JP2008083868A - Memory card socket - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a memory card socket with expanded coverage without increasing in cost or size. <P>SOLUTION: The memory card socket 1 includes: a socket block 10 for removably accepting a memory card MC inside a card housing through a card slot; an antenna block 20 having a secondary antenna 21 at least partially disposed in an area outside of the built-in antenna 100 of the memory card MC inserted in the card housing, the antenna block 20 being overlapped with the socket block 10 in the normal direction of the principal plane of the memory card MC; and a magnetic sheet 24 located between the built-in antenna 100 of the memory card MC inserted in the card housing along the normal direction and the secondary antenna 21 and disposed corresponding to the area of the antenna block 20 other than the areas corresponding to the built-in antenna 100 and its inside area 105. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a memory for detachably connecting a memory card having an IC card function for exchanging data with the outside by contactless communication to a memory card such as an SD memory card or a multimedia card (MMC card). This relates to card sockets.

  Conventionally, as a data storage means in an electronic device such as a digital camera or a mobile phone, a memory card such as an SD memory card (registered trademark) or a multimedia card (registration) in which a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory is built in a card type housing. Trademark) has become widespread. Then, as a memory card socket for removably connecting such a memory card, a housing into which the memory card is inserted through a card insertion opening opened forward, and a connection terminal provided in the housing and provided in the memory card A plurality of contacts that conduct contact, a slide member that is slidable in the insertion / extraction direction of the memory card in the housing and that slides in the housing in conjunction with the memory card inserted from the card insertion slot, and the card with respect to the housing A biasing spring that biases the slide member in a direction toward the insertion slot, and when the slide member is pushed to a locked position deeper than the holding position where the connection terminal of the memory card contacts the contact, the slide card moves toward the card insertion slot. Prohibits movement in the direction and locks the slide member In the past, there has been provided a push-on / push-off type locking mechanism that releases a slide member when the pressing force is released in a state where it is once pushed to the back of the device (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

  When a memory card is connected to a memory card socket having a push-on / push-off type locking mechanism as described above, the slide member is pushed through the memory card by inserting the memory card into the housing. When the memory card connection terminal moves to the lock position slightly behind the holding position where it contacts the contact, the lock mechanism prohibits the movement of the slide member toward the card insertion slot. Even after the pressing force is removed, the memory card remains in the holding position. On the other hand, when removing the memory card, once the memory card is pushed slightly inward from the lock position and the pressing force on the memory card is removed, the lock mechanism releases the slide member, and the memory card passes through the slide member. Then, it receives the spring force of the biasing spring and is pushed out of the housing.

By the way, it is predicted that a memory card (for example, “SmartSD”) having an IC card function for exchanging data with the outside by non-contact communication will be widely used in the future. Such a memory card with an IC card function has a built-in non-contact communication antenna. However, since the memory card itself is small, the built-in antenna is inevitably small, and it is important to secure a communication distance. It becomes. For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for securing a communication distance by attaching a memory card with an IC card function to a credit card type adapter with a built-in antenna.
JP 200526016 A JP 2002-279377 A

  However, when a credit card type adapter is used as in the conventional example described in Patent Document 2, it cannot be attached to a conventional memory card socket, and a dedicated socket needs to be redesigned. There is a problem that the socket is increased in size and the cost is significantly increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a memory card socket capable of extending the communication distance without increasing the cost or increasing the size.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 has a built-in antenna formed in a loop shape in a plane along the main plane and performs non-contact communication with a reader / writer device via the built-in antenna. A memory card socket into which a memory card for transmitting and receiving data is detachably inserted, and a card insertion slot into which a memory card is inserted, and a card accommodating portion that accepts at least a part of the memory card through the card insertion slot. A socket block having a loop-shaped secondary antenna at least a portion of which is disposed in the outer region of the built-in antenna of the memory card inserted into the card housing portion, and in the normal direction of the main surface of the memory card An antenna block placed over the socket block and a mem- ber inserted into the card housing in the normal direction. And a magnetic sheet positioned between the built-in antenna and the secondary antenna of the Ricard and disposed corresponding to a region other than a region corresponding to each of the built-in antenna and the inner region of the built-in antenna in the antenna block. It is characterized by that.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the magnetic sheet is disposed between the built-in antenna and the secondary antenna of the memory card so as to correspond to areas other than the areas corresponding to the built-in antenna and the inner area of the built-in antenna in the antenna block. Therefore, the magnetic sheet can draw the magnetic lines of force of the external reader / writer device, increase the induced power of the secondary antenna, and extend the communication distance. In addition, since the magnetic sheet is disposed corresponding to the area other than the area corresponding to the internal antenna of the memory card and the internal area of the internal antenna, the presence of the magnetic sheet does not adversely affect the internal antenna. Furthermore, the magnetic sheet is disposed corresponding to the area other than the area corresponding to the internal antenna and the internal area of the internal antenna in the antenna block, and the magnetic sheet can be accommodated in the size of the antenna block, so that the socket There is no increase in size, and therefore, there is no need to newly redesign the socket, so there is no increase in cost.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  An embodiment of the memory card socket according to the present invention is provided in an electronic device or the like (not shown), and an IC card that exchanges data with an external reader / writer device by non-contact communication via a built-in antenna An example of a socket in which a memory card such as an SD memory card (registered trademark) with a function is detachably mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the up and down directions in FIG. 2 are defined as upward and downward, respectively, the upper left direction is the left direction, the lower right direction is the right direction, the lower left direction is the forward direction, and the upper right direction is the upper direction. Is described as being backward.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the memory card MC used in the present embodiment is a conventional SD memory card (registered trademark), loop-shaped antenna (built-in antenna) 100, and external data by non-contact communication via the antenna 100. An integrated circuit (IC) that performs transmission and reception is built in, the outer peripheral shape is substantially rectangular, and a plurality (eight) connection terminals 101 are arranged side by side on the upper surface on the rear side. The antenna 100 is formed in a loop shape in a plane along the main plane of the memory card MC, and the shape in plan view is formed in a substantially square shape. One main surface of the memory card MC (in the internal space of the memory card MC ( It is arranged close to the reader / writer device side surface (upper surface in FIG. 1). A circuit board (not shown) on which the above-described integrated circuit is mounted is disposed inside the memory card MC so as to be close to the other main surface, and a magnetic sheet is provided between the circuit board and the antenna 100. (Not shown) is arranged.

  In addition, an inclined cut portion 102 for preventing reverse insertion is formed by dropping one corner (left rear corner) of the rear portion (insertion side) of the memory card MC, and an inclined cut portion is formed on the left edge of the memory card MC. A lock notch (not shown) that is recessed in a rectangular shape is provided at a position slightly in front of the portion 102. Further, on the right edge of the memory card MC, there is provided a write protect switch 103 for switching data writable / prohibited by manually sliding the knob back and forth.

  Next, the memory card socket (hereinafter abbreviated as “socket”) 1 of the present embodiment will be described in detail. The socket 1 includes a socket block 10 into which a memory card MC can be inserted and removed, and an antenna block 20 that includes a secondary antenna 21 and is placed on the socket block 10.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the socket block 10. The socket block 10 has substantially the same configuration and function as a conventional socket having no contactless communication function, and the memory card MC is accommodated in the card through the card insertion slot 11a. When the memory card MC is held in a predetermined lock position by being inserted into the portion 11b and then pushed in, the memory card MC is unlocked when the pushing force is released with the memory card MC once pushed to the back from the lock position. The memory card MC is pushed out from the card insertion slot 11a. That is, the socket block 10 has a so-called push-on / push-off function.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the socket block 10 includes a flat box-like case 11 having a strip-like card insertion slot 11 a opened on one side surface (front side in the insertion direction), and a card insertion slot 11 a inside the case 11. And a slider 14 disposed so as to be movable back and forth between the card insertion slot 11a side and the back side in a card accommodating portion 11b provided in communication with the card, and a biasing means for biasing the slider 14 toward the card insertion slot 11a (Not shown) and a plurality of (9) contact terminals 15 arranged in the card accommodation portion 11b and electrically connected to the connection terminals 101 of the memory card MC, respectively, are provided on the back side of the card accommodation portion 11b. A contact block (not shown) held in a state of being arranged in the left-right direction on a contact support portion (not shown) to be arranged.

  The case 11 includes a base shell 12 on the upper side (antenna block 20 side) and a lower cover shell 13 each formed of a thin metal plate (for example, stainless steel) having conductivity and good thermal conductivity. Composed and configured.

  The base shell 12 has a flat plate shape, and a notch 12b opened to the front edge side is provided in the central portion in the left-right direction so that the shape of the plan view is substantially U-shaped, and the top plate portion 12a Each side edge in the left-right direction is bent at a substantially right angle (downward) and has a strip-like side wall portion (not shown). Then, the slider 14 protrudes forward from the card insertion slot 11a by cutting up the top plate 12a or the side wall (the top plate 12a in this embodiment) at the corner on the card insertion slot 11a side. A restricting stopper 12c is formed. The notch 12b described above is in a state in which the memory card MC is accommodated in the card accommodating portion 11b, and the antenna 100 of the memory card MC and the inner region of the antenna 100 and the vertical direction (that is, the normal line of the main surface of the memory card MC). The base shell 12 made of metal is not interposed between the antenna 100 built in the memory card MC and the secondary antenna 21 provided in the antenna block 20. It has become.

  On the other hand, the cover shell 13 includes a substantially flat bottom wall portion 13a, and strip-shaped side wall portions 13b and 13b formed by bending the left and right side edges of the bottom wall portion 13a substantially at right angles (upward), respectively. Each side wall 13b is formed by cutting and raising a plurality of (for example, three each) locking claws 13c that are respectively locked with locking holes (not shown) provided in the side wall of the base shell 12. Has been.

  Thus, with the base shell 12 and the cover shell 13 facing each other, the side walls 13b of the cover shell 13 are on the outside and the side walls of the base shell 12 are on the inside. Are formed into a flat, substantially rectangular tube with both ends in the front-rear direction opened, and one (rear side) opening is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped elongated in the left-right direction with an insulating synthetic resin. The card accommodating portion 11b is formed inside the case 11 by closing with a contact support portion (not shown). When the base shell 12 and the cover shell 13 are coupled, the locking provided on the side wall portion 13b of the cover shell 13 located outside in a state where the side wall portions of the base shell 12 and the cover shell 13 are overlapped with each other. The base shell 12 and the cover shell 13 are integrally coupled by bending the claw 13 c inward and locking the claw 13 c in a locking hole provided in the side wall portion of the base shell 12.

  The slider 14 is attached to the inside of the card accommodating portion 11b so as to be able to advance and retreat between the card insertion slot 11a side and the back side (that is, the front-rear direction). The slider 14 has a back wall portion 14a that abuts on the front end surface 104 of the memory card MC, and a pair of side wall portions that protrude forward from both left and right end portions of the back wall portion 14a to support the left and right side surfaces of the memory card MC. 14b, and the shape in plan view is formed in a substantially U-shape. In addition, a corner wall portion 14c that abuts the inclined cut portion 102 of the memory card MC is formed at a connection portion between the left side wall portion 14b and the back wall portion 14a. When the memory card MC is inserted into the card accommodating portion 11b through the card insertion slot 11a, the left and right side edges of the memory card MC are guided between the left and right side wall portions 14b of the slider 14 and the tip of the memory card MC. The surface 104 and the inclined cut part 102 collide with the inner walls of the back wall part 14a and the corner wall part 14c, respectively. In this state, the memory card MC is locked and held by the slider 14 by a locking mechanism (not shown). In this holding state, the memory card MC moves forward and backward in the card accommodating portion 11b together with the slider 14. To do. A recess 14d for avoiding interference with the contact terminal 15 when the slider 14 moves to the back side in the card housing portion 11b is provided on the upper surface of the back wall portion 14a on the base shell 12 side. 15 correspondingly.

  Here, the position of the slider 14 in the card accommodating portion 11b includes a heart cam mechanism (not shown) and a biasing means (not shown) such as a coil spring that biases the slider 14 toward the card insertion slot 11a. It is controlled by a known push-on / push-off mechanism. As an example, the heart cam mechanism is configured by providing a guide groove in the slider 11 and providing a guide in the case 11 to be guided in the guide groove. The guide groove constituting the heart cam mechanism has a predetermined section as a path for guiding the guide element in one direction according to the back and forth movement of the slider 14, and a heart-shaped heart cam in a plan view is provided at a portion surrounded by the path. The slider 14 is held at the lock position and the forward movement is restricted by locking the guide element in the recess of the heart cam at the lock position. The urging means for urging the slider 14 is suspended, for example, between the case 11 and the slider 14 and urges the slider 14 toward the inlet side (that is, the card insertion slot 11a side) of the card accommodating portion 11b. Power is acting.

  The contact terminals 15 are each formed in an elongated rod shape from a metal material having elasticity and conductivity, and are fixed to a contact support portion (not shown) disposed on the back side of the card housing portion 11b. In the inside of 11b, it is extended toward the card insertion slot 11a side from the back | inner side. The end 15a on the card insertion slot 11a side of each contact terminal 15 is bent in a substantially square shape, and elastically contacts the corresponding connection terminal 101 of the memory card MC inserted in the card accommodating portion 11b. On the other hand, the end 15b on the opposite side of each contact terminal 15 protrudes from the rear surface of the contact support portion, and its front end extends in a direction parallel to the lower surface of the cover shell 13, and this front end is provided in the electronic device. Terminals to be soldered to a circuit board or the like. The contact terminal 15 may be fixed to the contact support portion by insert molding, or may be fixed by a method such as press fitting.

  Next, the antenna block 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna block 20 includes an antenna substrate 22 on which a loop-shaped secondary antenna 21 is formed, and a support base that holds the antenna substrate 22 on the upper surface side and is placed on the upper side of the socket block 10. It is comprised with the base 23 and the magnetic sheet 24 interposed between the antenna board | substrate 22 and the support base 23. FIG.

  The antenna substrate 22 is formed in a rectangular plate shape using, for example, a non-conductive resin material, and a rectangular window hole 22a is formed at the center thereof. A loop-shaped secondary antenna 21 is formed on the antenna substrate 22 so as to draw a spiral along each side of the antenna substrate 22 around the window hole 22a. Here, the secondary antenna 21 is formed as a conductor pattern on the surface of the antenna substrate 22. However, the secondary antenna 21 is formed by other methods such as insert molding of a conductive plate constituting the secondary antenna 21 on the antenna substrate 22, for example. May be.

  This secondary antenna 21 has an outer diameter larger than that of the antenna 100 of the memory card MC, and as shown in FIG. 1, in a state where the memory card MC is held on the back side in the card housing portion 11b (attached state), It is arranged so as to face the antenna 100 with only one front side overlapping the antenna 100. That is, in the socket 1 of the present embodiment, the secondary side of the insertion direction of the internal antenna 100 of the memory card MC in the insertion direction (rear side) is arranged in the coil of the secondary antenna 21 with the memory card MC mounted. The left and right coil patterns of the built-in antenna 100 are arranged along the inside of the left and right coil patterns of the antenna 21. Note that both ends of the loop coil of the secondary antenna 21 are electrically connected to electronic components (not shown) such as a chip capacitor disposed on the back side of the antenna substrate 22 through through holes 22b and 22b provided in the antenna substrate 22. The frequency characteristics of the secondary antenna 21 are adjusted by this electronic component. Here, it is preferable that the support base 23 is provided with a recess 23 e and the electronic component is accommodated in a space surrounded by the recess 23 e and the antenna substrate 22.

  The support base 23 is formed of, for example, a non-conductive resin material, is a substantially rectangular flat plate, and has a flat plate portion 23a in which the dimensions of the antenna substrate 22 in the left-right direction and the front-rear direction are substantially the same, and the flat plate. Side wall portions 23b and 23b projecting downward from both lateral edges of the portion 23a are integrally provided, and the shape viewed from the insertion direction (front side) is substantially U-shaped. An accommodation recess 23c for accommodating the magnetic sheet 24 is formed on the upper surface of the flat plate portion 23a. Further, a protrusion 23d having a rectangular shape in plan view inserted into the window hole 22a is formed in a portion of the storage recess 23c facing the window hole 22a of the antenna substrate 22. The interval between the left and right side wall portions 23b, 23b is substantially the same as or slightly wider than the interval between the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls of the socket block 10, and the support base 23 is fitted to the upper side of the socket block 10. I can do it.

  On the other hand, the magnetic sheet 24 is composed of a composite magnetic sheet containing a non-conductive and magnetically permeable binder such as rubber or resin, and magnetic powder or flakes such as ferrite, and has a relatively high relative magnetic permeability (for example, 230-300) and those having substantially no electrical conductivity are preferably used. The magnetic sheet 24 is formed in a substantially U-shape in plan view by forming a notch groove 24a that is open to the front side (front) in the insertion direction, and the notch groove 24a is formed in the memory card MC. In the mounted state, the memory card MC is formed in a region overlapping the antenna 100 and its inner region 105 in the vertical direction (see FIG. 1).

  Thus, the antenna block 20 stores the magnetic sheet 24 in the storage recess 23 c provided on the upper surface of the support base 23, and then covers the antenna substrate 22 on the upper surface of the support base 23. In a state where the magnetic sheet 24 is sandwiched between the base plate 23 and the base plate 23, the antenna substrate 22 and the support base plate 23 are bonded together by a method such as adhesion. Then, the antenna block 20 and the socket block 10 are coupled by a method such as adhesion, for example, with the antenna block 20 thus assembled placed on the upper surface of the socket block 10 with both side wall portions 23b facing downward. .

  As described above, the socket 1 of the present embodiment corresponds to the built-in antenna 100 of the memory card MC and the inner region 105 of the built-in antenna 100 in the antenna block 20 with the memory card MC mounted as shown in FIG. A magnetic sheet 24 is disposed in a region other than the region, the magnetic sheet 24 overlaps the secondary antenna 21 of the antenna block 20 in the vertical direction, and the magnetic sheet 24 is interposed between the built-in antenna 100 and the secondary antenna 21 in the vertical direction. Since it is arranged, the induced power of the secondary antenna 20B can be increased by drawing the magnetic field lines of the reader / writer device (not shown), and the performance of non-contact communication with the reader / writer device is improved. The communication distance can be extended.

  Further, since the magnetic sheet 24 is disposed inside the antenna block 20, the size of the magnetic sheet 24 does not exceed the antenna block 20, and the communication performance can be improved without increasing the size of the socket 1. Moreover, it is not necessary to redesign the socket 1, and the socket 1 similar to the conventional one can be used, so that the cost is not increased. Further, since the magnetic sheet 24 is not arranged in the area overlapping the built-in antenna 100 of the memory card MC and the inner area 105 of the built-in antenna 100 in the vertical direction, it is possible to prevent the magnetic sheet 24 from adversely affecting the built-in antenna 100. it can.

  Here, the inventors analyzed the induced voltage generated in the built-in antenna 100 under the following four conditions a to d, and the results shown in Table 1 were obtained.

  Condition a is a case where an analysis was performed on a model that does not use a magnetic sheet. In this case, the analysis value of the induced voltage was 4.13V. Condition b is a case where an analysis is performed on a model in which a magnetic sheet 24 made of a ferrite sheet having a width of 4.0 mm and a thickness of 0.27 mm is arranged in a region that does not overlap with the built-in antenna 100. Became 4.99V. Condition c is that a ferrite sheet having a horizontal side width of 4.5 mm, a vertical side width of 12.4 mm, and a thickness of 0.27 mm is formed over substantially the entire area of the antenna block 20 that does not overlap the internal antenna 100 and the inner region 105. When the analysis was performed on the model in which the magnetic sheet 24 was arranged, the analysis value of the induced voltage at this time was 5.06V. Further, the condition d is that a magnetic field made of a ferrite sheet having a lateral width of 3.7 mm, a vertical width of 3.1 mm, and a thickness of 0.27 mm in an area other than the notch 12 b provided in the base shell 12 of the socket block 10. When analysis was performed on the model in which the sheet 24 was arranged, the analysis value of the induced voltage at this time was 5.00V. Since the communication distance becomes longer as the induced voltage is higher, the magnetic sheet 24 is disposed in substantially the entire area of the antenna block 20 other than the area corresponding to the built-in antenna 100 and the inner area 105 of the built-in antenna 100. It was found that the induced voltage was the largest and the communication distance was the longest.

  That is, in the antenna block 20, if the magnetic sheet 24 is disposed in a region other than the region facing the internal antenna 100 and the inner region 105 of the internal antenna 100, the communication distance can be extended. If the maximum size of the magnetic sheet 24 is arranged in a region other than the region facing the inner region 105, the effect of extending the communication distance is most obtained.

  It should be noted that a wide variety of different embodiments can be configured without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to a specific embodiment.

It is a top view of the state which mounted | wore the memory card socket of this embodiment with the memory card. It is an external appearance perspective view of a state before mounting a memory card on the same as the above. It is a disassembled perspective view of the antenna block which comprises the same as the above. It is an external appearance perspective view of the socket block which comprises the same as the above.

Explanation of symbols

1 socket (socket for memory card)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Socket block 11a Card insertion slot 11b Card accommodating part 15 Contact terminal 20 Antenna block 21 Secondary antenna 24 Magnetic sheet 100 Built-in antenna 105 Inner area MC Memory card

Claims (1)

Memory card having a built-in antenna formed in a loop shape in a plane along the main plane, and a memory card that exchanges data with the reader / writer device through the built-in antenna by non-contact communication is detachably mounted Socket for
A socket block having a card insertion slot into which a memory card is inserted and a card accommodating portion that accepts at least a part of the memory card through the card insertion slot, and an outside of a built-in antenna of the memory card inserted in the card accommodating portion A loop-shaped secondary antenna at least a part of which is arranged in the area, and an antenna block arranged so as to overlap the socket block in the normal direction of the main surface of the memory card; and in the card housing portion in the normal direction Is located between the built-in antenna and the secondary antenna of the memory card inserted in the memory card, and is disposed corresponding to a region other than the region corresponding to the inner region of the built-in antenna and the built-in antenna in the antenna block A memory card socket comprising a sheet.

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