contact is electrically connected to the conductor via the inner contact, and therefore it is possible to electrically connect the contact to the conductor of the connection object whether the conductor is exposed on the front surface or the back surface of the connection object. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment, seen obliquely from above. [Figure 2] 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a top insulator used in the connector of the embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a perspective view showing a plug contact used in a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 5]1 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug contact used in a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a bottom insulator used in the connector of the embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a perspective view showing a protrusion of a bottom insulator used in the connector of the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 1 is a perspective view showing an inner contact used in a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 9] 1 is a plan view showing an inner contact used in a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 10] 1 is a front view showing an inner contact used in a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 11] 1 is a side view showing an inner contact used in a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 12] 1 is a perspective view of a connection object to be connected to a connector according to an embodiment, seen obliquely from above. [Figure 13] 1 is a perspective view of a connection object to be connected to a connector according to an embodiment, viewed obliquely from below. [Figure 14] 1 is a perspective view showing a reinforcing sheet used in a connector according to an embodiment; [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an inner contact temporarily held by a protrusion of a bottom insulator. [Figure 16] 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment, seen from diagonally below. [Figure 17] 1 is a partial front cross-sectional view showing the state inside a plug contact into which an inner contact is inserted in a connector according to an embodiment connected to a connection object; [Figure 18] 1 is a partial side cross-sectional view showing the state inside a plug contact into which an inner contact is inserted in a connector according to an embodiment connected to a connection object. [Figure 19] 10 is a front view showing the inner contact in a state where the flat plate portion is elastically deformed. FIG. [Figure 20]10 is a side view showing the inner contact in a state where the flat plate portion is elastically deformed. FIG. [Figure 21] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional connector. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a conventional connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows a connector 11 according to an embodiment. The connector 11 is used, for example, as a clothing connector for mating with a wearable device, and has a housing 12 made of an insulating material. Four plug contacts 13 are held in the housing 12, and the housing 12 also holds a reinforcing sheet 14 and a sheet-like conductive member 15 in a stacked state. The sheet-like conductive member 15 constitutes a connection object to which the connector 11 is connected. The four plug contacts 13 are arranged in two parallel rows and are disposed so as to protrude perpendicularly from the sheet-like conductive member 15.

[0016] For convenience, the reinforcing sheet 14 and the sheet-like conductive member 15 extend along the XY plane, the arrangement direction of the four plug contacts 13 is called the Y direction, and the direction in which each of the four plug contacts 13 protrudes is called the +Z direction. The Z direction is the mating direction in which the connector 11 mates with a mating connector.

[0017] 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the connector 11. The connector 11 has a top insulator 16 and a bottom insulator 17, and the top insulator 16 and the bottom insulator 17 form the housing 12.

[0018] Four plug contacts 13 are held in a top insulator 16, a reinforcing sheet 14 is disposed on the rear surface of the top insulator 16 on the -Z direction side, and a sheet-like conductive member 15 is disposed on the -Z direction side of the reinforcing sheet 14. Furthermore, four inner contacts 18 are disposed on the -Z direction side of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and a bottom insulator 17 is disposed on the -Z direction side of the inner contacts 18. The four inner contacts 18 correspond to the four plug contacts 13, respectively.

[0019] 3, the top insulator 16 has a recess 16A that opens toward the +Z direction, and four contact through holes 16B formed in the recess 16A. The recess 16A constitutes a mating connector accommodating portion that accommodates a portion of a mating connector (not shown), and the four contact through holes 16B correspond to the four plug contacts 13. In addition, a plurality of bosses 16C that protrude in the -Z direction are formed on the surface of the top insulator 16 facing the -Z direction.

[0020] Each of the four plug contacts 13 is formed from a conductive material such as metal, and is connected to a corresponding contact of the mating connector (not shown) when a part of the mating connector is accommodated in the recess 16A of the top insulator 16. As shown in FIG. 4, the plug contact 13 has a cylindrical portion 13A extending in the Z direction along the fitting axis C, and a flange 13B extending along the XY plane from the -Z direction end of the cylindrical portion 13A. As shown in FIG. 5, a recess 13C that is open toward the −Z direction is formed inside the cylindrical portion 13A.

[0021] The fitting axis C passes through the center of the cylindrical portion 13A and extends in the fitting direction of the connector 11 and the mating connector. Furthermore, although the tubular portion 13A has a cylindrical shape, the cross-sectional shape is not limited to a circle, and it may have various cross-sectional shapes such as an ellipse or a polygon, as long as it has a recess 13C inside. All four plug contacts 13 can be used as terminals for transmitting electrical signals.

[0022] 6, the bottom insulator 17 has a flat plate portion 17A, and four recesses 17B that are open in the +Z direction are formed in the flat plate portion 17A. The four recesses 17B correspond to the four plug contacts 13. Four protrusions 17C that protrude in the +Z direction from the center of each of the four recesses 17B are formed in each of the four recesses 17B. Furthermore, a plurality of through holes 17D corresponding to the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16 are formed in the flat plate portion 17A.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 7, the bottom surface of the recess 17B of the bottom insulator 17 forms a support surface 17E that extends along the XY plane and faces the +Z direction. In addition, protrusion 17C is intended to temporarily hold inner contact 18, and has a backrest surface 17F that extends along the YZ plane and faces the +X direction, and a convex portion 17G that protrudes from the center of backrest surface 17F in the Y direction and from the -Z direction side portion of backrest surface 17F toward the +X direction.

[0024] 8 to 11, the inner contact 18 is made of a single bent conductive metal plate and has a holding portion 18A and a flat portion 18B connected to the −Z direction end of the holding portion 18A. When the connector 11 is assembled, the holding portion 18A is inserted into the corresponding recess 13C of the plug contact 13, and the flat portion 18B is placed on the support surface 17E of the corresponding recess 17B of the bottom insulator 17.

[0025] The holding portion 18A has a flat plate shape extending along the YZ plane including the mating axis C, and a pair of contact portions P1 spaced apart from each other in the Y direction are formed at the +Y end and the -Y end of the holding portion 18A. Furthermore, holding portion 18A is formed with notch 18C that extends in the -Z direction from near the +Z direction end of holding portion 18A and is open toward the -Z direction. When connector 11 is assembled, convex portion 17G of protrusion 17C of bottom insulator 17 is fitted into notch 18C of holding portion 18A.

[0026] The distance in the Y direction between the pair of contact portions P1 is set to be slightly larger than the inner diameter of the recess 13C at the portion where the pair of contact portions P1 come into contact when the retaining portion 18A is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13. Therefore, when the retaining portion 18A of the inner contact 18 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13, the pair of contact portions P1 each elastically deform in the direction toward the mating axis C and contact the inner surface of the recess 13C with a predetermined contact pressure.

[0027] The flat plate portion 18B is a strip-shaped member that extends along the XY plane while curving around the mating axis C, and the surface of the flat plate portion 18B facing the +Z direction has a plurality of surface-side protrusions 18D that each protrude in the +Z direction, while the back surface of the flat plate portion 18B facing the -Z direction has a plurality of back-side protrusions 18E that each protrude in the -Z direction.

[0028] As shown in Figure 9, the flat portion 18B has a U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped shape that curves and extends to include the holding portion 18A inside, and multiple front-side protrusions 18D and multiple back-side protrusions 18E are arranged alternately along the direction in which the flat portion 18B extends. When no external force acts on the inner contact 18, as shown in Figure 10, the +Z direction end of the front side protrusion 18D and the -Z direction end of the back side protrusion 18E are separated by a distance D1 in the Z direction.

[0029] The sheet-shaped conductive member 15 has a multi-layer structure in which a plurality of wiring layers each made of a conductor and a plurality of insulating layers are stacked. 12, four contact arrangement regions 15A for arranging four plug contacts 13 are defined on the surface facing the +Z direction of the sheet-like conductive member 15. A circular opening 15B penetrating the sheet-like conductive member 15 in the Z direction is formed in the center of each contact arrangement region 15A, and the wiring layer 15C is exposed in the +Z direction around the opening 15B so as to surround the opening 15B. In regions other than the four contact arrangement regions 15A, the insulating layer 15D is exposed.

[0030] Since the openings 15B penetrate the sheet-like conductive member 15 in the Z direction, as shown in Figure 13, the openings 15B can also be seen on the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 facing the -Z direction, at positions corresponding to the four contact arrangement areas 15A.

[0031] On the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 facing the -Z direction, a wiring layer 15E is exposed in the -Z direction around the openings 15B formed at positions corresponding to the four contact arrangement areas 15A, surrounding the openings 15B, and an insulating layer 15F is exposed in other areas. 12 and 13, the sheet-shaped conductive member 15 has a peripheral portion formed with a plurality of through holes 15G corresponding to the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16. As shown in FIG.

[0032] 14, the reinforcing sheet 14 is intended to reinforce the mounting object, such as clothing (not shown), on which the connector 11 is mounted, and is made of an insulating material with an opening 14A formed in the center. Furthermore, along the periphery of the opening 14A in the reinforcing sheet 14, a plurality of notches 14B are formed corresponding to the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16.

[0033] The four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16, the four plug contacts 13, the four contact arrangement areas 15A of the sheet-like conductive member 15, the four inner contacts 18, and the four recesses 17B of the bottom insulator 17 are arranged in positions aligned with each other in the Z direction. In addition, the multiple bosses 16C of the top insulator 16, the multiple notches 14B of the reinforcing sheet 14, the multiple through holes 15G of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the multiple through holes 17D of the bottom insulator 17 are arranged in positions aligned with each other in the Z direction.

[0034] 15, when assembling the connector 11, first, the inner contact 18 is provisionally held by the protrusion 17C of the corresponding recess 17B of the bottom insulator 17. At this time, the flat portion 18B of the inner contact 18 is inserted into the recess 17B of the bottom insulator 17, the convex portion 17G of the protrusion 17C of the bottom insulator 17 is fitted into the notch 18C of the holding portion 18A, and the surface on the -X direction side of the holding portion 18A comes into contact with the back surface 17F of the protrusion 17C. The back surface projections 18E formed on the back surface facing the −Z direction of the flat plate portion 18B of the inner contact 18 are disposed on the support surface 17E of the recess 17B of the bottom insulator 17.

[0035] Next, the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16 are inserted into the plurality of cutouts 14B of the reinforcing sheet 14. At this time, the four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16 are positioned within the openings 14A of the reinforcing sheet 14. Furthermore, the cylindrical portions 13A of the plug contacts 13 corresponding to the four contact through holes 16B of the top insulator 16 are inserted from the -Z direction, and the bottom insulator 17 is pressed in the +Z direction toward the top insulator 16 with the sheet-like conductive member 15 sandwiched therebetween.

[0036] At this time, the holding portion 18A of the inner contact 18, which is temporarily held by the protrusion 17C of the bottom insulator 17, is inserted into the recess 13C of the corresponding plug contact 13 through the opening 15B of the sheet-like conductive member 15, the flange 13B of the plug contact 13 is positioned on the corresponding contact arrangement area 15A of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the sheet-like conductive member 15 is sandwiched between multiple surface-side protrusions 18D formed on the surface facing the +Z direction of the flat portion 18B of the inner contact 18 and the back surface on the -Z direction side of the flange 13B of the plug contact 13.

[0037] Furthermore, by pressing the bottom insulator 17 against the top insulator 16, the plurality of bosses 16C of the top insulator 16 sequentially pass through the plurality of cutouts 14B of the reinforcing sheet 14, the plurality of through holes 15G of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and the plurality of through holes 17D of the bottom insulator 17. Then, as shown in Fig. 16 , by thermally deforming the tips of the plurality of bosses 16C protruding toward the -Z direction side of the bottom insulator 17, the top insulator 16 and the bottom insulator 17 are fixed to each other, and the assembly of the connector 11 is completed.

[0038] As shown in Figures 17 and 18, when the holding portion 18A of the inner contact 18 is inserted into the recess 13C of the plug contact 13, a pair of contact portions P1 formed at the +Y direction end and the -Y direction end of the holding portion 18A are pressed against the inner surface of the recess 13C of the plug contact 13, respectively, and the inner contact 18 is electrically connected to the plug contact 13.

[0039] Furthermore, by pressing the bottom insulator 17 against the top insulator 16, a pressing force in the -Z direction is applied from the top insulator 16 to the multiple front-side protrusions 18D formed on the surface facing the +Z direction of the flat plate portion 18B of the inner contact 18 via the flange 13B of the plug contact 13 and the sheet-like conductive member 15. At this time, the multiple back-side protrusions 18E formed on the back surface facing the -Z direction of the flat plate portion 18B of the inner contact 18 are disposed on the support surface 17E of the recess 17B of the bottom insulator 17. Therefore, due to the pressing force in the -Z direction acting on the multiple front-side protrusions 18D, the flat plate portion 18B of the inner contact 18 elastically deforms so as to narrow the gap in the Z direction between the +Z direction end of the front-side protrusions 18D and the -Z direction end of the back-side protrusion 18E.

[0040] The multiple front-side protrusions 18D and the multiple back-side protrusions 18E on the flat portion 18B of the inner contact 18 are arranged alternately along the direction in which the flat portion 18B extends, and as shown in Figures 19 and 20, the flat portion 18B elastically deforms in a wavy manner relative to the XY plane, so that the distance D2 along the Z direction between the +Z direction end of the front-side protrusion 18D and the -Z direction end of the back-side protrusion 18E becomes narrower than the distance D1 shown in Figure 10. As a result, the multiple surface-side protrusions 18D are pressed in the +Z direction toward the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15, and further, the surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is pressed in the +Z direction toward the back surface of the flange 13B of the plug contact 13.

[0041] Here, as shown in Figures 12 and 13, in the contact arrangement area 15A on the surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15, a wiring layer 15C is exposed around the opening 15B, and on the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15, a wiring layer 15E is exposed around the opening 15B at a position corresponding to the contact arrangement area 15A. Therefore, the wiring layer 15C on the surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 contacts the back surface of the flange 13B of the plug contact 13 with a predetermined contact pressure, and the wiring layer 15E on the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 contacts the multiple front surface side protrusions 18D of the inner contact 18 with a predetermined contact pressure.

[0042] Therefore, the wiring layer 15C exposed on the front surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is electrically connected directly to the plug contact 13, and the wiring layer 15E exposed on the back surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is electrically connected to the plug contact 13 via the inner contact 18. That is, both the wiring layers 15C and 15E are connected to the plug contact 13.

[0043] In this way, according to the connector 11, by using the inner contact 18, it is possible to electrically connect both the wiring layer 15C made of a conductor arranged on the front side of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the wiring layer 15E made of a conductor arranged on the back side to one plug contact 13. Therefore, if the connector 11 is connected to a sheet-like conductive member whose conductors are exposed only on the front side, the plug contacts 13 can be electrically connected to the conductors on the front side of the sheet-like conductive member, and if the connector 11 is connected to a sheet-like conductive member whose conductors are exposed only on the back side, the plug contacts 13 can be electrically connected to the conductors on the back side of the sheet-like conductive member.

[0044] Furthermore, when connector 11 is connected to a sheet-like conductive member having conductors exposed on both the front and back sides, such as sheet-like conductive member 15 in this embodiment, plug contacts 13 can be electrically connected to both the conductors on the front and back sides of the sheet-like conductive member. For example, if the connection target is a multilayered sheet-like conductive member in which conductors constituting shielding layers are exposed on both the front and back sides and conductors constituting signal wiring layers are stacked between these shielding layers while being insulated from both shielding layers, connecting plug contacts 13 connected to the shielding layers on the front and back sides to ground potential will provide a shielding effect for the signal wiring layers, enabling high-precision signal transmission with suppressed effects of disturbances such as electromagnetic waves.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 9, the flat portion 18B of the inner contact 18 has a U-shape or a horseshoe-shape, but is not limited to this and can also be a circular ring shape extending along the XY plane, similar to the flange 13B of the plug contact 13.

[0046] In the above embodiment, the plug contacts 13 arranged in the contact arrangement area 15A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 are connected to both the wiring layer 15C exposed on the front side of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the wiring layer 15E exposed on the back side of the sheet-like conductive member 15, but for example, it is also possible to connect only the wiring layer 15E exposed on the back side of the sheet-like conductive member 15 to the plug contacts 13 arranged in the contact arrangement area 15A.

[0047] The sheet-shaped conductive member 15 used in the above embodiment has a multi-layer structure, but is not limited to this, and may have a conductor exposed on at least one surface. In addition, in the above embodiment, two layers of conductors consisting of wiring layer 15C and wiring layer 15E of sheet-like conductive member 15 are connected to one plug contact 13, but this is not limited to this, and three or more layers of conductors can also be connected to one plug contact 13.

[0048] Furthermore, although the connector 11 in the above embodiment has four plug contacts 13, the number of plug contacts 13 is not limited, and it is sufficient to have at least one plug contact 13 that is electrically connected to a conductor exposed on at least one surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15. In the above embodiment, a reinforcing sheet 14 is arranged between the bottom insulator 17 and the top insulator 16, but if there is no need to reinforce the mounting object, such as clothing, to which the connector 11 is attached, the reinforcing sheet 14 can be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1 flexible substrate, 1A conductor, 2 housing, 2A contact through hole, 2B post accommodating portion, 3 base member, 3A projection, 3B housing fixing post, 4 contact, 4A cylindrical portion, 4B flange, 4C projection accommodating portion, 11 connector, 12 housing, 13 plug contact, 13A cylindrical portion, 13B flange, 13C recess, 14 reinforcing sheet, 14A opening, 14B notch, 15 sheet-like conductive member, 15A contact arrangement area, 15B opening, 15C, 15E wiring layer, 15D, 15F insulating layer, 15G through hole, 16 top insulator, 16A recess, 16B contact through hole, 16C boss, 17 bottom insulator, 17A flat portion, 17B recess, 17C projection, 17D through hole, 17E Support surface, 18 inner contact, 18A holding portion, 18B flat portion, 18C notch, 18D front surface side protrusion, 18E rear surface side protrusion, P1 contact portion, D1, D2 spacing, C mating axis.

Claims

1. a conductive plug contact having a cylindrical portion extending along a mating axis and having a recess formed on the inside thereof, and a flange extending from an end of the cylindrical portion in a direction perpendicular to the mating axis; a bottom insulator having a support surface extending in the orthogonal direction; a conductive inner contact disposed on the support surface and partially inserted into the recess; Equipped with the inner contact has a holding portion that is held in the recess and that contacts the inner surface of the recess to be electrically connected to the plug contact; an elastically deformable flat plate portion that is connected to the holding portion and extends in the perpendicular direction to face the back surface of the flange; a plurality of front-side protrusions that protrude from the front surface of the flat plate portion toward the back surface of the flange; and a plurality of back-side protrusions that protrude from the back surface of the flat plate portion toward the support surface at positions different from the plurality of front-side protrusions, A connector in which a portion of a sheet-like connection object having a conductor exposed on at least one surface is sandwiched between the back surface of the flange of the plug contact and the multiple surface-side protrusions of the inner contact in a direction along the mating axis, and the back surface of the flange comes into contact with the surface of the connection object and the multiple surface-side protrusions come into contact with the back surface of the connection object, so that when the conductor is exposed on the surface of the connection object, the plug contact is electrically connected directly to the conductor, and when the conductor is exposed on the back surface of the connection object, the plug contact is electrically connected to the conductor via the inner contact.

2. 2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the plurality of surface-side protrusions contact the back surface of the connection object and the plurality of back-side protrusions contact the support surface, causing the flat portion to elastically deform so that the spacing along the mating axis between the tips of the plurality of surface-side protrusions and the tips of the plurality of back-side protrusions narrows, and the plurality of surface-side protrusions elastically contact the back surface of the connection object.

3. The flat plate portion extends while curving around the fitting axis, 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of front-side projections and the plurality of rear-side projections are alternately arranged along the extending direction of the flat plate portion.

4. 3. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the holding portion has a pair of contact portions spaced apart from each other in the orthogonal direction and each contacting the inner surface of the recess.

5. The connector according to claim 4 , wherein the holding portion has a flat plate shape extending along a plane including the fitting axis.

6. 6. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the bottom insulator has a protrusion for temporarily holding the inner contact.

7. the holding portion has a notch extending toward the support surface, 7. The connector according to claim 6, wherein the projection has a backrest surface extending along the holding portion, and a protrusion protruding from the backrest surface and fitted into the notch.

8. a top insulator having a contact through hole formed therein, the contact through hole being smaller than the flange and through which the cylindrical portion of the plug contact passes; A connector as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the cylindrical portion of the plug contact is passed through the contact through hole and the top insulator is fixed to the bottom insulator so that the flange of the plug contact, the connection object, and the flat portion of the inner contact are sandwiched between the top insulator and the bottom insulator.

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