Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K13/00—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism
  • G06K13/02—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism the record carrier having longitudinal dimension comparable with transverse dimension, e.g. punched card
  • G06K13/08—Feeding or discharging cards
  • G06K13/0868—Feeding or discharging cards using an arrangement for keeping the feeding or insertion slot of the card station clean of dirt, or to avoid feeding of foreign or unwanted objects into the slot
  • G06K13/0875—Feeding or discharging cards using an arrangement for keeping the feeding or insertion slot of the card station clean of dirt, or to avoid feeding of foreign or unwanted objects into the slot the arrangement comprising a shutter for blocking at least part of the card insertion slot
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/62—Means for facilitating engagement or disengagement of coupling parts or for holding them in engagement
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K13/00—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism
  • G06K13/02—Conveying record carriers from one station to another, e.g. from stack to punching mechanism the record carrier having longitudinal dimension comparable with transverse dimension, e.g. punched card
  • G06K13/08—Feeding or discharging cards
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
  • H01R12/70—Coupling devices
  • H01R12/71—Coupling devices for rigid printing circuits or like structures
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/44—Means for preventing access to live contacts
  • H01R13/447—Shutter or cover plate
  • H01R13/453—Shutter or cover plate opened by engagement of counterpart
  • H01R13/4536—Inwardly pivoting shutter
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/46—Bases; Cases
  • H01R13/52—Dustproof, splashproof, drip-proof, waterproof, or flameproof cases

Definitions

• This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, particularly, to an electrical connector which includes a shutter member for closing a mating receptacle of the connector.
• Many electrical connectors include a dielectric housing having an opening or receptacle for receiving a complementary mating connector or other mating connecting device.
• a plurality of conductive terminals have contact portions exposed at or in the receptacle for engaging appropriate contacts of the mating connector.
• Other protectible components also may be exposed in the receptacle. Examples of such connectors are a memory card connector which has a receptacle for receiving a memory card or a flat circuit connector having a receptacle for receiving a flat flexible circuit, a flexible printed circuit or the like.
• the shutter maybe pivotally mounted at the receptacle by a hinge means which includes a pivot shaft of metal or like material as an independent part.
• a hinge means which includes a pivot shaft of metal or like material as an independent part.
• pivot shafts increase the costs of the connector, include an additional assembly step and the shaft must be maintained in inventory.
• the shaft is integral with the shutter or the connector housing at the receptacle in order to reduce the number of parts, the shaft typically is forcibly inserted into a bearing hole during assembly. This type of structure is prone to causing breakage of the shaft, and the assembly procedure often is difficult. If the pivot shaft is inserted into a narrowed insertion groove of the bearing hole, the shaft has a tendency to pull out of the hole during repeated usage.
• the present invention is directed to a shutter-type system which solves these various problems.
• An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved electrical connector having an improved shutter system.
• an electrical connector in the exemplary embodiment of the invention, includes a dielectric housing having a receptacle for receiving a complementary mating connecting device.
• a plurality of conductive terminals are mounted on the housing and have contact portions exposed in the receptacle for engaging appropriate contacts of the mating connecting device.
• a shutter is pivotally mounted on the housing by pivot means providing pivotal movement of the shutter in an angular range between a closed position blocking the receptacle to prevent inadvertent engagement of foreign obj ects with the contact portions of the terminals and an open position allowing mating of the complementary mating connecting device.
• the pivot means for the shutter include a bearing hole in the housing.
• the bearing hole has a given width and a restricted mouth of a width less than the given width.
• a pivot shaft is provided on the shutter and is pivotally positionable in the bearing hole.
• the pivot shaft has a major cross-dimension less than the given width of the bearing hole but greater than the width of the restricted mouth, whereby the shutter can pivot between the closed a d open positions.
• the pivot shaft has a minor cross-dimension less than the width of the restricted mouth to allow the pivot shaft to be inserted into the bearing hole, but the minor cross-dimension is not aligned with the mouth when the shutter pivots in said angular range between the closed and open positions.
• the shutter is elongated.
• a pair of the bearing holes and a respective pair of the pivot shafts are located at opposite ends of the shutter.
• the restricted mouth of the bearing hole is located such that the pivot shaft is inserted into the bearing hole outside the angular range of pivotal movement of the shutter between the closed and open positions.
• Stop means are provided to prevent pivotal movement of the shutter beyond the angular range after the pivot shaft is inserted into the bearing hole.
• the stop means include a flexible arm on the housing engageable with a stop shoulder on the shutter. The flexible arm flexes to allow the pivot shaft to be inserted into the bearing hole, and the flexible arm snaps into stopping engagement with the stop shoulder when the shutter is pivoted into the angular range.
• anti-overstress means are provided to allow the stop means to resiliently yield if excessive forces are applied to the shutter in an attempt to pivot the shutter beyond the angular range.
• the anti- overstress means is provided by the same flexible arm which provides the stop means.
• FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an electrical connector within which the invention is incorporated;
• FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the connector
• FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the connector, looking at the bottom side thereof as viewed in FIG. 1;
• FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the connector opposite that of FIG. 3;
• FIG. 5 is an enlarged top plan view of the receptacle end of the connector, with the shutter shown removed from the connector housing;
• FIG. 6 is a vertical section taken generally along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;
• FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG.6 but taken generally along line 7-7 of FIG. 5;
• FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical section taken generally along line 8-8 of FIG. 1, showing the shutter in its closed or blocking position;
• FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 8, showing the range of pivotal movement of the shutter between its closed and open positions;
• FIGS. 10-14 are sequential views of assembly of the shutter to the connector housing and taken in the area of the pivot means for the shutter;
• FIGS. 15-19 are sequential views similar to that of FIGS. 10-14, respectively, but taken in the area of the stop means for the shutter;
• FIGS. 20 and 21 are views showing how the stop means for the shutter performs a dual function of an anti-overstress means therefor.
• FIG. 22 is a fragmented section showing the interior terminals of the connector.
• connector 10 includes a dielectric housing 12 which mounts a plurality of terminals 14 at the extreme inner end of an interior card-receiving cavity 16.
• the housing has a bottom wall 18 and a pair of side walls 20.
• a metal shell 22 is mounted over the housing and includes a top plate 24. In essence, the bottom and side walls of the housing combine with top plate 24 of the metal shell to define the interior card- receiving cavity 16.
• a front opening or receptacle 26 receives a memory card 28 for insertion into the cavity whereby contacts on the memory card are engageable with terminals 14 within the rear end of the cavity.
• an eject mechanism for ejecting memory card 28.
• the eject mechanism is of fairly conventional construction and includes a cam slider 32 engageable with and movable with the memory card.
• the eject mechanism operates against a coil spring 34. Since the eject mechanism, per se, may be constructed by any known construction, a detailed discussion thereof will not be presented herein.
• FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the front end of the connector, including receptacle
• An elongated shutter, generally designated 36, is pivotally mounted on the connector housing at the front end thereof for pivotal movement in an angular range between a blocking or closed position shown in FIG. 8, blocking receptacle 26 to prevent inadvertent engagement of foreign objects with the terminals, and an open position shown in phantom in FIG. 9, allowing insertion of memory card 28 into cavity 16.
• a pair of support plates 38 project forwardly or outwardly from the housing generally as extensions of bottom wall 18 of the housing as seen best in FIG. 6.
• a stop arm 40 also proj ects outwardly from the bottom wall as seen in FIG.7, between support plates 38 as seen in FIG. 5.
• Each support plate 38 has a circular or cylindrical bearing hole 42 (Fig. 6) and stop arm 40 has a stop surface 40a (Fig. 7) at a distal end of the flexible stop arm.
• FIG. 5 shows that elongated shutter 36 has a pair of side wings 44.
• a pivot shaft 46 projects inwardly from each side wing 44.
• pivot shafts 46 pivotally mount shutter 36 by inserting the pivot shafts into bearing holes 42.
• the shutter includes a stop shoulder 48 for engaging stop surface 40a of resilient stop arm 40 as will be described hereinafter.
• shutter 36 includes a spring post 50 about which is wrapped a torsion coil spring 52 (Fig. 1) for biasing the shutter to its closed or blocking position.
• each bearing hole 42 is generally circular or cylindrical and has a given width "W".
• the bearing hole is in a bearing portion 38a at adistal end of the respective supportplate 38.
• the bearing hole has a restricted mouth 54 which has a width "Wl” less than the given width ofthe bearing hole.
• Each pivot shaft 46 also is generally cylindrical or circular in cross-section.
• the shaft has a major cross- dimension "D” defined by the normal diameter ofthe cylindrical shaft and which is slightly less than given width "W” of bearing hole 42 so that the shaft easily pivots within the hole to pivotally mount the shutter to the connector housing.
• Each pivot shaft 46 has a flat side 56 which defines a minor cross-dimension "T” which is slightly less than the width "Wl” of restricted mouth 54 ofthe bearing hole. Therefore, when shutter 36 is oriented as shown in FIG. 6, the shutter can be moved in the direction of arrow "A" to move pivot shaft 46 through restricted mouth 54 and into bearing hole 42.
• the shutter is pivoted slightly in the direction of arrow "B" in FIG. 8, whereby the minor cross-dimension ofthe pivot shaft is no longer aligned with restricted mouth 54 and whereby the pivot shaft cannot be pulled out of the bearing hole because the major cross-dimension "D" of the shaft is greater than the width "Wl” of restricted mouth 54.
• FIG. 9 shows shutter 36 in full lines in its blocking or closed position.
• the "angular range" of movement ofthe shutter is shown by double-headed arrow "C".
• stop shoulder 48 on the shutter engages stop surface 40a at the distal endof stop arm 40.
• the shutter In the open position ofthe shutter shown in phantom in FIG.9, the shutter abuts against the top of stop arm 40, exposing receptacle 26 to allow memory card 28 (Fig. 1) to be inserted through the receptacle and into interior card-receiving cavity 16.
• FIGS. 10-14 show sequential views of assembling shutter 36 to the connector.
• the shutter is oriented as shown in FIG. 10 and moved downwardly in the direction of arrows "A" in FIGS. 10-12 to move pivot shafts 46 into the bearing holes.
• the minor-dimension "T” (Fig. 6) ofthe pivot shafts are aligned with restricted mouths 54 of bearing holes 42 so that the pivot shafts can pass through the restricted mouths and into the bearing holes.
• the shutter then can be pivoted in the direction of arrows "B" (Figs. 13 and 14), whereupon the pivot shafts cannot be pulled back out through restricted mouths 54 because the major cross-dimension "D" (Fig. 6) ofthe pivot shafts are greater than the width ofthe restricted mouths.
• FIGS. 15-19 correspond sequentially to FIGS. 10- 14, but FIGS. 15-19 are taken in the area of the stop means which prevents the shutter from being pivoted beyond its normal angular range including the blocking position ofthe shutter.
• a rounded abutment end 60 ofthe shutter engages the top of resilient stop arm 40 at the distal end thereof.
• the resilient stop arm flexes downwardly in the direction of arrow "D" in FIG. 17 until stop shoulder 48 on the shutter clears the distal end ofthe flexed stop arm and snaps into engagement with stop surface 40a ofthe arm.
• FIGS. 20 and 21 show a feature whereby resilient stop arm 40 performs a dual function of providing an anti-overstress means should shutter 36 be forced outwardly in the direction of arrow "D" (Fig. 20).
• stop shoulder 48 on the shutter pushes upwardly on resilient stop arm 40 and the stop arm yields upwardly in the direction of arrow "E”.
• the shutter springs back upwardly in the direction of arrow "F” (Fig.21) under the influence of resilient stop arm 40 until the stop arm and shutter are back in their respective positions corresponding to the closed or blocking position ofthe shutter shown in FIG. 21.
• FIG. 22 simply shows that terminals 14 are mounted in passages 64 of connector housing 12. The terminals have flexible contact arms 66 projecting forwardly into interior card-receiving cavity 16.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)
• Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
• Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=29397246

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (7)

Family Cites Families (7)

• 2002
  • 2002-04-30 JP JP2002127732A patent/JP2003323937A/ja active Pending
• 2003
  • 2003-04-30 CN CNB038098091A patent/CN100383814C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-04-30 AU AU2003228803A patent/AU2003228803A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-04-30 KR KR1020047017411A patent/KR100659930B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2003-04-30 WO PCT/US2003/013660 patent/WO2003094294A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-04-30 EP EP03726574A patent/EP1500039A2/en not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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