JP2002300068A - Case for storing wireless communication card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a good case for storing a wireless communication card for downsizing a storing case having a support means for an external antenna. SOLUTION: The case 1 for storing a wireless communication card comprises a cover and a case main body 9 that integrally contains a PC card modem, an external antenna 5, and a cable interconnecting the PC card modem and the external antenna 5. The support means supporting the external antenna 5 to the case main body 9 includes a fitting projection 43 that is placed at a rear wall 19 so as to be fitted to a fitting recessed part 41 provided in a base end of the external antenna 5 in a way of being supported freely turnably around an axial line and includes an elastic flexible piece 45 that is projected from a ceiling plate 13 of the case main body 9 so as to elastically energize the tip of the external antenna 5 in the fitting direction of the fitting projection 43 along the axial direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wireless communication card containing a wireless communication card having a built-in wireless communication function, an external antenna for wireless communication, and a connection cable for interconnecting the wireless communication card and the external antenna. The present invention relates to improvement of a card storage case.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a personal computer or a portable information terminal is connected to a communication line to transmit and receive data, a wireless communication function such as a PHS (Personal Handy Phone System) is provided inside a PC card. The built-in wireless communication card is used. For example, a PC card modem 100, which is a wireless communication card shown in FIG.
1 and a PC card portion 102 protruding from the lower end of the housing 1
Antenna 103 foldably provided on top of 01
The PC card unit 102 is inserted into and connected to a PC card slot 104 provided in a personal computer 105.

[0003] However, such a PC card modem 1
When transmitting and receiving data using 00, the radio wave condition is not good depending on the use condition, and good wireless communication may not be performed. Therefore, an external antenna (not shown) and the casing 1
01 is connected via a connection cable for use. Therefore, the user can use the PC card modem 10
Along with the 0, it is necessary to carry an external antenna and a connection cable. At this time, in order to prevent dust and the like from adhering, it is general to store them in a storage case, a storage bag, or the like when carrying.

[0004] By the way, an inexpensive sleeve antenna having a simple structure is often used as the portable external antenna as described above.
It has a substantially cylindrical shape. As a structure for holding the external antenna 107 having a circular cross section in the storage case, as shown in FIG. 10, a pair of flexible In some cases, a holding means 105 including locking pieces 103 is provided in a storage case. The holding means 105 holds the external antenna 107 by pushing the substantially cylindrical external antenna 107 between the pair of flexible locking pieces 103 so that the external antenna 107 is not accidentally dropped from the storage case. be able to.

[0005]

However, in the case of the holding means 105 described above, as shown in FIG.
03 and 103 are elastically deformed outward. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a clearance t for the escape on the outside of each flexible locking piece 103. For example, the side wall of the storage case cannot be close to the flexible locking piece 103, and the size of the storage case is large. There is a problem that leads to the conversion.

When the external antenna 107 is to be removed from the holding means 105, the external antenna 107 must be picked up by a fingertip and pulled up. However, the external antenna 107 is held along the lower wall of the storage case and has a cross section. Since the circular external antenna 107 is slippery and hard to pinch, there is a problem that it is difficult to remove. Then, for example, if the user pulls the connection cable connected to the external antenna 107, which is easily pulled, and repeats the operation of removing the external antenna 107, a connection failure may occur at a connection portion between the external antenna 107 and the connection cable.

[0007] That is, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a good storage case for a wireless communication card which can reduce the size of a storage case provided with holding means for an external antenna. is there.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless communication card having a built-in wireless communication function, an external antenna for wireless communication, and a connection cable for connecting the wireless communication card and the external antenna to each other. Wherein the holding means for holding the external antenna in the case is fitted to a case fitting portion provided at one end of the external antenna and is rotatable about an axis. An antenna fitting portion provided on the inner wall of the case so as to hold the external antenna, and the other end of the external antenna protrudes from the inner wall of the case so as to elastically urge the other end of the external antenna along the axial direction in the fitting direction with the antenna fitting portion. The present invention is achieved by a wireless communication card storage case, comprising:

According to the above configuration, the case fitting portion provided at one end of the external antenna is fitted to the antenna fitting portion provided at the inner wall of the case, and the elastic flexible member provided at the other end of the external antenna is provided. The external antenna is elastically urged in the direction of fitting with the antenna fitting portion by the elastic restoring force of the piece, thereby maintaining the fitting state of the case fitting portion with the antenna fitting portion. Therefore, there is no need to provide clearances for the elastic flexible pieces on both sides in the axial direction of the external antenna, and the case side wall and the like can be made close to the side of the external antenna, thereby reducing the size of the storage case. Can be.

When the external antenna is removed from the storage case, the external antenna is moved toward the elastic flexible piece while bending the elastic flexible piece so that the case fitting portion and the antenna fitting portion are fitted together. After removing, the external antenna can be easily removed simply by pulling it upward. Therefore, a large force is not required when picking up with a fingertip and pulling up, and even if the connection cable is pulled, no excessive force is applied to the connection portion.

A stopper that prevents the external antenna from excessively moving along the axial direction toward the elastic flexible piece by contacting a stopper engaging portion provided on the intermediate outer peripheral portion of the external antenna is provided. It is provided on the inner wall of the case. According to the above configuration, when the external antenna attempts to move excessively toward the elastic flexible side when the case is attached or detached, the movement is prevented by the stopper engaging portion abutting against the stopper provided on the inner wall of the case. It is possible to prevent the elastic flexible piece from being excessively deformed.

Preferably, the stopper engaging portion comprises a conical portion formed between a small-diameter portion on the distal end side and a large-diameter portion on the proximal end side of the external antenna.
The fixed wall is formed with a through-hole having an inner diameter larger than the distal-side small diameter portion and smaller than the proximal-side large diameter portion. According to the above configuration, the stopper engagement portion provided on the intermediate outer peripheral portion of the external antenna does not protrude to the outer peripheral portion, and the external antenna can be made compact.

Further, the external antenna is held in the case in a state where the small-diameter portion on the distal end side is inserted into the through-hole of the fixed wall and is prevented from moving in the direction perpendicular to the axis. Even if the elastic repulsion force of the flexible piece is not set to be larger than necessary, the external antenna can be securely housed in the case without rattling.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A storage case for a wireless communication card according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the wireless communication card storage case 1 of the present embodiment includes a PC card modem 3 as a wireless communication card, an external antenna 5 for wireless communication, External antenna 5
Is a storage case made of a synthetic resin for integrally storing a connection cable 7 for connecting the power supply line to each other.

The wireless communication card storage case 1 has a flat box-shaped case main body 9 for storing the external antenna 5 and the connection cable 7 at predetermined positions, and is rotatably mounted on the case main body 9. And a flat lid 11 for housing the PC card modem 3.

Referring to FIG. 4 as well, the case body 9 is vertically suspended on a flat plate 13 having a flat rectangular shape and both side edges along the longitudinal direction of the top plate 13 (left and right side edges in FIG. 3). Along with the provided side walls 15L and 15R, a front wall 17 is provided so as to be suspended at a front end in the longitudinal direction (right end in FIG. 2). Further, the rear wall 19 hanging from the longitudinal rear end (the left end in FIG. 2) of the top plate 13 has a front end that contacts a top wall of a pocket 71 provided in the lid 11 described later. Because it touches, the case body 9
About half the height of

As shown in FIG. 4, the rear ends of the side walls 15L and 15R protrude rearward from the rear wall 19, and the lid 11 is rotatably pivoted on each inner side surface. A columnar turning shaft projection 25 for attachment is provided in a protruding manner. On both side surfaces of the corresponding lid 11, concave portions (not shown) for a rotating shaft into which the projections 25 for the rotating shaft are fitted are formed.

The case body 9 houses the external antenna 5 and the connection cable 7 for connecting the external antenna 5 to the PC card modem 3 as described above. A connector plug 31 for connecting to the connector 70 of the housing 69 of the PC card modem 3 is attached to the end of the connection cable 7, and this connector plug 31 is also housed in the case body 9. .

As shown in FIG. 1, the external antenna 5 is a so-called sleeve antenna having a substantially round rod shape, and has a large-diameter portion 35 on the base end side connected to the connection cable 7 and a conical portion 3.
And a small-diameter portion 33 extending to the distal end side through the base member 7.
The conical portion 37 of the external antenna 5 constitutes a stopper engaging portion that comes into contact with a fixed wall 47 as a stopper described later.

Further, at the base end of the external antenna 5,
The connection cable 7 is attached via a connection portion 39 in a direction orthogonal to the central axis of the external antenna 5. The external antenna 5 is housed along the side wall 15L of the case body 9, as shown in FIG.

At the base end (the lower end in FIG. 4) which is one end of the external antenna 5, for example, a hemispherical fitting concave portion 41 is case-fitted as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. A conical fitting projection for pivotally fitting the fitting recess 41 to prevent movement in a direction perpendicular to the axis and to hold the external antenna 5 rotatably about a central axis. 43 protrudes from the inner surface of the rear wall 19 of the case body 9 as an antenna fitting portion.

On the other hand, the fitting projection 43 is
An elastic flexible piece 45 protrudes from the inner surface of the top plate 13 where the tip (the upper end in FIG. 4), which is the other end of the external antenna 5, is located in the fitting recess 41 of the external antenna 5. Has been established.
The elastic flexible piece 45 elastically urges the distal end portion of the external antenna 5 toward the base end side by the elastic restoring force, and
(See FIG. 5).

That is, in the wireless communication card storage case 1 of the present embodiment, the holding means for holding the external antenna 5 in the case main body 9 is fitted in the fitting concave portion 41 of the external antenna 5 so that the axis is aligned. A fitting projection 43 protruding from the inner surface of the rear wall 19 so as to be rotatably held at the center, and the fitting projection 4 extending along the axial direction at the tip of the external antenna 5.
3 and an elastic flexible piece 45 protruding from the inner surface of the rear wall 19 so as to elastically urge in the fitting direction.

Further, the fitting projection 43 is connected to the external antenna 5.
A fixed wall 47 having a through hole 49 formed therein is provided on the inner surface of the top plate 13 where the conical portion 37 of the external antenna 5 is located in a state in which the external antenna 5 is fitted. It is formed as a stopper for preventing excessive movement toward the elastic flexible piece 45 along the axial direction. The inner diameter of the through hole 49 is larger than the small diameter portion 33 of the external antenna 5 and smaller than the large diameter portion 35 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

Therefore, when storing and holding the external antenna 5 in the case body 9, first, the tip of the small-diameter portion 33 of the external antenna 5 is inserted from the lower side in FIG.
, The tip of the small diameter portion 33 is pressed against the elastic flexible piece 45 to be bent. Next, in this state, the fitting recess 41 provided at the base end of the external antenna 5 is fitted to the fitting projection 43 of the case body 9.
To fit. Then, the elastic restoring force of the elastic flexible piece 45 presses the fitting concave portion 41 of the external antenna 5 against the fitting projection 43 of the case body 9 to fit the external antenna 5, so that the external antenna 5 can rotate around the axis. Is securely held.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, it is necessary to provide clearances on both sides in the axial direction of the external antenna 5 housed in the case main body 9 so as to allow the elastic flexible piece 45 to bend. In addition, since the side wall 15L of the case main body 9 can be brought close to the side of the external antenna 5, the width of the wireless communication card storage case 1 can be reduced.

When removing the external antenna 5 from the case main body 9, the external antenna 5 is moved toward the elastic flexible piece 45 while bending the elastic flexible piece 45, and After the fitting of the fitting concave portion 41 is released, it is possible to easily remove the external antenna 5 simply by pulling up the base end side of the external antenna 5 and pulling out the distal end of the small diameter portion 33 from the through hole 49 of the fixed wall 47. Therefore, even when the external antenna 5 is pinched with a fingertip and pulled upward, a large force is not required.
9 will not be overpowered.

Furthermore, in the wireless communication card storage case 1 of the present embodiment, when the external antenna 5 is attached to and detached from the case body 9, the external antenna 5 is moved toward the elastic flexible piece 45 along the axial direction. If the conical portion 37 contacts the opening edge of the through-hole 49 provided in the fixed wall 47, the movement is prevented if it is excessively moved, so that the elastic flexible piece 45 is prevented from being excessively deformed. it can. Therefore,
The elastic flexible piece 45 is repeatedly and excessively deformed when the external antenna 5 is attached / detached, so that set is not caused, and the elastic restoring force does not decrease.

The external antenna 5 has a case body 9 in a state where the small-diameter portion 33 on the distal end side is inserted into the through hole 49 of the fixed wall 47 to prevent movement in the direction perpendicular to the axis.
Is held. Therefore, even if the elastic repulsion force of the elastic flexible piece 45 is not set unnecessarily large, the external antenna 5
Can be securely stored in the case without rattling.

Further, in the present embodiment, the conical portion 37 abuts on the fixed wall 47 as a stopper engaging portion to prevent the external antenna 5 from moving excessively. Unlike the case where the external antenna 5 is formed, the stopper engagement portion does not protrude to the outer peripheral portion of the external antenna 5, and the external antenna 5 can be made compact.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a cable holding guide 51 for holding the connection cable 7 at a predetermined position is provided on the inner surface of the top plate 13 of the case body 9 in this embodiment. It is integrally molded. The cable holding guide 51 includes an elliptical inner wall rib 53, and an outer wall rib 55 provided in parallel with the inner wall 53 with a fixed interval to sandwich the connection cable 7 between the inner wall rib 53 and the inner wall rib 53. It is composed of

Referring to FIG. 4, a connector plug holding portion 57 for fixing the connector plug 31 attached to the end of the connection cable 7 is provided inside the inner wall rib 53 described above. I have. The connector plug holding portion 57 includes a pair of left and right plug holding walls 61 provided at positions corresponding to the unlocking knob portions 59 provided on both side surfaces of the connector plug 31.
61, a front regulation wall 63 that regulates a forward movement range of the connector plug 31, and rear regulation walls 65, 65 that regulate a rearward movement range of the connector plug 31, the inner surface of the top plate 13 of the case body 9. It is constituted by being integrally molded.

That is, the connection cable 7 is housed inside the cable holding guide 51, and the connector plug 31 is inserted between the pair of plug holding walls 61, 61 to unlock the connector plug 31. The knobs 59, 59 are held in a biased state. Therefore,
The connector plug 31 is provided with lock release knobs 59 and 5.
By the elastic restoring force of No. 9, the plug is reliably held between the pair of plug holding walls 61, 61.

The PC card modem 3 has a housing 69 having a built-in wireless communication function, a flat PC card 67 projecting from the lower end of the housing 69, and a foldable upper part of the housing 69. Consisting of an antenna 68 provided in
The connector plug 31 is connected to a connector section 70 provided on the back surface. By inserting the tip of the PC card part 67 into a pocket part 71 (see FIG. 1) provided in the lid 11, when the lid 11 is closed, the cable holding guide 51 of the case body 9 and the connector The PC card modem 3 is stored in the wireless communication card storage case 1 so as to overlap the plug holding portion 57.

That is, the thin flat PC card portion 67 of the PC card modem 3 is connected to the cable holding guide 51 described above.
And the housing portion 69 which is housed so as to overlap the connector plug holding portion 57 and which is thicker than the PC card portion 67 and protrudes.
Is a space that does not interfere with the cable holding guide 51 (FIG. 2).
In the middle and right spaces). Thus, the thickness of the wireless communication card storage case 1 can be minimized.

The width of the housing 69 is the same as that of the PC card 67.
The housing 69 is disposed so as to be located beside the small-diameter portion 33 of the external antenna 5 to be housed. Therefore, according to the wireless communication card storage case 1 of the present embodiment, the external antenna 5 as described above is used.
Together with the structure of the holding means for holding the
The case width can be minimized.

Therefore, the storage case 1 for a wireless communication card according to the present embodiment has a reduced external shape and a compact size despite the external antenna 5 and the connection cable 7 being integrally stored together with the PC card modem 3. And can be easily carried around, so that it is excellent in portability.

When the PC card modem 3 and the external antenna 5 are used, the lid 11 is rotated with respect to the case body 9 about the rotation axis projection 25 as a rotation center and opened. The removed PC card modem 3 is inserted into the PC card slot of the personal computer 105 and connected. Next, the connection cable 7 is pulled out while the external antenna 5 is stored in the case body 9, and the connector plug 31 is connected to the connector 70 of the PC card modem 3 as shown in FIG.

At this time, since the external antenna 5 is held by the case body 9 so as to be rotatable around the axis, the connection cable 7 can be pulled out in a desired direction. That is, the external antenna 5 held by the case body 9
Is rotatable about an axis and can be used without being taken out of the wireless communication card storage case 1. Therefore, there is no need to frequently repeat attachment and detachment, there is no breakage of the elastic flexible piece 45 due to fatigue, and it can withstand long-term use.

Further, the lid 11 is attached to the case
After rotating the case body 9 by 70 degrees or more, the rear wall 19 of the case body 9 is brought into contact with the outer surface of the lid body 11 to restrict the rotation, thereby, as shown in FIG. 11 are held at an opening angle substantially orthogonal to each other.

Therefore, by placing the wireless communication card storage case 1 on a horizontal base such that the lid 11 serves as a base, the external antenna 5 in the state of being stored in the case main body 9 can be used. It is held at an angle substantially perpendicular to the table. Note that the angle of the external antenna 5 with respect to the table on the gain is preferably 70 degrees or more. However, if the angle with respect to the table is close to 90 degrees or exceeds 90 degrees, the case body 9 may fall down. Therefore, the angle is set to be smaller than 90 degrees.

The holding means of the antenna according to the wireless communication card storage case of the present invention is not limited to the structure of the holding means in the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the fitting concave portion 41 is provided as a case fitting portion, and the fitting protrusion 43 is provided as a projecting portion as an antenna fitting portion. A protrusion may be provided to form a fitting recess on the inner wall of the case as an antenna fitting portion.

Further, by providing a locking concave portion on the opposing surface of the elastic flexible piece 45 with which the tip of the external antenna 5 abuts, the elastic flexible piece 45 itself moves in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the external antenna 5. May be prevented. Further, as shown in FIG.
9, a slit 48 having a width W that allows only the small-diameter portion 33 of the external antenna 5 to pass through is provided.
It is not necessary to pass through the slit 48, and can be inserted and removed from the slit 48, and the detachability can be further improved. Further, it goes without saying that the configuration of the stopper engaging portion provided on the external antenna and the stopper provided on the inner wall of the case can take various forms based on the gist of the present invention.

[0044]

According to the storage case for a wireless communication card of the present invention as described above, the case fitting portion provided at one end of the external antenna is fitted to the antenna fitting portion provided on the inner wall of the case, and the external antenna is connected to the outside. By elastically urging the external antenna in the direction of fitting with the antenna fitting portion by the elastic restoring force of the elastic flexible piece provided on the other end side of the antenna, the case fitting portion with respect to the antenna fitting portion Maintain the fitted state. Therefore, there is no need to provide clearances for the elastic flexible pieces on both sides in the axial direction of the external antenna, and the case side wall and the like can be made close to the side of the external antenna, thereby reducing the size of the storage case. Can be.

When the external antenna is removed from the storage case, the external antenna is moved toward the elastic flexible piece while bending the elastic flexible piece, and the fitting between the case fitting portion and the antenna fitting portion is performed. After removing, the external antenna can be easily removed simply by pulling it upward. Therefore, a large force is not required when picking up with a fingertip and pulling up, and even if the connection cable is pulled, no excessive force is applied to the connection portion. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a good wireless communication card storage case in which the size of the storage case having the external antenna holding means can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a wireless communication card storage case according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view of the wireless communication card storage case shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of the wireless communication card storage case shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a storage state of an external antenna and a connection cable stored in a case main body shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a stored state of an external antenna stored in a case main body shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a storage state of an external antenna stored in a case main body shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing a modification of the fixed wall shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a use state of the wireless communication card storage case shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part showing a use state of the wireless communication card.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part showing a conventional holding means for holding an external antenna in a storage case.

11 is a cross-sectional view of the holding unit shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage case for wireless communication cards 3 PC card modem (wireless communication card) 5 External antenna 7 Connection cable 37 Conical part (stopper engaging part) 41 Fitting concave part (case fitting part) 43 Fitting projection (antenna fitting) Part) 45 elastic flexible piece 47 fixed wall (stopper) 49 through hole

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5K011 AA03 AA06 JA12 KA13

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wireless communication card storage case in which a wireless communication card having a built-in wireless communication function, an external antenna for wireless communication, and a connection cable for connecting the wireless communication card and the external antenna to each other are housed. A holding means for holding the external antenna in a case is provided on an inner wall of the case so as to be fitted to a case fitting portion provided at one end of the external antenna and to be rotatable about an axis. An antenna fitting portion, and an elastic flexible piece protruding from an inner wall of the case so as to elastically urge the other end of the external antenna in a fitting direction with the antenna fitting portion along the axial direction. A storage case for a wireless communication card. 2. A stopper for preventing the external antenna from excessively moving along the axial direction toward the elastic flexible piece by contacting a stopper engaging portion provided on an intermediate outer peripheral portion of the external antenna. The storage case for a wireless communication card according to claim 1, wherein the storage case is provided on an inner wall of the case. 3. The stopper engaging portion comprises a conical portion formed between a distal small-diameter portion and a proximal large-diameter portion of the external antenna, and the stopper comprises the distal small-diameter portion. The storage case for a wireless communication card according to claim 2, comprising a fixed wall having a larger through hole and an inner diameter smaller than the large diameter portion on the base end side.