JP2013127912A - Card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card connector that has been improved in reliability in detecting insertion and withdrawal of a card.SOLUTION: A card connector C comprises a connector body, contacts, and a card detection section 4. The connector body has a space for accepting insertion of a card J with electric contacts. The contacts come into contact with the electronic contacts of the card J. The card detection section 4 has a first contact 41 and a second contact 42. The first contact and the second contact each protrude in the acceptance space before the card J is inserted, while a portion of each contact is supported, as with a cantilever beam, independently from the connector body M so as to come in contact with each other. The first contact 41 is pushed by the card J inserted into the acceptance space, thus being elastically deformed in the direction sliding on the second contact 42. The second contact 42 is pushed by the card J, thereby being elastically deformed in the direction away from the first contact 41.

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector.

  A card connector is known as a connector for mounting a card containing an IC to an electronic device. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a card socket that receives a card. This card socket is provided with a detection switch comprising two contact members provided in the card insertion direction. Since the first contact member of the two contact members is curved in the space for receiving the card, it is elastically deformed by being pushed by the card. At this time, the first contact provided at the edge of the first contact member is displaced to contact the second contact provided at the edge of the second contact member. Further, the first contact slides on the second contact as the first contact member is pushed by the card (wiping operation). When the card is pulled out, the first contact member returns to the state before deformation. At this time, the first contact moves away from the second contact after moving on the second contact in the opposite direction to that when the card is inserted.

JP 2002-324629 A

  However, in the detection switch of Patent Document 1, when the contact portion between the first contact and the second contact is rough, the first contact is caught on the second contact even if the card is pulled out, and the first contact There is a possibility that the member does not return to the state before the deformation. In this case, the first contact is not separated from the second contact, and the card removal cannot be detected.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a card connector that solves the above problems and has improved reliability of card insertion / removal detection.

The card connector of the present invention that achieves the above object is as follows.
A connector body formed with a receiving space for receiving insertion of a card having electrical contacts;
A contact supported by the connector body that contacts an electrical contact of the card inserted into the receiving space;
Each of the first contacts and the first contacts supported in a cantilever shape independently from the connector body so that each protrudes into the receiving space before the card is inserted, and a part of each protrudes from the receiving space. A card detection unit that has two contacts and detects the acceptance of the card into the receiving space,
The first contact is elastically deformed in a direction of sliding on the second contact by being pushed by a card inserted into the receiving space.
The second contact is pressed by a card inserted into the receiving space and elastically deforms in a direction away from the first contact.

  In the card connector of the present invention, when the card is inserted, the first contact is deformed so as to slide on the second contact, and the second contact is elastically deformed so as to be separated from the first contact. That is, the sliding operation and the separating operation are carried by different contacts independently of each other. For this reason, even if trouble occurs in the sliding operation of one of the two contacts, the movement of the other contact is not troubled. Therefore, the reliability of card insertion / removal detection according to contact / separation of contacts is improved.

  In the card connector of the present invention, the two contacts are separated from each other when the card is inserted. For this reason, the power consumption of the electronic device during normal operation with the card inserted is reduced.

  Here, in the card connector of the present invention, the first contact is located at a position before the position where the card inserted into the receiving space pushes the second contact in the insertion direction. It is preferable that the first contact is disposed at a position where the first contact is pushed.

  According to such an arrangement, the wiping operation for the second contact can be performed in a state where the second contact is reliably in contact with the first contact.

In the card connector of the present invention,
The second contact is a metal plate in which the plate surface faces the first contact and the plate surface is brought into contact with the first contact.
The first contact is disposed in a direction in which the plate surface of the first contact intersects the plate surface of the second contact, and the end surface of the first contact contacts the plate surface of the second contact. It is preferable that it is a metal plate.

  The wiping effect is high due to the configuration in which the end surface of the first contact is in contact with the plate surface of the second contact. Still further, this configuration reduces the contact portion and the trouble of the operation due to the roughness compared to the case where the end faces are in contact with each other and the case where the edges are in contact with each other.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a card connector with improved reliability of card insertion / removal detection is realized.

It is a top view of the card connector which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view of the card connector shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the upper shell from the card connector shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where insertion of a card into the card connector shown in FIG. 1 is completed. It is a top view which shows the state which removed the upper part of the card detection switch of the shells of the card connector shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the card connector shown in FIG. 5. It is the 1st figure which shows the upper part of a card detection switch of the card connector shown in FIG. 5, Part (A) is a top view, Part (B) is sectional drawing. It is the 2nd figure which shows the upper part of a card detection switch of the card connector shown in FIG. 5, Part (A) is a top view, Part (B) is sectional drawing. It is the 3rd figure which shows the upper part of a card detection switch of the card connector shown in FIG. 5, Part (A) is a top view, Part (B) is sectional drawing.

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

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a card connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the card connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the upper shell is removed from the card connector shown in FIG.

  1 and 2 also show a card J to be attached to the card connector. Here, the card J is an IC card with a built-in IC, for example, a micro SIM card. A direction in which the card J is inserted into the card connector C is referred to as an insertion direction X. The card J has a substantially rectangular plate shape, and a notch is formed on the left side of the front edge E in the insertion direction X. The card J is provided with an electrical contact P. The electrical contact P is arranged on the bottom surface J1, that is, the surface opposite to the surface appearing in FIG. 1 in the normal insertion posture of the card J shown in FIG.

  The card connector C includes a connector main body M having a housing 1 and a shell 2, six contacts 3, and a card detection switch 4. The card connector C is also provided with a card ejection mechanism 5. The card ejection mechanism 5 includes a slider 51, a coil spring 52, and a cam pin 53. The card eject mechanism 5 provides a push / push type eject function.

  The housing 1 is made of an insulating resin material. The shell 2 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate having elasticity. Both the housing 1 and the shell 2 have a substantially rectangular outer shape. The shell 2 is attached to the housing 1 so as to cover the housing 1. In the connector body M, a receiving space 11 for receiving the card J is formed between the housing 1 and the shell 2. The receiving space 11 is a cavity opened to the outside through the insertion port 11a. The card J is inserted into the receiving space 11 from the insertion port 11a in the insertion direction X. Here, the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction X and facing the shell 2 from the housing 1, that is, the direction passing through the paper surface in FIG.

  The contact 3 is a member for electrically connecting with the electrical contact P of the card J. The contact 3 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. The contact 3 is fixed to the housing 1 by insert molding or the like. The housing 1 is provided with a contact hole 11h, and the tip of the contact 3 enters the receiving space 11 through the contact hole 11h. The other end (not shown) of the contact 3 is soldered to a conductor pattern on a board (not shown) to which the card connector C is attached.

  The card detection switch 4 detects the reception of the card J into the receiving space 11. The card detection switch 4 includes a first contact 41 and a second contact 42. In FIG. 1, a part of the first contact 41 and a part of the second contact 42 can be seen through the hole 2 h provided in the shell 2.

  The first contact 41 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. The first contact 41 is supported by the connector body M. More specifically, a part of the first contact 41 is fixed to the housing 1 by insert molding or the like. That is, the first contact 41 is supported by the housing 1 in a cantilever shape, and the tip of the first contact 41 extends in the insertion direction X from the supported portion. The first contact 41 is arranged such that its plate surface is substantially parallel to the bottom surface J1 of the card J in the state of being inserted into the receiving space 11, that is, substantially in the upward direction Z. However, at the tip of the root portion of the first contact 41 supported by the housing 1, the oblique portion 411 that extends obliquely in the upward direction Z and protrudes into the receiving space 11 before the card J is inserted. Is provided.

  The second contact 42 is supported by the connector main body M independently of the first contact 41. The second contact 42 is formed by bending a metal plate. More specifically, the second contact 42 is formed as a part of a metal plate constituting the shell 2. That is, the second contact 42 of the present embodiment is formed integrally with the shell 2. The second contact 42 is disposed on the side surface of the shell 2. The second contact 42 is disposed so that its plate surface is substantially perpendicular to the plate surface of the first contact 41, that is, substantially perpendicular to the upward direction Z. The second contact 42 is supported by the shell 2 in a cantilever shape. The tip of the second contact 42 extends substantially in the insertion direction X. However, at the tip of the second contact 42, there is provided a skew portion 421 that extends obliquely toward the receiving space 11 and protrudes into the receiving space 11 before the card J is inserted.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where the insertion of the card into the card connector shown in FIG. 1 is completed. In the state shown in FIG. 4, the contact 3 (see FIG. 3) is in contact with the electrical contact P (see FIG. 1) of the card J. At this time, the second contact 42 is pushed out to the side of the card connector C by the card J inserted into the receiving space 11 of the card connector C.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which a portion of the card connector shown in FIG. 1 above the card detection switch in the shell 2 is removed. FIG. 6 is a side view of the card connector shown in FIG. 5 and 6 show the card J being inserted into the card connector C. FIG. For easy viewing, the visible portion of the card J is hatched.

  The first contact 41 and the second contact 42 included in the card detection switch 4 are in contact in the receiving space 11 before the card J is inserted. The first contact 41 and the second contact 42 are separated when the card J is further inserted in the insertion direction X from the state shown in FIG. As a result, the card detection switch 4 is opened, and insertion of the card is electrically detected. On the contrary, when the card J is pulled out from the position where it is inserted into the receiving space 11 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction X, the first contact 41 and the second contact 42 contact each other. As a result, the card detection switch 4 is closed, and the removal of the card is electrically detected.

  7 to 9 are diagrams showing the upper part of the card detection switch of the card connector shown in FIG. 7 to 9 sequentially show the process of inserting a card into the card connector. Part (A) of FIGS. 7 to 9 is a plan view, and part (B) is a cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line BB in FIG.

  During insertion of the card J shown in FIG. 7, the first contact 41 and the second contact 42 are in contact with each other. Here, with reference to FIG. 7, the 1st contact 41 and the 2nd contact 42 are demonstrated in detail.

  The distal end portion of the first contact 41 is in contact with the oblique portion 421 of the second contact 42. More specifically, the first contact 41 made of a metal plate is disposed so that the plate surface intersects the plate surface of the second contact 42 made of a metal plate. The end surface of the first contact 41 is in contact with the plate surface of the second contact 42.

  Further, the first contact 41 is arranged at a position where the first contact 41 is pushed at a position before the position where the inserted card J pushes the second contact 42 in the insertion direction X. More specifically, the skew portion 411 of the first contact 41 is disposed before the skew portion 421 of the second contact 42 in the insertion direction X.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the card J is further inserted in the insertion direction X, the edge of the card J, more specifically the bottom surface J <b> 1 of the card J, hits the first contact 41. The card J hits the oblique portion 411 of the first contact 41 before the second contact 42. Thereafter, the card J pushes down the skew portion 411 of the first contact 41 in the direction of the arrow a opposite to the upward direction Z. The first contact 41 is elastically deformed. At this time, the end surface of the first contact 41 in contact with the second contact 42 slides on the second contact 42 in the direction of arrow a and is wiped. By the wiping operation by the first contact 41, foreign matters such as dust between the first contact 41 and the second contact 42 are removed.

  In the present embodiment, since the end surface of the first contact 41 slides on the plate surface of the second contact 42, for example, the wiping effect is higher than when the plate surfaces contact each other. Further, for example, the operation is smoother than the case where the end faces of the two contacts are in contact with each other or the case where the edges are in contact with each other, and the occurrence of roughness of the contact portion is reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the card J is further inserted in the insertion direction X, the card J now hits the second contact 42. More specifically, the side surface J2 of the card J hits the oblique portion 421 of the second contact 42. Thereafter, the second contact 42 is pushed sideways, that is, in the direction of the arrow b while being elastically deformed as the card J is inserted. The second contact 42 is separated from the first contact 41. In this way, insertion of the card J is detected.

  In the card connector C of the present embodiment, the first contact 41 is responsible for sliding on the second contact 42, and the second contact 42 is responsible for moving away from the first contact 41. The sliding operation and the separating operation are carried by the first contact 41 and the second contact 42 which are different from each other. For this reason, even if the wiping operation by the first contact 41 becomes insufficient due to rough contact surfaces or the presence of foreign matter, the second contact 42 does not affect the separation operation. Therefore, the reliability of card J insertion / extraction detection based on the separation / contact of the two contacts 41, 42 is improved.

  In the card connector C of the present embodiment, the two contacts 41 and 42 are separated from each other when the card is inserted. For this reason, the power consumption of the electronic device to which the card connector C is attached during normal operation with the card J inserted is reduced.

  When the card J is extracted from the card connector C, an operation opposite to the above-described operation is performed.

  When the card J is extracted from the card connector C, first, as shown in FIG. 9, the second contact 42 returns to the state before elastic deformation. That is, the skew portion 421 of the second contact 42 moves in the direction opposite to the arrow b and returns to the receiving space 11. The second contact 42 contacts the end surface of the first contact 41.

  Thereafter, when the card J is further pulled out from the card connector C, as shown in FIG. 8, the first contact 41 is restored to the state before elastic deformation. That is, the oblique portion 411 of the first contact 41 moves in the direction opposite to the arrow a and returns to the receiving space 11. At this time, the end surface of the first contact 41 slides and wipes on the plate surface of the second contact 42. By the wiping operation by the first contact 41, the foreign matter between the first contact 41 and the second contact 42 is removed. Therefore, the contact between the first contact 41 and the second contact 42 becomes more reliable.

  As described above, the first contact 41 in the present embodiment has the first contact 41 at a position before the position in which the inserted card J pushes the second contact 42 in the insertion direction X. It is arranged at the pushing position. That is, when the card J is extracted, the first contact 41 comes into contact with the second contact 42 returned from the elastically deformed state, and the first contact 41 itself is also brought out of the elastically deformed state by further extraction of the card J. While returning, it slides on the second contact 42. Accordingly, the first contact 41 performs a wiping operation on the second contact 42 in a state where the second contact 42 is in reliable contact with the first contact 41.

  In the embodiment described above, the first contact 41 supported by the housing is shown as an example of the first contact according to the present invention, and is formed integrally with the shell 2 as an example of the second contact. A second contact 42 is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the second contact may be formed separately from the shell. Further, the arrangement of the first contact and the second contact may be reversed. Both contacts may be supported by the housing.

  In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the positional relationship between the first contact and the second contact, the skew portion 411 of the first contact 41 is inserted in the insertion direction more than the skew portion 421 of the second contact 42. An example in which X is arranged in front is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the positional relationship only needs to be arranged at a position where the card contacts the first contact at a position before the position where the card presses the second contact in the insertion direction. That is, the positional relationship between the first contact and the second contact may be changed depending on the shape of the part of the card with which these contacts come into contact.

  Further, a micro SIM card is shown as an example of a card targeted by the above-described embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an IC card represented by an SD card, for example. Also, there may be a plurality of contacts other than six.

  The card connector in the above-described embodiment has a push / push type eject mechanism. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the card connector may push out the card by, for example, pressing an eject button.

C Card Connector M Connector Body 1 Housing 2 Shell 3 Contact 4 Card Detection Switch 11 Receiving Space 41 First Contact 411 Skew Part 42 Second Contact 421 Skew Part J Card X Insertion Direction

Claims (3)

A connector body formed with a receiving space for receiving insertion of a card having electrical contacts;
A contact supported by the connector body that contacts an electrical contact of a card inserted into the receiving space;
Each of the first contacts and the first contacts supported in a cantilever shape independently from the connector body so that each protrudes into the receiving space before the card is inserted, and a part of each protrudes from the receiving space. A card detection unit that has two contacts and detects acceptance of the card into the receiving space;
The first contact is elastically deformed in a direction to slide on the second contact by being pushed by a card inserted into the receiving space,
The card connector, wherein the second contact is elastically deformed in a direction away from the first contact by being pushed by a card inserted into the receiving space.   The first contact is arranged at a position in front of the position where the card inserted into the receiving space pushes the second contact in the insertion direction, and at a position where the card pushes the first contact. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the card connector is a connector. The second contact is a metal plate in which a plate surface is directed to the first contact and the plate surface is brought into contact with the first contact;
The first contact is disposed so that the plate surface of the first contact intersects the plate surface of the second contact, and the end surface of the first contact contacts the plate surface of the second contact. 3. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the card connector is a metal plate.

Images