JP2009238559A - Push type memory card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make thickness of a whole push type memory card connector thinner, making width of the same smaller as well. <P>SOLUTION: The device includes: a slider 40 provide inside a housing 30 and carrying out both-way slides in the insert/unloading directions of a memory card A which is inserted and pulled out in a memory card insertion space; a reversion spring which biases the slider 40 toward an unloading direction of the memory card A; and a push-on/push-off mechanism which pushes in the slider 40 and stops the same at a predetermined pushing position, and releases the same by another push operation. The slider 40 is installed in the housing 30 and positioned in a location where either a front side or a backside of the memory card A to be inserted into the insertion area to directly face the same. The reversion spring is made by a bent wire spring 50 where a wire material is bent in a zigzag shape on the same plane level. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention uses a push-on / push-off mechanism (moment / alternate operation mechanism), and the memory card is inserted into the memory card insertion space of the housing and pushed in to stop at a predetermined pushing position. The present invention relates to a push-type memory card connector that is released after being stopped.

  Conventional push-type memory card connectors have a slider that slides back and forth in the memory card insertion / ejection direction, a return spring that biases the slider in the memory card ejection direction, and a slider that is pushed together with the memory card. Is provided with a push-on / push-off mechanism that detents the slider at the predetermined push-in position and releases the detent when the push-in operation is performed again. By inserting the memory card and pushing the slider, the slider is pushed The memory card is locked at the position, and the memory card is locked by the slider at the pushing position to prevent the memory card from coming off. By pushing the memory card again, the detent of the slider is released. With Li card is pushed back, the memory card may be of a structure such engagement is possible extraction is released is known for the slider (for example, Patent Document 1).

  A so-called heart cam mechanism is used as a push-on / push-off mechanism in the main memory card connector.

  In this type of conventional push-type memory card connector, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, a housing 3 is formed by a molded housing body 1 and a metal cover 2 also serving as a shield. A memory card insertion space 4 is formed with an opening at the front end surface of the housing.

  In the housing 3, a slider accommodating portion 5 is provided on one side of the memory card insertion space 4, and a slider 6 is accommodated therein so as to be movable in the memory card insertion / removal direction.

  The slider 6 is provided with a memory card stopper portion 11 for receiving the tip of the memory card A to be inserted into the memory card insertion space 4 on the side surface of the tip portion in the pushing direction, and the slider 6 is provided on the tip surface in the pushing direction. A return spring tip receiving portion 12 that receives the tip of the return spring that pushes back 6 is provided. Between the return spring receiving portion 11 and the return spring receiving portion 13 formed at the rising portion at the back of the slider accommodating portion 5, a return spring 14 made of a coil spring is interposed in a desired stored state.

  In this conventional example, a memory card locking claw 15 is protruded from the side surface of the slider 6 on the stopper portion 11 side at a predetermined distance from the stopper portion 11. In the initial insertion state, the memory card is temporarily fixed, that is, a half-locked state in which the memory card can be pulled out.

  A pin guide groove 20 is provided on the upper surface of the slider 6. This pin guide groove 20 and a guide pin 21 described later constitute a heart cam mechanism.

  The pin guide groove 20 is provided with a forward guide groove portion 20A and a return guide groove portion 20B on both side surfaces of a heart-shaped heart cam 22, and both ends of the guide groove portions 20A and 20B are connected to each other. ing.

  The guide pin 21 is formed by bending a metal wire, and the in-groove sliding portion 21b is integrally provided in a shape obtained by bending the linear rotating arm portion 21a at the front end side by 90 degrees. The base end portion of the portion 21a has a structure in which the pivot portion 21c is integrally provided in a shape bent by 90 degrees, and the pivot portion 21c is inserted into the bearing hole of the housing body 1 to slide in the groove. The part 21 b is inserted into the pin guide groove 20.

In the heart cam mechanism constituted by the pin guide groove 20 and the guide pin 21, when the slider 6 is pushed from the initial state to a predetermined depth and the pushing is released, the in-groove sliding portion 21 b of the guide pin 21 becomes the pin guide groove 20. The slider 6 is engaged with the heart cam 22 and the slider 6 is de-returned. When the slider 6 is pushed in again, the engagement is released. By releasing the pushing, the in-groove sliding portion 21b of the guide pin 21 is engaged with the heart cam 22 portion. Then, the slider 6 is returned to the initial state by the return spring 14.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-317861 FIG.

  In recent years, along with miniaturization and high functionality of portable electronic devices, miniaturization is also required for memory card connectors used for these.

  On the other hand, in the conventional push type memory card connector described above, a coil spring is used as a return spring for returning the slider, and in order to obtain an operating force necessary for returning the slider, a small coil spring is used. There is a limit to conversion. For this reason, there has been a problem that the total thickness of the connector housing cannot be kept below a certain level.

  Further, since the slider is located on the side of the memory card insertion portion, there is a problem that the lateral width of the connector housing has to be increased accordingly.

  In view of such a conventional problem, the present invention has been made with the object of providing a push-type memory card connector capable of reducing the overall thickness and reducing the lateral width as compared with the prior art.

The feature of the invention described in claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems and achieving the intended purpose is in the insertion / ejection direction of the memory card which is in the housing and is inserted into and removed from the memory card insertion space. A slider that reciprocally slides, a return spring that urges the slider in the direction of ejecting the memory card, and pushing the slider together with the memory card to de-slid the slider at its predetermined pushing position and push it again. A push-on / push-off mechanism comprising a pin guide groove for releasing the detent by operation and a guide pin sliding in the pin guide groove, and the slider is pushed by the pushing direction operation of the memory card, The memory card is ejected by the pushing direction of the slider. In push type memory card connector formed by a so that,
The slider is disposed in the housing and arranged to be overlapped with the front or back surface of the memory card inserted into the memory card insertion space, and the return spring is formed of a zigzag wire on the same plane. It is configured with a bent linear spring with a bent shape,
A push-type memory card connector, characterized in that the return spring is installed on the back surface of the slider in an overlapping arrangement.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the back surface of the slider has rising portions on both sides and the protruding side end portion, and a portion surrounded by the rising portions is provided. A concave portion for accommodating the bent linear spring is provided, and the bent linear spring is interposed in a pressure-accumulated state between the rising portion on the protruding tip side and the memory card insertion space inner portion of the housing.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect, the memory card is prevented from being inserted erroneously at one side edge of the housing insertion side front end side. The rider has a misinsertion-preventing overhang that fits into the notch, and the push-on A pin guide groove constituting the push-off mechanism is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the structure of any one of the first, second, or third aspect, the one end side of a bent linear spring constituting the return spring is bent, and the push is performed. The guide pin that slides in the pin guide groove constituting the on / push-off mechanism is integrally formed.

  As described above, in the present invention, by pushing the slider in the housing together with the memory card, the slider is detented at the predetermined pushing position, and the pin guide groove for releasing the detent by the pushing operation again. A push-on / push-off mechanism comprising a guide pin sliding in the pin guide groove is provided. The slider is pushed in by pushing the memory card in the pushing direction, and the memory card is ejected by pushing the slider in the pushing direction. In the push-type memory card connector configured as described above, the slider is placed in a position in the housing so as to be superimposed on the front or back surface of the lithographic memory card inserted into the memory card insertion space, and returned. Spring, wire, coplanar The space in the thickness direction required by the return spring is configured by arranging the return spring in a zigzag-shaped bent linear spring and placing the return spring on the back of the slider. It is sufficient to have the thickness of the bent linear spring, and the elastic coefficient and expansion / contraction stroke required for the return spring should be designed as appropriate by bending the linear spring into a zigzag shape. Can be easily done.

  In addition, by combining a slider that is planarly arranged with respect to the inserted memory card and the zigzag folded linear spring, the entire width of the folded linear spring, that is, the direction orthogonal to the expansion / contraction direction The range of the spring constant and the expansion / contraction stroke can be widened to meet various demands.

  Further, in the present invention, the back surface of the slider has rising portions on both side portions and the protruding side end portion, and a portion surrounded by the rising portions is a concave portion that accommodates the bent linear spring, and the protruding tip By interposing the bent linear spring in a pressure accumulation state between the rising portion on the side and the inner portion of the memory card insertion space of the housing, the thickness of the return spring material can be included in the thickness of the slider. In addition, it is possible to easily ensure the stability of the built-in state of the slider with respect to the housing.

  Further, according to the present invention, the memory card is formed with a notch for preventing erroneous insertion at one side edge of the housing insertion side front end, and the rider is prevented from erroneous insertion that fits into the notch. Conventionally, a pin guide groove has been provided outside the lateral width of the memory card by providing an overhang part and providing a pin guide groove constituting the push-on / push-off mechanism at the position of the erroneous insertion prevention overhang part. The housing width can be made smaller by the width of the pin guide groove constituting portion than the case.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, by bending the one end side of the bent linear spring constituting the return spring and integrally forming a guide pin that slides within the pin guide groove constituting the push-on / push-off mechanism, The return spring and the guide pin, which have been separate parts in the past, can be made into one part, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the part manufacturing cost can be reduced. In the case of a guide pin having a size of about 3 to 5 mm, Although it is difficult to assemble with an automatic machine, by integrating the return spring and the guide pin, the part shape becomes large, and the assembly by the automatic machine becomes easier, and the cost for assembling can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the push type memory card connector according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS.

  In the figure, reference numeral 30 denotes a connector housing of the present example, and the housing 30 is composed of a housing body 31 molded by a synthetic resin and a shield cover 32 obtained by press-molding a metal material combined in an overlapping manner. The housing body 31 and the shield cover 32 constitute a thin box-shaped housing 30.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (c), the housing body 31 has a flat plate-shaped bottom plate portion 31a, and a side wall constituting portion 31b is integrally formed on one side upper surface of the upper surface. In addition, rear wall constituent portions 31c that are integrally raised on the upper surface of the rear end portion are provided. There is no rising on the upper surface of the other side portion of the bottom plate portion 31a.

  On the other hand, the shield cover 32 has a lithographic top plate portion 32a arranged in parallel with the bottom plate portion 31a, and has a side wall constituting portion 32b formed by bending one side edge downward and the other side edge facing downward. The side wall outer part 32c formed by bending and the rear wall part outer shield part 32d bent downward are integrally provided, and the top plate part is provided at the lower edge of each side wall constituent part 32b and the side wall outer cover part 32c. Are integrally provided, and the engaging piece is locked to the housing main body 31 so that the thin housing 30 is assembled. .

  One side wall of the housing 30 is constituted by the side wall constituting portion 31b of the housing body 31, the other side wall is constituted by one side wall constituting portion 32b of the shield cover 32, and the rear wall is constituted by the rear wall constituting portion 31c of the housing main body 31. It is in the shape of a thin box having an opening 30a having a rectangular cross section at the front end.

  A number of signal contacts 33 connected to the memory card are formed on the bottom plate portion 31a of the housing body 31, and switch contacts 34a and 34b that are turned on / off by insertion / removal of the memory card are inserted into the rear wall constituting portion 31c. Is held by.

  A slider 40 is accommodated in the housing 30 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The slider 40 is molded by a synthetic resin, and has a lithographic portion 41a that is arranged in parallel with the bottom plate portion 31a and the top plate portion 32a. The lithographic portion 41a is formed to have a width aligned between the left and right side walls of the internal space of the housing 30, and both side edges are formed on the inner surfaces of the side wall constituting portions 31b and 32b of the housing 30 described above. It is accommodated so that it can slide back and forth along.

  The slider 40 is biased toward the housing opening by a bending linear spring 50 described later, and is prevented from coming off by a stopper piece 32f having a shape in which both sides of the front end edge of the shield cover 32 are bent downward.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a memory card insertion portion 42 is formed on the lower surface of the slider 40. One side edge portion of the memory card insertion portion 42 is constituted by a memory card insertion groove 43 having an inwardly U-shaped cross section integrally formed on the lower surface of one side edge portion of the lithographic portion 41a. The side edge portion of the flat plate-like portion 41 a is formed by a memory card erroneous insertion preventing protruding portion 44 integrally protruding on the lower surface of the front end side of the other edge portion, and one side wall constituting portion 31 b of the housing body 31. It is configured.

  Further, a memory card abutting piece 45 projecting from the lower surface of the front end portion of the lithographic part 41a is suspended on the rear side of the housing of the memory card insertion groove 43, and when the memory card A is inserted, When the front end abuts against the abutting piece 45 and the memory card erroneous insertion prevention overhanging portion 44, the memory card A is pushed in so that the slider 40 is pushed backward, and conversely the slider 40 After the push-in operation, the memory card A is pushed out together with the slider 40 by moving the slider in the push-out direction.

  On the upper surface of the lithographic part 41a of the slider 40, a spring material accommodation recess 46 for accommodating a spring material for return operation is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the concave portion 46 is formed in a rectangular shape in which thick portions 47 a, 47 b, 47 c are formed on the front end portion and both side portions of the upper surface of the lithographic portion 41 a and the rear end side is released. The depth of the recess 46 is slightly larger than the diameter of the wire constituting the bent linear spring 50 described later.

  One end of the bent linear spring 50 is inserted into a flat space surrounded by the spring material accommodating recess 46 and the top plate portion 32a of the shield cover 32. The bent linear spring 50 has a shape in which a wire made of a spring material is bent at a plurality of locations in a zigzag shape on the same plane, and the width direction of the zigzag is directed in the width direction of the slider 40 so that the slider It is installed so as to overlap the upper surface of 40 in parallel.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bent linear spring 50 is stored in a state where one end side is recessed 46 in a state where the length direction, that is, the direction perpendicular to the zigzag width direction is reduced and stored. The other end side is brought into contact with the front surface of the rear wall constituting part 31c of the housing main body 31. Thus, the slider 40 is always urged toward the opening side.

  The operation of the slider 40 is regulated by a push-on / push-push-off mechanism using a heart cam mechanism. That is, from the initial state of the slider 40, that is, the state where the slider 40 is pushed out to the housing opening side, the memory card A is inserted, and the memory card A is prevented from being detached at the position where it is inserted. In this state, it is returned to the initial state by a bent linear spring 50 which is a return spring.

  In the heart cam mechanism, the heart cam mechanism is configured by the pin guide groove 20 and the guide pin 21 in the same manner as in the prior art described above.

  The pin guide groove 20 is formed on the upper surface side of the above-mentioned protruding portion 44 for preventing erroneous insertion of the memory card of the slider 40, and the forward guide groove portion 20A and the return guide groove portion are formed on both side surfaces of the heart-shaped heart cam 22. 20B is provided, and both end portions of both guide groove portions 20A and 20B are connected to each other.

  As in the conventional product shown in FIG. 9, the guide pin 21 is formed by bending a metal wire, and is formed into a shape in which the guide pin 21 is bent 90 degrees on the distal end side of the linear rotating arm portion 21a. 21b is integrally provided, and the pivot end portion 21c is integrally provided with the pivot end portion 21c in a shape that is bent 90 degrees at the base end portion of the rotating arm portion 21a. 1 is inserted into the bearing hole 1, and the in-groove sliding portion 21 b is inserted into the pin guide groove 20.

  In the heart cam mechanism constituted by the pin guide groove 20 and the guide pin 21, when the slider 40 is pushed from the initial state to a predetermined depth and the pushing is released, the in-groove sliding portion 21 b of the guide pin 21 becomes the pin guide groove 20. The return movement of the slider 40 is prevented by being engaged with the heart cam 22, and the engagement is released by pushing again, and by releasing the pushing, the engagement of the sliding portion 21b in the groove of the guide pin 21 with respect to the heart cam 22 portion is released. The slider 40 is returned to the initial state by a bent linear spring 50 which is a return spring.

  In the push-on / off connector configured as described above, the flat plate-like portion 40a of the slider 40 and the bottom plate portion 31a of the housing main body are in the initial state, that is, in the standby position where the slider 40 is pushed to the housing opening side. The memory card A is inserted into the memory card insertion space between them in a predetermined direction (the state shown in FIG. 2), and the slider 40 is pushed by the memory card A, whereby the slider 40 is pushed backward while holding the memory card. Then, it is stopped at a predetermined pushing position by the heart cam mechanism, and the memory card A is locked to be removed. At this time, the bent linear spring 50 as a return spring is compressed in the length direction without changing its thickness, that is, the height in the vertical direction.

  When removing the memory card A, the memory card A is moved in the pushing direction to release the above-described detent state by the heart cam mechanism, and the slider 40 is pushed in the pushing direction by the operation force in the pushing direction by the bent linear spring 50. The memory card A is pushed out to a position where it can be removed.

  In the figure, reference numeral 55 denotes a memory card locking piece made of a leaf spring whose one end is fixed to the slider 40, and 56 denotes a locking recess formed on the side edge of the memory card A. When the card A is inserted in a normal direction, the memory card locking piece 55 is fitted into the recess 56.

  When the slider 40 is in the initial state, the locking piece 55 is at the position of the window hole 57 formed in the side wall constituting portion 32b, and escapes outside the window hole 57 by inserting the memory card, so that the memory card A is The memory card A can be inserted easily, and after insertion, the memory card A is temporarily locked by the locking piece 55 at the standby position.

  When the memory card A is inserted and the slider 40 is pushed in, the locking piece 55 is prevented from moving in the detaching direction with respect to the recess 56 by the side wall constituting portion 32b, and the memory card A cannot be removed from the slider 40. It will be in the locked state.

  In the above-described embodiment, the bending linear spring 50 and the guide pin 21 of the heart cam mechanism are separate parts, but these parts may be integrated, as shown in FIGS. In this example, the connecting portion 50a is integrally bent in an arrangement in which the back end of the bent linear spring 50 is extended, and the guide pin 21 is integrally bent at the tip of the connecting portion 50a. This guide pin 21 is integrally provided with an in-groove sliding portion 21b bent at 90 degrees downwardly at the distal end thereof by bending the distal end side of the connecting portion 50a at 90 degrees horizontally.

  Then, the connecting portion 50a is fitted into a linear spring end holding groove 60 formed on the upper surface of the rear wall constituting portion 31c of the housing body 31, and the guide pin 21 is predetermined by covering the upper surface side with the shield cover 32. Held in position.

  In this heart cam mechanism, when the pin guide groove 20 moves back and forth together with the slider 40, the rotating arm portion 21a is elastically deformed, and the in-groove sliding portion 21a circulates in the pin guide groove 20, and a predetermined push-on is performed. -Push-off operation is performed.

  Furthermore, in this example, in addition to the guide pin 21, a memory card locking piece 55 is also integrally molded on the other end side of the bent linear spring 50 via a connecting portion 50 b.

  In the present situation where the bent linear spring 50 and the guide pin 21 of the heart cam mechanism are integrated into one component, the number of components is reduced and the heart cam mechanism is miniaturized as the connector is miniaturized. Since the guide pin, which is a fine component, is integrated with the return spring having a relatively large shape, automation of manufacturing and assembly is facilitated.

  Further, by integrating the folding linear spring 50 and the memory card locking piece 55 for temporarily and completely preventing the memory card from being removed, it is possible to manufacture a separate memory card locking piece and The step of insert-molding this with respect to the slider is omitted, and the number of parts is reduced and the manufacturing is facilitated.

It is the perspective view which represented the shield cover part of the housing with the imaginary line in one Example of the push type memory card connector concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a memory card is inserted into the push-type memory card connector shown in FIG. (A) is a perspective view showing a shield case of the push-type memory card connector shown in FIG. 1, (b) is the slider, and (c) is the housing body. FIG. 2 shows a slider of the push-type memory card connector shown in FIG. 1, (a) is a plan view, (b) is a bottom view, (c) is a front view, and (d) is AA in FIG. It is line sectional drawing. FIG. 6 is a perspective view in which a shield cover portion of a housing is omitted in another embodiment of the push-type memory card connector according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the bending linear spring currently used for the push-type memory card connector shown in FIG. It is a top view which crosses and shows the shield cover part of the housing of the conventional push-type memory card connector. FIG. 8 is a front view of the push-type memory card connector shown in FIG. 7. It is a perspective view which shows the guide pin currently used for the push-type memory card connector.

Explanation of symbols

20 Pin guide groove 20A Outward guide groove portion 20B Return guide groove portion 21 Guide pin 21a Rotating arm portion 21b In-groove sliding portion 21c Pivot portion 22 Heart cam 30 Housing 31 Housing body 31a Bottom plate portion 31b Side wall constituting portion 31c Rear wall constituting portion 32 Shield Cover 32a Top plate part 32b Side wall component part 32c Side wall outer cover part 32d Rear wall outer shield part 33 Signal contact 34a, 34b Switch contact 40 Slider 41a Flat plate part 42 Memory card insertion part 43 Memory card insertion groove 44 Memory card erroneous insertion Prevention overhanging portion 45 Memory card abutting piece 46 Spring material accommodating recess 47a Front end side thick portion 50 Bending linear spring 50a, 50b Connecting portion 55 Memory card locking piece 56 Locking recess 57 Window hole 60 Linear spring end Part holding groove A Memory Card

Claims (4)

A slider in the housing that slides back and forth in the insertion / ejection direction of the memory card inserted into and removed from the memory card insertion space;
A return spring that biases the slider in the direction of ejecting the memory card;
By pushing the slider together with the memory card, the slider is detented at a predetermined pushing position, and a guide that slides in the pin guide groove for releasing the detent by pushing again. A push-type memory card comprising a push-on / push-off mechanism comprising a pin, wherein the slider is pushed in by pushing the memory card in the pushing direction, and the memory card is ejected by pushing the slider in the pushing direction In the connector,
The slider is located in the housing, and is placed in an arrangement to be overlaid on the front or back surface of the memory card inserted into the memory card insertion space,
The return spring is constituted by a bent linear spring having a shape in which a wire is bent in a zigzag shape on the same plane,
A push-type memory card connector, characterized in that the return spring is installed on the back surface of the slider in an overlapping arrangement.   The back surface of the slider has rising portions on both sides and the protruding end portion side, and a portion surrounded by the rising portions is a recessed portion that accommodates the bent linear spring, and the rising portion on the protruding tip side 2. The push-type memory card connector according to claim 1, wherein the bent linear spring is interposed in a pressure accumulation state between the housing and a memory card insertion space inner portion of the housing.   The memory card has a notch portion for preventing erroneous insertion at one side edge of the housing insertion side distal end portion, and the rider has an erroneous insertion prevention overhang portion that fits into the notch portion. The push-type memory card connector according to claim 1, further comprising a pin guide groove that constitutes the push-on / push-off mechanism at a position of an extension portion for preventing erroneous insertion of the slider. .   The bending pin-shaped spring constituting the return spring is bent at one end side to integrally form a guide pin that slides in a pin guide groove constituting the push-on / push-off mechanism. Push-type memory card connector according to any one of the above.

Images