GB2377309A

GB2377309A - PC card

Info

Publication number: GB2377309A
Application number: GB0207265A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Hidenori Takeuchi; Fujio Arai
Original assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
Priority date: 2001-03-30
Filing date: 2002-03-27
Publication date: 2003-01-08
Anticipated expiration: 2022-03-27
Also published as: GB0207265D0; JP2002298092A; GB2377309B

Abstract

A PC card has a SIM card insertion inlet (7), a SIM card holder (40) and a SIM card ejector (50) which engages with the SIM card holder (40) so as to be able to move forward and backward along the insertion direction of the SIM card and restricts the position of the front edge (5b) and the upper surface of the SIM card. A cover (60) is hinge-coupled to the front end of the SIM card ejector (50) to cover the SIM card insertion inlet (7).

Description

.1, 5

_ _,..

_,.. PC cat Background of the Invention

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a PC card in which s a memory card insertion inlet for inserting therein a thin plate shaped memory card such as a SIN card, a UIM card, a USIM card etc. is provided at the side surface of a main body casing forming the outer configuration accorded to the PCMCIA standard, and coupling terminals which are made in lo contact with pressure to the contact terminals at the lower surface of the memory card inserted from the memory card insertion inlet to electrically couple a circuit within the main body casing to a circuit within the memory card is provided within the main body casing.

15 Description of the Related Art

Heretofore, as PC cards accorded to the PCMCIA standard used for extending functions of portable type computers, various types have been developed such as ones acting as hard disc driving apparatuses, ones acting as so SCSI cards, ones acting as transceiver terminals for radio communication etc. As PC cards utilized as transceiver terminals for radio communication, there have been developed ones in each of which a memory card insertion inlet for inserting 25 therein a thin plate shaped memory card such as a SIM

(subscriber identity module) card, a JIM (universal identity module) card, a USIN (universal subscriber identity module) card etc. is provided at the side surface of a main body casing forming the outer configuration accorded to the PCMCIA standard, and coupling terminals which are made in contact with pressure to the contact terminals at the lower surface of the memory card inserted from the memory card insertion inlet to electrically couple a circuit within the main body casing to a circuit within lo the memory card is provided within the main body casing.

To be more concrete, the memory card used as the terminal for radio communication such as a SIM card, a UIM card, a USIM card etc. is a memory card in which various kinds of personal data as identification data for s specifying a user of the communication terminal, contract telephone number data indicating an originator, and a credit number for charging etc. are recorded according to the regulated format. Thus, such a memory card is called as a subscriber identification recognition card.

So In the case of using the PC card as a transceiver terminal for radio communication, if each user replaces the aforesaid SIN card with own dedicated one, it becomes possible to individually manage data such as communication history, charging data etc. on a user unit basis, so that s it is possible to prevent the unjustified usage of the PC card even when the single PC card is commonly used by

A '.:)

plural persons.

In the case of providing a card slot for attaching an IC card at the side surface of the apparatus main body in a notebook-size personal computer, in general, a cover 5 for opening and closing the opening portion of the card slot is provided at the side surface of the apparatus main body of the computer in order to prevent a foreign body from entering into the apparatus main body from the opening portion of the card slot. Further, it is not rare matter lo to provide within the apparatus main body an eject mechanism for ejecting the memory card loaded in the card slot in order to facilitate the insertion/ejection operation of the memory card (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 83435/1998).

s However, in the conventional PC card at which the memory card is loaded, the memory card insertion inlet provided at the surface of the main body casing is arranged to have a simple normally-open structure at which an opening/closing cover is not provided. Further, such a 20 conventional PC card is arranged to have such a simple configuration without providing the eject mechanism for ejecting the card that, within the main body casing, only a memory card holder is attached which, upon insertion of the memory card into the memory card insertion inlet, guides 25 the memory card thus inserted to a reference position and engages.

c This is based on the following reasons.

First, the PC card (TYPE II of the PC-CARD Standard) is formed in a quadrangular thin plate shape with a thickness of about 5 mm and vertical and horizontal size 5 of about 54 X 86 mm. Thus, since the PC card is quite small in size as compared with a notebook-size personal computer, it is quite difficult to secure a space for providing the eject mechanism etc., so that the technique of the eject mechanism having been employed in the lo notebook-size personal computer can not be simply applied to the PC card.

Second, the SIM card as one of the memory cards has a thickness of about 0.8 mm and vertical and horizontal size of about 15 X 25 mm. Thus, since the SIM card is 15 formed in a quadrangular plate shape with further thin and small size as compared with the PC card and the SIM insertion inlet thereof is formed in a quite small slit shape. Thus, in the case of forming an opening/closing cover matching with the size of the SIM insertion inlet, 20 the opening/closing cover becomes too small, and so there arise such problems that it becomes difficult to secure the strength and to secure the space for the main body casing of the PC card and the opening/closing cover. In this manner, quite unlike the case of the card slot of the 25 notebook-size personal computer, the conventional technique used in the card slot can not be applied simply to the SIM

card. Further, after all, the conventional PC card not provided with a cover for opening and closing the SIM insertion inlet is high in the dangerous degree of causing 5 a failure due to a foreign body entered from the SIM insertion inlet and so there is possibility that the PC card may be polluted or damaged early and the reliability of the operation thereof may be degraded.

In the case of the conventional PC card not lo provided with the eject mechanism for ejecting the SIM card from the SIM insertion inlet within the main body casing, in the case of ejecting the SIM card, it is required to hook the end portion of the SIM card exposed at the SIM insertion inlet and draw out the card directly by fingers.

15 Thus, the operability of the insertion/ejection of the memory card is degraded, and there is possibility that an excessive bending stress is applied to the SIM card to break the card at the time of drawing out the card by the fingers. so Further, in the case of the conventional PC card not provided with the eject mechanism, notched portions for hooking the SIM card by the fingers are sequentially provided at the SIM insertion inlet so that the fingers are easily hooked at the end potion of the SIM card at the time 25 of performing the ejecting operation of the SIM card.

However, due to the presence of the notched portions, a r

larger opening is exposed when the SIM card is drawn out, and so such a problem has been pointed that a foreign body likely enters from the SIM insertion inlet.

Summary of the Invention

5 Accordingly, the invention has been made in view of the aforesaid circumstances, and an object of the invention is to provide a PC card which can prevent a foreign body from entering from an insertion inlet of a memory card such as a SIM card etc. and can easily insert/eject the memory lo card into and from the memory card insertion inlet without applying an excessive force to the memory card, and after all can improve the life time and the operation reliability and also improve the handling property thereof.

In order to attain the aforesaid object, the PC s card according to the invention is arranged in a manner that in the PC card in which a memory card insertion inlet for inserting therein a thin plate shaped memory card is provided at a side surface of a main body casing forming an outer configuration accorded to PCMCIA standard, and 20 coupling terminals which are made in contact with pressure to contact terminals at a lower surface of the memory card inserted from the memory card insertion inlet to electrically couple a circuit within the main body casing to a circuit within the memory card is provided within the Is main body casing, the PC card is characterized by

s - comprising an almost thin plate shaped memory card holder which has a bottom wall and side wall portions for restricting a position of the lower surface and both side surfaces of the memory card, the memory card being inserted from the memory card insertion inlet and fixed within the main body casing, a memory card ejector which has an upper wall for restricting a position of an upper surface of the memory JO card, a holder engagement portion for engaging with side edges of the memory card holder so as to be able to advance along insertion direction of the memory card, and a memory card engagement portion abutting against a front edge of the memory card, the memory card ejector protruding a base 15 end of the memory card from the memory card insertion inlet in accordance with the advancing operation to the memory card insertion inlet side, and a memory card cover which is hinge-coupled to a front end of the memory card ejector so as to be able to JO open and close the base end side of the memory card and, when the memory card ejector moves backward to an inner portion of the memory card insertion inlet, houses the memory card therein to close the memory card insertion inlet, a portion thereof exposed at the memory card 25 insertion inlet serving as an operation portion which operates the memory card ejector to advance to the memory

card insertion inlet side, wherein the memory card can be inserted into and ejected from the main body casing through the operation of forward and backward movement of the memory card ejector through the memory card cover.

According to the aforesaid configuration, the memory card cover is configured to be coupled with the front end of the memory card ejector so as to rotate freely and cover the upper surface of the memory card in a state lo of housing the memory card therein in cooperation with the memory card ejector. When compared with the cross sectional size of the memory card to be inserted into the memory card insertion inlet, the memory card cover is larger in its cross sectional size than the memory card by the portion covering the upper surface of the memory card, so that there does not arise such a problem that it is difficult to form the memory card cover since its size is too small.

The memory card cover is arranged to open and close so the memory card insertion inlet, so that since the memory card insertion inlet is not always placed in an opened state, a foreign body can be prevented from entering from the memory card insertion inlet The memory card ejector can move forward and backward on the memory card holder through the memory card cover, and the advancing operation of the memory card

ejector to the memory card insertion inlet side serves as the ejecting operation for ejecting the memory card on the memory card holder to the memory card insertion inlet.

That is, in the case of pulling out the memory card from the memory card holder, the memory card can be drawn out at a position where the memory card can be grasped easily by advancing the memory card ejector through the memory card cover. Further, in the case of attaching the memory card to the memory card holder, the memory card is lo inserted within the memory card ejector until the front edge of the memory card abuts against the memory card engagement portions, and thereafter the memory card ejector is moved backward to the inner side of the memory card holder through the memory card cover, whereby the memory s card can be inserted at the reference position of the memory card holder.

Thus, since it is not necessary to directly hook the memory card by fingers etc. to forcedly pull out or push in the card, the insertion/ejection operation of the 20 memory card to/from the memory card insertion inlet can be performed easily without applying an excessive force thereto. Further, since the base end portion of the memory card attached to the memory card insertion inlet is covered z by the memory card cover, an external force does not act on the memory card at the time of carrying the PC card etc.

Preferably, in the aforesaid PC card, the memory card cover is coupled to the memory card ejector so as to rotate freely through elastic engagement between elastic pieces protruded toward backward from both sides thereof 5 and engagement portions provided at both sides of the memory card ejector.

According to such a configuration, when an excessive tensile force is applied to the memory card cover, for example, the memory card cover is released in lo its engaging state with the memory card ejector due to the deformation of the elastic pieces provided at the memory card cover, whereby the breakage of the memory card cover and the memory card ejector can be avoided.

Preferably, the holder engagement portion engages 15 with the side edge of the memory card holder through elastic deformation of a part of the memory card ejector when the memory card ejector is slid and fitted to the memory card holder from a rear end side of the memory card holder, and after the engagement, a sliding range is so restricted by a stopper provided at the memory card holder.

According to such a configuration, the memory card ejector can be assembled with the memory card holder through the simple fitting operation.

Preferably, at a peripheral edge of the memory card 25 insertion inlet, an end edge of an outer wall member made of metal of the main body casing is configured in a shape

which does not contact to the memory card cover at a time of insertion/ejection operation.

According to such a configuration, at the time of inserting or ejecting the memory card, the memory card and 5 the memory card cover are prevented from being rubbed with the external wall members made of metal and being broken Preferably, in the aforesaid PC card, when the sliding length reaches a predetermined length at a time of sliding the memory card ejector to an inner portion of the lo memory card insertion inlet in a closed state of the memory card cover, an elastic engagement piece provided at the memory card holder engages with pressure at a lower surface of the memory card cover to restrict movement of the memory card cover and the memory card ejector in a sliding Is direction.

According to such a configuration, the operation of the memory card cover at the time of attaching the memory card is formed by two operations including the rotating operation of closing the cover after the attachment of the 20 memory card and the sliding operation of pushing the cover after closing. The memory card cover thus pushed is sandwiched and locked firmly between the elastic engagement pieces of the memory card holder and the outer wall on the upper surface side of the main body casing. Thus, the 25 memory card cover can be prevented from being opened inadvertently due to the action of the external force.

: -: Further, preferably, a submersion or sink-state confirmation label is provided at a suitable position on the memory card holder which is exposed at the memory card insertion inlet in a state where the memory card ejector is drawn out on the memory card insertion inlet side and the memory card cover is opened and then the memory card is pulled out.

According to such a configuration, in particular, it is not necessary to provide a sink-state confirmation lo label window at the main body casing and so the main body casing can be formed in a refined design having little unevenness etc. on the outer wall thereof. Further, the presence or non-presence of the submersion or water incoming state can be checked by merely pulling out the Is memory card and viewing the sink-state confirmation label on the memory card holder from the memory card insertion inlet. Further, preferably, in the aforesaid PC card, the memory card cover is formed by transparent resin.

so According to such a configuration, even if the memory card cover is not opened, the attachment or non attachment state of the memory card can be visually recognized through merely viewing over the memory card cover. :s Brief Description of the Drawings

/ - - Fig. 1 is a top view of a PC card according to the embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a right side view of the PC card shown in Fig. 1.

5 Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where a SIM holder, a SIM ejector and a SIM cover are attached to a resin frame within the main body casing of the PC card shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where 1C the SIM ejector is drawn out through the SIM cover from the state shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the SIM cover is opened from the state shown in Fig. 4 and the SIM card is being inserted into a SIM insertion inlet Is thus opened.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a state where each of the SIM holder, the SIM ejector and the SIM cover shown in Fig. 4 is disassembled.

Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the 20 configuration on the back side of each of the SIM holder, the SIM ejector and the SIM cover shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between a circuit board disposed within the PC card shown in Fig. 1 and the SIM card.

25 Fig. 9 is an enlarged diagram of the coupling terminal portion of the circuit board shown in Fig. 8.

^: Fig. 10 is a diagram seen from an arrow A direction in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing the hinge coupling between the SIM cover and the SIM ejector 5 shown in Fig. 6.

Figs. 12(a) to 12(c) are side views showing assembling procedure of the SIM cover and the SIM ejector shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view of the main lo portion showing the engagement state between the SIM cover and the SIM ejector in a state where the SIM cover is closed as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of the main portion showing the positional relationship between the SIM 15 card and the constitutional members at the periphery of the SIM insertion inlet of the main body casing in the PC card shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 15 a perspective view in a state where the SIM cover is opened to expose the SIM card in the PC card shown so in Fig. 1.

Fig. 16 is an enlarged perspective view of the SIM holder in which the SIM card is exposed at the SIM insertion inlet in a state where the SIM cover is opened and the SIM card is drawn out in the PC card shown in Fig. 25 1. Fig. 17 is a perspective view showing the

positional relation between the circuit board and the SIM holder. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

The preferred embodiment of a PC card according to s the invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figs. 1 to 17 show the embodiment of the PC card according to the invention. Fig. 1 is a top view of the PC card according to the embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 lo is a right side view of the PC card shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where a SIM holder, a SIM ejector and a SIM cover are attached to a resin frame within the main body casing of the PC card shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the SIM 15 ejector is drawn out through the SIM cover from the state shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where the SIM cover is opened from the state shown in Fig. 4 and the SIM card is being inserted into a SIM insertion inlet thus opened, Fig. 6 is a perspective view So showing a state where each of the SIM holder, the SIM ejector and the SIM cover shown in Fig. 4 is disassembled, Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration on the back side of each of the SIM holder, the SIM ejector and the SIM cover shown in Fig. 6, Fig. 8 25 iS a plan view showing the positional relationship between

a circuit board disposed within the PC card shown in Fig. 1 and the SIM card, Fig. 9 is an enlarged diagram of the coupling terminal portion of the circuit board shown in Fig. 8, Fig. 10 is a diagram seen from an arrow A direction 5 in Fig. 9, Fig. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing the hinge coupling between the SIM cover and the SIM ejector shown in Fig. 6, Figs. 12(a) to 12(c) are side views showing assembling procedure of the SIM cover and the SIM ejector shown in Fig. 6, Fig. 13 is an enlarged lo sectional view of the main portion showing the engagement state between the SIM cover and the SIM ejector in a state where the SIM cover is closed as shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view of the main portion showing the positional relationship between the SIM card and the 15 constitutional members at the periphery of the SIM insertion inlet of the main body casing in the PC card shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 15 is a perspective view in a state where the SIM cover is opened to expose the SIM card in the PC card shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 16 is an enlarged perspective So view of the SIM holder in which the SIM card is exposed at the SIM insertion inlet in a state where the SIM cover is opened and the SIM card is drawn out in the PC card shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 17 is a perspective view showing the positional relation between the circuit board and the SIM 25 holder. Although the embodiment will be explained in the case where the SIM card is used as an example of memory

l cards inserted into and fixed to the PC card according to the invention, the invention is not limited to the SIM card as the memory card and the invention is applicable to any types of small-sized and thin memory cards such as the UIM 5 card, the USIM card etc. The PC card 1 according to the embodiment is used as a transceiver terminal attached to the PC card slot accorded to the PCMCIA standard which is equipped in a portable type personal computer. The PC card is arranged lo in a manner that a SIM insertion inlet 7 for inserting therein a thin plate shaped SIM card 5 is provided at the side surface of a main body casing 3 forming the outer configuration accorded to the PCMCIA standard, and coupling terminals 9a which are made in contact with pressure to the i5 contact terminals 5a at the lower surface of the memory card 5 inserted from the SIM insertion inlet 7 to electrically couple a circuit within the main body casing 3 to a circuit within the SIM card 5 is provided within the main body casing 3.

20 The main body casing 3 is configured by a resin frame 31 of frame structure to which.the circuit board 9 is attached and upper and lower external wall members 33 made of sheet metal which are assembled to the resin frame 31 so as to cover the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit 25 board 9 attached to the resin frame 31.

Incidentally, connector coupling terminals 9b for

conductively coupling the circuit board 9 housed within the main body casing 3 to the circuit on the PC card slot side are exposed at the tip end side (the right end side in Fig. 1) of the main body casing 3.

5 The resin frame 31 is a construction frame which is configured by integrally forming with insulative resin a pair of main frames 31a, 31b extending at the both side portions of the PC card and sub-frames 31c, 31d,-- for coupling these main frames 31a, 31b to each other. In the lo resin frame, female screw or internal thread members for fastening the circuit board 9 and the external wall members 33 are buried at suitable portions by the insert molding.

Further, as also shown in Fig. 3, a pair of cover pillars 35a, 35b are protrusively provided for restricting the Is position of the SIM cover described later so as to be slidable at the position of the main frame 31a corresponding to the SIM insertion inlet 7.

As shown in Fig. 14, at the periphery of the SIM insertion inlet 7 of the main frame 31a on the SIM So insertion inlet 7 side, a step portion 37 is provided which stops the end edge 33a of the external wall member 33 made of sheet metal of the main body casing 3 at the position away from the slide position of the SIM card 5 or the SIM cover described later by a length L. 25 The step portion is provided so as to avoid, at the time of performing the sliding operation of the SIM

card 5 or the SIM cover, the SIM card 5 or the SIM cover is prevented from contacting with the external wall member 33 made of metal thereby to prevent the breakage of the SIM card 5 or the SIM cover due to the rubbing thereof with the 5 outer wall member.

The SIM holder 40, the SIM ejector 50 and the SIM cover 60 as members for supporting the SIM card 5 so as to be able to be inserted and ejected are assembled to the main body casing 3 thus configured.

lo Each of the SIM holder 40, the SIM ejector 50 and the SIM cover 60 is formed integrally by insulative resin.

The SIM holder 40 is configured in an almost thin plate shape to have a bottom wall 41 for restricting the position of the lower surface of the SIM card 5 inserted 15 from the SIM insertion inlet 7 and side wall portions 43 for respectively restricting the positions of the both side surfaces of the SIM card 5 inserted from the SIM insertion inlet 7. At the bottom wall 41, frame abutment pieces 44 which are protrusively provided downward from the bottom so wall 41 and abut against the circuit board 9 and positioning projections 45, 46 which are protrusively provided downward from the bottom wall 41 and engage with holder positioning holes 9c, 9d formed at the circuit board 9 are integrally formed.

25 The SIM holder 40 is positioned and fixed at a reference position corresponding to the SIM insertion inlet

: j -

- 7 as shown in Fig. 6 when placed on the circuit board 9 fixed to the resin frame 31 in a manner that the frame abutment pieces 44 abut against the edge of the circuit board g and the positioning projections 45, 46 are fitted 5 into the holder positioning holes 9c, 9d respectively (see Fig. 17).

A terminal coupling opening 41a is also provided at the bottom wall 41 of the SIM holder 40. The terminal coupling opening 41a serves to press the contact terminals lo 5a on the lower surface of the SIM card 5 attached to the SIM holder 40 against the coupling terminals 9a on the circuit board 9 and made in contact therewith.

A pair of elastic engagement pieces 47, 47 are protrusively provided at the both sides of the front end 15 portion of the bottom wall 41 of the SIM holder 40. Each of these elastic engagement pieces 47 is configured to have an engaging concave-convex 47a at the tip end thereof.

These elastic engagement pieces are arranged in a manner that when the slide length reaches the predetermined length so at the time of sliding the SIM ejector 50 into the inner side of the SIM insertion inlet 7 in a closed state of the SIM cover 60, each of the engaging concave-convexes 47a presses against and engages with an engagement rib 70 provided at the lower surface of the SIM cover 60 in an s erected manner therefrom thereby to restrict the movement of the SIM cover 60 and the SIM ejector 50 in the sliding

v direction as shown in Fig. 13.

The SIM ejector 50 is configured in an almost thin plate shape to have an upper wall 51 for restricting the position of the upper surface of the SIM card 5 inserted 5 from the SIM insertion inlet 7 and holder engagement portions 52 for engaging with the side edges of the SIM holder 40 so as to be able to move forward and backward along the insertion direction of the SIM card 5. The SIM engagement portions 54 (see Figs. 6 and 7) abutting against lo the front edge 5b of the SIM card 5 inserted from the SIM insertion inlet 7 are provided at the rear edge of the upper wall 51 so as to hung down therefrom.

In this embodiment, the holder engagement portions 52 are configured in a manner that sandwiching pieces 52b 15 for pressing the lower end surfaces of the side wall portions 43 are protrusively provided at the tip ends of vertical walls 52a slidably contacting with the outer sides of the bothside wall portions 43 of the SIM holder 40, respectively. The both side wall portions 43 of the SIM 20 holder 40 are fitted so as to slide freely at the spaces between the sandwiching pieces 52b and the upper wall 51, respectively, so that the SIM ejector 50 is engaged by the SIM holder 40 so as to be able to move forward and backward along the insertion direction of the SIM card 5.

25 At the time of the advancing operation (the sliding movement) to the SIM insertion inlet 7 side, the SIM

- ejector 50 operates in a manner that the SIM engagement portions 54 push out the SIM card 5 to the SIM insertion inlet 7 side thereby to protrude the base end of the SIM card 5 from the SIM insertion inlet 7 as shown in Fig. 15.

5 The aforesaid assembling operation of the SIM ejector 50 to the SIM holder 40 is performed in accordance with the procedure shown in Figs. 12(a) to 12(c).

That is, the holder engagement portions 52 of the SIM ejector 50 are fitted to the side wall portions 43 of lo the SIM holder 40 from the rear end side of the SIM holder 40. At this time, the SIM ejector 50 operates in a manner that the upper wall 51 is flexibly deformed in accordance with the sliding operation and moves on a stopper 48 provided at the bottom wall 41 of the SIM holder 40 so as s to erect therefrom as shown in Fig. 12(b). When the upper wall 51 of the SIM ejector 50 moves on the stopper 48 completely as shown in Fig. 12(c), the elastic deformation of the upper wall is eliminated and the ejector is prevented from moving backward due to the stopper 48 so thereby to restrict the sliding range of the SIM ejector 50 on the SIM holder 40.

The rear end side of the stopper 48 is configured to form a tapered surface 48a so that the upper wall 51 can move on the stopper 48 easily when the SIM ejector 50 is 25 fitted from the rear side of the SIM holder 40.

The SIM cover 60 is configured to include a flat

: - t plate portion 61 which covers the upper surface of the base end side of the SIM card 5 inserted into the SIM holder 40 and elastic pieces 62 which protrude backward from the both side portions of the rear end of the flat plate portion 61, respectively. The SIM cover is hinge-coupled to the SIM ejector 50 through the elastic engagement between the tip end portions of the elastic pieces 62 and engagement portions 56 protrusively provided at the both sides of the SIM ejector 50.

JO Due to the hinge-coupling, the SIM cover 60 covers the base end side of the SIM card 5 inserted into the SIM insertion inlet 7 so as to be able to open and close (capable of exposing) it, In this embodiment, the engagement portions 56 s provided at the SIM ejector 50 are supporting shafts protrusively provided at arm portions 57 which protrude forwardly from the both sides of the SIM ejector 50 as also shown in Fig. 11, respectively.

The tip end of each of the elastic pieces 62 of the JO SIM cover 60 is configured by a pair of elastic nails 64 which form a hole portion 63 into which the engagement portion 56 fits.

The pair of the elastic nails 64 are in a state that the tip end portions thereof are opposed to each other :s so as to be separated with a distance smaller than the outer diameter of the engagement portion 56. The SIM cover

/ . 60 and the SIM ejector 50 are opposed to each other in an approaching direction as shown by an arrow B in Fig. 11 and each of the engagement portions 56 is pushed into the gap between the pair of elastic nails 64, so that the SIM cover 5 and the SIM ejector can be placed in the hinge coupling state where the engagement portions 56 fit into the hole portions 63, respectively.

When the SIM ejector 50 is moved backward to the inner portion of the SIM insertion inlet 7, the SIM cover lo 60 thus configured is drawn within the main body casing 3 together with the SIM ejector 50 thereby to cover the SIM insertion inlet 7 and press the upper surface of the front end side of the SIM card 5. A portion of the SIM cover exposed at the SIM insertion inlet 7 serves as an operation 15 portion 66 to be hooked by fingers at the time of advancing the SIM ejector 50 to the SIM insertion inlet 7 side.

An anti-slipping concave-convex 66a is formed on the surface of the operation portion 66.

That is, in the PC card 1 of the embodiment, the 20 SIM card 5 is inserted and ejected in accordance with the forward/backward moving operation of the SIM ejector 50 through the SIM cover 60.

A concave portion 68 for housing the SIM card 5 is formed at the rear surface side of the flat plate portion 25 61 of the SIM cover 60 as also shown in Fig. 5. In the concave portion 68, a slanted surface portion 68a is formed

in correspondence with a chamfer portion 5c for preventing the erroneous insertion of the SIM card 5. Thus, when the SIM card 5 is inserted erroneously, a part of the SIM card 5 abuts against a convex surface 69 at the periphery of the s concave portion 68 and so the SIM cover can not be closed completely. In this manner, the concave portion acts as a means for detecting the erroneous insertion of the SIM card. The engagement rib 70 is provided at the rear JO surface of the flat plate portion 61 of the SIM cover 60 in a manner that when the slide length reaches the predetermined length at the time of sliding the SIM ejector 50 into the inner side of the SIM insertion inlet 7 in the closed state of the SIM cover 60, the engagement rib is 15 made in contact with pressure to the engaging concave convex 47a as shown in Fig. 13. The movement of the SIM cover 60 and the SIM ejector 50 in the sliding direction is restricted by the engagement between the engagement rib 70 and the concave-convex 47a.

So In the case of this embodiment, the SIM cover 60 is formed by transparent resin.

A submerge or sink-state confirmation label window 72 is provided at a suitable position on the SIM holder 40 which is exposed at the SIM insertion inlet 7 as also shown Is in Fig. 16 in a state where the SIM ejector 50 is drawn out on the SIM insertion inlet 7 side and the SIM cover 60 is

- - opened and then the SIM card 5 is pulled out.

In the PC card 1 explained above, the SIM cover 60 is configured to be hinge-coupled with the front end of the SIM ejector 50 and cover the upper surface of the SIM card 5 5 in cooperation with the SIM ejector 50. When compared with the cross sectional size of the SIM card 5 to be inserted into the SIM insertion inlet 7, the SIM cover 60 is larger in its cross sectional size than the SIM card by the flat plate portion 61 covering the upper surface of the lo SIM card 5, so that there does not arise such a problem that it is difficult to form the SIM cover since its size is too small.

The SIM cover 60 is arranged to open and close the SIM insertion inlet 7, so that since the SIM insertion s inlet 7 is not always placed in an opened state, a foreign body can be prevented from entering from the SIM insertion inlet 7.

Thus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the PC card may become failure due to a foreign body 20 entered from the SIM insertion inlet 7 and so the life time and the operation reliability of the PC card can be improved. The SIM ejector 50 can move forward and backward on the SIM holder 40 through the SIM cover 60, and the Is advancing operation of the SIM ejector to the SIM insertion inlet 7 side serves as the ejecting operation for ejecting

the SIM card 5 on the SIM holder 40 to the SIM insertion inlet 7.

That is, in the case of pulling out the SIM card 5 from the SIM holder 40, the SIM card 5 can be drawn out at 5 a position where the SIM card 5 can be grasped easily by advancing the SIM ejector 50 through the SIM cover 60.

Further, in the case of attaching the SIM card 5 to the SIM holder 40, the SIM card 5 is inserted within the SIM ejector 50 until the front edge 5b of the SIM card 5 abuts lo against the SIM engagement portions 54, and thereafter the SIM ejector 50 is moved backward to the inner side of the SIM holder 40 through the SIM cover 60, whereby the SIM card 5 can be inserted at the reference position of the SIM holder 40.

15 Thus, since it is not necessary to directly hook the end edge of the SIM card 5 by fingers etc. to forcedly pull out or push in the card, the insertion/ejection operation of the SIM card 5 to/from the SIM insertion inlet 7 can be performed easily without applying an excessive 20 force thereto, whereby the operability of the SIM card 5 at the time of the insertion/ejection thereof can be improved.

Further, since the base end portion of the SIM card 5 attached to the SIM insertion inlet 7 is covered by the SIM cover 60, an external force does not act on the SIM 25 card 5 at the time of carrying the PC card etc. Thus, it is also possible to prevent the occurrence of such an

inconvenience that the SIM card 5 comes out due to the action of the external force applied thereto.

In the case of this embodiment, the SIM cover 60 is configured to be hinge-coupled to the SIM ejector 50 through the elastic engagement between the elastic pieces 62 protruded backward from the both sides of the cover and the engagement portions 56 provided at the both sides of the SIM ejector 50. Thus, when an excessive tensile force is applied to the SIM cover 60, for example, the SIM cover lo is released in its engaging state with the SIM ejector 50 due to the deformation of the elastic pieces 62 provided at the SIM cover 60, whereby the breakage of the SIM cover 60 and the SIM ejector 50 can be avoided.

Further, in the case of this embodiment, the holder 15 engagement portions 52 of the SIM ejector 50 elastically deforms and engages with the side edges of the SIM holder 40 in accordance with the sliding operation from the rear end side of the SIM ejector 50. After the engagement, the range of the sliding operation is restricted by the stopper so 48 provided at the SIM holder 40. Thus, the SIM ejector 50 can be assembled with the SIM holder 40 through the simple fitting operation between the SIM holder 40 and the SIM ejector 50, and so the operability of the assembling operation can be improved.

Is Further, in the case of this embodiment, at the periphery of the SIM insertion inlet 7, the end edges of

- - 7 -} i the external wall members 33 made of the sheet metal of the main body casing 3 are disposed at positions not contacting to the SIM cover 60 and the SIM card 5 at the time of insertion/ejection operation. Thus, at the time of 5 inserting or ejecting the SIM card 5, the SIM card 5 and the SIM cover 60 are prevented from being rubbed with the external wall members 33 made of metal and being broken.

Therefore, even if the insertion/ejection operation of the SIM card 5 is repeated frequently, the SIM cover 60 and the lo SIM card 5 can be prevented from being damaged and so the life time thereof can be further improved.

Further, in this embodiment, the operation of the SIM cover 60 at the time of attaching the SIM card 5 is formed by two operations including the rotating operation :s of closing the cover after the attachment of the SIM card 5 and the sliding operation of pushing the cover after closing. The SIM cover 60 thus pushed is sandwiched and locked firmly between the elastic engagement pieces 47 of the SIM holder 40 and the outer wall on the upper surface So side of the main body casing 3. Thus, the SIM cover 60 can be prevented from being opened inadvertently due to the action of the external force and so the performance of preventing the coming-out of the SIM card 5 can be improved. 25 Further, in this embodiment, since the sink-state confirmation label window 72 is provided on the SIM holder

40 which is exposed at the SIM insertion inlet 7 in the state where the SIM cover 60 is opened and the SIM card 5 is pulled out, it is not necessary to provide a sink-state confirmation label window at the main body casing 3 and so 5 the main body casing 3 can be formed in a refined design having little unevenness etc. on the outer wall thereof.

Further, when the PC card is placed in a state where the SIM card 5 is pulled out, it is possible to visually confirm the sink or non-sink state through the lo sink-state confirmation label window 72 of the SIM holder 40 exposed at the SIM insertion inlet 7. Thus, the checking procedure of the sink or non-sink state can also be performed easily.

Further, in this embodiment, the SIM cover 60 is Is formed by the transparent resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyarylate (PAR) etc. Thus, even if the SIM cover 60 is not opened, the attachment or non-attachment state of the SIM card 5 can be visually recognized through merely viewing over the SIM go cover 60, so that the treatment property of the PC card is good. As described above, according to the PC card of the invention, the SIM cover is configured to be hingecoupled with the front end of the SIM ejector and cover the upper 25 surface of the SIM card in cooperation with the SIM ejector. When compared with the cross sectional size of

the SIM card to be inserted into the SIM insertion inlet, the SIM cover is larger in its cross sectional size than the SIM card by the portion covering the upper surface of the SIM card, so that there does not arise such a problem 5 that it is difficult to form the SIM cover since its size is too small.

The SIM cover is arranged to open and close the SIM insertion inlet, so that since the SIM insertion inlet is not always placed in an opened state, a foreign body can be lo prevented from entering from the SIM insertion inlet.

Thus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the PC card may become failure due to a foreign body entered from the SIM insertion inlet and so the life time and the operation reliability of the PC card can be 15 improved.

The SIM ejector can move forward and backward on the SIM holder through the SIM cover, and the advancing operation of the SIM ejector to the SIM insertion inlet side serves as the ejecting operation for ejecting the SIM 20 card on the SIM holder to the SIM insertion inlet.

That is, in the case of pulling out the SIM card from the SIM holder, the SIM card can be drawn out at a position where the SIM card can be grasped easily by advancing the SIM ejector through the SIM cover. Further, 25 in the case of attaching the SIM card to the SIM holder, the SIM card is inserted within the SIM ejector until the

A; . : ^ front edge of the SIM card abuts against the SIM engagement portions, and thereafter the SIM ejector is moved backward to the inner side of the SIM holder through the SIM cover, whereby the SIM card can be inserted at the reference 5 position of the SIM holder.

Thus, since it is not necessary to directly hook the end edge of the SIM card by fingers etc. to forcedly pull out or push in the card, the insertion/ejection operation of the SIM card to/from the SIM insertion inlet lo can be performed easily without applying an excessive force thereto, whereby the operability of the SIM card at the time of the insertion/ejection thereof can be improved.

Further, since the base end portion of the SIM card attached to the SIM insertion inlet is covered by the SIM :s cover, an external force does not act on the SIM card at the time of carrying the PC card etc. Thus, it is also possible to prevent the occurrence of such an inconvenience that the SIM card comes out due to the action of the external force applied thereto.

so Moreover, according to the modified configuration as discussed above, when an excessive tensile force is applied to the SIM cover, for example, the SIM cover is released in its engaging state with the SIM ejector due to the deformation of the elastic pieces provided at the SIM 25 cover, whereby the breakage of the SIM cover and the SIM ejector can be avoided.

-A Further, according to the modified configuration as discussed above, the SIM ejector can be assembled with the SIM holder through the simple fitting operation, and so the operability of the assembling operation can be improved.

s Moreover, according to the further modified configuration as discussed above, at the time of inserting or ejecting the SIM card, the SIM card and the SIM cover are prevented from being rubbed with the external wall members made of metal and being broken. Therefore, even if lo the insertion/ejection operation of the SIM card is repeated frequently, the SIM cover and the SIM card can be prevented from being damaged and so the life time thereof can be further improved.

Further, according to the modified configuration as 15 discussed above, the operation of the SIM cover at the time of attaching the SIM card is formed by two operations including the rotating operation of closing the cover after the attachment of the SIM card and the sliding operation of pushing the cover after closing. The SIM cover thus pushed 20 is sandwiched and locked firmly between the elastic engagement pieces of the SIM holder and the outer wall on the upper surface side of the main body casing. Thus, the SIM cover can be prevented from being opened inadvertently due to the action of the external force and so the 25 performance of preventing the coming-out of the SIM card can be improved.

Moreover, according to to the further modified configuration as discussed above, it is not necessary to provide a sink-state confirmation label window at the main body casing and so the main body casing can be formed in a 5 refined design having little unevenness etc. on the outer wall thereof.

Further, when the PC card is placed in a state where the SIM card is pulled out, it is possible to visually confirm the sink or non-sink state through the lo submersion or sink-state confirmation label window of the SIM holder exposed at the SIM insertion inlet. Thus, the checking procedure of the sink or non-sink state can also be performed easily.

According to the further modified configuration as 15 discussed above, even if the SIM cover is not opened, the attachment or non-attachment state of the SIM card can be visually recognized through merely viewing over the SIM cover, so that the treatment property of the PC card is good.

Claims

- 7 : what is claimed is:

1. A PC card, comprising: a main body casing; a memory card insertion inlet for inserting a thin plate shaped memory card, the memory card insertion inlet s provided at a side surface of the main body; coupling terminals made in contact with pressure to contact terminals at a lower surface of the memory card inserted from the memory card insertion inlet to electrically couple a circuit within the main body casing lo to a circuit within the memory card, the coupling terminals provided within the main body casing; a memory card holder shaped in a substantially thin plate and including a bottom wall portion and side wall portions both for restricting a position of the lower 15 surface and both side surfaces of the memory card, the memory card being inserted from the memory card insertion inlet and fixed within the main body casing; a memory card ejector including an upper wall for restricting a position of an upper surface of the memory so card, a holder engagement portion for engaging with side edges of the memory card holder so as to be able to advance along insertion direction of the memory card, and a memory card engagement portion abutting against a -front edge of the memory card, the memory card ejector protruding a base 25 end of the memory card from the memory card insertion inlet

r in accordance with the advancing operation to the memory card insertion inlet sided and a memory card cover hinge-coupled to a front end of the memory card ejector so as to be able to open and close So the base end side of the memory card, the memory card cover housing the memory card therein to close the memory card insertion inlet when the memory card ejector moves backward to an inner portion of the memory card insertion inlet, wherein a portion of the memory card cover exposed at the 35 memory card insertion inlet serves as an operation portion operating the memory card ejector to advance to a memory card insertion inlet side, wherein the memory card is inserted into and ejected from the main body casing through the operation of do forward and backward movement of the memory card ejector through the memory card cover.

2. The PC card according to Claim 1, wherein the memory card cover is coupled to the memory card ejector so as to rotate freely through elastic <s engagement between elastic pieces protruded backward from both sides of the memory card cover and engagement portions provided at both sides of the memory card ejector.

3. The PC card according to one of Claims 1 to 2, wherein the holder engagement portion engages with

- the side edge of the memory card holder through elastic deformation of a part of the memory card ejector when the memory card ejector is slid and fitted to the memory card holder from a rear end side of the memory card holder, and 5 after the engagement, a sliding range is restricted by a stopper provided to the memory card holder.

4. The PC card according to one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein, at a peripheral edge of the memory card insertion inlet, an end edge of an outer wall member made lo of metal of the main body casing is configured in a shape which does not contact to the memory card cover or the memory card at a time of insertion/ejection operation.

5. The PC card according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein when a sliding length reaches a 15 predetermined length at a time of sliding the memory card ejector to an inner portion of the memory card insertion inlet in a closed state of the memory card cover, an elastic engagement piece provided at the memory card holder engages with pressure at a lower surface of the memory card so cover to restrict movement of the memory card cover and the memory card ejector in a sliding direction.

6. The PC card according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein a sink-state confirmation label is provided

to a position on the memory card holder exposed at the memory card insertion inlet in a state where the memory card ejector is drawn out on the memory card insertion inlet side and the memory card cover is opened and then the 5 memory card is pulled out.

7. The PC card according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the memory card cover is formed by transparent resin.

8. The PC card according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the main body casing forms an outer configuration according to PCMCIA standard.

15

9. A PC card substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.