JP4272939B2 - Card connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a card connector used as a communication module for a wireless LAN or a vehicle, and particularly relates to a structure using a coaxial contact.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional card connector with a coaxial contact will be described below. First, the schematic structure of the card connector will be described. The card connector is for inserting and removing a card, and mainly includes a housing and a required number of contacts. The housing is formed of an electrically insulating plastic, and a fitting portion is formed by a guide portion for guiding the card and a main body portion. The contact is held and fixed to the main body of the housing.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
According to the summary of JP-A-8-107369, an object is to provide a plug-in wireless processing module that enables wireless communication with an electronic host device, and wireless communication is possible in order to achieve the object. The host electronics consists of a built-in antenna and a special plug-in receptacle that allows the plug-in wireless communicator to connect to the built-in antenna for wireless transmission and reception and interact with the host. Also, the plug-in configuration is configured to conform to a standardized plug-in configuration such as the PCMCIA standard, and is configured to provide additional plug-in capabilities in addition to a standardized receptacle that does not compete with the standardized receptacle Plug-in configuration is the same standardized receptacle and the use of the plug-in for other purposes There When configured to enable. FIG. 2 and FIG. 7 disclose ones in which RF (coaxial) connectors protruding in the longitudinal direction are arranged at both ends on the fitting side.
[0004]
[Patent Document 2]
According to the summary of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-315087, an object is to provide a flat and flat plate-like PC card to which a cable can be connected and without increasing the thickness, and a connector therefor. The PC card is provided with a plurality of signal contacts on the front end surface in the insertion direction of the connector for connection with the connector, and connected to an external signal connection member on the side surface parallel to the insertion direction. A signal connection member for the PC card is provided, and the connector is urged by an elastic member to one side corresponding to the side surface on which the signal connection member of the PC card is provided. A holding body is provided so as to be able to move close to the side surface, and the signal connecting member holding body is separated from the side surface of the PC card against an urging force of the elastic member on the signal connecting member holding body by an external operation. There and has a dynamic allowed to contact and separation mechanism. FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 disclose one in which a coaxial connector (coaxial contact) is arranged in one width direction.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When using a card connector as a communication module, it is necessary to connect a cable / connector etc. to the card to connect to another module, which is inconvenient to handle, increases the number of connecting parts, and requires management and storage. However, it takes time and effort. Therefore, there has been a demand for whether the communication module can be integrated with the card.
As an integrated structure, there are the card connectors disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 having the structure as described above, but each has the following problems.
In the structure of Patent Document 1, since RF (coaxial) connectors protruding in the longitudinal direction are arranged at both ends of the card fitting side, the strength of the protruding portion is weak, and the card may be damaged by dropping or handling the card. As a result, there were problems such as connection failure and data loss.
In the structure of Patent Document 2, since the coaxial connector (coaxial contact) is arranged in one width direction, there is a problem that one action is required after inserting the card into the connector, which increases the number of steps. Moreover, if it can be performed automatically, a mechanism will become complicated and it will lead to a cost increase.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and provides a card connector that can be fitted with a simple structure, is not easily damaged in handling the card, and does not increase the cost. .
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object is a card connector into which a card is inserted and removed, and a housing that forms a fitting portion by a guide portion that guides the card and a main body portion, and a plurality of pieces that are held and fixed to the main body portion of the housing A card connector that is attached so that the fitting portion into which the card enters is parallel to the substrate, and in the thickness direction of one of the cards, and on the fitting portion side of the card, Providing a protruding portion projecting at a predetermined position in the vicinity of the central portion in the width direction of the card and arranging a guide hole between the two card side coaxial contacts and the two card side coaxial contacts in the protruding portion, the card-side coaxial contacts and said guide hole disposed in said protrusion, disposed in parallel respectively with the card-side contact to the contact mating, the c The Zing arranged coaxial contact at a position corresponding to the card-side coaxial contacts the projecting portion provided with a protruding portion which the protrusion enters, at a position corresponding to the guide hole between the coaxial contact of the two This can be achieved by providing a guide projection.
[0008]
The two coaxial contacts are arranged in a protruding portion protruding to the substrate side of the housing.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The card connector of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a card as viewed from the mating direction with the card connector of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view and a side view of the card as seen from the fitting direction. FIG. 3 is a front view and a side view as seen from the fitting direction of the card connector of the present invention.
The card connector 10 of the present invention mainly includes a housing 12, a contact 14, and a coaxial contact 16. A predetermined card 50 is inserted into the card connector 10.
[0010]
First, the card 50 will be described. The card 50 is used as a communication module for wireless LAN or in-vehicle use. Two card side coaxial contacts 54 are arranged, and the size thereof is determined by customer specifications. For example, it is about 85.6 (length) X54 (width) X3.3 (height) mm in the case of a PCMCIA card, and 36.4 (length) X42.8 (width) X3.3 in the case of a CF card. (Height) is about mm. A board is built inside the card 50, and a required number of card side contacts 52 (contact type can be either male or female) and two card side coaxial contacts 54 are connected to the board.
The card side contacts 52 are used for signals and are arranged in a required number in the insertion hole 58 on one end side of the card 50.
Only two card side coaxial contacts 54 are arranged at predetermined positions. That is, a protruding portion 56 is provided at a predetermined position in the thickness direction of one of the cards 50, and the two card side coaxial contacts 54 are disposed in the protruding portion 56. The position where the convex portion 56 is provided is appropriately designed in consideration of the space in the device into which the card 50 is inserted, the workability of the card connector 10 (mating connector), the mountability on the board, and the like. The size of the convex portion 56 is appropriately designed in consideration of the miniaturization, strength, etc. of the card connector 10, but in this embodiment, the convex portion 56 is provided in the vicinity of the central portion on the mating side of the card 50, The thickness of the convex portion 56 is about 4 mm.
[0011]
The number of the coaxial contacts 54 for the card is two for the antenna. The convex portion 56 is provided with a guide hole 60 for securely fitting the card side coaxial contact 54 and the coaxial contact 16 on the card connector 10 side. The size of the guide hole 60 is appropriately designed in consideration of its role and the miniaturization of the card connector 10.
[0012]
Next, components of the card connector 10 will be described.
The housing 12 is an electrically insulating plastic and is manufactured by a known technique of injection molding. The material is appropriately selected in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, cost, etc. Generally, polybutylene terephthalate is used. (PBT), polyamide (PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and synthetic materials thereof.
The housing 12 includes a guide portion 22 for guiding the card 50 and a main body portion 18, and a fitting portion 24 into which the card 50 is inserted is formed by these. The guide portion 22 is provided on both sides of the main body portion 18 in the longitudinal direction, and an insertion groove 30 for guiding the card 50 to the main body portion 18 is provided. The insertion groove 30 only needs to be able to guide the card 50 to the main body 18 and is about 0.1 mm larger than the size of the card 50. Further, the coaxial contact 16 is prevented from being exposed to the outside as much as possible.
[0013]
The housing 12 is provided with a protruding portion 20 into which the protruding portion 56 enters at a position corresponding to the protruding portion 56 of the card 50, and is coaxial with a position corresponding to the card side coaxial contact 54 within the protruding portion 20. A contact 16 is disposed. Furthermore, a guide convex portion 26 having a size to enter the guide hole 60 is provided between the two coaxial contacts 16.
[0014]
The body portion 18 is provided with an insertion hole into which the contact 14 and the coaxial contact 16 are inserted, and a required number of the contacts 14 and the coaxial contacts 16 are mounted in the insertion hole. 14 and the coaxial contact 16 are fixed by press-fitting, hooking (lance), welding or the like.
[0015]
Next, the contact 14 is provided with a contact portion 32 that mainly contacts the card side contact 52 (mating contact), a fixed portion fixed to the housing 12, and a connection portion 34 connected to a substrate or the like. The contact 14 is made of metal and is manufactured by a known press working. Since the contact 14 is required to have conductivity, dimensional stability, etc., examples thereof include beryllium copper, low beryllium copper, phosphor bronze, and the like having good conductivity. The type of the contact 14 may be either male or female, but is suitably designed so that it can be fitted to the card side contact 52.
[0016]
Finally, the coaxial contact 16 includes a contact portion 32 mainly contacting the card side coaxial contact 54, a fixed portion fixed to the housing 12, and a connection portion 34 connected to a substrate or the like. The coaxial contact 16 is made of metal and is manufactured by a known press working or cutting process. Since the material of the coaxial contact 16 is required to have conductivity and dimensional stability, beryllium copper, low beryllium copper, phosphor bronze and the like having good conductivity can be used.
[0017]
The contact 14 reads and writes information from the card 50 by exchanging electrical signals, and the coaxial contact 16 is used for communication as an antenna and is used for mutual transmission with the outside. Is to do.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, the card connector 10 having the structure as in the present invention provides the following excellent effects.
(1) A card connector 10 into which a card 50 is inserted, and a housing 12 that forms a fitting portion 24 by a guide portion 22 and a main body portion 18 for guiding the card 50, and a main body portion 18 of the housing 12 In the card connector 10 having a plurality of contacts 14 to be held and fixed, a convex portion 56 that protrudes at a predetermined position in the thickness direction of one of the cards 50 is provided, and 2 in the convex portion 56. The card-side coaxial contact 54 is disposed, and the housing 12 is provided with a protruding portion 20 into which the convex portion 56 is inserted, and the coaxial contact 16 is disposed in the protruding portion 20 at a position corresponding to the card-side coaxial contact 54. Therefore, it is possible to provide an inexpensive card connector 10 that can be easily fitted and the card 50 is not damaged.
(2) Since the protruding portion 20 is disposed at a predetermined position in the vicinity of the central portion in the width direction of the card connector 10, the connector 10 is well balanced and stable contact can be obtained.
(3) The convex portion 56 is arranged on the fitting portion side of the card 50, and the card side coaxial contact 54 arranged in the convex portion 56 is fitted with the contact 14 on the card side contact 52 (the other party) Since the coaxial contact 16 is not exposed, the coaxial contact 16 is not deformed and stable contact can be obtained.
(4) Since the two coaxial contacts 16 are arranged in the protruding portion 20 that protrudes toward the substrate side of the housing 12, the coaxial contacts 16 are not exposed, so that the coaxial contacts 16 are not deformed. , Stable contact can be obtained.
(5) Since the guide convex portion 26 is provided between the two coaxial contacts 16, the male and female coaxial contacts 16, 54 can be more reliably fitted, and stable contact can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a partial card viewed from the mating direction with a card connector of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view and a side view of a card as seen from the fitting direction.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are a front view and a side view as seen from the fitting direction of the card connector of the present invention. FIGS.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Card connector 12 Housing 14 Contact 16 Coaxial contact 18 Main body part 20 Projection part 22 Guide part 24 Fitting part 26 Guide convex part 28 Eject lever 30 Inserting groove 32 Contact part 34 Connection part 50 Card 52 Card side contact 54 Card side coaxial Contact 56 Projection 58 Insertion hole 60 Guide hole

Claims (2)

A card connector into which a card is inserted and removed,
A housing that forms a fitting portion by a guide portion that guides the card and a main body portion; and a plurality of contacts that are held and fixed to the main body portion of the housing; and the fitting portion into which the card enters is a substrate In the card connector that is mounted in parallel,
Protrusions projecting at predetermined positions in the vicinity of the center in the width direction of the card are provided in the thickness direction of either one of the cards and on the fitting part side of the card. a guide hole disposed card-side coaxial contacts and said between two card-side coaxial contacts, the card-side coaxial contacts and said guide hole disposed in said protrusion, and the card-side contact to the contact mating Each arranged in parallel,
The housing is arranged a coaxial contact at a position corresponding to the card-side coaxial contacts the projecting portion provided with a protruding portion which the protrusion enters the position corresponding to the guide hole between the coaxial contact of the two A card connector, characterized in that a guide projection is provided on the card connector.   2. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the two coaxial contacts are arranged in a protruding portion protruding toward the substrate side of the housing.

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