JP3359665B2 - Memory card and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a memory card provided with a volatile memory, and more particularly to a main battery for backing up information stored in the volatile memory and a main battery for replacing the main battery. The present invention relates to a memory card including a spare battery for backing up information stored in the volatile memory instead of a battery, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A memory card provided with a volatile memory (RAM) has a feature that a storage capacity of information is large and processing such as writing and reading of information is performed quickly.

[0003] By the way, this type of memory card has to keep supplying power to the RAM even when it is removed from an information processing device such as a card reader / writer when not in use.
There is a disadvantage that information stored in the RAM is lost.

For this reason, a battery for backing up information stored in the RAM is incorporated in the card, and when the card is not used, power is continuously supplied from the battery to the RAM. And recently, the main battery for back-up,
At the time of replacement of the main battery, a memory card having two types of batteries, a backup battery that backs up in place of the main battery, is being studied.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are a bottom view and a partially enlarged sectional view of a memory card of this type with a lower name plate removed.

As shown in these figures, a printed circuit board 1
On both sides, electronic components such as an IC chip 2 are mounted, and a secondary battery 3 as a spare battery is
Is fixed in advance to the lower surface of the printed circuit board 1 by soldering.

The printed circuit board 1 with the secondary battery 3 is
It is housed and held in a concave portion inside the frame 5 formed of a synthetic resin. On the upper surface of the frame 5, a metal nameplate 7 is thermally melted via a thermal adhesive sheet 6, and the frame 5
The lower surface of the metal 9
Is fixed.

Metal plates are used as name plates 7 and 9 to protect various electronic components mounted on the printed circuit board 1 and to prevent deformation of the frame 5. Has a design, a trademark, etc. printed as appropriate.

Further, since the bonding force between the frame 5 and the lower name plate 9 is insufficient with the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet 8 alone, and there is a concern that the lower name plate 9 may be turned off from the frame 5, as shown in FIG. A rising portion 10 is provided in the periphery, and an engaging port 11 is formed in that portion. On the other hand, an elastic piece 12 is formed near the outer peripheral portion of the frame 5, and a claw 13 that fits into the engagement opening 11 is protruded from an outer surface of the elastic piece 12, and the engagement between the claw 13 and the engagement opening 11 is performed. Thus, the joint between the frame 5 and the lower name plate 9 is reinforced. This claw 13 (engaging port 11) is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a large number are provided at predetermined intervals near the outer peripheral portion of the card.

The primary battery holder 1 which houses and holds the primary battery 14 from the side of the card body incorporated as described above.
5 is detachably inserted.

Although not shown, the RAM is backed up by the primary battery 14 in a normal state when the card is not used, but when the primary battery 14 is replaced due to a reduced discharge capacity. In place of the primary battery 14,
A power supply circuit is provided so that the RAM is backed up by the secondary battery 3.

[0012]

In this conventional memory card, when assembling the memory card, the thermal effect on the secondary battery 3 becomes a problem. That is, the secondary battery 3 is previously fixed to the printed circuit board 1 by soldering, and the lower nameplate 9 can be joined only in a state where the printed circuit board 1 is mounted on the frame 5 to which the upper nameplate 7 is already fixed. If the frame 5 and the lower name plate 9 are to be joined by heat fusion with good productivity, the lower name plate 9 is made of a metal plate with good heat conductivity. The generated heat reaches the secondary battery 3 through the lower nameplate 9. Therefore, the secondary battery 3 is temporarily heated to a high temperature state, and there is a concern that gas is generated inside the battery, which is not preferable.

When the upper nameplate 7 is mounted on the frame 5, the upper nameplate 7 is fixed without the printed circuit board 1. Has been adopted.

In order to avoid the above-mentioned thermal adverse effect on the secondary battery 3, the lower nameplate 9 is conventionally fixed via the double-sided adhesive sheet 8 as described above, and the lower nameplate 9 is further reinforced. In this situation, it is necessary to adopt a structure in which a locking port 11 is formed on the side and a claw 13 is provided on the side of the frame 5 to mechanically engage the two.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a plurality of pairs of elastic pieces 12 having claws 13 on the periphery of the frame 5 and spaces 16 for allowing the elastic pieces 12 to be deformed inward. The structure of the mold to be used is complicated, which leads to an increase in cost. Also, as shown in FIG. 18, the space 16 for deforming the elastic piece 12 is necessary, so that the area of the double-sided adhesive sheet 8 to be attached is inevitably narrowed, and The bonding strength with the nameplate 9 is weak. In addition, since the locking holes 11 and the claws 13 provided at a plurality of locations must be engaged during the card assembling process, there are various disadvantages such as poor productivity.

Conventionally, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-217297, a main battery (primary battery) and a spare battery (primary battery) are prepared so that an end user can use a memory card. For the first time, it has been proposed that the main battery and the spare battery are detachably mounted on the card body.

However, if both the main battery and the spare battery are detachable from the card body as described above, the main battery and the spare battery may fall off the card body due to an unexpected impact such as dropping. As a result, the function of backing up recorded information is lost, and there is a problem in reliability.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide a memory card having high reliability and good productivity and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main battery comprising, for example, a primary battery for backing up information stored in a volatile memory (RAM), and a method for replacing the main battery. A backup battery comprising, for example, a secondary battery for backing up information stored in the volatile memory (RAM) in place of the primary battery, and the volatile battery (RAM) mounted thereon; A printed circuit board connected to, and a frame formed of, for example, a synthetic resin for storing and supporting the printed circuit board,
The present invention is directed to a memory card including a metal nameplate fixed to both upper and lower surfaces of the frame.

[0020] Then the upper and lower nameplate accommodating the printed circuit board, are thermally fused using the support frame, for example, thermal adhesive sheet or the like, the card body is formed by the printed circuit board and the frame and the upper and lower nameplate The card body has two battery insertion openings into which batteries can be inserted from the outside, the main battery is replaceably mounted through one of the battery insertion openings provided in the card body, and the spare battery is a secondary battery. Wherein the spare battery is removably mounted from the other battery insertion slot provided in the card body, and the spare battery is charged by the battery mounted on the main battery insertion slot. .

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printed circuit board having a volatile memory (RAM) and no battery mounted therein, which is stored and held in a frame, and metal nameplates are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the frame. The name plate is fixed to the frame by heat fusion to form a card body without a battery having two battery insertion ports. Thereafter, the information stored in the volatile memory (RAM) is stored. the reserve battery comprising a rechargeable battery for backing, is characterized in that mounted non-removable from the two battery insertion opening caries Chi one battery insertion opening of the card body.

[0022]

According to the present invention, as described above, a spare battery is not incorporated together when assembling the card body, so that a heat-sealing method with good productivity can be adopted for fixing the upper and lower nameplates to the frame. Work efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the spare battery is attached to the card body so as not to be detachable, a backup function of recorded information can be reliably exhibited, and high reliability can be obtained.

[0024]

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an IC memory card according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the memory card, and FIG.
4 is a bottom view of the upper nameplate to which the thermal adhesive sheet is attached, FIG. 4 is a top view of the lower nameplate to which the thermal adhesive sheet is attached, FIG. 5 is a top view of the primary battery holder, and FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the primary battery holder. 7 is a sectional view of the primary battery holder, FIG. 8 is a top view of the secondary battery holder, FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the secondary battery holder, FIG. 10 is a front view of the secondary battery holder, and FIG. Is a sectional view of the secondary battery holder, FIG. 12 is a partial bottom view of the card main body before the battery is mounted, FIG. 13 is a partial bottom view of the card main body with the battery mounted, and FIG. 14 is a RAM back-up. It is a circuit diagram.

As shown in FIG. 1, the IC memory card is composed of a card body 20 and a button type silver battery, for example.
It is mainly composed of a secondary battery 14 and a secondary battery 3 such as a button-type lithium battery.

As shown in FIG. 2, the card body 20 is made of a synthetic resin having a printed board 1 on both sides on which electronic components such as an IC chip 2 are mounted, and a concave portion for storing and holding the printed board 1 inside. It is composed of a frame 5, a metal upper nameplate 7, and a metal lower nameplate 9.

As shown in FIG. 12, near one corner of the frame 5, a primary battery storage section 21 and a secondary battery storage section 22 are provided close to each other. The secondary battery accommodating portion 22 communicates with the primary battery insertion opening 23 that opens outward, and the secondary battery housing portion 22 opens outward.
It communicates with the next battery insertion port 24. Primary battery compartment 21
The anode terminal plate 25 for the primary battery and the anode terminal plate 26 for the secondary battery are arranged elastically deformable on the side of the secondary battery housing 22, respectively.
The other ends of 5 and 26 are connected to an anode terminal pattern (not shown) of the printed circuit board 1, respectively. One common cathode terminal plate 27 is arranged from the lower surface of the primary battery housing portion 21 to the lower surface of the secondary battery housing portion 22, and the other end thereof is connected to a cathode terminal portion pattern (not shown) of the printed circuit board 1. It is connected.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, on both side surfaces of the frame 5, finger catch portions 28 for catching fingers when the memory card is pulled out from the card reader / writer are formed by knurling.

The upper nameplate 7 has a flat plate shape, and a heat bonding sheet 6 is heat-sealed in advance at a portion in contact with the frame 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a rising portion 10 is formed at a predetermined position around the lower name plate 9, and a heat bonding sheet 6 is heat-sealed in advance at a portion in contact with the frame 5. The heat bonding sheet 6 is made of a non-woven fabric coated on both sides with a hot melt type adhesive such as ethylene vinyl acetal (EVA). The hot-melt adhesive may be applied directly to the inner surfaces of the upper and lower nameplates 7 and 9 without using the thermal adhesive sheet 6.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the primary battery holder 29 for storing and holding the primary battery 14 is
A first elastic piece 31 having a relatively short length is provided on one side surface, and a second elastic piece 32 having a relatively long length is provided on the other side surface. Has been established. In the vicinity of the tip of the first elastic piece 31, a protrusion 3 is provided.
3, a concave portion 34 is formed near the distal end of the second elastic piece 32.

Further, a concave groove 35 is provided in the front center of the primary battery holder 29, and is used when the primary battery holder 29 is pulled out from the card body 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a + display portion 36 is provided on the surface of the primary battery holder 29 to help prevent erroneous insertion of the primary battery 14.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 11, the secondary battery holder 37 for storing and holding the secondary battery 3 has an insertion recess 38 for inserting the secondary battery 3 at substantially the center, and has both sides thereof. The locking claw 39 is provided so as to protrude outward. A finger hook 40 similar to the finger hook 28 of the frame 5 is formed on the front surface of the secondary battery holder 37 by knurling.

The IC chip 2, the primary battery 14, the secondary battery 3, and the main power supply Vcc on the card reader / writer side are shown in FIG.
And the main power supply Vcc
, And between the IC chip 2 and the batteries 14 and 3, diodes 41 are interposed. Also 4
Reference numeral 2 denotes a resistor for limiting the charging current of the secondary battery 3. As is clear from this circuit diagram, the secondary battery 3 is always charged by the primary battery 14.

Next, the order of assembling the memory card will be described. An electronic component such as an IC chip 2 is mounted on the printed circuit board 1 and a heat bonding sheet 6 is heat-sealed in advance to the inner surfaces of the upper and lower name plates 7 and 9.

Then, the printed circuit board 1 on which the batteries 3 and 14 are not mounted is housed in a frame 5, an upper name plate 7 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the frame 5, and a lower name plate 9 is mounted on the lower surface of the frame 5.
And heat is applied from above and below so that the heat bonding sheet 6
And the upper and lower nameplates 7 and 9 are thermally fused to the upper and lower surfaces of the frame 5. In this manner, the printed circuit board 1, the frame 5, and the upper and lower name plates 7, 9 constitute the card body 20,
A primary battery insertion slot 23 and a secondary battery insertion slot 24 are formed on the side surface of the card body 20 and open outward.

Next, the primary battery for charging is stored in the primary battery holder for charging, and the uncharged secondary battery 3 is placed in the secondary battery holder 37.
And inserted through the primary battery insertion slot 23 and the secondary battery insertion slot 24, respectively. The shape and size of the primary battery for charging and the primary battery holder for charging are exactly the same as those of the primary battery 14 and the primary battery holder 29 shown in the figure.

The secondary battery holder 37 is inserted into the secondary battery
Of the secondary battery holder 37, the locking claws 39 formed on the secondary battery holder 37
It engages with a protruding portion 43 (see FIGS. 12 and 13) provided in the vicinity. By this engagement, the secondary battery holder 3
7 is attached so that it cannot be removed from the card body 20.

With the above-described insertion, the primary battery anode terminal plate 25 elastically contacts the peripheral surface of the battery container (anode terminal) of the primary battery for charging, and the secondary battery 3 contacts the peripheral surface of the battery container (anode terminal) of the secondary battery 3. The battery anode terminal plate 26 elastically contacts, and the upper surfaces of the battery lids (cathode terminals) of the charging primary battery and the secondary battery 3 both contact the common cathode terminal plate 27.

The primary battery for charging and the secondary battery 3 are thus electrically connected (see FIG. 14), and the secondary battery 3 is charged by the primary battery for charging. Thereafter, an operation test of the memory card is performed using the charged secondary battery 3. In a series of operations from the charging operation of the secondary battery 3 to the operation test, the inspection of the power supply circuit to the IC chip 2 including the charging circuit of the secondary battery 3 is performed at the same time.

Thereafter, the secondary battery 3 is left in the card body 20 as it is, the primary battery holder for charging is pulled out of the card body 20, and the primary battery holder 29 is kept in a state where the primary battery 14 is not inserted. From the primary battery insertion slot 23 of the card body 20. In this state, the memory card is shipped and transported with the primary battery 14 attached.

When the end user uses the memory card, the primary battery holder 29 is pulled out of the card body 20, the primary battery 14 is stored therein, and the card body 20 is again stored.
Attach to When the primary battery holder 29 is mounted on the card body 20, the protrusion 33 of the primary battery holder 29 fits into a recess 44 formed near the primary battery insertion slot 23 of the frame 5 as shown in FIG. However, the engagement between the projection 33 and the recess 44 is not visible from the outside in design. On the other hand, a protrusion 45 formed near the primary battery insertion slot 23 of the frame 5 is fitted into the recess 34 of the primary battery holder 29, and the second elastic piece 3 having the recess 34 is fitted.
The tip of 2 is exposed outside.

With the elastic fitting of the projection 33 and the recess 44 and the elastic fitting of the recess 34 and the projection 45,
The primary battery holder 29 is firmly supported by the card body 20.

When the primary battery holder 29 is pulled out of the card body 20, the tip of the second elastic piece 32 is elastically deformed inwardly of the primary battery holder 29 with a toe or the like, so that the concave portion 34 and the projecting portion 45 When the engagement is released, the primary battery holder 29 can be easily pulled out from the card body 20.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the case of this embodiment, a primary battery insertion slot 23 and a secondary battery insertion slot 24 are formed side by side on one side surface of the card body 20.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In the case of this embodiment, the primary battery
3 and a secondary battery insertion slot 24 are formed.
6 and 47, and the cover 46 for closing the primary battery insertion slot 23 is detachably attached by a screw 48, but the cover 47 for closing the secondary battery insertion slot 24 is closed. One cannot be removed once fitted with a plurality of locking claws 49. Also, instead of the locking claw 49, the lid 4
7 may be fixed so that it cannot be removed with an adhesive or the like.

In the above embodiment, the primary battery is used as the main battery. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a rechargeable secondary battery can be used as the main battery.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, since a spare battery is not incorporated together when assembling the card body, a heat-fusion method with good productivity is employed for fixing the upper and lower nameplates to the frame. Work efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the spare battery is attached to the card body so as to be non-detachable, the backup battery has a feature that a backup function of recorded information can be reliably exhibited and high reliability can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an IC memory card according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the memory card.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an upper nameplate to which a thermal adhesive sheet is attached.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a lower nameplate to which a thermal adhesive sheet is attached.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the primary battery holder.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the primary battery holder.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the primary battery holder.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the secondary battery holder.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the secondary battery holder.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the secondary battery holder.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the secondary battery holder.

FIG. 12 is a partial bottom view of the card body before a battery is mounted.

FIG. 13 is a partial bottom view of the card body with a battery mounted.

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of a RAM backup circuit.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of an IC memory card according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of an IC memory card according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a bottom view of the conventional IC memory card with a lower nameplate removed.

FIG. 18 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the IC memory card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printed circuit board 2 IC chip 3 Secondary battery 5 Frame 6 Thermal bonding sheet 7 Upper nameplate 9 Lower nameplate 14 Primary battery 20 Card body 21 Primary battery storage part 22 Secondary battery storage part 23 Primary battery insertion slot 24 Secondary Battery insertion slot 27 Common cathode terminal plate 29 Primary battery holder 30 Insertion recess 31 First elastic piece 32 Second elastic piece 33 Projection 34 Depression 37 Secondary battery holder 38 Insertion recess 39 Locking claw 43 Projection 44 Depression 45 Projecting parts 46, 47 Lid 48 Screw 49 Locking claw

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06K 19/07-19/077 B42D 15/10 521

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A main battery for backing up information stored in a volatile memory; a spare battery for backing up information stored in the volatile memory in place of the main battery when the main battery is replaced; A memory having a volatile memory, a printed circuit board connected to the main battery and the spare battery, a frame for storing and supporting the printed circuit board, and a metal nameplate fixed to both upper and lower surfaces of the frame. In the card, the upper and lower nameplates are heat-sealed to a frame that houses and supports the printed circuit board, and a card body is formed by the printed circuit board, the frame, and the upper and lower nameplates, and a battery is inserted from the outside of the card body. it has two battery insertion opening, said main battery is replaceably mounted from one of the battery insertion opening provided in the card body, said pre Battery is made from the secondary battery, set to the card body
A memory card which is non-removably inserted from the other battery insertion slot and whose spare battery is charged by the battery inserted into the main battery insertion slot . 2. A method for backing up information stored in a volatile memory.
A main battery for up, when replacing the main battery, the volatile on behalf of the main battery
Spare battery to back up information stored in memory
And the volatile memory, and the main battery and the standby battery.
A printed circuit board connected to the pond , a frame that stores and supports the printed circuit board, and metal nameplates that are fixed to both upper and lower surfaces of the frame
In the memory card provided, the upper and lower nameplates are each interposed via a heat bonding sheet.
Heat-sealed to the frame that houses and supports the printed circuit board
The printed circuit board, frame and upper and lower nameplates
The card body is configured, and the card body has a battery insertion slot into which batteries can be inserted from the outside
And the main battery is connected to one of the battery inserts provided in the card body.
The spare battery is attached to the card body so that it can be replaced from the entrance.
Battery cannot be removed from the other battery
The spare battery is a battery attached to the main battery insertion slot.
A memory card characterized by being charged by a memory card. 3. A printed circuit board on which a volatile memory is mounted and on which a battery is not mounted is housed and held in a frame, and metal nameplates are heat-sealed on the upper and lower surfaces of the frame, respectively, so that the nameplate is framed. And a spare battery comprising a secondary battery for backing up information stored in a volatile memory. A memory card manufacturing method characterized in that the memory card is non-detachably inserted from one of the two battery insertion openings . 4. The method for manufacturing a memory card according to claim 3 , wherein the space between the frame and the upper nameplate and the space between the frame and the lower nameplate are heat-sealed via a heat-bonding sheet. Manufacturing method of a memory card.