Abstract:
A relay connector for connecting together two free ends of flat flexible cable (FFC) is provided with an insulative housing that has a body portion with two open ends that receive free ends of the FFC. The housing includes a terminal assembly disposed in its mid-section and this terminal assembly includes a base with terminals embedded therein. The terminals extend length-wise through the base and have their body portions held by the terminal assembly base so that free ends of the terminals are free to deflect under pressure. The terminals are formed so that their free ends extend at a slight upward angle. A sheet of a thermoplastic adhesive is interposed between the terminal assembly and the housing. Free ends of the FFC are pressed into alignment with the terminal ends under heat and pressure so that the adhesive becomes plastic and flows between the terminals into contact with the FFC. Once the adhesive cools and solidifies, the two free ends of the FFC are connected together.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to FPC Connectors and more particularly to a relay connector for releasing joining together two length of FPC. 
         [0002]    Conventionally, a relay connector for connecting together flat, flexible cables, which are usually referred to as flat flexible circuitry, flexible printed circuitry (FFC, FPC) and the like, has been proposed (as shown Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Application (Kokai) publication No. H5 (1993)-31167). 
         [0003]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a prior art relay connector. 
         [0004]    As is shown in the drawing  FIG. 8 , the relay connector has a housing  806  made of an insulating material such as a synthetic resin and a plurality of connecting terminals  807  made of a conductive material such as a metallic material and held in the housing  806 . The connection terminals  807  are accommodated in holding grooves formed between a plurality of holding convex strips  811  formed in a bottom portion of the housing  806 . The connecting terminal  807  includes an engagement opening  807   a  and is secured to the housing  806  when the engagement opening  807   a  is engaged with an engaging projection  816  projecting from the holding groove. 
         [0005]    And, end portions of a pair of flat cables  801  are received in the housing  806 . Each of the flat cables  801  includes a plurality of conductive wires  803  formed on one surface (a lower surface in the drawing) of a body portion  802  made of a strip-shaped insulating material and an insulating film covering a surface of the conductive wires  803 . The insulating layer film is removed at an end portion of the flat cable  801  to expose the conductive wires  803  thereof. The flat cable  801  is also provided with positioning holes  818  formed therein so that the flat cable  801  is accommodated in the housing  806  when projections  813  formed in the housing  806  are brought into engagement with the positioning holes  818 . 
         [0006]    A cover  809  is swingably secured to the housing  806  so that, when the cover  809  is closed in a state where the end portions of the pair of flat cables  801  are accommodated in the housing  806 , a pressing body or portion  814  mounted on an inner surface of the cover  809  presses against the flat cables  801 . Hence, the conductive wires  803  of the flat cables  801  are pressed against connecting projections  807   b  of the terminals  807  by applying thereto cutting and raising operations, and accordingly an electrical connection is provided therebetween. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    In the described prior art relay connector, the connecting terminals  807  are accommodated in the holding grooves formed between a plurality of holding convex strips  811  formed in the bottom portion of the housing  806 , the structure of the relay connector is complicated and must be large in size. In recent years, the pitches of the wires  803  of the flat cables  801  have been narrowed due to a progressive reduction in the sizes of electronic devices, it is necessary to narrow the pitches of the connecting terminals  807  in order to be fit to the pitches of the wires  803 . In the relay connector of the described prior art, because the connecting terminals  807  are accommodated in the holding grooves, there is difficulty in narrowing the pitches of the connecting terminals  807  down to 0.1 [mm] or so, for instance. 
         [0008]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems encountered in the prior art and to provide a relay connector including a housing having a bottom plate portion, mutually parallel side wall portions extending in a longitudinal direction of the bottom plate portion, and an accommodating space defined by the bottom plate portion and the side wall portions and opened in a direction opposite to the bottom plate portion, the accommodating space housing terminals therein, wherein the relay connector further includes an adhesive sheet, interposed between the terminals and the bottom plate portion. Such a connector is small in both size and thickness with a simple structure yet capable of easily and reliably connecting a flat cable thereto. 
         [0009]    For this reason, a relay connector according to the present invention includes a housing accommodating the free ends of a pair of FPC cables and terminals extending longitudinally of the housing with an approximately axially symmetrical shapes relative to a straight line perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at a center of the longitudinal direction; the relay connector further including a terminal holding member integrally formed with a portion containing at least the center of the terminals in the longitudinal direction and mounted on the housing to hold a plurality of terminals; wherein the housing includes a bottom plate portion, mutually parallel side wall portions extending in a longitudinal direction of the bottom plate portion, and an accommodating space which is defined by the bottom plate portion and the side wall portions and is opened in a direction contrary to the bottom plate portion, the accommodating space accommodating therein the terminals, and an adhesive sheet being provided to be interposed between the terminals and the bottom plate portion. 
         [0010]    In an another embodiment of the relay connector according to the present invention, the terminals includes base portions having at least a portion thereof covered by the terminal holding member and a contacting portion connected to a far end of the base portion, respectively; and the contacting portions being arranged to be tilted with respect to the bottom plate portion such that the closer to the far ends, the more the contacting portions are separated from the bottom plate portion. 
         [0011]    In a further embodiment of the relay connector according to the present invention, the terminals are flexible and in the contacting portions are spaced away from the adhesive sheet. 
         [0012]    In a further embodiment of the relay connector according to the present invention, the conductive wires of the FPC are exposed in at least a portion in the mating area at the free end of the flat cable, and the flat cable is accommodated in the connector accommodating space so that the wires thereof contact the corresponding connector terminals, are pressed against the bottom plate portion, and the adhesive is heated to be connected to the relay connector. 
         [0013]    In a still further embodiment of the relay connector according to the present invention, the flat cable is bonded to the bottom plate portion with an adhesive contained in the adhesive sheet. 
         [0014]    In accordance with the present invention, the relay connector has a housing including a bottom plate portion, mutually parallel side wall portions extending in a longitudinal direction of the bottom plate portion, and an accommodating space which is defined by the bottom plate portion and the side wall portions and is opened in a direction contrary to the bottom plate portion, the accommodating space accommodating therein terminals and an adhesive sheet being interposed between the terminals and the bottom plate portion. Hence, although the relay connector is small in its size and thickness while having a simple structure, the flat cable can be easily and surely connected thereto. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is an exploded view of an actuator of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  is an elevation view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, viewing along the line of arrow A-A in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the line B-B of  FIG. 3 , illustrating a state immediately before connection of the flat cable to the relay connector; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the line B-B of  FIG. 3 , illustrating a state immediately after connection of the flat cable to the relay connector; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a state before and after connection of the flat cable to the relay connector; and 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a relay connector according to the prior art. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0023]    Throughout the drawing FIG.ures, reference numeral  1  designates a relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, which is used for connecting together a pair of flat cables  101  which will be described later. The flat cable  101  is a flexible flat cable referred to as a flexible circuit board flexible printed circuit (FPC) a flexible flat cable (FFC) and the like, and may be any type of flat cable as long as it has conductive wires. 
         [0024]    In addition, in this embodiment, representations of directions such as up, down, left, right, front, rear, and the like, used for explaining the structure and movement of each part of the connector  1  are not absolute, but relative. These representations are appropriate when the connector  1  is in the position shown in the FIG.ures. If the position of the connector  1  changes, however, it is assumed that these representations are to be changed according to the change of the position of the connector  1 . 
         [0025]    The connector  1  has a flat housing  11  formed of an insulative material such as a plastic material such as PBT (polybutylene terephthalate), PC (polycarbonate), LCP (liquid crystal polymer), PPS (polyphenylsulfide), polyamide, PEEK (polyether-etherketone), or the like, and is molded such as by injection molding. It is preferred that the housing  11  is made of a high heat-resistant resin such as LCP. 
         [0026]    The housing  11  includes a bottom plate portion  12  in the term of a rectangular plate member and it has mutually parallel side wall portions  13  disposed upright on both sides of the bottom plate portion  12  and extending longitudinally. It also has doorsill portions  15  for connecting end portions of the side wall portions  13  arranged on both sides of the housing  11 . The plate portion  12 , the side wall portions  13 , and the doorsill portions  15  are preferably integrally formed together as one piece. Further, an accommodating space  16  is dispensed in the housing in a direction opposite the bottom plate portion  12  and is cooperatively defined by the bottom plate portion  12 , the side wall portions  13 , and the doorsill portions  15 . In addition, the doorsill portion  15  is formed with a reduced thickness and disposed at a lower level than the side wall portions  13 . Furthermore, engagement concave portions  14  are formed in a center of inner surfaces of the side wall portions  13  in a longitudinal direction. 
         [0027]    The terminals  51  extend longitudinally of the hosing  11 , and are made of an elastic conductive material such as phosphor bronze or copper, and have an approximately axially symmetric shape with respect to a straight line perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at a center thereof, that is, a shape approximately axially symmetrical with respect to the right and left in  FIG. 3 . Base portions  53  are disposed at the middle of the terminals  51  and have around the center of the base portions  53 , portions which are over-molded by a terminal holding member  31  also made of an insulating material. It is preferred that the terminal holding member  31  is formed of a high heat-resistant resin such as LCP for reasons to be explained. The terminals  51  are arranged in parallel with each other and are integrally held by the terminal holding member  31 . Further, a distance between neighboring terminals  51 , that is, a pitch of the terminals  51  is set around 0.1, for instance. In addition, the number and the pitch of the terminals  51  may be appropriately changed according to the number and the pitch of conductive wires  151  of the flat cable  101 , which will be described later. 
         [0028]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the terminals  51  extend for approximately the same length, respectively, with respect to right and left sides, of the terminal holding member  31 , toward opposite ends of the housing  11  in the longitudinal direction. In this case, a portion of each of the terminal base portions thereof projects from the housing  11  and a tilting portion  54  which functions as a contacting portion is connected to the extreme end of the base portion  53 , and further a tip portion  55  is connected to an end of the tilting portion  54 . It is to be noted that each of the terminals  51  projecting from side to side is naturally connected by the common base portion  53  in the terminal holding member  31 . 
         [0029]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the terminals  51  are held in the accommodating space  16  where the terminal holding member  31  is mounted on the housing  11 . The terminal base portions  53  extend parallel to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12  and, the tilting portions  54  are tilted with respect to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12  such that the closer to the terminal free ends thereof, the more the tilting portions  54  are raised, and the tip portions  55  are curved such that the free end portion of each tip portion  55  faces downward. In other words, a portion of the terminals  51  projecting from the terminal holding member  31  has the shape of a tilting cantilever, one end of which is held by the terminal holding member  31 , and the tip portions  55  positioned at free ends are placed in a state where these portions are spaced move away from the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12 . 
         [0030]    In addition, the terminal holding member  31  has a thick, plate-like body portion  31   a  with an upper surface thereof of an approximately rectangular shape, thin cable receiving portions  32  projecting from the body portion  31   a  toward the opposite ends of the housing  11 , and engagement ends  33 , that project from the body portion  31   a  toward both ends of the housing  11  in a transverse direction. The engagement end  33  are fitted in and engaged with the engagement concave portions  14  in a state where the terminal holding member  31  is mounted in the housing  11 , so that the terminal holding member  31  and the terminals  51  are in position relative to the housing  11 . 
         [0031]    The terminal holding member  31  and the terminals  51  are mounted on the housing  11  via an adhesive sheet  41  containing an adhesive. This adhesive sheet  41  is disposed on the bottom plate portion  12  of the housing  11  and the terminal holding member  31  is mounted on the housing  11  so that the terminal holding member  31  and its terminals  51  are positioned on and above the adhesive sheet  41 . The adhesive sheet  41  is formed of a prepreg comprised of a matrix material such as glass fibers impregnated with a thermoplastic adhesive such as a vinyl acetate resin system adhesive, an acrylic resin system adhesive, a vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer system adhesive, and a polyamide adhesive, for instance, however, the adhesive sheet  41  may be made of any material as long as it includes a thermoplastic adhesive. The adhesive sheet  41  has a rectangular shape, but, is slightly smaller in its size than the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12 . It is accommodated in the accommodating space  16  defined by the bottom plate portion  12 , the side wall portions  13 , and the threshold portions  15 . 
         [0032]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 1-3 , the adhesive sheet  41  is interposed between the bottom plate portion  12  and both the terminal holding member  31  and its terminals  51 . The adhesive sheet  41  has a bonding property even in a stage prior to hardening the adhesive like a normal prepreg, at least the terminal holding member  31  is bonded to the bottom plate portion  12  via the adhesive sheet  41 . The terminal tilting portions  54  and the tip portions  55  can be moved up and down because they are distant away from the adhesive sheet  41 . 
         [0033]    Next, the operation of connecting the flat cable  101  to the connector  1  will be explained. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the line B-B of  FIG. 3 , illustrating a state immediately before connection of the flat cable to the relay connector;  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along the line B-B of  FIG. 3 , illustrating a state immediately after connection of the flat cable to the relay connector; and  FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the relay connector according to the embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a state before and after connection of the flat cable to the relay connector. 
         [0035]    As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the flat cable  101  includes a substrate portion  111  that is an insulative thin-sheet member having a long strip-like shape and a plurality of conductive wires  151  disposed on one surface thereof (lower surface in the drawing FIG.ure) of the substrate portion  111 . The conductive wires  151  are typically flat lines made of conductive metal such as copper, and are arranged in parallel with one another at a predetermined pitch of 0.1 or so, for instance. The number and the pitch of the lead wires  151  can be appropriately changed, if necessary. 
         [0036]    The substrate portion  111  includes a laminated base film  112 , an adhesive layer  113 , and a covering film  114 . The base film  112  and the covering film  114  are made of a resin such as polyimide and polyester, for instance, and are preferably made of a heat-resistant resin. In addition, the adhesive layer  113  is an adhesion layer provided for bonding the base film  112  and the conductive wires  151  together. 
         [0037]    It is preferable that a surface of the conductive wire  151  on the side opposite to the substrate portion  111  is covered by an insulating protective film  115  and the protective film is removed only at a free end portion of the flat cable  101 , as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , and the conductive wires  151  are exposed, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 7 . 
         [0038]    When connecting the flat cable  101  to the connector  1 , first, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the flat cable  101  is positioned so that its free end portion is positioned above the connector  1 , and its conductive wires  151  confront the bottom plate portion  12 , and the direction in which the cable&#39;s conductive wires  151  extend coincides with the direction of the extent of the terminals  51 . 
         [0039]    For instance, in  FIG. 3 , the flat cable  101  connected to the right side portion of the connector  1  is positioned above the terminals  51  on the right side so that the end face of the flat cable  101  is directed toward the left, and the same free end of the flat cable  101  is nearly in registration with the boundary line between the body portion  31   a  of the terminal holding member  31  and the cable receiving portion  32  on the right side, and both side surfaces of the flat cable free ends are nearly abutting the inner surfaces of the side wall portions  13  arranged on both sides. 
         [0040]    In  FIG. 3 , the flat cable  101  to be connected to a left side portion of the connector  1  is positioned above the terminals  51  on the left side in such a manner that the end face of the flat cable  101  is directed to the right and the same end face of the flat cable  101  is nearly in registration with the boundary line between the body portion  31   a  of the terminal holding member  31  and the cable receiving portion  32  on the left side of the terminal holding newer, and both side faces of the flat cable free ends are nearly abutting the inner surfaces of the side wall portions  13  arranged on both sides. 
         [0041]    It is to be noted that as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the flat cable  101  is positioned such that each conductive wire  151  of the flat cable  101  confronts the corresponding terminal  51  of the connector. 
         [0042]    Subsequently, from a state illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the flat cable  101  is moved downward in order to press against the bottom plate portion  12  of the housing  11 . In this case, as in normal thermocompression bonding, the flat cable  101  is pressed against the housing  11  while being heated. Hence, the thermoplastic adhesive contained in the adhesive sheet  41  is heated and becomes platic. 
         [0043]    When the flat cable  101  is moved downward, the flat cable  101  is positioned by moving the end face of the flat cable  101  along the boundary surface between the body portion  31   a  and the cable receiving portion  32  of the terminal holding member  31 . The flat cable  101  with respect to the width direction relative to the housing  11  is positioned by moving both sides of the end portion of the flat cable  101  along the inner surfaces of the both side wall portions  13 . Thus, each conductive wire  151  of the flat cable  101  reliably comes into contact with the corresponding terminal  51 . 
         [0044]    As described above, a portion of each of the terminals  51  projects from the terminal holding member  31  and has a shape of an oblique cantilever with the terminal tip portions  55  being widely spaced above the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12 . Therefore, when the flat cable  101  is moved downward, first, the terminal tip portions  55  or a portion near the tip of the tilting portions  54  contact with the conductive wires  151  of the flat cable  101 . Subsequently, when the flat cable  101  is moved further downward, the terminals  51  are resiliently displaced by being pressed downward by the conductive wires  151 . When pressure is applied on the flat cable  101  and the cable  101  is pressed against the bottom plate portion  12  of the housing  11 , the terminals  51  will deflect to the extent that the terminal tilting portions  54  become nearly parallel to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12 . 
         [0045]    In this condition, the terminals  51  are pressed up wordly against the conductive wires  151  by their own flexibility. Therefore, each terminal  51  and the corresponding conductive wire  151  reliably contact each other and form a connection. In addition, since the terminal tilting portions  54  are nearly parallel to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12 , nearly the entire tilting portions  54  contact the cable conductive wires  151 . Therefore, since each terminal  51  and its corresponding conductive wire  151  contact each other in a large area, electrical connection of the terminals  51  and the conductive wires  151  is reliably established. 
         [0046]    By heating the flat cable  101  and the housing  11 , the thermoplastic adhesive contained in the adhesive sheet  41  is heated until plastic, and the plasticized adhesive flows and to passes through and between the terminals  51  and flows into portions between the flat cable  101  and the bottom plate portion  12  to form an integrated together. As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , an adhesive filling layer  42  is thus formed. The adhesive filling layer  42  includes the thermoplastic adhesive and the adhesive sheet  41 , and when heating is stopped, the adhesive filling layer  42  cools and solidifies, and maintains a shape shown in the right side in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . In this instance, the flat cable  101  is bonded to the bottom plate portion  12  via the adhesive filling layer  42 . 
         [0047]    The adhesive filling layer  42  is made of the thermoplastic adhesive flowing into portions between the flat cable  101  and the bottom plate portion  12 , so that every gap formed is filled with the thermoplastic adhesive even if the shape of the lower surface of the flat cable  101  and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion  12  are complicated. For this reason, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the adhesive filling layer  42  surrounds the periphery of each of the conductive wires  151  and the terminals  51  as well as coming into each portion between the neighboring conductive wires  151  in the lower surface of the flat cable  101  to be bonded with the adhesive layer  113 . Thus, the flat cable  101  bonds to the bottom plate portion  12  and contact between the conductive wires  151  and the terminals  51  is reliably maintained. In addition, since the conductive wires  151  and the terminals  51  are surrounded by the adhesive filling layer  42 , contact between the conductive wires  151  and the terminals  51  is reliably maintained even if the terminals  51  are less flexible. In other words, even if the upward urging force generated by the flexibility of the terminals  51  themselves is weak, contact is maintained. 
         [0048]    Further, since the end face of the flat cable  101  is moved along the boundary surface between the body portion  31   a  and the cable receiving portion  320  of the terminal holding member  31 , the flat cable  101  is bonded to the bottom plate portion  12  so that an area of the flat cable  101  having a predetermined length from the end face is positioned on the cable receiving portion  32 . Therefore, the terminal holding member  31  will be in a state of being pressed against the bottom plate portion  12  from above by the flat cable  101  and is reliably held in the housing  11 . 
         [0049]    As described above, when the flat cables  101  are connected to the right side portion and the left side portion of the connector  1 , the conductive wires  151  of each flat cable  101  and the terminals  51  will be electrically connected to each other, and therefore, the conductive wires  151  of both of the flat cables  101  are electrically connected to each other via the terminals  51 . 
         [0050]    Disconnection of the connector  1  and the flat cable  101  can be achieved by heating the flat cable  101  and the housing  11 . Until the thermoplastic adhesive plastic and, the flat cable  101  bonded to the bottom plate portion  12  via the adhesive layer  42  can be separated apart from the bottom plate portion  12  at the connector. At least a portion of the thermoplastic adhesive contained in the adhesive filling layer  42  remains on the bottom plate portion  12  together with the adhesive sheet  41  even after the flat cable  101  is removed from the bottom plate portion  12 . As a result, as with the connector  1  prior to connecting to the flat cables  101 , the flat cable  101  can be again connected to the connector  1  by applying pressure and heat to the flat cables  101  and the housing  11 . 
         [0051]    As described above, the connector  1  according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the housing  11  for accommodating at least a predetermined area from an end of a pair of flat cables  101  and the terminals  51  having an approximately axially symmetrical shape relative to a straight line perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in a center thereof, and further includes the terminal holding member  31  integrally formed with a portion of the terminals  51  including at least a center of the terminals  51  in the longitudinal direction and mounted on the housing  11  while holding a plurality of terminals  51 , whereas the housing  11  includes the bottom plate portion  12 , the mutually parallel side wall portions  13  extending in a longitudinal direction of the bottom plate portion  12 , and the accommodating space  16  defined by the bottom plate portion  12  and the side wall portions  13  and opened in a direction contrary to the bottom plate portion  12 , wherein the terminals  51  are accommodated in the accommodating space  16  and the adhesive sheet  41  is interposed between the terminals  51  and the bottom plate portion  12 . 
         [0052]    Accordingly, the terminals  51  can be made very thin and the pitches of the terminals  51  can be narrowed. In addition, the size and thickness of the connector  1  can be reduced. Further, although the structure of the connector  1  is simple, a pair of flat cables  101  can be easily and surely connected to the connector  1 . 
         [0053]    In addition, the terminals  51  have base portions  53 , at least a portion thereof is covered by the terminal holding member  31  and the tilting portions  54  connected to the end of the base portions  53 , wherein the tilting portions  54  are tilted with respect to the bottom plate portion  12  such that the closer to their end, the more the tilting portions  54  are separated apart from the bottom plate portion  12 , the terminals  51  are flexible, and at least the tilting portions  54  are separated apart from the adhesive sheet  41 . 
         [0054]    Hence, the tilting portions  54  of the terminals  51  can be moved up and down. Further, the terminals  51  are pressed against the conductive wires  151  of the flat cable  101  by upward urging force generated by its own flexibility. Therefore, each terminal  51  and the corresponding conductive wire  151  reliably contact each other. 
         [0055]    Further, the flat cable  101  has conductive wires  151  which are exposed at least a portion in a predetermined area from the end of the flat cable  101  to lie in a flat plane, and is accommodated in the accommodating space  16  in such a manner that the conductive wires  151  may come into contact with the corresponding terminals  51 , and may be pressed against the bottom plate portion  12  to be connected to the connector  1  by being heated. 
         [0056]    Therefore, the flat cables  101  can be connected to the connector in an identical method to the normal thermocompression and therefore, a connection work can be easily performed. 
         [0057]    Further, the flat cable  101  is bonded to the bottom plate portion  12  with the adhesive contained in the adhesive sheet  41 . 
         [0058]    Therefore, no soldering is required for connecting the flat cable  101  and thus, heating at high temperature for reflow of soldering is not required either. Accordingly, the connector  1  may never be thermally deformed. 
         [0059]    The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be changed in various ways based on the gist of the present invention, and these changes are not eliminated from the scope of the present invention.