Flexible Substrate Connector With Dual-Surface Contact Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors are ineffective for connecting conductors exposed on either the front or back surface of a flexible substrate, limiting their applicability in smart clothing applications.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a plug contact with a tubular portion and flange, a bottom insulator with a projection, and an inner contact with an elastic portion, allowing electrical connection to conductors on either surface by sandwiching the connection object between the flange and elastic portion, ensuring contact regardless of surface exposure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the connector is designed to connect only to conductors exposed on the front surface, then the connection structure is simple, but the connector cannot connect to conductors exposed on the back surface
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed with dual functionality to accommodate both front-surface and back-surface conductor connections. The housing includes both a front opening for direct contact connection and a back opening with an extending contact for back-surface connection, enabling the same connector to universally connect to conductors regardless of their exposure location.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into distinct functional segments: a front contact portion for front-surface connections and a back contact portion with an extending contact for back-surface connections. This segmentation allows each part to specialize in its specific connection type while forming a unified connector system.
2Reliability
If the connector uses a rigid contact structure, then the manufacturing precision is high, but the connector is susceptible to disconnection when bent
Solution Approach 1:
The contact is designed with elastic portions that can deform flexibly. The elastic portion extends from the housing and can bend without breaking, allowing the connector to maintain electrical connection stability even when subjected to bending forces, thus resolving the contradiction between rigidity and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact structure transitions from a completely rigid form to a semi-flexible form with elastic portions. This parameter change in structural rigidity allows the contact to accommodate bending while maintaining reliable electrical connection, preventing disconnection under mechanical stress.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables reliable electrical connection to conductors on both the front and back surfaces of a connection object, enhancing connectivity in smart clothing systems and reducing the risk of disconnection due to bending.
Implementation Method 1
the elastic portion having a cantilever shape that is elastically deformable in a direction along the fitting axis
Data Source
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AI summary
A connector includes an electrically-conductive plug contact, a bottom insulator and an electrically-conductive inner contact, the plug contact having a tubular portion extending along a fitting axis with a recessed portion in an interior thereof and a flange extending from an end portion of the tubular portion, the bottom insulator having a support surface and a projection projecting from the support surface along the fitting axis and press-fitted in the recessed portion, the electrically-conductive inner contact being disposed on the support surface, the inner contact including a retention portion retained in the recessed portion and contacting an inner surface of the recessed portion and an elastic portion joined to the retention portion to face a back surface of the flange and having a cantilever shape elastically deformable in a direction along the fitting axis.