Sheet-like conductive material, connector, clothing, and connector mounting method

Abstract

To provide a sheet-like conductive member which can increase the reliability of an electric connection to the contact of a connector and a wiring part of an equipment target object in spite of having a flexible conductor formed by conductive strings.SOLUTION: The sheet-like conductive member has a flexible conductor 20 formed by conductive strings embroidered or embedded in a sheet body. The flexible conductor 20 includes: a first end part 20A electrically connected to a wiring part of a cloth; a second end part 20B electrically connected to a contact; and a connection part 20C for connecting the first end part 20A and the second end part 20B to each other. The exposed area of the conductive strings in the unit area of the first end part 20A and the second end part 20B is larger than the exposed area of the conductive strings in the unit area of the connection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet-shaped conductive member, and particularly to a sheet-shaped conductive member that is attached to a connector to be mounted on a mounting object such as clothing and electrically connects a wiring portion of the mounting object to a contact of the connector. The present invention also relates to a connector having a sheet-shaped conductive member, clothing on which the connector is mounted, and a connector mounting method for mounting the connector on the clothing.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, so-called smart clothing that can acquire biometric information of a user such as a heart rate and body temperature just by wearing it has attracted attention. This smart clothing includes electrodes arranged at measurement locations, and by electrically connecting a wearable device as a measuring device to the electrodes, biometric information can be transmitted to the wearable device. The connection between the electrode and the wearable device can be made, for example, by using a connector connected to a wiring portion drawn from the electrode.

[0003] As this type of connector, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector 1 as shown in FIG. 22. The connector 1 has a structure in which a plurality of contacts 3 are held by a first insulator 2, and a tab sheet 5, a sheet-shaped conductive member 6, and a support sheet 7 are sandwiched and held between the first insulator 2 and a second insulator 4. The connector 1 is attached to the clothing 8 by fixing the tab sheet 5 to the clothing 8.

[0004] A notch 6A used for attaching the sheet-shaped conductive member 6 to the connector 1 is formed in the central portion of the sheet-shaped conductive member 6, and one ends of a plurality of flexible conductors 6B are arranged on the surface of the sheet-shaped conductive member 6 in the vicinity of the notch 6A. When the sheet-like conductive member 6 is attached to the connector 1, one end of each flexible conductor 6B is connected to the corresponding contact 3 by contacting it, and the other end of each flexible conductor 6B is connected to a conductive wiring section (not shown) located on the garment 8 by sewing or the like. As a result, the electrodes of the garment 8 placed at the measurement point are electrically connected to the contacts 3 of the connector 1 via the wiring section and the flexible conductor 6B. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-61225 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] However, if the flexible conductor 6B is formed by conductive threads embroidered or woven into the sheet body, even if one end of the flexible conductor 6B is brought into contact with the contact 3, the contact area between the conductive threads constituting the flexible conductor 6B and the contact 3 may be small, potentially compromising the reliability of the electrical connection. Similarly, even if the other end of the flexible conductor 6B is sewn to the wiring portion of the garment 8, the contact area between the conductive threads constituting the flexible conductor 6B and the wiring portion of the garment 8 may be small, potentially compromising the reliability of the electrical connection.

[0007] This invention was made to solve the problems of the conventional methods, and aims to provide a sheet-like conductive member that has a flexible conductor formed from conductive threads, while being able to improve the reliability of electrical connections to connector contacts and wiring parts of mounting objects such as clothing. Furthermore, this invention also aims to provide a connector having such a sheet-like conductive member, clothing on which the connector is mounted, and a method for mounting the connector to clothing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The sheet-like conductive member according to this invention is It is attached to the connector that is mounted on the object to be mounted and the object to be mounted multiple The wiring section of the connector multiple A sheet-like conductive member that electrically connects to a contact, The insulating sheet body, each It is formed from conductive threads that are embroidered or woven into the sheet body so as to be exposed on the surface of the sheet body, and extends along the surface of the sheet body. multiple Flexible conductor and Equipped with, multiple Flexible conductors are Each corresponds It has a first end that is electrically connected to the wiring section, a second end that is electrically connected to the contact, and a connecting section that connects the first end and the second end to each other. The exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area at the first and second ends is larger than the exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area at the connecting portion. Ku, The first ends of multiple flexible conductors are arranged linearly at a first arrangement pitch. The second ends of the multiple flexible conductors are arranged linearly at a second arrangement pitch parallel to the first ends of the multiple flexible conductors. The first array pitch is larger than the second array pitch. The seat body has an opening used for attachment to the connector. The second ends of the multiple flexible conductors are arranged in two rows on either side of the opening, facing each other across the opening. It is.

[0010] C The main body of the cable has a protruding piece that extends outwards from the opening, and the second end of the flexible conductor can be configured to be positioned on the protruding piece at a predetermined distance from the tip of the protruding piece. Furthermore, it is preferable that the first end has a wider width than the second end, and the connecting portion has the same width as the second end.

[0011] 1 The connector according to the invention is A connector that is mounted on the object to be mounted, The above-mentioned sheet-like conductive member, a contact electrically connected to the second end portion of the sheet-like conductive member, multiple and an insulating housing for holding the sheet-like conductive member and multiple the contact, and it is configured to be fitted to a mating connector along the fitting direction.

[0012] The housing has a first insulator and a second insulator that are incorporated into each other along a predetermined incorporation direction with the sheet-like conductive member sandwiched therebetween. multiple The contact preferably has each, a contact portion that protrudes from the first insulator in the fitting direction and contacts the contact of the mating connector, and a connection portion that is located within the housing and is connected to the second end portion of the flexible conductor of the sheet-like conductive member. handle handle

[0013] The first insulator has a first opposing surface that extends along the fitting direction. The second insulator has a second opposing surface that extends along the fitting direction and opposes the first opposing surface. Between the first opposing surface and the second opposing surface, multiple the second end portion of the flexible conductor of the sheet-like conductive member and multiple the connection portion of the contact are sandwiched and configured to be electrically connected to each other.

[0014] multiple The contact preferably has each, a held portion that is disposed between the contact portion and the connection portion and is held by the housing by being sandwiched between the first insulator and the second insulator. The held portion may be configured to be sandwiched in a predetermined incorporation direction between the first insulator and the second insulator. In this case, the predetermined incorporation direction can be the same as the fitting direction. It comprises an insulating tab sheet sandwiched between the first insulator and the sheet-like conductive member, The tab sheet is preferably fixed to the object to be mounted by being sewn to it. The connector according to the second invention is, A connector that is mounted on an object to be mounted and mates with the mating connector along the mating direction, The sheet-like conductive member includes an insulating sheet body and a flexible conductor formed from conductive threads embroidered or woven into the sheet body so as to be exposed on the surface of the sheet body and extending along the surface of the sheet body, wherein the flexible conductor has a first end electrically connected to the wiring portion of the object to be mounted, a second end, and a connecting portion connecting the first end and the second end to each other, and the exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area at the first end and the second end is wider than the exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area at the connecting portion. A contact electrically connected to the second end of a sheet-like conductive member, An insulating housing for holding a sheet-like conductive member and contacts Equipped with, The housing has a first insulator and a second insulator that are assembled together along a predetermined assembly direction with a sheet-like conductive member in between. The contact has a contact portion that protrudes from the first insulator in the mating direction and contacts the contact of the mating connector, and a connecting portion that is located inside the housing and is connected to the second end of the flexible conductor of the sheet-like conductive member.

[0015] The garment according to this invention is equipped with the above-mentioned connector. It is preferable to have a slit for passing a portion of the sheet-like conductive member through.

[0016] The connector mounting method according to this invention is The above connector As an object to be implemented A method for mounting connectors to clothing, Sheet-like conductive material Multiple flexible conductors The first end is the garment multiple A sheet-like conductive material is placed on the clothing so as to overlap the wiring section. Multiple flexible conductors The first end multiple The sheet-like conductive material is attached to the clothing by sewing it to the wiring section. Multiple flexible conductors The first end multiple Electrically connect to the wiring section It is a method.

[0017] The wiring is located on the inside of the garment. Sheet-like conductive material Multiple flexible conductors The second end is positioned on the outer surface of the garment. Sheet-like conductive material Multiple flexible conductors The first end is placed on the back side of the garment through a slit formed in the garment. multiple Place it so that it overlaps the wiring section. Multiple flexible conductors The first end multipleIt can also be configured to be sewn onto the wiring section. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to this invention, a flexible conductor formed by conductive threads embroidered or woven into a sheet body has a first end electrically connected to the wiring section, a second end electrically connected to the contact, and a connecting section that connects the first end and the second end to each other. Since the exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area at the first end and the second end is larger than the exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area at the connecting section, it is possible to improve the reliability of electrical connections to the connector contact and the wiring section of the mounting object, even while having a flexible conductor formed by conductive threads. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0019] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] This is an exploded perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, seen from an oblique angle above. [Figure 3] This is an exploded perspective view of the connector according to the embodiment, seen from a diagonal downward angle. [Figure 4] This is a perspective view of the first insulator used in the connector according to the embodiment, viewed from diagonally above. [Figure 5] This is a perspective view of the first insulator used in the connector according to the embodiment, viewed from diagonally below. [Figure 6] This is a perspective view of the second insulator used in the connector according to the embodiment, viewed from diagonally above. [Figure 7] This is a perspective view of the second insulator used in the connector according to the embodiment, viewed from diagonally below. [Figure 8] This is a perspective view of the contacts used in the connector according to the embodiment, viewed from diagonally above. [Figure 9] This is a perspective view of the contacts used in the connector according to the embodiment, viewed from diagonally below. [Figure 10] This is a perspective view showing a tab sheet used in a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 11] This is a perspective view showing a sheet-like conductive member used in a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 12] This is a partial plan view showing a sheet-like conductive member used in a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 13] This is a plan view showing conductive threads exposed at the first and second ends of the flexible conductor of a sheet-like conductive member used in a connector according to the embodiment. [Figure 14] This is a plan view showing the conductive threads exposed at the connection portion of the flexible conductor of the sheet-like conductive member used in the connector according to the embodiment. [Figure 15] This is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a connector according to an embodiment. [Figure 16] This is a perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment aligned with the surface of a garment. [Figure 17] This is a perspective view showing the state in which the first end of the flexible conductor of the connector according to the embodiment is superimposed on the wiring portion of the garment on the back side of the garment. [Figure 18] This is a side cross-sectional view showing the first end of a flexible conductor of a connector according to an embodiment sewn onto the wiring portion of clothing. [Figure 19] This is a side cross-sectional view showing the first end of the flexible conductor of a connector according to a modified example, which is sewn into the wiring portion of clothing. [Figure 20] This is a perspective view showing the mating connector that is mated to the connector according to the embodiment. [Figure 21] This is an exploded perspective view showing the other connector. [Figure 22] This is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional connector. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0020] Embodiments of this invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. Figures 1 and 2 show a connector 11 according to an embodiment. The connector 11 is used as a connector for mating a wearable device, for example, by being attached to clothing (an object to be mounted) having conductive wiring, and has a housing 12 made of an insulating material. The housing 12 holds a plurality of contacts 13, and the housing 12 further holds a tab sheet 14 and a sheet-like conductive member 15 in a state where they are stacked on top of each other. The multiple contacts 13 are arranged in two parallel rows and positioned to protrude perpendicularly from the sheet-like conductive member 15.

[0021] For convenience, the tab sheet 14 and the sheet-like conductive member 15 extend along the XY plane, the direction in which the multiple contacts 13 are arranged is called the Y direction, and the direction in which each of the multiple contacts 13 protrudes is called the +Z direction. The Z direction is the mating direction in which the connector 11 mates with the mating connector.

[0022] Figures 2 and 3 are exploded perspective views of the connector 11. The connector 11 has a first insulator 16 and a second insulator 17, and these first insulator 16 and second insulator 17 constitute the housing 12. Furthermore, each of the multiple contacts 13 is temporarily held by the first insulator 16, and the second insulator 17 is assembled into the first insulator 16 along the Z direction, which is a predetermined assembly direction D1, with the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the tab sheet 14 sandwiched between them. The predetermined assembly direction D1 is the same as the mating direction in which the connector 11 mates with the mating connector.

[0023] The sheet-like conductive member 15 has a sheet body 18 and an embroidered pattern 19 sewn onto the sheet body 18 with embroidery thread. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the embroidered pattern 19 is visible on both the surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15 in the +Z direction and the back surface in the -Z direction.

[0024] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the first insulator 16 has a rectangular flat base portion 16A extending along the XY plane, a peripheral wall portion 16B projecting in the +Z direction from the peripheral edge of the base portion 16A, and a plurality of protrusions 16C arranged in two parallel rows, each protruding in the +Z direction from the surface of the base portion 16A inside the peripheral wall portion 16B. A gap 16D is formed between each adjacent protrusion 16C.

[0025] A rectangular recess 16E opening toward the -Z direction is formed on the -Z side of the base portion 16A, and multiple through holes 16F are formed at the bottom of each recess 16E, penetrating from the corresponding gap 16D on the +Z side of the base portion 16A to the recess 16E. The multiple through holes 16F correspond to the multiple contacts 13 and are arranged in two parallel rows.

[0026] Furthermore, at the bottom of the recess 16E, multiple retaining surfaces 16G are formed adjacent to the multiple through holes 16F in the X direction. Each retaining surface 16G extends planarly along the XY plane between the corresponding through hole 16F and the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E facing the X direction. The inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E, facing in the X direction, constitutes a first opposing surface that extends along the Z direction, which is the fitting direction. Furthermore, a plurality of fixing posts 16J protruding in the -Z direction are formed on the -Z side surface of the base portion 16A.

[0027] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the second insulator 17 has a flat base portion 17A extending along the XY plane, a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped protrusion 17B positioned in the center of the base portion 17A and projecting from the base portion 17A in the +Z direction, and a plurality of columnar members 17C projecting from the protrusion 17B in the +Z direction. The protrusion 17B is inserted into the recess 16E of the first insulator 16 when assembled with the first insulator 16, and is slightly smaller in size than the recess 16E.

[0028] Multiple columnar members 17C correspond to multiple contacts 13 and are arranged in two parallel rows. Furthermore, the base portion 17A has multiple through holes 17D that are arranged around the protrusion 17B and penetrate the base portion 17A in the Z direction. These through holes 17D correspond to multiple fixing posts 16J of the first insulator 16. Furthermore, the outer surface 17E of the protrusion 17B, which faces the X direction, constitutes a second opposing surface that extends along the Z direction, which is the fitting direction.

[0029] Figures 8 and 9 show the configuration of the contacts 13 arranged in the +X direction among the multiple contacts 13 shown in Figures 2 and 3. The contact 13 is a plug-type contact made of a strip-shaped member formed of a conductive material such as metal, and has a U-shaped portion 13A that extends in the Z direction and is bent into a U shape. The U-shaped portion 13A is formed of a pair of extended portions 13B and 13C that extend along the YZ plane and face each other in the X direction, and a top portion 13D that connects the +Z direction ends of the pair of extended portions 13B and 13C to each other. A flat plate portion 13F that extends along the YZ plane is connected to the -Z direction end of the extended portion 13B via a held portion 13E that extends along the XY plane.

[0030] The outer surface of the U-shaped portion 13A forms a contact portion S1 for contacting the contacts of the mating connector, and the -X direction surface of the flat plate portion 13F forms a connection portion S2 for contacting the surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15. When the contact 13 is held in the housing 12 shown in Figures 2 and 3, the contact portion S1 of the contact 13 protrudes from the housing 12 in the +Z direction, and the connecting portion S2 of the contact 13 is located inside the housing 12. Of the multiple contacts 13 shown in Figures 2 and 3, the contacts 13 arranged on the -X direction side have the same configuration as the contacts 13 shown in Figures 8 and 9, but are arranged in the opposite direction with respect to the X direction.

[0031] As shown in Figure 10, the tab sheet 14 is used to attach the connector 11 to clothing by being fixed to the clothing by sewing or the like, and is made of an insulating material such as resin or fabric, and has a size larger than the size of the base 16A of the first insulator 16 and the base 17A of the second insulator 17 in the XY plane.

[0032] A nearly square opening 14A is formed in the center of the tab sheet 14. The portion of the tab sheet 14 located around the opening 14A is sandwiched between the base 16A of the first insulator 16 and the base 17A of the second insulator 17, along with the sheet-like conductive member 15, when the first insulator 16 and the second insulator 17 are assembled together. At this time, the protrusion 17B of the second insulator 17 and a plurality of columnar members 17C are inserted into the opening 14A. Furthermore, multiple through holes 14B are formed around the opening 14A of the tab sheet 14. These through holes 14B correspond to multiple fixing posts 16J of the first insulator 16.

[0033] The sheet-like conductive member 15 is for electrically connecting multiple wiring sections of a garment on which the connector 11 is mounted to multiple contacts 13. As shown in Figure 11, it has a sheet body 18 formed from an insulating fabric or knitted fabric and an embroidered pattern 19 sewn onto the sheet body 18 with embroidery thread. The sheet body 18 is approximately square in shape and extends along the XY plane, and has an H-shaped opening 18A in the center. The opening 18A is used when attaching the sheet-like conductive member 15 to the connector 11, and a pair of protruding pieces 18B are formed in the opening 18A, which are part of the sheet body 18 and project outwards from each other in the X direction within the opening 18A. Furthermore, multiple through holes 18C are formed around the opening 18A of the seat body 18. These through holes 18C correspond to multiple fixing posts 16J of the first insulator 16.

[0034] Of the embroidery threads forming the embroidery pattern 19, conductive threads are used only in the portion exposed on the +Z side surface of the sheet body 18, and insulating threads are used in the portion exposed on the -Z side surface of the sheet body 18, thereby forming the flexible conductor 20 exposed on the +Z side surface of the sheet-like conductive member 15. In other words, the flexible conductor 20 is formed by embroidery using conductive threads. As the conductive thread, so-called silver thread can be used. The sheet-like conductive member 15 has a plurality of flexible conductors 20 arranged on the +X side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, and a plurality of flexible conductors 20 arranged on the -X side of the opening 18A.

[0035] Each flexible conductor 20 has a first end 20A located near an edge extending along the Y direction of the square-shaped sheet body 18, a second end 20B located on a protruding piece 18B of the sheet body 18, and a connecting portion 20C that connects the first end 20A and the second end 20B to each other. When the connector 11 is mounted on the garment, the first end 20A is connected to the corresponding wiring portion of the garment, and the second end 20B is connected to the corresponding contact 13 of the connector 11. Furthermore, the second ends 20B of the multiple flexible conductors 20 arranged on the +X direction side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, and the second ends 20B of the multiple flexible conductors 20 arranged on the -X direction side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, are arranged in two rows on both sides of the opening 18A so as to face each other across the opening 18A.

[0036] As shown in Figure 12, in the multiple flexible conductors 20 arranged on the +X side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, the multiple first ends 20A are arranged linearly along the Y direction with a first array pitch P1, and the multiple second ends 20B are arranged linearly along the Y direction with a second array pitch P2, parallel to the multiple first ends 20A. The second array pitch P2 of the multiple second ends 20B corresponds to the array pitch of the multiple contacts 13 in the Y direction.

[0037] Here, the first array pitch P1 of the multiple first end portions 20A is set to be greater than the second array pitch P2 of the multiple second end portions 20B. Furthermore, the width W1 in the Y direction of the first end 20A of each flexible conductor 20 is set to be larger than the width W2 in the Y direction of the second end 20B, and the connecting portion 20C has the same width as the second end 20B.

[0038] In other words, the multiple first ends 20A are arranged in the Y direction with a first array pitch P1 that is larger than the array pitch of the multiple contacts 13, and the first ends 20A have a width W1 that is larger than the width W2 of the second ends 20B, while still ensuring a large gap between adjacent first ends 20A in the Y direction. Furthermore, the first end 20A of each flexible conductor 20 has a length L1 in the X direction that is longer than the width W1 in the Y direction.

[0039] The first end 20A, the second end 20B, and the connecting portion 20C that constitute the flexible conductor 20 are each formed by conductive threads embroidered on the sheet body 18. However, the density of the conductive thread embroidery, i.e., the degree of density of the conductive threads, is not uniform and differs from one another. Specifically, the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the first end 20A and the second end 20B is set to be higher than the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the connecting portion 20C. In other words, the first end 20A and the second end 20B have a denser embroidery of conductive threads compared to the connecting part 20C.

[0040] The density or density of conductive thread embroidery depends not only on the number of conductive threads used in the same area, but also on the thickness of the conductive threads. Therefore, the exposed area of ​​conductive threads per unit area will be used as an indicator to represent the density or density of conductive thread embroidery.

[0041] For example, as shown in Figure 13, focusing on a region U having a unit area at the first end 20A and the second end 20B, the total area occupied by the conductive thread 21 exposed in the +Z direction within region U is defined as the exposed area A1. Similarly, as shown in Figure 14, in the connecting portion 20C, we focus on a region U having a unit area, and the total area occupied by the conductive threads 21 exposed in the +Z direction within region U is defined as the exposed area A2. The exposed area A1 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the first end 20A and the second end 20B is set to be larger than the exposed area A2 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the connecting portion 20C.

[0042] If the thickness of the conductive threads 21 used in the first end 20A and the second end 20B and the conductive threads 21 used in the connecting part 20C are equal, the number of conductive threads 21 used per unit area of ​​the first end 20A and the second end 20B is set to be greater than the number of conductive threads 21 used per unit area of ​​the connecting part 20C. Furthermore, if the thickness of the conductive thread 21 used in the first end 20A and the second end 20B is made thicker than the thickness of the conductive thread 21 used in the connecting part 20C, even if the number of conductive threads 21 used per unit area of ​​the first end 20A and the second end 20B is equal to the number of conductive threads 21 used per unit area of ​​the connecting part 20C, the exposed area A1 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area in the first end 20A and the second end 20B can be made wider than the exposed area A2 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area in the connecting part 20C.

[0043] Similarly, in the multiple flexible conductors 20 arranged on the -X direction side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, the multiple first ends 20A are arranged linearly along the Y direction with a first arrangement pitch P1, and the multiple second ends 20B are arranged linearly along the Y direction with a second arrangement pitch P2, parallel to the multiple first ends 20A. Furthermore, in the case of the multiple flexible conductors 20 arranged on the -X direction side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, similarly, the first end 20A of each flexible conductor 20 has a Y-direction width W1 that is greater than the Y-direction width W2 of the second end 20B, the connecting portion 20C has the same width as the second end 20B, and the first end 20A has an X-direction length L1 that is longer than the Y-direction width W1.

[0044] Furthermore, in the flexible conductor 20 located on the -X direction side of the opening 18A of the sheet body 18, the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the first end 20A and the second end 20B is higher than the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the connecting portion 20C, and the exposed area A1 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the first end 20A and the second end 20B is set to be wider than the exposed area A2 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the connecting portion 20C.

[0045] Furthermore, the silver thread used as conductive thread is, for example, made by wrapping silver foil around the thread or by cutting silver foil into thin strips and twisting them into the weaving thread. Although it is an expensive thread, instead of densely embroidering the entire flexible conductor 20 with silver thread, the exposed area A1 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the first end 20A and the second end 20B is made wider than the exposed area A2 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the connecting part 20C. This helps to suppress an increase in the manufacturing cost of the sheet-like conductive member 15.

[0046] When assembling the connector 11, the multiple contacts 13 are first pushed into the first insulator 16 from the -Z direction towards the +Z direction, thereby temporarily holding the multiple contacts 13 in the first insulator 16. At this time, the U-shaped portion 13A of each contact 13 is inserted from the recess 16E on the -Z side of the first insulator 16 through the corresponding through hole 16F into the gap 16D formed between adjacent protrusions 16C, and the contact portion S1 formed by the outer surface of the U-shaped portion 13A is exposed on the +Z side of the first insulator 16. Furthermore, the flat plate portion 13F that forms the connection portion S2 with the held portion 13E of the multiple contacts 13 is located within the recess 16E of the first insulator 16, and the flat plate portion 13F is in contact with the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E of the first insulator 16.

[0047] Here, the multiple fixing posts 16J of the first insulator 16 are sequentially passed through the multiple through holes 14B of the tab sheet 14 and the multiple through holes 18C of the sheet-like conductive member 15, thereby positioning the tab sheet 14 and the sheet-like conductive member 15 on the -Z side of the first insulator 16. Furthermore, the multiple fixing posts 16J of the first insulator 16 are passed through the multiple through holes 17D of the second insulator 17, moving the second insulator 17 toward the first insulator 16 in the +Z direction, and the assembly into the first insulator 16 begins.

[0048] At this time, each of the columnar members 17C of the second insulator 17 is inserted into the inside of the U-shaped portion 13A of the corresponding contact 13 from the -Z direction. Furthermore, the protrusion 17B of the second insulator 17 is sequentially passed through the opening 18A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the opening 14A of the tab sheet 14 from the -Z direction, and then inserted into the recess 16E of the first insulator 16. At this time, the pair of protruding pieces 18B positioned inside the opening 18A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 are pushed by the protrusion 17B of the second insulator 17 and bent in the +Z direction, and then fit between the flat plate portion 13F of the contact 13, which is in contact with the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E of the first insulator 16, and the outer surface 17E of the protrusion 17B of the second insulator 17.

[0049] If the second insulator 17 is moved toward the first insulator 16 in the +Z direction, as shown in Figure 15, the held portions 13E of the multiple contacts 13 are sandwiched between the +Z-direction side surface of the convex portion 17B of the second insulator 17 and the holding surface 16G within the recess 16E of the first insulator 16. As a result, the multiple contacts 13 are held by the first insulator 16 and the second insulator 17.

[0050] Furthermore, the protruding piece 18B of the sheet body 18 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is pressed by the convex portion 17B of the second insulator 17 and bent in the +Z direction, and is sandwiched between the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E of the first insulator 16 which constitutes the first opposing surface and the outer surface 17E of the convex portion 17B of the second insulator 17 which constitutes the second opposing surface. The second end portion 20B of the flexible conductor 20 exposed on the surface of the protruding piece 18B contacts the connection portion S2 of the flat plate portion 13F of the contact 13 which is in contact with the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E of the first insulator 16 with a predetermined contact pressure. As a result, the contact 13 is electrically connected to the corresponding second end portion 20B of the flexible conductor 20 of the sheet-like conductive member 15.

[0051] As described above, the density of the conductive threads at the second end 20B of the flexible conductor 20 is higher than the density of the conductive threads at the connecting portion 20C, and the exposed area A1 of the conductive threads 21 per unit area at the second end 20B is larger than the exposed area A2 of the conductive threads 21 per unit area at the connecting portion 20C. As a result, the effective contact area between the connecting portion S2 of the flat plate portion 13F of the contact 13 and the second end 20B of the flexible conductor 20 is increased, making it possible to electrically connect the second end 20B to the contact 13 with high reliability.

[0052] Furthermore, the multiple fixing posts 16J of the first insulator 16 protrude through the corresponding through holes 17D of the second insulator 17 and outward from the -Z direction side of the second insulator 17. The second insulator 17 is fixed to the first insulator 16 by the heat deformation of the -Z end of the fixing post 16J of the first insulator 16 that protrudes from the -Z side of the second insulator 17. This completes the assembly of the connector 11 shown in Figure 1.

[0053] Next, we will explain how to implement the connector 11 into the garment 31. As shown in Figure 16, the garment 31 has two slits 32 formed in the area where the connector 11 is to be attached. The two slits 32 are spaced apart in the X direction, parallel to each other, and extend in the Y direction, penetrating from the front to the back of the garment 31. Each of the two slits 32 has a length in the Y direction that is slightly longer than the Y direction length of the sheet-like conductive member 15 of the connector 11, and is spaced apart in the X direction from each other by a distance that is slightly longer than the X direction length of the housing 12 of the connector 11.

[0054] After aligning the connector 11 with the +Z direction side of the two slits 32 of the garment 31, the sheet-like conductive member 15 located on the +X direction side of the housing 12 and the portion located on the -X direction side of the housing 12 are passed through the corresponding slits 32, respectively, and pulled out from the front side to the back side of the garment 31. As shown in Figure 17, on the back surface of the garment 31 facing the -Z direction, multiple conductive wiring portions 33 are formed, extending in the +X and -X directions, respectively, perpendicular to the two slits 32. One end of each of these wiring portions 33 is arranged in the Y direction at the same arrangement pitch as the multiple first ends 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15, near the corresponding slits 32, and has approximately the same width in the Y direction as the first ends 20A.

[0055] The multiple wiring sections 33 are formed, for example, by conductive threads sewn into the garment 31, and at least the surface facing the -Z direction is conductive. The other ends of the multiple wiring sections 33 extend along the back surface of the garment 31 to electrodes (not shown) attached to the garment 31. The +X-direction portion and the -X-direction portion of the sheet-like conductive member 15, which are pulled out through the two slits 32 of the garment 31 to the back side of the garment 31 facing the -Z direction, are arranged to overlap one end of a plurality of wiring sections 33.

[0056] Since one end of the wiring section 33 is arranged in the Y direction with the same arrangement pitch as the multiple first ends 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15, in this case, as shown in Figure 18, the multiple first ends 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 each overlap the corresponding wiring section 33 of the garment 31 on the -Z direction side. Therefore, by sewing the garment 31 and the sheet-like conductive member 15 together using suture thread 41, the multiple first ends 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 can be electrically connected to the multiple wiring portions 33 of the garment 31, respectively.

[0057] As shown in Figure 12, the width W1 in the Y direction of the first end 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is set to be larger than the width W2 in the Y direction of the second end 20B, and the wiring portion 33 of the garment 31 has approximately the same width in the Y direction as the first end 20A. Furthermore, as described above, the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the first end 20A of the flexible conductor 20 is higher than the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the connecting portion 20C, and the exposed area A1 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the first end 20A is wider than the exposed area A2 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the connecting portion 20C. Therefore, the effective contact area between the wiring portion 33 of the garment 31 and the first end portion 20A of the flexible conductor 20 is increased, making it possible to electrically connect the first end portion 20A to the wiring portion 33 of the garment 31 with high reliability.

[0058] In Figure 18, the garment 31 and the sheet-like conductive member 15 are sewn together using suture thread 41 in a so-called "running stitch" or "straight stitch," but this is not the only way to do so.

[0059] Furthermore, since the width W1 in the Y direction of the first end 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is greater than the width W2 in the Y direction of the second end 20B, and the wiring portion 33 of the garment 31 has approximately the same width in the Y direction as the first end 20A, even if a slight misalignment in the Y direction occurs between the first end 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the wiring portion 33 of the garment 31 due to manufacturing tolerances, etc., the contact area between the first end 20A and the wiring portion 33 can be secured, ensuring a reliable electrical connection. Furthermore, the tab sheet 14 of the connector 11 can also be sewn to the garment 31 using suture thread 41, thereby securing the connector 11 to the garment 31.

[0060] As shown in Figure 18, the first end portion 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the wiring portion 33 of the garment 31 overlap in the Z direction and are in direct contact with each other. Therefore, the suture thread 41 used for sewing may be an insulating thread or a conductive thread. However, if insulating thread is used as the suture thread 41, the suture thread 41 can be used to sew together multiple first ends 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and multiple wiring portions 33 of the garment 31.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the sheet-like conductive member 15 located on the +X side of the housing 12 and the portion located on the -X side of the housing 12 are each passed through the corresponding slits 32 of the garment 31, thereby being pulled out from the front side to the back side of the garment 31. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the connector 11 shown in Figure 16 can be placed directly on the surface of the garment 31 facing the +Z direction, and the connector 11 can be mounted on the garment 31 without pulling out a portion of the sheet-like conductive member 15 to the back side of the garment 31.

[0062] At this time, if the corresponding first end 20A of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is positioned directly above the wiring portion 33 located on the back surface of the garment 31, then, as shown in Figure 19, the first end 20A will be located on the +Z side of the wiring portion 33 via the sheet body 18 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 and the garment 31. Therefore, by using conductive suture thread 42 to sew from the first end 20A through the sheet body 18 and the clothing 31 to the wiring section 33, the first end 20A and the wiring section 33 can be electrically connected via the suture thread 42.

[0063] In this case as well, the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the first end 20A of the flexible conductor 20 is higher than the density of the conductive thread embroidery at the connecting portion 20C, and the exposed area A1 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the first end 20A is larger than the exposed area A2 of the conductive thread 21 per unit area at the connecting portion 20C. As a result, the contact area between the first end 20A and the conductive suture thread 42 is increased. Therefore, the reliability of the electrical connection between the first end 20A and the wiring portion 33 is improved.

[0064] Furthermore, when using conductive sutures 42, in order to prevent short circuits between the multiple first ends 20A, it is necessary to suture each of the multiple first ends 20A to the corresponding wiring section 33 using separate sutures 42.

[0065] Figure 20 shows a mating connector 51 that is mated to the connector 11 according to the embodiment. The mating connector 51 has a housing 52 made of an insulating material, and a plurality of contacts 53 are held in the housing 52. The multiple contacts 53 correspond to the multiple contacts 13 of the connector 11 and are arranged in two parallel rows with the same arrangement pitch as the multiple contacts 13. Each contact 53 is oriented in the -Z direction and is a receptacle-type contact corresponding to the plug-type contact 13 of the connector 11.

[0066] The housing 52 has a circumferential groove 52A oriented in the -Z direction that surrounds the multiple contacts 53. The circumferential groove 52A corresponds to the peripheral wall portion 16B of the first insulator 16 of the connector 11. As shown in Figure 21, the mating connector 51 has a first insulator 54 and a second insulator 55, and these first insulator 54 and second insulator 55 constitute the housing 52. Multiple contacts 53 are held by the second insulator 55, and a circumferential groove 52A is also formed in the second insulator 55.

[0067] The mating connector 51 further includes a circuit board 56 and a plurality of fixing screws 57 for fixing the circuit board 56 to the first insulator 54. The mating connector 51 is assembled when the plurality of contacts 53 held by the second insulator 55 are connected to the plurality of connection pads 56A of the circuit board 56 by soldering or the like, and the circuit board 56 is fixed to the first insulator 54 by the plurality of fixing screws 57. On the surface of the circuit board 56, which faces the +Z direction opposite to the housing 52, are mounted wireless transmission circuits and the like (not shown) connected to multiple contacts 53.

[0068] When such a mating connector 51 is mated with the connector 11 mounted on the garment 31 in a position where multiple contacts 53 are oriented in the -Z direction, multiple plug-type contacts 13 of the connector 11 are inserted into multiple receptacle-type contacts 53 of the mating connector 51, and an electrical connection is made. In addition, the peripheral wall portion 16B of the first insulator 16 of the connector 11 is inserted into the peripheral groove 52A of the housing 52 of the mating connector 51, and the mating connector 51 is held in place relative to the connector 11.

[0069] As a result, the user's biometric information, such as heart rate and body temperature, acquired using electrodes attached to the garment 31, is input to a wireless transmission circuit mounted on the circuit board 56 via the wiring section 33 of the garment 31, the flexible conductor 20 and contact 13 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 of the connector 11, and the contact 53 of the mating connector 51. From there, the wireless transmission circuit can wirelessly transmit the information to a tablet terminal or a stationary measuring device.

[0070] In the connector 11 according to the above-described embodiment, the multiple contacts 13 are arranged in two parallel rows, but this is not the only arrangement; they may be arranged in a single row. Furthermore, this invention does not necessarily require multiple contacts 13; it is sufficient to have at least one contact 13.

[0071] In the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 15, the flexible conductor 20 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is exposed on the +Z-direction surface of the sheet body 18, the flat portion 13F of the contact 13 contacts the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E of the first insulator 16, and the protruding piece 18B of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is sandwiched between the flat portion 13F of the contact 13 and the outer surface surface 17E of the convex portion 17B of the second insulator 17, with the second end portion 20B of the flexible conductor 20 exposed on the surface of the protruding piece 18B being electrically connected to the contact 13, but the embodiment is not limited to this.

[0072] The flexible conductor 20 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 may be exposed on the -Z-direction side surface of the sheet body 18. In this case, the flat portion 13F of the contact 13 is positioned to contact the outer surface 17E of the convex portion 17B of the second insulator 17, and the protruding piece 18B of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is sandwiched between the flat portion 13F of the contact 13 and the inner wall surface 16H of the recess 16E of the first insulator 16. The second end 20B of the flexible conductor 20 exposed on the surface of the protruding piece 18B is electrically connected to the flat portion 13F of the contact 13.

[0073] Furthermore, as the sheet-like conductive member 15 of the connector 11, both the portion exposed on the +Z direction surface and the portion exposed on the -Z direction surface of the sheet body 18 can be formed by embroidery using conductive thread, thereby exposing the flexible conductor 20 on both sides of the sheet body 18. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the flexible conductor 20 of the sheet-like conductive member 15 is formed from conductive threads embroidered on the sheet body 18. However, the invention is not limited to this, and the flexible conductor 20 can also be formed by knitting conductive threads into the sheet body 18, which is made of an insulating fabric or knitted fabric.

[0074] In the connector 11 according to the above embodiment, a tab sheet 14 is placed between the housing 12 and the sheet-like conductive member 15. However, the tab sheet 14 may be omitted, especially when there is no need to reinforce the mounting area when mounting the connector 11 to the garment 31. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the connector 11 is mounted on the garment 31, which is the object to be mounted. However, the object to be mounted is not limited to the garment 31. For example, the connector 11 can also be mounted on bags that the user carries or wears, seats on which the user rests, beds, bedding, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 1 Connector, 2 First insulator, 3 Contact, 4 Second insulator, 5 Tab sheet, 6 Sheet-shaped conductive member, 6A Notch, 6B Flexible conductor, 7 Support sheet, 8 Garment, 11 Connector, 12, 52 Housing, 13, 53 Contact, 13A U-shaped part, 13B, 13C Extended part, 13D Top part, 13E Retained part, 13F Flat plate part, 14 Tab sheet, 14A, 18A Opening, 14B, 16F, 17D, 18C Through hole, 15 Sheet-shaped conductive member, 16, 54 First insulator, 16A, 17A Base part, 16B Peripheral wall part, 16C Protrusion, 16D Gap, 16E Recess, 16G Retaining surface, 16H Inner wall surface, 16J Fixing post, 17, 55 Second insulator, 17B protrusion, 17C columnar member, 17E outer surface, 18 sheet body, 18B protruding piece, 19 embroidery pattern, 20 flexible conductor, 20A first end, 20B second end, 20C connecting part, 21 conductive thread, 31 garment, 32 slit, 33 wiring part, 41, 42 suture thread, 51 mating connector, 52A circumferential groove, 56 circuit board, 56A connection pad, 57 fixing screw, D1 assembly direction, S1 contact part, S2 connection part, P1 first array pitch, P2 second array pitch, W1, W2 width, L1 length, U area.

Claims

1. A sheet-like conductive member that is attached to a connector mounted on an object to be mounted and electrically connects multiple wiring portions of the object to multiple contacts of the connector, The insulating sheet body, Each of the following flexible conductors is formed from conductive threads embroidered or woven into the sheet body so as to be exposed on the surface of the sheet body, and extends along the surface of the sheet body. Equipped with, Each of the plurality of flexible conductors has a first end electrically connected to the corresponding wiring section, a second end electrically connected to the contact, and a connecting section that connects the first end and the second end to each other. The exposed area of ​​the conductive thread per unit area at the first end and the second end is wider than the exposed area of ​​the conductive thread per unit area at the connecting portion. The first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors are arranged linearly at a first arrangement pitch, The second ends of the plurality of flexible conductors are arranged linearly at a second arrangement pitch parallel to the first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors. The first array pitch is larger than the second array pitch. The sheet body has an opening used for attachment to the connector, A sheet-like conductive member characterized in that the second ends of the plurality of flexible conductors are arranged in two rows on both sides of the opening so as to face each other across the opening.

2. The sheet-like conductive member according to claim 1, wherein the sheet body has a protruding piece that protrudes into the opening, and the second ends of the plurality of flexible conductors are arranged on the protruding piece.

3. The sheet-like conductive member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first end has a width wider than the width of the second end, and the connecting portion has the same width as the width of the second end.

4. The connector to be mounted on the object to be mounted, The sheet-like conductive member according to claim 1 or 2, The plurality of contacts electrically connected to the second end of the sheet-like conductive member, The sheet-like conductive member and the insulating housing for holding the plurality of contacts A connector characterized by having a feature that allows it to mate with the mating connector along the mating direction.

5. The housing has a first insulator and a second insulator that are assembled together along a predetermined assembly direction with the sheet-like conductive member in between, The connector according to claim 4, wherein each of the plurality of contacts has a contact portion that protrudes from the first insulator in the mating direction and contacts the corresponding contact of the mating connector, and a connecting portion that is located within the housing and connected to the second end of the corresponding flexible conductor of the sheet-like conductive member.

6. The first insulator has a first opposing surface extending along the fitting direction, The second insulator has a second opposing surface that extends along the fitting direction and faces the first opposing surface, The connector according to claim 5, wherein the second ends of the plurality of flexible conductors of the sheet-like conductive member and the connecting portions of the plurality of contacts are electrically connected to each other while being sandwiched between the first opposing surface and the second opposing surface.

7. The connector according to claim 5, wherein each of the plurality of contacts has a retained portion that is positioned between the contact portion and the connecting portion and is held in the housing by being sandwiched between the first insulator and the second insulator.

8. The connector according to claim 7, wherein the retained portion is sandwiched between the first insulator and the second insulator in the predetermined assembly direction.

9. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the predetermined mounting direction is the same as the mating direction.

10. The first insulator and the sheet-like conductive member are sandwiched together, and an insulating tab sheet is provided. The connector according to claim 5, wherein the tab sheet is fixed to the object to be mounted by being sewn to the object to be mounted.

11. A connector that is mounted on an object to be mounted and mates with the mating connector along the mating direction, A sheet-like conductive member comprising an insulating sheet body and a flexible conductor formed of conductive threads embroidered or woven into the sheet body so as to be exposed on the surface of the sheet body and extending along the surface of the sheet body, wherein the flexible conductor has a first end electrically connected to the wiring portion of the mounting object, a second end, and a connecting portion connecting the first end and the second end to each other, and the exposed area of ​​the conductive threads per unit area at the first end and the second end is wider than the exposed area of ​​the conductive threads per unit area at the connecting portion, A contact electrically connected to the second end of the sheet-like conductive member, The sheet-like conductive member and the insulating housing for holding the contact Equipped with, The housing has a first insulator and a second insulator that are assembled together along a predetermined assembly direction with the sheet-like conductive member in between, The connector is characterized in that the contact has a contact portion that protrudes from the first insulator in the mating direction and contacts the contact of the mating connector, and a connecting portion that is located inside the housing and connected to the second end of the flexible conductor of the sheet-like conductive member.

12. A garment characterized by having the connector described in claim 4 mounted on it.

13. The garment according to claim 12, having a slit for passing a part of the sheet-like conductive member through.

14. A connector mounting method for mounting the connector described in claim 4 onto clothing as the object to be mounted, The sheet-like conductive member is positioned relative to the garment such that the first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors of the sheet-like conductive member overlap the plurality of wiring portions of the garment. The sheet-like conductive member is attached to the garment by sewing the first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors to the plurality of wiring sections, and the first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors are electrically connected to the plurality of wiring sections. A connector mounting method characterized by the following:

15. The wiring section is located on the back surface of the garment. The second ends of the plurality of flexible conductors of the sheet-like conductive member are positioned on the surface side of the garment. The first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors of the sheet-like conductive member are arranged to overlap the plurality of wiring portions on the back side of the garment through slits formed in the garment. The connector mounting method according to claim 14, wherein the first ends of the plurality of flexible conductors are sewn to the plurality of wiring portions.

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