JP5424003B2 - Tray card connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a tray-type card connector for electrically connecting a memory card such as an IC card or a flash memory card and a printed wiring board mounted on an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, and has two different standards. The present invention relates to a tray-type card connector that can be used with any memory card.

  Conventionally, a memory card such as an IC card or a flash memory card has been used as an external storage medium of an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a smartphone. The memory card and a printed circuit board mounted on the electronic device are connected via a card connector. Are electrically connected.

  There are multiple types of memory cards with different standards, that is, different outer diameter shapes and signal terminal (pad) positions, while conventional card connectors only support a single standard. When one electronic device is used by selecting one of a plurality of types of memory cards, it is necessary to use a plurality of card connectors corresponding to the specifications of each memory card or a connector having a plurality of card insertion portions. Therefore, the area occupied by the card connector in the printed wiring board has to be increased, and this has been a factor that hinders downsizing of electronic devices.

  On the other hand, a tray-type card connector capable of dealing with two types of memory cards with different standards is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The tray-type card connector that can accommodate these two types of memory cards includes a card tray that can accommodate two types of memory cards, a housing that has a tray insertion portion into which the card tray is inserted, and one that protrudes into the tray insertion portion. A plurality of back contacts that contact the signal terminals of the memory card and a plurality of front contacts that protrude into the tray insertion portion and contact the signal terminals of the other memory card. One of them is appropriately selected and accommodated, and the signal terminal of the selected memory card is elastically contacted with the corresponding contact by inserting it into the tray insertion portion, and the selected memory card and the printed wiring board are It is designed to be electrically connected.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the card tray 1 has one storage portion 2 in which one memory card A is stored with its longitudinal direction facing the tray insertion direction, and the other memory card B has its longitudinal direction. The other storage portion 3 is formed so as to be stored in the tray insertion direction, and both the storage portions 2 and 3 are arranged in the tray insertion direction or the tray insertion direction so that the signal terminals of the memory cards A and B do not overlap each other. Since the two overlapping portions of the receiving portions 2 and 3 are shared with each other, the two memory cards A having different standards are provided in one card tray 1. , B can be selected and accommodated.

  JP 2008-108695 A

  However, in the conventional technology as described above, when the two types of memory cards have the same length and one card width is narrower than the other, as shown in FIG. Since the configuration for positioning cannot be arranged in the common part simply by shifting 3 in the tray insertion direction, both side edges and the rear edge part (or the front edge part) of the part arranged in the common part of one memory card. ) Cannot be guided and the memory card cannot be stored stably.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12B, each of the memory cards can be surely positioned if both the accommodating portions 2 and 3 are formed so as to be shifted in both the tray insertion direction and the tray width direction. Further, the area occupied by the two accommodating portions on the card tray becomes large, and the card tray has to be increased in size, which may hinder the miniaturization of the entire connector.

  Also, when the card tray is inserted into the housing, the front edge of the memory card may come into contact with the back contact, and the memory card may be subject to a load in the pull-out direction due to the elasticity of the contact. If it is not securely held, there is a risk of inadequate insertion of the card tray, and in some cases, the memory card may fall off the card tray.

  Furthermore, when two types of memory cards have the same length and one card width is narrower than the other, one of the memory cards can be accommodated in both the first accommodating portion and the second accommodating portion due to its outer shape. In some cases, the memory card may be stored in the wrong storage unit.

  Therefore, in view of such a conventional problem, the present invention provides a tray-type card connector that can select one of two types of memory cards with different standards and store them in an accurate and stable state and can be downsized. It was made for the purpose of provision.

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems and achieve the intended object, the feature of the invention according to claim 1 is that a card tray capable of accommodating two types of memory cards and the card tray are inserted. A housing having a tray insertion portion, a plurality of back contacts that protrude into the tray insertion portion and make contact with the signal terminals of one memory card, and a plurality of contacts that protrude into the tray insertion portion and make contact with the signal terminals of the other memory card A tray type card connector in which one of the memory cards is appropriately selected and accommodated in the card tray, wherein the one of the memory cards has a longitudinal direction thereof. The vertical storage portion that is stored in the tray insertion direction, and the other memory card has its longitudinal direction oriented in the connector width direction. And a lateral housing portion that is accommodated, and the vertical housing part and the lateral housing portion is formed in the arrangement of sharing part together with mutually orthogonal, the front contact is a direction intersecting the card tray insertion direction And an elastic contact portion having a shape inclined from one end side of the elastic support portion toward the card tray insertion direction, the other end side of the elastic support portion being supported by a housing, and the elastic The contact portion formed at the tip of the contact portion is brought into contact with the signal terminal of the other memory card .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the other memory card has a total card length that is longer than a total width of the one memory card and a total card width that is the total length of the one memory card. The vertical storage portion and the horizontal storage portion are arranged so that the connector width direction intermediate portion position of the vertical storage portion and the connector width direction intermediate position of the horizontal storage portion overlap each other. There is.

  As described above, the tray-type card connector according to the present invention protrudes into the tray insertion portion, a card tray capable of accommodating two types of memory cards, a housing having a tray insertion portion into which the card tray is inserted, and the tray insertion portion. A plurality of back contacts that contact the signal terminals of one memory card, and a plurality of front contacts that protrude into the tray insertion portion and contact the signal terminals of the other memory card. In the tray-type card connector, one of the card cards is appropriately selected and accommodated, and the card tray has a longitudinal accommodation portion in which the one memory card is accommodated with its longitudinal direction directed in the tray insertion direction, and the other The memory card is provided with a sideways accommodating portion that is accommodated with its longitudinal direction oriented in the connector width direction, By the serial vertical housing portion and landscape accommodating portion is formed in the arrangement of sharing part together with mutually orthogonal, each memory card can be stably and accurately accommodated. Also, since the memory card is stored in different directions, it can be prevented from being erroneously mounted.

  In the present invention, the other memory card is formed such that the total length of the card is longer than the total width of the one memory card and the total width of the card is narrower than the total length of the one memory card, and the connector width of the vertical storage portion By arranging the vertical storage portion and the horizontal storage portion so that the intermediate position in the direction and the intermediate position in the connector width direction of the horizontal storage portion overlap, both memory cards are stored in the card tray in a balanced manner. can do.

  Further, in the present invention, the near side contact includes an elastic support portion directed in a direction crossing the card tray insertion direction, and an elastic contact portion having a shape inclined from the one end side of the elastic support portion toward the card tray insertion direction. The other end side of the elastic support portion is supported by a housing, and a contact portion formed at a tip portion of the elastic contact portion is brought into contact with a signal terminal of the other memory card. Even if the distance between the signal terminals in the tray insertion direction is narrow, the card contacts the memory card in the tray insertion direction and ensures sufficient spring span. it can.

  It is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a tray type card connector concerning the present invention.   It is a bottom view same as the above.   It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which inserted the card tray same as the above.   (A) is a bottom view showing an example of a memory card, (b) is a bottom view showing an example of another memory card.   (A) is the bottom view which shows the card tray in FIG. 1, (b) is the longitudinal cross-sectional view.   (A) is a bottom view showing a state in which one memory card is accommodated in the same card tray, and (b) is a bottom view showing a state in which the other memory card is accommodated.   It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the housing in FIG.   It is a perspective view which shows the arrangement | sequence state of the back side contact and near side contact in FIG.   It is a perspective view which shows an example of a near side contact same as the above.   It is a perspective view which shows an example of the back side contact same as the above.   It is a top view which shows an example of the card tray used for the conventional tray-type card connector.   It is a top view which shows the outline | summary of the arrangement pattern of two accommodating parts same as the above.

  Next, an embodiment of the tray type card connector according to the present invention will be described based on the embodiment shown in FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a tray-type card connector, and the same components as those in the above-described conventional example are described with the same reference numerals. Reference numerals A and B denote memory cards having different standards.

  The tray-type card connector 10 includes a card tray 11 that can accommodate two types of memory cards A and B, a housing 13 that has a tray insertion portion 12 into which the card tray 11 is inserted, and a tray 13 that protrudes into the tray insertion portion 12. Are in contact with the signal terminals a1, a1,... Of the memory card A, and a plurality of contacts in contact with the signal terminals b1, b1,. .. Are selected by appropriately selecting one of the memory cards A and B in the card tray 11 and inserting the card tray 11 into the tray insertion portion 12 in that state. The memory card signal terminal makes elastic contact with the corresponding contact, and the selected memory card and printed circuit board connect the connector. It is adapted to be electrically connected to.

  The two types of memory cards A and B have the same total card length, and the total width of one memory card A is narrower than the total width of the other memory card B.

  One memory card A is, for example, a small flash memory card as shown in FIG. 4A, and is formed in a rectangular shape having a longer card length than the entire card width. In addition, it has a narrowed portion Aa having a narrower card width than other portions.

  The reduced width portion Aa is arranged so as to be shifted to one side in the card width direction, and a plurality of signal terminals a1, a1,... Facing in the full length direction of the card are arranged in parallel in the card width direction on one side of the reduced width portion Aa. It is arranged.

  Further, on this one memory card A, a thickened portion Ab having a raised shape on the opposite side to the surface on which the signal terminals are formed is formed at the end opposite to the reduced width portion Aa in the overall length direction of the card. Has been.

  The other memory card B is, for example, an IC card as shown in FIG. 4B, and is formed in a rectangular shape having a longer card length than the full width of the card. It is long and the entire card width is narrower than that of one memory card A. In the figure, reference numeral Ba denotes a positioning portion having a shape cut out in an oblique direction at one corner of a rectangular shape.

  On one side of the memory card B, a pair of signal terminal arrays in which a plurality of signal terminals b1, b1,... Are arranged in the card width direction are formed in parallel with a gap in the entire card length direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the card tray 11 includes a flat tray body 20 that can select and store one of two types of memory cards A and B on one side, and the front side of the tray body 20 in the tray insertion direction. And a front edge lid portion 21 disposed on the front side.

  The tray main body 20 has a vertical storage portion 22 in which one memory card A is stored on one side with its longitudinal direction facing the tray insertion direction, and the other memory card B has its longitudinal direction facing the connector width direction. It is provided with a horizontal storage portion 23 to be stored, and the vertical storage portion 22 and the horizontal storage portion 23 are formed in an arrangement so as to be orthogonal to each other in a cross shape and to share some overlapping portions.

  Further, on the side surface of the tray main body 20, an engagement recess 25 is formed that engages with a retaining piece 24 disposed on both sides of the tray insertion portion 12. When the engagement protrusion 24a is engaged, the card tray 11 is locked to the housing 13, and the movement of the card tray 11 in the pull-out direction can be restricted.

  The vertical accommodating portion 22 is formed in a shape in which one side portion of the tray main body 20 is recessed according to the outer shape of one memory card A, and one memory card A is accommodated with the side surface of the signal terminal facing the opening side. It has become so.

  In other words, the vertical accommodating portion 22 is continuous with the reduced width recess 26 in which the reduced width portion Aa of the memory card A is fitted in the back side of the tray body 20 in the tray insertion direction, and the front side in the tray insertion direction of the reduced width recess 26. And a wide concave portion 27 arranged in a continuous manner.

  Further, in the wide concave portion 27, a stepped portion 28 into which the thickened portion Ab is fitted is formed in a shape that is one step deeper than other portions, and when the memory card A is received with the side surface of the signal terminal facing the opening side, The card A is accommodated in a flat and stable state with respect to the tray body 20.

  On the other hand, the portion of the vertical storage portion 22 that is shared with the horizontal storage portion 23 is formed so as to communicate with the horizontal storage portion 23, that is, among the inner edges that define the profile of the vertical storage portion 22. This portion is formed in a state where it is removed or extremely low, and does not prevent the other memory card B from being accommodated in the tray width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the memory card A accommodated in the vertically accommodating portion 22 has the reduced width portion Aa of the memory card A fitted into the reduced width recess 26 and the other end portion of the memory card A. Is inserted into the wide concave portion 27, and both end edges in the full length direction of the memory card A are in contact with the inner side surface portions 26a and 27a at both ends in the tray insertion direction of the vertical storage portion 22, respectively. Is in contact with both inner side surface portions 26b, 26b of the reduced width concave portion 26 and the other end side surface portion of the memory card A is in contact with both inner side surface portions 27b, 27b of the wide width concave portion 27, thereby restricting movement in the tray insertion direction and tray width direction. Is done.

  On the other hand, the sideways accommodating portion 23 is formed in a shape in which one side portion of the tray body 20 is recessed in accordance with the outer shape of the other memory card B, and the other memory card B is accommodated with the side surface of the signal terminal facing the opening side. It has become so.

  That is, the horizontal storage portion 23 is formed in a rectangular concave shape having a shorter length in the tray insertion direction than the length in the tray width direction on one side of the tray main body 20, and is divided into the vertical storage portions 22 to be separated from the tray main body 20. It is formed in a shape having a pair of fitting portions 29 and 30 on both sides in the tray width direction.

  In addition, one fitting portion 29 is formed with an inclined portion 29a in accordance with the position of the positioning portion Ba. By aligning the position of the positioning portion Ba with the position of the inclined portion 29a, the memory card B is only in one direction. It is to be accommodated.

  The portion of the horizontal storage portion 23 that is shared with the vertical storage portion 22 is formed so as to communicate with the vertical storage portion 22, that is, among the inner edges that define the profile of the horizontal storage portion 23. The memory card A is formed in a state in which the portion is removed, and does not prevent one memory card A from being stored in the vertical storage portion 22 in the tray insertion direction.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the memory card B accommodated in the laterally accommodating portion 23 has both end portions in the full length direction of the card fitted into the fitting portions 29 and 30, respectively, and the front and rear end surfaces of the memory card B are respectively Inner side surfaces 29a that are in contact with both inner edges 29b, 30b of the fitting portions 29, 30 in the tray width direction and that both side faces in the card width direction of the memory card B are opposed to each other in the tray insertion direction of each fitting portion. , 29c, 30c, and 30c, the movement in the tray insertion direction and the card width direction is restricted.

  Note that the vertical storage portion 22 and the horizontal storage portion 23 are arranged so that the connector width direction intermediate portion position of the vertical storage portion 22 overlaps the connector width direction intermediate portion position of the horizontal storage portion 23. And the laterally accommodating portion 23 are preferably arranged. By arranging in this manner, both the memory cards A and B can be accommodated in the card tray 11 in a well-balanced manner.

  When the tray-type card connector 10 is incorporated in an electric device such as a smartphone, the front edge lid portion 21 is exposed on the outer surface of the device housing, and the card tray 11 is discharged from the housing 13. The card tray 11 protrudes in a drawer shape from the outer surface of the device casing.

  The housing 13 includes a mold case 31 molded with an insulating synthetic resin, and a shield cover 32 incorporated so as to cover the upper surface and side surfaces of the mold case 31. The tray insertion portion 12 is formed on the upper surface of the mold case 31. The upper surface of the mold case 31 is formed in a concave shape, and the upper surface of the mold case 31 is covered with a shield cover 32.

  The back side contacts 14, 14... And the near side contacts 15, 15... Arranged as shown in FIG. 8 are integrally incorporated in the mold case 31 by insert molding, and the back side of the tray insertion portion 12 in the tray insertion direction. Are provided in a parallel arrangement at intervals in the connector width direction, and a plurality of front contacts 15, 15... Are disposed on the bottom plate portion on the front side of the tray insertion portion 12 in the tray insertion direction. The rear contacts 14, 14,... Are in contact with the signal terminals a1, a1,... Arranged on one side of one memory card A, and the front contacts 15, 15,. The signal terminals b1, b1,... Formed on one side of the card B are brought into contact with each other.

  In the figure, reference numeral 33 denotes a lateral avoidance window formed in a long shape in the tray width direction penetrating in the bottom plate thickness direction on the back side of the tray insertion part 12 in the tray insertion direction, and reference numeral 34 denotes a tray insertion / extraction of the tray insertion part 12. A pair of vertically avoiding windows formed in a parallel arrangement with an interval in the tray width direction on the front side of the method.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the back side contacts 14, 14... Are formed by punching and bending a conductive metal plate material having elasticity, and are fixed to a mold case 31. An elastic contact piece 41 supported by 40 in the card tray insertion / extraction direction is integrally provided.

  The fixed piece portion 40 has a pair of embedded pieces 40a and 40b arranged at a distance from each other and an elongated plate-like connecting piece 40c that connects between the opposing side edges of the embedded pieces 40a and 40b. The two embedded pieces 40a and 40b are integrated into the bottom of the mold case 31 by insert molding, and the connecting piece 40c is bridged between the inner edge surfaces facing each other in the tray insertion direction of the lateral avoidance window 33. It is supposed to be fixed to.

  Further, the back side contact 14 is integrally formed with a connecting terminal piece portion 42 having a shape extending in the tray insertion direction in a continuous arrangement with the embedded piece 40b of the fixed piece portion 40, and the distal end portion of the connecting terminal piece portion 42 is formed. 42a is exposed on the bottom surface of the housing 13 and is soldered to a connection pattern formed on the printed wiring board.

  The elastic contact piece 41 is formed in a shape inclined from the edge of the embedded piece 40a protruding from the inner edge of the lateral avoidance window 33 toward the back side of the connector insertion direction and toward the shield cover 32, and has a circular arc shape at the tip thereof. A contact portion 41a is formed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the front contacts 15, 15,... Are formed by punching and bending a conductive metal plate having elasticity, and are elastic support portions directed in a direction intersecting the card tray insertion direction. 50 and an elastic contact portion 51 supported on one end side of the elastic support portion 50 in the card tray insertion / extraction direction, and the elastic support portion 50 and the elastic contact portion 51 form an L shape in plan view. Is formed.

  The elastic support portion 50 is formed in an elongated plate shape, one end in the longitudinal direction, that is, the end opposite to the elastic contact portion 51 is embedded in the mold case 31 by insert molding, and the other end is the bottom plate of the tray insertion portion 12. It protrudes horizontally from the inner edge of the vertical avoidance window 34 formed in the part into the avoidance window 34 toward the center side in the connector width direction.

  Further, a connection terminal portion 52 is integrally formed on one end side of the elastic support portion 50, and a tip end portion 52a of the connection terminal portion 52 is exposed on the bottom surface of the edge portion on the housing 13 side. It is fixed to the connection pattern.

  On the other hand, the elastic contact portion 51 is formed in a shape inclined from the center side end side edge of the elastic support portion 50 toward the back side in the tray insertion direction and in the oblique direction toward the shield case side, and is formed in the tray insertion portion 12. The protruding contact portion 51a is provided in a state of being raised from the inner bottom surface of the tray insertion portion 12 to the shield cover side.

  When the memory card B is selected and accommodated in the laterally accommodating portion 23, since the signal terminals b1, b1 are arranged in series in the tray insertion direction, the contact portions 51a, 51a,. Needs to be arranged at intervals in the tray insertion direction.

  On the other hand, the elastic contact portion 51 of each front contact 15 is inclined toward the back side in the tray insertion direction and toward the shield case side in order to prevent deformation due to contact between the card tray 11 and the contact 15 when the card tray is inserted. It is preferable that the shape is such that it can be elastically deformed as the card tray 11 is inserted.

  Therefore, it is preferable that each of the near side contacts 15, 15... Be arranged in series with the elastic contact portion 51 having a shape inclined toward the back side in the tray insertion direction and toward the shield case side. The length of the elastic contact portion 51 cannot be sufficiently secured.

  However, in the near side contact 15 in the present invention, the elastic support portion 50 and the elastic contact portion 51 are formed so as to form an L shape in plan view, so that they are exposed to the vertical avoidance window 34 of the elastic support portion 50. The portion functions as a spring material together with the elastic contact portion 51, and a sufficient spring span is secured.

  Therefore, the memory card B can be accommodated even when it is accommodated in the card tray 11 with the entire length direction of the card directed in the tray width direction.

  The tray-type card tray 10 configured as described above has a small amount of space because the card tray 11 is formed so that the vertical storage section 22 and the horizontal storage section 23 are orthogonal to each other and partially share each other. One of the two types of memory cards A and B can be selected and stored as appropriate, and the storage direction differs for each memory card, so that it can be prevented from being stored erroneously.

  Further, when the card tray 11 containing the memory cards A and B is inserted into the housing 13, the memory cards A and B come into contact with the back contacts 14, 14... Or the front contacts 15, 15. , B, even if a load in the pull-out direction is applied, the memory cards A, B are fitted in the vertical storage portion 22 or the horizontal storage portion 23 and are securely held in the card tray 11, so that each memory card is stored. Since the reaction force is applied to the tray drawer side edge portion of the unit and the load in the pulling direction can be counteracted, the card tray 11 can be securely inserted.

  The type of the memory card is not limited to that of the standard illustrated in the above embodiment, and the two types of memory cards A and B may have different total lengths. May be arranged in the card width direction at one end in the card full length direction.

A, B Memory card 10 Tray-type card connector 11 Card tray 12 Tray insertion part 13 Housing 14 Back side contact 15 Front side contact 20 Tray body 21 Front edge cover part 22 Vertically accommodating part 23 Horizontally accommodating part 24 Retaining piece 25 Engagement Joint concave portion 26 Reduced width concave portion 27 Wide concave portion 28 Step portion 29 Fitting portion 30 Fitting portion 31 Mold case 32 Shield cover 33 Horizontal avoidance window 34 Vertical avoidance window 40 Fixed piece portion 41 Elastic contact piece portion 42 Connection terminal piece portion 50 Elastic support part 51 Elastic contact part 52 Connection terminal part

Claims (2)

A card tray that can store two types of memory cards, a housing having a tray insertion portion into which the card tray is inserted, and a plurality of back contacts that protrude into the tray insertion portion and make contact with signal terminals of one memory card And a plurality of front contacts that protrude into the tray insertion portion and come into contact with the signal terminals of the other memory card, and the card tray appropriately selects one of the memory cards to be received. In type card connector,
The card tray has a vertical storage portion in which the one memory card is stored with its longitudinal direction facing the tray insertion direction, and a lateral orientation in which the other memory card is stored with its longitudinal direction facing the connector width direction. A storage portion, and the vertical storage portion and the horizontal storage portion are formed so as to be orthogonal to each other and partially share each other,
The near side contact includes an elastic support portion directed in a direction intersecting with the card tray insertion direction, and an elastic contact portion having a shape inclined from the one end side of the elastic support portion toward the card tray insertion direction. A tray-type card connector characterized in that the other end side of the support portion is supported by a housing, and a contact portion formed at the tip end portion of the elastic contact portion is brought into contact with a signal terminal of the other memory card. .   The other memory card is formed such that the total length of the card is longer than the total width of the one memory card, and the total width of the card is narrower than the total length of the one memory card. 2. The tray-type card connector according to claim 1, wherein the vertical storage portion and the horizontal storage portion are arranged so that a connector width direction intermediate position of the horizontal storage portion overlaps.

Images