JP2003223957A - Lock mechanism of card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a small-sized lock mechanism of which an elastic lock member can be released surely from a card concave part when a slide member moves from a using position to an insertion and release position in a lock mechanism of a card connector of a type to be engaged and disengaged with the elastic lock member supported by the slide member in a concave part formed at one part of the outer part of the card. <P>SOLUTION: This is the lock mechanism of the card connector, which has an engageable and releaseable lock convex part with the free end part side of the card concave part in the slide member, in which the base part of a leaf spring body having a compulsive deformation protrusion is fixed to the intermediate part, and in which a compulsively releasing guide to make lock protrusion release from the card concave part is installed by being engaged with the compulsive deformation protrusion of the leaf spring, when the slide member moves from a card using position to the card insertion and release position in a cover member adhered and fixed to the base member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lock mechanism for a card connector, and more particularly to a lock mechanism for preventing a card having a recess on a part of its outer surface from being accidentally dropped from the card use position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a kind of connector for various information recording cards (hereinafter referred to as cards), a card is inserted into a card slot of a base member and moved to a card use position together with a slide member. A connector is known in which the slide member is moved to a card insertion / removal position by a moving mechanism so that the card can be inserted / removed. The land group of the card is electrically connected to the contact group of the base member at the card use position to record information on the card or read recorded information.

In this card connector, it is preferable to provide a lock mechanism to prevent the card in the use position from falling off due to disturbance such as vibration. This lock mechanism is generally configured as a mechanism that supports an elastically deformable lock member that engages and disengages with a recess formed in a part of the outer surface of a card on a slide member that slides with the card. At the same time, the lock mechanism is required to have a function of allowing the force to pull out the card when the force is applied. In the conventional lock mechanism, if the lock function is emphasized, it becomes difficult to separate the elastic lock member from the card recess when the slide member is moved from the use position to the insertion / removal position, and the elastic lock member separates from the card recess. There was a trade-off problem that the lock function was impaired by making it easy.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism for a card connector of the type wherein an elastic locking member supported by a slide member is engaged with and disengaged from a recess formed in a part of the outer surface of the card.
Even if the elastic locking member has sufficient locking force,
When the slide member moves from the use position to the insertion / removal position,
An object of the present invention is to obtain a small-sized lock mechanism capable of reliably separating the elastic lock member from the card recess.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a base member having a card slot for inserting and removing an information recording card having a recess on a part of its outer surface: This base member is movably supported in the same direction as a card inserted in the card slot. A slide member movable between a card use position moved by being pressed by the card and a card insertion / removal position for pushing out the card inserted in the card use position; Slide member moving mechanism for moving to the disengaged position; a base is fixed to the slide member, and a lock convex portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the card concave portion is provided on the free end side, and is forced between the base portion and the free end. When the plate spring body having a deforming projection and the slide member moves from the card using position to the card inserting / removing position, the locking protrusion is engaged with the forced deforming projection of the plate spring body. It is characterized by having a; forced withdrawal guide to disengage from the recess.

The forcible disengagement guide may be formed on the base member or on the cover member that is adhered and fixed to the base member, but if formed on the cover member, the shape of the base member can be simplified. The cover member can be made of hard synthetic resin or metal, but if it is made of metal, the forced release guide can be easily formed as a small-sized (space-saving) cut-and-raised piece with excellent durability.

The slide member may be provided with another spring member for applying a biasing force to the lock convex portion of the leaf spring body in the direction of engaging the card concave portion.

As the slide member moving mechanism, a cam mechanism such as a heart cam mechanism and a swing lever mechanism have been conventionally known, and any of them can be adopted.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As shown in FIG. 1, a base member 10 made of synthetic resin is fixed on a substrate B. The base member 10 has a substantially U-shape in plan view having both side walls 11 and a contact support wall 12 connecting one end portions of the both side walls 11, and a card slot S is formed between the both side walls 11.

The contact support wall 1 of the base member 10
A plurality of contacts 20 are supported by 2. Each contact 20 has a soldering leg 21 whose one end is soldered to a land on the board B, and the other end is formed on both side walls 11.
Card M inserted between the two and reached the regular card insertion position
The contact legs 22 are in contact with the land.

On one of both side walls 11 of the base member 10,
As shown in FIG. 2, the guide rail 14 and the spring hooking protrusion 1
5 is formed. On the other hand, the slide member 30 includes an engaging portion 31 that engages with the tip of the card M, and the guide rail 1.
4 and a slide guide portion 33 having a guide groove 32 slidably engaged with each other, and has a substantially L shape. Further, the slide guide portion 33 is formed with a spring accommodating recess 34a (FIG. 1) corresponding to the spring engaging projection 15, and the compression coil spring 34 is provided between the spring engaging projection 15 and the spring accommodating recess 34a. It is stored. Therefore, the slide member 30 is movable in the direction parallel to the side walls 11, and the compression coil spring 34 allows the base member 10 to move.
It is biased in the direction to be discharged from.

A heart cam 35 is formed on the surface of the slide guide portion 33 of the slide member 30.
On the other hand, one end of a pin member 40 forming a heart cam mechanism in pairs with the heart cam 35 is fixed to the end of the side wall 11 of the base member 10. That is, the pin member 40 has a fixed pin portion 41 fixed on the side wall 11 at one end and a control pin portion 42 engaged with the heart cam 35 at the other end. A cover member 16 made of a metal material is fixed on the base member 10 with the slide member 30 and the pin member 40 sandwiched therebetween to prevent the slide member 30 and the pin member 40 from falling off (pin. Ensuring the engagement of the member 40 and the heart cam 35).

The shape itself of the heart cam 35 is well known.
When the card M is inserted into the card slot S formed by the both side walls 11 of the base member 10 and brought into contact with the engaging portion 31 of the slide member 30, and further pushed against the force of the compression coil spring 34, the slide member 30 is pushed in together with the card M. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the control pin portion 42 relatively passes through the first section a of the heart cam 35 and enters the second section b. After the control pin portion 42 has entered the second section b and the force pushing the slide member 30 is released, the control pin section 42 relatively returns to the second section b and reaches the stopper recess c. This position is the card use position (FIG. 3). Next, when the slide member 30 is pushed in again, the control pin portion 42 relatively enters from the third section d to the fourth section e,
Then, when the force is released, the compression coil spring 34 returns to the original position by the force. This return position is the card insertion / removal position (FIG. 4). This operation is a well-known one obtained by changing the depth of each section of the heart cam 35,
The control pin portion 42 and the heart cam 35 do not move relative to each other in the direction opposite to the above operation. In this embodiment, the heart cam mechanism constitutes a slide member moving mechanism that moves the slide member 30 from the card use position to the card insertion / removal position.

The present embodiment is characterized by a card lock mechanism for preventing the card M inserted in the card use position from being accidentally dropped in the above card connector.
The card lock mechanism is composed of a recess MX formed in a part of the side surface of the card M, and two leaf spring bodies 36 and 37 supported by the slide member 30. Leaf spring body 36
Extend in a direction substantially parallel to the sliding direction of the slide member 30 as a whole, and are fixed grooves 30 of the slide member 30.
It has a base portion 36a press-fitted and fixed to a, a lock convex portion 36b at a tip end portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the card concave portion MX, and a forced deformation protrusion 36c formed between the base portion 36a and the lock convex portion 36b. . The leaf spring body 36 has elasticity in a direction in which the lock convex portion 36b engages with the concave portion MX in the free state. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the lock convex portion 36b is engaged with the card concave portion MX.

The lock convex portion 36b includes an inclined portion 36b1 which elastically deforms the lock convex portion 36b in a direction opposite to the engaging direction of the concave portion MX when pressed, and a straight portion 36b2 which is substantially orthogonal to the side surface of the card M. have. The straight portion 36b2 of the lock convex portion 36b has a function of exerting a large resistance when a force is applied to the card M in the pull-out direction from the slide member 30 in a state where the lock convex portion 36b is properly engaged with the card concave portion MX. To do.

The leaf spring body 37 has a substantially V-shape in plan view, and both ends thereof are fixed to the fixing portion 30b of the slide member 30. Then, the V-shaped protruding portion 37a contacts the back surface of the leaf spring body 36 (the surface opposite to the protruding direction of the lock protrusion 36b), and the lock protrusion 36b of the leaf spring body 36 engages with the recess MX. It gives a directional auxiliary force. By using this auxiliary leaf spring body 37, the lack of the urging force of the leaf spring body 36 is compensated for, and the lock convex portion 36b is provided for a long time.
It is possible to apply a force in the direction of engaging the recess MX.

The cover member 16 is formed with a forcibly disengaging guide 17 that engages and disengages with the forcibly deforming protrusion 36c of the leaf spring body 36 as a cut-and-raised piece. This forced release guide 17
Is a thin plate body parallel to the sliding direction of the slide member 30, and is inside the leaf spring body 36 (on the side of the card M).
When the slide member 30 is moved to the card insertion / removal position from the card use position, it engages with the forcibly deforming protrusion 36c of the leaf spring body 36 and functions to disengage the lock protrusion 36b from the card recess MX. (Fig. 4). That is, while the slide member 30 moves together with the card M between the card use position and the insertion / removal position, the forced removal guide 17
As a fixed-side member that moves relative to this moving-side member, the posture of the leaf spring body 36 is controlled as above according to the movement of the slide member 30.

In the main locking mechanism having the above-described structure, when the slide member 30 is in the card insertion / removal position shown in FIG. 4, the forced deformation projection 36c of the leaf spring body 36 is pressed and deformed by the forced removal guide 17, and the lock convex portion thereof is formed. 36b is moved to a non-engaging position with the card recess MX. Therefore, the card M can be freely inserted into and removed from the slide member 30 in the card insertion / removal position.

When the card M is further pushed in from the card insertion / removal position, the card M and the slide member 30 slide together to the card use position. In this process, the forced deformation protrusion 36c of the plate spring body 36 continues to elastically deform in a direction in which the plate spring body 36 is engaged with the forced disengagement guide 17 of the cover member 16 and the lock protrusion 36b disengages from the recess MX ( (See FIG. 4) When the forced deformation protrusion 36c eventually exceeds the forced release guide 17, the lock protrusion 36b enters the card recess MX. The position of the leaf spring body 36 at this time is defined by the forced disengagement guide 17 (see FIG. 3).

When the slide member 30 is moved from the insertion / removal position shown in FIG. 4 to the use position shown in FIG. 3, the control pin portion 42 of the heart cam mechanism described above relatively passes through the first section a of the heart cam 35. Enter the second section b, and then the second section b
Corresponds to the section that returns to the stopper recess c. In the card use position, the land of the card M and the land on the board B are supported by the base member 10.
Conducts correctly through.

When the card M is pushed in to eject the card M, the control pin portion 42 of the heart cam mechanism relatively moves from the third section d to the fourth section e, and when the force is released here, the slide member 30 is released. The (card M) reaches the card insertion / removal position of FIG. 4 by the force of the compression coil spring 34. In this process, contrary to the above insertion operation, the forcibly deforming projection 36c of the leaf spring body 36 engages with the forcibly disengaging guide 17, and the lock projection 36b disengages from the recess MX. Therefore, the card M can be freely pulled out from the slide member 30 at the card insertion / removal position of the slide member 30.

7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the shape of the lock protrusion 36b at the tip of the leaf spring body 36 is changed. In the first embodiment, the lock convex portion 36b is formed as a punched surface of the plate material, whereas in this embodiment, the lock convex portion 36b is formed as a bent surface of the plate material. According to this embodiment, it is possible to reduce the possibility of scratching around the card recess MX.

In the above embodiment, the forced disengagement guide 17 is used.
The metal cover member 16 is cut and raised as a piece, but the cover member may be made of synthetic resin and formed by molding. Further, the forced release guide may be formed on the synthetic resin base member 10 by molding.

In the above embodiment, the heart cam mechanism is exemplified as the slide member moving mechanism for moving the slide member 30 (card M) from the card using position to the card inserting / removing position, but a cam mechanism other than the heart cam mechanism is used. Good. The present invention can be similarly applied to a mode in which a swing lever mechanism that moves the slide member from the card use position to the card insertion / removal position by a swing lever is used as the slide member moving mechanism.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the lock mechanism of the card connector of the type in which the elastic lock member supported by the slide member is engaged with and disengaged from the recess formed in a part of the outer surface of the card, the slide member is When moving from the use position to the insertion / removal position, it is possible to obtain a small-sized lock mechanism that can surely move the elastic lock member in the direction of separating from the card recess.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a card lock mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same main part.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a relationship between the card and a slide member at a card use position.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the card insertion / removal position.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a main part of a heart cam mechanism.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a main part corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a second embodiment of the card lock mechanism of the present invention.

8 is a sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 of the embodiment of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

B board M card S card slot MX recess 10 Base member 11 both side walls 12 Contact support wall 13 Slide guide tube 14 Guide rail 15 Spring protrusion 16 Cover member 17 Forced Withdrawal Guide 20 contacts 21 Soldering legs 22 Contact leg 30 slide members 31 Engagement part 32 guide groove 33 Slide guide part 34 Compression coil spring 35 heart cam 36 leaf spring 36a base 36b Lock protrusion 36b1 inclined part 36b2 Straight section 36c Forced deformation protrusion 37 Leaf spring body (another spring member) 40 pin member 41 Fixed pin 42 Control pin section

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 5B058 CA04 CA13 KA12 KA24                 5E021 FA05 FA11 FB03 FB18 FC09                       FC31 FC36 HA07 HB05 HB11                       HC14 HC31 HC36 KA15                 5E023 AA04 AA16 AA18 AA21 BB19                       BB22 BB29 CC02 CC23 CC26                       DD05 DD13 DD19 GG02 GG09                       HH24 HH30

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A base member having a card slot for inserting / removing an information recording card having a recess on a part of its outer surface: a card supported by the base member so as to be movable in the same direction as the card inserted into the card slot. A slide member that is movable between a card use position that is pressed and moved by a card and a card insertion / removal position that pushes out a card inserted in the card use position; A slide member moving mechanism for moving the base member to the slide member, and a lock convex portion that can be engaged with and disengaged from the card concave portion on the free end side, and has a forced deformation protrusion between the base portion and the free end portion. A leaf spring body having:
And a forcibly-disengaging guide for engaging the forcibly deforming protrusion of the leaf spring body to disengage the lock protrusion from the card recess when the slide member moves from the card use position to the card insertion / removal position. Locking mechanism for card connector. 2. The lock mechanism for a card connector according to claim 1, wherein the forcible disengagement guide is formed on the base member or a cover member attached and fixed to the base member. 3. The lock mechanism for a card connector according to claim 2, wherein the cover member is made of metal, and the forced release guide is formed as a cut-and-raised piece on the metal cover member. 4. The lock mechanism for a card connector according to claim 1, wherein the slide member is provided with a biasing force in a direction of engaging the lock projection of the leaf spring body with the card recess. Locking mechanism for a card connector provided with the spring member.