JP2006114437A - Card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card connector 10 equipped with an ejection mechanism allowing the connector to be miniaturized without increasing the number of components nor causing a cost increase even if it has the ejection mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: This card connector 10 allowing a card 54 to be detachably inserted therein and attachably extracted therefrom is obtained by allowing the insertion and extraction of the card 54 by moving, in a lock part 36, an ejection member 18 having: a fixed end fixed 24 to an insulator 12 on one end side as an insertion/extraction means for the card 54; an engagement part 20 on the other end side engaging with the nearly heart-shaped lock part 36 formed on the insulator 12 or a shell 16; and a pressing part 22 for pressing the card 54 on the side adjacent to the engagement part 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector provided with an eject mechanism for a card used in various electronic / electrical devices such as personal computers and small mobile devices, and more particularly to an eject mechanism that enables the card connector to be narrowed.

In recent years, card connectors used in electronic / electrical devices such as personal computers and small mobile devices have improved shielding effects, prevent handling of the devices, and prevent damage to cards and connectors. In order to remove the card safely and reliably, the end face of the card itself often enters the device, so the card cannot be grasped by hand and the card cannot be removed. Therefore, there is a demand for a card connector having a structure that allows the card to be removed even if the end face of the card itself has entered the device, and a card connector having an ejection mechanism as shown below has been proposed. .
According to the summary of JP-A-8-171958, even if the stopper provided on the connector body does not work, the push bar does not come off from the eject unit, and the push card can be attached to the eject unit even in a narrow space. In order to provide a connector, a hook portion is provided on one side of the push bar to be hooked on the arm bar, and a notch A is provided at a corner of the step portion on the side of the hook portion, and the push unit is provided from the front side of the eject unit. A structure is disclosed in which the push bar can be attached to the eject unit simply by moving the bar in the depth direction. According to the summary of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-237651, an object is to provide an electrical connector for a PC card that protrudes temporarily when the PC card is taken out and does not always protrude, and between the ejector and the eject bar. And a first cam portion formed on the wall surface of the operation hole, and the first cam portion moves the movable member to a locked position where the push button portion is advanced when the PC card is inserted. A circulating cam groove that holds and releases the lock by the first press of the push button portion, and returns the movable member to the lock position after guiding the ejector to the most advanced position by the second press of the push button portion when the card is removed. The second cam portion stores the pressure-receiving portion of the intermediate bar in the stepped portion space of the ejector when the card is inserted and when the first pressing is performed, and the pressure-receiving portion is contacted with the front end of the arm-shaped portion of the ejector when the second pressing is performed. Touchable Electrical connector for the PC card structure with a circulation cam groove that guides the guided shaft portion is disclosed to provide the location. According to the summary of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-283210, in an eject device for a card connector, the operation stem can be protruded only when the card needs to be ejected from the connector, and the operation stopper is retracted when the card does not need to be ejected. The operation stem control mechanism for switching the operation stem between the extended holding state and the contractible state for the purpose of being inserted, and extending and retracting the operating stem composed of the main stem and the sub stem, the stem holder, the spring body And a locking mechanism, and the locking mechanism is disclosed as a card connector having a function of positioning an operation stem at an initial position and a third position on the forward movement side. According to the summary of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-106679, the push button of the eject mechanism of the card connector can be always pushed in the card insertion direction so that it does not protrude outward. This is a connecting mechanism that is interposed between an eject lever of a card connector and a push button provided so as to be movable in the card insertion / removal direction X for the purpose of improvement, a cam plate on which a heart cam is formed, and a heart cam , A spring member for biasing necessary for the cam plate and the pin, and in the Y direction between the cam plate and the pin through the engagement of the skew cam groove constituting the heart cam and the pin. For cards structured such that relative movement occurs and the opposing part moves between a position where it can engage with the eject lever and a position where it cannot engage Connector is disclosed.

In recent years, with the miniaturization of electrical / electronic devices, there is an increasing demand for further miniaturization of connectors attached to the devices.
With such demands becoming stronger, the card connector having the structure as described above in Patent Documents 1 to 4 requires at least a space provided with an ejection mechanism for taking out the card. There is a limit to reducing the size of the card connector, and there is a problem to be solved that a card connector having an eject mechanism cannot be reduced in size.
Moreover, since the card connector having a structure as described in Patent Documents 1 to 4 has an eject mechanism, the number of parts increases, management man-hours increase, and the cost increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and even if an ejection mechanism is provided, the number of parts does not increase, the cost is not increased, and the connector can be downsized. It is intended to provide a card connector 10 provided with an eject mechanism.

  The object is the card connector 10 into which the card 54 is detachably inserted, and as the card 54 insertion / removal means, the fixed end 24 fixed to the insulator 12 on one end side and the insulation on the other end side. An eject having an engaging portion 20 that engages with a substantially heart-shaped engaging portion 36 provided on the body 12 or the char 16 and a pressing portion 22 that presses the card 54 on the side close to the engaging portion 20. This can be achieved by allowing the card 54 to be inserted / removed by moving the member 18 in the locking portion 36.

Also, the above object is a card connector 10 into which the card 54 is detachably inserted, and a plurality of contacts 14 having a contact portion 50 that contacts the card 54 and a connection portion 52 that is connected to a substrate or the like. A fitting port 26 into which the contacts 14 are arranged and held and the card 54 is inserted is provided, and guide portions 30 for guiding the card 54 to the fitting port 26 are provided on both sides in the width direction. This can also be achieved by including the insulator 12 having the substantially heart-shaped locking portion 36 on the side surface of the portion 30 and the eject member 18 having the engaging portion 20 engaged with the locking portion 36 of the insulator 12. .
In order to have a shielding effect, a metal char 16 is mounted so as to cover the insulator 12.

When the card 54 is inserted, the eject member 18 is displaced by the card 54 so that the card 54 is inserted into the fitting port 26 of the insulator 12, and when the card 54 is removed, the eject member 18 is further pushed to push the eject member 18. The card 54 is removed by the elastic force of the member 18.
Before the card 54 is inserted, the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 is positioned at the distal end portion 38 of the locking portion 36 of the shell 16 or the insulator 12, and when the card 54 is inserted, the card 54, the eject member 18 is displaced, the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 moves in the engaging portion 36, and at the stage when the insertion of the card 54 is completed, the engaging portion 20 is moved to the engaging portion. 36, when the card 54 is further pushed out, the engaging portion 20 is disengaged from the front end groove portion 44, and the locking portion is moved by the elastic force of the eject member 18. When the card 54 is removed, the engaging portion 20 returns to the distal end portion 38 of the locking portion 36 while moving along the path on the opposite side of the insertion in the inside 36.

As apparent from the above description, according to the card connector 10 of the present invention, the following excellent remarkable effects can be obtained.
(1) A card connector 10 in which a card 54 is detachably inserted, and as a card 54 insertion / extraction means, a fixed end 24 fixed to the insulator 12 on one end side, and the insulator on the other end side. An ejecting member having an engaging portion 20 that engages with a substantially heart-shaped engaging portion 36 provided on the 12 or the char 16 and a pressing portion 22 that presses the card 54 on the side close to the engaging portion 20. 18, the card 54 can be inserted / removed by moving within the locking portion 36. Therefore, the card 54 can be easily removed with a minimum number of parts, and the card connector 60 can be removed as compared with the prior art. Can be reduced by about 3 mm in the width direction, and the area occupied by the substrate can also be reduced.
(2) The card connector 10 into which the card 54 is detachably inserted, and has a plurality of contacts 14 having a contact portion 50 that contacts the card 54 and a connection portion 52 connected to a substrate or the like, and the contacts 14 is arranged and held, and a fitting port 26 into which the card 54 is inserted is provided, and guide portions 30 for guiding the card 54 to the fitting port 26 are provided on both sides in the width direction. Since the insulator 12 having the engagement portion 36 having a substantially heart shape on the side surface and the eject member 18 having the engagement portion 20 engaged with the engagement portion 36 of the insulator 12 are provided, The card 54 can be easily removed by the number of parts, and the card connector 10 can be reduced by about 3 mm in the width direction compared to the conventional case, and the board occupation area can also be reduced.
(3) In order to provide a shielding effect, the metal char is mounted so as to cover the insulator, so that the shielding effect of the card connector 10 can be enhanced, and the card can be easily used with the minimum number of parts. 54 can be removed, and the card connector 10 can be reduced by about 3 mm in the width direction compared to the conventional case, and the board occupation area can also be reduced.
(4) The card 54 is inserted into the fitting opening 26 of the insulator 12 by displacing the eject member 18 by the card 54 when the card 54 is inserted, and the eject member 18 is further pushed when the card 54 is removed. Since the card 54 is pulled out by the elastic force of the eject member 18, the card 54 can be easily pulled out by simply inserting the card 54 in the inserted state. Miniaturization is also possible, and an eject function can be provided with a minimum number of parts, leading to no increase in cost.
(5) Before the card 54 is inserted, the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 is located at the distal end portion 38 of the locking portion 36 of the shell 16 or the insulator 12, and the card 54 is inserted. When the ejecting member 18 is displaced by the card 54, the engaging portion 20 of the ejecting member 18 moves in the locking portion 36 and the insertion of the card 54 is completed, the engaging portion 20 When the card 54 is further pushed in when the card 54 is removed, the engaging part 20 is disengaged from the tip groove part 44 and is moved by the elastic force of the eject member 18. The engagement portion 20 moves back to the distal end portion 38 of the locking portion 36 when the card 54 is removed while moving along the path opposite to the insertion time in the locking portion 36. Therefore, the card 54 can be easily removed by simply inserting the card 54 in the inserted state, the card connector 10 can be miniaturized, and an eject function can be provided with a minimum number of parts. , Cost does not increase.

An embodiment of the card connector 10 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the card connector of the present invention and the card connector in a state in which the card is inserted as seen from the fitting side. 2A is a plan view before or after the card is inserted, and FIG. 2B is a side view of the state of FIG. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the stage where the card has started to be inserted, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the state of FIG. 4A is a plan view of a stage where the card is further inserted from the state of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the state of FIG. FIG. 5A is a plan view of a stage where the card is further inserted from the state of FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a side view of the state of FIG. FIG. 6A is a plan view of a state in which insertion of a card is completed, and FIG. 6B is a side view of the state of FIG. FIG. 7A is a plan view of a stage where the card is further pushed in from the state of FIG. 6 when the card is removed, and FIG. 7B is a side view of the state of FIG. FIG. 8A is a plan view of the stage where the card is removed, and FIG. 8B is a side view of the state of FIG. FIG. 9A is a plan view of the stage where the card is further removed from the state of FIG. 8, and FIG. 9B is a side view of the state of FIG.
The card connector 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention mainly includes an insulator 12, a plurality of contacts 14, an eject member 18, and a shell 16.

The eject member 18 which is the point of the present invention will be described. The eject member 18 is made of metal and is formed by a known technique of cutting or pressing, and its material is required to have springiness, workability, and dimensional stability. Therefore, beryllium copper and phosphor bronze may be mentioned. it can.
The eject member 18 has an engaging portion 20 on one end side, a fixed end 24 on the other end side, and a pressing portion 22 that presses the card 54 near the engaging portion 20 side. ing. The role of the eject member 18 is to allow the card 54 to be removed simply by pressing the card 54 when the card 54 is removed.

  The fixed end 24 of the eject member 18 is fixed to the insulator 12 by press-fitting or hooking, and the engaging portion 20 is engaged with a heart-shaped engaging portion 36 formed on the shell 16. The pressing portion 22 of the eject member 18 has a shape that protrudes toward the fitting port 26, the eject member 18 itself has elasticity, and when the pressing portion 22 is pressed by the card 54, The engaging portion 20 moves on a locking portion 36 having a heart shape. The eject member 18 is as shown in FIG. 2 before the card 54 is inserted, and as shown in FIG. 6 when the card 54 is completely inserted. That is, the position of the eject member 18 is appropriately designed so that the eject member 18 does not come into contact with the contact 14 when the eject member 18 is moved.

Next, the insulator 12 will be described. The insulator 12 is an electrically insulating plastic, and is manufactured by a known technique of injection molding. The material is appropriately selected in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, cost, etc. Generally, polybutylene is used. Examples thereof include terephthalate (PBT), polyamide (66PA, 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC), and synthetic materials thereof.
The insulator 12 mainly has a main body portion 28 and two guide portions 30 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the main body portion 28. The main body portion 28 and the two guide portions arranged in a substantially U shape. 30, the fitting portion 34 into which the card 54 enters is formed. A fitting port 26 into which the card 54 is inserted is formed in the main body 28 of the insulator 12, and a plurality of insertion holes 32 are provided for holding and arranging the plurality of contacts 14 so as to protrude into the fitting port 26. It has been. A fixing hole for fixing the fixing end 24 of the eject member 18 is provided on one side wall in the fitting port 26. The fixed end 24 is fixed to the fixing hole by press fitting or hooking.

The guide portion 30 is provided with a substantially U-shaped guide groove 31 for guiding the card 54 to the fitting opening 26. The size of the guide groove 31 is appropriately designed so that the card 54 can be inserted.
One guide portion 30 is provided with a substantially heart-shaped locking portion 36 for engaging with the eject member 18. The engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 is engaged with the engaging portion 36, and the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 moves the engaging portion 36, whereby the card 54 can be inserted and removed. It has become. The size of the engaging portion 36 is appropriately designed so that the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 can move smoothly, and the card 54 can be removed by moving, so that the connector 10 can be miniaturized.
As the position where the locking portion 36 is formed, the card 54 can be removed by the eject member 18, and the card 14 does not come into contact with the contact 14 when the eject member 18 is moving. When the card 54 is inserted, the card 54 and the contact 14 are properly designed so as to be surely connected.
In this embodiment, the locking portion 36 is a substantially heart-shaped concave groove, and the engaging portion 20 of the eject 18 is engaged.

Next, the shell 16 will be described. The shell 16 is made of metal, and is manufactured by a known press working. As the material of the shell 16, dimensional stability, workability, and the like are required, and examples thereof include brass, beryllium copper, and phosphor bronze.
The shell 16 is for increasing the shielding effect, covers the insulator 12, and is fixed to the insulator 12 by hooking or press-fitting.
The shell 16 has a substantially box shape, and includes a side wall 54 that covers the guide portion 30 of the insulator 12 and an upper wall 56 that connects the side wall 54. The upper wall 56 is provided with a hole 60 for confirming the mounting state of the card.

  In order to reinforce the locking portion 36 of the insulator 12, the shell 16 is formed with a protrusion having a shape partially cut and raised at a position corresponding to the locking portion 36 during press working. May be provided with a hole into which the protrusion is inserted.

  Next, the contact 14 will be described. The contact 14 is made of metal and is manufactured by a known press working. The material of the contact 14 is required to be springy or conductive, and can include brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze, and the like.

  The contact 14 mainly includes a contact portion 50 connected to the card 54, a fixed portion fixed to the insulator 12, and a connection portion 52 connected to a substrate or the like. The contact portion 50 protrudes into the fitting port 26 of the insulator 12. The fixing portion is fixed to the insertion hole 32 of the insulator 12 by press fitting, hooking, welding or the like. In the present embodiment, the connection portion 52 is a surface mount (SMT) type, but it may be a dip type.

Finally, the movement of the eject member 18 when the card is inserted and removed will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 2 to 9, in order to easily understand how the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 moves in the engaging portion 36 of the insulator 12, The engaging portion 20 is shown by a solid line (originally a broken line).
First, the insertion will be described. First, as a state before the card 54 is inserted, as shown in FIG. 2B, the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 has a substantially heart-shaped locking portion. 36, the pressing portion 22 of the eject member 18 is curved as a quarter R as shown in FIG. 2 (A).
Second, when the card 54 starts to be inserted, the pressing portion 22 of the eject member 18 is pushed down toward the contact 14 (right direction in the figure) by the card 54 as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 moves on the inclined portion 39 of the locking portion 36 having a substantially heart shape.
Third, when the card 54 is further inserted, the pressing portion 22 of the eject member 18 is further pushed down toward the contact 14 (right direction in the figure) by the card 54 as shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 has a lower end portion (B portion) 40 of a substantially heart-shaped engaging portion 36 in the contact 14 direction (right direction in the figure). )
Fourth, when the card is further inserted from the third state, the engaging portion 36 gets over the lower top portion (C portion) 42 as shown in FIG. 5B, and the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 is moved. Falls in the direction of the tip groove (D portion) 44 of the locking portion 36 having a substantially heart shape.
Fifth, as the state in which the card 54 is completely inserted, the engagement portion 20 of the eject member 18 has a substantially heart shape as shown in FIG. 6B from the fourth state. The insertion is completed by dropping into the tip groove portion (D portion) 44. Thus, when the engaging part 20 falls into the tip groove part (D part) 44, the engaging part 20 does not move.

Next, the removal will be described. Sixth, when the card 54 is further inserted in the direction of the contact 14 (right direction in the figure) as shown in FIG. 7A from the fifth state, the card 54 ejects the card. The pressing portion 22 of the member 18 is pressed, and the engaging portion 20 gets over the upper top portion (E portion) 46 as shown in FIG. 7B by the elastic force of the eject member 18.
Seventh, since the card 54 is pushed up in the direction of the fitting port 26 by the eject member 18 from the sixth state, the engaging portion 20 has a substantially heart-shaped locking portion as shown in FIG. It moves to the upper end part (F part) 48 of 36.
Eighth, in the seventh state, due to the elastic force of the eject member 18, the engaging portion 20 moves in the direction opposite to the insertion direction of the card 54 (left direction in the figure), as shown in FIG. Thus, the inclined portion 39 is moved from the upper end portion (F portion) 48.
To do.
Ninth, when the card 54 has been completely removed, the state returns to the first state, and the engaging portion 20 of the eject member 18 is formed at the tip (A portion) 38 of the locking portion 36 having a substantially heart shape. Return to position.

  In another embodiment, the card connector (not shown) of the present invention mainly includes an insulator, a contact 14 and an eject member 18. The card connector is obtained by removing the shell 16 from the card connector 10 described above, and the other structure is the same as that of the card connector 10 described above.

  Although not shown, yet another embodiment will be described. The card connector includes an insulator, a contact 14, a char, and an eject member 18. Here, since the contact 14 and the eject member 18 have the same structure, description thereof is omitted. First, the insulator has a structure in which the guide portion 30 is removed from the insulator 12 described above. As the shell, the guide portion 30 excluding the shell is configured, and a locking portion having a substantially heart shape is provided in the guide portion of one shell. The locking portion is formed by attaching another part to a predetermined position by press-fitting or welding.

  As an application example of the present invention, it is used for a card connector 10 having an ejection mechanism for a card 54 used in various electronic / electric devices such as personal computers and small mobile devices, and in particular, the card connector 10 can be made narrower. It relates to the eject mechanism.

It is a perspective view of the card connector of the state in which the card connector and card | curd of this invention seen from the fitting side were inserted. (A) It is a top view before the card is inserted or after it is removed. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). (A) It is a top view of the stage which the card | curd began to insert. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). (A) It is a top view of the stage which inserted the card | curd further from the state of FIG. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). (A) It is a top view of the stage which inserted the card | curd further from the state of FIG. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). (A) It is a top view in the state where insertion of a card was completed. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). (A) It is a top view of the stage which pushed in the card | curd further from the state of FIG. 6 when removing a card | curd. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). (A) It is a top view in the stage where the card is removed. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A). FIG. 9A is a plan view of a stage where the card is further removed from the state of FIG. 8. (B) It is a side view of the state of (A).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Card connector 12 Insulator 14 Contact 16 Shell 18 Eject member 20 Engagement part 22 Press part 24 Fixed end 26 Fitting port 28 Main part 30 Guide part 31 Guide groove 32 Insertion hole 34 Fitting part 36 Locking part 38 Tip part ( A part)
39 Inclined part 40 Lower end part (B part)
42 Lower top (C section)
44 Tip groove (D)
46 Top (E part)
48 Upper end (F part)
50 Contact portion 52 Connection portion 54 Card 56 Side wall 58 Upper wall 60 Hole

Claims (5)

A card connector in which a card is detachably inserted, and as a card insertion / extraction means, a fixed end that is fixed to an insulator on one end side, and a substantially heart shape that is provided on the insulator or char on the other end side An eject member having an engaging portion that engages with the engaging portion and a pressing portion that presses the card on the side close to the engaging portion is moved in the engaging portion to insert and remove the card. A card connector characterized by enabling. A card connector into which a card is detachably inserted, and has a plurality of contacts each having a contact portion that comes into contact with the card and a connection portion that is connected to a substrate or the like, and the contacts are arranged and held and the card An insulator having a locking portion having a substantially heart shape on a side surface of one of the guide portions, and a guide portion for guiding the card to the fitting port is provided on both sides in the width direction. A card connector comprising: an ejecting member having an engaging portion that engages with a locking portion of the insulator. 3. The card connector according to claim 2, wherein a metal char is mounted so as to cover the insulator so as to have a shielding effect. When the card is inserted, the card is inserted into the fitting opening of the insulator by displacing the eject member by the card, and when the card is removed, the card is pushed by the elastic force of the eject member by further pressing the eject member. 4. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the card connector is pulled out. Before the card is inserted, the engaging portion of the eject member is located at the tip of the engaging portion of the shell or the insulator, and when the card is inserted, the eject member is displaced by the card, When the engaging part of the eject member moves in the locking part and the insertion of the card is completed, the engaging part is positioned in a leading end groove part of the locking part, and when the card is removed, When the card is further pushed in, the engaging portion is disengaged from the leading end groove portion, and the engagement member moves in the opposite direction to the inside of the engaging portion by the elastic force of the ejecting member, and the engagement is performed when the card is removed. The card connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the portion returns to the tip of the locking portion.

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