JP4252413B2 - Card connector with card lock mechanism - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector with a lock mechanism that prevents a card from dropping out in a card connector to which an electronic device such as a cellular phone, a telephone, a PDA (personal digital assistance), a portable audio, and a camera is attached. More specifically, the present invention relates to a card connector with a card lock mechanism that can prevent a card from popping out when the card is ejected.

  In electronic devices such as mobile phones, telephones, PDAs, portable audio devices, cameras, etc., various IC cards incorporating CPU or memory ICs can be detachably attached to the electronic devices via card connectors. , Function expansion and data storage.

  It has been conventionally known that such a card connector is provided with an ejector mechanism for taking out a loaded card. As one of the ejection mechanisms, a so-called push-push type ejection mechanism has been known (see Patent Document 3).

  And when removing the card by this eject mechanism, unexpected external force is applied to prevent the card from popping out suddenly and falling off the connector, or when the card is loaded, for example, dropping the electronic device. In order to prevent the card from being removed from the connector by being added and thereby the electrical connection between the card and the connector being damaged, an appropriate elastic brake piece is provided at a predetermined position of the connector housing ( (See Patent Documents 1 and 2). The brake piece comes into contact with the card and generates a frictional force in a direction opposite to the direction in which the card is detached from the connector or dropped off, thereby restricting the movement of the card.

  In such a card drop prevention mechanism using a brake piece, it is difficult to set the contact pressure (elastic force) of the brake piece to the card. That is, if the contact pressure of the brake piece is excessively large, the card can be attached and detached, and if it is too small, the meaning of providing the brake piece may be lost. Also, the thickness and width of the card differ depending on the type of card, and it is difficult to prepare a brake piece on the connector that can handle all the cards used.

  Therefore, a card lock mechanism as disclosed in Patent Document 3 has been proposed as an improvement on such a conventional mechanism. The card lock mechanism will be briefly described below.

  The card lock mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3 is a push-push type eject mechanism using a heart cam, and a tip hook portion as a free end of an elastic lock piece whose base end is fixed is formed on the card. By engaging with the recessed portion, the card is locked and the card is prevented from falling off. The elastic lock piece is biased in a direction in which the tip hook portion is separated from the card recess. Further, the connector housing is provided with a guide protrusion that contacts the tip hook portion of the elastic lock piece.

  When the IC card is inserted into the card connector while being pushed (pushed) with a finger or the like, the ejector mechanism is also activated, and the elastic locking piece is moved in accordance with the operation of the ejector mechanism. When the IC card is completely inserted into the connector, the ejector mechanism is guided by the heart cam to lock its operation. At this time, the tip hook portion of the elastic lock piece comes into contact with the guide projection and is pushed out to the IC card side. Then, the hook portion is engaged with the card recess formed on the side portion of the IC card, and as a result, the IC card is locked in the card connector.

  When the IC card is removed from the connector, the card is guided by the heart cam by pushing the card again, and the ejector mechanism is unlocked, and the ejector mechanism is activated. That is, the IC card is ejected from the connector by the restoring force of the coil spring provided in the ejector mechanism. At this time, the elastic lock piece also moves along with the operation of the ejector mechanism, and the guide projection is detached from the tip hook portion of the elastic lock piece. As a result, the hook portion retreats from the card recess due to its elasticity and returns to its original position. The card is discharged by the ejector mechanism by the lock releasing operation of the elastic lock piece.

  By the way, the eject mechanism provided with the elastic lock piece which comprises the said card lock mechanism is provided in the side of the connector so that the said patent document 3 may also be disclosed. With such a configuration, when the card is inserted into or ejected from the connector, the force acting between the IC card and the ejector mechanism is the one side of the card (the eject mechanism is disposed). Work only on the side). On the other hand, a slight play (gap) is formed between the card connector and the IC card to facilitate the card insertion / ejection.

  Therefore, since this gap exists, the card tends to tilt when the IC card is inserted and ejected, and there is a possibility that the IC card is difficult to insert and eject. Such a phenomenon is particularly prominent in an IC card that is horizontally long and thin in the IC card insertion / ejection direction.

  In order to avoid such an inclination of the IC card, a card connector in which an ejector mechanism is arranged at the center of the card connector so that the IC card can be pushed out and pushed in evenly as shown in Patent Document 4. Proposed.

JP 2001-135424 A JP 2001-143816 A JP 2002-134224 A JP-A-11-66245

  Although the above-mentioned card lock mechanism can completely cope with prevention of falling off of the IC card while the IC card is loaded in the card connector, it still has a problem with respect to the card popping out when the card is ejected. Yes.

  That is, in the card lock mechanism, the ejector mechanism for ejecting the IC card from the card connector is still in operation when the tip hook portion of the elastic lock piece is retracted from the recess of the IC card and the engagement is released. It is. Therefore, there is a possibility that the IC card is pushed by the restoring force of the coil spring incorporated in the ejection mechanism and jumps out of the card connector. In particular, this type of IC card has recently become more and more light and thin, and has a high risk of popping out.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a card connector with a card lock mechanism that allows a card to be securely and easily inserted and removed, and that an IC card can be reliably prevented from popping out from the card connector when the card is ejected. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a card connector with a card lock mechanism according to the present invention includes a base, a cover that covers the whole base and forms an IC card accommodation space between the base, and a front and rear direction on the base. An ejecting mechanism having at least an ejecting member, a heart cam and a cam lever that restrict movement of the ejecting member in the front-rear direction, and a coil spring that biases the ejecting member forward, and a recess formed in the IC card. A card lock mechanism including at least a lock member including a locking claw to be engaged and a return spring for biasing the lock member toward the IC card housing space, and the card lock mechanism is formed on the base body. has been further has a cam inclined surface, the locking member of the card lock mechanism, relative to the ejection member, but a predetermined length So as to be movable, said has a pin located in the eject member elongated hole formed in a movable together with the IC card after card ejection operation end of the ejecting mechanism, while the movement of the IC card Further, the locking claw of the lock member comes into contact with and is guided by the cam inclined surface, whereby the lock member rotates, and the rotation of the lock member causes the locking claw of the lock member to The engagement with the concave portion of the IC card is released.

Further, the heart cam is disposed at a central portion with respect to the eject member, the two coil springs are preferably disposed at both side portions of the eject member, and the return spring is configured by the lock member. It is preferable to have one piece that is fixed to the cover member and the other piece that is configured as a free end having elasticity that contacts the cover member .

  As described above, the card connector with a card lock mechanism according to the present invention is configured so that the lock mechanism moves in conjunction with the IC card and maintains the IC card until the IC card ejection operation by the eject mechanism is completed. Therefore, the IC card can be prevented from popping out when the IC card is ejected.

  In addition, the lock mechanism is configured so that, even after the card ejection operation by the eject mechanism is completed, the lock member is rotated while being moved together with the IC card and the lock (engagement) is released along with the IC card removal operation. Since it comprises, removal of an IC card can be performed smoothly and reliably, without requiring special force.

  Further, by providing coil springs near both sides on the back side of the eject member main body, the IC card can be easily discharged without being tilted when the IC card is ejected by the eject mechanism.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a card connector with a card lock mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a cover of the card connector shown in FIG. 1 is removed. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an eject member including a cam member.

  The card connector 1 generally includes a cover 2, a base 3, a contact 4, an IC card ejection mechanism 5 and a card lock mechanism 6. Further, the card connector 1 includes a card insertion slot 7 in front of an IC card accommodation space formed by the cover 2 and the base 3.

  In this specification, the term “front” indicates a direction (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) in which a card insertion slot 7 for inserting and removing a card into and from the connector 1 is formed, and the term “rear” indicates the opposite direction ( The direction of arrow B in FIG.

  The cover 2 constitutes the upper housing of the card connector 1 that covers the board 3 to be described later except for the card insertion slot 7, considering that the rigidity of the card connector 1 is increased and the processing is easy. It is preferably made of metal. Reference numeral 21 denotes a lever pressing spring that presses a cam lever 53 of an ejector mechanism 5 to be described later. In this embodiment, 21 is formed by punching the top plate of the cover 2.

  The base 3 constitutes a lower housing of the card connector 1 on which the contacts 4, the eject mechanism 5 and the lock mechanism 6 are mounted at predetermined positions, and is molded from an electrically insulating synthetic resin material. As described above, the base 3 forms an IC card accommodation space together with the cover 2.

  In addition, 31 is one side wall in which a cam inclined surface 31a for guiding a lock member 61 described later is formed, and 32a and 32b are a pair of IC card guides formed inside both side walls constituting the base 3. Rail 33 is a fitting recess for swingably supporting one end of the cam lever 53 of the eject mechanism 5, and 34 is a front-rear direction of the cam member 52 of the eject mechanism 5 (insertion and ejection of the IC card 10 into the connector 1). The guide groove portion 35 for guiding the movement in the direction) guides the eject member 51 of the eject mechanism 50 in the front-rear direction, and is a guide slot formed in the bottom plate of the substrate 3 parallel to the card insertion / ejection direction, 36 Is the other side wall.

  The contact 4 is a member for electrically connecting the IC card 10 and an electronic device (not shown), and is pressed into a terminal portion 41 to be soldered to a terminal portion of the electronic device and a mounting groove of the base 3. , A fixing portion 42 for fixing the contact 4 to the base 3, an elastic portion 43 that enables displacement of the contact 4 in the vertical direction (thickness direction of the connector 1), and a pad (not shown) as an external contact of the IC card 10 The contact part 44 which contacts is provided. As shown in the drawing, a plurality of contacts 4 having such a configuration are arranged in parallel to the front-rear direction of the connector 1.

  The eject mechanism 5 is an application of the above-described conventional push-push type eject mechanism. In this embodiment, the eject mechanism 5 cooperates with the eject member 51 and the cam member 52 that are formed integrally with the cam member 52. A cam lever 53 for restricting the movement of the eject member 51 and two coil springs 56a and 56b for pressing the eject member 51 forward are provided.

  The eject member 51 includes a substantially flat plate-shaped eject member main body 51 a that extends substantially fully in the width direction of the base 3 and is movable in the front-rear direction of the base 3. Further, the front surface of the eject member main body 51a constitutes a contact surface 51b with which the front end surface of the IC card 10 to be inserted contacts. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the eject member 51 has one side portion guided along the inner surface of the other side wall 36 of the base 3, and the other side portion protruding from the bottom surface of the main body 51a. A pin (not shown) is guided by a guide slot 35 formed at a corresponding position on the bottom plate of the base 3 so as to move smoothly in the front-rear direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3A, the eject member 51 includes a pair of card support bases 51c and 51d that support and guide the IC card 10 on both sides of the front surface of the eject member main body 51a. . The card support bases 51c and 51d are preferably configured to contact the IC card guide rails 32a and 32b, respectively. In this case, the IC card guiding rails 32 a and 32 b also have a function as a stopper of the ejector member 51.

  Further, the eject member 51 includes a connecting portion 51e constituting a lock mechanism 6 described later on the other side portion. The connecting portion 51e is provided with a long hole 51f into which a pin 63 formed on the lock member 61 is engaged. In the present embodiment, the connection portion 51e is formed to protrude forward from the front surface of the eject member 51, but it does not necessarily have to protrude.

  The cam member 52 is a plate-like member that is integrally formed so as to protrude rearward from the approximate center of the eject member 51 so that the cam member 52 can move along the guide groove portion 34 formed in the base plate of the base 3. The cam member 52 is provided with a heart-shaped heart cam 54 having a locking recess 54 a and a lever guide groove 55 a, 55 b, 55 c, 55 d formed along the periphery of the heart cam 54. The heart cam 54 is provided so that the locking recess 54 a faces the rear surface of the eject member 51. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lever guide grooves 55a to 55d ensure that one leg 53b of the cam lever 53 is guided to the lever guide grooves 55a to 55d and 55a again in this order. A level difference h is formed at the connecting portion connecting the grooves (that is, so as not to flow backward).

The cam lever 53 has a substantially inverted U-shape, and a leg portion 53a extending downward in the vertical direction at one end is supported by the fitting recess 33 of the base 3 so as to be swingable (turnable), and extends downward in the vertical direction at the other end. The portion 53b moves in the lever guide grooves 55a to 55d.
The two coil springs 56a and 56b are arranged in the vicinity of both sides of the eject member 51 at a substantially symmetrical position with the cam member 52 in between, and abut against the rear surface of the eject member main body 51a so as to press the eject member 51 forward. Touching. Therefore, the eject member 51 is always urged forward, that is, in the direction of discharging the IC card. By arranging the two coil springs 56a and 56b at symmetrical positions in this way, the IC card 10 to be inserted and ejected is uniformly pressed through the eject member 51. Therefore, the IC card 10 is inserted, Inclination during discharge is prevented. The other ends of the two coil springs 56 a and 56 b are fixed to the rear end of the base 3.

The card lock mechanism 6 includes a lock member 61. The lock member 61 has a substantially rectangular shape, and has a pin 63 that can move in a long hole 51f formed in the connection portion 51e of the eject member 51 at the rear end thereof, and at the front end thereof. It has a locking claw 61a that can be engaged with and disengaged from the engaging recess 11 formed in the IC card 10. As shown in FIG. 4, an inclined surface 61b is formed on the back (front) side of the locking claw 61a. The inclined surface 61b is opposed to the cam inclined surface 31a formed on the one side wall 31 of the base 3, contacts the cam inclined surface 31a when the lock member 61 moves forward, and further the cam inclined surface. It is configured to ride on the surface 31a. The cam inclined surface 31a and the inclined surface 61b do not necessarily have the same inclination angle, and the inclined surface 61b may be a curved surface instead of a flat surface.

  Further, the lock mechanism 6 includes a return spring 62. In this embodiment, the return spring 62 is a substantially V-shaped spring piece, one piece is fixed to the lock member 61, and the other piece is configured as a free end with elasticity, The free end having elasticity is in contact with the side wall of the cover 2. Therefore, the return spring 62 biases the lock member 61 in the direction in which the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61 protrudes into the IC card accommodation space.

  With such a configuration, the lock member 61 can swing (rotate) inward and outward as the IC card is inserted into and ejected from the lock member 61. In other words, the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61 can be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the IC card insertion / ejection direction.

  The operation of mounting (inserting) and removing (discharging) the IC card 10 from the card connector 1 having the above configuration will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram in which the IC card is completely attached to the card connector, FIG. 5 is a plan view when the IC card ejection operation by the ejector mechanism is completed, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a main part plan view showing a state in which the IC card is pulled out by hand and the engagement between the IC card and the lock member is released. . 4 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the process in which the IC card is ejected from the card connector in the order of the figure numbers. FIGS. 4 to 7 are reversed, and the IC card is inserted into the card connector. It can be said that it shows the process of going.

  First, mounting (insertion) of the IC card 10 into the card connector 1 will be described. Insert the IC card 10 from the card insertion slot 7 of the card connector 1 in the state shown in FIG. At this time, the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61 protruding into the IC card accommodation space hits the side surface of the IC card 10 to be inserted, but the lock member 61 is moved inward (IC card accommodation space side) by the return spring 62. Since it is only urged, the locking claw 61a is easily removed to the outside by the side surface of the IC card 10 (see FIG. 7), and does not interfere with the insertion of the IC card 10. The lock member 61 utilizes the frictional force between the side surface of the IC card 10 and the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61, and the pin 63 is guided in the guide long hole 51e. It may be returned to the predetermined position shown in FIG.

  Immediately before the front end surface of the IC card 10 comes into contact with the card contact surface 51b of the ejector member 51, the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61 engages in the recess 11 formed on the side surface of the IC card 10 (FIG. 5). Therefore, at this time, as will be described later, the IC card 10 maintains the state of being held in the connector 1 by the lock member 61 unless it is forcibly pulled out manually.

  When the IC card 10 is further pushed in after the front end surface of the IC card 10 reaches the contact surface 51a of the eject member 51, the eject member 51 that is in contact with the IC card and the cam member 52 that is integrated with the IC card 10 become the IC card. 10 is moved to the rear of the card connector 1. At this time, since the pressing force of the coil springs 56a and 56b provided behind the eject member 51 is applied to the eject member 51, it is necessary to push the IC card 10 slightly stronger than the beginning.

  As the cam member 52 moves, the leg portion 53b of the cam lever 53 moves along the lever guide grooves 55a and 55b. When the IC card 10 can no longer be pushed in, the IC card 10 is slightly pushed back to the front of the connector 1 by the coil springs 56a and 56b via the eject member 51 when the finger is released from the IC card 10 (the pushing operation is released). It is. At this time, the leg portion 53b of the cam lever 53 is guided from the lever guide groove 55b to 55c, and the leg portion 53b engages with the locking recess 54a of the heart cam 54, so that the eject member 51 and the IC card 10 and beyond. Is prevented from returning.

  Thus, the mounting of the IC card 10 to the card connector 1 is completed (see FIG. 4). At the same time, it goes without saying that the pads of the IC card 10 and the contact portions 44 of the contacts 4 of the connector 1 corresponding to the pads are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the IC card 10 is securely locked in the card connector 1 because the locking claw 61 a of the lock member 61 is engaged with the recess 11 of the IC card 10. Even if an unexpected external force is applied, the card connector 1 does not fall off.

  Next, the removal (discharge) operation of the IC card 10 will be described. The IC card 10 in the state shown in FIG. 4 is once pushed again with the finger behind the card connector. Thereby, the leg part 53b of the cam lever 53 is moved along the lever guide groove 55c, and is guided to the lever guide groove 55d. When the finger is released in this state, the leg portion 53b of the cam lever 53 can move from the lever guide groove 55d to 55a, so that the IC card 10 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 5 via the ejector member 51 by the coil springs 56a and 56b. Return to the indicated state and stop. As shown in the figure, the IC card 10 is partially ejected from the card insertion slot 7 of the card connector 1 to the extent that it can be picked up with a finger, but the remaining part is held in the connector 1. Maintained.

  The eject member 51 is guided and moved on both sides by the side wall 36 and the guide slot 35 of the base 3 and does not tilt the IC card 10. Further, since the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61 is still engaged with the recess 11 of the IC card 10, the IC card 10 pops out of the card connector 1 by the inertial force of the pushing back action due to the return force of the coil springs 56a, 56b. It is prevented.

  In a state where the ejection member 51 shown in FIG. 5 is stopped, that is, in a state where the ejection operation of the IC card 10 by the ejection mechanism 5 is completed, the IC card 10 is forcibly held by, for example, pinching the IC card 10 with a finger. Pull out. As the IC card 10 is pulled out, the lock member 61 moves forward in conjunction with the IC card 10 while the locking claw 61a of the lock member 61 is engaged with the recess 11 of the IC card 10 ( (See FIG. 6). Specifically, the lock member 61 can move by the length that the pin 63 of the lock member 61 moves in the long hole 51 f formed in the connection portion 51 e of the eject member 51.

  During the movement of the lock member 61, the inclined surface 61b formed on the back surface of the locking claw 61a contacts the cam inclined surface 31a formed on the side wall 31 of the base 3, and the inclined surface 61b Then, it rides on the cam inclined surface 31a. As a result, the lock member 61 swings (rotates) around the pin 63 against the return spring 62, and the locking claw 61a guides outward (in a direction orthogonal to the IC card insertion / ejection direction) ( Excluded). Therefore, the engagement state between the locking claw 61a and the concave portion 11 of the IC card 10 is released, and as a result, the IC card 10 can be ejected from the card connector 1.

  In this way, the IC card 10 can be ejected from the card connector 1. The lock member 61 is returned to a state in which the lock member 61 slightly protrudes inside the card connector 1 (on the IC card accommodation space side) as shown in FIG. 2 by the return force of the return spring 62.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the heart cam may be provided on the base side, and one end of the cam lever may be swingably supported by the eject member, and the return spring that biases the lock member inward is not limited to a substantially V-shaped spring piece. Any elastic member may be used. In order to assist the return of the lock member at the connecting portion of the eject member, a tension spring or the like having one end fixed to the eject member and the other end fixed to the protrusion of the lock member may be provided. Further, a contact portion corresponding to a notch formed in the IC card for preventing erroneous insertion of the IC card may be formed in the vicinity of the card support base. In this case, it is preferable that the notch in which the IC card is formed is formed on the same side as the concave portion with which the lock member is engaged.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the card connector with a card lock mechanism which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the cover of the card connector with a card lock mechanism shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the principal part of an ejection mechanism, (a) is a top view which shows the ejection member containing a cam member, (b) is a figure for demonstrating that a cam lever moves along a lever guide groove. is there. It is a top view when an IC card is completely attached to a card connector with a card lock mechanism, and shows a state where a cover is removed. It is a top view when IC card discharge operation by an ejector mechanism is completed, and shows the state where a cover was removed. It is a principal part top view which shows the state by which the IC card was pulled out a little by hand, Comprising: The state where the cover was removed is shown. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a principal part showing a state where the IC card is pulled out by hand and the engagement between the IC card and the lock member is released, and shows a state where the cover is removed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector 2 Cover 3 Base | substrate 4 Contact 5 Ejecting mechanism 6 Locking mechanism 7 Card insertion slot 10 IC card 11 Recess 21 Lever pressing spring 31 Side wall 31a Cam inclined surface 32a, 32b IC card guide rail 33 Fitting recess 34 Guide groove portion 35 Guide slot 36 (other side of base 3) side wall 41 Terminal portion 42 Fixing portion 43 Elastic portion 44 Contact portion 51 Eject member 51a Eject member main body 51b Contact surface 51c, 51d Card support base 51e Connection portion 51f Long hole 52 Cam member 53 Cam lever 53a, 53b Leg portion 54 Heart cam 54a Locking recess 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d Lever guide groove 56a, 56b Coil spring 61 Lock member 61a Locking claw 61b Inclined surface 62 Return spring
63 pins

Claims (3)

A base and a cover that covers the entire base and forms an IC card accommodation space between the base and the base;
An ejecting mechanism having at least an ejecting member capable of moving in the front-rear direction on the substrate, a heart cam and a cam lever for restricting the movement of the ejecting member in the front-rear direction, and a coil spring for biasing the ejecting member forward;
A card lock mechanism including at least a lock member including a locking claw that engages with a recess formed in the IC card, and a return spring that biases the lock member toward the IC card housing space;
With
The card lock mechanism further includes a cam inclined surface formed on the base body,
The lock member of the card lock mechanism has a pin located in a long hole formed in the eject member so that the lock member can move by a predetermined length in the front-rear direction with respect to the eject member, The card can be moved together with the IC card after the card ejection operation of the eject mechanism is completed, and the locking claw of the lock member comes into contact with and is guided by the cam inclined surface during the movement with the IC card. Thus, the card member with a card lock mechanism, wherein the lock member is rotated, and the engagement between the locking claw of the lock member and the concave portion of the IC card is released by the rotation of the lock member. The heart cam is disposed at the center of the eject member,
The card connector with a card lock mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the two coil springs are arranged on both side portions of the eject member.   The said return spring has one piece fixed to the said lock member, and the other piece comprised as a free end provided with the elasticity contact | abutted to the said cover member. Card connector with card lock mechanism.

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