JP2003317833A - Card connector device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card connector device of which, the width can be reduced. <P>SOLUTION: The card connector device comprises a housing 120 having a plurality of connection terminals 122 arranged in a row, and a metal cover 110 covering the housing 120. Side plates 112, 113 extending downwards along the side surface of a card housing chamber 117 in which, a memory card 150 is inserted, and bent pieces 115, 115, arranged at the lower end part of the side plates 112, 113, bending toward the card housing chamber 117, are formed, and the through holes 115a, 115a for inserting screw 180 are formed to the bent pieces 115, 115, and tool insertion holes 111a, 111a in which, a clamping tool of a screw 180 can be inserted, are formed to an upper plate 111 of the cover 110 facing the insertion holes 115a, 115a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card connector device for mounting and using a card such as a memory card, and more particularly to a card connector device suitable for miniaturization.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Card connector devices are mounted in various electronic devices such as digital cameras and PDAs (Personal Data Assistance: mobile terminals), and are used in cards such as memory cards mounted in the card connector devices. Electronic data is stored, or electronic data stored in a memory card is read into an electronic device.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a conventionally known card connector device. The card connector device 50 is mainly composed of a metal cover 60 and a housing 70. The cover 60 has a top plate 61 having a rectangular shape in plan view, and side plates 62, 62 formed by bending downward from both widthwise edges of the top plate 61. The side plates 62, 62 have lower ends. Bent pieces 63, 63 are formed by bending outward from a part of the edges, and the insertion holes 63a, 63 are formed in the central portions of the bent pieces 63, 63.
a are formed respectively. The housing 70 has a resin base 71, and a plurality of connection terminals 72 are fixed to the base 71 by insert molding. In addition, a protruding portion of each connection terminal 72 from the front end surface of the base 71 constitutes a contact portion 72a, and a protruding portion of the connection terminal 72 from the rear end surface thereof constitutes a cranked soldering portion 72b. is doing.

In the card connector device 50, the above-described housing 70 is provided on both side plates 62, 62 at the rear end of the cover 60.
It is assembled by being installed between. Cover 6
The front end of 0 is an opening and serves as an insertion opening 64 for inserting a memory card described later. Also, the cover 60
The space between the insertion opening 61 and the base 71 inside defines a card storage chamber 65.

The card connector device 50 thus constructed is attached and fixed to the chassis of various electronic devices. More specifically, a flexible board (not shown) is placed and fixed on the chassis 90, and the insertion holes 63 of the bent pieces 63, 63 formed on the side plates 62, 62 of the cover 60.
Screw holes 90a, 90a are formed at positions facing a, 63a. Wiring patterns and soldering lands (both not shown) are formed on the flexible board.
The soldering portion 72b of the connection terminal 72 is connected to the soldering land.
After soldering, attach the bent pieces 63, 63 to the screws 91, 91
The card connector device 50 is attached and fixed to the chassis 90 by screwing it to the chassis 90.

The memory card 80 has a rectangular plate shape and has a card-side terminal surface 80a at its tip. The memory card 80 is inserted into the card storage chamber 65 from the insertion port 64 of the card connector device 50 by a manual operation of the user, and is held by the housing 70 in a state where the contact portion 72a is elastically contacted with the card side terminal surface 80a. As a result, the card attachment to the card connector device 50 is completed.

[0007]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional card connector device 50, the cover 60 is used.
Side plates 62, 62 of the bent piece 63, so as to project outward,
Since 63 is provided and these bent pieces 63, 63 are fixed to the chassis 90 with screws 91, 91, the protrusion amount of both bent pieces 63, 63 is added to the width dimension of the top plate 61. However, there is a problem in that the width dimension of the card connector device 50 becomes large because the above-mentioned size defines the substantial width dimension of the card connector device 50. In particular, in a small portable device such as a digital camera or a PDA for which there is a strong demand for saving the installation area on a chassis or the like, such an increase in width has been an important issue.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances of the prior art as described above, and an object thereof is to provide a card connector device capable of reducing the size of the card connector device in the width direction.

[0009]

To achieve the above object, a card connector device according to the present invention comprises a housing in which a plurality of connection terminals are arranged in parallel, and a metal cover at least covering the housing, The cover has a card storage chamber for storing a card therein, a card insertion port for inserting the card into the card storage chamber, and side plates formed along both sides of the card storage chamber. The side plate is formed with a fixing portion that is bent inward from the lower side toward the inside of the card storage chamber, an insertion hole for inserting a screw is formed in the fixing portion, and the insertion portion is formed on the upper surface of the cover. A jig insertion hole into which the screw tightening jig can be inserted is formed at a position facing the hole.

According to the card connector device having such a structure, the fixing portion does not project outward from the side plate of the cover, so that the width of the card connector device can be reduced. Especially digital cameras and PDAs
In a small portable device such as the one described above, a remarkable effect is achieved in saving the mounting area. Further, since the jig insertion hole is formed on the upper surface of the cover at a position facing the insertion hole of the screw formed in the fixing portion, workability is improved when the fixing portion is attached and fixed to the chassis of the electronic device. be able to.

Further, in the above structure, an opening / closing door that closes the card insertion opening is movably supported below the card storage chamber, and the fixing portion is arranged between the card insertion opening and the housing. It is preferable that the opened and closed door that has fallen down is housed between the card insertion opening and the fixing portion. Since the fixed portion can be formed at a position where it does not interfere, the width dimension can be reduced even in a card connector device with an opening / closing door.
In addition, when fixing the fixed part to the chassis of electronic equipment with screws, for example, the collapsed open / close door can be stored at the same height as the head of the screw, so the height of the card connector device is also small. Can be converted.

Further, in the above structure, if the opening / closing door is rotatably supported by the cover and is biased by the biasing member to close the card insertion slot, the opening / closing mechanism of the opening / closing door is adopted. Can be realized with a simple configuration, and a card connector device with an opening / closing door can be realized at low cost.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a card connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a left side of the card connector device. Fig. 3 is a right side view of the card connector device, Fig. 4 is a front view of the card connector device, Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of portion A in Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a view of the card connector device. FIG. 7 is a plan view of a cover provided, FIG. 7 is a left side view of the cover, FIG. 8 is a right side view of the cover, FIG. 9 is a front view of the cover, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of a housing provided in the card connector device. 11 is a left side view of the housing, FIG. 12 is a right side view of the housing, FIG. 13 is a front view of the housing, FIG. 14 is a front view of an opening / closing door provided in the card connector device, and FIG. Is a plan view of the door,
16 is a left side view of the opening / closing door, FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing a state in which the card connector device is attached to the chassis, FIG.
8 is a sectional view showing a state in which the memory card is mounted on the card connector device, FIG. 19 is a plan view of the memory card, and FIG.
0 is a left side view of the memory card, and FIG. 21 is a rear view of the memory card.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the card connector device 100 according to the present embodiment mainly includes a cover 1.
10, a housing 120, an opening / closing door 130, and a torsion coil spring 140. Explaining each member in detail, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, the cover 1
10 is a metal plate and has a rectangular top plate 111 in plan view.
(Upper surface), the left side plate 112 and the right side plate 113 that are bent and formed at right angles from the left and right edges that face each other in the width direction of the top plate 111, and the rear edge of the top plate 111 (upper side in FIG. 6). It has side plates 112 and 113 from the edge) and a rear bending plate 114 formed by bending at a right angle in the same direction. Rectangular bending pieces 115, 115 (fixed portions) are provided on the front sides (lower sides in FIGS. 7 and 8) of the side plates 112, 113, and these bending pieces 115, 115 are the side plates 1.
Lower edge of 12, 113 (edge on the side opposite to the top plate 111)
Is formed by bending an inward direction facing the top plate 111. In addition, insertion holes 115a and 115a are formed in the central portions of the bent pieces 115 and 115, respectively.
Jig insertion holes 111a and 111a having a diameter larger than those of the insertion holes 115a and 115a are formed in the top plate 111 at positions facing the insertion holes 115a and 115a, respectively.

The side plates 112 and 113 have two square holes 11
2a, 112a and 113a, 113a are respectively formed, and these square holes 112a, 112a and 113a, 113a are arranged at a predetermined distance behind the bent piece 115. Furthermore, the side plate 112,
An arc-shaped projecting portion 112 is provided at a corner of the front end side of 113.
b, 113b are formed, and these left and right protrusions 1
Bearing holes 112c and 113c are coaxially formed in 12b and 113b.

At the center of the front end of the left side plate 112,
A rectangular cut-and-raised piece 112d formed by cutting and raising a part of the side plate 112 to the bent side of the bent piece 115 is provided. Further, the side plate 11 is attached to the front edge of the side plate 112.
There is provided a rectangular stopper 112e formed by extending the upper part of 2 and bending it in the same direction as the bending piece 115 (see FIG. 9). A front opening end of the cover 110 has a card insertion port 11 into which a memory card described later is inserted.
6 is composed.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, the housing 120 includes a base 121 made of synthetic resin, and the base 121.
A plurality of connection terminals 12 fixed by insert molding to the
2 and. The base 121 is composed of a flat bottom plate 121a and a frame 121b which is provided on the bottom plate 121a and which is U-shaped in a plan view. These bottom plates 1
21a and the front end of the frame 121b (lower end of FIG. 10)
At the inner corner, the taper portions 121c and 121d,
121d are formed respectively. Frame 121b
Two locking portions 121e, 121e, which are arranged at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction, are respectively formed on both outer side surfaces of the locking surfaces 121e, 121e, and these locking portions 121e, 121e are directed toward the bottom plate 121a. It has a trapezoidal shape with an upward slope (see FIG. 13). The length of the base 121 in the front-rear direction is the same as that of the rear folding plate 1 in the cover 110 described above.
It is formed to be shorter than the distance between 14 and the bent pieces 115, 115. The connection terminals 122 are arranged on the base 121a at regular intervals, and the connection terminals 122 protruding from the inner bottom surface of the base 121a constitute a contact portion 122a for elastically contacting a card side terminal of a memory card described later. However, the protruding portion from the opposite end surface constitutes a soldering portion 122b bent and formed in a crank shape.

As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, an opening / closing door 130 made of synthetic resin has a rectangular plate-shaped front surface portion 131 and a shaft portion 132 formed at the lower end portion of the left side surface of the front surface portion 131.
(See FIG. 14) and a trapezoidal spring locking portion 133 (see FIG. 16) formed on the upper end portion, a shaft portion 134 coaxially formed with the shaft portion 132 on the right side surface of the front surface portion 131, and a front surface. Two rectangular protrusions 13 juxtaposed on the surface of the portion 131
1a and 131a. The height dimension of the front surface portion 131 is the same as the card insertion opening 11 in the cover 110 described above.
6 and the bent pieces 115, 115 are formed to be shorter than the distance between them. The torsion coil spring 140 includes a winding portion 140a and arm portions 140b and 140c formed by linearly processing both end portions of the winding portion 140a (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

The assembled state of the above card connector device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. First, the housing 120 is mounted on the inner wall surfaces of the side plates 112 and 113 of the cover 110 and the rear folding plate 114. The base 121 is mounted and fixed in the cover 110 so that both outer side surfaces and the rear end surface are in contact with each other. At this time, in the housing 120, the engaging portions 121e, 121e formed on both outer surfaces of the base 121 have square holes 112a formed in the side plates 112, 113 of the cover 110.
112a and 113a, 113a are respectively snap-coupled to be integrated with the cover 110. By doing so, the housing 120 and the cover 110 can be integrated without using an adhesive agent, screws, or the like, and there is an advantage that workability is improved. The open / close door 130 has a torsion coil spring 1 around the shaft portion 132.
With the winding portion 140a of 40, the tip portion of the shaft portion 132 is inserted into the bearing hole 112c formed in the side plate 112, and then the shaft portion 134 is formed in the bearing hole 1
By being inserted into 13c, it is rotatably attached to the card insertion slot 116. One arm portion 140 b of the torsion coil spring 140 is locked to a rear wall portion of a spring locking portion 133 formed on the left side surface of the front surface portion 131, and the other arm portion 14
0c is locked to the cut-and-raised piece 112d formed on the side plate 112, so that the opening / closing door 130 is elastically biased forward. At this time, the opening / closing door 130 is in a state in which the spring locking portion 133 formed on the front surface portion 131 abuts on the stopper 112e formed on the side plate 112, so that further rotation is restricted and the card insertion opening 116 is closed. Has become. In the cover 110, the card insertion slot 1
A space between 16 and the housing 120 forms a card storage chamber 117 in which a memory card is stored (see FIG. 1).

The card connector device 100 thus assembled is used by being mounted in various electronic devices such as a digital camera and a PDA. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. It is adapted to be attached to a chassis 160 of an electronic device. A flexible board 170 is placed and fixed on the chassis 160.
A soldering land (not shown) is formed at a position facing the second soldering portion 122b. In addition, the chassis 16
0, screw holes 160a, 160a are formed at positions facing the insertion holes 115a, 115a of the bent pieces 115, 115 provided on the side plates 112, 113 of the cover 110, respectively.

Chassis 1 of the card connector device 100
At the time of attachment to the 60, as shown in FIG. 17, after soldering the soldering portion 122b of the connection terminal 122 to the soldering land of the flexible board 170, the jig insertion hole provided in the top plate 111 of the cover 110 is attached. The screw 180 is inserted from 111a, and the screw 180 is inserted into the bending piece 115.
Through the insertion hole 115a and screwed into the screw hole 160a. Next, the tip of the driver 190 (tightening jig) inserted from the jig insertion hole 111a is engaged with the head of the screw 180, and the driver 190 is rotated in this state to rotate the screw 1
Tighten 80. As a result, the bent piece 115 is fixed to the chassis 160, and the card connector device 100 is attached and fixed to the chassis 160.

In this embodiment, the card connector device 100 is attached and fixed to the chassis 160, and the soldering portion 122b is soldered to the soldering land of the flexible substrate 170. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the card connector device 100 may be mounted and fixed on a printed circuit board such as an epoxy board having a predetermined mechanical strength. In this case, a through hole is formed in the printed board at a position facing the insertion holes 115a, 115a of the bent pieces 115, 115, and the bent pieces 115, 115 are attached and fixed to the printed board using bolts and nuts. Is preferred.

Next, the operation of the card connector device 100 configured as described above will be described.

First, a memory card, which is an example of a card used in the card connector device 100, will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21. The memory card 150 is a rectangular plate-shaped member, and the tip thereof. Part (Fig. 20
(Above the step), a step surface 150a is formed.
The card 50a is provided with a plurality of card-side terminals 150b (see FIG. 21) arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction.

As shown in FIG. 18, the memory card 150
Is manually operated by the user, and the card side terminal 15
0b is inserted downward from the card insertion opening 116 and then sent to the card storage chamber 117. At this time, the front surface 131 of the opening / closing door 130 is pushed by the tip of the memory card 150, and the opening / closing door 130 is rotated in the direction of arrow P in the drawing against the elastic force of the coil spring 140. As the insertion of the memory card 150 proceeds, the opening / closing door 130 is stored in a state of lying down in the space between the lower surface of the memory card 150 and the upper surface of the chassis 160.

The tip of the memory card 150 stored in the card storage chamber 117 is guided by the U-shaped inner wall surface of the frame 121b and the upper surface of the bottom plate 121c, and the connection terminal 12 is guided.
After being further sent in the direction of the second contact portion 122a, it is mounted on the base 121. At this time, the taper portions 121c and 121d are formed on the front end portions of the frame 121b and the bottom plate 121c.
The memory card 150 can be smoothly mounted on the base 121 even if the user inserts the memory card 150 with a slight tilt.
The contact portion 122a is attached to the card-side terminal 150b.
The mounting of the memory card 150 to the card connector device 100 is completed in a state in which is touched elastically.

When the mounting is completed, the memory card 1
The rear end portion of the memory card 50 protrudes from the card insertion slot 116 by a predetermined length (see FIG. 18). When the memory card 150 is removed from the card connector device 100, the protruding rear end portion of the memory card 150 is removed. Is to be picked up by the user's finger.

As described above, according to the card connector device 100 of the present embodiment, the bent pieces 115, 115 are provided inwardly of the card storage chamber 117 at the lower ends of the side plates 112, 113 of the cover 110. The card connector device 10 is formed by bending and tightening the bent pieces 115, 115 to the chassis 116 with a screw 180 by inserting a driver through a jig insertion hole 111a provided in the top plate 111 of the cover 110. Since it is fixed to the chassis 160, the bending pieces 115, 115 are
The lateral width dimension of 0 can be reduced without protruding outward from the lateral width direction of 0.

Further, when the memory card 150 is inserted from the card insertion opening 116 of the card connector device 100 and mounted in the card storage chamber 117, the opening / closing door 130 is opened by the shaft portion 1.
Since it is adapted to pivot about the axis of 32, 134 and be housed in the space between the card insertion slot 116 and the bent pieces 115, 115, the folded open / close door 130 is bent. There is no interference with the positions of 115 and 115, and the width dimension can be reduced even with a card connector device with an opening / closing door. In addition, the bent pieces 115, 115 are attached to the chassis 16
Since the fallen open / close door 130 can be housed with a height dimension substantially the same as the height of the head of the screw 180 fixed to 0, the height dimension of the card connector device 100 can also be reduced.

Further, since the opening / closing door 130 is rotatably supported by the cover 110 and has a structure in which the torsion coil spring 140 elastically urges in the direction of closing the card insertion slot 116, the opening / closing mechanism of the opening / closing door 130. Can be simplified,
It is possible to realize a card connector device with an opening / closing door at low cost.

[0031]

The present invention is carried out in the form as described above, and has the following effects.

A metal cover that covers the housing in which a plurality of connection terminals are arranged in parallel is formed with a fixing portion bent from the lower side plate toward the inside of the card storage chamber, and a screw insertion hole is formed in the fixing portion. Since a jig insertion hole into which a screw tightening jig can be inserted is formed at a position facing the insertion hole on the upper surface of the cover, the fixing portion does not project outward from the side surface of the cover. Not only can the width of the card connector device be reduced, but workability can be improved when the fixing portion is attached and fixed to the chassis of the electronic device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a card connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the card connector device.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the card connector device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the card connector device.

5 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a cover provided in the card connector device.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the cover.

FIG. 8 is a right side view of the cover.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the cover.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a housing provided in the card connector device.

FIG. 11 is a left side view of the housing.

FIG. 12 is a right side view of the housing.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the housing.

FIG. 14 is a front view of an opening / closing door included in the card connector device.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of the opening / closing door.

FIG. 16 is a left side view of the opening / closing door.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the card connector device is attached to a chassis.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a memory card is mounted on the card connector device.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of a memory card.

FIG. 20 is a left side view of the memory card.

FIG. 21 is a rear view of the memory card.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a card connector device according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 card connector device 110 cover 111 Top plate 111a jig insertion hole 115 Bent pieces (fixed part) 115a insertion hole 116 card slot 117 card storage room 120 housing 121 base 122 connection terminal 130 door 140 torsion coil spring 150 memory card 180 screws 190 Driver (Jig insertion hole)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A housing having a plurality of connection terminals arranged in parallel, and a metal cover that covers at least the housing, the cover having a card storage chamber for storing a card therein, and It has a card insertion port for inserting the card into the card storage chamber and side plates formed along both sides of the card storage chamber, and the side plate is bent from the lower side toward the inside of the card storage chamber. A fixing portion is formed, an insertion hole through which a screw is inserted is formed in the fixing portion, and a jig insertion hole into which a tightening jig for the screw can be inserted at a position facing the insertion hole on the upper surface of the cover. A card connector device, wherein: 2. The opening / closing door for closing the card insertion opening is supported foldably below the card storage chamber, and the fixing portion is provided between the card insertion opening and the housing. A card connector device, characterized in that the opened and closed door that is disposed and stowed is housed between the card insertion opening and the fixing portion. 3. The card according to claim 2, wherein the opening / closing door is rotatably supported by the cover and is urged by an urging member to close the card insertion opening. Connector device.