JP2001266080A - Structure for attaching card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To save mechanism parts or a space for storing a card into a unit body. SOLUTION: The card is mounted on a recess, arranged on the wall surface of the unit body and locked by a restoring force, through the use of an elastic body by pressurizing the card between the upper and lower surfaces of the recess. The card is prevented mechanically from falling due to the lock of a fall-preventing claw. When the card is attached, a position deviation which occurs, when the elastic body is restored to an original shape, is sensed by a fingertip. The card is detached by inserting a finger to a part at the rear surface side of the card being mounted via a case lack part. An ejecting mechanism is not required with which the mounted card is pushed out to the outer part of the unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card mounting structure for mounting a card such as an IC card on a main body of a computer or the like, and more particularly, to a card for mounting a card in a data-accessible form with respect to the main body of a device. Regarding the mounting structure.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a card mounting structure that allows the user to visually check the state of the card being attached and detached and the card being mounted and does not easily drop the card.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent technological innovation, various information processing devices and information home appliances, including personal computers (PCs), are provided at a price range that can be purchased by general consumers. . The information processing apparatus includes, as standard equipment, essential parts for system operation such as a motherboard on which main parts such as a CPU and a memory are mounted, and allows a user to replace or add peripheral devices within a certain range.

[0004] Replacement or addition of peripheral equipment can be performed, for example, in the form of an "adapter card". For example, video adapters, network interface cards (NICs), SCSI (Small Computer System In
A replacement / extension is realized by inserting and removing an adapter card such as a terface card having predetermined dimensions and connector compatibility with a bus slot on the motherboard.
However, in this case, it is necessary to open the housing of the device and expose the motherboard to the outside world, which is not an easy operation.

Recently, peripheral devices such as PC cards and memory sticks, which are configured in a cartridge type in consideration of attachment / detachment / replacement and portability in advance, are becoming mainstream. In such a case, generally, a predetermined form-form is inserted into a special slit-shaped gap called a “slot” or “socket” formed in the wall of the device body.
By inserting and removing cards and sticks that are compatible with the factor and connector, expansion and replacement of devices can be realized.

According to such a method of exchanging and expanding peripheral devices via a cartridge type card and a slot, the slot can be accessed without opening the housing, so that the attaching / detaching operation is simple. In addition, it is easy to carry and manage the removed card.

[0007] However, although the slot opening is exposed to the outside world, the inside of the slot, that is, the space for accommodating the card cannot be easily seen from outside the device. For this reason, the user is uneasy because the user cannot visually check the mounted state of the card.

Further, it is not possible to determine whether or not a card is currently inserted, or what (or whose card) is inserted, simply by looking at the slot-like card exchange opening of the slot. For example, if you want to see who owns a card during system operation,
It may be necessary to suspend operation and remove the card.

Further, when dust or foreign matter enters deep inside the slot, it is difficult to perform cleaning and removing operations. For example, it may not be possible to resemble the inside of the slot unless the device body is disassembled.

Further, since the slot extends from the exchange opening in the wall of the main body of the device toward the back side of the main body, a large storage area is required for the relatively small size of the card or the stick.

In order to take out a card or a stick inserted deep in the depth direction of the slot, an eject mechanism for ejecting the card to the outside is required.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-208193 discloses that an inserted IC card can be locked and ejected.
A C card read / write device is disclosed.

However, according to the publication, it is necessary to secure a space inside the device for operating the eject mechanism of the card, which hinders miniaturization of the device. Further, since the mechanical parts must be provided, the design and manufacturing costs are increased.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-235324 discloses an IC card mounting mechanism which is formed on a wall surface of a device main body by a recess having substantially the same shape and size as a card. According to the mounting mechanism, the problem of the accommodation space is solved.

However, in the publication, the mounting of the IC card relies on the magnetic force of the magnets provided at the four corners of both the IC card and the mounting mechanism. When a superior external force is applied, IC
The card may fall. For this reason, it is difficult to apply to a portable device which may suffer unexpected sudden external force. Further, since the magnet is used, it cannot be used in combination with another magnetic medium such as a credit card.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent card mounting structure which allows a card to be suitably mounted on an apparatus body.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an excellent card capable of attaching a card as a peripheral device such as an IC card or a memory card to a device body such as an information processing device in a data-accessible form. An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an excellent card mounting structure that allows the user to visually check the state of the card being attached and detached and the card being mounted and does not drop easily.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an excellent card mounting structure which can save mechanical parts and space for accommodating the card.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has a card mounting structure for mounting a substantially thin card to a device. A recessed portion that can receive the card in the thickness direction of the substantially thin plate, and a contact portion that is provided on the bottom surface of the recessed portion and that accesses data of the card being stored, A first side surface of the depression that abuts one edge of the card, and the depression that abuts the other edge of the card, which is disposed at a portion facing the first side. A second side portion of the portion, and an elastic portion provided on a surface of the first side portion and capable of expanding and contracting toward the second side portion, and a card is provided in the recess in the thickness direction. Allow the card to be attached to the device in a form that is buried in the Which is the mounting structure of the card, it characterized.

In the card mounting structure according to the present invention, a drop-preventing claw for locking a card being housed is provided on at least one of the first and second side surfaces at a substantially end thereof. You may make it protrude inward. Also, the card is not dropped even if the elastic portion is extended to the original state and the accommodated card is lifted by making the fall prevention claw of the first side surface portion higher. You can do so.

Also, at least one of the first and second side surfaces has a substantially U-shaped width which allows insertion of a fingertip.
A letter-shaped operation defect may be formed. By inserting a fingertip on the back side of the buried card through the operation defect, the card can be easily removed.

Further, a slide switch for concealing a substantially U-shaped portion of the operation defect portion may be provided. The slide switch may also be used as a power switch so that the substantially U-shaped portion is concealed during power-on, so that the card removal operation may be prohibited.

Further, on the surface of the card applied to the present invention, a cut-off portion for avoiding engagement with the drop prevention claw may be formed at a portion which comes into contact with the claw. In such a case, the thickness of the card can be maximized.

The card mounting structure according to the present invention may further comprise a detecting unit for detecting a positional shift of the card buried in the recess, and a contact unit in response to the detecting unit detecting the positional shift. An access prohibition unit for prohibiting data access to the card via the access control unit.

The card applied to the present invention is an IC card
In addition to a card and a memory card, a disk cartridge having a built-in disk-type recording medium may be used. In the latter case, the card includes a data recording disk, a cartridge for rotatably storing the disk, a spindle hole drilled on the back surface of the cartridge to enable access to the rotation axis of the disk, And a head hole for allowing access to the recording surface of the disc. On the other hand, on the card mounting structure side,
A rotating shaft for connecting the spindle hole to drive the disk to rotate, and a head for accessing the recording surface of the disk via the head hole are provided at respective corresponding portions on the bottom surface of the recess. Just set it.

[0026] Further, a chucking mechanism for maintaining a connection state between the rotary shaft and the spindle hole during a period in which the card is buried in the recess may be further provided.

Further, the chucking mechanism operates the chucking in a state where the elastic portion is compressed, and allows the elastic portion to expand to its original shape in a state where the chucking is urged. It may be.

Further, the chucking mechanism allows a displacement between the disc and the cartridge, which occurs when the compressed elastic portion expands to its original shape while the disc side is chucked. You may do so.

[0029]

In the card mounting structure according to the present invention, a structure is adopted in which the card is mounted in the recess formed in the wall surface of the device main body, and the card is mechanically prevented from falling by locking the fall prevention claw. . Therefore, unlike the case where the card is prevented from dropping by the magnetic force, the device main body can be carried together with the magnetic recording type IC card.

In the card mounting structure according to the present invention, the card can be locked by pressing the card between the upper surface and the lower surface of the depression by the restoring force of the elastic body. When attaching the card, the user can feel the positional shift that occurs when the elastic body is restored to the original shape with his / her fingertip, so that it is possible to confirm with a tactile sensation whether or not the card has been correctly attached.

Also, a finger can be inserted into and removed from the back side of the card being worn via the housing missing portion. Therefore, there is no need to include an eject mechanism for positively pushing the card being mounted toward the outside of the device, and the volume and cost occupied by the mounting structure can be reduced by the amount of the eject mechanism.

Further, the card mounting structure according to the present invention is different from the system in which a card is inserted into a slot, and since the card is mounted on the wall of the housing, the card being mounted becomes a part of the wall. In other words, the front of the card is always exposed to the outside world, even during the period of attachment to the device.
It can be easily confirmed visually whether or not it is mounted in a normal position. Also, if you put a label on the front of the card and write down the owner and the recorded contents of the card, others can read the label to find out which card is attached or what card is It can be easily confirmed whether or not it is attached.

Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are:
It will become apparent from the following more detailed description based on the embodiments of the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

[0034]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the top, cross-sectional, and front configurations of a card mounting structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Such a card mounting structure can be formed on a wall surface of a main body of a device (for example, a computer or the like) for receiving a card. The depression 133 has an area and depth sufficient for a card (described later) to be buried.

As shown in the figure, this card mounting structure is composed of a recess 133 having a substantially U-shaped cross section and recessed in a wall surface of the apparatus main body.
5 and the upper and lower parts are divided.

At the lower end of the depression 133, that is, on the wall surface of the lower side surface 135, an elastic body 1 which can be expanded and contracted in the height direction of the depression 133 is provided.
41 is stuck. When a card (described later) is attached to or detached from the depression 133, the elastic body 141 sinks by receiving an external force from the lower end of the card. On the other hand, during the card mounting period, the elastic body 141 can be held in the recess 133 by extending in the height direction by the original restoring force and pressing the upper end of the card against the wall surface of the upper side surface 134. .

When part or all of the lower side 135 is made of a resilient material, the elastic body 141 is omitted, and the upper end of the card is placed on the wall of the upper side 133 by the restoring force of the lower side 135 itself. Press the card 13
3 can be held inside.

As shown in the sectional view of FIG.
Drop prevention claws 139 and 140 for locking a card (not shown) being housed are formed substantially inside the front ends of the upper side surface 134 and the lower side surface 135, respectively.

The height of each fall prevention claw 139 and 140 is
It is necessary to determine that the card does not fall even when the elastic body 141 is completely extended. For example, by making the fall prevention claw 139 on the lower side 135 higher, the card 150 is less likely to fall even if the card 150 is lifted by the elastic body 141.

Further, as can be seen from the top view of FIG. 1, a housing lacking portion 137 (a portion shown by oblique lines in the figure) having a width enough to allow a finger to be inserted is dug into the upper side surface 134. I have. Therefore, the upper side surface 134 is substantially U-shaped,
The user can insert a fingertip from the defective portion 137 to the back side of the card (not shown) being accommodated.

The location of the housing missing portion 137 is the upper surface 13
It is not limited to only four. In addition, it is not necessary to limit to only one place, and a defective portion may be formed on the lower side 135 side. However, in this case, the upper and lower side surfaces 134, 135
It is necessary to dispose an elastic body in the case.

A housing contact 13 for making an electrical connection with a card (described later) is provided substantially below the inner surface of the depression 133.
8 are protruded. The housing contact 138 includes a plurality of projecting connector terminals, and is used for data exchange, power supply, and the like. The installation location of the housing contact 138 is not particularly limited. However, in the vicinity of the location shown in FIG. 1, there is little chance that the user touches the fingertip when accessing the card being accommodated, and the user is not contaminated by the grease of his hand. I'll do it.

With the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the housing contact 138 is located at a place where the user can see it. Therefore, the user can visually detect the dirt attached to the contact and can easily remove it.

FIG. 2 illustrates the top, cross-sectional, and front configurations of a card (for example, an IC card) 150 that can be accommodated in the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, a card contact 151 is provided on the back side of the card 150 at a position where the card contact 151 contacts the housing contact 138 when the card 150 is accommodated in the depression 133. The card contact 151 is composed of a plurality of connector terminals, and is used for data exchange, power supply, and the like. In this embodiment, each connector terminal is embedded in a valley portion of a plurality of parallel linear protrusions called protectors 152. Therefore,
When the user operates the card 150, the card contacts 15
Even if the vicinity of 1 is touched, the fingertip does not reach the connector terminal only because it comes into contact with the protector 152, so that the connector terminal is not contaminated with grease of hands.

FIG. 3 shows the top, cross-section, front, and back configurations of another example 250 of a card (for example, an IC card) that can be accommodated in the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG. I have.

The card 250 and the card 1 shown in FIG.
The main difference from 50 is that the former has a thicker form factor. In such a case, the fall prevention claws 139 and 140 on each of the upper and lower sides on the housing side may be engaged with the edge of the card 250 main body. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
And the lower missing portion 262 is recessed so that each of the fall prevention claws 139 is formed.
And 140 are avoided. In FIG.
A state in which the card 250 is accommodated in the depression 133 of the card mounting structure is shown in a cross section.

A thick card 250 as shown in FIG.
Can be applied to a card that includes mechanical components such as an HDD (hard disk drive) card and cannot be formed thin.

FIGS. 5 to 10 show the card 15 shown in FIG.
0 depicts a series of operations for inserting and removing the recesses 133 in the card mounting structure 133 shown in FIG.

When the card 150 is to be inserted into the housing, as shown in FIG. 5, the card 150 is first pinched near the upper end of the card 150 with the index finger 22 and the thumb 21 and turned obliquely.
0 is pressed against the elastic body 141 at the bottom of the depression 133. The upper side surface 134 of the depression 133 has a substantially U-shape having a width enough to allow the fingertip to pass therethrough (described above), so that the forefinger 22 can be inserted into the U-shape to put the card 150 into the depression 133. You can be guided toward the back of.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the index finger 22 is placed on the upper end surface of the card 150 with the thumb 21 supporting the front surface of the card 150, and a relatively strong force is applied downward. As a result, the elastic body 141 is compressed, and the upper edge of the card 151 is lowered to a height at which the card 151 can pass through the upper surface drop prevention claw 140. Therefore, card 15
0 can be guided further toward the inner surface of the depression 133.

When the back surface of the card 150 reaches the inner surface of the depression, the thumb 21 and the index finger 22 are separated from the card 150. In this state, the card contact 151 is the housing contact 13
8 can be made an electrical connection. Further, the elastic body 141 can be restored to the original shape by being released from the force applied by the thumb 21 and the index finger 22. As a result, the card 150 rises in the depression 133. The user can confirm the normal attachment of the card 150 by the displacement of the thumb 21 due to the extension of the elastic body 141.
Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the upper end surface of the card 150 reaches the upper side surface 134 on the side of the depression 133, the card 1
50 is locked to the housing, and the card mounting operation is completed. The card 150 is locked by the upper surface fall prevention claw 140 and the lower surface fall prevention claw 139, and does not fall from the recess 133.

When the card 150 is mounted as shown in FIG. 7, the front side of the card 150 forms a part of the wall surface of the housing. In other words, even during the installation period, the front surface of the card 150 is always exposed to the outside world, so that the user can easily visually check whether or not the card is installed and whether the card is installed in a normal position. Can be confirmed. Also, if a label is affixed to the front of the card 150 and the owner and the recorded contents of the card 150 are written, others can read the label,
Alternatively, it is possible to easily confirm what kind of card is attached.

On the other hand, when the card 150 is to be removed from the housing, first, the index finger 22 and the thumb 21 are pinched near the upper end of the card 150 as shown in FIG. Recess 133 Upper Side 1
Reference numeral 34 denotes a substantially U-shaped recessed housing recess 137 (described above), so that the index finger 22 can enter the inside of the U-shape to insert the fingertip to the back side of the card 150.

Further, while the front face of the card 150 is supported by the thumb 21, the index finger 22 is placed on the upper end face of the card 150, and a relatively strong force is applied downward. As a result, the elastic body 141 is compressed, and the upper edge of the card 151 is lowered to a height at which the card 151 can pass through the upper surface drop prevention claw 140.

At this time, a force directed obliquely downward and forward is applied to the card 150 using the index finger 22. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the card 150 rotates forward with the lower edge thereof as a fulcrum, and the upper side of the card 150 is ejected from the depression 133. However, as shown in the figure,
It is necessary to attach the thumb 21 to the front side of the card 150 so that the card 150 released from the engagement state with the fall prevention claw 140 does not fall as it is.

When the upper half of the card 150 emerges from the depression 133, the card 150 can be pulled out of the housing by holding the card 150 near the upper end with the index finger 22 and the thumb 21, as shown in FIG. it can.

In the operation examples shown in FIGS.
Although the part of the housing facing the lower surface 135 of the depression 133 and the elastic body 141 have been described as separate structures, the lower surface 13
It should be understood that the same operation as described above can be achieved even when the elastic member 5 is configured as itself. Also, the lower side 13
When 5 is also used as an elastic body, the insertion / extraction operation by pressing the lower end surface of the card 150 against the fall prevention claw 139 and expanding the claw is also possible. Also, the card 150
It is to be understood that the same applies when the card 250 shown in FIG.

In the above-described example, the case missing portion 137 is used.
Is recessed only on the upper surface 134 side of the depression 133, but it is also possible to arrange a housing missing portion on the lower surface 135 side, or to arrange a housing missing portion on both upper and lower sides. You may. When there is a housing missing part on the lower side 135 side, FIGS.
An operation in which the vertical relationship is reversed from the example shown in FIG.

In the above-described example, the housing contacts 138 and the card contacts 151 are provided near the lower ends of the depressions. However, the locations of these contacts are not particularly limited. Even when contacts are provided at other parts, the card 150 can be inserted and removed by the same operation procedure as that shown in FIGS.

Although not shown, when the power switch constituted by a slide switch or the like is turned on, the housing missing portion 137 may be covered by a part of the switch. According to such a configuration, the user's finger cannot access the housing defective portion 137 while the power is turned on, and as a result, removal (and attachment) of the card 150/250 can be prohibited.

Although not shown, during the period in which the elastic body 141 is compressed, the inserted card 150/2 is inserted.
A microswitch or the like for detecting the position shift of 50 may be provided. According to such a configuration, data access to the card 150/250 being mounted is stopped or prohibited in response to the detection of the displacement, thereby causing a risk of malfunction such as a data read / write error. Can be eliminated.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the second embodiment, the card is a portable recording medium such as a floppy (registered trademark) diskette. FIG. 11 illustrates a configuration of a card 350 according to the second embodiment. As shown in the figure, the card 350 houses a magnetic disk 352 as a recording medium in a rotatable form inside a cartridge 351.

At the approximate center of the cartridge 351, a spindle hole 353 for driving the magnetic disk 352 to rotate is provided.
Are arranged. A head hole 354 for making head access to the recording surface of the magnetic disk 352 is formed on the back surface side of the cartridge 351.
Although not shown, a shutter that can be slidably opened and closed may be provided in the head hole 354 so that the shutter is opened only when the card 350 is attached to a housing (described later).

FIG. 12 shows the card 350 shown in FIG.
2 illustrates a card mounting structure that can accommodate a card. Such a card mounting structure can be provided, for example, on a housing wall surface of a device such as a computer.

As shown in FIG. 12, the card mounting structure is composed of a recess 333 having an upper surface 334 and a lower surface 335 and having a vertical U-shaped cross section. The depression 333 has an area and a depth sufficient to bury the recording medium card 350 described above.

On the bottom surface of the depression 333, that is, on the wall surface of the lower side surface 335, an elastic body 3 that can be expanded and contracted in the height direction of the depression 333 is provided.
41 is stuck. When the card 350 is attached to or detached from the depression 333, the elastic body 341 sinks by receiving an external force from the lower end of the card 350. On the other hand, during the card mounting period, the elastic body 341 extends in the height direction by the original restoring force and presses the upper end of the card 350 against the wall surface of the upper side surface 334, thereby holding the card 350 inside the depression 333. Can be.

When part or all of the lower side surface 335 is made of a resilient material, the elastic body 341 is omitted, and the upper end of the card 350 is placed on the upper surface 333 by the restoring force of the lower side surface 335 itself. To the card 35
0 can be retained inside the depression 333.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 12, drop prevention claws 339 for locking a card (not shown) being housed are provided substantially inside the upper ends of the upper surface 334 and the lower surface 335. And 340 are formed. The height of each of the fall prevention claws 339 and 340 needs to be determined so that the card does not fall even when the elastic body 341 is completely extended (as described above).

As can be seen from the top view of FIG.
In the upper side surface 334, a housing missing portion 337 (a portion shown by oblique lines in the figure) having a width enough to insert a finger is dug. Therefore, the upper side surface 334 has a substantially U-shape,
The user can insert his / her finger from the missing portion 337 to the back side of the card (not shown) being accommodated.

The location of the housing missing portion 337 is the upper surface 33.
It is not limited to only four. In addition, it is not necessary to limit to only one place, and a defective portion may be formed on the lower side surface 335 side. However, in this case, the upper and lower side surfaces 334, 335
It is necessary to dispose an elastic body in the case.

A shaft 342 having a tapered tip is implanted at the approximate center of the inner surface of the depression 333. The tapered tip engages with a spindle hole 353 on the card 350 side housed in the recess 333 as described later. Also, the root of this shaft 342 is
3 is connected to the rotating shaft of a motor (not shown) embedded in the housing, and the shaft 342 can be driven to rotate by the motor. Therefore, the card 350 is
3, the shaft 342 and the spindle hole 353
The magnetic disk 352 can be driven to rotate via the.

When the card 350 is loaded in the recess 333, the attractive force of the magnet or the like is applied to keep the tapered end of the shaft 342 in the engaged state with the spindle hole 353 on the magnetic disk 352 side. May be further provided.

This chucking mechanism operates the chucking in a state where the elastic body 341 is compressed, and allows the elastic body 341 to expand to its original shape in a state where the chucking is urged. Is preferred. Also,
It is preferable to allow a displacement between the disc 352 and the cartridge 351 caused when the compressed elastic body 341 expands to its original shape while the disc 352 side is chucked.

A vertically long moving hole 336 is formed below the shaft 342 in the inner surface of the recess 333. The moving hole 336 runs in the height direction at a position facing the head hole 354 of the card 350 accommodated in the depression 333. As shown in the sectional view and front view of FIG.
From 36, a magnetic head 338 for performing a data write and / or read operation on the recording surface of the magnetic disk 352 appears. This magnetic head 338
The magnetic disk 352 is attached so as to be freely scannable in the direction of the moving hole 336, that is, in the radial direction of the magnetic disk 352 by a moving mechanism (not shown).

The magnetic head 338 is connected to the card 350
May be arranged to be freely protruded and retracted so as to be exposed from the depth of the depression 333 only when the is loaded into the depression 333. Also,
In order to prevent the magnetic head 338 from being damaged or contaminated by external force or foreign matter, a shutter mechanism that closes the moving hole 336 when not in use, that is, when a card is not mounted, may be provided.

FIG. 13 to FIG. 18 show the card 350 shown in FIG.
3 illustrates a series of operations for inserting and removing from 3.

When inserting the card 350 into the housing, as shown in FIG. 13, the user first grasps the card 350 by the index finger 22 and the thumb 21 near the upper end of the card 350 and turns the card 350 obliquely.
The lower end of 50 is pressed against the elastic body 341 at the bottom of the depression 333. The upper surface 334 of the depression 333 is
Is substantially U-shaped having a width such that a fingertip can pass through it (described above), so that the index finger 22 can enter the inside of the U-shape to guide the card 350 toward the depth of the depression 333.

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the index finger 22 is placed on the upper end surface of the card 350 while the front surface of the card 350 is supported by the thumb 21, and a relatively strong force is applied downward. As a result, the elastic body 341 is compressed,
The upper edge of the card 351 is lowered to such a height that the upper edge of the card 351 can pass through the upper surface drop prevention claw 340. Therefore, card 3
50 can be guided further toward the inner surface of the depression 333.

As the card 350 is buried in the depression 333, the tapered tip of the shaft 342 is gradually inserted into the spindle hole 353 on the card 350 side.

When the back surface of the card 350 reaches the inside of the depression, the thumb 21 and the index finger 22 are separated from the card 350. By being released from the force applied by the thumb 21 and the index finger 22, the elastic body 341 can be restored to the original shape. As a result, the card 150 rises in the depression 333. Thumb 2 accompanying extension of elastic body 341
With a shift of 1, the user can confirm that the card 150 has been properly mounted. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, when the upper end surface of the card 350 reaches the upper side surface 334 on the side of the depression 333, the card 350 is locked by the housing, and the mounting operation is completed. The card 350 is provided with the upper surface fall prevention claw 34.
Since it is locked by the 0 and lower side fall prevention claws 339, it does not fall from the depression 333.

In the state shown in FIG. 15, the tapered tip of the shaft 342 is completely inserted into the spindle hole 353 on the card 350 side, and the two are engaged to be able to rotate integrally. Further, the magnetic head 338 can access the recording surface on the magnetic disk 352 through the moving hole 336 and the head hole 354.

When the card 350 is mounted as shown in FIG. 15, the front side of the card 350 forms a part of the wall surface of the housing. In other words, even during the installation period, the front of the card 350 is always exposed to the outside world, so that the user can easily visually check whether or not the card is installed and whether the card is installed in a normal position. Can be confirmed. Also, if a label is attached to the front of the card 350 and the record of the owner or the card 350 is filled in, the other person can read the label to determine who's card or what card is attached. Can be easily confirmed.

On the other hand, when the card 350 is to be removed from the housing, the index finger 22 and the thumb 21 are pinched near the upper end of the card 350 as shown in FIG. Since the upper side surface 334 of the recess 333 has a substantially U-shape in which the housing missing portion 337 is recessed (described above), the index finger 22 can be inserted into the U-shape, and the fingertip can be inserted to the back side of the card 350. Can be.

Further, while the front face of the card 350 is supported by the thumb 21, the index finger 22 is placed on the upper end face of the card 350, and a relatively strong force is applied downward. As a result, the elastic body 341 is compressed, and the upper edge of the card 351 is lowered to a height that allows the upper edge of the card 351 to pass through the upper surface drop prevention claw 340.

At this time, a force directed obliquely downward and forward is applied to the card 350 using the index finger 22. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17, the card 350 rotates obliquely forward with the lower edge thereof as a fulcrum, and
The upper side of 0 is discharged from the depression 333. However, as shown in the drawing, the thumb 350 is attached to the front side of the card 350, and the card 350 released from the engagement state with the fall prevention claw 340 is attached.
However, care must be taken to ensure that they do not fall.

When the upper half of the card 350 emerges from the depression 333, as shown in FIG. 18, the card 350 can be pulled out of the housing by holding the near end of the card 350 between the index finger 22 and the thumb 21. it can.

In the above-described example, the card 350 uses the magnetic disk 352 as a recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a disk-type medium utilizing physical phenomena other than magnetism may be stored in the cartridge 351 or a medium having a shape other than a disk. Even in these cases, the attachment and removal of the card 350 can be performed according to substantially the same operation procedure as that shown in FIGS.

In the operation examples shown in FIGS. 13 to 18, a part of the housing facing the lower surface 335 of the recess 333 and the elastic body 341 are described as separate structures. It is to be understood that the same effect is obtained even when configured as an elastic body. When the lower side surface 335 also serves as an elastic body, it is possible to perform an insertion / extraction operation by pressing the lower end surface of the card 350 against the drop prevention claw 339 and expanding the claw.

In the above-described example, the case missing portion 337 is used.
Is recessed only on the upper surface 334 side of the depression 333, but it is also possible to dispose a housing defect portion on the lower surface 335 side, or to dispose a housing defect portion on both upper and lower side surfaces. You may. When there is a housing missing portion on the lower side surface 335 side, an operation in which the vertical relationship is reversed from the example shown in FIGS. 13 to 18 is possible.

Although not shown, when the power switch including a slide switch or the like is turned on, the housing missing portion 337 may be covered by a part of the switch. According to such a configuration, the user's finger cannot access the housing defective portion 137 while the power is on, and as a result, removal (and attachment) of the card 350 can be prohibited.

Although not shown, a micro switch or the like for detecting the displacement of the mounted card 350 may be provided while the elastic body 341 is being compressed. According to such a configuration, data access to the card 350 being mounted is stopped or prohibited in response to the detection of the displacement, thereby eliminating the risk of malfunction such as a data read / write error. be able to.

[Supplement] The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments. However, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That is, the present invention has been disclosed by way of example, and should not be construed as limiting. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the claims described at the beginning should be considered.

[0096]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide an excellent card mounting structure in which a card such as a memory card can be mounted to a device main body such as an information processing device in a data accessible form.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an excellent card mounting structure in which the detached state of the card and the card being mounted can be visually checked, and the card does not drop carelessly. .

In the card mounting structure according to the present invention,
A configuration is adopted in which the card is mounted in a recess formed in the wall surface of the device main body and the card is prevented from dropping mechanically by locking a fall prevention claw. Therefore, unlike the case where the card is prevented from falling by the magnetic force, the magnetic recording type I
The device itself can be carried along with the C card.

In the card mounting structure according to the present invention, the card can be locked by pressing the card between the upper surface and the lower surface of the depression by the restoring force of the elastic body. When attaching the card, the user can feel the positional shift that occurs when the elastic body is restored to the original shape with his / her fingertip, so that it is possible to confirm with a tactile sensation whether or not the card has been correctly attached.

Further, in the card mounting structure according to the present invention, a finger can be inserted into and removed from the back surface of the card being mounted via the case missing portion. Therefore, there is no need to include an eject mechanism for positively pushing the card being mounted toward the outside of the device, and the volume occupied by the mounting structure and the design and manufacturing costs can be saved by the amount of the eject mechanism. Of course, the card mounting structure according to the present invention may be used in combination with a general card ejection mechanism.

According to the card mounting structure of the present invention, unlike the method of inserting the card into the slot, the card is mounted on the wall of the housing, so that the card being mounted becomes a part of the wall. . In other words, even during the installation period, the front of the card is always exposed to the outside world, so the user can easily visually check whether or not the card is installed and whether the card is installed in a normal position. You can check. Also, if you put a label on the front of the card and write down the owner and the recorded contents of the card, others can read the label to find out which card is attached or what card is It can be easily confirmed whether or not it is attached.

Further, a device such as a microswitch for detecting a shift in the card mounting position is attached to the card mounting structure according to the present invention, and an access operation to the card is performed in response to the detection of the position shift. Can be prevented to prevent a data write error, destruction of stored data, and the like.

When the card mounting structure according to the present invention is applied to a so-called IC card, since the housing contacts are located at a place visible to the user, the user can visually check the dirt attached to the contacts, and , Can be easily removed. In addition, by providing the housing contact directly below the fall prevention claw, it is possible to prevent the fingertip from touching the contact when inserting and removing the card by the fall prevention claw. As a result, the contact can be prevented from being contaminated with the grease of the fingertip.

In addition, by forming a defective portion in a portion where the drop prevention claw is engaged on the card side, the card size can be expanded in the thickness direction without increasing the depth of the depression. That is, the accommodation space of the card mounting structure can be effectively used.

Further, when the present invention is applied to a disk cartridge, a mechanism for moving the disk in the direction of lowering the cartridge in the direction of the rotation axis becomes unnecessary, which can contribute to downsizing and cost reduction of the device.

[0106]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the top, cross-sectional, and front configurations of a card mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a top surface, a cross-section, and a front surface of a card (for example, an IC card) 150 that can be accommodated in FIG.

3 is a depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.
Cards (eg IC cards) according to other examples that can be stored in
FIG.

FIG. 4 is a drawing depicting a state in which the card 250 shown in FIG. 3 is accommodated in a depression 133 of the card mounting structure.

5 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 150 shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 150 shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

7 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 150 shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

8 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 150 shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the recess 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 150 shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 150 shown in FIG. 2 into and from the depression 133 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the top, cross-sectional, and front configurations of a card 350 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a card mounting structure capable of accommodating the card 350 shown in FIG. 11;

13 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 350 shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the depression 333 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

14 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 350 shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the depression 333 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 350 shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the depression 333 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 350 shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the depression 333 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 350 shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the depression 333 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a series of operations for inserting and removing the card 350 shown in FIG. 11 with respect to the depression 333 of the card mounting structure shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 133 recessed part 134 upper surface 135 lower surface 137 housing defect 138 housing contact 139, 140 drop prevention claw 141 elastic body 150 card 151 card contact 152 card protector 250 card 261 upper Defective portion 262: Lower deficient portion 333: Depressed portion 334: Upper surface 335: Lower surface 336: Moving hole 337: Casing defective portion 338: Magnetic head 339, 340: Fall prevention claw 341: Elastic body 342: Shaft 350: Card 351: Cartridge 352: Magnetic disk 353: Spindle hole 354: Head hole

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C005 MA19 MA31 MB04 NA02 NA04 QC04 QC08 QC09 TA07 TA21 5B058 CA02 CA31 KA12 YA20 5E023 AA04 AA18 AA21 AA29 BB01 BB19 DD19 DD25 DD28 EE10 GG15 HH01 HH17 HH19H

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A card mounting structure for mounting a substantially thin card to a device, wherein the recess is provided in a wall surface of the device housing and can accommodate the card in a thickness direction of the substantially thin plate. A contact portion provided on a bottom surface of the recess for accessing data in a card being accommodated; a first side surface of the recess abutting one edge of the card; A second side portion of the recessed portion, which is provided at a portion facing the first side portion and abuts on the other edge of the card; and is provided on a surface of the first side portion. And a resilient portion capable of expanding and contracting toward the second side surface portion, wherein the card can be attached to the device in a form in which the card is buried in the thickness direction in the recessed portion. Card mounting structure. 2. A drop-preventing claw for locking a card being accommodated is protruded toward the inside of the recess at substantially one end of at least one of the first and second side faces. The card mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A drop-preventing claw for locking a card being accommodated is protruded toward the inside of the recess at a substantially end of at least one of the first and second side surfaces. The card mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the first side portion has a height of a fall prevention claw higher than that of the first side portion. 4. A substantially U-shaped operation defect portion having a width such that a fingertip can be inserted therein is formed on at least one of the first and second side portions. The card mounting structure according to claim 1. 5. The mounting structure of a card according to claim 4, further comprising a slide switch for concealing a substantially U-shaped portion of said operation defect portion. 6. The card mounting structure according to claim 4, further comprising a slide-type power switch for concealing a substantially U-shaped portion of the operation defect portion when the power is turned on. 7. A card that can be accommodated in the card mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein a cut-off portion is formed at a portion that abuts on the fall prevention claw to avoid engagement with the claw. A card characterized by having done. 8. A detecting section for detecting a positional shift of a card buried in the recess, and responding to the detecting section detecting the positional shift, performing data access to the card via the contact section. The card mounting structure according to claim 1, further comprising: an access prohibiting unit for prohibiting the card. 9. A card attached to the device includes a disk for recording data, a cartridge for rotatably storing the disk, and a hole drilled on the back surface of the cartridge to enable access to a rotating shaft of the disk. A spindle hole for accessing the recording surface of the disk, and a rotary shaft for rotating the disk in connection with the spindle hole on a bottom surface of the recess. 2. The card mounting structure according to claim 1, further comprising: a head for accessing a recording surface of the disk through the head hole. 10. A chucking mechanism for maintaining a connection state between the rotating shaft and the spindle hole during a period in which the card is buried in the recess. 10. The mounting structure of the card according to 9. 11. The chucking mechanism operates the chucking in a state where the elastic portion is compressed, and allows the elastic portion to expand to its original shape in a state where the chucking is urged. The card mounting structure according to claim 10, wherein: 12. The chucking mechanism allows a displacement between the disc and the cartridge which occurs when the compressed elastic portion expands to its original shape while the disc side is chucked. The card mounting structure according to claim 10, wherein: