JP2005197116A - Card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent adverse effects such as electrostatic discharge, noise, and the like which may be caused when a card fixing member is made of a metal plate, in an inexpensive structure. <P>SOLUTION: This card connector is provided with a base member 10 of an electrical insulating material, the card fixing member 20 made of the metal plate and provided on the base member 10, a signal contact 30 to make contact with the terminal 72 of a card 70 held on the base member 10 by the card fixing member 20, and a grounding contact 40 to electrically connect the card fixing member 20 to the grounding terminal 62 of a substrate 60 with the card 70 held on the base member 10. The card fixing member 20 is movable between a card releasing position to put the card 70 in a released condition and a card fixing position to fix and hold the card on the base member 10, and the grounding contact 40 makes contact with the card fixing member 20 in a condition in which a flexible part 42 extending from a fixed part 41 fixed to the base member 10 is elastically deformed by the card fixing member 20 positioned at the card fixing position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector for receiving and holding a card on which information is recorded and connecting it to an electronic device or the like.

  As a card connector for connecting a memory card (hereinafter simply referred to as “card”) in which information is recorded to an electronic device or the like, various types of connectors are used according to the size of the card. Recently, electronic devices such as mobile phones and digital cameras have been reduced in size, and accordingly, card connectors have been reduced in size and weight. When the card connector is miniaturized, the mounting area of the electronic device on the board is reduced, and further miniaturization of the electronic device main body can be promoted.

Many of such card connectors include a base member made of an electrically insulating material mounted on a board, a card fixing member provided on the base member for fixing and holding the card on the base member, and a base member. It is configured to have a signal contact that contacts the terminal of the card that is fixedly held and connects it to the signal terminal on the board. Of these, the card fixing member is composed of a metal thin plate member (sheet metal). Often done. This is because when the strength of the card fixing member is equal, the card fixing member is made of metal (for example, see Patent Document 2 below) rather than resin (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). This is because the thickness can be reduced, and it can be made suitable for downsizing of card connectors that have been required in recent years.
JP 2003-142204 A JP 2002-280114 A JP 2002-252047 A

  However, when the card fixing member is made of sheet metal as described above, static electricity generated by friction or the like when the card is mounted is charged to the card fixing member, and electrostatic discharge may occur when the user touches it. It was. In addition, the metal card fixing member may act as an antenna to cause electrical injury such as noise.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a card connector having a configuration capable of preventing adverse effects such as electrostatic discharge and noise generated when the card fixing member is made of sheet metal with an inexpensive configuration. It is an object.

  A card connector according to the present invention is provided on a base member made of an electrically insulating material attached to a substrate, and the base member, and a card (for example, the memory card 70 in the embodiment) is fixedly held on the base member. A sheet metal card fixing member, a signal contact which is held by the base member and connected to the signal terminal on the substrate, and which contacts the card terminal fixed on the base member by the card fixing member, and the card on the base member And a ground contact for electrically connecting the card fixing member in a state of being fixedly held to the ground terminal of the substrate.

  If the card fixing member is movable between a card releasing position for releasing the card fixed and held on the base member and a card fixing position for fixing and holding the card on the base member, It is preferable that the contact be in contact with the card fixing member in a state where the flexible portion extending from the fixing portion fixed to the base member is elastically deformed by the card fixing member located at the card fixing position. . Alternatively, it is preferable that the extending portion extending from the fixing portion fixed to the base member is located in the groove portion provided in the card fixing member and is always in contact with the inner surface of the groove portion.

  In the card connector according to the present invention, the sheet metal (metal) card fixing member is grounded through the ground contact and the ground terminal of the substrate in a state where the card is fixed and held on the base member. Therefore, the card fixing member is not charged when the card is mounted, and the card connector can be made electrically stable. For this reason, the static electricity generated by the friction when the card is mounted is charged to the card fixing member and electrostatic discharge is generated, or the card fixing member works as an antenna to cause an electrical failure such as noise. can do. Further, such antistatic can be realized with a very simple configuration, and the cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 show a card connector 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The card connector 1 includes a base member 10 fixed on a substrate 60 such as an electronic device (not shown), a card fixing member 20 provided so as to be movable (sliding and swinging) on the base member 10, and a base member. 10 includes a plurality of signal contacts 30, 30,...

  The base member 10 is made of an electrically insulating material and has a rectangular flat plate shape, and left and right wall portions 11 are provided at both front left and right end portions. Left and right slide guides 12 and 12 are provided at the rear positions of the left and right wall portions 11 and 11 so as to extend rearward in a state of protruding upward, and a plurality of (here, .. (Eight) corresponding to the number of signal contacts 30 are provided extending in the front-rear direction.

  The card fixing member 20 is formed of a metal thin plate member (sheet metal) and extends in the left-right direction of the base member 10, and both left and right end portions thereof are bent downward to form left and right side walls 21, 21. Each of the left and right side walls 21 and 21 is provided with a long hole-like cam groove 22 extending in the front-rear direction, and the left and right wall portions 11 and 11 of the base member 10 are respectively provided in the cam groove 22. The cam projections 14 are provided so as to protrude from the left and right outwards. For this reason, the card fixing member 20 is guided by the left and right slide guides 12 and 12 of the base member 10 and is slidable between the rear “card release position” and the front “card fixing position”. During the movement, movement in the vertical direction is also performed according to the shape of the cam groove 22 (details will be described later). Here, the “card release position” refers to the position of the card fixing member 20 that can release the memory card (hereinafter simply referred to as “card”) 70 (see FIG. 5) fixedly held on the base member 10. The “card fixing position” refers to the position of the card fixing member 20 that can hold the card 70 on the base member 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, from the lower edge of the front portion of the cam groove 22, a section portion 25 is provided so as to be positioned below the wall portion 11 formed in the base member 10. Each of the left and right ends on the lower surface side of the base member 10 has a rectangular shape for allowing the section 25 to move in the front-rear direction when the card fixing member 20 slides relative to the base member 10. A notch 15 is provided,

  As shown in FIG. 2, each signal contact 30 includes a fixing portion 31 fixed to the base member 10, an elastic portion 32 extending from the fixing portion 31 toward the inside of the base member 10, and a fixing portion 31. And a lead portion 34 extending outward from the base member 10. The elastic portion 32 has a shape that is folded back at the intermediate portion, and the portion that is folded and extended further bends and extends to form a convex shape upward to form a contact portion 33 (see FIG. 4). When the card 70 is not attached to the card connector 1, the contact portion 33 is positioned so as to protrude upward from the upper surface 10 a of the base member 10 as shown in FIG. 4, and the card 70 is inserted into the card connector 1. When the card 70 is mounted, it is pressed by the card 70 and elastically bent downward, and comes into contact with a terminal 72 (see FIG. 5) provided on the lower surface of the card 70. Further, in the state where the card 70 is mounted on the card connector 1 in this way, the elastic portion 32 of each signal contact 30 bends downward, but at this time, the tip portion of the elastic portion 32 does not interfere with the base member 10. A relief hole 16 is provided through the base member 10 in the vertical direction (see FIG. 3). The lead portion 34 extends from the fixed portion 31 to the outside of the base member 10 from the front edge or the rear edge of the base member 10, and further bends and extends to the lower surface side of the base member 10. The wiring pattern signal terminals 61 are attached by soldering or the like (see FIG. 1).

  Further, the card 70 mounted on the base member 10 of the card connector 1 is fixedly held between the base member 10 and the card fixing member 20 (the card 70 is mounted on the card connector 1). A ground contact 40 for connecting the fixing member 20 to the ground terminal 62 of the substrate 60 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, the ground contact 40 has a fixed portion 41 fixed to the base member 10 and a bent portion extending from the fixed portion 41 in a cantilevered state horizontally rearward and protruding downward at an end portion. The flexible portion 42 having the contact portion 43 and the lead portion 44 formed to extend from the fixed portion 41 inward and downward of the base member 10. The flexible portion 42 is elastically deformable in the vertical direction with the fixing portion 41 as a fulcrum. As will be described later, the flexible portion 42 and the section portion 25 of the card fixing member 20 that moves according to the sliding movement of the card fixing member 20 with respect to the base member 10. In a state where it is not in contact, it is not elastically deformed, and in a state where it is in contact with the segment 25, it is pressed upward by the segment 25 and is elastically deformed (see FIG. 7). The lead portion 44 extends from the fixed portion 41 to the inside of the base member 10, and further bends and extends to the lower surface side of the base member 10, and is soldered to the ground terminal 62 of the wiring pattern formed on the substrate 60. Etc. (see FIG. 1).

  Next, a procedure for attaching the card 70 to the card connector 1 (see FIG. 5A) in a state where the card fixing member 20 is located at the card fixing position and then removing the card 70 will be described. The card 70 has a plurality of flat terminals (here, eight corresponding to the number of signal contacts 30) 72, 72,... On the lower surface of a rectangular flat plate portion 71 made of an insulating material such as resin. An IC chip (not shown) connected to each terminal 72 via a wiring (not shown) is provided inside the flat plate portion 71. In order to attach such a card 70 to the card connector 1, first, the card fixing member 20 positioned at the card fixing position is pressed backward. As a result, the card fixing member 20 slides backward (see FIG. 5B). At this time, the cam protrusions 14 formed on the base member 10 are cams formed on the left and right side walls 21 of the card fixing member 20. Since the relative movement in the groove 22, the card fixing member 20 moves upward according to the shape of the cam groove 22. When the rear end of the extended portion 24 provided extending rearward from the rear portion of the side wall 21 comes into contact with the inclined surface 17a of the card fixing member push-down portion 17 provided on the wall portion 11 of the base member 10, the inclined surface 17a. The card fixing member 20 as a whole is swung in the vertical direction, and has an oblique posture with the front facing upward. In such a state, the card 70 can be inserted between the base member 10 and the card fixing member 20 from the diagonally upper front side of the card connector 1 (see FIGS. 5C and 5D).

  When the card 70 is inserted between the base member 10 and the card fixing member 20, the front end portion of the card fixing member 20 is pressed downward to swing (see arrow A in FIG. 5D). As a result, the card 70 is pressed against the upper surface 10a of the base member 10 from above (see FIG. 5E), and each terminal 72 provided on the lower surface of the card 70 is connected to the elastic portion 32 of the corresponding signal contact 30. Is pressed downward and elastically deformed. As a result, each terminal 72 of the card 70 and the contact portion 33 of the signal contact 30 of the card connector 1 are in contact with each other. Here, if the hand is released as it is, the card 70 is pushed back upward by the elastic force of the elastic portion 32 of the signal contact 30, but the card fixing member 20 is moved forward while the card fixing member 20 is pressed downward. The cam projection 14 formed on the base member 10 relatively moves in the cam groove 22 formed on the side wall 21 of the card fixing member 20, and the card fixing member 20 slides downward while sliding forward. Moving. Accordingly, the locking projection 23 provided at the front end portion of the side wall 21 is positioned below the recess 18 provided in the wall portion 11 of the base member 10 so as to be recessed downward, and the card 70 is caused by the elastic force of the signal contact 30. Even if the card 70 is pushed up, the locking projection 23 is inserted into the recess 18 and locked to prevent the card 70 from contacting the terminal 72 and the contact portion 33 of the signal contact 30. It is fixed so as to hold the state (see FIG. 5F). The position of the card fixing member 20 corresponds to the “card fixing position”.

  When the card 70 is thus fixed on the base member 10 and the terminal 72 of the card 70 is in contact with the contact portion 33 of the signal contact 30, the electronic device or the like to which the card connector 1 is attached, the card 70, and the like. However, when the card fixing member 20 slides from the rear of the base member 10 and is positioned at the card fixing position, the section 25 formed on the side wall 21 of the card fixing member 20. Pushes up the contact portion 43 of the grounding contact 40 to elastically deform the flexible portion 42 upward. As a result, the card fixing member 20 made of sheet metal is connected to the ground terminal 62 on the substrate 60 via the ground contact 40. If the card fixing member 20 is charged, this charge is It is removed via the ground contact 40 and the ground terminal 62.

  Removal of the card 70 from the card connector 1 is performed in the reverse procedure to that when the card 70 is mounted. That is, when the card fixing member 20 is pressed backward from the state where the card 70 is fixedly held on the base member 10 by the card fixing member 20 (see FIG. 5F), the card fixing member 20 slides backward ( When the extending portion 24 formed at the rear end portion of the side wall 21 of the card fixing member 20 contacts the inclined surface 17a of the card fixing member pressing portion 17 of the base member 10, the extending portion is referred to (see FIG. 5E). 24 is pushed downward, and the entire card fixing member 20 swings in the vertical direction, and the card fixing member 20 assumes an oblique posture with the front end portion directed upward (see FIG. 5D). In such a state, the card 70 can be pulled out from between the base member 10 and the card fixing member 20 (see FIG. 5C). Such a position of the card fixing member 20 corresponds to the “card release position”.

  The card 70 is attached to and detached from the card connector 1 as described above. When the card fixing member 20 moves from the card fixing position to the card releasing position, the section 25 of the card fixing member 20 is grounded. The card fixing member 20 is released from the grounding state via the grounding contact 40 because it is separated from the contact part 43 of the contact 40 (the flexible part 42 returns to the original state before elastic deformation).

  As described above, in the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment, in a state where the card 70 is fixedly held on the base member 10, the card fixing member 20 made of sheet metal (metal) is connected to the ground contact 40 and the substrate 60. Since it is grounded via the ground terminal 62, the card connector 1 is not charged when the card 70 is mounted, and the card connector 1 can be brought into an electrically stable state. For this reason, the static electricity generated by friction or the like when the card is mounted is charged on the card fixing member 20 to generate electrostatic discharge, or the card fixing member 20 acts as an antenna and causes an electrical failure such as noise. Can be prevented. Further, such antistatic can be realized with a very simple configuration, and the cost can be reduced.

  In the card connector 1, the ground contact 40 is in a state in which the flexible portion 42 extending from the fixing portion 41 fixed to the base member 10 is elastically deformed by the card fixing member 20 positioned at the card fixing position. Thus, even if the card fixing member 20 is movable with respect to the base member 10, the above-described effects can be obtained with certainty.

  8 to 10 show a card connector 101 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The card connector 101 basically has the same configuration as that of the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment described above, and only the configuration related to the ground contact is different. Hereinafter, the same components as those of the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted, and characteristic parts in the second embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the card connector 101 according to the second embodiment, unlike the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment described above, the ground contact 140 is not in front of the base member 10 but in the rear. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 10, the ground contact 140 includes a fixed portion 141 fixed to the lower left rear surface portion of the base member 10, and an extended portion provided extending from the fixed portion 141 to the front of the base member 10. 142, a projecting portion 143 formed so as to protrude outward from the base member 10 at the distal end portion of the extending portion 142, and an inward direction of the base member 10 from the fixing portion 141. And a lead portion 144 connected to a ground terminal 62 on the substrate 60. On the other hand, on the lower left rear surface of the base member 10, when the card fixing member 20 slides back and forth on the base member 10, the extended portion 142 of the ground contact 140 is relative to the base member 10. A groove portion 119 is provided so as to be movable, and the protrusion 143 of the ground contact 140 is always in contact with the inner surface 119a of the groove portion 119.

  In the card connector 101 having such a configuration, in a state where the card 70 is held on the base member 10, the sheet metal (metal) card fixing member 20 is interposed via the ground contact 140 and the ground terminal 62 of the substrate 60. Therefore, the same effect as the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment described above can be obtained. Further, in the card connector 101 according to the second embodiment, the ground contact 140 is not moved while the card fixing member 20 is slid and swinged with respect to the base member 10 when the card 70 is inserted and removed. Since the protruding portion 143 maintains a state in which the protruding portion 143 is in contact with the inner surface 119a of the groove portion 119 of the base member 10, the above-described effect is surely obtained even though the card fixing member 20 is movable with respect to the base member 10. As well as the advantage that the card fixing member 20 can be prevented from being charged even when the card 70 is not mounted.

  FIG. 11 shows a card connector 201 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. A card connector 201 according to the third embodiment includes a flat base member 210 made of an electrically insulating material attached to a substrate 60, and left and right card fixing members provided at the left and right center portions of the base member 210. 220, 220, and a plurality of signal contacts 230 and a ground contact 240. Each card fixing member 220 has an inverted “L” shape in cross section as shown in the figure, and a card (shown in the first embodiment) in which the upper surface side of the base member 210 is inserted in parallel with the base member 210. The same as the card 70) is pressed against the upper surface of the base member 210 from the upper side against the elastic force of the signal contact 230 and functions to be fixedly held on the base member 210. Each signal contact 230 is held by the base member 210 and is connected to the signal terminal 61 on the substrate 60, and comes into contact with the terminal 72 of the card 70 held on the base member 210 by the card fixing members 220 and 220. It has become.

  As in the case of the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment and the card connector 101 according to the second embodiment, the ground contact 240 is the card fixing member 220, 220 with the card 70 held on the base member 210. Are electrically connected to the ground terminal 62 of the substrate 60, and are formed integrally with the left and right card fixing members 220 (or joined by welding or the like) and are electrically connected.

  In the card connector 201 according to the third embodiment having such a configuration, in the state where the card 70 is held on the base member 210, the sheet metal (metal) card fixing member 220 is connected to the ground contact 240 and the substrate. Since it is grounded via the 60 ground terminals 62, the same effect as the card connector 1 according to the first embodiment and the card connector 101 according to the second embodiment described above can be obtained. In the card connector 201 according to the third embodiment, since the card fixing member 220 is always fixed to the base member 210, the ground contact 240 is formed integrally with the card fixing member 220. Therefore, the configuration can be simplified as compared with the two connectors 1 and 101 described above.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the scope of the present invention is not limited to those shown in the above-described embodiments. For example, the number of signal contacts in the above-described embodiment is eight, but this is only an example, and the number can be set to an arbitrary number according to the number of terminals of the card. Further, the number of ground contacts is not particularly limited, and may be any number.

(A) is a perspective view of the card connector which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, (B) is an enlarged view of the area | region IB in (A). It is a top view of the said card connector. It is a bottom view of the card connector. It is sectional drawing seen from arrow IV-IV in FIG. It is a side view of the card connector which shows the procedure of mounting | wearing a card with a card connector in order of (A)-> (F). FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a single ground contact provided in the card connector. (A) is a figure which shows the state which the card | curd fixing member is located in a card | curd release position, and a slice part and a contact part are spaced apart, (B) is a card | curd fixing member located in a card | curd fixing position, and contacts a slice part. It is a figure which shows the state which is contacting the part. It is a top view of the card connector which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a bottom view of the card connector which concerns on the said 2nd Embodiment. It is a lower surface perspective view (part) which shows the attachment state of the grounding contact with which the card connector which concerns on the said 2nd Embodiment was equipped. It is a perspective view of the card connector which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Card Connector 10 Base Member 20 Card Fixing Member 30 Signal Contact 40 Ground Contact 60 Board 61 Signal Terminal 62 Ground Terminal 70 Memory Card (Card)
72 terminals

Claims (3)

A base member made of an electrically insulating material attached to a substrate;
A card fixing member made of a sheet metal provided on the base member and fixedly holding the card on the base member;
A signal contact which is held by the base member and connected to a signal terminal on the substrate, and which is in contact with a terminal of the card fixed and held on the base member by the card fixing member;
A card connector comprising: a ground contact for electrically connecting the card fixing member in a state where the card is fixed and held on the base member to a ground terminal of the substrate. The card fixing member is movable between a card releasing position for releasing the card fixed and held on the base member and a card fixing position for fixing and holding the card on the base member, and the grounding The contact for contact comes into contact with the card fixing member in a state where a flexible portion extending from a fixing portion fixed to the base member is elastically deformed by the card fixing member located at the card fixing position. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein: The card fixing member is movable between a card releasing position for releasing the card fixed and held on the base member and a card fixing position for fixing and holding the card on the base member, and the grounding The contact is characterized in that an extending portion extending from a fixing portion fixed to the base member is located in a groove portion provided in the card fixing member and is always in contact with the inner surface of the groove portion. The card connector according to claim 1.

Images