JP3354497B2 - PC card - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a PC card inserted into a card slot of a personal computer, for example, to extend the functions of the personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a personal computer has a computer body having an arithmetic function, a storage function, etc., a keyboard for inputting signals to the computer body, and a floppy disk for storing a memory in the computer body. It is roughly composed of a device and a display for displaying programs, calculation results, and the like.

[0003] In a personal computer, expansion of a memory built in the computer body, addition of a modem,
IDE for external CD-ROM drive and hard disk
In order to perform an interface or the like, a card slot in which a PC card can be additionally inserted later is provided. Further, the size and shape of the PC card are regulated by the PC card standard and the standard of JEIDA (Japan Electronic Machine Industry).

On the other hand, in order to increase the processing speed of personal computers, the amount of information for arithmetic processing is shifting from 16 bits (low bits) to 32 bits (high bits). Card and 3
It is distinguished from a 2-bit PC card. Similarly, the card slot on the personal computer side is 16
It is roughly classified into a card slot for bits and a card slot for 32 bits.

[0005] In a personal computer, the drive voltage in the computer body is reduced to reduce power consumption.
Normally, the drive voltage of a 16-bit PC card is 5.0 V, while the drive voltage of a 32-bit PC card is set to 3.3 V. In addition, by lowering the driving voltage from 5.0 V to 3.3 V, the transmission and reception of signals between the PC card and the computer main body are ensured, and a 32-bit PC is used.
The card and the card slot are provided with a ground electrode having a plurality of protrusions for strengthening the ground connection.

On the left side of the PC card insertion direction,
A card-side keyway is formed to prevent the C card from being mistakenly inserted on the front and back, and to distinguish between a 16-bit PC card and a 32-bit PC card. And
The card-side keyway is formed to have a wider width in the 16-bit PC card than in the 32-bit PC card.

[0007] Due to the difference in the width of the card-side key groove, the 16-bit PC card can be mounted not only in the 16-bit card slot but also in the 32-bit card slot. On the other hand, a 32-bit PC card can be inserted into a 32-bit card slot, but cannot be inserted into a 16-bit card slot. As a result, it is possible to prevent each projection of the ground electrode provided in the card slot of the 32-bit PC card from being mounted on the 16-bit card slot which does not have a portion for receiving the projection. The card insertion hole was protected.

Here, as this type of 32-bit PC card, the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-58163 is known.

The PC card according to the prior art includes a frame-like body having one end serving as a connector mounting port for housing a circuit board therein, two panels covering both sides of the frame-like body, and the frame-like body. A connector provided in the connector mounting port of the connector for connecting the circuit board to a personal computer,
A ground electrode provided between one of the two panels and the connector to connect a ground of the circuit board to a ground of a personal computer;

[0010] In one panel, a plurality of projection accommodating holes are formed at positions of the connector mounting port, and the ground electrode is provided with a flat plate portion extending along a length direction of the connector; And protrusions formed on the panel and protruding from the respective protrusion receiving holes of the panel.
Furthermore, since an adhesive film is provided on the inner surface of the panel, the panel and the ground electrode are joined by an adhesive with the projection of the ground electrode protruding from the projection receiving hole of the panel.

[0011]

In the above-mentioned conventional PC card, although the ground electrode is bonded to one of the two panels,
It is not fixed to the connector, the flatness of the flat part of the ground plate is poor, the flatness of the part of the panel corresponding to the connector mounting side is poor, or the individual In the case where there is a component manufacturing error, for example, there is a problem that the center of the ground electrode floats from the connector.

In addition, when a PC card is inserted into or removed from a card slot, even if torsional strength or the like is applied to the connector mounting opening of the casing, there is a problem that the center of the ground electrode floats from the connector. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the present invention provides a PC which can enhance durability and reliability by fixing a ground electrode to a connector with improved adhesion. It is intended to provide cards.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a frame-shaped body having one end serving as a connector mounting port for accommodating a circuit board therein, and a cover provided on both sides of the frame-shaped body. And a connector provided in the connector mounting opening of the frame-shaped body and connecting the circuit board to a personal computer, and being sandwiched between one of the two panels and the connector. provided Te, suitable for PC card comprising a ground electrode for connecting the ground of the circuit board to the ground of the personal computer
Ru is use.

A feature of the structure adopted in the first aspect of the present invention is that the ground electrode is formed by making a cutout in the flat plate portion extending along the length direction of the connector and the personal computer side. low bit of the high bit for car <br/> de slot and the low-bit card slot
Response to the slot shape when attached to the use card slot
Flip is constituted by a plurality of springy projections providing a displacement in the spring, between the connector and the flat surfaces formed between the spring protrusions adjacent one of said plate, the peripheral spring protrusions Is that an adhesive film is provided on each of the portions avoiding the above.

With such a configuration, the connector and the ground electrode can be fixed in a state in which the adhesiveness is enhanced by the adhesive film, and the ground electrode can be prevented from floating with respect to the connector.

Further, between the flat surfaces between the adjacent spring projections of the flat plate portion and the connector, adhesive films are individually provided at portions avoiding the periphery of the spring projections. For example, the ground electrode and the connector can be fixed without restricting the operation of each springy projection even when the adhesive film is crushed and spread by, for example, heating and pressing at the time of manufacturing. In addition, the ground electrode has a high bit
Card slot and low bit card slot.
When installing in the card slot for
When it is inserted into the low bit card slot without giving any displacement
Since forming the spring protrusions that provide the displacement the spring in response to the slot shape in come, the spring protrusions are mosquitoes for high bit
When attaching to the card slot, do not apply displacement to the spring.
Connected to the ground on the card slot side,
When inserting the card into the card slot,
When pressed, the spring is displaced according to the card insertion hole.
Therefore, the present invention can be used for both a high bit card slot having an electrode for receiving the ground electrode and a low bit card throttle having no electrode for receiving the ground electrode.

[0018] inventions of claim 2, the flat plate portion of the ground electrode
Of each flat surface formed between adjacent spring protrusions
Between the two panels and around the spring projection
Are provided with other adhesive films .

With this configuration, the connector
Has a double structure with a ground electrode and one panel
Connected by heating and pressing
The ground electrode and one of the panels
Therefore, the adhesive collapses and spreads, and the adhesive strength of the adhesive film is increased.
And reduce the thickness of the adhesive film, resulting in a connector
The thickness of the mounting portion can be reduced.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
The PC card with be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

1 is 16 bits and 32 bits according to the present embodiment.
A PC card 2 capable of accommodating both of the bits is a casing formed in the shape of a thin plate forming the outer shape of the PC card 1. The casing 2 includes a thin frame 3 having upper and lower openings.
The upper opening of the frame 3 is covered with a rectangular bulge 4A.
, And a lower panel 5 covering the lower opening of the frame 3 and also having a rectangular bulging portion 5A, and a substrate accommodating space 6 is formed therein.

As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 3 has a U-shaped frame 3A, a beam 3B connecting the front end side of the frame 3A, and the frame 3B. And a connector mounting port 3C formed at the tip of the portion 3A.
A plurality of protrusion receiving portions 9 described later are formed on the beam portion 3B.

A card-side connector 13 to be described later is mounted on the connector mounting port 3C, and locking claws are locked on the locking grooves of the frame 3 on both sides of the connector mounting port 3C of the upper panel 4. 4B, 4B (only one is shown) are formed. The arrow A in FIG. 1 indicates the direction in which the PC card 1 is inserted.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a circuit board accommodated in the board accommodation space 6 of the casing 2. The circuit board 7 has a drive voltage of 5.0 V as well as a 32-bit drive voltage of 3.3 V. The electronic component 8 which constitutes a circuit set so as to correspond to both of 16 bits using is mounted.

A circuit corresponding to 32 bits using a driving voltage of 3.3 V and a circuit corresponding to 16 bits using a driving voltage of 5.0 V are connected to a PC card by means such as a changeover switch (not shown). Can be switched in accordance with the personal computer to be mounted.

Numerals 9, 9,... Are projection receiving portions for receiving the distal ends of spring projections 15 which will be described later. Each of the projection receiving portions 9 is spaced apart from the beam 3B of the frame 3 by a predetermined distance. To form eight recesses. When the frame 3 is formed of the same material, each of the projection receiving portions 9 can be formed integrally with the frame 3.

Reference numerals 10, 10,... Denote a plurality of protrusion receiving holes formed in a portion of the upper panel 4 located on the connector mounting port 3C side. Each of the protrusion receiving holes 10 is formed in a rectangular shape.
A ground electrode 14, which will be described later, passes through each projection accommodation hole 10.
Are projected.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a card-side key groove formed on the left side in the insertion direction of the PC card 1. The card-side key groove 11 is located on the left side in the insertion direction of the side wall of the frame 3 near the connector mounting opening 3C. It is formed by notching the upper surface of the frame 3. The card-side key groove 11 is formed to have the same groove width dimension d1 as the card-side key groove of the 16-bit PC card specified by the standard.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a guide groove formed on the right side of the PC card 1 in the insertion direction. The guide groove 12 is located near the connector mounting port 3C of the frame 3 and located on the right side in the insertion direction. Is formed by forming a groove in the side wall. The guide groove 12 is formed to have a groove width dimension do defined by the standard.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a long card-side connector provided in the connector mounting opening 3C of the frame 3, and the card-side connector 13 includes a rectangular body 13A made of a resin material and a rectangular body 13A. From the front to the rear of the shaped body 13A, two pinholes are arranged vertically and 34 pieces are arranged horizontally and a total of 68 pinholes 13B are formed, and the base end side is located at the back of each pinhole 13B, The terminal pins 13C project from the rear surface of the rectangular body 13A and are connected to the circuit board 7.

A ground electrode 14 is attached to the upper surface of the card-side connector 13. The ground electrode 14 is formed of a conductive metal plate as shown in FIGS. A flat plate portion 14A extending in the direction, a plurality of (eg, eight) ground terminals 14B extending from the flat plate portion 14A toward the ground on the circuit board 7 side, and a ground terminal 14B formed on the flat plate portion 14A. (For example, 8) tongue pieces 14C formed by cutting three sides except one side opposite to the circuit board 7 and 90 degrees with respect to the flat plate portion 14A. Mounting pieces 14D (only one is shown) formed on the left and right at an angle of less than one. Each of the tongue pieces 14C is formed as a resilient projection 15 described later by bending the length direction. To have. In addition, each mounting piece 14D
The positioning of the ground electrode 14 is performed by inserting the rectangular body 13A of the card-side connector 13 into a gap formed when the rectangular body 13A is mounted on the connector mounting port 3C.

In the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14, the flat surfaces 14E and 14E
E, ..., and the ground electrode 14 is connected to the card-side connector 1
3, the card-side connector 13 facing each flat surface 14E has a connector-side adhesive film 1 to be described later.
7 are provided.

.. Are formed on the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14 and project through the projection receiving holes 10, for example, eight plate-like spring projections. The tongue piece 14C formed on the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14 is bent in the middle to form a substantially rectangular shape. Further, the tip of each tongue piece 14C, that is, the springy projection 1
5 is a free end, and is normally urged to the lower side of the upper panel 4 so that the springy projection 15 acts as an external force , for example, 16 bits.
When pressed from above by the slot insertion hole of the card slot, the tip of the springy projection 15
And is received by the projection receiving portion 9 of the frame portion 3B.

Reference numerals 16, 16,... Denote upper panel-side adhesive films formed on the inner surface of the upper panel 4 at a portion facing the card-side connector 13 side. The portion corresponding to each flat surface 14E, that is, the portion avoiding each spring projection 15 is provided by screen printing an adhesive. Further, since each of the upper panel-side adhesive films 16 is formed of an adhesive (for example, a rubber-based adhesive, an acrylic-based adhesive, or the like) that is fused by applying heat, the heat-pressing is performed by hot pressing. By doing so, the inner surface of the upper panel 4 and the ground electrode 1
4 is joined to the flat plate portion 14A with improved adhesion.

[0035] 17, 17, ... is a card-side connector 13
The connector-side adhesive film 17 is formed on the upper surface of the rectangular body 13A to be formed. Each connector-side adhesive film 17 is formed by applying the same adhesive as the upper panel-side adhesive film 16 to each flat surface 14E of the ground electrode 14. Part , that is, each springy projection 15 was avoided
Each part is provided by screen printing. Each connector-side adhesive film 17 is for individually bonding the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14 and the upper surface of the rectangular body 13A.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a lower panel-side adhesive film formed on the inner surface of a portion of the lower panel 5 located on the card-side connector 13 side, and the lower panel-side adhesive film 18 has the same adhesion as the upper panel-side adhesive film 16. The agent is provided by screen printing. The lower panel-side adhesive film 18 is formed on the lower surface of the rectangular body 13A, the inner surface of the lower panel 5, and the rectangular body 1A.
The lower surface of 3A and the circuit board 7 are joined.

The PC card 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration. When assembling the PC card 1 next, as shown in FIG. 2, the card-side connector 13 is attached to the connector attaching port 3C. In this state, the mounting pieces 14D of the ground electrode 14 are assembled so as to be sandwiched from both sides of the card-side connector 13, and the ground terminals 14B of the ground electrode 14 are soldered to the circuit board 7 (see FIG. 3). After that, the respective resilient projections 15 of the ground electrode 14 are inserted into the respective projection accommodating holes 10 of the upper panel 4 so as to be aligned, and the upper panel 4 is attached to the frame 3. On the other hand, the lower panel 5 is also attached to the lower side of the frame 3 (see FIG. 3).

The outline of the casing 2 including the connector mounting opening 3C is heated and pressed by hot pressing, so that the upper panel-side adhesive film 16, the connector-side adhesive film 17, and the lower panel-side adhesive film 18 are fused. Let it. And
The upper panel-side adhesive film 16 fixes the inner surface of the upper panel 4 to the upper surface of the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14, and the connector-side adhesive film 1
Reference numeral 7 fixes the upper surface of the rectangular body 13A of the card-side connector 13 to the lower surface of the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14, and the lower panel-side adhesive film 18 fixes the inner surface of the lower panel 5 to the lower surface of the rectangular body 13A.

Thus, the connector-side adhesive film 17 is formed between the rectangular body 13 A of the card-side connector 13 and the ground electrode 1.
4 can be securely fixed to the flat plate portion 14A with improved adhesion, and even when the PC card 1 is attached to or detached from the card slot, even if the connector mounting opening 3C is provided with a torsional strength or the like, the ground electrode is provided. 14 is the card side connector 1
3 can be prevented from floating. As a result, PC
The durability of the card 1 can be increased and the reliability can be improved.

The card-side connector 13 corresponds to the insertion side of the PC card 1 and is a place where thickness regulation is strict. In addition, since the ground electrode 14 and the upper panel 4 have a double structure on the upper side of the card-side connector 13, the upper panel-side adhesive film is formed by bonding by heating and pressing as in the present embodiment. 16 and connector side adhesive film 1
Reference numeral 7 indicates that the adhesive is crushed and spread to increase the adhesive strength, and the thickness of the adhesive films 16 and 17 is reduced, and as a result, the thickness of the connector mounting port 3C can be reduced. This allows P
When the C card 1 is attached to and detached from the card slot, the upper panel 4, the ground electrode 14 and the like can be reliably prevented from catching on the card slot side, and the reliability of the PC card 1 can be further improved.

Further, since each connector-side adhesive film 17 is provided on the rectangular body 13A of the card-side connector 13 by screen printing, each of the ground electrodes 14 on the upper surface of the rectangular body 13A of the card-side connector 13 is formed. Each connector-side adhesive film 17 can be easily formed on the surface corresponding to the flat surface 14E. This makes it possible to easily form the adhesive film as compared to, for example, forming the adhesive film on the flat plate portion 14A of the ground electrode 14.

Thus, in the PC card 1 according to the present embodiment, the ground electrode 14 and the card-side connector 13 are fixed to each other by the connector-side adhesive film 17 formed on the rectangular body 13A of the card-side connector 13 with improved adhesion. This prevents the ground electrode 14 from floating from the card-side connector 13 and prevents the PC card 1 from being caught on the card slot side when the PC card 1 is attached to or detached from the card slot. The life of the card 1 can be extended, and the reliability can be improved.

By forming a plurality of spring protrusions 15 on the ground electrode 14, the PC card 1
The card slot can be mounted in the bit card slot and the 32-bit card slot, and can be used for both 16-bit and 32-bit.

[0044] Incidentally, in the embodiment, it has dealt with the case where formed on the upper surface of the rectangular body 13A of the connector 13 with an adhesive film and the connector-side adhesive film 1 7, the present invention is not limited to this, the adhesive film the may be formed in the flat plate portion 14 a of the ground electrode 1 4.

In the embodiment, the PC card of the 32-bit or 16-bit standard has been described. However, for example, a PC card of the 64-bit or 129-bit standard is used for the 16-bit card connector. ,
It is not limited to the standard according to the embodiment.

Further, there is a personal computer provided with a special card slot having a driving voltage of 3.3 V and 16 bits, and the same effect can be exerted by such a personal computer.

[0047]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an adhesive film is provided between the connector and the ground electrode, and the adhesiveness between the connector and the ground electrode is improved by the adhesive film. It can be fixed in the state, prevents the ground electrode from floating up to the connector when manufacturing errors of individual parts such as the ground electrode and connector, and when attaching / detaching to the card slot, etc., and the durability and reliability of the PC card Can be enhanced.

Further, a plurality of spring projections are formed on the ground electrode, and a portion of the flat plate portion between each flat surface between adjacent spring projections and the connector avoiding the periphery of the spring projection.
Since the adhesive films are separately provided for the respective portions , the adhesive films can fix the ground electrode and the connector without restricting the operation of each springy projection.

In addition, the ground electrode has a low bit of the high bit card slot and the low bit card slot.
In the slot shape when mounted on the door for the card slot
Depending because they form a spring protrusions giving displacement spring, even for high bit card slot having an electrode to receive a ground electrode, mosquitoes for low bit no electrodes to receive a ground electrode over de throttle And the PC card can be used in a wide range.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the flat plate of the ground electrode
Each flat surface formed between adjacent springy projections of the part
Between the panel and one of the panels, avoid the area around the spring projection
Each connector is provided with another adhesive film, so the connector
Land electrode and one panel are mounted in a double structure
The connector and group are
By bonding the land electrode and one panel
And the adhesive collapses and spreads, increasing the adhesive strength of the adhesive film
At the same time, the thickness of the adhesive film is reduced, and as a result, the connector is attached.
The thickness of the mouth can be reduced. As a result, PC
When inserting or removing a card from the card slot,
And the ground electrode get caught on the card slot side.
The reliability of the PC card and increase the reliability of the PC card.
Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a PC card according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a frame, an upper panel, a card-side connector, and a ground electrode constituting the PC card according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows the insertion side of the PC card as indicated by arrows III-III in FIG.
It is the longitudinal section of the important section expansion seen from the direction.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part a in FIG. 3 in an enlarged manner.

[Description of Signs] 1 PC Card 3 Frame 3 C Connector Attachment 4 Upper Panel 5 Lower Panel 7 Circuit Board 13 Card Side Connector 14 4 Ground Electrode 14 A Flat Plate 14E Flat Surface 15 Spring Protrusion 17 Connector Side Adhesion film

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-9-58163 (JP, A) JP-A-7-1878 (JP, A) JP-A-4-70396 (JP, A) JP-A-6-58 68936 (JP, A) JP-A-6-188758 (JP, A) JP-A-2-62297 (JP, A) JP-A-1-64865 (JP, U) JP-A-60-136069 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 60-69483 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 1-139381 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Hei 3-82456 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Utility Model 6-54261 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/648 G06F 1/00 G06K 19/00 H01R 23/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A frame-like body having one end serving as a connector mounting port for housing a circuit board therein, two panels covering both sides of the frame-like body, and a connector mounting port provided in the frame-like body. A connector for connecting the circuit board to a personal computer, and a connector provided between one of the two panels and the connector for connecting the ground of the circuit board to the ground of the personal computer. in the PC card comprising a ground electrode, the ground electrode includes a flat plate portion extending along the longitudinal direction of the connector, is formed by incising the flat plate portion for car high bit of the personal computer side < The low bit of the card slot and the low bit card slot
Response to the slot shape when attached to the use card slot
And a plurality of spring projections for applying a displacement to the spring, and between the flat surfaces formed between adjacent spring projections of the flat plate portion and the connector, the periphery of the spring projections A PC card characterized in that an adhesive film is provided on each of the portions avoiding the above. 2. A flat plate portion of said ground electrode which is adjacent to said flat plate portion.
Each of the flat surfaces formed between the elastic projections and the one of the
Place it between the panel and the area other than around the spring projection.
2. The PC card according to claim 1, further comprising another adhesive film .