JP2007241416A - Storage device and electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a storage device and electronic equipment, allowing insertion of a narrow card into a wide slot in a stable state. <P>SOLUTION: This storage device 10 has: a storage part 13 capable of storing a first card device 12 or a second card device 22 having a wide part wider than the first card device 12; a first door 18 provided in the storage part 13, and opened in time of insertion/extraction of the first card device 12; and a second door 28 provided in the storage part 13, and opened in time of insertion/extraction of the second card device 22 together with the first door 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a storage device and an electronic apparatus.

  In recent years, notebook PCs have been provided with slots for storing and holding an express card, which is a storage medium.

  The express card has a standard called Express Card / 34 and a standard called Express Card / 54 which are different in width and shape of the card.

  The Express Card / 34 card is a rectangular card having the same width of 34 mm from the front side to the back side and a length of 75 mm.

  The Express Card / 54 card has a wide part with a width of 54 mm and a length of 53 mm on the front side and a narrow part with a width of 34 mm and a length of 22 mm on the back side, and the overall length is 75 mm. The card is formed in a substantially L shape.

  The card of the Express Card / 34 and the card of the Express Card / 54 have the same thickness and standard of connectors provided on the back side. For this reason, the Express card can arbitrarily select and connect either the Express Card / 34 card or the Express Card / 54 card to the same connector.

  Because the standard of the connector is the same, the slot for storing and holding the conventional Express card can arbitrarily store either the Express Card / 34 card or the Express Card / 54 card in one slot. Things are known.

  That is, as a slot for storing and holding a conventional express card, the width of the opening for inserting the card in the slot is approximately 54 mm, which allows insertion / removal of either an Express Card / 34 card or an Express Card / 54 card. It is also known that a connector common to the Express Card / 34 and Express Card / 54 cards is provided, and a single shutter is provided in the opening to prevent dust from entering.

  However, since the conventional slot has a wide portion that can store an Express Card / 54 card on the front side of the storage portion, the Express Card / 34 card connected to the connector is rattled at the wide portion. There was a risk that the card would fall out due to the loose connector.

  On the other hand, the following conventional techniques have been disclosed.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-243434) discloses a first insertion port into which a first card having a first cross-sectional shape can be inserted, and a second insertion port into which a second card having a different cross-sectional shape can be inserted. A connector housing comprising: a closed posture in which both the first insertion port and the second insertion port are closed, and a posture changeable between a selection opening posture in which only one of them is in an open state, A selector posture determining means comprising a selector biased to a closed posture, and setting the selector in the closed posture to a selected opening posture in which the insertion slot corresponding to the cross-section formation of the card inserted along with the card insertion operation is open Is disclosed.
JP 2005-243434 A

  However, the card connector described in Patent Document 1 does not insert a wide card and a narrow card such as the Express Card / 34 and Express Card / 54 cards into the same slot. It does not eliminate the card dropout by restricting the horizontal play of the card when a narrow card is inserted.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage device and an electronic apparatus in which a narrow card can be stably inserted into a wide slot.

  In order to solve the above problem, a storage device according to claim 1 is a storage unit capable of storing a first card device or a second card device having a wider portion than the first card device; A first door provided in the storage portion and opened when the first card device is inserted and removed, and a first door provided in the storage portion and opened together with the first door when the second card device is inserted and removed. 2 doors.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus according to a fourth aspect, wherein the first card device or a second card device having a wider portion than the first card device can be stored; A first door that is opened when the first card device is inserted and removed; a second door that is provided in the storage portion and is opened together with the first door when the second card device is inserted and removed; And a controller for controlling the first card device or the second card device.

  It is possible to provide a storage device and an electronic apparatus in which a narrow card can be stably inserted into a wide slot.

  Embodiments of a storage device and an electronic apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electronic apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

  The electronic apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a notebook personal computer, but may be a laptop personal computer. In this electronic apparatus 1, a lid 5 having a display unit 4 such as a display panel is rotatably connected to a housing 2 via a hinge unit 3. An input means 6 such as a keyboard is provided on the upper surface of the housing 2. The hinge means 3 electrically and mechanically connects the lid 5 to the housing 2.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the electronic device 1.

  A housing device 10 is built in the housing 2 of the electronic device 1. An opening 32 of the storage device 10 is formed on the side wall 38 of the housing 2. In addition, the first door 18 and the second door 28 are provided in the opening 32 of the storage device 10.

  The storage device 10 will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the storage device 10.

  The storage device 10 includes a card storage box 31 having a first storage unit 13 that can arbitrarily select and store the first card device 12 or the second card device 22.

  Here, the first card device 12 is a card-like electronic storage medium that is narrower than the second card device 22. The first card device 12 is, for example, a card formed in a rectangular shape with substantially the same width from the front side to the back side as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the width of the first card device 12 is indicated by a symbol A.

  In the first card device 12, a connecting portion (not shown) that can be electrically and mechanically connected to the connector 51 provided in the first storage portion 13 is provided on the front end surface 12 </ b> C.

  The first card device 12 is, for example, an Express Card / 34 card formed with substantially the same 34 mm width from the front side to the back side.

  The second card device 22 is a card-like electronic storage medium having a wider portion wider than that of the first card device 12. The second card device 22 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a wide portion 22a wider than the first card device 12 on the front side and a narrow portion having substantially the same width as the first card device 12 on the back side. This card has 22b and is formed in a substantially L shape.

  In FIG. 5, the width of the wide portion 22 a is indicated by a symbol B, and the width of the narrow portion 22 b is indicated by a symbol C. The width C of the narrow portion 22 b of the second card device 22 is substantially the same as the width A of the first card device 12.

  In the second card device 22, a connecting portion (not shown) that can be electrically and mechanically connected to the connector 51 provided in the first storage portion 13 is provided on the front end surface 22 </ b> C.

  The second card device 22 has, for example, a wide portion 22a having a width of 54 mm and a length of 53 mm on the front side, and a narrow portion 22b having a width of 34 mm and a length of 22 mm on the back side. It is an Express Card / 54 card formed in a substantially L shape at 75 mm.

  The first storage unit 13 is a space in which the first card device 12 or the second card device 22 can be arbitrarily selected and stored.

  In FIG. 3, the first storage portion 13 is surrounded by the top plate 41 and the upper and lower partition walls 42 in the vertical direction, and the first door 18 and the second door 28, the left side plate 43, and the back in the horizontal direction. The cross section surrounded by the face plate 44, the upper rear right side face plate 45, the upper right oblique rear face plate 46 and the right side face plate 47 is shown as a deformed hexagonal space.

  The first storage portion 13 is formed with a wide portion 14 of the first storage portion, a guide portion 15 of the first storage portion, and a narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion from the front side.

  The wide portion 14 of the first storage portion is a space formed between the left side plate 43 and the right side plate 47 in the first storage portion 13.

  In the wide portion 14 of the first storage portion, the separation distance X between the left side plate 43 and the right side plate 47 is substantially the same value as the width B of the wide portion 22a of the second card device 22, The wide portion 22a of the second card device 22 can be stored.

  The guide portion 15 of the first storage portion is a space formed between the left side plate 43 and the upper right diagonal rear surface plate 46 in the first storage portion 13.

  The guide portion 15 of the first storage portion is a narrow portion of the second card device 22 by an upper right oblique rear surface plate 46 that is provided continuously connecting the upper rear right surface plate 45 and the right side surface plate 47. The front end portion of 22b can be guided to the narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion.

  The narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion is a space formed between the left side plate 43 and the upper rear right side plate 45 in the first storage portion 13.

  The narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion is such that the separation distance Y between the left side plate 43 and the upper rear right side plate 45 is such that the width A of the first card device 12 and the narrow portion of the second card device 22. The width C is substantially the same as the width C of 22b, and the narrow portion 22b of the first card device 12 or the second card device 22 can be stored.

  The back end 17 of the first storage unit 13 is provided with a connector 51 that can be arbitrarily selected and connected to either the first card device 12 or the second card device. FIG. 3 schematically shows the connector 51.

  The card storage box 31 is connected to the first card device 12 and the second card via the partition wall 42 so as to overlap the first storage unit 13 that stores the first card device 12 or the second card device 22. The second storage unit 23 stores a third card device (not shown) different from the card device 22.

  Here, the third card device is not particularly limited. For example, the third card device is a PCMCIA standard PC card having a rectangular shape and a width of 54 mm.

  In FIG. 3, the second storage portion 23 is surrounded by the top plate 41 b, the upper and lower partition walls 42, and the bottom plate 48 in the vertical direction, and the first door 18, the second door 28, and the left side plate in the horizontal direction. 43, the cross section surrounded by the back plate 44 and the right side plate 47 is shown as a rectangular space.

  A connector 52 to which a third card device (not shown) can be connected is provided at the back end 27 of the second storage unit 23. FIG. 3 schematically shows the connector 52.

  In the storage device 10, the second storage portion 23 is not essential and may be formed.

  When the second storage portion 23 is formed in the storage device 10, a slot for a card different from the first card device 12 and the second card device 22 can be installed in a space-efficient manner. Since the door to provide can be shared with the 1st accommodating part 13, it is preferable.

  For example, if the second card device 22 is an Express Card / 54 card and the third card device is a PCMCIA standard PC card, both the Express Card / 54 card and the PCMCIA standard PC card have the maximum width. Since it is 54 mm, the width of the front surface portion of the first storage portion 13 and the width of the front surface portion of the second storage portion 23 can be made the same.

  For this reason, the first door 18 and the second door 28 have a shutter for the first storage unit 13 corresponding to the Express Card / 54 card and a second storage unit 23 corresponding to the PC card of the PCMCIA standard. It can be shared as a shutter for use.

  The second storage unit 23 inserts the first card device 12 into the first storage unit 13 and the first door 18 when a third card device (not shown) is not inserted into the second storage unit 23. It is provided under the 1st accommodating part 13 so that only the door may open and the 2nd door 28 may be in the closed state.

  The partition wall 42 is formed at a position where the front end portion 42 a of the partition wall 42 does not interfere with the first door 18 and the second door 28 that are opened to the inside of the first storage unit 13.

  The storage device 10 includes a first door 18 and a second door 28 that are provided on the front side of the first storage portion 13 of the card storage box 31 so as to be freely opened and closed inside the first storage portion 13. Is provided.

  The first door 18 is provided on the front side of the first storage unit 13, and is opened alone when the first card device 12 is inserted and removed, and the second door 18 is inserted when the second card device 22 is inserted and removed. It is formed so as to be opened together with the door 28.

  That is, the first door 18 can open and close a portion corresponding to the front surface of the narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion in the opening 32 provided on the front surface side of the first storage portion 13. Provided in position.

  Specifically, in the storage device 10, the first door 18 is positioned below the portion corresponding to the front surface of the narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion of the opening 32 and the first door 18. And a portion corresponding to the front surface of the second storage portion 23.

  Thereby, the 1st door 18 can insert / remove the 1st card | curd 12 by opening only a 1st door.

  The first door 18 has an inner protrusion 33 and an outer protrusion 34, and is engaged with the housing 2 by the protrusion 33 and the protrusion 34. Note that the first door 18 may be engaged with the housing 2 by a known method that does not use the protrusion 33 and the protrusion 34.

  The first door 18 is formed to be openable and closable with respect to the inside of the housing 2 of the electronic device 1. As a mechanism for making the first door 18 openable and closable with respect to the inside of the first storage portion 13, known means can be used. For example, the back side of the first door 18 and the housing 2 can be used. A spring is provided between the first housing 18 and the first door 18 to be urged from the inside to the outside of the first storage portion 13 and the movement of the first door 18 to the outside of the housing 2 is restricted. It is possible to use a method of providing a stopper for the casing 2 or the like.

  As a method of urging the first door 18 from the inside to the outside of the first storage portion 13 with a spring, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a recess formed on the back side of the first door 18 36, the front end portion 35a of the spring 35 is inserted, the intermediate portion 35b of the spring 35 is wound around the projection 34 on the outer side of the first door 18, and the spring 35 is inserted into the recess 37 formed on the inner surface side of the housing 2. A method of inserting the tip portion 35c can be used.

  By making the first door 18 freely openable and closable with respect to the inside of the first storage portion 13, both the first card device 12 and the second card device 22 are inserted into the first storage portion 13. When there is not, it can suppress that dust etc. penetrate | invade in the 1st accommodating part 13. FIG.

  The second door 28 is provided on the front side of the first storage unit 13 and is formed so as to be opened together with the first door 18 when the second card device 22 is inserted and removed.

  That is, the second door 28 is adjacent to the portion where the first door 18 is not provided in the opening 32 provided on the front surface side of the first storage portion 13 in the lateral direction of the first door 18. Provided.

  Specifically, in the storage device 10, the second door 28 is located below the portion of the opening 32 that does not correspond to the front surface of the narrow portion 16 of the first storage portion and the second door 28. And a portion corresponding to the front surface of the second storage portion 23.

  Thereby, the second door 28 is opened together with the first door 18 when the second card device 22 is inserted and removed.

  Similar to the first door 18, the second door 28 has an inner protrusion 33 and an outer protrusion 34, and the protrusion 33 and the protrusion 34 are engaged with the housing 2. The second door 28 may be engaged with the housing 2 by a known method that does not use the protrusion 33 and the protrusion 34.

  The second door 28 is used when neither the first card device 12 nor the second card device 22 is inserted into the first storage unit 13 or when only the first card device 12 is inserted. Intrusion of dust or the like into the first storage portion 13 can be suppressed.

  Moreover, the 1st door 18 and the 2nd door 28 are provided so that it may be in the open state at the time of insertion / removal with respect to the 2nd accommodating part 23 of a 3rd card apparatus.

  The storage device 10 is provided with a take-out button 19 that removes the first card device 12 or the second card device 22 from the connector 51 provided in the first storage portion 13 and takes it out of the storage device 10.

  Further, the storage device 10 is provided with a takeout button 29 for removing a third card device (not shown) from the connector 52 provided in the second storage portion 23 and taking it out of the storage device 10.

  The electronic device 1 includes the storage device 10 and further includes a card controller 67 that can control at least the first card device 12 and the second card device 22.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the electronic device 1.

  The electronic device 1 includes a CPU 60, a North Bridge 61 connected to the CPU 60, a South Bridge 62 connected to the North Bridge 61, a Main Memory 66 and a GPU. (Graphic controller) 65, EC / KBC (embedded controller) 63 connected to South Bridge 62, card controller 67 and storage device 10, and mouse 68 connected to EC / KBC (embedded controller) 63 And a keyboard 69 and an LCD (liquid crystal display) 64 connected to a GPU (graphic controller) 65.

  The card controller 67 acquires information of at least one of the first card device 12 and the second card device 22 connected to the connector 51 of the storage device 10 via the South Bridge 62 and the first card device 12 At least one of the card device 12 and the second card device 22 is controlled.

  When the connector 52 capable of connecting a third card device (not shown) is provided in the second storage unit 23, the card controller 67 further sends information about the third card device to the South Bridge 62. And the third card device is controlled.

  Next, the operation of the electronic apparatus and the storage device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the first card device 12 is inserted into the storage device 10 built in the electronic apparatus 1. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the second card device 22 is inserted into the storage device 10 built in the electronic apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the first card device 12 is inserted into the first storage portion 13 of the storage device 10, only the first door 18 is opened and adjacent to the first door 18. The provided second door 28 is kept closed.

  For this reason, when the first card device 12 is connected to the connector 51 provided at the back end portion 17 of the first storage portion 13, the movement of the first card device 12 in the width direction is closed while the door is closed. It abuts on the side surface portion 40 of 28 and is regulated. For this reason, the first card device 12 is eliminated from shaking from the connector 51 in the width direction.

  In the storage device 10, the second storage unit 23 is provided below the first storage unit 13. Therefore, even when the first card device 12 is inserted into the first storage portion 13 and the third card device is not inserted into the second storage portion 23, only the first door 18 is opened and the second The door 28 is closed, and the first card device 12 is eliminated from rattling in the width direction and falling off the connector 51.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the second card device 22 is inserted into the first storage portion 13 of the storage device 10, both the first door 18 and the second door 28 are opened.

  The wide portion 14 of the first storage portion 13 is formed with substantially the same width as the wide portion 22 a of the second card device 22. For this reason, the second card device 22 does not rattle from the connector 51 by rattling in the width direction.

  The storage device 10 and the electronic device 1 incorporating the storage device 10 according to the present invention eliminate card dropout by restricting lateral shaking of the card when a narrow card is inserted into a wide slot. be able to.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing an electronic apparatus according to the invention. FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a part of the electronic apparatus according to the invention. The perspective view which shows a 1st card apparatus. The perspective view which shows a 2nd card apparatus. The perspective view which shows the storage apparatus which concerns on this invention. The perspective view which shows the attachment state to the housing | casing of a 1st door. 1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic device according to the present invention. The perspective view which shows a mode that the 1st card | curd apparatus was inserted in the storage apparatus incorporated in the electronic device which concerns on this invention. The perspective view which shows a mode that the 2nd card | curd apparatus was inserted in the storage apparatus incorporated in the electronic device which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device 2 Case 3 Hinge means 4 Display means 5 Cover body 6 Input means 10 Storage device 12 First card device 13 First storage portion 14 Wide portion 15 of first storage portion Guide of first storage portion Part 16 Narrow part 17 of the first storage part 18 Back end part 18 of the first storage part 1st door 19 Eject button 22 Second card device 22a Wide part 22b of the second card device Second card device Narrow part 23 Second storage part 27 Back end part 28 of the second storage part Second door 29 Eject button 30 Side wall 31 Card storage box 32 Opening part 33 Projection part 34 Projection part 35 Spring 35a Spring tip part 35b Spring middle portion 35c Spring tip portion 36 First door recess portion 37 Electronic device housing recess portion 38 Housing side wall 40 Second door side surface portion 41b Top plate 42 Upper and lower partition walls 42a Front and lower partition wall front end portions 43 Left side plate 44 Back Plate 45 Upper rear right side plate 46 Upper right diagonal rear side plate 47 Right side plate 48 Bottom plate 51 Connector of first card device and second card device 52 Connector 60 of third card device CPU
61 North Bridge
62 South Bridge
63 EC / KBC (Embedded Controller)
64 LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
65 GPU (graphic controller)
66 Main Memory (main memory)
67 Card controller 68 Mouse 69 Keyboard

Claims (6)

A storage unit capable of storing a first card device or a second card device having a wider portion than the first card device;
A first door provided in the storage portion and opened when the first card device is inserted and removed;
A second door provided in the storage portion and opened together with the first door when the second card device is inserted and removed;
A storage device comprising: 2. The storage according to claim 1, wherein the first door and the second door are urged from the inside to the outside of the storage portion by a spring and are formed to be openable and closable inside the storage portion. apparatus. A second storage portion provided to overlap the storage portion and capable of storing a third card device different from the first card device and the second card device;
The storage according to claim 1, wherein the first door and the second door are opened when the third card device is inserted into and removed from the second storage portion. apparatus. A storage unit capable of storing a first card device or a second card device having a wider portion than the first card device;
A first door provided in the storage portion and opened when the first card device is inserted and removed;
A second door provided in the storage portion and opened together with the first door when the second card device is inserted and removed;
A controller for controlling the first card device or the second card device;
An electronic apparatus comprising: 5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the first door and the second door are urged from the inside to the outside of the storage portion by a spring and are formed to be openable and closable inside the storage portion. machine. A second storage portion provided to overlap the storage portion and capable of storing a third card device different from the first card device and the second card device;
5. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the first door and the second door are opened when the third card device is inserted into and removed from the second storage portion. machine.

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