JP2006172768A - Card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to suitably utilize a card without applying any special workmanship, and furthermore prevent simultaneous insertion of a plurality of cards in using a plurality kind of cards different in thickness, width, and size or the like when inserting them into the same card connector and using them. <P>SOLUTION: This is provided with a first contact to be electrically contacted with a first card to be inserted, a second contact to be electrically contacted with a second card to be inserted, the connector main body at which the first contact and the second contact are arranged and installed, a cover member combined with the connector main body, and a partitioning member to form a plurality of slots in a connector housing formed by the connector main body and the cover member. A simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism having a shutter member to inhibit insertion of either one of the cards to be inserted into the slot is installed at the partitioning member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector of an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a television, a video, a personal computer, and a digital camera, and more particularly to a card connector having slots that are divided into upper and lower so that a plurality of types of cards can be used. It is.

In electronic devices such as mobile phones, televisions, videos, personal computers, and digital cameras, various types of IC cards have been developed in which IC components called IC chips for CPUs and memories are incorporated.
Generally, a card connector is used to electrically connect various IC cards to an electronic device.

  As for this card connector, it is desired that a plurality of different types of cards can be used depending on the convenience of consumers, and a card connector capable of using a plurality of types of IC cards has been developed.

  When a plurality of cards are used simultaneously, a recognition switch is provided on the card connector side, and the signal of the recognition switch is recognized by an electronic circuit provided in the electronic device (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-313107 A

  However, when a plurality of cards are not used at the same time depending on the electronic device used, for example, in an electronic device in which two types of cards can be used, since the cards are inserted into the card connector one by one and used, Switches, electronic circuits on the electronic device side, etc. are usually not provided.

Therefore, if the user mistakenly inserts a plurality of types of cards at the same time, the plurality of types of cards into which the electronic device is inserted cannot be recognized, which may cause a failure.
In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a card simultaneous insertion prevention mechanism capable of preventing simultaneous insertion of a plurality of cards by mistake and a card connector including the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, a card connector according to the present invention includes a connector main body provided with a plurality of contacts, a cover member combined with the connector main body, and a connector constituted by the connector main body and the cover member. The connector housing has a plurality of slots formed by a partition member, and a card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism having a shutter member is disposed in the partition member.

  The card connector of the present invention has a card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism in which a shutter member that can be elastically displaced up and down is formed on a partition member that forms a slot into which a plurality of cards are inserted. Therefore, according to the present invention, when a card is inserted into one of the slots, the shutter member of the card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism protrudes into the other slot so that another card can be prevented from being inserted simultaneously. is there.

  The card connector according to the present invention basically has a card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism provided with a shutter member that is elastically displaceable up and down in a partition member that forms a slot into which a plurality of cards are respectively inserted.

  Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 to FIG. 11 are diagrams showing the configuration of an embodiment of the card connector of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the card connector of the present invention as viewed from the card insertion slot side, and FIG. 1 is a plan view of the card connector of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an end view of the card connector of the present invention as viewed from the card insertion slot side, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the card connector of the present invention of FIG. 1 with the cover member removed, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the card connector of the present invention of FIG. 1 with the cover member removed, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the card connector of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the shutter member, and FIG. 10 is a shutter member of FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view of the shutter member.

  The card connector of the present invention will be described assuming that, for example, an MS duo card and a miniSD card (both are trade names) can be used in common. Further, these MS duo card and miniSD card used in the present invention are hereinafter simply referred to as “first card” and “second card”. The “first card” MS duo card is a card with a long outer dimension length, and the “second card” miniSD card is a card with a short outer dimension length. The MS of the first card and the second card Both the duo card and the miniSD card have the same outer width and the same thickness.

  Of course, the first card and the second card are not limited to the MS duo card and the miniSD card, but can be appropriately used for other IC cards.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a card connector 1 according to the present invention includes a connector main body 2 having a card insertion slot 14 at one end, a cover member 3 combined with the connector main body 2, and the connector main body 2 and the cover. The connector housing formed by the member 3 is divided into two, and the basic structure is composed of a partition member 4 that forms two slots, and a plurality of first contacts 5 and second contacts 6 disposed in the connector main body 2. Has been.

  A feature of the present invention is that a simultaneous card insertion preventing mechanism 7 for preventing simultaneous insertion of cards into slots into which the first card and the second card are inserted is provided.

  In the embodiment of the card connector, the first card ejection mechanism 8, the second card ejection mechanism 9, and the card ejection prevention mechanism 10 are provided. Needless to say.

Next, each configuration will be described.
In the card connector 1 of the present invention having such a structure, the connector main body 2 and the cover member 3 are combined to form a connector housing as a flat and thin casing. The connector housing is open at one end and is provided with a card insertion slot 14. For example, an upper slot 11 and a lower slot 12 for inserting the first card A and the second card B are divided in the middle. It is partitioned by the member 4 and divided. Therefore, for example, the first card A is inserted into the upper slot 11 partitioned by the partition member 4, and the second card B is inserted into the lower slot 12.

  The partition member 4 is configured by pressing a metal plate. The partition member 4 is provided so as to be positioned approximately in the middle of the internal space of the connector housing formed by combining the connector main body 2 and the cover member 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the partition member 4 includes a shutter member 10 of the card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism 7 and a bent portion 38 at the front portion. The bent portion 38 has a flange-like shape that is bent substantially at a right angle downward in the middle of the partition member 4. By the way, the bent portion 38 is provided with a plurality of laterally elongated openings 39 (FIG. 3). Through the opening 39, the protrusion 25 on the front side of the stepped portion 24 of the connector body 2 is fitted and engaged. Further, the partition member 4 is provided with press-fitting claws 41 and 42 on both sides, and a press-fitting claw 43 is provided on the rear end. The press-fitting claws 41, 42, 43 are fitted into the corresponding grooves 44, 45, 46 between the side walls 21, 22 and the end wall 23 of the connector body 2, respectively, so that the partition member 4 is connected to the connector body 2 is attached.

  Further, the partition member 4 has a first slide hole 47 that is a long and narrow hole for sliding for the first eject mechanism 8 and a second slide hole 48 that is a long and narrow hole for sliding for the second eject mechanism 9. And are provided.

  Further, the partition member 4 is provided with a bent piece 49 formed so as to be bent substantially at a right angle downward.

  The bent piece 49 serves to prevent erroneous insertion of a card that prevents the card from being inserted and erroneously inserted when the second card B inserted into the lower slot 12 is turned over.

  Thus, the partition member 4 is comprised from the flat metal plate like illustration. The partition member 4 is provided with a shutter member 10 of the card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism 7 at a front portion thereof. In particular, the shutter member 10 includes an engagement portion 15 elongated in the lateral direction and a pair of arm portions 16 that elastically support the engagement portion 15. The cross-sectional shape in the vertical direction of the engaging portion 15 is configured to form an enlarged portion having an arbitrary shape such as a wedge shape, a bullet shape, a circular shape, an oval shape, or a rhombus shape. Therefore, the engaging portion 15 is thicker than the plate thickness of the partition member 4. As a result, the engaging portion 15 has a shape protruding upward and downward with respect to the partition member 4. Further, the engaging portion 15 is elastically supported by a pair of arm portions 16 formed so as to be disposed at an interval, and is formed so as to be elastically displaced in the vertical direction with respect to the partition member 4. .

  Furthermore, the shutter member 10 can be formed integrally with the partition member 4 or as a separate body. For example, the shutter member 10 can be provided on the partition member 4 by pressing a metal plate-like member and then welding or bonding the protruding portion in the vertical direction of the engaging portion 15 later.

  Further, the partition member 4 including the shutter member 10 can be made of a synthetic resin material such as plastic.

  The connector main body 2 of the card connector 1 has a substantially rectangular plate-like base portion 20, side walls 21 and 22 provided on both sides of the base portion 20, and an end wall 23 at one end portion. With this configuration, the base portion 20 of the connector main body 2 is surrounded on three sides by the side walls 21 and 22 and the end wall 23. A stepped portion 24 that is one step higher is provided at the rear portion of the connector body 2. In the stepped portion 24, a plurality of first contacts 5 for the first card A are provided in parallel on the base portion 20. Further, in the stepped portion 24, a plurality of second contacts 6 for the second card B are positioned at a position lower than the first contact 5 on the base portion 20 in front of the first contact 5. Are provided in parallel.

  A stepped portion 24 that is one step higher is provided behind the base portion 20. A plurality of first contacts 5 that are in electrical contact with the first card A are provided in parallel in the stepped portion 24. In addition, a plurality of second contacts 6 that are in electrical contact with the second card are provided in front of the base portion 20 in parallel with the lower positions than the first contacts 5.

  The cover member 3 can be attached to the connector body 2 as follows. That is, the openings 30 formed in the bent side walls 3A and 3B on both sides of the cover member 3 and the end wall 3C in the rear part are substantially triangular in cross section formed on the outer surfaces of the side walls 21 and 22 of the connector body 2. And snapped onto the projection 29.

  Further, the card connector 1 is provided with a first eject mechanism 8 for ejecting the first card and a second eject mechanism 9 for ejecting the second card along the side wall 22 side. The first and second eject mechanisms 8 and 9 include eject members 31 and 33 that are slidable to release the first card A and the second card B, and spring members 32 that press the eject members 31 and 33, respectively. 34.

  That is, the first eject mechanism 8 for discharging the first card A is provided so as to press the eject member 31 and the substantially L-shaped eject member 31 that slides on the partition member 4 along the side wall 22. And a spring member 32 such as a coil spring. A part of the guide member on the lower surface of the eject member 31 is guided along the groove 35 of the connector body 2 through the first slide hole 47 of the partition member 4.

  Similarly, the second eject mechanism 9 for discharging the second card B is an eject that forms a substantially L-shaped card receiving portion that slides along the side wall 22 below the partition member 4 and on the base portion 20. A member 33 and a spring member 34 such as a coil spring provided to press the eject member 33 are provided. Further, the eject member 33 has a protrusion 40 that engages with the second slide hole 48. Thus, when the protrusion 40 slides along the second slide hole 48, the eject member 33 has a lower portion and one side surface portion that are recessed in the base portion 20 via the second slide hole 48 of the partition member 4. Guided along the portion 36 and the laterally recessed portion 37 of the side wall 22.

  Further, in the card connector 1, the plurality of first contacts 5 arranged on the stepped portion 24 on the rear side of the base portion 20 of the connector main body 2 are arranged in the lateral direction. The first contact 5 includes an elastic contact portion 5a on the rear free end side that is bent in a substantially arc shape, an intermediate fixing portion 5b that is pushed into the groove 26 of the stepped portion 24, and a rear side. Terminal portion 5c extending outwardly through a hole 28 in the end wall 23 and bent substantially at a right angle.

  In addition, a plurality of other second contacts 6 are provided in the lateral direction in the front portion of the base portion 20 of the connector body 2. The second contact 6 includes an inner elastic contact portion 6a that is bent in a substantially arc shape on the free end side, and an intermediate fixing portion 6b that is inserted and fitted into the groove 27 in the front portion of the base portion 20. And at the front end wall 23 of the base portion 20, it is formed to have a terminal portion 6 c that is bent at a substantially right angle into a crank shape and faces outward.

  Accordingly, the first contact 5 and the second contact 6 are fixed to each other by being pressed into the grooves 26 and 27 of the base portion 20 at the intermediate fixing portions 5b and 6b, respectively, and elastic contact portions 5a and 6a. Are arranged to face each other. Furthermore, the first contact 5 and the second contact 6 are located at different heights in the positions of the elastic contact portions 5a and 6a. The first contact 5 is at a high position above, and the second contact 6 is at a low position below.

  Further, a card pop-out prevention mechanism 17 is provided in a front portion of the side wall 22 on one side of the connector main body 3 on the card insertion opening 14 side. In the card pop-out prevention mechanism 17, the slide member 18 formed in a shape as shown in the drawing moves laterally along the mount portion 19 formed at the front portion of the side wall 22 with respect to the card insertion opening 14. It is provided with elastic biasing as possible. The slide member 18 is always pressed so as to be located on the inner side.

  Such a card pop-out prevention mechanism 17 is configured such that the slide member 18 is laterally outward when the tip corners of the first card A and the second card B to be inserted come into contact with the inclined surfaces of the corners of the slide member 18. Pressed. Thereafter, when the first card A and the second card B are completely inserted, the slide member 18 is pushed inward by the built-in spring member (not shown) and moves. In this way, the inner surface of the slide member 18 abuts against the end surfaces of the first card A and the second card B, thereby acting to prevent the inserted first card A and second card B from jumping out. Is.

  The case where the first card A and the second card B are used in the card connector 1 of the present invention configured as described above will be described below.

  In the card connector 1 of the present invention, usage states of the first card A and the second card B are shown in FIGS. FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the card connector 1 of the present invention with the first card A inserted, with the cover member removed, and FIG. 13 is a central longitudinal sectional view in the longitudinal direction. FIG. 14 is a similar plan view showing the card connector 1 of the present invention with the second card B inserted, with the cover member removed, and FIG. 15 is a central longitudinal sectional view in the longitudinal direction.

  In the card connector 1 of the present invention, when the first card A is used, first, the first card A is inserted into the upper slot 11 as shown in FIGS. In the insertion of the first card A, the front end of the first card A hits the inclined surface of the chamfered corner of the slide member 18 of the card pop-out prevention mechanism 17 and presses the slide member 18 outward in the lateral direction. The first card A is inserted into the upper slot 11. When the first card A is inserted into the upper slot 11, the leading end of the first card A hits the engaging portion 15 of the shutter member 10 of the partition member 4, and the engaging portion 15 is pushed downward to empty the lower portion. The engaging portion 15 is pushed into the slot 12.

  If the first card A is further inserted, the corner portion of the front end portion of the first card A comes into contact with the card receiving portion of the substantially L-shaped eject member 31 and presses the eject member 31. At this time, the eject member 31 compresses the spring member 32 and slides further back.

  When the first card A is completely inserted, the slide member 18 of the card pop-out prevention mechanism 17 is moved inward to contact the rear end of the first card A to prevent the first card A from popping out. To come. Thus, the state in which the pad portion of the first card A is in good electrical contact with the elastic contact portion 5a of the first contact 5 is maintained, and the first card A can be continuously used. .

  Even if the first card A is inserted into the upper slot 11 of the card connector 1 and another card is accidentally inserted into the empty lower slot 12, the leading end of the card is engaged. 15, the card cannot be inserted into the lower slot 12, and the simultaneous insertion of the cards can be satisfactorily prevented.

  Next, as described above, in order to take out the first card A attached to the card connector 1 of the present invention, the following is performed. By pushing the slide member 18 of the card pop-out preventing mechanism 17 outwardly and laterally, the slide member 18 is detached from the rear end portion of the first card A and the first card A becomes free. At this time, since the eject member 32 is pushed and slid by the spring force of the spring member 32 of the first eject mechanism 8, the first card A is pushed out and discharged outward. The first card A can be completely removed from the card connector 1 by grasping the end of the first card A thus pushed out.

  Further, when the second card B, which is a card having a short outer dimension, is used, when the second card B is inserted into the card connector 1 of the present invention, the leading end of the second card B is The second card B can be inserted into the lower slot 12 by contacting the inclined surface of the chamfered corner of the slide member 18 of the card pop-out prevention mechanism 17 and pressing the slide member 18 laterally outward. . When the second card B is inserted into the lower slot 12, the tip of the second card B comes into contact with the engaging portion 15 of the shutter member 10 of the partition member 4, and the engaging portion 15 is pushed upward to empty. It acts to push up the engaging portion 15 into the upper slot 11 of the upper portion.

  If the second card B is further inserted, the corner of the tip of the second card B abuts the card receiving portion of the substantially L-shaped eject member 33 and presses the eject member 33. At this time, the eject member 33 compresses the spring member 34 and slides further back.

  When the second card B is completely inserted, similarly, the slide member 18 of the card pop-out prevention mechanism 17 is moved inward and comes into contact with the rear end portion of the second card B so that the second card B Prevents popping out. Accordingly, the state in which the pad portion of the second card B is in good electrical contact with the elastic contact portion 6a of the second contact 6 is maintained, and the second card B can be used subsequently. .

  Even if the second card B is inserted into the lower slot 12 of the card connector 1 and another card is accidentally inserted into the vacant upper slot 11, the leading end of the card is engaged. 15, the card cannot be inserted into the upper slot 11, and the simultaneous insertion of the cards can be satisfactorily prevented.

  Thus, in order to take out the second card B attached to the card connector 1 of the present invention, the second card B can be suitably taken out by performing the same operation as in the case of the first card A described above.

  Thus, in the card connector of the present invention, a single card connector can be used in common for a plurality of types of large and small cards having different sizes without any trouble, and can be used for a plurality of slots. Simultaneous insertion of cards can be prevented. Further, according to the present invention, the card connector itself can be manufactured by combining the connector body and the cover member with a flat and thin connector housing, and the card connector itself can be manufactured in a low profile and in a thin shape. Therefore, it can be suitably used for various electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a television, a video, a personal computer, and a digital camera. Although the present embodiment has been described with two slots, it is needless to say that the present invention may include two or more slots.

  The card connector of the present invention can be used for electronic devices such as mobile phones, televisions, videos, personal computers, and digital cameras.

It is the whole perspective view which looked at the card connector of the present invention from the card slot side. It is a top view of the card connector of this invention of FIG. It is the end elevation which looked at the card connector of the present invention from the card insertion slot side. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2. It is a top view which removes the cover member and shows the card connector of this invention of FIG. It is a perspective view which removes the cover member and shows the card connector of this invention of FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the card connector of FIG. 5 with a shutter member removed. It is a perspective view of the card connector of FIG. It is a perspective view of the shutter member of the card connector of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the shutter member of FIG. 9. FIG. 10 is a side view of the shutter member of FIG. 9 and is an enlarged view showing a state where the engaging portion of the shutter member is displaced. It is a top view which removes a cover member and shows a card connector when a 1st card | curd is inserted in the upper slot of the card connector of this invention. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view in the longitudinal center of the card connector of the present invention in FIG. 12. It is a top view which removes a cover member and shows a card connector when a 2nd card | curd is inserted in the lower slot of the card connector of this invention. It is a longitudinal direction center longitudinal cross-sectional view of the card connector of this invention of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector 2 Connector main body 3 Cover member 4 Partition member 5 1st contact 6 2nd contact 7 Card simultaneous insertion prevention mechanism 8 1st ejection mechanism 9 2nd ejection mechanism 10 Shutter member 11 Upper slot 12 Lower slot 14 Card insertion slot 15 Engagement part 16 Arm part 17 Pop-out prevention mechanism 18 Slide member 19 Mount part 20 Base part 21, 22 Side wall 23 End wall 24 Stepped part 25 Projection part 26, 27 Groove 28 Hole 29 Projection part 30 Opening part 31 Eject member 31 Spring member 33 Eject member 34 Spring member 35 Groove 36, 37 Recessed portion 38 Bent portion 39 Opening portion 40 Protrusion 41, 42, 43 Press-fit claw 44, 45, 46 Groove portion 47 First slide hole 48 Second slide hole 49 Bent One piece (for wrong insertion prevention)
A 1st card B 2nd card

Claims (3)

A connector body provided with a plurality of contacts;
A cover member to be combined with the connector body;
A connector housing constituted by the connector body and the cover member;
A card connector, wherein a plurality of slots are formed by a partition member in the connector housing, and a card simultaneous insertion preventing mechanism having a shutter member is disposed in the partition member.   The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member includes an engaging portion that projects in a vertical direction of the partition member, and an arm portion that elastically supports the engaging portion. The card connector according to claim 2, wherein the engaging portion is formed to have a size larger than a thickness of the partition member.

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