Patent ID: 8714836

Claim:
An optical/electrical composite connector including a male connector and a female connector for making an optical fiber connection and an electric wiring connection, the male connector comprising: a housing; a ferrule provided at an end portion of an optical fiber on a side of the male connector which is connected to the female connector, wherein the optical fiber extends from a composite cable; and an electrode terminal formed of a resilient material and connected to an electrical wire of the composite cable, wherein the electrode terminal extends along an inner wall of the housing, and is out of contact with the optical fiber and the inner wall of the housing to be suspended in a space inside the housing, the female connector comprising: a core to transmit an optical signal; a cladding to cover the core; an electric wiring provided and exposed on an outer wall surface of the cladding; a sleeve in which the ferrule of the male connector is fitted, the sleeve being provided at an end portion of the cladding on a side of the female connector which is connected to the male connector; and a lens provided in the sleeve, wherein, when the ferrule and the sleeve are fitted together, the electrode terminal of the male connector and the electric wiring of the female connector are electrically connected, with the electrode terminal being in contact with the electric wiring in the space inside the housing of the male connector, and the optical fiber of the male connector and the core of the female connector are optically connected through the lens.