JP4757324B2 - Card connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector configured by fitting a base part and a cover part, and in particular, fitting of the base part and the cover part, which can save space in the width direction and reduce the height in the thickness direction. The present invention relates to a mating lock mechanism.

As a conventional fitting structure between the base portion and the cover portion of the card connector, there is a structure shown in FIGS.
First, FIG. 5 will be described. (A) is a perspective view of the cover part 10 and has a structure in which a metal plate is bent into a U-shape, and locking holes 14 are provided at a plurality of locations on the side wall of the cover. The bent portions on both sides are not right-angled but bent B portions 12 having a certain degree of bending radius.
(B) is a perspective view of the base part 15 which covers the cover part 10 of (a). The base side wall 17 is provided with a locking projection 18 at a position corresponding to the locking hole 14 of the cover portion 10.

Since the inner width dimension between the left and right cover side walls 13 of the cover part 10 is slightly larger than the outer width dimension between the left and right base side walls 17 of the base part 15, when the cover part 10 is put on the base part 15, The lower side of the cover side wall 13 abuts on the locking projection 18, but the upper surface of the locking projection 18 is inclined downward, so that the left and right cover side walls 13 are elastically expanded and the locking projection 18 is locked. When the hole 14 is completely fitted, the lower surface of the locking protrusion 18 is engaged with the lower side of the locking protrusion 18 to prevent the cover portion 10 from moving upward.
At the same time, the flat portion 19 at the top of the base side wall 17 of the base portion 15 abuts against the flat portion of the lower surface of the top plate portion 41 of the cover portion 10, thereby preventing the cover portion 10 from being covered more deeply. Here, the corners of the left and right bent portions of the cover portion 10 are curved bend R portions 12, and accordingly, the top outer portion of the base side wall 17 becomes a chamfered portion 20 that is a slope having a constant width. ing. By doing so, the flat portion 19 of the base side wall 17 can be opposed to the flat lower surface of the top plate portion 41 of the cover portion 10 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 5C is a partial cross-sectional view showing such a relationship. A chamfered portion 20 is provided according to the roundness of the bent R portion 12. The reason for this is that if the corner without the chamfered portion 20 remains, the corner portion abuts on the bending R portion 12 and the top surface of the base side wall 17 abuts on the flat surface portion of the lower surface of the top plate portion 41. This is because the prevention against the lowering of the cover portion 10 becomes unstable.

Next, the structure of FIG. 6 will be described.
(A) is a perspective view of the cover part 24, and the cover side wall 25 is provided with a plurality of L-shaped notches. (B) is a perspective view of the base portion 29, and a plurality of locking projections 36 corresponding to the L-shaped notches 26 of the cover side wall 25 are provided on the base side surface 30. 5 is different from the structure of FIG. 5 in that it does not have a structure in which the top portion (flat portion 19) rises from the bottom wall portion 16 and contacts the lower surface of the top plate portion 41 like the base side wall 17 in FIG. It is. When covering the cover portion 24, the locking projection 36 is fitted so that the locking projection 36 enters the vertical cutout 27 of the L-shaped cutout 26, and then the cover projection 24 is moved to the left by moving the cover portion 24 to the left. The upper and lower edges of the cutout 28 enter the notch 28 so that the vertical movement of the cover portion 24 is locked by sandwiching the locking projection 36 (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-181792 (FIG. 2) JP 2006-196285 A (paragraph [0017], FIG. 3)

However, each of the above prior art structures has the following problems.
First, in the structure of FIG. 5, the thickness of the base side wall 17 is the sum of the horizontal width of the chamfered portion 20 and the width of the flat portion 19, as can be seen from FIG. 5C, and is larger than the radius of curvature of the bent R portion 12. Thus, there is a problem that space saving in the width direction is difficult.

  Next, in the structure of FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. 6C, the thickness of the base portion 29 is the sum of the vertical dimension of the locking projection 36 and the vertical dimension of the horizontal dimension protruding piece 54 of the cover portion 24. There is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the height of the horizontal protruding piece 54 because the vertical width of the horizontal protruding piece 54 cannot be narrowed to have a certain degree of strength.

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the solution of the present invention is a cover-base and base-fitting lock structure that can save space in the width direction of the card connector and reduce the height in the thickness direction. In the realization of a card connector having

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has the following means configurations.
A first configuration of the present invention is a card connector having a housing having a card slot for inserting a card and a contact connected to a terminal portion of the inserted card, the housing being made of resin The base portion includes a base plate portion and a metal plate cover portion, and the base portion includes a bottom plate portion and two side plate portions standing from the left and right sides with respect to the card insertion direction of the bottom plate portion. And the side plate portion of the base portion is fitted to the inner side of the side plate portion of the cover portion, the two side plate portions hanging by bending from the left and right sides of the card portion and the card insertion direction of the top plate portion, A return portion is cut from the top plate portion to the side plate portion on a part of the bent portion of the cover portion, and the flat portion protrudes on the same surface as the lower surface of the top plate portion without being bent, Be The top part of the side plate part of the support part has an abutting protrusion that abuts against the lower surface of the flat part when the cover part and the base part are fitted together, and either the side plate part of the base part or the side plate part of the cover part A card connector having a locking projection on one side and a locking hole correspondingly locked on the other.

  According to a second configuration of the present invention, in the first configuration, the side plate portion of the cover portion has the locking hole at a position corresponding to the flat portion, and the abutment protrusion of the side plate portion of the base portion. The card connector is characterized in that the locking protrusion is provided below the portion.

  A third configuration of the present invention is the card connector according to the first configuration or the second configuration, wherein the side plate portion of the base portion is formed of a metal plate.

  According to a fourth configuration of the present invention, in the third configuration, the side plate portion of the base portion has an embedded plate portion bent in an L shape when viewed in cross section at the lower portion, and the embedded plate portion is A card connector characterized by being embedded and held in a resin base portion.

  According to a fifth configuration of the present invention, in any one of the first configuration to the fourth configuration, the contact is made of an elastic piece, and a part of the contact is embedded and held in a bottom plate portion of the base portion. A card connector.

  In the first configuration (basic configuration) of the present invention, either the side plate portion of the cover portion or the side plate portion of the base portion is used as the locking mechanism for preventing the cover portion covered from the base portion from coming off (not rising). It has a locking protrusion provided on one side and a locking hole provided on the other side, and does not require an L-shaped notch as shown in FIG. There is an effect that it is possible to change the height.

  Also, as a locking mechanism that prevents the covered cover part from going too far, a flat part is provided on a part of the bent part of the cover part, and an abutting protrusion is provided on the top part of the side plate part of the base part. The cover part and the base part do not approach any more by contacting the part with the flat part, and the flat part cuts a part of the bent part of the cover part into a return shape and the part is bent. The bottom surface of the top plate is maintained on the same surface, and the abutting protrusion on the top of the side plate of the base portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the flat portion to stop further advancement of the cover portion. Therefore, the side plate portion of the base portion need not be chamfered like the chamfered portion 20 of FIG. 5B, so that the thickness of the side plate portion can be reduced, and no extra space is required. Compared to the width direction There is an effect that it is possible to definitive space saving.

  In the second configuration of the present invention, since the hole made by the return cut for forming the flat portion is used as the locking hole in the side plate portion of the cover portion, the flat portion and the locking hole can be formed at once, and the manufacturing process can be performed. The locking projection provided on the side plate portion of the base portion is positioned below the abutting projection, and the mechanism for preventing the cover from coming off and preventing it from going too far is surely aligned vertically. There is an effect that a blocking function can be performed.

  In the third configuration of the present invention, the side plate portion of the base portion is formed of a metal plate having a strength stronger than that of the resin, so that the effect of contributing to space saving in the width direction can be made thinner than that of the resin case. is there.

  In the fourth configuration of the present invention, the lower part of the side plate portion of the metal plate of the base portion has an embedded portion bent in an L shape when viewed in cross section, and the mold-in is performed so that this portion is embedded in the bottom plate portion of the base portion. Therefore, there are effects that the process is simple and sufficient strength is obtained.

  In the fifth configuration of the present invention, the contact is made of an elastic piece, and a part of the contact is embedded in the bottom plate portion of the base portion, so that the contact is firmly fixed, and the contact with the card electrode can be obtained with certainty. is there.

It is a perspective view of the Example of the connector for cards of this invention, (a) is a perspective view of the state which put the cover part on the base part and has not inserted the card | curd, (b) is a perspective view of the state which inserted the card | curd FIG. It is a figure of the state which removed the cover part from the state of (a) of FIG. 1, (a) is a perspective view of a cover part, (b) is a perspective view of a base part. (A) is the detailed perspective view which looked down the base part of (b) of FIG. 2 from diagonally upper left, (b) is a perspective view of the state which covered the cover part to (a). FIG. 4B is a detailed cross-sectional view of the cross section cut along the line AA along the line L as viewed from the right side in FIG. It is the perspective view and sectional drawing of the 1st example of the fitting structure of the cover part and base part in the conventional card connector. It is the perspective view and sectional drawing of the 2nd example of the fitting structure of the cover part and base part in the conventional card connector.

  The embodiment of the present invention has a side plate portion that rises from both the left and right sides with respect to the card insertion direction of the bottom plate portion, with the metallic cover portion having side plate portions that are suspended from the left and right sides with respect to the card insertion direction of the top plate portion. In the card connector that secures the card slot by locking the cover part so that it does not easily come off while being covered on the base part, and locking it so that it does not cover too deeply, the top plate part and side plate of the cover part It is intended to save space by eliminating the useless space in the width direction due to the curved curved part that occurs inside the boundary (bent part) with the part, and first, the cover part and the base part must be removed without intention. As a locking mechanism to prevent, a locking projection is provided on one of the side plate portion of the cover portion or the side plate portion of the base portion, and a locking hole is provided on the other side. It is.

  Next, as a mechanism for locking the cover portion so that it does not cover the base portion too deeply, a plurality of bent portions of the cover portion are punched in an inverted U shape from the top plate portion to the side plate portion (return type). The lower surface of this part is made flat by keeping the same plane following the lower surface of the top plate part, and on the other hand, it strikes the flat part at a position corresponding to the flat part of the top part of the side plate part of the base part A structure is adopted in which an abutment protrusion is provided, and when the cover part is placed on the base part, the flat part does not go further when it abuts against the abutment protrusion.

  In this way, the flat part does not have a curved surface part (bent R part) like other bent parts, so the outer surface of the abutting protrusion may be flush with the outer surface of the side plate part, and chamfering is not necessary. The provision of the chamfered portion 20 as shown in FIG. 5 eliminates the problem that the side wall of the base becomes thick and has the advantage that space can be saved.

If the hole formed in the side plate when the flat part is provided in the cover part is used as a locking hole of the locking mechanism for preventing the cover from being removed, the flat part and the locking hole can be processed at the same time, and the manufacturing becomes easy. Price can also be achieved.
As a result, the locking projection is provided around the lower portion of the abutting projection on the side plate portion of the base portion.

Embodiments of the card connector of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a card connector 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a state in which a cover portion 4 is covered on a base portion 3 and a card is not inserted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a state in which a card 9 is inserted.
2A and 2B are diagrams in a state where the cover portion 4 is removed from the state of FIG. 1A, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the cover portion 4, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the base portion 3.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view, (a) is a partial detailed perspective view of the base portion 3 of FIG. 2 (b) looking down from the upper left, and (b) is a view of FIG. 1 (a) from the upper left. It is the partial detailed perspective view which looked down.
FIG. 4 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the cross section taken along line AA in FIG.

As apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the card connector 1 according to the present invention includes a cover portion 4 and a base portion 3 having contacts 5 and an eject bar 6.
The cover portion 4 is formed by bending a metal plate, and has a top plate portion 41 and two side plate portions 42 on both sides depending from the top plate portion 41.
The side plate portion 42 includes a plurality of locking holes 43 reaching the bent portion 44 with the top plate portion 41 and a flat portion that is flush with the top plate portion 41 and protrudes toward the locking hole 43 side. 45. The locking hole 43 and the flat portion 45 are formed by punching when the side plate portion 42 is bent.

The base portion 3 includes a resin-made bottom plate portion 31 and two left and right metal side plate portions 32 that stand up from the bottom plate portion 31.
The side plate portion 32 has an embedded plate portion 33 extending in the horizontal direction from the lower edge thereof, and is integrated with the bottom plate portion 31 by molding the embedded plate portion 33 on the bottom surface side of the bottom plate portion 31. . A plurality of locking protrusions 34 are formed on the side plate portion 32 by outward driving, and an abutting protrusion 35 is formed at a position corresponding to the locking protrusion 34 at the upper edge (top portion) of the side plate portion 32. Has been.

The contact 5 is formed by punching from an elastic metal plate and has a contact spring portion 51, a holding portion 52, and a terminal portion 53.
The contact 5 holds the holding portion 52 on the bottom surface side of the bottom plate portion 31 of the base portion 3 by mold-in, and the contact spring portion 51 protrudes to the upper surface side of the bottom plate portion 31 through a hole provided in the bottom plate portion 31. The terminal portion 53 is exposed on the bottom surface of the bottom plate portion 31.

The contact 5 is molded into the bottom plate portion 31 at the same time when the side plate portion 32 is molded in. The bottom plate portion 31 of the base portion 3 fills the bent R portion between the side plate portion 32 and the embedded plate portion 33, and the angle formed by the inner surface of the side plate portion 32 and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 31 is substantially perpendicular. The resin is molded as follows.
In addition to the way of burying the contacts as described above, various modifications are possible, such as being arranged at the back of the card slot or being formed as a separate connector, depending on the terminal configuration of the card.

The eject bar 6 is made of resin and is held so as to be movable in the front-rear direction along one side plate portion 32 of the base portion 3. The eject bar 6 is engaged in the card insertion / removal direction in the card slot 21 and protrudes from the front end of the connector. The card 9 can be pulled out from the card slot 21 by holding the part with a finger and moving it forward.
However, the eject bar is not a requirement of the present invention.

The cover part 4 and the base part 3 are assembled in such a manner that the side plate parts 42 on both sides of the cover part 4 are placed outside the side plate parts 32 on both sides of the base part 3 and pushed down. The lower edge abuts on a plurality of locking projections 34 (four on one side in FIG. 2B) provided on the side plate portion 32 of the base portion 3, but when further pressed down, the locking projections 34 are Overcoming elastically, the locking projection 34 fits into the locking hole 43 (see FIG. 2A) and locks to prevent the cover portion 4 from moving upward, and the base 3 The abutting protrusion 35 (see FIG. 3A) provided on the top of the side plate portion 32 abuts on the lower surface of the flat portion 45 provided on the same surface as the top plate portion 41 of the cover portion 4 (see FIG. 3 (b)), the cover part 4 is prevented from falling further.
As a result, the vertical movement of the cover portion 4 is prevented, and the predetermined height dimension of the card slot 21 (see FIG. 1) is secured and maintained.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing in detail the locking state of the locking protrusion 34 and the locking hole 43 and the contact state between the abutting protrusion 35 and the lower surface of the flat portion 45.
The locking protrusion 34 is formed by a punching process in which the lower part is sheared with respect to the side plate part 32 of the base part 3. Accordingly, the lower portion of the locking projection 34 is locked to the lower edge of the locking hole 43 of the cover portion 4.

Further, the abutting projection 35 is provided so as to project a part of the upper side (top) of the side plate portion 32 of the base portion 3 with a dimension slightly larger than the inner radius of curvature of the bent portion of the cover portion 4. The upper end is in contact with the lower surface of the flat portion 45 of the cover portion 4.
The height of the portion other than the abutting protrusion 35 of the side plate portion 32 is lower than the abutting protrusion 35 by a dimension that is slightly larger than the inner radius of curvature of the bent portion of the cover part 4. There is no need to chamfer to escape the R part. The locking hole 43 and the flat part 45 are formed in the cover part 4 by punching a hole in a shape in which the flat part 45 protrudes toward the hole on the metal plate before bending, and then bending the flat part 45 leaving the flat part 45. 45 remains on the same surface as the top plate portion 41, and the side plate portion 42 formed by bending forms a locking hole 43, so that the flat portion 45 and the locking hole 43 are formed all at once.

As described above, when the card 9 is inserted into the card slot 21 of the card connector 1 in which the cover portion 4 and the base portion 3 are assembled as shown in FIG. 1B, the terminal portion of the card 9 contacts the contact 5. The spring portion 51 is brought into contact with and electrically connected.
In the present embodiment, the side plate portion 32 of the base portion 3 is formed of a metal plate, but the side plate portion 32 may be formed of a resin integral with the bottom plate portion 31.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector 2 Housing 3 Base part 4 Cover part 5 Contact 6 Eject bar 9 Card 10 Cover part 12 Bending R part 13 Cover side wall 14 Locking hole 15 Base part 16 Bottom wall part 17 Base side wall 18 Locking protrusion 19 Flat part 20 Chamfered portion 21 Card slot 22 Card space 24 Cover portion 25 Cover side wall 26 L-shaped notch 27 Vertical notch 28 Horizontal notch 29 Base portion 30 Base side surface 31 Bottom plate portion 32 Side plate portion 33 Buried plate portion 34 Locking projection portion 35 Butting protrusion 36 Locking protrusion 41 Top plate part 42 Side plate part 43 Locking hole 44 Bending part (bending R part)
45 Flat part 51 Contact spring part 52 Holding part 53 Terminal part 54 Horizontal protrusion

Claims (5)

A card connector having a housing having a card slot for inserting a card, and a contact connected to a terminal portion of the inserted card,
The housing consists of a resin base and a metal plate cover,
The base portion includes a bottom plate portion and two side plate portions standing from both the left and right sides with respect to the card insertion direction of the bottom plate portion,
The cover portion has a top plate portion and two side plate portions that hang from the left and right sides with respect to the card insertion direction of the top plate portion by bending.
The side plate portion of the base portion is a structure that fits inside the side plate portion of the cover portion,
A return portion is cut from the top plate portion to the side plate portion on a part of the bent portion of the cover portion, and the flat portion protrudes on the same surface as the lower surface of the top plate portion without being bent,
At the top of the side plate portion of the base portion, there is an abutting protrusion that abuts against the lower surface of the flat portion when the cover portion and the base portion are fitted together,
A card connector comprising: a locking projection on one of the side plate portion of the base portion and the side plate portion of the cover portion, and a locking hole for correspondingly locking the other.   The side plate portion of the cover portion has the locking hole at a position corresponding to the flat portion, and the locking projection portion is provided below the abutting projection portion of the side plate portion of the base portion. The card connector according to claim 1.   3. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the side plate portion of the base portion is formed of a metal plate.   The side plate portion of the base portion has an embedded plate portion bent into an L shape when viewed in cross section at a lower portion thereof, and is embedded and held by molding the embedded plate portion into the resin base portion. The card connector according to claim 3. 5. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact is made of an elastic piece, and is partly embedded and held in a bottom plate portion of the base portion.

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