JP6448580B2 - Card retainer and computer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card pressing member used in industrial equipment or the like having a card slot for a card medium, and a computer having the same.

  Generally, a computer is provided with various terminals. Especially for industrial computers installed in various industrial equipment such as digital signage, vending machines, and amusement equipment, LAN terminals, serial communication terminals, USB terminals, video output terminals, etc. for communication with controlled industrial equipment Communication terminals are provided. In addition to these communication terminals, in an industrial computer that performs complex operation control of industrial equipment, a media terminal for mounting a storage medium (media) on which data and software used for the operation control are recorded. Is also provided.

  As a medium on which such data and software are recorded, for example, a compact flash (registered trademark) card or a CFast (registered trademark) card is used. Hereinafter, these two types are collectively referred to as a CF card (a type of card media). Such a CF card is small in mechanical size but large in storage capacity, and further has a common communication protocol with a hard disk (HDD). By using this instead of the HDD, it is possible to construct a computer having the same function as a so-called desktop PC but having a reduced size.

  Various information (for example, data, software, firmware, etc.) for operation control is recorded on this CF card, and when such information is updated, the installed CF card is a CF card on which new information is recorded. The computer configuration is updated by replacing with. For this purpose, a card slot for a CF card is provided in the computer, and a CF card can be inserted into and removed from this slot.

  Here, the card slot for the CF card is often provided with an eject mechanism for making it easy to insert and remove the CF card. However, since this eject mechanism is accompanied by a lever to be operated by the user, a large space is required near the entrance of the card slot, and an internal structure for operating the eject mechanism such as a spring and an arm is accommodated. In order to ensure the movable range, a large space is required inside the computer casing. As described above, it is possible to reduce the size of the computer by adopting the CF card. However, if such an ejection mechanism is provided, the size cannot be reduced sufficiently.

  Therefore, in an industrial computer, in order to further reduce the size, a form in which an eject mechanism is not provided in a card slot for a CF card is also performed. Patent Document 1 discloses a computer having a card slot that does not have such an ejection mechanism. In the computer disclosed in Patent Document 1, a card press fitting used to prevent erroneous ejection of a CF card is used as a CF card. The card can be used for extracting the CF card so that the CF card can be extracted without inconvenience while reducing the size.

Japanese Patent No. 5265030

  However, the card retainer used in the invention described in Patent Document 1 is used for extraction unless the end of the CF card protrudes from the card slot when the CF card is mounted in the card slot. I can't.

  In Patent Document 1, it is assumed that the end of the CF card is mounted in a state of protruding 3 to 4 mm from the card slot. And in patent document 1, in order to prevent the CF card from coming off and to protect it from an impact, a card pressing metal fitting fixed to the external terminal arrangement surface is provided with a protruding surface. Use the card retainer by removing the bracket and fitting the protruding surface of the card retainer to the convex protrusion formed on the slot entrance side tip of the CF card (the part protruding from the slot) The CF card can be removed.

  However, depending on the structure of the computer, the CF card may not protrude from the card slot in the mounted state. That is, when a CF card is inserted into the card slot, the entire CF card may be buried inside the computer casing. In such a case, in the card pressing metal fitting shown in the cited document 1, the protruding surface of the card pressing metal fitting cannot be fitted to the protrusion of the buried CF card, and the card pressing metal fitting cannot be easily extracted. . When the entire CF card is buried inside the computer case, it must be pulled out with a tool such as pliers in order to remove it, which takes time and labor to prepare the tool. May damage the CF card.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a card pressing member and a computer that can be easily taken out without damaging the CF card even when the CF card is not projected to the outside of the housing in a state where it is mounted in a card slot. To do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a card pressing member according to the present invention is a card pressing member for preventing a card medium attached to a card slot of a computer from falling off, and is fixed to the casing of the computer. And a card cover connected to the card cover, and a card engaging part connected to the card cover. The card cover is formed so as to cover the entrance of the card slot of the computer when fixed to the housing of the computer, and the card engaging portion is attached to the card slot. The card slot in the card medium is inserted into a gap between the outer surface of the card medium in the closed state and the edge of the entrance of the card slot. Engageable der the inlet is formed in a side projection of is, the fixing portion and the card cover portion and the card engagement portion is characterized in that it is formed in line on the same plane.

  In addition to the above configuration, in the card pressing member according to the present invention, at least one mounting claw used for mounting the card pressing member to the entrance of the card slot is formed in the card cover part. When the dimension along the longitudinal direction of the cover part is the longitudinal dimension, and the dimension along the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction is the width dimension, the longitudinal dimension of the mounting claw is the width direction of the card covering part. The card engaging part is formed at the longitudinal end of the card cover part, and the width dimension is the same as or smaller than the longitudinal dimension of the mounting claw. It is preferable that

  Furthermore, the computer according to the present invention is a computer provided with the card pressing member as described above, and an attachment notch for receiving the attachment claw of the card cover is formed at the entrance of the card slot of the computer. It is characterized by having.

  Further, in the computer according to the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, the depth dimension of the card slot is such that when the card medium is inserted into the card slot, the entire card medium is embedded in the casing of the computer. The card engaging portion of the card pressing member is inserted into the mounting notch portion of the card slot, and the tip of the card engaging portion is formed on the card slot inlet side in the card medium mounted in the card slot. The card media can be extracted from the card slot by lever action with the card pressing member as a lever and the edge of the mounting notch as a fulcrum. preferable.

  According to the card presser according to the present invention, even if a card medium such as a CF card is buried in the housing in the state of being attached to the card slot, the card engaging portion of the card presser is connected between the card slot and the card media. If the card is inserted into the gap, the card engaging portion can be engaged with the protrusion of the card medium, so that the card medium can be easily extracted using the card pressing member.

  Further, according to the computer of the present invention, since the mounting notch is formed at the entrance of the card slot, the card engaging portion is inserted by inserting the card engaging portion of the card pressing member into the mounting notch. Can be easily inserted into the gap between the card slot and the card medium, and the card medium can be easily removed using the card pressing member.

The perspective view which shows the computer as an example of embodiment of this invention. The partial side view which expands and shows the card slot periphery part of the computer of the embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the card | curd pressing material in the embodiment, (a) is the figure seen from the front side, (b) is the figure seen from the back side. The fragmentary perspective view which shows the mode of CF card extraction using the card | curd pressing material in the embodiment. It is the fragmentary sectional view which shows typically the appearance of CF card extraction using the card press material in the same execution form, (a) is the figure which shows the appearance before extraction, (b) was extracted. The figure which shows the state after. It is a top view which shows the example of the card pressing material which concerns on this invention, (a) is a figure which shows the card pressing material in embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, (b) is a figure which shows another form of a card pressing material.

  FIG. 1 shows a computer 10 as an example of an embodiment according to the present invention. Various terminals such as a power supply terminal 18a, a serial communication terminal 18b, a video output terminal 18c, a LAN terminal 18d, a USB port terminal 18e, and the like are formed on one of the side surfaces (upper side in the figure) of the casing 12 of the computer 10. In addition, a card slot into which the first CF card 90 is inserted is also provided. The first CF card 90 is mounted in a state where the tip projects 3 to 4 mm from the card slot, as in the case of Patent Document 1.

  In the computer 10 shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the card slot in which the first CF card 90 is inserted, a card slot 30 is also provided on the lower right side in the figure. The depth dimension of the card slot 30 is deeper than that of the upper side in the drawing, and when the second CF card 40 is inserted into the card slot 30, the entire second CF card 40 is shown in FIG. Is buried in the housing 12. By providing a plurality of card slots in this way, when the computer 10 handles a plurality of types of information having different update frequencies, the information recording destinations of the first CF card 90 and the second CF are changed according to the types. It can be divided into a CF card 40. For example, information that is frequently updated (for example, software under test operation) is recorded on the first CF card 90 that protrudes from the card slot and can be easily removed by the operator's hand, and the update frequency is so high. Information that is not high (for example, firmware that controls the basic operation of the computer 10) may be recorded in the second CF card 40 that is mounted in the card slot 30 that is relatively difficult to remove.

  Hereinafter, the second CF card 40 is simply referred to as “CF card 40”. When the CF card 40 is inserted into the card slot 30, the card presser is used to prevent the CF card 40 from falling out of the card slot 30 and to protect the CF card 40 from external shock and vibration. The material 20 is fixed to the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the card pressing member 20 includes a card cover portion 24 that covers the inlet 32 of the card slot 30, a card engagement portion 26 formed on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the card cover portion 24, and a card cover portion. 24, and a fixing portion 22 formed on the other end side. The fixing portion 22 is formed as a through hole for allowing the screw 14 to pass therethrough, and the card pressing member 20 is fixed to the outer surface of the housing 12 by passing the screw 14 through the fixing portion 22 and tightening to the screw hole 16 of the housing 12. Then, the card cover 24 is arranged so as to cover the entrance 32 of the card slot 30.

Next, the structure of the card pressing member 20 and the fixing to the housing 12 will be described in more detail. In addition, about the front and back of the card | curd pressing material 20, when fixed to the housing | casing 12, the side which contacts the housing | casing 12 is called a back side, and the side exposed to the outside on the opposite side is called a front side. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, most of the card pressing member 20 is a flat card covering portion 24, and fixed portions 22 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction on the plane formed by the card covering portion 24. And the card engaging portion 26 are connected. That is, the fixing part 22, the card cover part 24, and the card engaging part 26 are formed on the same flat plate, and are connected side by side on the same plane. The fixing portion 22 is formed as a hole penetrating from the front side to the back side. However, the diameter of the hole is not the same on the front side and the back side, and taper processing is performed so that the hole diameter decreases from the front side to the back side so that the head of the screw 14 (disc screw) shown in FIG. 1 can be accommodated. It has been subjected. The card engaging portion 26 is formed as a portion protruding from the tip of the card covering portion 24, and as shown in FIG. 6A, the width direction dimension L ₂ of the engaging portion 26 (width intersecting the longitudinal direction). dimension in the direction) is smaller than the width dimension L ₁ of the card cover portion 24. And the card | curd cover part 24 is larger than the dimension of the inlet_port | entrance 32 as the dimension of the longitudinal direction and the width direction are shown in FIG. 2, and can cover the whole opening area of the inlet_port | entrance 32.

Further, the card pressing member 20 is formed with two mounting claws 28a and 28b used for positioning and mounting the card pressing member 20 to the inlet 32 of the card slot 30 as shown by a broken line in FIG. . As shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b), these mounting claws 28a and 28b are projecting portions that are connected to the card cover portion 24 and extend from the front side to the back side. For example, at the time of creating the card presser member 20, two protrusions that extend to the left and right sides in the width direction are prepared near the longitudinal center of the card cover 24, and these protrusions are bent from the front side to the back side. Can be formed. The left mounting claw 28a (left side when the direction facing the card engaging portion 26 along the longitudinal direction of the card pressing member 20 is the front) is from the front side to the back side as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). It has a shape that projects straight out. On the other hand, the right mounting claw 28b is bent toward the direction away from the card cover 24 in the width direction (here, the right side) at the tip protruding from the front side to the back side. Is attached. As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the longitudinal dimension L ₂ of the engaging hook 28a, 28b in this embodiment is the same as the width dimension L ₂ of the engaging portion 26. Therefore, the attachment claws 28a, the longitudinal dimension _{L 2} of 28b is smaller than the width dimension _{L 1} of the card cover portion 24. Further, on the plane formed by the fixing portion 22, the card cover portion 24, and the card engagement portion 26, the width direction dimension at the position of the mounting claws 28 a and 28 b is equal to the width direction dimension L ₁ of the card cover portion 24. On the left side and the right side of the card cover 24 near the center in the longitudinal direction, a notch having a width dimension that is the same as the thickness of the mounting claws 28a and 28b and a slightly larger longitudinal dimension than the mounting claws 28a and 28b is provided. The mounting claws 28a and 28b are formed within the range of the notches.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, in the housing 12, attachment notches 38 a and 38 b for receiving the two attachment claws 28 a and 28 b are formed at the inlet 32 of the card slot 30. The entrance 32 of the card slot 30 is a rectangular opening provided on the outer surface of the housing 12, and the opening area is slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the CF card 40 so that the CF card 40 can be inserted. In the vicinity of the center in the longitudinal direction of the inlet 32, attachment notches 38a and 38b are formed so as to slightly spread on the left and right sides in the width direction. The positions of the mounting notches 38a and 38b are positions where the mounting claws 28a and 28b are disposed when the fixing portion 22 of the card pressing member 20 is overlapped with the screw hole 16 of the housing 12. The dimensions of the mounting notches 38a, 38b are slightly larger than the thickness of the mounting claws 28a, 28b in the width direction, and slightly larger than the longitudinal dimensions (L _{2 in} FIG. 6) of the mounting claws 28a, 28b in the longitudinal direction. It is getting bigger. However, the dimension in the longitudinal direction is smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the card covering portion 24 (L _{1 in} FIG. 6).

  By forming the mounting notches 38a and 38b and the mounting claws 28a and 28b, the card pressing member 20 can be easily positioned and fixed. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a frame body 34 that defines an outer frame of the card slot 30 is disposed inside the housing 12. When the mounting claws 28a and 28b are respectively inserted into the mounting notches 38a and 38b, the mounting claws 28a and 28b are arranged so as to sandwich the outside of the frame 34 from the left and right, and the card pressing member 20 is inserted into the card slot. It becomes difficult to come off from the entrance 32 of 30 in the left-right direction. Furthermore, since the right mounting claw 28b is provided with a “barb” as described above, the “barb” portion is arranged at a position behind the plate on the outer surface of the housing 12 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. In this case, even if the card pressing member 20 tries to move away from the paper surface in the figure, the “kaeshi” is caught on the outer surface plate of the housing 12, so that the fixing via the fixing portion 22 is performed. Even if not, the card pressing member 20 is not easily detached from the entrance 32. Further, the mounting claws 28a and 28b are formed on the left and right sides of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the card cover 24, and the mounting notches 38a and 38b are formed on the left and right sides of the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the inlet 32. , 28b are arranged so as to be received in the mounting notches 38a, 38b, the card cover 24 covers the inlet 32, and the card pressing member 20 can be easily positioned. Further, it is desirable to insert the mounting claws 28a, 28b into the mounting notches 38a, 38b (in order, insert the right mounting claws 28b with “barbed” and then insert the left mounting claws 28a. ) If the screw 14 is tightened into the screw hole 16 via the fixing portion 22, it is possible to prevent the card pressing member 20 from rotating and coming off from the inlet 32 as the screw 14 is tightened (rotated). Can be removed.

  Next, a method for extracting the CF card 40 mounted in the card slot 30 and buried in the housing 12 using the card pressing member 20 will be described. After tightening the screw 14 and removing the card pressing member 20 from the housing 12, as shown in FIG. 4, the side of the mounting notches 38a and 38b close to the protrusion 42 of the CF card 40 (here, the right side) The card engaging portion 26 is inserted into the mounting notch 38b (inserted in the direction of arrow A). Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the end of the card engaging portion 26 is engaged with the protrusion 42. In this state, the card pressing member 20 is tilted toward the housing 12 (moved in the direction of arrow B). And the edge of the mounting notch 38b as a fulcrum, and the lever of the card pressing member 20 acts as a lever, and the CF card 40 receives a force in a direction away from the housing 12 (direction of arrow C). As a result, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the CF card 40 is disconnected from the connection terminal 35, removed from the card slot 30, and pulled out of the housing 12.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the card pressing member 20 for protecting the CF card 40 from dropping from the card slot 30 and external vibration and impact can be used for extraction from the card slot 30. There is no need to provide an ejection mechanism around the entrance 32 and inside the card slot 30, and the computer 10 as a whole can be downsized. Further, since the card pressing member 20 that is normally fixed to the housing 12 can be used for extraction, it is necessary to bring a tool such as pliers to extract the CF card 40 embedded in the housing 12. The extraction work is simplified. If an attempt is made to apply a force in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 5A while applying a force to pinch the CF card 40 with pliers or the like, an unreasonable force is applied and the CF card 40 is damaged. However, if the card presser 20 is used, the CF card 40 can be pushed up in the direction of arrow C simply by moving the card presser 20 in the direction of arrow B where force is easily applied. An excessive force is not applied to the card 40, and there is no possibility of damaging the CF card 40 during the extracting operation.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the longitudinal dimension of the mounting notches 38a and 38b (particularly the right mounting notch 38b) shown in FIG. 2 is the width dimension of the card cover 24 shown in FIG. since that is a dimension between the width dimension L ₂ of L ₁ and the card engagement portion 26, when the card-engaging part 26 as shown in FIG. 4 was inserted into the right mounting notch 38b, A step between the card engaging portion 26 and the card covering portion 24 (formed in a tapered shape in this embodiment) is caught on the edge of the mounting notch portion 38b, so that only the card engaging portion 26 is It is possible to enter the entrance 32, and even the card covering portion 24 does not enter the entrance 32. Here, if the longitudinal dimension of the card engaging portion 26 is approximately the same as the distance from the outer end in the width direction of the mounting notch 38 b to the outer surface of the CF card 40, only the card engaging portion 26 enters the inlet 32. In this case, the tip of the card engaging portion 26 is just engaged with the protrusion 42 of the CF card 40. That is, if the card cover 24, the card engaging portion 26, and the mounting notch 38b are appropriately sized, the position for engaging the card engaging portion 26 with the protrusion 42 when the CF card 40 is extracted. Matching is easy.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the fixing part 22 of the card pressing member 20, the card cover part 24, and the card engaging part 26 are formed on the same flat plate and connected side by side on the same plane. Therefore, when the card pressing member 20 is fixed to the outer surface of the housing 12 via the fixing portion 22, the fixing portion 22, the card covering portion 24, and the card engaging portion 26 are all in the housing 12. It will be in the state which contacted along the outer surface. For this reason, the amount by which the card pressing member 20 swells with respect to the outer surface of the housing 12 is only the thickness of the card pressing member 20, and even if the card pressing member 20 is attached, the outer dimensions of the housing 12 will increase excessively. Absent. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the computer 10 with the card retainer 20 attached, and the card retainer 20 protrudes outward from the housing 12 and the installation space of the computer 10 is limited. Nor.

Incidentally, the attachment claws 28a as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 (a), the longitudinal dimension L ₂ of 28b and smaller than the width dimension L ₁ of the card cover portion 24, the width of the card-engaging part 26 dimension L ₂ of the engaging hooks 28a, although the same as the longitudinal dimension L ₂ of 28b, how to determine the size of the card pressing member 20 is not limited to this, the card holding member shown in example FIG. 6 (b) 60 as in, with the card cover portion 64 and the card engagement portion 66 of the tip have the same width dimension L _1, engaging hooks 68a, also the longitudinal dimension of the 68b have a same dimension L ₁ and these May be. When the card pressing member 60 is dimensioned in this way, the mounting notches on the computer casing side are also formed to be large in accordance with the mounting claws 68a and 68b. The card can be removed by inserting the card engaging portion 66 into the notch and engaging the card engaging portion 66 with the protrusion of the CF card.

  In the present embodiment, the mounting claws 28a and 28b and the mounting notches 38a and 38b as shown in FIG. 2 are prepared, so that the card pressing member 20 can be secured when fixed to the housing 12 and when the CF card 40 is removed. Although positioning is facilitated, the mounting claws 28a and 28b and the mounting notches 38a and 38b may not be prepared when the housing 12 is further downsized. For example, it is conceivable that there is no space for providing the mounting notches 38a and 38b around the inlet 32 of the card slot 30, and the inlet 32 is formed as a rectangular opening without a notch. However, even in this case, since it is necessary to insert the CF card 40, the opening area of the inlet 32 is formed larger than the cross-sectional area of the CF card 40. There is a gap between the edges. If the thickness of the card pressing member 20 (especially the card engaging portion 26) is small enough to enter the gap, the card engaging portion 26 is inserted into the gap and the card 42 is inserted into the inlet-side protrusion 42 of the CF card 40. By engaging the engaging portion 26, it is possible to apply a force in the extracting direction to the CF card 40 via the card pressing member 20, so that the CF card 40 embedded in the housing 12 is inserted into the card pressing member 20. Can be extracted using.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the fixing portion 22 is configured as a hole through which the screw 14 passes. However, the fixing portion 22 only needs to be able to be fixed to the housing 12, for example, The form which fixes by methods other than a screw, such as a metal snap button, may be sufficient.
In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 22 and the card engaging portion 26 are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the card covering portion 24. However, the arrangement of the fixing portion 22 and the card engaging portion 26 is not limited to this. For example, both the fixing part 22 and the card engaging part 26 may be arranged on one end side in the longitudinal direction by making a screw hole in the card engaging part 26 (if strength can be secured). The positions of the fixing portion 22 and the card engaging portion 26 do not have to be at the longitudinal end of the card covering portion 24. For example, the fixing portion 22 and the card engaging portion 26 may be provided so as to protrude in the width direction, or the attachment claws 28a and 28b are formed longer. For example, the mounting claws 28a and 28b may also function as the fixing portion 22 or the card engaging portion 26 by, for example, a structure in which the plate of the housing 12 is sandwiched. The arrangement of the mounting claws 28a and 28b is not limited to the center in the longitudinal direction. For example, the left mounting claw 28a is formed at a position close to the card engaging portion 26, and the right mounting claw 28b is positioned near the fixing portion 22. It is also possible to form it.

In consideration of the availability of materials, strength, blocking of external radio waves, and the like, the card pressing member 20 is preferably a metal fitting made of the same metal as the material of the housing 12, but the required workability and strength are required. Depending on the case, other materials such as synthetic resin or ceramic may be used.
In this embodiment, a CF card has been described as an example of the card medium. However, the present invention relates to a computer having various slots for mounting various card media such as an SD card and an SD card slot, and a card press member used therefor. Can also be applied.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Computer 12 Case 20 Card pressing material 26 Card engaging part 30 Card slot 32 Card slot inlet 38a Mounting notch 38b Mounting notch 40 CF card 42 Protrusion

Claims (4)

A card retainer for preventing the card media installed in the card slot of the computer from falling off.
A fixing portion fixed to the casing of the computer;
A card cover connected to the fixed part;
A card engaging portion connected to the card covering portion;
Have
The card cover part is formed so that the card cover part is arranged to cover the entrance of the card slot of the computer when the fixing part is fixed to the housing of the computer.
The card engaging portion is inserted into a gap between an outer surface of the card medium in a state of being inserted into the card slot and an edge of the inlet of the card slot. Ri engageable der the projections formed on the side,
The card pressing member, wherein the fixing portion, the card covering portion, and the card engaging portion are formed side by side on the same plane . The card cover part is formed with at least one attachment claw used for attaching the card pressing member to the entrance of the card slot,
When the dimension along the longitudinal direction of the card cover part is the longitudinal dimension, and the dimension along the width direction intersecting the longitudinal direction is the width direction dimension, the longitudinal dimension of the mounting claw is the length of the card cover part. Equal to or smaller than the width dimension,
2. The card according to claim 1 , wherein a card engaging portion is formed at a longitudinal end portion of the card covering portion, and a width direction dimension thereof is equal to or smaller than a longitudinal dimension of the mounting claw. Presser material. A computer comprising the card pressing member according to claim 2 ,
The computer is characterized in that an attachment notch for receiving an attachment claw of the card cover is formed at the entrance of the card slot of the computer. The depth dimension of the card slot is such that when the card medium is inserted into the card slot, the entire card medium is buried in the computer casing.
The card engaging portion of the card pressing member is inserted into the mounting notch portion of the card slot, and the tip of the card engaging portion is formed on the card slot inlet side in the card medium mounted in the card slot. The card media can be extracted from the card slot by lever action with the card pressing member as a lever and the edge of the mounting notch as a fulcrum. The computer according to claim 3 .

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