US 7,458,732 B2
Optical and electrical compound connector
Tomokazu Harano, Tsu (Japan); Mitsuru Iida, Yokohama (Japan); and Shinji Hashimoto, Kadoma (Japan)
Assigned to Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd., Osaka (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/597,637
PCT Filed Dec. 16, 2005, PCT No. PCT/JP2005/023138
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Aug. 02, 2006,
PCT Pub. No. WO2006/068045, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 29, 2006.
Claims priority of application No. 2004-372251 (JP), filed on Dec. 22, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2008/0090450 A1, Apr. 17, 2008
Int. Cl. G02B 6/36 (2006.01); G02B 6/12 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 385—92  [385/14] 4 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical and electrical compound connector for at least one of receiving and transmitting light signals and at least one of receiving and transmitting electric signals simultaneously, the connector comprising:
a flexible sheet-shaped base board having at least one light guide provided therein along an insertion direction of the sheet-shaped base board and conductor patterns provided on a surface of the sheet-shaped base board, the conductor patterns being provided between a front end and a rear end of the sheet-shaped base board in the insertion direction, the sheet-shaped base board being configured to transmit the light signals and the electric signals simultaneously;
a connector main body connected to the sheet-shaped base board;
a light-sensitive element configured to receive the light signals from at least one of the light guide of the sheet-shaped base board and a light emitting element configured to transmit light signals to the light guide of the sheet-shaped base board;
contacts performing transmission and reception of the electric signals with respect to the conductor patterns of the sheet-shaped base board;
the connector main body having a first wall and a second wall which encloses the sheet-shaped base board from both sides in a thickness direction of the connector main body, and the connector main body having a third wall facing the front end of the sheet-shaped base board in the insertion direction;
at least one of the light-sensitive element and the light emitting element are disposed on one of the first, second and the third walls;
the connector main body comprising a body portion having the first wall and the third wall, and a cover connected to the body portion, the cover providing the second wall and being configured to rotate between an opened state and a closed state;
each of the contacts having a protrusion formed at a part thereof electrically connected to the conductor patterns of the sheet-shaped base board by an electric connection, the contacts being disposed on the first wall; and
a measure of a clearance between the protrusion and the second wall, when the cover is closed without connecting the sheet-shaped base boards, is smaller than a measure of a thickness of the sheet-shaped base board.