JP3770267B2 - Memory card and electronic system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a memory card and an electronic device system used as an external storage device of various electronic devices such as personal computers, electronic notebooks, fax machines, still cameras, and industrial machines.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 14, a flat and substantially rectangular plug-in type memory card 1 includes an IC and other circuit elements (hereinafter referred to as ICs) on a circuit board 2 which is a printed circuit board used on one side or both sides. 3) and the connector 4 are mounted, and the outer periphery and the like of the circuit board 2 and the connector 4 are bonded to the inner peripheral rib 5a of the frame 5 by the double-sided adhesive tape 6 and the like. The outer periphery of the pair of upper and lower panels 7 is bonded to the inner step 5c with a double-sided adhesive tape 8 and sealed.

Note that the frame 5 is injection-molded into a substantially rectangular frame mold by a synthetic resin such as PBT, PC, ABS, and modified PPE, and the panel 7 is pressed into a substantially rectangular shape by a thin metal plate such as a stainless steel thin plate. It is a thing. The double-sided adhesive tapes 6 and 8 are made of a heat-sensitive adhesive, a pressure-sensitive adhesive or the like soaked into a nonwoven fabric and formed into a film shape.
Further, a power supply battery 9 is incorporated in a memory card capable of storing data, and an ejection groove 10 is formed on at least one side surface of the frame 5 on the connector 4 side.

The standard size memory card 1, which is a PC card whose outer dimensions are standardized by JEIDA / PCMCIA, is defined as a total of 68 pin insertion holes 4a in the upper and lower rows. The external dimensions of the frame 5 of the standard-sized memory card 1 are defined such that the width W ₁ of the pair of first sides 1a and 1b opposite to each other on the connector 4 side and the opposite side is 54 mm as a center value. The length L ₁ of the pair of opposing second sides 1c, 1d perpendicular to the first sides 1a, 1b is defined as a center value of 85.6 mm, and the thickness T ₁ is set to 3.3 mm at the center value. It is prescribed.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, this type of standard size memory card 1 is inserted into the card insertion hole 13 of a small electronic device 12 such as a pocket-sized personal computer or electronic notebook from the connector 4 side in the direction of arrow a. In the upper and lower two rows of 68-pin connectors 14 mounted on a circuit board (not shown) in the small electronic device 12, the pin insertion holes 4a of the connectors 4 are indicated by arrows in a total of 68 connector pins 14. Connect from direction a. And it uses so that the data of the memory card 1 with respect to the small electronic device 12 may be read, stored.

At this time, when the memory card 1 is inserted into the card insertion hole 13 from the direction of the arrow a, the ejection claw 15a of the ejection knob 15 provided on one side of the card insertion hole 13 is the ejection groove of the memory card 1. 10 is relatively inserted.
Therefore, after the memory card 1 is used, when the eject knob 15 is slid in the direction of the arrow b against the return spring 16, the eject claw 15a pushes the end face 10a of the ejection groove 10 in the direction of the arrow b, and the connector 4 is connected to the connector 14 The connector pin 14a is pulled out in the direction of arrow b. Therefore, thereafter, the first side 1b side of the memory card 1 is pinched with fingers from above and below, and the memory card 1 is removed from the card insertion hole 13 in the direction of arrow b.

  However, conventional memory card and electronic device systems are not compatible with standard size memory cards and small memory cards.

The present invention, in order to length parallel to the insertion direction to allow the compatibility of the memory card and the small memory card longer than the width standard size, and the memory card of standard size, smaller than the memory card of the standard size In a system of a memory card and an electronic device having a small memory card, the standard size memory card, and an electronic device having a card insertion hole into which the small memory card is inserted, the small memory card is the standard size memory card. A width approximately equal to the width of the standard size memory card, a length that is approximately half the length of the standard size memory card, a connector that is substantially the same shape as the standard size memory card, and the standard size memory card. a groove which is corresponding to the ejecting groove formed on the side surfaces, the side that is associated with the side surface of the memory card of the standard size And a substantially formed ejecting grooves at the same position of the card insertion hole of the electronic device, a connector which is connected to the connector of the memory card of the standard size, formed in the memory card of the standard size an eject pawl is provided to be inserted into the ejecting groove, the connector of the card insertion hole, it is possible to connect in the same way as in the memory card standard size correctly a small memory card, the card insertion hole The eject claw is configured so that even a small memory card can be inserted into an ejection groove formed in a memory card in the same manner as a standard size memory card.

Memory card and the electronic device system of the present invention, that a memory card and a small memory card standard size by selectively inserting a common card insertion hole thereto is connected to a common connector of the card insertion hole it can. In addition, a standard-sized memory card or a small-sized memory card that is selectively inserted into the card insertion hole and connected to the common connector is inserted into the card insertion hole by a common ejection knob that engages with these common ejection grooves. Since it can be ejected outside, compatibility between a standard size memory card and a small memory card can be obtained.

  The system of the memory card and the electronic device according to the present invention is configured such that when the standard size memory card and the small memory card are selectively inserted into the insertion hole of the common electronic device, the standard size memory card and the small memory card Since the common groove formed on the same side surface is inserted into the common ejection claw in the insertion hole, the standard size memory card and the small memory card can be ejected in common by the common ejection claw.

  The memory card and electronic device system according to the present invention is a small memory card in which the insertion hole of a common electronic device is configured to have the same depth as that of a standard size memory card and a version upgrade card is connected. A standard size memory card can be inserted in the same way.

  In the memory card and electronic device system of the present invention, the insertion hole depth of the common electronic device is configured to be about half the length of a standard size memory card, and a small memory card is inserted alone. It is possible to provide a small electronic device that can be used.

  Embodiments of a memory card and electronic equipment system to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to FIGS. The same structural parts as those in FIGS. 10 to 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

First, as shown in FIG. 1A, the external size of a half-size memory card 21 is a half-size memory card 21 which is half the size of a conventional standard-size memory card 1 as shown in FIG. Is formed. The structure of the half-sized memory card 21 is the same as that of the standard-sized memory card 1.
That is, the connector 4 of the half-sized memory card 21 is the same as the connector 4 of the standard-sized memory card 1, and the standard-sized memory card 1 is attached to one side of the frame 5 on the connector 4 side. A similar ejection groove 10 is formed.

The width W ₁ and the thickness T ₁ of the pair of first sides 21a and 21b opposite to each other on the connector 4 side of the half-size memory card 21 are the same center values as those of the standard-size memory card 1. The length L ₂ is 42.8 mm with a center value that is ½ of the standard size memory card 1, whereas the length L ₂ is 54 mm and 3.3 mm.
Then, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), the width W _1, the width W _1, the length L ₂ and a thickness of exactly the same size as the length L ₂ and the thickness T ₁ of the memory card 21 in this half-size A half-size upgrade card 22 formed at T ₁ is used.

A circuit board in the half-size upgrade card 22 incorporates an upgrade circuit for upgrading the half-size memory card 21.
The half-size upgrade card 22 can be mechanically and electrically detachably connected to the first side 21b opposite to the connector side of the half-size memory card 21 by the connecting portion 23. It is configured as follows.
The connection unit 23 includes a mechanical connection unit 23 a that mechanically connects the upgrade card 22 to the memory card 21, and an electrical connection unit 23 b that electrically connects the upgrade card 22 to the memory card 21. Is provided.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the mechanical connection portion 23 a is a pair of left and right engaging claws 25 that are rotatably attached to the left and right sides of the upgrade card 22 via a pair of left and right fulcrum pins 24. It is possible to employ a claw structure in which a pair of left and right urging springs 26 are used to engage a pair of left and right engagement holes 27 formed in the pair of second sides 21c and 21d of the memory card 21.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the electrical connection portion 23b is slid in the directions of arrows a and b by a pair of left and right slide knobs 29a that are incorporated into the upgrade card 22 and exposed to the outside. A plurality of connector pins 30 are attached to the slider 29, and the plurality of connector pins 30 are inserted into the memory card 21 from the upgrade card 22 through the plurality of pin insertion holes 30a in the direction of arrow a. It is possible to adopt an insertion structure that is inserted into the plurality of pin insertion holes 31a of the connector 31 embedded in the connector 31.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the mechanical connection portion 23a has a dovetail structure including a pair of left and right dovetails 33 and a dovetail groove 34, and a plurality of connector pins 30 of the electric connection portion 23b are provided with a plurality of crimp springs. A crimping structure in which a plurality of crimping terminals 36 are crimped by 35 can also be configured. At this time, the mechanical connection portion 23a and the electrical connection portion 23b can be formed symmetrically.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of connector pins 30 attached on the upgrade card 22 side can be inserted into and removed from a plurality of pin insertion holes 31a of a connector 31 embedded in the memory card 21 in the directions of arrows a and b. An electrical connection portion 23a having a simple connector structure configured as described above is adopted, and the rectangular shape formed integrally with the upgrade card 22 and the memory card 21 at the outer periphery of the joint portion between the connector pin 30 and the connector 31. It is also possible to employ a mechanical connection portion 23a in which the annular convex fitting portion 38 and the concave fitting portion 39 are fitted to each other with an appropriate frictional engagement force.

According to the half-sized memory card 21 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 2, the memory card 21 is inserted into the card insertion hole 43 of the small electronic device 42 alone, and the connector 4 is inserted into the pin. The hole 4a can be inserted into and removed from the connector pin 14a of the connector 14 in the directions of arrows a and b.
At this time, since the length L _{2 of} the half-sized memory card 21 is formed to be ½ of the length L ₁ of the standard-sized memory card 1, the depth dimension L ₁₃ of the card insertion hole 43 is shown in FIG. and can be formed to a half of the depth dimension L ₁₁ of the card insertion hole 13 of a conventional small-sized electronic device 12 for a memory card of the standard size as shown in FIG. 11, the length of the small-sized electronic apparatus 42 The dimension L ₁₄ can be reduced by an amount corresponding to L ₁₃ as compared with the length dimension L ₁₂ of the conventional small electronic device 12. That is, L ₁₄ = L ₁₂ −L ₁₃ .

According to the half-sized memory card 21, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 3, the half-sized memory card 21 has a half-sized memory card 21 on one first side 21b of the half-sized memory card 21 as necessary. Since the upgrade card 22 can be easily mechanically and electrically connected by the connecting portion 23, the half-size memory card 21 can be easily upgraded.
Further, according to the half-size memory card 21, as shown in FIG. 1B, the half-size upgrade card 22 is connected to the first side 21b of the half-size memory card 21 by the connecting portion 23. Then, the entire width W ₁ , length L ₁ and thickness T _{1 of} the memory card 21 and the upgrade card 22 are exactly the same as those of the conventional standard size memory card 1.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the half-sized memory card 21 is correctly inserted from the direction of the arrow a using the upgrade card 22 into the card insertion hole 13 having the depth L ₁₁ of the conventional small electronic device 12. The connector 4 can be correctly connected to the connector pin 14a of the connector 14 in the same manner as the conventional standard size memory card 1.
Further, after use, the half-sized memory card 21 is pulled out from the connector pin 14a by the eject knob 15 in the direction of arrow b, and then the upgrade card 22 is picked up and pulled out from the card insertion hole 13 in the direction of arrow b. it can.

Therefore, the half-size memory card 21 is compatible with the standard-size memory card 1, and the use range of the memory card 21 is very wide.
The sizes of the memory card 21 and the upgrade card 22 can be freely selected.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9A, it is possible to connect the upgrade card 22 formed in the same size as the conventional standard size memory card 1 to the half size memory card 21 by the connecting portion 23. is there.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9B, both the memory card 21 and the upgrade card 22 can be formed in the same size as the conventional standard size memory card 1, and these can be connected by the connecting portion 23. Is possible.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9C, it is also possible to connect a half-size upgrade card 22 to a memory card 21 formed in the same size as a conventional standard size memory card by a connecting portion 23. .

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing a half-size memory card in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a state in which a half-size memory card and an upgrade card are connected. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a small electronic device using a half-size memory card, and FIG. 2B shows a state where a half-size memory card is inserted into the card insertion hole of the small electronic device. FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view of a state in which a version upgrade card is connected to the half-size memory card shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a state in which a half-size memory card is inserted into a standard-size card insertion hole using a version-up card. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a connection state in a first example of a connection portion for connecting a memory card and a version upgrade card. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a disconnected state of the connecting portion shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view and a side view showing a second example of a connection portion for connecting a memory card and a version upgrade card. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a third example of a connection portion for connecting a memory card and a version upgrade card. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modification of the size of a memory card and a version upgrade card. It is the perspective view which showed the small electronic device using the memory card of the conventional standard size. FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a state where a conventional standard size memory card is inserted into a card insertion hole of the small electronic device of FIG. 10. It is the perspective view which showed the conventional standard size memory card. 13A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 12, and FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the conventional standard size memory card of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Standard size memory card 4 Connector 4a Connector pin insertion hole 5 Frame 10 Ejecting groove 12 Conventional small electronic device 13 Conventional small electronic device card insertion hole 14 Connector 15 Eject knob 15a Ejecting claw 21 Small memory card Half-size memory card 21a, 21b First side 21c, 21d of memory card Second side of memory card 22 Upgrade card 23 Connection part 23a Mechanical connection part 23b Electrical connection part 42 Small electronic device 43 of the present invention Card insertion hole of small electronic device of invention W ₁ width L ₁ , L ₂ length T ₁ thickness

Claims (3)

A standard size memory card whose length parallel to the insertion direction is longer than the width , and
A small memory card smaller than the standard size memory card,
In a system of a memory card and an electronic device having the standard size memory card and an electronic device having a card insertion hole into which a small memory card is inserted,
The small memory card is approximately the same width as the standard size memory card,
A length formed about half of the length of the standard size memory card;
A connector of almost the same shape as the standard size memory card,
A groove which is corresponding to the ejecting groove formed on the side surface of the memory card of the standard size, the ejecting groove formed in substantially the same position in the side which is associated with the side surface of the memory card of the standard size With
The card insertion hole of the electronic device, a connector which is connected to the connector of the memory card of the standard size, and inserted into the ejecting groove formed in the memory card of the standard size, extracting the memory card of the standard size And an eject claw for
The connector of the card insertion hole can be correctly connected even in the case of the small memory card, similarly to the standard size memory card,
The eject pawl of the card insertion hole, the small be a memory card inserted into the memory card and the ejecting groove formed in the memory card in the same manner described above standard size, can be pulled out the small memory card A memory card and electronic device system characterized by being. The memory card and electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein the card insertion hole of the electronic device has substantially the same depth as the length of the standard size memory card. 2. The memory card and electronic device system according to claim 1, wherein the card insertion hole of the electronic device has a depth that is about ½ of the length of the standard size memory card.

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