JP2003346110A - Electronic card - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card having a small volume while maintaining a constant size of its plane-like external form. <P>SOLUTION: The electronic card comprises a card main body 1 consisting of a first main body portion 2 which is thick and a second main body portion 3 which is thin, a semiconductor memory 5 mounted and housed in a substrate 4 possessed by the card main body 1, and a terminal 8 provided on the substrate 4 having the semiconductor memory 5 mounted therein and electrically connecting the semiconductor memory 5 and external equipment. The card main body 1 is configured such that the first main body portion 2 and the second main body portion 3 are formed to be continuously coplanar at a first plane side A and that the first main body 2 is projected to a second plane side B. <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 an electronic card having a semiconductor memory used as a medium for storing information such as data and voice signals in a small-sized portable device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various small and lightweight electronic cards having a built-in semiconductor memory have been developed and used in addition to stamp-sized electronic cards. In particular, as a stamp-sized memory card, a multimedia card and an SD memory card having substantially the same planar shape as the multimedia card and having a protruding portion formed on the back side have been developed. FIGS. 9A and 9B show the shape of the electronic card.

In FIG. 1 (a) showing a multimedia card as a first electronic card, reference numeral 31 denotes an electronic card body having a semiconductor memory built therein. A terminal 32 for electrically connecting to an apparatus is provided.
An inclined notch 33 is formed at one corner of the planar shape 1 to provide an identification function for preventing the card 31 from being erroneously inserted. This card has a thickness of "D"
Is set to

FIG. 1B shows an SD memory card, in which a semiconductor memory is similarly built, and the external shape of the electronic card body 34 in plan view is almost the same as that in FIG. A convex portion 35 having a width slightly smaller than that of the electronic card main body 34 is formed on the side of the electronic card main body 34. However, in order to use the card shown in FIG. Card body 3
The thickness of No. 4 is set to the dimension "D", and the guide of the card holder of the device using this card is adapted to the thickness dimension "D". Further, the terminal 32 is arranged on a portion of the slit 37 formed by the rib 36, that is, on a thickness "D" equivalent to the card shown in FIG. Reference numerals 38 and 39 denote recesses formed on the side of the card body 34.
Numeral 8 is for holding the card when it is inserted into the device.
Numeral 9 is for slidably providing a write enable / disable setting element 40 for setting whether or not data can be written to the semiconductor memory in the concave portion. It is configured so that writing permission / prohibition can be set.

[0005] The electronic cards 31 and 3 configured as described above.
4 is mounted on a mounting device of an external device as shown in FIG. This mounting device is configured such that a shaft 42a is
The card holder 43 is inserted into a card holder 43 provided integrally with a lid 42 provided rotatably about the center of the card holder 43. The card holder 43 has a thickness dimension " In order to indicate “D”, a guide groove 45 formed by the guide rib 44 is provided. An external device-side terminal 46 is provided near the rear end of the card holder 43.
The terminal 46 is connected to a predetermined terminal of a substrate 47 in the device main body 41. Here, FIG. 10 shows an example in which the electronic card 34 is inserted, and the card holder 4
Reference numeral 3 denotes a depth at which the projection 35 of the electronic card 34 can be inserted.

[0006] There has been a demand for a more compact electronic card than such a stamp-sized electronic card. With the recent high integration and high density of the semiconductor memory, a small and high capacity electronic card has been realized. Is becoming possible.

Therefore, if only miniaturization is pursued, a shape as shown in FIG. 11 can be considered. That is, the size of the side portion of the electronic card body 48 is set to the same size “D” as that of FIG. 9 described above, and the outer shape of the planar shape is reduced. As described above, if the terminals are arranged in the same thickness and the same arrangement, compatibility with the above-mentioned card is possible for a device using this card.

[0008]

However, as shown in the example of FIG. 11, the length (or width) of the electronic card is simply reduced.
Is smaller than the size of the stamp, the risk of accidental ingestion by infants is increased. Even if it has electrical compatibility with the conventional electronic card, its shape is different, so if it is accidentally inserted into a connector of a device that is compatible with the conventional electronic card, the card will fit inside the connector and can be removed from the device. There is a risk of disappearing, or a risk of getting inside the device through a gap between connectors. Therefore, when this electronic card is used in a device compatible with the conventional electronic card, an adapter or the like for matching the shape with the conventional electronic card is required.

An object of the present invention is to provide a small-capacity electronic card which avoids accidental ingestion and which can be used without an adapter or the like, and which is adapted to a conventional electronic card. It is.

[0010]

In order to solve this problem, an electronic card according to the present invention comprises a card body constituted by a thick first body portion and a thin second body portion, and a substrate provided on the card body. A semiconductor memory mounted and housed in the semiconductor memory; and a terminal provided on the substrate on which the semiconductor memory is mounted, for electrically connecting the semiconductor memory to an external device. The first main body portion is formed so as to be continuous from the first main body portion to the second main body portion so as to be on the same plane, so that the first main body portion has a shape protruding toward the second flat surface side.

[0011] Thus, the device is adapted to a specific conventional electronic card in which the volume is made small and the planar shape has a constant size while securing the planar shape to a constant size. An electronic card that does not require an adapter or the like can be obtained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the semiconductor memory is housed in a first main body portion, and the terminal is formed on a second plane side of the first main body portion, and has a large thickness dimension. A semiconductor memory or the like is formed in the first main body, and the terminal is formed on the protruding side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the substrate has a structure that constitutes a part of the housing of the card body on the side having terminals, and the card body is made thinner. As a whole, high density can be achieved.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the first invention.
A concave portion serving as a holding portion when the card body is used is formed on the side surface of the main body portion. By forming the concave portion on the first main body portion having a large thickness, the holding is stabilized.

[0015] Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the first invention.
Since the main body portion and the second main body portion are constituted by a continuous substrate, the extension terminals can be provided in the thin second main body portion.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the outer shape of the planar shape of the card body is substantially the same as the outer shape of the planar shape of the specific electronic card having no thin portion different from the card body. And the thickness of both sides of the first main body is formed to be the same as the thickness of the side of the specific electronic card, and the specific electronic card can be inserted and connected to a card holder that can be inserted and connected. In addition, a device suitable for a specific electronic card having a certain size in a planar shape can be used without requiring an adapter or the like.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the semiconductor memory is a semiconductor memory to which data can be written from an external device via the terminal,
A concave portion is formed in a side surface of the main body portion, and a write enable / disable setting element for setting whether or not data can be written to the semiconductor memory is slidably provided in the concave portion, and the semiconductor memory is set by a sliding position of the write enable / disable element. In this configuration, it is possible to set whether or not data can be written to the semiconductor memory, and it is possible to set whether or not data can be written to the semiconductor memory even though the card has a small volume.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1 to 3 show the shape of an electronic card according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a medium used to store information such as data and audio signals. An electronic card having a semiconductor memory to be used, the card body of which is composed of a first body portion 2 having a large thickness and a second body portion 3 having a small thickness. Reference numeral 4 denotes a substrate provided on the first main body portion 2, which constitutes a part of a housing of the first main body portion 2, and has a semiconductor memory 5, a LSI constituting a controller, and other predetermined electronics such as an LSI. A component 6 is mounted by solder 7 or the like, and necessary wiring is provided. A terminal 8 for electrically connecting the semiconductor memory 5 to an external device is provided on an outer surface of the substrate 4. The substrate 4 is integrally fixed to a step 2b formed on the housing of the first main body 2 by bonding or the like.

The card main body is formed so that the first plane side A is continuously flush with the first main body part 2 to the second main body part 3, and the first main body part 2 projects on the second plane side B. The thickness dimension of the second main body part 3 is “T1” with respect to the thickness dimension “T1” of the first main body part 2.
2 ", and the ratio of T2 / T1 is set to be 1/5 to 1/2.

In the card body, the outer shape of the entire planar shape including the first main body portion 2 and the second main body portion 3 is the same as that of the conventional electronic cards 31 and 34 shown in FIG. Are substantially the same, and the thickness dimension “T
"1" is set to be the same as the thickness "D" on both sides of the electronic cards 31 and 34 described above. Also,
The first main body 2 has an inclined cutout 9 at a corner thereof, and has an identification function for preventing the erroneous insertion of the electronic card 1. Also, on the side of the first main body portion 2,
The recesses 10 and 11 are formed, and the recess 10
The concave portion 11 is for slidably providing a write enable / disable setting element 12 for setting whether data can be written to the semiconductor memory 5 in the concave portion 11. Whether the data can be written to the semiconductor memory 5 can be set by the sliding position of the permission / inhibition setting element 12.

The first plane side A of the card body described above
Is a front side of the electronic card 1, and on this side A, a minute concave portion 14 for attaching a label 13 for displaying the content stored in the semiconductor memory 5 of the card is formed. In the example shown in FIG.
, But may be configured to cover the entire card body including the second body portion 3.

Here, wirings on the substrate 4 other than the above-mentioned terminals 8 are omitted in the drawing, but a predetermined connection between the semiconductor memory 5 and other electronic components 6 and between the terminals 8 is provided. It is natural that the wiring of is given,
The data stored in the semiconductor memory 5 is input and output via the terminal 8. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, a thin sheet is adhered to a portion other than the terminal 8 as necessary, such as a resin or the like, on the outer surface of the substrate 4 constituting the housing of the first main body portion. By coating, a protective layer 4a for covering a wiring (not shown) is provided as appropriate. The substrate 4
Is a printed circuit board made of resin, ceramic, etc.,
Alternatively, the substrate may be a lead frame formed by processing a metal plate.

Next, the electronic card 1 configured as described above
The configuration in which is mounted on an external device will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 15 denotes a housing of an external device on which an electronic card is mounted, and 16 denotes a lid integrally having a card holder 17. (A) The electronic card 1 can be inserted in a state of protruding above the housing 15 as shown in FIG.
6 is closed. The card holder 17 has guide grooves 20 formed by guide ribs 19 provided on both sides.
The guide groove 20 holds both sides of the electronic card 1 slidably. Here, the electronic card 1 is inserted so that the first plane side A is on the side of the lid 16, and the terminal 8 is directed downward.

An external device side terminal 21 is disposed near the center of rotation of the card holder 17.
The terminal 8 of the electronic card 1 inserted into the electronic device 1 is brought into contact. The external device side terminal 21 is attached to a substrate 22 provided in the external device housing 15 by soldering 23. In addition, predetermined electronic components 24 of the external device are appropriately mounted on the substrate 22, and include components necessary for a function of reading and reproducing data stored in the semiconductor memory 5 of the electronic card 1, for example. . Here, the portion where the cover 16 is opened and closed and the electronic card 1 is inserted and mounted by the card holder 17 is the second plane side B of the second main body 2 in the mounted state of the electronic card 1 (the state shown in FIG. 2B). The electronic component 25 provided on the substrate 22 is provided in a space C formed in an extension of the projection of the first main body 2.
Has been arranged. Reference numeral 26 denotes an opening button for the lid 16, which is used to release the lid 16 from the closed state shown in FIG. 2B. This button 26 is a lock means for holding the lid 16 closed in the closed state. It is linked to open.

Next, a case where the electronic card 1 is mounted on the electronic card mounting apparatus of the external device as described above will be described.

First, as shown in FIG.
Is opened, and the electronic card 1 is inserted into the guide groove 20 of the card holder 17 so that the first main body portion 2 comes first, and
Insert so that the plane side A is on the lid 16 side. At this time, the opening angle of the lid 16 is held by some holding means so that the inserted electronic card 1 does not touch the electronic component 25 on the board 22 at all.
It can be inserted into the far end. Then, the insertion is completed at a position where the terminal 8 comes into contact with the external device-side terminal 21, and FIG.
5B and the state of FIG. 5B. In this state, the terminal 8 of the electronic guard 1 is connected to the terminal 21, and the second plane side B of the second main body 3 of the electronic card 1 accommodated in the card holder 17 is connected to the electronic component on the substrate 22. 25 and the electronic card 1
Are arranged so as not to collide with or contact the electronic component 25. Note that a thin sheet-like wall may be provided between the second main part 3 of the electronic card 1 and the electronic component 25. In this case, the electronic component 25 is not directly seen from the gap between the card holder 17 and the housing 15 even in the open state.

Next, the one shown in FIG.
3 shows a housing 41 of an external device into which the conventional electronic cards 31 and 34 can be inserted and mounted, and constitutes a card holder 43 into which the conventional electronic cards 31 and 34 can be inserted into a cover 42. In contrast to the card holder 43, in the electronic card 1 of the present invention, the thickness dimension “T1” on both sides of the first main body 2 is the same as that of the conventional electronic cards 31 and 35 as described above.
Since the thickness is substantially the same as the thickness “D” of the side portion, it can be inserted into the guide groove 45 formed by the guide rib 44 without any problem. In addition, since the terminal 8 has the same configuration, the terminal 8 can be connected to the external device side terminal 45 in the same manner.

(Embodiment 2) Next, based on FIG.
An electronic card 1b according to the second embodiment will be described. The embodiment of FIG. 7 is an electronic card in which the concave portion 11 and the write enable / disable setting element 12 are eliminated from the electronic card shown in FIG. 1, and the other configuration is the same. In other words, in a smaller and lighter electronic card, depending on the purpose of use,
In some cases, it is not necessary to restrict writing to the semiconductor memory 5 in particular, and it is very difficult to configure the write enable / disable setting element 12 which must be slidable in a small shape. In view of this, the configuration is as described above.

(Embodiment 3) Next, based on FIG.
An electronic card 1c according to the third embodiment will be described. The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is configured by a substrate 29 which is continuous with the first main body portion 2 and the second main body portion 3. In this example, the terminal 8 constitutes the terminal 8 by separately forming a terminal connected to the substrate 29, and the extension terminal 29 a can be constituted by wiring to the second main body 3. . Also, the second plane side B of the second body portion 3
Is provided with a protective layer 29b for covering a wiring (not shown) by sticking a thin sheet or coating with a resin or the like, as necessary, on a portion other than the extension terminals 29a. Further, by forming the minute convex portion 29c on the periphery of the first plane side A by coating or sticking, a minute concave portion to which the label 13 is stuck can be formed.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, a card body constituted by a first body portion having a large thickness and a second body portion having a small thickness, and a semiconductor mounted and accommodated on a substrate of the card body. A memory, and a terminal provided on the substrate on which the semiconductor memory is mounted, for electrically connecting the semiconductor memory to an external device, wherein the card body has a first plane side from a first body part to a second body part. And the first main body portion is formed to have a shape protruding toward the second plane side. It can provide a card with a small volume and has the advantageous effect that it can be used without requiring an adapter, etc., with a device adapted to a specific electronic card whose planar shape is a fixed size. Is obtained

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic card according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a front view of the same. (B) is the same side view

FIG. 3A is a sectional view of the same. (B) is an enlarged sectional view of the main part.

FIG. 4A is a side cross-sectional view of an external device to which the electronic card is mounted in an open state, and FIG.

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the card holder in a state where the electronic card is not mounted, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the card holder in a state where the electronic card is mounted.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state where the electronic card is inserted into a device adapted to a specific electronic card.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an electronic card according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electronic card according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a conventional first electronic card. (B) is a perspective view of a conventional second electronic card.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing a state where the second electronic card is inserted into a device to which the second electronic card is applied;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of an electronic card obtained by miniaturizing a conventional electronic card.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 electronic card 2 First body part 3 Second body part 4 Substrate 5 Semiconductor memory 6 Electronic components 8 terminals 10 Holding recess 11 recess for write enable / disable setting element 12 Write enable / disable setting element A First plane side B Second plane side C space T1 Thickness dimension T2 thickness dimension

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Masayoshi Yano             Matsushita Electric, 1006 Kadoma, Kazuma, Osaka             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5B035 AA00 BA01 BB09 CA01

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A card body constituted by a first body portion having a large thickness and a second body portion having a small thickness, a semiconductor memory mounted and accommodated on a substrate of the card body, and a substrate having the semiconductor memory mounted thereon And a terminal for electrically connecting the semiconductor memory to an external device. The card body is arranged such that the first plane side is continuously flush with the first body portion to the second body portion. An electronic card, wherein the electronic card is formed so as to have a shape in which a first main body portion protrudes toward a second plane side. 2. The electronic card according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor memory is accommodated in a first main body portion, and said terminals are formed on a second plane side of said first main body portion. 3. The electronic card according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has a structure that constitutes a part of a housing of a card body on a side having terminals. 4. The electronic card according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion serving as a holding portion when using the card main body is formed on a side surface of the first main body portion. 5. The electronic card according to claim 1, wherein the electronic card is constituted by a substrate continuous with the first main body portion and the second main body portion. 6. A planar outer shape of the card main body is substantially the same as a planar outer shape of the specific electronic card having no thin portion different from the card main body, and the first main body portion has a flat outer shape. 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of both side portions is formed to be the same as the thickness of the side portion of the specific electronic card, and the specific electronic card can be inserted and connected to a card holder that can be inserted and connected. card. 7. The semiconductor memory according to claim 1, wherein said semiconductor memory is a semiconductor memory to which data can be written from an external device through said terminal, wherein a recess is formed in a side surface of said first body portion of said card body, and said recess is formed in said recess. A write enable / disable setting element for setting write enable / disable of data is slidably provided, and write enable / disable of data to the semiconductor memory can be set by a sliding position of the write enable / disable setting element. The electronic card according to claim 1, wherein