JP2004078858A - Ejection mechanism of memory card in electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ejection mechanism of a memory card that facilitates the ejection operation of the memory card employed as an external memory in an electronic apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A storage chamber 14 of a memory card C is provided at a first half part of a card adapter 10. The latter half part is provided with a motor 20, an operating mechanism 21 for reciprocation between a stationary position free from the operation of the memory card and an ejection position of the memory card by the motor 20, and a control circuit 22 for controlling the rotation of the motor 20 so as to allow one reciprocation of the operating mechanism 21 by the operation of an operation button 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mechanism for ejecting a memory card used as an external memory in an electronic device such as a personal computer or a digital camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic devices such as personal computers and digital cameras use a large number of memory cards as external memories, and these memory cards are generally large memory cards that can be inserted into and ejected from card slots attached to notebook personal computers. There is a small memory card that is less than half the size of the large memory card. In the case of this small memory card, it is detachably mounted on an electronic device via a card adapter for adjusting the size of the card slot. As small-sized memory cards (hereinafter simply referred to as memory cards), there are various types of memory cards, each of which is specified according to its size and thickness, such as a compact flash card, an Sd card, a multimedia card, and a smart media card. , Which are less than half the size of card adapters, are often used.
[0003]
For use, a card adapter is used, and the card adapter is attached to the electronic device with the memory card inserted therein. Then, the eject button protrudes from the operation surface by the lever mechanism provided in the electronic device, and when ejecting the memory card from the electronic device after use, the protruding eject button is pressed. Then, the card adapter protrudes from the operation surface to a position where the card adapter can be taken out by operating the lever mechanism. Therefore, the card adapter is pulled out by hand, and then the memory card is taken out from the card adapter.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the above-described conventional configuration, when removing the memory card from the electronic device, a double operation of operating the eject button to remove the card adapter from the electronic device and removing the memory card from the card adapter is performed in a double operation. Not only is it necessary, but when removing the memory card from the card adapter by hand, the edge of the memory card that protrudes slightly from the card adapter must be pinched with a toe and pulled out, so the memory card is damaged gently Not only that, the memory card may be distorted by the force of pulling out the memory card. End that engages with a group of terminals that are damaged or placed with high precision in the card adapter Occurs deformation in the hole, causing a poor connection, there is an inconvenience such as the inability to read or write.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the related art, the present application allows a memory card to be inserted, and a motor and a rotation of the motor in the vicinity of a storage room having a terminal group electrically connected to the memory card. Operating mechanism that reciprocates between a steady position that does not work with the memory card and a discharging position that works with the memory card and projects it out of the way, and allows one reciprocating operation of the operating mechanism by a discharging command signal And a control circuit for controlling the rotation of the motor.
[0006]
Specifically, a storage room, a motor, an operating mechanism, and a control circuit are provided in a card adapter mounted on an electronic device.
[0007]
Further, in the above, the operation mechanism presses the memory card from a steady position where it does not act on the memory card by the reduction gear mechanism rotated by the motor, the rotation lever rotated by the reduction gear mechanism, and the rotation lever. And a detection switch that switches on at a steady position and off at a discharge position in conjunction with the pressing member, and a control circuit for controlling the detection switch. A polarity conversion circuit that converts the polarity of the motor by turning it on and off, a relay circuit that is connected to the power supply circuit of the motor, allows the motor to be energized by a discharge command signal, and shuts off the energized state by a reset signal; , A reset signal generation circuit that inputs a reset signal to the relay circuit when it makes one reciprocal rotation due to reverse rotation It is those made.
[0008]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an internal structure of a card adapter 10 having an outer shape equivalent to that of a large-sized memory card that can be inserted into and ejected from a card slot of a notebook personal computer, except for a part of a top plate 11 thereof. The card adapter 10 has an opening on the front face, and is closed on the other three sides, and is generally composed of a flat rectangular casing 12 having a vertical rectangular shape. A terminal group 13 in which the above terminals are arranged is provided.
[0009]
The housing 12 has, in the front half thereof, a storage chamber 14 into which a memory card C is inserted, and guides the left and right side edges of the memory card C at the left and right positions to facilitate insertion and removal. A piece 15 is provided.
[0010]
The memory card C inserted into the storage chamber 14 is protruded from the front half of the housing 12 to at least a position where the memory card C can be removed by hand at the rear half of the housing 12 configured as described above. , An operation mechanism 21 operated by the motor 20 and a control circuit 22 for controlling the rotation of the motor 20 are provided.
[0011]
The operation mechanism 21 includes a reduction gear mechanism 23 composed of a plurality of spur gears driven by a motor 20 and a rotatably supported shaft 24 at a central position in the longitudinal direction, and a final gear of the reduction gear mechanism 23 at a leading edge. A rotation lever 26 having a sector gear 25 meshed with the rotation lever 23a and rotating by driving the motor 20, a pressing member 27 pressing the rear edge of the memory card C by the rotation of the rotation lever 26; It is composed of
[0012]
The pressing member 27 is connected to the rear end of the rotating lever 26, and is slidable in the front-rear direction (vertical direction of the housing 12) by being guided by the engagement between the guide pin 28 and the elongated hole 29. And a member having a pressing portion 30 at the tip.
[0013]
Further, the control circuit 22 acts on the operation piece 31 that moves integrally with the pressing member 27, and the pressing portion 30 is in a non-contact state with the memory card C in a state of being inserted into the storage chamber 14 of the memory card C. The detection switch 32 is switched so as to be turned on at the steady position and turned off at the discharge position where the memory card C protrudes from the front opening 16, and by turning on and off the detection switch 32 as shown in FIG. A polarity conversion circuit 33 for converting the polarity of the motor 20 is connected between the polarity conversion circuit 33 and the power supply E. When the operation button 34 is operated, the operation state is allowed by the operation command signal, and the reset signal is A reset signal is input to the relay circuit 35 when the ON signal of the detection circuit 32 is counted twice by a relay circuit 35 for interrupting the energized state. For example and a reset signal generating circuit 36. consisting counting circuit.
[0014]
Thus, as shown in FIG. 1, the memory card C is stored in the storage chamber 14 of the card adapter 10 and the terminal group 13 is electrically connected to the terminal hole group 40 provided in the memory card C. Similarly, by attaching the card adapter 10 to an electric device, the memory card C is used as an external memory. In this case, although not shown, the button of the ejection lever mechanism of the card adapter provided in the electronic device protrudes from the operation surface in a state where it can be pressed.
[0015]
In this use state, that is, in a state where the card memory C is inserted into the card adapter 10 attached to the electronic device as shown in FIG. 1, the operation button 34 is operated to take out the card memory C from the electronic device.
[0016]
Then, in response to the operation command signal, the relay circuit 35 operates to open the power supply circuit of the motor 20 and the detection switch 32 is in the ON state, so that the motor 20 rotates in the forward direction and the counting circuit 36 ON signal is input once.
[0017]
By the forward rotation of the motor 20, the rotation lever 26 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 via the reduction gear mechanism 23 in FIG. 1, and the pressing member is guided via the guide pin 28 and the elongated hole 29. 27 slides in the direction of the opening 16 of the card adapter 10, whereby the pressing portion 30 presses the trailing edge of the memory card C, so that the memory card C is guided by the guide piece 15 and shown in FIG. So as to protrude to the discharge position. Next, the memory card C is removed from the card adapter 10 in this state.
That is, only the memory card C can be removed by operating the operation button 34 while the card adapter 10 is attached to the electronic device.
[0018]
On the other hand, when the memory card C reaches the ejection position, the detection switch 32 is turned off by the action piece 31, and the polarity of the motor 20 is reversed by the operation of the polarity conversion circuit 33, and the motor 20 rotates in the reverse direction. The pressing member 27 is restored to the state shown in FIG. 1, and the detection switch 32 is turned on again by the action piece 31, and this ON signal is input to the counting circuit 36 again.
Then, the counting circuit 36 counts two pulses with one reciprocating rotation of the motor 20, thereby generating a reset signal. The reset signal is input to the relay circuit 35, and the relay circuit 35 Is turned off.
That is, the control circuit 22 shown in FIG. 5 controls the motor 20 to perform one forward and reverse rotation operation.
[0019]
When the card adapter 10 is taken out of the electronic device as necessary, it is executed by separately operating a discharge button as in the related art.
[0020]
In the above embodiment, the case where the memory card C is executed by the manual operation of the operation button 34 has been described. However, after the use of the memory card C is completed, an operation command signal is provided in the memory card C instead of the operation button 34. Needless to say, the memory card C may be automatically ejected by incorporating the generated electronic circuit in advance.
[0021]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the card adapter is used has been described. However, when the card adapter is not required, the mechanism of the present invention is directly mounted at a position near the memory card storage room (card slot) in the electronic device.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present application, in use, it is possible to remove only the memory card without removing the card adapter from the electronic device, and at the time of removal, it is necessary and sufficient to pull out the memory card by hand. The extended length makes it extremely convenient for replacing memory cards, etc., and there is no room for excessive force to act on the memory card, thus eliminating the risk of damaging the memory card. Have.
[0023]
Further, according to the present application, since the operation mechanism is operated by the motor, not only the manual switch but also the discharge command signal automatically after the end of the information written in the memory card, for example, instead of the manual switch. By incorporating the output electronic circuit, there is an advantage that after the use of the memory card is completed, the operating mechanism can be automatically operated to automatically eject the memory card.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an inserted state and an internal structure of a memory card while leaving a part of a top plate. FIG. 2 is a cut side view showing an internal structure. FIG. 3 is a cut front view showing an internal structure. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the ejected state and internal structure of the memory card while leaving a part of the top plate. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a motor control circuit.
Reference Signs List 10 Card adapter 13 Terminal group 14 Storage room 20 Motor 21 Operating mechanism 22 Control circuit 23 Reduction gear mechanism 25 Sector gear 26 Rotating lever 27 Pressing member 30 Pressing portion 31 Working piece 32 Detection switch 33 Polarity conversion circuit 34 Operation button 35 Relay circuit 36 Counting circuit C Memory card E Power supply

Claims (4)

In the vicinity of the storage room, which allows a memory card to be inserted and has a terminal group electrically connected to the memory card, a motor and a stationary position that does not work with the memory card due to the rotation of the motor and the memory card act by the rotation of the motor. An operation mechanism that reciprocates between a discharge position where the operation mechanism is ejected so as to be able to be taken out, and a control circuit that controls rotation of a motor so as to allow one reciprocal operation of the operation mechanism by a discharge command signal. Ejection mechanism for memory card in electronic equipment 2. A memory card ejection mechanism in an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the storage room, the motor, the operation mechanism, and the control circuit are provided in a card adapter mounted on the electronic device. The operating mechanism is a reduction gear mechanism rotated by a motor, a rotation lever rotated by the reduction gear mechanism, and the rotation lever can press and remove the memory card from a steady position where it does not act on the memory card. 3. A mechanism for ejecting a memory card in an electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a pressing member for guiding the memory card to an appropriate ejection position. A control circuit that, in conjunction with the pressing member, turns on at a steady position and turns off at a discharge position, a polarity conversion circuit that converts the polarity of the motor by turning the detection switch on and off, and a power supply for the motor. A relay circuit that is connected to the circuit and that allows the motor to be energized by a discharge command signal and shuts off the energized state by a reset signal, and inputs a reset signal to the relay circuit when the motor makes one reciprocating rotation due to forward and reverse rotation 4. A mechanism for ejecting a memory card in an electronic device according to claim 3, further comprising a reset signal generating circuit.

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