JP2000048916A - Ic card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an IC card connector that can prevent contact failure of switch members and signal contacts and has a structure that allows the work for soldering the lead parts of those members to the surface of a board to be effectively performed. SOLUTION: Switch members 35, 36 are mounted to the undersurface of a housing 10, and a switch 35b is extended straight to form a contact 35d. On the other hand, a switch 36b is so bent protrusively upward as to form a pressing part 36e projecting into an accepting space, and an arm 36d extending sidewise to the upper side of the contact part 35d is formed. In addition, an arc-like contact 36f is formed on the undersurface of a tip of the arm 36d.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card for receiving a card-shaped information recording medium called a PC card, a memory card, an IC card, etc. (collectively referred to as an IC card). For connectors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the use of IC cards has been expanding, and various types of IC card connectors for receivably receiving and inserting the IC cards have been put to practical use. Such a connector has a female contact at the end of the IC card, a male contact (pin) fitted to the female contact is provided on the connector, and both contacts are fitted when the IC card is inserted into the connector. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a mating connection type connector which is adapted to be connected. Further, there is also known a contact connection type connector in which a planar contact is provided on the surface of an IC card, and a signal contact is provided in the connector so as to face and contact the planar contact when the IC card is inserted.

[0003] In such an IC card connector, a pair of switch members extending in the insertion direction of the IC card and supported in a cantilever manner at the receiving opening side of the card are mounted in the housing, and one of the switch members is provided in the receiving space. Are formed at the tips of the two switch members by being pushed by the tip of the IC card and bending the one of the switch members when the IC card is inserted. There is a configuration in which the contact portions contact each other so that the insertion of the IC card can be detected or the power can be turned on.

[0004]

However, the switch member in the above-described conventional IC card connector has the following problems.
If the contact points are contaminated with dust or the like, poor contact may occur. In addition, since both contact portions are always in contact at the same contact point, they may burn due to sparks, which may cause poor contact. In order to prevent such a situation, it is sufficient to clean the contact portion. However, it is difficult to perform periodic cleaning on all the connectors, and the cleaning itself is impossible depending on the structure of the connectors. There were cases.

Further, in the conventional card connector, since a large number of components must be soldered to a narrow area on the substrate, the positions of the lead portions of the signal transmission contacts and the positions of the lead portions of the switch member on the substrate. In many cases, the efficiency of the operation of soldering these lead portions onto the substrate in the connector manufacturing process was not good. After that, an inspection must be performed to confirm the soldering condition. However, in this case, the work efficiency of the inspection is not good because the lead of the signal contact and the lead of the switch member are different from each other. Was.

Further, after the connector is manufactured, the signal contacts are covered by the housing. Therefore, after the connector is manufactured, the contact portions of the signal contacts (the contact portions of the signal contacts with the flat contacts formed on the surface of the IC card). And the part that communicates information). For this reason, it is not possible to inspect or clean the contact portions of these signal contacts for deformation or the like.
Poor contact may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and it is possible to prevent a contact failure of a switch member or a signal contact and to solder a lead portion of these members to a substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide an IC card connector having a configuration capable of efficiently performing the above.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an IC card connector according to the present invention has a card receiving space for receiving and holding an IC card by inserting the IC card from a card receiving opening formed at a front end side. Flat connector housing (e.g., housing 10 in the embodiment)
A plurality of signal contacts which are mounted in the connector housing and have contact portions formed on an upper surface thereof for contacting and transmitting information by contacting a wiring pattern formed on a lower surface of the IC card; and a front end below the card receiving space. The side is cantilevered on the card receiving opening side of the connector housing and extends rearward, and a pressing portion protruding into the card receiving space and an arm extending in the left-right direction are formed on the rear end side,
An arc-shaped first contact portion (for example,
The first switch in which the contact portion 36f) in the embodiment is formed, and when the IC card is inserted into the card receiving space, the pressing portion is pressed downward by the front end portion of the IC card and the rear end side is elastically deformed downward. A member (for example, the switch member 36 in the embodiment) and a front end below the card receiving space are cantilevered at the card receiving opening side of the connector housing and extend rearward substantially in parallel with the first switch member and a rear end side. The IC card is inserted below the first contact portion into the card receiving space at the rear end side.
The second switch member (for example, the contact portion 35d in the embodiment) formed with the second contact portion (for example, the contact portion 35d in the embodiment) that comes into contact with the first contact portion when the rear end side of the switch member is elastically deformed downward. Switch member 35 in the embodiment)
And is configured.

In the case of the IC card connector having such a configuration, when the IC card is inserted into the card receiving space, the leading end of the IC card contacts the pressing portion of the first switch member, and the pressing portion is pressed. Push down. Thereby, the rear end side of the first switch member is bent downward. As a result, the arm portion is pushed down, and the first contact portion comes into contact with the second contact portion. As a result, the switch is turned on. When the IC card is further pushed in, the arms are pushed backward and downward while keeping the first contact portion in contact with the second contact portion, so that the contact points of both contact portions are rearward from the original contact point. To the first switch member side along the arc of the first contact portion. As a result, a wiping (wiping) effect is generated, and the two contact portions are self-cleaned, thereby preventing poor contact.

In addition to the above configuration, the connector housing is mounted on the board so that the lower surface of the flat plate is brought into contact with the card receiving space extending in the front-rear direction, and the lead portion of the signal contact is provided on the board. The lead portion of the first switch member and the lead portion of the second switch member are arranged substantially in the same row as the lead portions of the signal contacts. It is preferable to be surface-mounted on the terminal pattern of the substrate. In this case, the lead portions of the signal contacts and the lead portions of both switch members can be collectively soldered on the substrate by, for example, a pulse heater or the like, so that work efficiency can be improved, and Inspection for confirming the quality of the soldering condition is easy.

Further, window openings (for example, check openings 11c, 11c in the embodiment) are formed in portions of the connector housing located above the contact portions of the signal contacts.
Preferably, d) is formed. Thus, even after the manufacture of the connector, it is possible to check whether or not the contact portions of the signal contacts are deformed, and it is possible to clean these contact portions, thereby preventing poor contact.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an IC card 5 and a card connector 1 which receives and holds the IC card 5 so as to be freely inserted and removed. The IC card 5 has an IC chip disposed therein, and records various information and the like. A plurality of contact patterns (flat contacts) are formed on the back surface (not shown) of the IC card 5. The IC card 5 is inserted into the card connector 1, and the signal contacts 31 in the card connector 1 and the contacts of the IC card 5 are formed. Information is exchanged by contacting the pattern.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 2 and 3, the card connector 1 has a housing 10 made of an insulating resin, a plurality of signal contacts 31 disposed in the housing 10, and a pair of signal contacts 31. Switch members 35, 3
6 and a plurality of fixing brackets 25 attached to the left and right side surfaces of the housing 10.

First, the housing 10 has a rectangular flat upper surface 11, a rectangular flat lower surface 12 opposed to the lower surface of the upper surface 11 at a predetermined distance, and upper and lower surfaces 11 and 12 at both left and right ends. Left and right side portions 13 and 1 connecting the portion 12
4 and a rear surface portion 15 forming a rear end surface are configured to have a flat box shape. For this reason, the upper surface portion 11,
A rectangular plate-shaped receiving space 16 is formed by being surrounded by the lower surface portion 12, the left and right side surface portions 13, 14 and the rear surface portion 15. However, the center of the rear surface 15 is open.

As shown in the figure, the front portions of the upper surface portion 11 and the lower surface portion 12 are cut into a rectangular shape.
Arm parts 11a, 12 protruding forward on both left and right sides of the front part
a is formed. The left and right side portions 13 and 14 extend to the positions of the arm portions 11a and 12a, and are surrounded by these to form guide grooves 16a that extend back and forth on both left and right sides and are connected to the receiving space 16. Also, the upper surface portion 11
Are provided with check openings 11c and 11d for visually checking the arrangement state of the signal contacts 31. Thereby, the contact portion 31b of the signal contact 31
It is possible to easily check whether or not there is any deformation of the contact portions 31b, and it is possible to perform cleaning (by manual operation) of the contact portions 31b, thereby preventing poor contact. The check openings 11c, 11c
The opening size of d is the contact portion 31b of the signal contact 31.
It is preferable to make the size as small as possible so as to be able to be cleaned while keeping the suction surface at the time of automatic mounting using the suction nozzle as large as possible.

A plurality of (four on each of the right and left) reinforcing ribs 21 extending vertically are formed on the outer side surfaces of the left and right side surface portions 13 and 14 of the housing 10. Each reinforcing rib 21 is formed as a pair, and a mounting groove 21a extending vertically is formed between the reinforcing ribs 21 forming each pair. The fixing bracket 25 is press-fitted into the mounting groove 21a and fixed. The fixing fitting 25 is formed in an L-shaped plate shape by a press-fitting portion 27 having press-fitting protrusions 27a on both side ends and a mount portion 26 bent at a right angle from the press-fitting portion 27. Into the mounting groove 2
It is attached by cutting into 1a. In this state, the lower surface of the mounting portion 26 extends horizontally and projects slightly below the lower surface of the housing 10.

Signal contact 31 and switch member 3
5 and 36, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
0, and is mounted on the lower surface portion 12 (below the receiving space 16). The lower surface 12 has eight openings 1 extending front and rear and parallel to each other as shown in the figure.
2d are formed, and eight first press-fit grooves 12c extending forward or backward from the openings 12d are formed. Eight intermediate contacts 31c are press-fitted into the first press-fit grooves 12c, and eight signal contacts 31 are attached. In this state, the contact portions 31b of the signal contacts 31 are attached.
Are located above the openings 12 d, and the lead portions 31 a are bent downward in a crank shape from the front and rear ends of the lower surface portion 12 and extend slightly from the lower surface of the housing 10. In addition,
The contact portion 31b is bent and formed so as to protrude upward as shown in the figure, and projects into the receiving space 16.

The lower surface portion 12 is further formed with a pair of second press-fitting grooves 12b extending back and forth and parallel to each other, and at the rear end of the second press-fitting grooves 12b, the lower surface portion 12b is formed.
Is formed with a notch space 12e. The switch members 35 and 36 have their intermediate press-fit portions 35c and 36c press-fit into the second press-fit grooves 12b and are attached. The front ends are fixed and the rear ends are free cantilevered.
The switch portions 35b and 36b extend above the cut space 12e, and the lead portions 35a and 36a are connected to the lower surface portion 12e.
Is bent downward in a crank shape from the front end of the housing 10 and slightly protrudes from the lower surface of the housing 10.

With the switch members 35 and 36 attached to the lower surface 12 of the housing 10 in this manner, the switch unit 3 formed at the rear end of the switch members 35 and 36
FIG. 4 shows only portions 5b and 36b. As can be seen from these figures, the switch portion 35b extends straight up to the notch 12e in a long plate shape to form a contact portion 35d. On the other hand, the switch unit 36b
Is formed so as to be bent upward to protrude into the receiving space 16 and to be laterally (laterally).
An arm portion 36d is provided extending to above the contact portion 35d. An arc-shaped contact portion 36f is formed on the lower surface of the tip of the arm portion 36d.

The card connector 1 configured as described above
Is mounted on the substrate by surface mounting. Specifically, the lead portions 31a of the signal contacts 31, the lead portions 35a and 36a of the switch members 35 and 36, and the lower surface of the mount portion 26 of the fixing bracket 25 are solder-bonded to the wiring pattern of the substrate and surface-mounted. Is done. Further, the entire card connector 1 is firmly fixed to the substrate by the fixing bracket 25. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the lead portions 31a of the signal contacts 31 and the lead portions 35a, 36a of the switch members 35, 36 are arranged substantially in the same row. 31a, 35a, 36a
The work efficiency when soldering to the substrate can be improved. This is particularly effective when, for example, soldering is performed at once using a pulse heater or the like. In addition, the inspection for confirming the quality of the subsequent soldering is also facilitated.

The IC card 5 is inserted into the receiving space 16 as shown by an arrow A in FIG. At this time, the left and right end portions of the IC card 5 are guided by the left and right guide grooves 16a, and are smoothly and straightly inserted into the receiving space 16. When the IC card 5 is pushed into the receiving space 16 until the front end of the IC card 5 substantially contacts the rear surface 15 of the housing 10, the contact pattern on the lower surface of the IC card 5 changes to the contact portion 31 b of each signal contact 31.
And is electrically connected to the device on the substrate via each signal contact 31. At this time, the contact portion 31b is pushed downward by the IC card 5 and is elastically deformed so as to enter the opening 12d.
Is pressed by the contact pattern to obtain a desired contact pressure.

In this way, the IC card 5 is inserted into the receiving space 1
6, when inserted into I, as shown in FIGS.
The tip of the C card 5 is the pressing portion 36e of the switch member 36.
And presses the pressing portion 36e downward along the tapered surface (arrow B). As a result, the rear end of the switch member 36 is elastically bent downward. As a result, the arm portion 36d is pushed down, and the contact portion 36f comes into contact with the contact portion 35d (see the solid lines in FIGS. 7 and 8). As a result, the switch is turned on to detect the insertion of the IC card 5,
And power on.

When the IC card 5 is further pushed in, the arm 36d is pushed backward and downward while keeping the contact portion 36f in contact with the contact portion 35d (see broken lines in FIGS. 7 and 8). The contact points of the portions 36f and 35d slide rearward (to the right in FIG. 7) from the initial contact point (point P1), and move along the arc of the contact portion 36f toward the switch member 36 (to the right in FIG. 8). ) (Point P2). As a result, a wiping (wiping) effect is generated, and the contact point is self-cleaned, thereby preventing poor contact and the like. When the arm 36d is depressed after the contact between the contact portions 36f and 35d, the switch members 3
5 and 36 are both elastically deformed downward, but in FIGS. 7 and 8, this downward deformation is omitted. Since the contact portions 36f and 35d are exposed to the outside of the housing 10, it is possible to perform manual cleaning in addition to the self-cleaning described above.

[0024]

As described above, the IC according to the present invention is
According to the card connector, when the IC card is inserted into the card receiving space, the front end of the IC card contacts the pressing portion of the first switch member and presses the pressing portion downward, so that the first switch is pressed. Since the rear end portion of the member is bent downward, the arm portion is pushed down and the first contact portion becomes the second contact portion.
The contact portion comes into contact with the contact portion, and the switch is turned on. As a result, when the IC card is further pushed in, the arm portion moves rearward while keeping the first contact portion in contact with the second contact portion. Further, since the contact points are pushed downward, the contact points of the two contact portions slide rearward from the initial contact points, and roll toward the first switch member along the arc of the first contact portion.
As a result, a wiping (wiping) effect is generated, and the two contact portions are self-cleaned, thereby preventing poor contact.

The lead portions of the first switch member and the lead portions of the second switch member are arranged substantially in the same row as the lead portions of the signal contacts, and are mounted on the terminal patterns of the substrate. Preferably. In this case, the lead portions of the signal contacts and the lead portions of both switch members can be collectively soldered on the board, so that work efficiency can be improved and the subsequent soldering state can be improved. Inspection to confirm pass / fail is also facilitated.

Further, it is preferable that a window opening is formed in a portion of the connector housing located above the contact portion of the signal contact. This makes it possible to easily check whether or not the contact portions of the signal contacts are deformed even after the connector is manufactured, and it is possible to clean these contact portions, thereby preventing poor contact. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an IC card connector and an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the IC card connector by the arrow II-II in FIG.
It is a plane sectional view cut and shown along.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the IC card connector shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view cut along II.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a switch portion of the switch member.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a switch portion of the switch member.

FIG. 6 is a rear view showing a switch portion of the switch member.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing wiping of the switch member.

FIG. 8 is a rear view showing wiping of the switch member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector 5 IC card 10 Housing (connector housing) 11c, 11d Check opening (window opening) 31 Signal contact 35 Switch member (second switch member) 35d Contact portion (second contact portion) 36 Switch member ( (First switch member) 36d arm portion 36e pressing portion 36f contact portion (first contact portion)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A flat connector housing having a card receiving space for receiving and holding an IC card through a card receiving opening formed at a front end side, and a lower surface of the IC card mounted in the connector housing. A plurality of signal contacts having contact portions for transmitting information by contacting the wiring pattern formed on the upper surface; and a front end below the card receiving space cantilevered to the card receiving opening side of the connector housing. The supporting portion extends rearward, and a pressing portion protruding into the card receiving space and an arm portion extending in the left-right direction are formed on the rear end side,
An arc-shaped first contact portion is formed on the lower surface of the distal end of the arm portion, and when the IC card is inserted into the card receiving space, the pressing portion is pressed downward by the distal end portion of the IC card. A first switch member having a rear end elastically deformed downward; a front end below the card receiving space supported by a cantilever on the card receiving opening side of the connector housing to be substantially parallel to the first switch member; The IC card is extended rearward and the rear end is located below the first contact portion. The IC card is inserted into the card receiving space at the rear end, and the rear end of the first switch member is elastically downward. A connector for an IC card, comprising: a second switch member having a second contact portion formed in contact with the first contact portion when deformed. 2. The connector housing is mounted on a substrate so that the lower surface of the flat plate is in contact with the card receiving space extending in the front-rear direction, and a lead portion of the signal contact is provided on a terminal pattern of the substrate. The lead portion of the first switch member and the lead portion of the second switch member are arranged substantially in the same row as the lead portion of the signal contact. 2. The IC card connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is provided and is surface-mounted on the terminal pattern of the substrate. 3. The IC card connector according to claim 1, wherein a window opening is formed in a portion of the connector housing located above the contact portion of the signal contact.