JP2727973B2 - Card unit integrated electronic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device having an integrated card portion such as an IC memory card, and more particularly to an integrated electronic device having a card portion for connecting to various devices such as a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 8, this type of card unit-integrated electronic device 200 can be connected to a card slot 102 provided in a housing 101 of various small information terminals 100 such as a personal computer. And the electronic device body 2
01 is provided integrally with a card unit 202 formed in the same standard as the IC card. For example, when configured as a wireless modem for a personal computer, the personal computer and the wireless modem are connected by inserting the card section into the card slot of the personal computer, and the data in the personal computer is transmitted by the wireless modem. Can be transmitted and received.

The above-described electronic device 200 includes a card unit 20.
2 and the main body 201 are integrally formed, and an interface connector (female) 203 is formed at the tip of the card section 202, that is, at a portion inserted into the card slot 102 of the small information terminal 100. . In the card slot 102 of the small information terminal 100, an interface connector (female) 2 of the card unit 202 is provided.
Interface connector (male) 1 to be connected to 03
03 is provided. Then, when the card section 202 is inserted into the card slot 102, the interface connectors 103 and 203 of the two are fitted to each other to make an electrical connection with each other. Here, the card section 202 and the interface connector (female) 203 conform to the PCMCIA standard.

[0004]

In the conventional card unit-integrated electronic device 200, the card unit 202 and the main unit 20 are provided.
1 is fixed and integrated, and is usually designed to be inserted into the card slot 102 of the small information terminal 100 in the orientation as shown in FIG. However, depending on the type of the small information terminal, the up and down direction of the interface connector (male) 103 is formed upside down, and the front and back of the card unit 202 must be inserted upside down as shown in FIG. In some cases, the card unit 20
2, the main body 201 of the electronic device 200 projects downward from the bottom surface of the small information terminal 100. As a result, when the small information terminal is set on a desk, the posture becomes unstable, and the usability is improved. Very bad. Further, in such a posture, there is a problem that an excessive load is easily applied to a vicinity of a joint portion between the card unit 202 and the main body unit 201, and the card unit-integrated electronic device is easily damaged.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to improve the usability of an external device and prevent the card from being damaged irrespective of the difference between the front and back directions of the insertion portion of the card in an external device such as a small information terminal. It is to provide an integrated electronic device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a card unit-integrated electronic device in which a card unit for inserting and connecting to an external device and a main unit of the electronic device are formed separately, and the card unit is formed in the main unit. thickness with a card unit detachably composing for
It is characterized in that the same electrical connection is made even when mounted on the main body part with the front and back reversed.

For example, a connector is provided at the base end of the card section, and a connector is provided at the main body section, into which the connector of the card section is fitted. Direction , ie, card thickness
The wiring connected to each electrode in each connector is also connected in a point-symmetric manner in the vertical direction.

[0008]

[Effect] Even when the card section is connected upside down to an external device, the card section and the main body section are connected relatively upside down so that the main body section is not turned upside down. The electrical connection between the electronic device and the external device becomes possible, and the usability of the external device can be improved.

[0009]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention. A card slot 102 into which an IC card can be inserted in a horizontal direction is provided on a part of a side surface of a housing 101 of a small information terminal 100 such as a personal computer. The card slot 102 is provided with an interface connector (male) 103 at an inner bottom thereof. The card unit-integrated electronic device 200 such as a wireless modem connected to the small-sized information terminal 100 is provided with a card unit 202 formed in the same standard as an IC card. And
The card unit 202 has a base end 202 a that is the electronic device 2.
00 is mechanically and electrically connected to the main body 201, and its tip 202b is inserted into the card slot 102 of the small information terminal 100 and fits into the interface connector (male) 103. And the electrical connection is made.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the card unit-integrated electronic device 200. FIG. The card unit 202
It is formed to have almost the same standard as the C card, and its tip 2
An interface connector (female) 203 that can be electrically connected to the interface connector (male) 103 of the small-sized information terminal 100 is formed at 02b. Further, a plug connector 204 is provided at the base end 202a.
Are formed. This plug connector 204 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the front view and the AA enlarged cross-sectional view in (a) and (b), a fitting frame 205 having a rectangular frame shape is formed so as to protrude. And a large number of conductive female electrodes 206 are arranged.

The card unit-integrated electronic device 200
The main body 201 has a horizontally long opening 208 formed in a part of the side surface of the housing 207, and a socket connector 209 is formed using the opening 208. A plug connector 204 at the base end of the plug 202 can be fitted. FIGS. 4A and 4B show a front view and a B-
As shown in an enlarged sectional view of FIG. B, the fitting projection 210 inserted into the fitting frame 205 of the
A large number of conductive male electrodes 211 are arranged along both upper and lower surfaces of the fitting projection 210. The male electrodes 211 are positioned so as to correspond to the female electrodes 206 provided on the plug connector 204 of the card section 202.
When inserted into the opening 208 of each of the electrodes 206, 2
11 are configured to be in contact with and electrically connected to each other. The female electrode 206 and the male electrode 211 are
Each is arranged at a position symmetrical with respect to the center of the arrangement.

The card section 202 and the main body section 201 having this configuration
Means that the plug connector 204 formed at the base end portion 202 a of the card portion 202 is fitted into the socket connector 209 formed in the opening 208 of the main body portion 201,
Both can be mechanically and electrically integrated. That is, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view at that time. When the plug connector 204 of the card section 202 is inserted into the socket connector 209 of the main body section 201, the fitting frame section 205 is fitted into the opening 208, and The card portion 202 and the main body 2 are inserted by fitting the protruding portion 210 into the
01 are mechanically integrated. At this time, since the female electrode 206 of the card section 202 and the male electrode 211 of the main body section 201 are in contact with each other, they are electrically integrated, that is, electrically connected.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, by inserting the tip 202b of the card section 202 into the card slot 102 of the small information terminal 100, the card section 20 is inserted.
2 interface connector (female) 203 and small information terminal 100 interface connector (male) 1
03 are mutually connected, so that the small information terminal 100 and the electronic device 200 can be mechanically and electrically connected. That is, in this embodiment, the wireless modem can be integrally attached to the personal computer, and at the same time, the electrical connection between them can be made.

On the other hand, an interface connector (male)
When the electronic device 200 is connected to a small information terminal 103 designed upside down, the card unit 202 needs to be inserted into the card slot 102 with the front and back turned upside down. At this time, the card section 202 is once detached from the main body section 201. At this time, the plug connector 204 of the card section 202 may be pulled out of the socket connector 209 of the main body section 201 to release the engagement between them. Then, the card connector 202 is turned upside down, and the plug connector 204 is fitted into the socket connector 209 again. Thereby, in the electronic device, the card unit 2
02 is connected to the main body 201 with the front and back turned upside down.

Even when the card connector 202 is turned upside down and the plug connector 204 and the socket connector 209 are fitted together, the female electrode 206 and the male electrode 211 in each connector are arranged point-symmetrically. Therefore, connection between both electrodes is ensured. In the main body 201,
Since the electrical connections of the male electrodes 211 of the socket connector 209 are arranged point-symmetrically, the electrical connection between the two can be maintained the same even if the card unit 202 is turned upside down.

For example, in the plug connector 204, of the female electrodes 206, only the electrode on the right side from the center is used, and correspondingly, as shown schematically in FIG.
In the male electrode 211 of the socket connector 209, the electrical connection to the left and right electrodes is made symmetrically. Therefore, even when the card section 202 is turned upside down, the female electrode 206 used by the plug connector 204 is electrically connected to the same wiring by the socket connector 209. Alternatively, of the female electrodes 206 of the plug connector 204, only the electrodes on the front side are used, and the male electrodes 211 of the socket connector 209 are electrically connected symmetrically to the upper and lower electrodes as shown in FIG. May be performed.

Therefore, after connecting the card section 202 to the main body section 201 with the card section 202 turned upside down, the card section 202 is inserted into the card slot 10 of the small information terminal 100.
2 and the interface connectors 103 and 203
The connection is made at. At this time, since the main body 201 is connected upside down relative to the card 202 even though the card 202 is upside down, as a result, the main body becomes a solid line in FIG. The terminal is connected to the small-sized information terminal in the posture indicated by. For this reason, as shown by a chain line in FIG.
Thus, the card unit-integrated electronic device that is easy to use and excellent in versatility can be obtained without being projected below 00.

Further, by forming the card portion separately from the main body portion and making the card portion detachable as described above, when providing a card-integrated electronic device having different electric circuit specifications, for example, the card portion is common. Therefore, when only the internal circuit of the main unit is different, only the main unit needs to be replaced, and a device having a different specification can be easily provided at low cost.

Here, in the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to a wireless modem for a personal computer. However, the present invention is inserted into a card slot of a small information terminal such as an external memory circuit, an interface device, etc. and interconnected. The present invention can be applied to various card unit-integrated electronic devices that perform the following.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, a card portion for inserting and connecting to an external device and a main body portion of an electronic device are formed separately, and the card portion is detachable from the main body portion. In addition, the electronic devices are configured so that the same electrical connection is made even when the card unit is mounted on the main unit with the card unit turned upside down in the thickness direction, so the card insertion direction (front and back) Even if the external device is not standardized, it is possible to mount the main unit without protruding from the bottom surface of the external device, and it is possible to obtain a card unit integrated electronic device that is easy to use and excellent in versatility.

Further, since the card section and the main body section are configured to be detachable by using a connector, only the internal circuit of the card section or the main body section is changed so that card-type integrated electronic devices of various specifications can be obtained. Can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the card unit-integrated electronic device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a plug connector of a card unit and an AA enlarged sectional view.

FIG. 4 is a front view and a BB enlarged cross-sectional view of the socket connector of the main body.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state where a plug connector and a socket connector are connected.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state where the electronic apparatus of the present invention is connected to a small information terminal.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a wiring example of a plug connector and a socket connector.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway front view for explaining a conventional card unit-integrated electronic device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a problem in the electronic device of FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Small information terminal 102 Card slot 103 Interface connector (male) 200 Card part integrated electronic device 201 Main part 202 Card part 203 Interface connector (female) 204 Socket connector 209 Plug connector

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electronic device having a card portion for inserting and connecting to an external device, wherein the card portion and a main body of the electronic device are formed separately, and the card portion is attached to the main body. The card unit is configured to be detachable by attaching the card unit to the main unit while the card unit is installed upside down in the plate thickness direction. Body electronics. 2. A connector is provided at a base end portion of the card portion, and a connector is provided at the main body portion to which a connector of the card portion is fitted, and these connectors are connected to each other. 2. The card unit-integrated electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes are arranged point-symmetrically in the thickness direction of the card unit , and wiring connected to each electrode in each connector is also connected point-symmetrically in the thickness direction. . 3. The card section is formed in accordance with the same standard as an IC card, and has an interface (female) section provided at a tip end thereof. The card section is inserted into a card slot provided in an external device to be connected to the interface (female). 3. The card unit-integrated electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the (female) portion is electrically connected to an interface (male) portion provided at an inner bottom portion of the card slot. 4. The main body portion has a surface whose at least bottom surface is higher than the bottom surface of the external device at a lateral position of the external device when the card portion is inserted and connected to the external device with the front surface or the rear surface thereof facing upward. The card unit-integrated electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the electronic device is integrated so as to be located at an upper position.