JP4726922B2 - Storage medium misinsertion prevention member, storage medium misinsertion prevention system, and storage medium misinsertion prevention member fixing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a storage medium misinsertion prevention member, a storage medium misinsertion prevention system, and a storage medium misinsertion prevention member fixing method .

  Conventionally, a technique for preventing erroneous insertion of a card-shaped storage medium is known (see Patent Documents 1 to 6). This is because if the storage medium is erroneously inserted, the terminal portion on the connector side may be damaged.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-116240 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-089282 JP 2002-216905 A JP 2004-055318 A JP 2005-285687 A JP 2006-313677 A

  As a technique for preventing such erroneous insertion of the storage medium, a technique that is as simple as possible and low in manufacturing cost is desirable.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has a simple structure and manufacturing cost suppressed, a storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member, a storage medium erroneous insertion prevention system, and a storage medium erroneous insertion. It aims at providing the fixing method of a prevention member.

The object is to prevent errors in the storage medium, which has a short side and a long side, and is fixed by being overlapped with a card-like storage medium having a regular insertion / extraction surface on the long side. In the insertion preventing member, when the base part is formed in a card shape and the base part is fixed to the storage medium, the entire length of the storage medium and the base part in the direction along the short side of the storage medium And a positioning part that defines a fixed position of the base part with respect to the storage medium so as to be longer than the width of the insertion / extraction port of the connector through which the storage medium is inserted / removed. This can be achieved by a medium misinsertion prevention member.

  As a result, an error in the insertion direction of the storage medium can be prevented by simply sticking the card-like member to the storage medium, so that the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  The said structure WHEREIN: The structure whose total thickness when the said base part is fixed to the said storage medium is smaller than the height of the said insertion / extraction opening | mouth can be employ | adopted. Thereby, the storage medium and the erroneous insertion preventing member can be integrally inserted and removed.

  In the above configuration, when the base portion is fixed to the storage medium, the length of the base portion in the direction along the long side of the storage medium is shorter than the length of the long side of the storage medium. Can be adopted. Thereby, the storage medium and the erroneous insertion preventing member can be integrally inserted and removed.

  The said structure WHEREIN: The structure provided with the protrusion part which protruded to the outer side of the said storage medium when it fixes to the said storage medium is employable. By grasping the protrusion, the user can easily handle the storage medium and can easily insert and remove.

  The said structure WHEREIN: The said protrusion part can employ | adopt the structure exposed from the said insertion / extraction port at the time of insertion to the said insertion / extraction port. When the protrusion is exposed from the insertion / extraction port during insertion, the operation of extracting the storage medium from the insertion / extraction port is facilitated. In addition, by describing a label or a character on the protruding portion, the type can be determined in a state where the storage medium is inserted.

  The said structure WHEREIN: The structure provided with the latching | locking part engaged with the lock mechanism which locks this incorrect insertion prevention member in a suitable mounting position is employable. Thereby, the storage medium can be locked at an appropriate position. Therefore, a storage medium reading error can be prevented.

  In the above configuration, a configuration having light guiding properties can be adopted.

  Further, the object is to provide a storage medium comprising the above-described storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member and a card-shaped storage medium having a short side and a long side and a normal insertion / extraction surface on the long side. This can also be achieved by an erroneous insertion prevention system.

  Further, a storage medium erroneous insertion prevention system comprising the storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member described above and an external device having a lock mechanism that locks the erroneous insertion prevention member at an appropriate mounting position allows storage. The media can be locked in place.

  A storage medium comprising: a storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member described above; and an external device including a light emitting unit that emits light toward the erroneous insertion prevention member in a state where the erroneous insertion prevention member is mounted. By the erroneous insertion prevention system, light from the light emitting portion is guided by the erroneous insertion prevention member, and the position of the erroneous insertion prevention member in the mounted state can be easily grasped.

Further, the object is to prevent an erroneous insertion preventing member of the storage medium for preventing an error in the insertion direction of the storage medium in a card-shaped storage medium having a short side and a long side and having a regular insertion / extraction surface on the long side. The entire length of the storage medium and the erroneous insertion preventing member in the direction along the short side of the storage medium is larger than the width of the insertion / extraction port of the connector through which the storage medium is inserted / removed. This can also be achieved by a fixing method for fixing the erroneous insertion prevention member of the storage medium, wherein the erroneous insertion prevention member is fixed to the storage medium so as to be long.

It is possible to provide a storage medium misinsertion prevention member, a storage medium misinsertion prevention system, and a storage medium misinsertion prevention member fixing method that have a simple structure and reduced manufacturing costs.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the storage medium in a state where an erroneous insertion preventing member is fixed to the storage medium. A guide plate 20 that is an erroneous insertion prevention member is fixed to a predetermined surface of a compact flash (registered trademark) card (hereinafter referred to as a CF card) 10 that is a card-like storage medium. Before describing the guide plate 20, the CF card 10 will be briefly described.

  There are two types of CF cards, Type 1 and Type 2. In these, the lengths of the long side and the short side are the same (36.4 mm × 42.8 mm), but the thicknesses are different. Type 1 has a thickness of 3.3 mm and Type 2 has a thickness of 5 mm. In general, the shape adopted as a CF card is type 1, and type 2 is not so often used. At present, a typical example of the memory card employed in the type 2 shape is a micro drive (compact flash (registered trademark) shaped HDD (Hard Disk Drive)).

  Further, as a situation where the CF card is used, the situation where the CF card itself is completely stored in the apparatus is decreasing. This is because the CF card connector insertion / extraction port itself is generally used as a general-purpose interface, and many communication cards such as wireless LANs and communication devices are distributed and generalized in the market. In general, these communication cards are often longer than the standard of the card. Therefore, if the device on which the CF card is mounted completely stores the CF card, no card such as a communication card can be used.

  For the above reasons, a guide plate 20 for preventing erroneous insertion of a CF card is created by utilizing the fact that the mainstream of the CF card is a type 1 shape, and generally the insertion / removal direction of the CF card can be freely set. It was done.

  The CF card 10 is type 1. The CF card 10 is formed in a rectangular shape (card shape) having short sides 15a1 and 15a2 and long sides 15b1 and 15b2. Grooves 13 are formed in the short sides 15a1 and 15a2, respectively. Further, the CF card 10 has a front surface 11a and a back surface 11b, and a protrusion 12 that protrudes along the long side 15b1 is formed on the back surface 11b. Although not shown, a terminal portion is formed on the long side 15b2.

  The guide plate 20 is fixed to the surface 11a of the CF card 10 with an adhesive tape. The guide plate 20 includes a base part 21, a positioning part 22, a protruding part 23, and a notch part 24. The guide plate 20 is formed in a rectangular shape (card shape) having side surfaces 25a1, 25a2, 25b1, and 25b2. The side surfaces 25a1 and 25a2 are parallel, and the side surfaces 25b1 and 25b2 are similarly parallel. Moreover, the base part 21 has the surface 21a and the back surface 21b, and the positioning part 22 is formed in the back surface 21b side in parallel with the side surfaces 25b1 and 25b2. The guide plate 20 is fixed to the CF card 10 so that the back surface 21b and the back surface 11b face each other. Further, the protruding portion 23 protrudes to the side where the CF card 10 is pulled out when the guide plate 20 is fixed to the CF card 10. The corners of the protrusion 23 are edged. The notch 24 is formed in the side surface 25a2.

  The guide plate 20 is fixed to the CF card 10 so that the positioning portion 22 and the long side 15b1 on which the protrusion 12 is formed are in contact with each other. That is, the positioning unit 22 functions as a positioning unit that defines the fixed position and direction of the guide plate 20 with respect to the CF card 10. The user fixes the guide plate 20 formed separately from the CF card 10 at a predetermined position with respect to the CF card 10 with reference to the positioning portion 22 and the protruding portion 12. . Further, the positioning portion 22 is in contact with the long side 15b1 on the side where the connection terminal of the CF card 10 is not provided. Therefore, when the CF card 10 is inserted into an external device, the insertion force from the guide plate 20 can be reliably transmitted to the CF card 10, and the adhesive that fixes the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 is secured. The load on the tape can be reduced.

  The guide plate 20 has the short sides 15a1 and 15a2 and the side surfaces 25a1 and 25a2 along, and the long sides 15b1 and 15b2 and the side surfaces 25b1 and 25b2 along the guide plate 20 with respect to the CF card 10. It is fixed. When the guide plate 20 is fixed to the CF card 10, the total thickness of both is equivalent to that of the type 2 CF card. Note that the guide plate 20 may be formed so that the total thickness of both is thinner than the thickness of the type 2 CF card. The reason why the base portion 21 is fixed so as to cover the entire CF card 10 is to secure a bonding area.

  Next, a state when the CF card 10 with the guide plate 20 fixed is inserted into an external device will be described. 2 to 4 are explanatory views showing a state when the CF card 10 to which the guide plate 20 is fixed is inserted into an external device. 2 to 4 show only the connector 30 built in the external device and the board 40 on which the connector 30 is mounted. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the insertion / extraction opening formed in the external device. In FIG. 5, the insertion opening S of the connector 30 is indicated by a broken line. 2 to 4, the insertion / extraction opening S is omitted. The insertion / extraction port S is formed in the housing of the external device 50 and is formed in a rectangular shape having a width W and a height H shorter than the width W. The connector 30 is mounted on a generally distributed device, and can insert and remove both type 1 and type 2 of the CF card.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the connector 30 includes a main body 31 and a pair of guide rails 32 extending from both ends of the main body 31 in a direction perpendicular to the main body 31. It is formed in a letter shape. Although not shown, the main body 31 is provided with a terminal portion that is electrically connected to the terminal portion of the CF card 10. The connector 30 has a notch 33 formed on the upper surface. The notch 33 is provided to enable insertion and removal of not only type 1 but also type 2 CF cards. Also, the height H of the insertion / extraction slot S is set to a height at which a type 2 CF card can be inserted / removed. As shown in FIG. 2, the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 are inserted into the connector 30 such that the long side 15 b 2 and the side surface 25 b 2 become insertion / extraction surfaces that are inserted first into the insertion / extraction opening S. As shown in FIG. 3, when the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 are inserted into the connector 30, the pair of guide rails 32 are in sliding contact with the short sides 15a1 and 15a2, respectively, to guide the insertion of the CF card 10. At this time, the guide plate 20 is prevented from interfering with the connector 30 by the notch 33. The long side 15b2 and the side surface 25b2 side are normal insertion / extraction surfaces of the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 are inserted to the back of the connector 30, the terminal portions formed on the long side 15b2 and the main body 31 are electrically connected. On the other hand, when pulling out the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 from the connector 30, the user grasps the protrusion 23 with his hand and pulls it toward the front side of the external device 50, so that the state shown in FIG. 2, the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 can be removed from the connector 30. In this way, the CF card 10 can be inserted and removed.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when inserting into the connector 30 with the short side 15a1 as the insertion / extraction surface. As shown in FIG. 5, when the guide plate 20 is fixed to the CF card 10, the overall length La of the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 in the direction along the short sides 15a1 and 15a2 is a pair of guide rails. It is longer than the distance M between 32. For this reason, when attempting to insert the short side 15a1 and the side surface 25a1 as the insertion / extraction surface, the CF card 10 or the guide plate 20 is in contact with the guide rail 32 and cannot be inserted. In other words, since the entire length La of the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 is longer than the width W of the insertion / extraction slot S, it cannot be inserted. Thereby, an error in the insertion direction of the CF card 10 is prevented. In this way, by simply fixing the guide plate 20 having a simple structure to the CF card 10 at a predetermined position, erroneous insertion of the CF card 10 can be prevented. Moreover, the manufacturing cost of the guide plate 20 is also suppressed. Further, it is possible to prevent erroneous insertion of the CF card 10 without changing the structure on the external device side.

  Further, as described above, the size and shape of the base portion 21 and the position of the positioning portion 22 with respect to the base portion 21 are set so that erroneous insertion of the CF card 10 is prevented.

  Note that the length L2 of the side surfaces 25a1 and 25a2 is longer than the length L1 of the short sides 15a1 and 15a2, but the guide plate 20 is not limited to such a shape. However, even if it is a case where it is shorter than the length L1, the whole length La should just be longer than the width W of the insertion / extraction slot S.

  Further, the length D2 of the side surfaces 25b1 and 25b2 is shorter than the length D1 of the long sides 15b1 and 15b2. Further, the lengths of the entire CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 in the direction along the long sides 15b1 and 15b2 coincide with the length D1. In other words, the guide plate 20 is fixed within the width in the direction along the long sides 15b1 and 15b2. Therefore, when the long side 15b2 and the side surface 25b2 are inserted as the insertion / extraction surfaces, the length of the entire CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 in the direction along the long sides 15b1 and 15b2 is within the width W of the insertion / extraction opening S. Because it fits, it can be inserted.

  Next, the case where it is going to insert in the insertion / extraction slot S by making the back surface 11b into the upper surface side is demonstrated. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when the back surface 11b is to be inserted into the insertion / extraction opening S with the top surface side. As shown in FIG. 7, if the back surface 11b is to be inserted as the upper surface side, the guide plate 20 comes into contact with the substrate 40, so that the insertion of the CF card 10 is prevented. Alternatively, when the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 are to be inserted into the insertion / extraction opening S in the state shown in FIG. 7, the CF card 10 cannot contact the guide rail 32 to be inserted. In this way, erroneous insertion with the back surface 11b as the upper surface side is also prevented.

  Next, the protrusion 23 will be described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the protrusion 23. As shown in FIG. 8, the user can easily handle the small CF card 10 by grasping the protrusion 23. This facilitates insertion / removal of the CF card 10. Further, when the CF card 10 having the guide plate 20 fixed thereto is attached to the external device 50, the protruding portion 23 is exposed from the insertion / extraction opening S of the external device 50, so that the user can select the type of the CF card 10 in this portion. By sticking a character or a label for discriminating the card, it is possible to discriminate the type of the CF card 10 with the CF card 10 mounted.

  Next, the notch 24 will be described. 9 and 10 are explanatory diagrams of the notch 24. The external device 50a has a lock mechanism 60 together with the connector 30 described above. The lock mechanism 60 is a mechanism for locking the guide plate 20 at an appropriate mounting position. The lock mechanism 60 includes an operation unit 61 and a stopper 64. The operation part 61 and the stopper 64 are integrally formed. The tip of the stopper 64 is formed in an arc shape, and as shown in FIG. 9, when the guide plate 20 is inserted, it comes into sliding contact with the side surface 25a2. The lock mechanism 60 is urged by a spring (not shown) so that the stopper 64 presses the side surface 25a2 when the guide plate 20 is inserted. When the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 are further inserted from the state shown in FIG. 9 and inserted to an appropriate mounting position that ensures electrical connection between the CF card 10 and the external device, FIG. As shown, the notch 24 moves to a position facing the stopper 64, and the stopper 64 is engaged with the notch 24 by the biasing force of the spring. Thereby, the guide plate 20 is locked at an appropriate mounting position. Thereby, a reading error of the CF card 10 can be prevented. Therefore, the notch 24 corresponds to a locking part.

  When removing the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 from the state shown in FIG. 10, the user operates the operation unit 61 so as to oppose the urging force of the spring, thereby removing the stopper 64 from the notch 24. The CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 can be pulled out by detaching and pulling out the protrusion 23.

  Next, the guide plate 20 will explain the light guide property. The guide plate 20 is made of a polycarbonate resin that is transparent and has light guiding properties. With respect to the guide plate 20 having such a light guide property, an external device including a light emitting unit that emits light toward the guide plate 20 will be described. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an external device including an LED (Light Emitting Diode) 70. FIG. 11 is a view in which a part of the external device with the CF card 10 attached is cut out.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the external device 50b is configured to be mountable with the back surface 11b as the upper surface side. The LED 70 is mounted on the substrate 40a. The LED 70 corresponds to a light emitting unit. The LED 70 is mounted on a portion surrounded by the connector 30. In a state where the CF card 10 and the guide plate 20 are inserted, the LED 70 faces the guide plate 20. The LED 70 receives light from the battery 71 and emits light. When the LED 70 emits light while facing the guide plate 20, the light is guided by the guide plate 20. Thereby, the guide plate 20 whole light-emits, and the user can visually recognize the light emission of the part of the guide plate 20 exposed from the insertion / extraction port. Thereby, the position of the guide plate 20 can be easily grasped even in the dark, for example, and the guide plate 20 to which the CF card 10 is fixed can be easily removed from the insertion / extraction opening. Therefore, the external device 50b is suitable for use in a dark environment.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a perspective view of both in the state where the guide plate was fixed to the storage medium. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mode at the time of inserting the storage medium with which the guide plate was fixed to external equipment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mode at the time of inserting the storage medium with which the guide plate was fixed to external equipment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mode at the time of inserting the storage medium with which the guide plate was fixed to external equipment. It is explanatory drawing of the insertion / extraction port formed in the external apparatus. It is explanatory drawing at the time of trying to insert in a connector by making a short side into an insertion / extraction surface. It is explanatory drawing at the time of trying to insert in an insertion / extraction slot by making a back surface into an upper surface side. It is explanatory drawing of a protrusion part. It is explanatory drawing of a notch part. It is explanatory drawing of a notch part. FIG. 4 is a diagram in which a part of an external device with a storage medium attached is cut away.

Explanation of symbols

10 CF card (storage medium)
11a (storage medium) front surface 11b (storage medium) back surface 12 protrusion 13 groove 15a1, 15a2 (storage medium) short side 15b1, 15b2 (storage medium) long side 20 guide plate (misinsertion prevention member)
21 Base portion 21a Front surface of guide plate 21b Back surface of guide plate 22 Positioning portion 23 Protruding portion 24 Notch portion 25a1, 25a2, 25b1, 25b2 Side surface 30 Connector 31 Body portion 32 Guide rail 33 Notch portion 40, 40a Substrate 50 , 50a, 50b External device 60 Lock mechanism 61 Operation part 64 Stopper 70 LED (light emitting part)
71 battery

Claims (11)

In a storage medium misinsertion prevention member that has a short side and a long side and is fixed to be overlapped with a card-shaped storage medium having a regular insertion / extraction surface on the long side, and prevents an error in the insertion direction of the storage medium ,
A base formed in a card shape;
When the base part is fixed to the storage medium, the total length of the storage medium and the base part in the direction along the short side of the storage medium is the insertion / extraction port of the connector through which the storage medium is inserted / removed And a positioning portion that defines a fixed position of the base portion with respect to the storage medium so as to be longer than the width of the storage medium.   2. The storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member according to claim 1, wherein a total thickness when the base portion is fixed to the storage medium is smaller than a height of the insertion / extraction opening.   The length of the base portion in a direction along the long side of the storage medium when the base portion is fixed to the storage medium is shorter than the length of the long side of the storage medium. Item 3. A storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member according to Item 1 or 2.   4. The storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member according to claim 1, further comprising a protruding portion that protrudes outward from the storage medium when fixed to the storage medium.   5. The storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member according to claim 4, wherein the protruding portion is exposed from the insertion / extraction opening when inserted into the insertion / extraction opening.   6. The storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member according to claim 1, further comprising a locking portion that engages with a lock mechanism that locks the erroneous insertion prevention member at an appropriate mounting position. .   The member for preventing erroneous insertion of a storage medium according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the member has light guiding properties. The storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
A system for preventing erroneous insertion of a storage medium, comprising: a card-shaped storage medium having a short side and a long side and having a regular insertion / extraction surface on the long side. The member for preventing erroneous insertion of the storage medium according to claim 6;
A storage medium erroneous insertion prevention system comprising: an external device having a lock mechanism that locks the erroneous insertion prevention member at an appropriate mounting position. The member for preventing erroneous insertion of the storage medium according to claim 7;
An erroneous insertion prevention system for a storage medium, comprising: an external device including a light emitting unit that emits light toward the erroneous insertion prevention member in a state where the erroneous insertion prevention member is mounted. A fixing method for fixing a storage medium erroneous insertion prevention member for preventing an error in the insertion direction of the storage medium to a card-shaped storage medium having a short side and a long side and having a regular insertion / extraction surface on the long side. There,
The entire length of the storage medium and the erroneous insertion preventing member in the direction along the short side of the storage medium is longer than the width of the insertion / extraction port of the connector through which the storage medium is inserted / removed. A fixing method for fixing an erroneous insertion prevention member of a storage medium, wherein the erroneous insertion prevention member is fixed.

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