JP3116344U - Card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A card connector is provided which can tell from the outside whether or not a cover member is locked to a base plate.
A card connector includes a base plate and a shell that is supported by the base plate so as to be swingable up and down. The lock holding position where the shell is locked and held by the base plate and the lock are released. It is slidable in the front-rear direction between a release position that can swing upward. A lock state display hole 25 is formed in the shell 20, and a lock state display protrusion 18 that is visible through the lock state display hole 25 is formed in the base plate 10. When the shell 20 is in the lock holding position, the lock state display protrusion 18 displays the lock holding position, and when the shell 20 is in the release position, the lock state display protrusion 18 displays the release position.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector, and more particularly to a card connector that reads information by contacting a card-shaped information recording medium such as a memory card.

  In electronic devices such as personal computers and peripheral devices thereof, as a memory device for storing information, a stamp-sized small memory card (specifically, an SD card or an MS card). Plays an important role. Such a memory card is generally connected to an electrical device via a card connector.

  As an example of such a card connector, a cover member (shell) is swingably attached to a base plate provided with contacts (contact terminals) so that the cover member covers the memory card. There is something. Such a card connector has a configuration in which a memory card is temporarily attached to a cover member, and the cover member is swung to bring the card side terminal into contact with the contact, or the memory card is placed on the base plate and then the memory. There is known a structure in which a cover member is swung so as to cover a card and a card side terminal and a contact are brought into contact with each other.

  In any case, in the card connector configured as described above, the cover member is laid down to a state substantially parallel to the base plate, the cover member is slid relative to the base plate, and the cover member is engaged with the base plate. The base plate is locked. In this manner, the memory card has its card-side terminal brought into contact with the contact portion of the contact with an appropriate contact pressure, and is locked and held on the base plate. When the memory card is removed, the cover member is slid in the direction opposite to that when the memory card is mounted to release the lock, so that the cover member is opened by the contact pressure of the contact, and the memory card can be taken out.

  By the way, when the cover member that covers the memory card as described above is latched and held by the base plate, the cover member is locked and held, so let's open the cover member without noticing this. In order to prevent the cover member from being damaged, the cover member is locked on the base plate when the cover member is lying down substantially parallel to the base plate, or the lock member is released and the lock is released. It is useful to make it possible to recognize from the outside whether or not the state can be moved and released.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a card connector that can be visually recognized from the outside as to whether or not a cover member that constitutes the card connector is locked and held by a base plate.

  In order to solve the above problems, a card connector according to the present invention includes a base plate provided with a contact, and a cover member (for example, the shell 20 in the embodiment) whose rear end side is supported by the base plate so as to be swingable up and down. The cover member is configured to contact the card side terminal provided on the memory card received on the base plate in a lying posture with the cover member lying substantially parallel to the base plate, and the cover member is in the lying posture. In this state, it is configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction between the lock holding position locked to the base plate and the release position where the lock is released and swings upward, and either the lock holding position or the release position is configured. The lock state display unit (for example, in the embodiment) displays that the cover member is located at the movement position of Click status protrusion 18 and the lock status display aperture 25) are provided.

  In the card connector configured as described above, it is preferable that the moving position of the cover member is displayed based on a difference in relative position with respect to the base plate due to the sliding movement of the cover member.

  Further, in the card connector having the above-described configuration, the lock state display unit is configured to display the cover member in a state of a lying posture formed in the display hole (for example, the lock state display hole 25 in the embodiment) formed in the cover member and the base plate. The lock state display protrusion is visible through at least one of the lock holding position and the release position through the hole, and the display hole is moved relative to the lock state display protrusion by the sliding movement of the cover member and locked. It is preferable that the display protrusion displays at least one of the lock holding position and the release position through the display hole.

  Further, in the card connector configured as described above, the lock state display protrusion is visible at the lock holding position and the release position, and the lock state display protrusion displays the lock holding position when the cover member is positioned at the lock holding position. The lock state display protrusion preferably displays the release position when the cover member is located at the release position.

  According to the card connector of the present invention, the display member is formed in the cover member constituting the card connector, the lock state display protrusion is formed in the base plate, and the cover member is in a state of being locked and held by the base plate or locked. Since it is configured to be visible from the outside whether it is in a state in which the holding is released and the rocking can be released, the cover member is locked without being noticed even though the cover member is in a locked state. It is possible to prevent the cover member from being damaged when opening.

  A preferred embodiment of the card connector according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the present specification, for convenience of explanation, front and rear, left and right, and top and bottom are defined and described so that coordinate axes and directions are added in FIG.

  The card connector 1 includes a rectangular flat base plate 10, a shell 20 that is supported by the base plate 10 so that the rear end of the base connector 10 can swing and slide up and down, and a plurality of contacts 30 that are press-fitted and fixed to the base plate 10. The memory card 2 is placed on the base plate 10 in an unfolded posture in which the shell 20 is swung upward with respect to the base plate 10, and the shell 20 is swung downward so as to cover the upper surface of the base plate 10. This is a card connector in which the memory card 2 is locked and held on the card connector 1 at the laid down position (see FIG. 1C).

  The base plate 10 is integrally formed into a shape shown in the figure by a molding means such as injection molding using an electrically insulating resin material such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) polyamide imide (PAI), and is substantially rectangular from the center to the front end. It has the substantially U-shaped recessed part 11 provided with the flat-shaped recessed part base 11a and the recessed part arm part 11b where the left-right end extends ahead from the recessed part base 11a (refer FIG. 3). Behind the recess 11, a substantially rectangular flat plate portion 12 is formed integrally with the recess 11 so as to rise above the recess 11, and the memory card 2 is received on the recess 11 and the plate portion 12. It is configured as follows. Further, on the left and right sides of the rear end side of the plate portion 12, there are formed shaft support portions 13 and 13 recessed in a substantially circular shape in a side view that can support the shell 20, and the base plate 10 is respectively connected to the shaft stop portions 13 and 13. Groove-shaped guide portions 14 and 14 are formed which are recessed to the left and right and extend substantially forward.

  On the rear end side of the base plate 10 and on the left and right side portions, protruding portions 15 are formed that protrude above the concave portion 11 and the plate portion 12. Further, a side surface of the protruding portion 15 at the left front portion is formed with an abutting surface 15a extending obliquely in a plan view. The memory card 2 received by the base plate 10 is positioned with respect to the base plate 10 by the inclined surface portion 2b formed on the right side surface of the memory card 2 contacting the abutting surface 15a.

  A plurality of contact mounting grooves 16 having a predetermined interval are formed side by side in the left-right direction, and a plurality of contacts 30 are press-fitted and attached thereto. A plurality of contact protection grooves 17 are formed from the rear end side of the recess base portion 11a to the front portion of the plate portion 12 so as to be arranged in the left-right direction in the same manner as the contact mounting grooves 16 with a predetermined interval. Interference between each other is prevented. Further, from the lower surface of the base plate 10, reinforcing terminals 40, 40,...

  In the vicinity of the base end portion of the concave arm portion 11b on the left side in plan view, a projection-like lock state display projection 18 that is substantially rectangular in plan view and protrudes upward from the upper surface of the concave portion 11 is provided. Further, recessed portions 19 and 19 which are cut out and recessed in a substantially conical shape in a plan view are formed at both left and right end portions of the base plate 10 in the front-rear direction. From the lower part of this recessed part 19, the latching | locking part 19a, 19a which each extended ahead and was cut is formed.

  The contact 30 is formed at a base portion 31 fixed to the contact mounting groove 16, an inclined portion 32 elongated from the base portion 31 in a finger shape and partially bent obliquely upward, and a tip portion of the contact arm portion 32. An upwardly convex arc-shaped card contact portion 33 and a lead portion 34 bent downward and horizontally from the base portion 31 and extending in the opposite direction to the inclined portion 32, for example, a conductive metal material such as beryllium copper The thin plate is processed and formed into the shape shown in the figure, and then gold plated or tin plated.

  Each of the contacts 30, 30,... Is inserted into the contact protection groove 17 from the contact mounting groove 16 formed before and after the concave base portion 11 a, and attached to the base plate 10 with the base portion 31 being press-fitted into the contact mounting groove 16. It is done. When the base 31 of the contact 30 is fixedly held in the contact mounting groove 16, the inclined portion 32 protruding into the contact protection groove 17 acts like a leaf spring supported in a cantilever manner, and the card contact portion 33 at the tip is It is supported so that it can swing and displace in the vertical direction.

  For this reason, the card contact portion 33 is positioned so as to protrude from the contact protection groove 17 to the upper surface of the plate portion 12 when no load is applied. However, when pressed from above, the inclined portion 32 is elastically deformed and swings downward. Then, the entire inclined portion 32 including the card contact portion 33 is accommodated so as to be pushed down into the contact protection groove 17. Further, the lead portion 34 bent downward and horizontally folded from the base portion 31 is located at substantially the same height as the lower surface of the base plate 10 in the contact mounting posture, and this lead portion 34 is the mounting target of the card connector 1. The circuit pattern on the substrate is solder-bonded (surface mounted) and can be electrically connected to the circuit pattern.

  It should be noted that the card connector 1 is not always securely and securely joined to the substrate by only solder joining to the substrate using only the lead portion 34 of the contact 30. Therefore, the lower surface side of the reinforcing terminals 40, 40,. And the circuit pattern by soldering, the card connector 1 can be more reliably bonded onto the substrate, and the card connector 1 can be prevented from being peeled off from the substrate.

  The shell 20 is attached to the base plate 10 so that the rear end side thereof can swing up and down, and has a plate-like substantially rectangular top plate portion 21 covering the upper surface of the base plate 10, and downward from both left and right end portions of the top plate portion 21. It is comprised from the side-plate part 22 which bends and extends. In addition, engaging portions 23, 23 extending inwardly in the left-right direction are formed at substantially the center in the front-rear direction of the left and right side plate portions 22. Engagement protrusions 24 and 24 are formed at the rear end portions of the left and right side plate portions 22 and on the inner sides thereof so as to protrude in a boss shape in a substantially circular shape when viewed from the side. These engagement protrusions 24 and 24 are respectively engaged with the shaft support portions 13 and 13 formed on the base plate 10, so that the shell 20 moves up and down with respect to the base plate 10 with the shaft support portions 13 and 13 as the swing center. The base plate 10 is covered from above when the base plate 10 is swung downward to be in a lying posture.

  Further, a lock state display hole 25 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view is formed through the top plate portion 21 at a position near the left end portion thereof so as to penetrate vertically. The lock state display hole 25 is set so that the position of the shell 20 is aligned with the lock state display protrusion 18 when the base plate 10 is covered in a lying posture with the shell 20 swinging downward. When in the lying posture, the upper part of the lock state display protrusion 18 is inserted into the lock state display hole 25. On the top plate 21 and in the vicinity of the lock state display hole 25, characters “UNLOCK” indicating the unlocked state and characters “LOCK” indicating the lock state are edges of the lock state display hole 25. Displayed together with a leader line and an arrow from the section, it is possible to visually recognize whether the shell 20 is in the unlocked state or in the locked state. The shell 20 is formed by bending and punching a plate material made of, for example, stainless steel.

  The shell 20 pivotally supported by the shaft stopper 13 remains in the lying posture by moving the engagement protrusion 24 forward along the guide portion 14 in the lying posture in which the shell 20 is lying with respect to the base plate 10. The shell 20 can be moved forward relative to the base plate 10. That is, the shell 20 can swing up and down (open and close) between an unfolded posture opened with respect to the base plate 10 and a lying posture closed on the base plate 10 so as to cover the contacts 30, 30,. In addition, the shell 20 is slidable back and forth in a lying posture substantially parallel to the base plate 10.

  Hereinafter, a description will be given of the holding of the shell 20 supported on the base plate 10 so as to be swingable and slidable by using the lock mechanism constituting the present invention. A lock mechanism for locking and holding the shell 20 on the base plate 10 includes an engaging portion 23 formed on the shell 20 and an engaging portion 19 a formed on the base plate 10.

  In order to attach the memory card 2 to the card connector 1, first, the memory card 2 is placed on the base plate 10 in an unfolded posture in which the shell 20 is unfolded upward. At this time, the memory card 2 is positioned such that the inclined surface portion 2b of the memory card 2 abuts against the abutting surface 15a of the base plate 10. Next, the shell 20 is laid down so as to cover the upper surface of the base plate 10 with the engaging protrusion 24 as the swing center. In the lying down process, the shell 20 swings downward (in the direction of arrow C) from a state extending substantially perpendicular to the base plate 10 with the engagement protrusion 24 as the base end side, as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (b), it becomes a lying posture extending substantially parallel to the base plate 10. Here, the engaging portion 23 is set so that the position of the engaging portion 23 is aligned with the concave portion 19 formed in the base plate 10, and when the shell 20 is in the lying posture, the engaging portion 23 is fitted into the concave portion 19. The

  In the release position in which the shell 20 is in the lying posture as shown in FIG. 7B and moved rearward with respect to the base plate 10, the lock state display protrusion 18 is positioned at the front side in the lock state display hole 25. (See FIG. 8 (a)), which indicates that the shell 20 is in its released position, and that the shell 20 is open from the base plate 10 from the outside. Can be recognized.

  When the shell 20 is slid forward with respect to the base plate 10 from such a state, the engaging part 23 moves to the lock holding position toward the inner part of the engaging part 19a, and the engaging part 23 becomes the engaging part. It engages with 19a (see FIG. 7C). In this state, since the engaging portion 23 is locked by the locking portion 19a even if the shell 20 is swung upward about the engaging protrusion 24, the opening of the shell 20 is restricted. That is, the lock mechanism locks the shell 20 so as to hold the lying posture.

  In a state where the shell 20 is locked and held, the upper portion of the lock state display protrusion 18 is positioned at the rear side in the lock state display hole 25 (see FIG. 8B). It can be recognized from the outside that the shell 20 is locked and held with respect to the base plate 10 by being shown in the locked position.

  Further, in the state where the shell 20 is locked and held in this way, the card side terminal 3 on the lower surface of the front end portion of the memory card 2 comes into contact with the card contact portion 33 of the contact 30 and pushes down the card contact portion 33 downward. At the same time, the contact 30 urges the card contact portion 33 toward the card side terminal 3 of the memory card 2 by its own elastic force. As a result, the card side terminal 3 and the card contact portion 33 are pressed and electrically connected.

  When removing the memory card 2 attached to the card connector 1 in this way, the procedure is reversed. Specifically, first, the shell 20 in the lock holding position is slid backward with respect to the base plate 10 to release the lock holding, and then the shell 20 is moved upward with the engagement protrusion 24 as the center of swing (with the arrow C). Rocks in the opposite direction. When the shell 20 swings upward, the memory card 2 is lifted upward by the elastic force of the contact 30. Then, the memory card 2 lifted in this way may be taken out from the base plate 10.

  The scope of the present invention is not necessarily limited to the embodiment described above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the lock state display protrusion 18 can be visually recognized through the lock state display hole 25 even when the shell 20 is located at either the lock holding position or the release position. However, the lock state display protrusion 18 can be viewed only when the shell 20 is positioned at the lock holding position, or the lock state display protrusion 18 can be viewed only when the shell 20 is positioned at the release position. It may be.

  Here, for example, when the lock state display protrusion 18 is configured to be visible only when the shell 20 is positioned at the lock holding position, the shell 20 is locked when the lock state display protrusion 18 is visible from the outside. When the lock state display protrusion 18 is blocked by the shell 20 and cannot be seen from the outside, it can be recognized that the shell 20 is positioned at the release position. it can.

  On the other hand, when the lock state display protrusion 18 is visible only when the shell 20 is located at the release position, the shell 20 is located at the release position when the lock state display protrusion 18 is visible from the outside. When the lock state display protrusion 18 is blocked by the shell 20 and cannot be seen from the outside, it can be recognized that the shell 20 is located at the lock holding position.

  Here, the effects achieved in the present invention are summarized as follows. That is, in the card connector according to the present invention, a display hole is formed in the cover member constituting the card connector, a lock state display protrusion is formed on the base plate, and the cover member is in a state of being locked and held on the base plate, or locked. Since it is configured to be visible from the outside whether it is in a state in which the holding is released and the rocking can be released, the cover member is locked without being noticed even though the cover member is in a locked state. It is possible to prevent the cover member from being damaged when opening.

It is a figure which shows the card connector which concerns on this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a left view. It is a bottom view of the said card connector. It is a figure which shows the base plate which comprises the said card connector, and the contact attached to the said base play, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is a figure. It is a left side view. It is a figure which shows the shell which comprises the said card connector, (a) is a top view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a rear view, (d) is a left view. (A) is a bottom view of the shell, and (b) is a left sectional view of the AA portion in (a). FIG. 6 is a left sectional view of the card connector, showing a case where the shell is in a deployed posture extending substantially vertically. FIG. 4 is a left sectional view of the card connector, in which (a) shows a deployed posture of the shell, (b) shows a lying posture when the shell is located at a release position, and (c) shows a locked holding position of the shell. The lying posture when it is located in is shown. (A) is a partial plan view of the card connector showing a state where the shell is located at the release position, (b) is a partial plan view of the card connector showing a state where the shell is located at the lock holding position, c) is a cross-sectional view of the BB portion in (a).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector 2 Memory card 10 Base plate 18 Lock state display protrusion 19 Recessed part 19a Locking part 20 Shell (cover member)
23 engagement part 25 lock state display hole (display hole)
30 contacts

Claims (4)

A base plate provided with contacts, and a cover member whose rear end is supported by the base plate so as to be swingable up and down;
A card connector configured to contact and contact a card-side terminal provided on a memory card received on the base plate in a lying posture in which the cover member is lying substantially parallel to the base plate. And
The cover member is configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction between a lock holding position locked to the base plate and a release position in which the lock is unlocked and swingable upward in the state of the lying posture,
A card connector, comprising: a lock state display portion that displays that the cover member is located at any one of the lock holding position and the release position.   The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the moving position of the cover member is displayed based on a difference in relative position with respect to the base plate due to the sliding movement of the cover member. The lock state display portion, a display hole formed in the cover member;
A lock state display protrusion formed on the base plate and visible in at least one of the lock holding position and the release position through the display hole of the cover member in the lying posture state;
The display hole is moved relative to the lock state display protrusion by sliding movement of the cover member, and the lock state display protrusion displays at least one of the lock holding position and the release position through the display hole. The card connector according to claim 2, wherein The lock state display protrusion is visible at the lock holding position and the release position,
When the cover member is positioned at the lock holding position, the lock state display protrusion displays the lock holding position;
4. The card connector according to claim 3, wherein the lock state display protrusion displays the release position when the cover member is located at the release position.

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