JP2784346B2 - Contact and contact release mechanism between card and contact with electrode pad - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrode pad with an electrode pad and the like, which controls contact and release of contact with a card having an electrode pad and the like by a slider which reciprocates in conjunction with insertion and removal of the card. The present invention relates to a contact and release mechanism between a card and a contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 5, a card (memory card) 1 having an electrode pad with a built-in IC is inserted into a receptacle of an electronic device such as a personal computer or a word processor. By bringing the contact 4 into contact with the pad 3, the IC in the card is connected to the information processing circuit in the electronic device, the information held in the IC in the card is given to the information processing circuit in the electronic device, or the information processing circuit in the electronic device is provided. There is a method of recording information held by a card on a card.

As means for controlling the contact and release between the electrode pads 3 and the contacts 4 of these cards, a slider 5 which reciprocates following the insertion and removal of the card is provided, and the contact projection 7 of the contact is guided to this slider. A contact guide groove 10 having a bottom extending in the reciprocating direction is provided. When the slider 5 reciprocates, the contact protrusion 7 of the contact 4 is brought into elastic contact with the bottom surface of the contact guide groove 10 to make contact with the card. A release state is formed, and the contact protrusion 7 is elastically restored through a through hole 13 provided at the end of the guide groove 10 near the end of the forward movement of the slider 5 so that pressure contact with the electrode pad 3 of the card is achieved. I am trying to be.

The slider minimizes the contact protrusion of the contact from being pressed and slid on the surface of the card or the surface of the electrode pad during the entire process of inserting and removing the card. Effectively prevent damage.

[0005]

However, in the contact opening / closing mechanism, the contact projection of the contact resiliently contacts the bottom of the guide groove of the slider, and the slider reciprocates (insertion and removal of the card) in this elastic contact state. When a card is not inserted, a large stress is constantly applied to the contact due to elastic contact, and if left for a long period of time, the elasticity and plastic deformation of the contact are caused, and a large force is applied to the base where the contact of the connector is held. It causes deformation.

An object of the present invention is to appropriately solve this problem with a simple configuration.

[0007]

In order to solve this problem, an opening for releasing the elastic contact so that the contact protrusion does not protrude from the upper portion of the slider at the end of the backward movement of the slider, that is, near the beginning of the forward movement. A hole was provided at the bottom of the contact guide groove.

The contact has an elastic strip extending in the reciprocating direction of the slider. The contact projection is provided at a free end of the elastic strip. It is accommodated in the opening to relieve the stress applied to the elastic strip.

In this state, in order to prevent the contact projection from projecting above the slider, the shape and size of the opening are adjusted or the bottom surface of the guide groove provided with the opening is adjusted. Means such as inclining and engaging with the free end of the elastic strip can be adopted. Or,
By making the free end tip portion engage with the bottom surface of the contact guide groove, more reliable prevention of protrusion is achieved.

[0010]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a card connector constituting a contact contact and contact release mechanism. FIG. 2A is a plan view of the slider, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the slider viewed from the lower surface side. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 2A. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG. 2A, showing another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a flat card having a rectangular external shape as shown in FIG. 1, and the card 1 has an IC 2 as a memory element, and its electrode pads 3 are juxtaposed on the card surface. I have. Further, the card 1 may be a card having only the circuit opening / closing function having only the electrode pads 3 having no IC2. .

Reference numeral 4 denotes a contact arranged corresponding to the electrode pad 3 of the card 1. Reference numeral 5 denotes a reciprocating movement following the insertion and removal of the card 1 to control contact and release of the electrode pad 3 with the contact 4. It is a slider to do.

The contact 4 is formed of a conductive strip stamped and bent from a metal plate, and has an elastic strip 6 at one end thereof. It has a contact protruding portion 7 and a terminal piece 9 connected to a printed circuit board 8 forming part or all of an information processing circuit by soldering or the like on the other end side. A large number of the contacts 4 extend in the reciprocating direction of the slider 5 and are arranged side by side in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction. The printed circuit board 8 is electrically connected to an information processing circuit in the electronic device by a connector 15.

On the other hand, the slider 5 has a large number of contact guide grooves 10 which extend in the reciprocating direction and are juxtaposed in the direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction on one surface side facing the contact. The contact protrusion 7 is received in the groove 10 and reciprocates while regulating the position. The contact protrusion 7 is released near the end of the forward movement to release the card 1.
To the electrode pad 3.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show an example in which the slider 5 is also used as a card tray for receiving the card 1 and regulating the position. The slider 5 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is, as shown in FIG. A side ruler 11 for regulating a side edge and a front pad 12 with which a front edge of the card 1 abuts.
The card 1 is inserted into the space defined by the front pad 1 and the front pad 12, and the leading edge of the card is brought into contact with the front pad 12 so as to obtain the forward movement of the slider 5 following the card insertion. The card 1 is removed by moving the slider 5 back. The contact protrusion 7 of the contact 4 exists in the contact guide groove 10 when the slider 5 reciprocates following the insertion and removal of the card 1 to form a contact-disengaged state with the electrode pad 3 and near the end of the forward movement. The contact state is formed.

The slider 5 is moved backward by a spring means or by an ejecting operation mechanism 19.
To perform the card removal and the contact release.

As shown in FIGS. 3C and 4C, a hole 13 is formed at the end of the contact guide groove 10 provided in the slider 5 so as to penetrate the other surface of the slider 5 (into the card receiving space). The contact projection 7 is released into the through-hole 13 near the forward end of No. 5 to allow the card 1 to resiliently contact the electrode pad 3 by its restoring force.

FIG. 1 shows the card 1 in a non-inserted state in order to clearly show a state in which the slider 5 is at the end position of the forward movement and the contact protrusion 7 is opened in the through hole 13.
Further, an arrow 14 indicating the insertion direction is provided.

3 and 4, A indicates a state where the slider 5 is at the beginning of the forward movement, B indicates a state where the slider 5 is in the middle of the forward movement, and C indicates a state where the slider 5 is at the end of the forward movement.

3 and 4, when the card 1 is inserted, the front edge of the card pushes the front pad 12, and the slider 5 moves forward. Due to this forward movement, the contact protrusion 7 of the contact 4 slides while elastically contacting the bottom surface of the contact guide groove 10 (FIGS. 3B and 4B).
To form a so-called card use state.

Next, when the slider 5 is moved backward to remove the card 1, the contact projecting portion 7 of the contact follows the reverse course and slides while elastically contacting the bottom surface of the contact guide groove 10. At the terminal end, it elastically recovers into the opening 16 and the top of the contact projection 7 projects into the opening 16. In this state, a standby state in which no card is used is formed.

As described above, in the examples of FIGS. 3 and 4, when the slider 5 is at the backward end, the contact projection 7 of the contact 4 is inserted into the opening 16 formed through the slider 5. By projecting, it is released from elastic contact with the guide groove 10. The amount of upward displacement of the contact projection 7 at this time is controlled by supporting the elastic strip free end with the inclined portion 17 of the guide groove, and does not project from the upper surface of the slider 5.

In the example of FIG. 4, in addition to being supported by the inclined portion 17, a claw 18 is formed which engages with the edge of the opening 16 at the free end of the elastic strip, that is, the bottom of the guide groove. 7 is controlled.

The contact structure between the electrode pads 3 and the contacts 4 of the card 1 includes an example in which the card 1 is inserted into an electronic device by itself and an example in which the card 1 is formed via a connector dedicated to the card 1 as shown in FIG. Exist.

In the former, a contact 4 and a slider 5 are provided and placed in a card slot of an electronic device, and the slider 5 is moved forward by the card 1 inserted into the slot, and contacts the electrode pad 3 near the end of the forward movement. This is a case where the protrusion 7 is brought into pressure contact.

The latter includes a slider 5 and a contact 4 in a flat card storage case having a card slot as shown in FIG.
The card contact is formed by inserting the card 1 into the case and moving the slider to form the pressurized contact state. The card connector is inserted into the card slot of the electronic device. In this case, the connection between the card and the internal circuit is made. That is, the present invention can be implemented as means for opening and closing the connection between the card and the connector to form an electric circuit.

[0027]

According to the contact and contact release mechanism of the present invention, the stress due to the elastic contact of the contact projection is relaxed by the opening near the end of the slider's return movement, and the elastic deterioration and plastic deformation of the contact during standby. Alternatively, the deformation of the connector is prevented. In addition, since the displacement is controlled so that the contact protrusion does not protrude from the upper portion of the slider even in this relaxed state, contact with the card can be prevented, and card insertion can be performed without any trouble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a card connector which forms a contact and release mechanism between a card with electrode pads and a contact according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing extracted sliders used in the example of FIG. 1, wherein A is a plan view and B is a perspective view seen from the lower surface side.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 2A;
Indicates a state in which the slider 5 is at the beginning of the forward movement, B indicates a state in the middle of the forward movement, and C indicates a state in which the slider 5 is at the end of the forward movement.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the contact and contact release mechanism of the present invention, wherein A, B and C are the start and the middle of the forward movement of the slider 5, respectively, as in FIG. And the state at the end.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a contact and contact release mechanism of a conventional example, and A and B show a state at the start and end of the forward movement of the slider 5, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Card 2 IC 3 Electrode pad 4 Contact 5 Slider 6 Elastic strip 7 Contact protrusion 8 Wiring circuit board 9 Terminal strip 10 Contact guide groove 11 Side ruler 12 Front pad 13 Through hole 14 Arrow indicating card insertion direction 15 Connector 16 Open Hole 17 Slope of guide groove 18 Claw

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G06K 17/00 H01R 23/00 H01R 23/68 301

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A slider having a bottomed contact guide groove extending in the reciprocating direction for guiding a contact projection of a contact is provided at a lower portion of the slider. The slider reciprocates while elastically contacting the contact protrusion with the bottom of the contact guide groove, and releases the elastic contact at the bottom of the contact guide groove near the end of the forward movement of the slider to make the contact. A through hole for allowing the projection to elastically contact the card electrode pad and an elastic contact with the bottom of the contact guide groove so that the contact projection does not protrude from above the slider near the end of the backward movement. A contact and contact release mechanism for contacting a card with an electrode pad and a contact, wherein each of the openings has an opening for release. 2. A slider having a bottomed contact guide groove extending in the reciprocating direction for guiding a contact projection of a contact is provided at a lower portion of the slider. The slider reciprocates while resiliently contacting the contact protrusion with the bottom of the contact guide groove, and releases the elastic contact at the bottom of the contact guide groove near the end of forward movement of the slider. A through hole for allowing the projection to elastically contact the card electrode pad and an elastic contact with the bottom of the contact guide groove so that the contact projection does not protrude from above the slider near the end of the backward movement. An opening for releasing is provided, and in this released state, the free end of the contact is configured to engage with the bottom of the contact guide groove. The electrode pads with the card and the contact of the contact and the contact release mechanism according to claim.