Patent Publication Number: US-11646507-B2

Title: Electrical connector

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The current invention relates to an electrical connector, which is suitable for use in active garments and other active products. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     An active garment or other active product (in the following sometimes only referred to as active garment) may be defined as a garment having an added functionality compared to a traditional garment. The added functionality may include heating by heating elements, cooling by cooling elements and measurement of body functions by sensor elements incorporated in the garment. These active elements are generally powered and controlled from a power unit which is carried on the active garment and which is connected to electrical terminals on the active garment. The electrical terminals connect the power unit to the active elements via electrical conductors incorporated in the active garment. 
     An active garment may include one or more layers of fabrics. Normally it is desirable to have the power unit and thus the electrical terminals for connecting the power unit on the outside of the outmost layer or the inside of the innermost layer where the power unit is easily available for a user. However, if the electrical conductors are not accessible on the side of the fabric where the power unit is to be connected, but for instance run between two layers of fabrics, a special solution is needed in order to connect the electrical conductors to electrical terminals that are accessible to the power unit. The connection solution also needs to be easily assembled in manufacturing processes and still resistant to attrition, applied forces, sweat and washing. 
     WO 2016/072925 shows a holding element which is intended to be affixed to an active article of clothing at two spaced apart locations. It is provided with first electrical terminals for connection to an activation unit, which is to be secured to the article of clothing by the holding element, second electrical terminals for connection to a functional component of the active article of clothing and electrically conductive paths between the first and second terminals, the second electrical terminals being placed where the holding element is intended to be affixed to the article of clothing and making contact with electrically conductive material in the article of clothing. This solution presupposes that the electrical conductors are accessible at the two spaced apart locations where the holding element is to be affixed to an article of clothing. 
     US 2012/0193342 shows an electrically heatable sock with a heating element disposed on the foot part. The heating element is connected via supply lines to terminals for a voltage supply in the upper part of the sock. The terminals are arranged on a carrier which may be sewn on the cuff of the heatable sock. This solution presupposes that the electrical conductors are accessible at the outside of the sock so that they can be connected to the terminals on the carrier. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is an objective of the invention to at least partly overcome one or more limitations of the prior art. 
     Another objective is to provide an electrical connector which is suitable for connecting one or more electrical conductors in an active garment or other active product to one or more electrical terminals of a power unit, control unit or similar unit independently of the position of the electrical conductor(s) in relation to one or more layers of fabrics or other material in the active garment. 
     One or more of these objectives, as well as further objectives that may appear from the description below, are at least partly achieved by an electrical connector according to the independent claim, embodiments thereof being defined by the dependent claims. 
     According to one aspect of the invention, an electrical connector comprises a male element and a female element configured to form a rivet for fastening the electrical connector to a piece of material and a neck washer, which has a washer portion and a neck portion and which is configured to be placed between the male element and the female element of the rivet, wherein the washer portion of the neck washer is configured to form an electrical connection area for an electrical conductor of the piece of material and the neck portion of the neck washer is configured to electrically connect the washer portion to at least one of the male element and the female element. 
     If an active product includes two or more layers of material and an electrical conductor runs between the layers, the neck washer may be placed between the male element and the female element so that its washer portion extends between the relevant layers of material and provides a connection area for the electrical conductor. Thus the electrical connector can be used even if the electrical conductor is not accessible on the outside of the active product. 
     Still other objectives, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description, from the attached claims as well as from the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings. 
         FIG.  1    shows a cross section of a rivet, commonly used as a button in jeans, in a non-riveted state. 
         FIG.  2    shows a cross section of the button of  FIG.  1    in a riveted state. 
         FIG.  3    shows an embodiment of a neck washer. 
         FIG.  4    shows a cross section of a first embodiment of an electrical connector in the riveted state. 
         FIG.  5    shows a cross section of a second embodiment of an electrical connector in the riveted state. 
         FIG.  6    shows a cross section of a third embodiment of an electrical connector in the riveted state with a power unit connected to it. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     Riveting is a common method within the field of ready-made clothing. It is used to hold together layers of fabrics, to re-enforce stress points and to fasten buttons, typically in jeans.  FIG.  1    shows a cross section of a common type of rivet used for jeans buttons. It has a male element  1  and a female element  2 . The male element  1  has the general shape of a nail with a head  3  and a pointy pin  4 . The female element  2  constitutes the button and has a cap  5 , a cylindrical neck  6  with an opening  7 , and a support part  8  which forms a support area against the jeans fabric. When fastening the rivet in the jeans, the pointy end of the nail  1  is stuck through the jeans fabric. Then a tool is used to squeeze the nail  1  and the button  2  together so that the pin  4  of the nail enters the opening  7  in the cylindrical neck  6 . The pin  4  is deformed in the female element  2  so that a permanent joint is created. 
     If at least one part of the rivet is electrically conductive, it could be used as an electrical connector, which is further illustrated in  FIG.  2   . 
     In  FIG.  2   , a rivet or electrical connector of the same type as shown in  FIG.  1    is riveted in a piece of fabric  10  which is held between the male element  1  and the female element  2  of the rivet. An electrical conductor  11  runs on the top of the fabric  10  and makes contact with the underside of the support part  8  and the bottom of the neck. If the female element  2  is electrically conductive, an electrical current can flow from the electrical conductor  11  to the cap  5  and further on to an electrical terminal (not shown) in contact with the cap  5  or vice versa. 
     If instead the conductor  11  would run on the underside of the piece of fabric  10 , it would make contact with the head  3  of the male element  1  and if both the male element  1  and the female element  2  are electrically conductive, current can flow from the male element  1  to the cap  5  of the female element  2  and further on to an electrical terminal (not shown) in contact with the cap  5  or vice versa. 
     However, if there are two layers of fabrics  10  between the elements  1 ,  2  of the rivet and the conductor  11  runs on the underside of the top layer or on the top of the bottom layer, i.e. between the two layers, the conductor neither contacts the female element  2 , nor the head  3  of the nail  1 , and the contact area between the conductor  11  and the pin  4  of the male element  1  is insufficient to reliably transfer current between the conductor  11  and the electrical connector. 
     To solve this problem, an electrical connector, which has a male element  1  and a female element  2  configured to from a rivet for fastening the electrical connector to a piece of material, is further provided with a neck washer  30 , an embodiment of which is schematically shown in  FIG.  3   . 
     The neck washer  30  has a washer portion  31  which is configured to form a connection area for an electrical conductor and a neck portion  32  which is configured to electrically connect the washer portion  31  to either the male element  1  or the female element  2  of the electrical connector, or both. In the embodiment shown in  FIG.  3   , the washer portion  31  extends radially from the cylindrical neck portion  32  to form a circular connection area for the electrical conductor. In other embodiments, the washer portion  31  and the neck portion  32  may be differently shaped. They need not be symmetrical but may have an irregular shape, and they need not be continuous but may consist of several parts. The sizes of the neck portion and the washer portion may vary. Also, the neck washer may be made in one piece. It may have a rounded transition between the washer portion  31  and the neck portion  32 . The angle between the neck portion and the washer portion may vary, but generally the washer portion  31  may extend in the transverse direction from the neck portion  32 . 
     The neck washer  30  is configured to be placed between the male element  1  and the female element  2  of the rivet. For that purpose, the inner diameter of the neck portion  32  may be larger than the outer diameter of the pin  4  so that the neck washer can be placed on the pin  4  of the male element  1 . Also, in some embodiments, the outer diameter of the neck portion  32  may be smaller than the inner diameter of the opening  7  in the female element  2  so that the neck portion may extend into the opening  7  and be accommodated in the opening  7 . Alternatively, the neck portion  32  may be deformable so that the neck washer can be placed on the pin  4  and/or extend into the opening  7 . Depending on the number of layers of fabrics the electrical connector is riveted in and depending on where the electrical conductor is running in relation to these layers of fabrics, the neck washer  30  can be differently located in relation to the layers of fabrics. Thus, when fastening the electrical connector, the male element  1  may first be stuck through only one or some of the layers of fabrics, then the washer  30  placed on the pin  4  of the male element  1  so that the washer portion  31  makes contact with the electrical conductor  11  either at its lower side or at its upper side, and then the male element  1  is stuck through the remaining layer(s) of fabrics before being squeezed together with the female element  2 . 
       FIG.  4    shows an example where the rivet-type electrical connector is fastened in two layers of fabrics  10   a ,  10   b  and an electrical conductor  11  runs on the upper side of the bottom layer  10   b . The pin  4  of the male element extends through both layers of fabric into the female element  2  and makes contact with the female element. The neck washer  30  is placed on the pin  4  of the male element  1  with the washer portion  31  extending between the layers of fabric  10   a ,  10   b  transversely from the pin  4 . The neck portion  32  extends in the longitudinal direction of the pin  4  of the male element  1  and makes contact with the inside of the female element  2  and the outside of the pin  4  of the male element  1 . It should be mentioned that  FIG.  4    shows gaps between the neck portion  32  of the neck washer  30  and the outside of the pin  4  of the male element  1  and the inside of the neck part  6  of the female element  2 , respectively. These gaps are solely for illustrative purposes to make the figure clearer. In a real electrical connector, the neck portion  32  of the neck washer  30  will be in close contact with the inside of the neck part  6  of the female element  2  in the riveted state and optionally also with the outside of the pin  4  of the male element  1 . The washer portion  31  of the neck washer  30  forms a connection area for the conductor  11  on the upper side of the bottom layer  10   b  of the fabric. Current can flow from the conductor  11  through the washer portion  31 , the neck portion  32 , to the female element  2  and its cap  5 , or vice versa. In this example, only the female element  2  and the neck washer  30  need to be made from electrically conductive material. The male element  1  could be of non-conductive material, e.g. plastic. It may, however, also be of electrically conductive material. A male element  1  of plastic may lead to lowered cost for the electrical connector and increased comfort for a user of an active garment. 
       FIG.  5    shows another embodiment of the electrical connector where the neck washer  30  has a shorter neck portion  32  compared to the neck portion of the neck washer in  FIG.  4   . In this embodiment, the neck portion  32  of the neck washer  30  does not extend into the opening  7  of the female element  2 . It connects only with the male element  1  in the riveted state. Current can flow from the conductor  11  through the washer portion  31  and the neck portion  32  of the neck washer  30  to the male element  1  and further on to the female element  2  and its cap  5 , or vice versa. The male element  1 , the neck washer  30  and the female element  2  need all be electrically conductive. A neck washer  30  with a shorter neck portion  32  need not be stuck through as many layer of fabrics as a neck washer with a longer neck portion  32 . A longer neck portion  32  may on the other hand lead to fewer electrical connection points. 
     In the embodiments of  FIGS.  4  and  5   , the cap  5  of the female element  2  of the electrical connector forms an electrical terminal. As an alternative, it is of course possible to use the head  3  of the male element  1  of the electrical connector as an electrical terminal that is to connect to an electrical terminal of another device. In such case, the electrical connector can be fastened so that the head  3  is placed on the outside of the garment or in another location where it should be available. In such case, the female element  2  may be formed of non-conductive material. 
       FIG.  6    shows an electrical connector having two connector elements  60 ,  61  formed by two rivets of the same kind as shown in  FIG.  4   . More particularly, a first connector element  60  comprises a first male element  1 , a first female element  2  and a first neck washer  30 , and a second connector element  61  comprises a second male element  1 , a second female element  2  and a second neck washer  30 . The two connector elements  60 ,  61  are held at a fixed distance from each other by means of a spacer  62 , which is schematically shown in  FIG.  6   . The spacer may have a first and a second opening for the first and second connector element  60 ,  61 , respectively. The first and second openings may have a first diameter and a second smaller diameter so that a supporting ledge  67  is formed around the wall of each one of the openings. The first and second diameters may be adapted to the diameter of the caps  5  of the female elements  2 , so that the undersides of the caps  5  may rest against the ledge  67 , thereby to hold the female elements  2  in the openings of the spacer  62 . In some embodiments, the electrical connector may also comprise a second spacer (not shown) which may be placed in the corresponding way on the underside of the electrical connector, i.e. on the underside of the piece(s) of textile when the electrical connector is in the riveted state. The second spacer may have a first and second opening for the male elements  1  of the connector elements  60 ,  61 . The openings of the second spacer may also have a first diameter and a second smaller diameter so that a supporting ledge is formed around the walls of each one of the openings. The diameters may be adapted to the diameter of the heads  3  of the male elements  1 , so that the upper side of the heads  3  of the male elements  1  may rest against the respective ledge, thereby to hold the male elements  1  in the openings of the spacer. The purpose of the one or two spacers is to hold the electrical connector elements  60 ,  61  at a fixed distance to each other and to take up shear forces. 
     The electrical connector illustrated in  FIG.  6    may be connected, via the neck washers  30 , to a respective electrical conductor  11  in a piece of textile, and, via the caps  5 , to two electrical terminals  64  of another device  65  which is schematically shown in  FIG.  6    by broken lines at a distance from the two electrical connector elements  60 ,  61 . The other device may be a power source that provides power to a functional component (heating element, cooling element, sensor or the like) of the active garment. It may also be a control device that provides control signals to the functional component or a combination of a power source and a control unit. The caps may also be configured to hold the power unit  64  by a mechanical grip, by a friction force or by a magnetic force. 
     The neck washer  30  shown in  FIG.  6    may be replaced by a differently designed neck washer, e.g. the one shown in  FIG.  5   . 
     As has already been mentioned above, the electrical connector may be used in active garments, such as socks, gloves, underwear, jackets, pants, sweaters, sports clothing, caps and all other kinds of garments, and in other active products. A mentioned, the active garment and the other active products may include layers of fabrics. In some embodiments, they may include layers of other textile materials or layers of other soft materials, like silicone or neoprene, or layers of other materials in which the electrical connector can be fastened. Generally the electrical connector is suitable for any piece of material in which a rivet can be fastened. Example of other active textile products include actively heated/cooled blankets, belts and heat pads. Examples of sensors included in active garments and other active products comprise pedometers, heart rate monitors, temperature sensors and similar devices. 
     The electrical connector has been illustrated in the drawings with a male element and a female element of a specific design. However, it should be understood that rivets exist in a multitude of designs and the design of the male element and the female element may therefore vary to a large extent depending on the specific use of the electrical connector. The shape, the size and the material of the male and female elements may vary and they may consist of a single part or an assembly of two or more parts. The important aspect is that the male element and the female element are configured to form a rivet for fastening the electrical connector to a piece of material. 
     The electrical conductor  11  may be integrated in one of the layers of the piece of material to which the electrical connector is fastened. It may for instance be knitted or woven into a layer of fabric. The electrical conductor  11  may alternatively be attached to the layer of material. It may for instance be sewn or embroidered onto a layer of fabric. As shown in  FIG.  4   , in some embodiments, an end  11   a  of the electrical conductor  11  may be loose. This loose end  11   a  may be folded upwards into the neck portion  32  of the neck washer  30  so that it is clamped between the neck portion  32  and the pin  4  of the male element  1 . In this case, also the neck portion  32  will form an electrical connection area for the electrical conductor  11 . 
     As mentioned, the cap  5  of the female element  2  and the head  3  of the male element  1  of the electrical connector may be used as an electrical terminal. The cap  5  and/or the head  3  may additionally be configured and shaped as a fastening element to hold a matching fastening element of another device by mechanical grip, friction force, magnetic force or any other suitable means. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and the scope of the appended claims.