JPH0345424Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention is designed to provide electrical connection between IC cards that have embedded ICs, especially IC cards that are equipped with a protective cover to protect the contact terminals from the external environment. related to IC card connectors for physical connection.

(Prior Art) A conventional IC card connector will be briefly explained using drawings.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventionally used IC card connector.

Conventionally used IC card connector 11
A typical example is the IC card connector described in Utility Model Publication No. 70262/1983. The IC card connector described in this document has a protective cover fixed 12 inside the insertion slot.
is provided, and the structure is such that only the protective cover 23 of the IC card does not go deeper than this, and only the contact terminals 22 are exposed and go further inside. When the IC card main body 21 reaches the damper 15, the contact terminals 22 come into contact with the spring terminals 13, so that the IC card and the IC card connector can be brought into contact.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) In conventionally used IC card connectors, the first part of the IC card that is electrically connected when the IC card is inserted into the IC card connector is the contact terminal itself. Ta. in this case,
Since there are multiple contact terminals on an IC card, it is difficult to know which contact terminal will connect first. this
Contact terminals on IC cards are not equal in terms of resistance to static electricity, and there are contact terminals with strong resistance to static electricity and contact terminals with weak resistance to static electricity. Therefore, if by chance a contact terminal with low static resistance is charged with a large amount of static electricity and this contact terminal first comes into contact with the spring terminal of the IC card connector, a large current will flow between them due to that contact and the IC will be damaged. The IC inside the card was sometimes destroyed.

(Measures to solve the problem) In order to solve the above-mentioned problem with the IC card connector, when the protective cover is fixed to the protective cover stopper provided in the insertion slot, the electrical Provide a ground terminal for making connections.

In this case, an IC card is one in which an IC is embedded inside the main body, and contact terminals are provided on the surface of the main body to connect the IC to the outside for I/O. point to In addition, this contact terminal is prone to dirt, oxidation, and damage caused by human contact, which can easily cause electrical failures such as poor contact, so it should only be opened when a connection with the IC card connector is being made. , In other cases, it refers to a device that has a protective cover that is integrally slidable with respect to the card body so as to cover the contact terminals to protect the contact terminals from the external environment.

Also, what is the IC card connector in this case?
There is an insertion slot for inserting this IC card, and if you insert this IC card to a certain depth or more, even if the IC card body is inserted automatically, only the protective cover will prevent it from going any deeper. This refers to IC cards that have a protective cover stopper installed inside them to prevent them from entering the IC card. Therefore, regardless of whether or not it is equipped with various mechanisms not directly related to IC card I/O, such as a damper or pull-out prevention mechanism, it is still an IC card connector as referred to in this invention. .

Furthermore, the ground terminal in this case has a contact terminal that is connected to the IC.
Any contact terminal that is covered and protected by a protective cover can be electrically grounded with this protective cover so that the grounding is done before contact with the card connector. . Therefore, this ground terminal refers to a terminal that is provided in front of the protective cover retainer so that an electrical connection can be made between the protective cover and the ground terminal. Therefore, it does not necessarily have to be in front of the protective cover stopper; if it is just before the protective cover stopper, behind the protective cover, or near the insertion slot, it does not matter whether it is the protective cover stopper itself. do not have. Further, as long as the grounding terminal can come into contact with the protective cover, it is not necessarily necessary to have a spring structure, but it is preferable to have a spring structure in order to ensure reliable contact.

(Function) In this way, if the contact terminal is still inside the protective cover before contacting the IC card connector, and the protective cover comes into contact with the ground terminal, this
Static electricity accumulated in the IC card itself is discharged through this ground terminal. Therefore, when the protective cover is opened and the contact terminals are exposed, the
Static electricity inside the IC card is discharging. Therefore, even if which contact terminal comes into contact with the IC card first in this state, a large current will not flow and destroy the IC in the IC card.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention and an IC card used in the embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same.

In the IC card used in the IC card connector of this embodiment, the contact terminal 22 of the IC card is provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the surface of the main body 21. A protective cover 23 made of stainless steel is also provided, and this protective cover 23 is slidable in the longitudinal direction. In addition, this protective cover 2
3 is provided with a shutter spring 24, and when no force is applied from the outside, the protective cover 2
4 is located on the contact terminal 22, so that the contact terminal 22 is protected from the external environment. On the other hand, this protective cover 2 resists the force of the shutter spring 24.
When 3 is slid, this contact terminal 22 is exposed.

On the other hand, the IC card connector 1 of this invention
1 is provided with an insertion slot whose height is approximately the same as the thickness of this IC card. Further, a protective cover stopper 12 having the same height as the protective cover 23 is protruded from the upper wall at a position slightly beyond the insertion opening. Therefore, the height of the opening at this portion corresponds to the thickness of the IC card body 21 portion.
A damper 15 is provided at the innermost part of the IC card to prevent the IC card from advancing any further. At this time, contact terminal 2 of this IC card
A spring terminal 13 is provided at a position where the terminals 2 and 2 are in contact with each other. Further, in front of the protective cover stopper 12, a ground terminal 14 having a spring structure is provided on the upper wall at a position where the protective cover 23 comes into contact with the protective cover when it is inserted.

Therefore, such an IC card connector 1
When an IC card is inserted into the IC card 1, only the protective cover 23 portion of the IC card collides with the protective cover stopper 12, as shown in FIG. 3, and the IC card cannot be inserted any further. Therefore, if you insert the IC card any deeper, the IC card body 2
Only 1 goes inside. Therefore, the protective cover 23 gradually opens against the force of the shutter spring 24.

Furthermore, the IC card body 21 is the damper 15
When the contact terminal 22 on the surface of the IC card body 21 comes into contact with the spring terminal 13 of the IC card connector, as shown in FIG.

(Effects of the invention) By using the IC card connector of this invention, a large current flows through the contact terminals due to the static electricity that conventionally occurs in IC cards, causing the IC inside the IC card to
However, since the entire IC card is grounded before the contact terminals make contact with the IC card connector, the static electricity accumulated in the IC card is discharged in advance, so Even if the contact terminals and the IC card connector come into contact,
The IC inside the IC card can no longer be destroyed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention and an IC card used for its implementation;
FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the same. Figure 3 shows the same
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the IC card is inserted as far as the protective cover stop; FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the IC card is inserted all the way. FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing a conventional example. 11...IC card connector, 12...protective cover stopper, 13...spring terminal, 14...ground terminal, 15...damper, 21...IC card body,
22... Contact terminal, 23... Protective cover, 24...
...Shutter spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] By inserting an IC card, which has a protective cover made of conductive material to protect the contact terminals from the external environment, into the insertion slot,
In an IC card connector for making an electrical connection with the contact terminal of an IC card, when the protective cover is fixed to the protective cover stopper provided in the insertion slot, the portion where the protective cover is present An IC card connector characterized by being equipped with a grounding terminal for making an electrical connection.