EP2053698B1

EP2053698B1 - Electronic device and connector and card insertion method thereof

Info

Publication number: EP2053698B1
Application number: EP08018421.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ming-Hung Chung; Yu-Chen Lee
Original assignee: Asustek Computer Inc
Current assignee: Asustek Computer Inc
Priority date: 2007-10-22
Filing date: 2008-10-21
Publication date: 2019-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2028-10-21
Also published as: EP2053698A3; EP2053698A2; CN101420082B; CN101420082A

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a connector, and in particular relates to a connector connected to a memory card.

Description of the Related Art

A conventional connector has fixers pivotably disposed on two sides thereof. When a memory card is inserted into the connector, the fixers wedge the memory card. When a user wants to detach the memory card from the connector, the user pivots the fixers to release and push the memory card. For configurations within a conventional computer, elements overlap or interfere with each other. Therefore, when accessing the memory card, a CD-ROM device, DVD-ROM device, hard disc or bus wire may hinder the user from pushing the fixers and sufficiently fixing the memory card.
US 2003/186590 teaches a card-edge connector. When the memory board is not mounted onto the contact terminal group in the body section, the upper portion of the connecting section in the contact terminals located in a midportion of the contact terminal group abut, respectively, to the upper periphery of the gap-adjustment wall section at a predetermined pressure, and the upper portions of the connecting sections of the contact terminals located at the opposite ends of the contact terminal group abut, respectively, to the outer periphery of the adjustment end sections of the hook members.
US5649831 teaches a printed circuit board edge connector, according to the preamble of claim 1, including latching and ejectment mechanism. Disclosed is an insertion and ejection printed circuit board edge connector assembly. A circuit board fits into a slot in an elongated housing, and at each end of the housing there is an ejectment mechanism having an upper engagement arm and a lateral engagement arm which is pivotally connected to the housing at a point between the engagement and ejectment arm. The engagement arm is fixed to one end of the circuit board by a flexible latch which may be disengaged to allow the ejectment arm to pivot upwardly to eject the circuit board.
US5980295 teaches an Electrical connector with a board retaining means. An electrical connector for reliably and electrically connecting a daughter board and a mother board, includes a first housing (10), a second housing (20) and a pair of board retaining means (30) wherein said second housing (20) is integrally formed with two opposed supporting portions (21, 22) which each further has a pair of spaced guiding rails (211, 221) for respectively guiding and clamping two opposed edges of the daughter board (40). A cavity portion (23, 24) is defined with a horizontal cavity (231, 241) and a vertical cavity (232, 242). Each board retaining means (30) is defined with an acting portion (31), a first resilient portion (32), a latching portion (33), a second resilient portion (34) and a retentive portion (35) for efficiently locking the inserted daughter board to maintain a reliably electrical contact between the daughter board and the electrical connector.
US 5647755 teaches an electrical connector. An electrical connector includes a plurality of contacts, an insulator for receiving the contacts, and guides provided at both ends of the insulator's lengthwise direction. The connector includes push bars inserted in the guides of the insulator, respectively. Each of the push bars has at its one end an anchor portion for engaging a circuit board or a mating connector, an engaging portion at the other end, and a spring piece between the anchor and engaging portions. The connector further includes cams disposed in mounting portions provided at bottoms of the guides at both the ends of the insulator, respectively. Each of the cams has an anchor portion at its one end engageable the engaging portion of the push bar and has a support consisting of pivot pins on the side of the other end for pivotal movement of the cam. The engaging portion of each the push bar is connected to the anchor portion of one of the cams.
US 6276950 teaches a Socket for printed circuit board. A socket for a printed circuit board wherein the attachment and detachment of a printed circuit board can be easily and reliably performed without damaging the printed circuit board. The socket comprising a pair of guide portions extending from a header portion having an insertion opening which receives a printed circuit board to guide the sides of the printed circuit board in its extraction direction, an eject lever arranged at the guide portion to extract one end of the board from the insertion opening, and an elastic guide arm arranged at the guide portion to guide an end surface of the other of the board. When the eject lever extracts one end of the printed circuit board from the insertion opening, the guide arm rotates the board between the pair of guide portions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. A connector according to the invention is defined in independent claim 1, an electronic device comprising said connector is defined in claim 4, and a method according to the invention is defined in independent claim 10. Preferred embodiments thereof are respectively defined in the respective dependent claims.
A connector is provided. The connector is for connecting an electronic card. The electronic card comprises a first card side and a second card side, a first notch formed on the first card side, and a second notch formed on the second card side. The connector comprises a body, a first fixer and a second fixer. The body comprises a first side, a second side and a slot. The first fixer is disposed on the first side, wherein the first fixer pivots between a first orientation and a second orientation, and the first fixer abuts the first notch when the first fixer is in the first orientation. The second fixer is disposed on the second side, wherein the second fixer abuts the second notch via elastic force.
An electronic device is provided. The electronic device, comprising: an electronic card, comprising a first card side, a second card side, a first notch and a second notch, wherein the first notch is formed on the first card side, and the second notch is formed on the second card side; and a connector, connected to the electronic card, the connector comprising: a body, comprising a first side, a second side and a slot, wherein the electronic card is inserted in the slot; a first fixer, disposed on the first side, wherein the first fixer pivots between a first orientation and a second orientation, and the first fixer abuts the first notch when the first fixer is in the first orientation; and a second fixer, disposed on the second side, wherein the second fixer abuts the second notch via elastic force.
A method for accessing an electronic card is provided. The method comprising: inserting the electronic card into a slot of an electronic device, wherein a bottom side of the electronic card pushes an abutting portion of a second fixer to elastically deform an U-shaped portion of the second fixer for allowing the electronic card to be inserted thereinto, and an abutting portion of the second fixer abuts a second notch of the electronic card via elastic force when the electronic card is sufficiently inserted into the slot; and pivoting a first fixer from a second orientation to a first orientation to abut a first notch of the electronic card.
Utilizing the embodiment of the invention, because the second fixing element is an elastic sheet abutting the electronic card via elastic force, the user can fix and detach the electronic card easily and conveniently. Moreover, even when other elements obstruct the second fixer, the user still can detach the electronic card easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows an electronic device of an embodiment of the invention;
Fig. 2a shows a detailed structure of a first fixer;
Fig. 2b shows the first fixer in a first orientation;
Fig. 2c shows the first fixer is a second orientation; and
Fig. 3 shows a detailed structure of a second fixer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims.
Fig. 1 shows an electronic device 1 of an embodiment of the invention, comprising an electronic card 100 and a connector 200.
The electronic card 100 comprises a first card side 110 and a second card side 120. A first notch 111 is formed on the first card side 110. A second notch 121 is formed on the second card side 120.
The connector 200 is connected to the electronic card 100. The connector 200 comprises a body 210, a first fixer 220 and a second fixer 230. The body 210 comprises a first side 211, a second side 212 and a slot 213. The electronic card 100 is inserted into the slot 213. The first fixer 220 is disposed on the first side 211. The first fixer 220 pivots between a first orientation and a second orientation. The second fixer 230 is disposed on the second side 212. The second fixer 230 abuts the second notch 121 via elastic force.
Fig. 2a shows a detailed structure of the first fixer 220. The first fixer 220 comprises a pressing portion 221, a shaft 222, a pushing portion 223 and an abutting portion 224. With reference to Fig. 2b, when the first fixer 220 is in the first orientation A, the abutting portion 224 of the first fixer 220 abuts the first notch 111. With reference to Fig. 2c, when the first fixer 220 is in the second orientation B, the abutting portion 224 of the first fixer 220 leaves the first notch 111 to release the electronic card 100, and the pushing portion 223 pushes the bottom of the electronic card 100 to move the electronic card 100 out of the slot 213.
Fig. 3 shows a detailed structure of the second fixer 230. The second fixer 230 is an elastic sheet embedded in an inner wall of the slot. The second fixer 230 comprises a fixing portion 231, a U-shaped portion 232, an abutting portion 233 and a pressing portion 234. The fixing portion 231 is connected to an end of the U-shaped portion 232, and the abutting portion 233 is connected to the other end of the U-shaped portion 232. The abutting portion 233 abuts the second notch 121. The fixing portion 231 is embedded in the inner wall of the slot. The pressing portion 234 is connected to the abutting portion 233. When user presses the pressing portion 234, the U-shaped portion 232 deforms to separate the abutting portion 233 from the second notch 121 to release the electronic card 100.
The process for accessing the electronic card 100 is disclosed as follows. When the electronic card 100 is inserted into the slot, the bottom side of the electronic card 100 pushes the abutting portion 233 to deform the U-shaped portion to allow the electronic card 100 to be inserted thereinto. When the electronic card 100 is sufficiently inserted, the U-shaped portion 232 pushes the abutting portion 233 into the second notch 121 by elastic force. Meanwhile, the first fixer 220 is rotated from the second orientation to the first orientation to abut the first notch.
When the user wants to detach the electronic card 100 from the slot 213, the first fixer 220 is rotated from the first orientation to the second orientation to separate the first fixer 220 from the first notch 111 to release the electronic card 100. The first fixer 220 pushes and tilts the electronic card 100. Then, the user pulls the electronic card 100 out of the slot 213. When the user is pulling the electronic card 100, the second notch 121 pushes the abutting portion 233 to deform the U-shaped portion 232 to allow the electronic card 100 to leave the slot 213.
When detaching the electronic card, if the electronic card is jammed, the user can press the pressing portion 234 to release the electronic card 100.
In the embodiments of the invention, the electronic card is a memory card, such as, a double data rate (DDR) memory card. Meanwhile, the electronic device is a desk-top computer.
Utilizing the embodiment of the invention, because the second fixing element is an elastic sheet abutting the electronic card via elastic force, the user can fix and detach the electronic card easily and conveniently. Moreover, even when other elements obstruct the second fixer, the user still can detach the electronic card easily.

Claims

A connector for connecting an electronic card (100), wherein the electronic card (100) comprises a first card side (110) and a second card side (120), a first notch (111) formed on the first card side (110), and a second notch (121) formed on the second card side (120), the connector comprising:
- a body (210), comprising a first side (211), a second side (212) and a slot (213);

- a first fixer (220), disposed on the first side (211); wherein the first fixer (220) pivots between a first orientation and a second orientation with a shaft (222), and the first fixer (220) abuts the first notch (111) when the first fixer (220) is in the first orientation; and

- a second fixer (230), disposed on the second side (212), wherein the second fixer (230) abuts the second notch (121) via elastic force,
characterized in that,
the second fixer (230) is an elastic sheet; and
the second fixer (230) comprises a fixing portion (231), a U-shaped portion (232) and an abutting portion (233), the fixing portion (231) is connected to an end of the U-shaped portion (232), the abutting portion (233) is connected to the other end of the U-shaped portion (232), the abutting portion (233) abuts the second notch (121), and the fixing portion (231) is embedded in an inner wall of the slot (213).
The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second fixer (230) further comprises a pressing portion, connected to the abutting portion (233), and the U-shaped portion (232) is deformed and separating the abutting portion (233) from the second notch (121) for releasing the electronic card (100) when the pressing portion is pressed.
The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the first fixer (220) is in the second orientation, the first fixer (220) is separated from the first notch (111) for releasing the electronic card (100).
An electronic device, comprising:
- an electronic card (100), comprising a first card side (110), a second card side (120), a first notch (111) and a second notch (121), wherein the first notch (111) is formed on the first card side (110), and the second notch (121) is formed on the second card side (120); and

- the connector as claimed in claim 1.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second fixer (230) further comprises a pressing portion, connected to the abutting portion (233), and the U-shaped portion (232) is deformed and separating the abutting portion (233) from the second notch (121) for releasing the electronic card (100) when the pressing portion is pressed.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein when the first fixer (220) is in the second orientation, the first fixer (220) is separated from the first notch (111) for releasing the electronic card (100).
The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electronic card (100) is a memory card.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the electronic card (100) is a double data rate (DDR) memory card.
The electronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the electronic device is a desk-top computer.
A method for accessing an electronic card (100), comprising:
inserting the electronic card (100) into the slot (213) of the connector as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein a bottom side of the electronic card (100) pushes the abutting portion (233) of the second fixer (230) for allowing the electronic card (100) to be inserted thereinto, and the abutting portion (233) of the second fixer (230) abuts the second notch (121) of the electronic card (100) via elastic force when the electronic card (100) is sufficiently inserted into the slot (213);

wherein the bottom side of the electronic card (100) pushes the abutting portion (233) of the second fixer (230) to elastically deform the U-shaped portion (232) of the second fixer (230), wherein the second fixer (230) is the elastic sheet; and

pivoting the first fixer (220) from the second orientation to the first orientation to abut a first notch (111) of the electronic card (100).
The method as claimed in claim 10. further comprising:
- pivoting the first fixer (220) from the first orientation to the second orientation to leave the first notch (111); and

- detaching the electronic card (100) from the slot (213), wherein the second notch (121) pushes the abutting portion (233) to elastically deform the U-shaped portion (232) for allowing the electronic card (100) to leave the slot (213).