JP3471760B2 - Card connector - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card connector attached to an electronic device such as a mobile phone, a telephone, a PDA (personal digital assistance), a portable audio device, and a digital camera. More specifically, the card connector has a lid. The present invention relates to a lock mechanism of a cover for opening and closing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electronic equipment such as mobile phones, telephones, PDAs and digital cameras, SIM (subscriber identifier) in which an IC for a memory or a control circuit is incorporated.
y module) card, MMC (multi media card), smart media (trademark), SD (super density; secure)
By installing an IC card such as a digital card, various functions can be expanded.

In such a connector structure for detachably mounting an IC card, a plurality of contact terminals composed of metal spring pieces are provided in a connector housing, and the plurality of contact terminals are loaded. I
A plurality of contact pads formed on the front surface or the back surface of the C card are brought into contact with each other, and the IC card is electrically connected to the electronic device to which the connector is attached through these contacts. The plurality of contact pads of the IC card include a power supply pad connected to a power supply line and a plurality of signal pads for exchanging various signals, which are respectively connected via a plurality of contact terminals of the card connector. It is connected to a power supply circuit and various signal processing circuits on the electronic device side.

For example, in a mobile phone, SIM
By inserting a card called a (Subscriber Identity Module) card, the mobile phone is connected to the SIM.
It can function as a phone exclusively for the cardholder. Therefore, one SIM for one mobile phone
If a card is loaded, one mobile phone can be shared by a plurality of people.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-185973 discloses a connector for a SIM card of this type.
A connector housing having a base and a cover that opens and closes with respect to the base is configured so that the SIM card can be slid on the opening and closing cover, and contact terminals are arranged on the base so as to contact with the contact pads of the SIM card. A lock mechanism is provided to hold the cover closed to the base.

As the lock mechanism, the locking claw is cut and raised from the side plate of the cover, and when the cover is closed to the base, the locking claw is snap-engaged with the locking hole of the elastic locking piece provided on the base. The structure is adopted.

[0007]

However, according to the above-mentioned prior art, since the IC card is loaded on the cover side, the cover side becomes heavy and the card easily falls off. Further, in the above-described lock mechanism of the related art, since the locking claws are provided on the side plate of the cover, a structure for snap-engaging the locking claws to the portion corresponding to the cover side plate of the connector housing is provided. It has to be provided, and there is a problem in that the wall at that portion becomes thick, and as a result, the side portion of the connector becomes large. Further, since the locking claws are provided on the side plate of the cover, there is a problem that the locking strength is weak.

Further, in this prior art, it is necessary to grasp the cover with fingers and pull up the cover in the opening direction to release the snap engagement, which opens the cover and attaches and detaches the IC card. The operability when doing is poor. Further, when the locking claw or the locking piece is snap-engaged or disengaged, the locking claw may be permanently deformed or missing, resulting in a lock failure.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the card is less likely to come off, the area occupied by the connector side portion can be reduced, and the opening / closing cover can be reliably locked by a simple operation. It is a problem to be solved to provide a lock mechanism of a card connector having various configurations.

[0010]

According to the card connector of the present invention, a card accommodating portion as a recess formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of the connector body is contacted with a contact terminal having a contact pad of the card arranged in the card accommodating portion. A card connector that holds a card in contact with each other has a hook-shaped locking part on the tip side and a slidable single-sided open / close cover that covers the card storage part, and slides the open / close cover in a closed state. When this is done, a locking protrusion that is inserted from the side into the hook-shaped locking portion is formed on the connector body, and a protrusion for positioning in the sliding direction is formed on the opening / closing shaft side of the opening / closing cover. While the opening / closing cover is not closed, the movement of the positioning projection in the sliding direction is restricted at a predetermined openable / closable position of the opening / closing cover. A connector body that does not interfere with the positioning projection when the bar is closed and allows the opening / closing cover to slide and a recess that allows the positioning projection to move when the opening / closing cover is opened and closed. It is characterized in that it is formed in.

Further, it is preferable that two kinds of cards having different sizes can be simultaneously loaded in the card accommodating portions formed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the connector body.

In the present invention, since the opening / closing cover can be locked and unlocked only by the sliding operation of the opening / closing cover, the opening / closing cover can be securely locked by a simple operation. Further, since the card is loaded on the connector body side, not on the opening / closing cover side, it is difficult for the card to fall off. Further, since the locking portion of the lock mechanism is provided at the tip of the opening / closing cover, not at the side of the opening / closing cover, the area occupied by the connector side can be reduced and a strong locking operation can be realized. Further, according to the present invention, since positioning is provided in the sliding direction when the cover is opened and closed, operability when the cover is opened and closed can be improved.

[0013]

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 to 9 are views showing an embodiment of a card connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is open, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is closed, and FIG.
Is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is locked, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is omitted, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is closed, and FIG. 6 is a state in which the opening / closing cover is locked. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the state, FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the lock part when the open / close cover is open, FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing the lock part when the open / close cover is closed, and FIG. 9 is the open / close cover locked. It is an expansion perspective view which shows the lock part in a closed state.

The card connectors shown in these figures can be loaded with two types of different sizes (large card and small card) at the same time, and a large card can be slid on the lower stage side (side loading). After loading, a small card is loaded on the upper side using the top loading method.

The card connector of this embodiment is mounted on a mobile phone.

In the card connector of this embodiment, a SIM card (Subscriber Ide) is used as a small card.
ntity Module Card). As described above, the SIM card is a kind of IC card, and is usually loaded with various information including a subscriber ID of a mobile phone. This small card has more than one (in this case,
6) contact pads are provided.

An MMC card is used as the large card. This MMC card can be loaded with various contents such as music and games. This large card also has a plurality (7 in this case) of contact pads arranged on the bottom surface thereof.

When the sizes of the large card and the small card are compared, the size in the longitudinal direction of the small card is almost the same as the size in the lateral direction of the large card.

Card connector 1 shown in FIGS.
Has a connector main body 2 molded by an insulating material such as a resin material, and an opening / closing cover 30.

The connector main body (housing) 2 has a lower card accommodating portion 3 for accommodating a large card and an upper card accommodating portion 4 for accommodating a small card.

Guide grooves (not shown) for guiding the insertion / removal of the large card are formed on both sides of the lower card accommodating portion 3. In this case, the large card is in a state in which the contact pad surface faces up. It is inserted and removed along the guide groove.

On the inner wall surface side of the upper plate of the lower card accommodating portion 3, a plurality of press-fitting grooves (not shown) for positioning and press-fitting and fixing a plurality of (in this case, 7) contact terminals 10 for a large card. ) Is formed.

Each contact terminal 10 is composed of a folded-type contact spring piece, and as shown in FIG. 4, a soldering portion 10a to be soldered to a contact pad of a printed wiring board of an electronic device and the press-fitting groove. A fixing portion 10b for fixing the inside, and the fixing portion 10b to the soldering portion 10
An elastically displaceable contact spring piece 10c extending toward a
have. The contact spring piece portion 10c has a contact portion that projects downward and contacts the contact pad of the large card.

When a large card is inserted into the lower card accommodating portion 3 with the contact pad surface facing upward, each contact pad of the large card contacts the contact portion of each contact terminal 10 in the lower card accommodating portion 3. .

An eject mechanism (not shown) connected to the eject button 6 is arranged on the side of the lower card accommodating portion 3. The eject member (not shown) moves to the inner side of the housing as the large card is inserted into the lower card accommodating portion 3, and is locked and fixed at a predetermined position on the inner side by the action of the eject mechanism. When the eject button 6 is pressed, the lock is released by the action of the eject mechanism, and the eject member moves to the front side of the housing to eject the large card.

On the upper surface side of the connector body 2, an upper card accommodating portion 4 surrounded by a frame body 5 on four sides is formed. The upper card accommodating portion 4 has an opening on the upper side,
Load a small card with the top loading method.

A plurality of press-fitting grooves 9 for positioning and press-fitting a plurality of (six in this case) contact terminals 20 for small cards are formed in the lower plate 8 of the upper card accommodating portion 4.

Each contact terminal 20 for a small card is
As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, it is composed of two types of long and short cantilevered contact spring pieces, and is soldered to a contact pad of a printed wiring board of an electronic device by a soldering portion 20a,
It has a fixing portion 20b for fixing in the press-fitting groove 9 and an elastically displaceable contact spring piece portion 20c. The contact spring piece portion 20c has a contact portion 20d that protrudes upward and comes into contact with a contact pad of a small card.

Each contact terminal 2 for these small cards
The arrangement direction of 0 corresponds to each contact terminal 10 for a large card.
Is almost perpendicular to the direction of arrangement.

When the small card is loaded into the upper card accommodating portion 4 with the contact pad surface facing down, each contact pad of the small card contacts the contact portion 20d of each contact terminal 20.

This card connector 1 is an opening / closing cover 30 of a single-swing door type that covers the upper opening of the upper card accommodating portion 4.
have. The opening / closing cover 30 is formed of a thin metal plate, and a pin insertion portion 32 rounded into a substantially circular shape into which the pin 31 is inserted is formed on the base end side thereof. Pin 3
1 is disposed in a groove 34 formed on the lateral side of the frame body 5 and is bridged between two pin support portions 35, 36 formed to project laterally from the frame body 5.

The length L of the pin insertion portion 32 of the opening / closing cover 30
As shown in FIG. 5, 1 is set shorter than the length L2 of the groove 34. Therefore, the opening / closing cover 30 is slidable along the extending direction of the pin 31.

On the other hand, a cutout portion 37 is formed adjacent to the pin insertion portion 32 of the opening / closing cover 30, and further adjacent to the cutout portion 37 for positioning in the sliding direction when opening / closing the opening / closing cover 30. A thin plate-shaped projection piece 38 is formed. Further, the opening / closing cover 30 is provided next to the pin support portion 36.
A concave portion (groove) 39 is formed in order to secure a space for the projection piece 38 to move when opening and closing.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the opening / closing cover 30 is closed, the protruding piece 38 is attached to the pin support portion 3.
Since a slight gap is formed between the upper surface of the pin support portion 36 and the projecting piece 38 in parallel with the upper surface of 6, the opening / closing cover 30 can slide without interfering with the pin support portion 36. it can. However, as shown in FIG. 3, when the projecting piece 38 is located on the upper surface side of the pin support portion 36 and the opening / closing cover 30 is tried to be opened / closed, the projecting piece 38 of the opening / closing cover 30 interferes with the pin support portion 36. To do. Therefore, in the state of FIG. 3, the opening / closing cover 30 cannot be rotated in the opening direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, when the opening / closing cover 30 is open, the pin support portion 36 functions as a restricting body for restricting the sliding movement of the opening / closing cover 30. Therefore, when the opening / closing cover 30 is open, the opening / closing cover 30 cannot be slid.
However, when the opening / closing cover 30 is sliding to the position shown in FIG. 1, the opening / closing cover 30 can be rotated.

Thus, the protruding piece 3 of the opening / closing cover 30
8, the groove 39 and the pin support portion (regulator) 36 function as a positioning member in the sliding direction when the opening / closing cover 30 is opened / closed.

At the tip of the opening / closing cover 30, there is formed a hook-shaped (a substantially U-shaped cross section) engaging portion 40 for locking the opening / closing cover 30 at the closed position. In this case, the locking portions 40 are arranged at both end portions.

On the other hand, on the upper plate of the connector main body 2, on the opposite side of the position where the pins 31 sandwiching the upper card accommodating portion 4 are arranged, a locking portion 40 at the tip of the opening / closing cover 30 is locked to open / close the cover. Two locking projections 5 for locking 30
0 is formed. The locking projection 50 is projected from the side wall of the frame body 5 forming the upper card accommodating portion 4 in an eaves shape, and a groove 56 is formed in the lower portion thereof. The locking projection 50 has such a shape and size that it can be slidably fitted into the hook-shaped locking portion 40 of the opening / closing cover 30 when the opening / closing cover 30 is slid in a closed state. There is. A taper portion 50a for facilitating the insertion of the opening / closing cover 30 into the locking portion 40 is formed at one end of the locking projection 50.

A groove 55 having a shallower depth than the groove 56 is formed adjacent to the groove 56 and the locking projection 50.
Is formed in. The depth and position of the groove 55 are set so that the locking portion 40 of the opening / closing cover 30 can be fitted when the opening / closing cover 30 is closed.

In this structure, when the opening / closing cover 30 is opened, the opening / closing cover 30 is in the state shown in FIG.

In this state, when the opening / closing cover 30 is closed,
The open / close cover 30 is in the state shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 8. That is, the locking portion 40 of the open / close cover fits into the groove 55 formed in the connector upper plate.

When the opening / closing cover 30 is slid while the opening / closing cover 30 is closed, the locking portion 4 of the opening / closing cover 30 is closed.
The locking projection 50 fits inside the 0. As a result,
As shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 9, the opening / closing cover 30 is
Locked.

When opening the opening / closing cover 30, first,
The open / close cover 30 is slid in the opposite direction to unlock. Then, the opening / closing cover 30 is opened as shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the contact terminal 10 for a large card and the contact terminal 2 for a small card are used.
Since the lower card accommodating portion 3 for accommodating the large card and the upper card accommodating portion 4 for accommodating the small card are arranged vertically so that the arrangement direction of 0 is substantially right angle, the contact terminals 10 for the large card are arranged. And the press-fitting portion 9 for the small card contact terminal 20 do not vertically overlap each other, which makes it possible to reduce the thickness of the connector housing and also for the large card contact terminal. The soldering portion 10a of 10 and the soldering portion 20b of the contact terminal 20 for a small card do not interfere with each other. Therefore, the press-fitting work of each contact terminal is facilitated, the image recognition of the soldering part at the time of board mounting, the image inspection of the soldering part is facilitated, and the repairing work using an electric iron or the like is facilitated.

Further, in this embodiment, the opening / closing cover 30 for the upper card accommodating portion 4 is adapted to be opened / closed by the rotary shaft 31 extending along the longitudinal direction of the small card, not along the lateral direction thereof. It is possible to dispose the lock mechanism 50 in the above-mentioned vacant region of the lower card accommodating portion 3, and the lock mechanism can be disposed without increasing the area occupied by the connector. Incidentally, if the opening / closing cover 30 is opened / closed by the rotation axis along the lateral direction of the small card, the locking mechanism of the opening / closing cover 30 has to be arranged in a very narrow area on the opposite side. Therefore, it is necessary to newly secure a space for the lock mechanism, and the board occupying area of the connector increases, which hinders downsizing of the electronic device.

Further, in this embodiment, since the opening / closing cover 30 can be locked and unlocked only by sliding the opening / closing cover 30, the opening / closing cover 30 can be reliably locked by a simple operation. Further, since the card is loaded not on the opening / closing cover 30 side but on the connector body 2 side, it is difficult for the card to drop off.
Further, since the locking portion 40 of the lock mechanism is provided at the tip of the opening / closing cover 30 instead of the side portion of the opening / closing cover 30, the area occupied by the connector side can be reduced and a strong locking operation can be realized.

Further, in this embodiment, since the positioning mechanism for the sliding direction when the opening / closing cover is opened / closed is provided, the operability at the time of opening / closing the cover can be improved.

In the above embodiment, two types of cards, large and small, are loaded in the card connector, but the present invention may be applied to a card connector in which only one type of card can be loaded.

In the above embodiment, the SIM card is used as the small card and the MMC card is used as the large card. However, any card can be mounted in the present invention, such as SmartMedia (trademark), SD card, and memory stick. An arbitrary card such as (trademark) may be mounted.

Further, the card connector of the present invention is not limited to a mobile phone, but may be provided in any other electronic device such as a PDA, a portable audio device, a camera or the like.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the opening / closing cover can be locked and unlocked only by sliding the opening / closing cover, the opening / closing cover can be reliably locked by a simple operation. Further, since the card is loaded on the connector body side, not on the opening / closing cover side, it is difficult for the card to fall off. Further, since the locking portion of the lock mechanism is provided at the tip end portion of the opening / closing cover, not at the side portion of the opening / closing cover, the area occupied by the connector side portion can be reduced and a strong locking operation can be realized.
Further, according to the present invention, since positioning is provided in the sliding direction when the cover is opened and closed, operability when the cover is opened and closed can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an opening / closing cover is opened according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is closed according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the open / close cover is locked according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which an opening / closing cover is omitted in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is closed according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is locked according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the lock portion in a state where the open / close cover is opened according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing a lock portion in a state where the opening / closing cover is closed according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing the lock portion in a state where the open / close cover is locked according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 card connector 2 Connector body 3 Lower card storage 4 Upper card storage 5 frame 6 eject button 8 Lower plate 9 Press fit groove 10 contact terminals 20 contact terminals 30 Open / close cover 31 pin (rotating shaft) 32-pin insertion part 34 groove 36 pin support 37 Notch 38 protruding piece 39 grooves 40 Locking part 50a taper part 50 Locking protrusion 55 groove 56 groove

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/639 G06K 17/00 H01R 13/629 H01R 23/68 303

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A card connector for accommodating a card in a card accommodating portion as a recess formed on the upper surface or the lower surface of a connector body so that a contact pad of the card abuts a contact terminal arranged in the card accommodating portion. , Having a hook-shaped locking portion on the tip side and having a slidable single-opening type opening / closing cover that covers the card storage portion, and when the opening / closing cover is slid in a closed state, the hook-shaped A locking projection that is laterally fitted and inserted into the locking portion of the connector body is formed on the connector body, and a projection for positioning in the sliding direction is formed on the opening / closing shaft side of the opening / closing cover, and When the opening / closing cover is not closed, the movement of the positioning protrusion in the sliding direction is restricted at a predetermined openable / closable position of the opening / closing cover. A restricting body that does not interfere with the positioning projection when the closing cover is closed and allows the opening / closing cover to slide, and a recess that allows the positioning projection to move when the opening / closing cover is opened and closed. And a connector formed on the connector body. 2. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein two types of cards having different sizes can be simultaneously loaded in the card receiving portions formed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the connector body.