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
  • G06K13/0887—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 size filter for filtering out only cards having the proper size
• • 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
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K7/00—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns
  • G06K7/0013—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers
  • G06K7/0021—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers for reading/sensing record carriers having surface contacts
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K7/00—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns
  • G06K7/0013—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers
  • G06K7/0047—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers for reading/sensing record carriers having edge contacts
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
  • G06K7/00—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns
  • G06K7/0013—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers
  • G06K7/0056—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers housing of the card connector
  • G06K7/0073—Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns by galvanic contacts, e.g. card connectors for ISO-7816 compliant smart cards or memory cards, e.g. SD card readers housing of the card connector having multiple insertion slots, the respective slots suited for the same or different card form factors

Definitions

• the present invention relates to card connectors and, in particular, to mechanisms for restricting insertion of a card into a card slot of a card connector.
• PDA personal digital assistants
• Various components such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a memory IC (integrated circuit) may be incorporated into the cards. Examples of such cards are a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International
• FIG. 16 shows an example of such a card connector 1 , wherein cards differing in thickness are inserted into card slots 2A and 2B arranged in parallel. A thick card is inserted into card slot 2A and a thin card is inserted into card slot 2B.
• Card slot 2 A includes a pair of guide grooves 7which face each other in an opposed manner
• card slot 2B also includes a pair of guide grooves 8 facing each other in an opposed manner.
• a card connector designed to mate with a relatively thick card must have a card slot sized to receive the thicker card.
• Card connectors generally incorporate a set of electrical contacts, or pins, positioned at a mating end of the card slot. These pins are positioned so as to engage a complementary receptacle connector mounted in the card when the card is fully inserted into the card slot.
• the opening of a card slot configured to receive the thick card will also, in general, be large enough to permit insertion of the thin card into the card slot.
• the thinner card may not come into contact with interior surfaces of the card slot designed to restrict and guide the motion of a thicker card.
• movement of the thinner card within the larger card slot may damage the connector pins.
• a purpose of the present invention is to limit the degree to which a thinner card may be inserted into a card slot configured to receive a relatively thicker card, while still permitting full insertion of the thicker card into the card slot.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a card connector incorporating a stop mechanism according to the present invention
• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the card connector of FIG. 1 showing a top plate removed from the connector;
• FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the card connector of FIG. 1 showing insertion of a thick card into a card slot of the connector;
• FIG. 4 is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 showing the thick card inserted further into the card slot of the connector;
• FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the card connector of FIG. 1 showing insertion of a thin card into the card slot of the connector;
• FIG. 6 is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 showing the thin card inserted further into the card slot of the connector;
• FIG. 7 is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 showing the thin card engaging a stop portion of the present invention
• FIG. 8 is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 showing the thin card inserted into the card slot at an angle and engaging the stop portion of the present invention
• FIG. 9 is an edge view of the connector of FIG. 1 showing an interior of the card slots as viewed in the direction indicated by arrow IX in FIG. 1 ;
• FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of the connector of FIG. 5 showing insertion of the thin card into the card slot prior to engagement between the thin card and the stop portion of the present invention
• FIG. 11 is the partial perspective view of FIG. 10 showing engagement between the thin card and the stop portion of the present invention
• FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing one example of a thick card adapted for insertion into the card connector of the present invention
• FIG. 13 is an edge view of the thick card of FIG. 12 as viewed in the direction indicated by arrow XIII in FIG. 12;
• FIG. 14 is the longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 showing the thin card extending past the stop mechanism of the present invention to abut a polarizing feature incorporated into the card slot;
• FIG. 15 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a card connector incorporating another embodiment of the stop mechanism of the present invention.
• FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a prior art card connector having two card slots.
• FIGS. 1 - 11 show one embodiment of the card connector of the present invention.
• the embodiment shown has a pair of card slots and is configured to receive a relatively thin card in one of the card slots and a relatively thick card in the other card slot.
• card connector 1 has a housing comprising a generally rectangular base plate 10, side walls 9 extending generally in parallel from opposite sides of base plate 10, and a top plate 41 extending generally parallel to base plate 10.
• Base plate 10 includes a plurality of mounting lugs 47 for mounting card connector 1 to a printed circuit board incorporated into an item of electronic equipment (not shown), using screws or other hardware.
• a guide groove 13 and a guide groove 11 are formed in each of side walls 9 and extend along the direction of card insertion indicated by arrow IX (FIG. 1).
• guide groove 11 will be referred to as the "lower guide groove” and guide groove 13 will be referred to as the "upper guide groove”.
• upper guide grooves 13 formed in side walls 9 are arranged so as to be opposite each other to receive edges of a planar card.
• lower guide grooves 11 formed in side walls 9 are arranged so as to be opposite each other.
• Each of upper guide grooves 13 has a relatively larger opening sized to receive a relatively thicker card (for example, a PCMCIA card), while each of lower guide grooves 11 has a relatively narrow opening sized to receive a relatively thinner card (for example, a SMART card).
• an intermediate plate 40 is positioned between base plate 10 and top plate 41 and extends generally parallel to base plate 10.
• Top plate 41, side walls 9 (including upper guide grooves 13) and intermediate plate 40 combine to define an upper card slot 13 A.
• Upper guide grooves 13 reside above intermediate plate 40, within upper card slot 13 A.
• upper card slot 13A is configured to receive thick card 6.
• intermediate plate 40, side walls 9 (including lower guide grooves 11) and base plate 10 combine to define a lower card slot 11 A.
• Lower guide grooves 11 reside below intermediate plate 40, within lower card slot 11 A.
• lower card slot 11 A is configured to receive thin card 3.
• a closure wall 12 encloses side end portions of upper card slot
• Closure wall 12 may be formed from a synthetic resin. As seen in FIGS. 3-8, closure wall 12 is provided with connection pins 14 which establish an electrical connection between thick card 6 and card connector 1.
• upper card slot 13A is configured to receive end 100 of thick card 6 therein. However, a user may mistakenly insert end 102 of thick card into upper card slot 13 A. To prevent this, connector 1 includes a mechanism 50 (FIG. 9) for preventing backwards insertion of thick card 6 into upper card slot 13 A.
• mechanism 50 comprises a right side polarizing key 52 and a left side polarizing key 53 formed on inner surfaces of respective side walls 9 within upper card slot 13 A.
• right side key 52 and left side key 53 have the same shape, left-side key 53 is positioned slightly above the level in upper card slot 13A at which right-side key 52 is positioned.
• a pair of corresponding fitting grooves 54, 55 are formed on respective side peripheries of thick card 6 proximate end 100 of thick card 6 which is to be inserted into upper card slot 13 A. However, no corresponding groves are formed at opposite end 102 of thick card 6.
• connector 1 also includes a selective stop mechanism for preventing full insertion of thin card 3 into upper card slot 13 A.
• the selective stop mechanism comprises one or more components 17, each component 17 having a base portion 19, a stop member 106, and a spring portion 21 connecting stop member 106 to base portion 19.
• Base portion 19 of each component 17 is generally secured to a part of the connector that is in communication with upper card slot 13A.
• base portions 19 are positioned spaced apart and secured to intermediate plate 40 which defines a lower boundary of upper card slot 13 A.
• a spring portion 21 extends from each base portion 19, sloping in a direction generally toward a top plate 41 , which defines an upper boundary of upper card slot 13 A.
• a stop member 106 is affixed to a free end of each spring portion 21 and includes an engagement portion 104 for engaging either of thick card 6 or thin card 3 during insertion of the card into upper card slot 13 A. As seen in FIG. 3, stop member 106 extends into a path of insertion of a card into upper card slot 13A so that the card will engage stop member 106 during insertion. As stop member 106 is affixed to a free end of spring portion 21 and is not secured to another portion of the connector, stop member 106 is movable within upper card slot 13 A. Engagement portion 104 is spaced apart from top plate 41.
• Stop member 106 also includes a stop portion 25 attached to engagement portion 104. Stop portion 25 projects from engagement portion 104 generally perpendicularly to abut top plate 41, which defines an upper boundary of upper card slot 13A. Generally, the length of stop portion 25 projecting from engagement portion 104 is determined such that a gap between engagement portion 104 and top plate 41 is smaller than the thickness of thin card 3.
• base portion 19, spring portion 21 and stop member 106 form a cantilevered structure which define, in combination with top plate 41, an enclosure 110 configured to receive therein a portion of a card inserted into upper card slot 13 A.
• Base portion 19, spring portion 21 and stop member 106 of component 17 may be integrally formed, for example by molding or stamping and forming.
• the stop mechanism of the present invention is selective in that it limits the degree to which a relatively thinner card may be inserted into a card slot configured to receive the thicker card, while still permitting full insertion of the thicker card into the card slot.
• thick card 6 engages spring portion 21 of stop mechanism 17.
• thick card 6 contacts engagement portion 104 of stop member 106 which forces spring portion 21 to resiliently rotate with respect to base portion 19.
• stop member 106 As stop member 106 is attached to spring an end of spring portion 21, rotation of spring portion 21 forces stop member 106 in a downward direction, thereby removing stop portion 25 from the path of insertion of thick card 6 and permitting insertion of thick card 6 into upper card slot 13A past stop member 106 into the normal insertion position of the card indicated by the chain double-dashed line.
• FIGS. 5-8 operation of the selective stop mechanism during insertion of thin card 3 will now be discussed.
• FIG. 5 when thin card 3 is inserted into upper card slot 13A in the direction indicated by arrow IX (see FIG. 1), card 3 engages spring portion 21 of locking mechanism 17.
• FIG. 6 as insertion of thin card 3 proceeds into upper card slot 13 A, thin card 3 is urged upwardly by contact with spring portion 21, toward top plate 41 until card 3 contacts engagement portion 104 of stop mechanism 17. As the gap between engagement portion 104 and top plate 41 is smaller than the thickness of thin card 3, card 3 will wedge between engagement portion 104 and top plate 41, causing a slight downward movement of stop member 106 away from the path of insertion of card 3.
• card 3 may be inserted into upper card slot 13A at an angle. As insertion of thin card 3 into upper card slot 13A proceeds into the card slot, thin card 3 contacts engagement portion 104 and top plate 41 such that a slight downward movement of stop member 106 away from the path of insertion is produced. Due to angular insertion of the card 3, the downward movement of stop member 106 may be slightly greater than the downward movement of the stop member produced during insertion of card 3 into card slot 13A in the direction of arrow IX, as shown in FIG. 6; thus, the gap produced between stop portion 25 and top plate 41 may be slightly greater than in the previous case.
• thin card 3 will be forced into engagement with left and right side polarizing keys 52, 53 prior to coming into contact with pins 14 because the contact between thin card 3 and stop mechanism 17 during card insertion acts to bias thin card 3 toward stop member 106 and, therefore, toward top plate 41.
• thin card 3 will tend to slide along a lower face of top plate 41 if the card is inserted past stop mechanism 17.
• stop mechanism 17 may be secured to a surface defining an upper boundary of upper card slot 13 A.
• stop mechanism 17 and intermediate plate 40 would form an enclosure 110 for receiving a portion of thin card 3 during card insertion.
• contact between thin card 3 and stop mechanism 17 during card insertion will bias thin card 3 toward stop member 106 and, therefore, toward intermediate plate 40.
• thin card will tend to slide along an upper face of intermediate plate 40 if the card is inserted past stop mechanism 17.
• pins 14 are spaced apart from intermediate plate 40 a distance greater than the thickness of thin card 3, thin card 3 will be unable to make contact with pins 14 even if the card is inserted past stop mechanism 17.
• an loop may be formed from an elongated member (for example, a piece of wire) and positioned within upper card slot 13A to engage a corner of thin card 3 inserted into upper card slot 13 A.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Artificial Intelligence (AREA)
• Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition (AREA)
• Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
• Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=29996918

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (10)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 2002
  • 2002-06-28 JP JP2002191320A patent/JP4049625B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2003
  • 2003-06-27 EP EP03762184A patent/EP1518204A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-06-27 WO PCT/US2003/020432 patent/WO2004003837A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-06-27 CN CNB038150409A patent/CN100346343C/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2003-06-27 AU AU2003253745A patent/AU2003253745A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-06-27 TW TW92117601A patent/TWI229819B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation

Non-Patent Citations (2)

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