JPH06309513A - Ic card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent damages caused on the surface of an IC card and a conductor part and also to prevent the sticking of dust to a contact terminal by evading the touch caused between the IC card and the contact terminal of a connector part when the card is loaded into or unloaded from a case of an IC card connector. CONSTITUTION:A connector part 10 is attached to a case 1 where an IC care Ca can be loaded and unloaded in a fixed posture, and a contact is secured between a contact terminal 11 of the part 10 and a conductor part formed on the surface of the inserted card Ca. Thus the input/output of data can be carried out. In such a constitution of an IC card connector, a contact mechanism 12 is added to relatively put the card Ca close to or surface from the fixed part 10 toward the surface of the card. The mechanism 12 can work after the card Ca is inserted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card connector for writing or reading information on an IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an IC card connector, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, when an IC card Ca is inserted along a card guide portion 52 formed in a case 51 in a fixed posture, The tip end of the IC card Ca is guided obliquely upward by the inclined guide surface 53 provided near the end of the guide portion 52, approaches the connector portion 54 provided on the upper part of the case, and contacts the contact terminal 55 group provided on the connector portion 54 with the card surface. There is known a structure in which the conductor portion of is elastically contacted.

[0003]

The IC card connector having the above-mentioned structure has the following problems and there is room for improvement. That is, when the card is inserted and removed, the contact terminals are brought into sliding contact with the surface of the card, so that the surface of the card is easily scratched and the quality of appearance is likely to be deteriorated.

The plating of the conductor portion is easily worn by a relatively short period of use, and due to the sliding contact between the contact terminal and the card surface, dust and dirt on the card surface are easily scraped off and attached to the contact terminal. This may cause poor contact.

Since the structure is such that the quality of the card insertion / loading state is not determined, there is a risk that data input / output processing may be performed without proper card insertion / loading.

Since the card can be inserted / removed at any time, there is a possibility that the card may be inserted / removed during the data input / output process to damage the data or damage the function of the IC on the card.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate such a problem.

[0008]

A connector part is attached to a case into which an IC card can be inserted / removed in a fixed posture, and contact terminals provided in the connector part are brought into contact with a conductor part on the inserted card surface to input / output information. In a connector for an IC card configured to perform, the first aspect of the present invention includes a contact mechanism for relatively moving the connector portion and the IC card toward and away from each other in parallel to the card surface direction, and after the contact mechanism is inserted into the card or inserted into the card. It will be configured to be operable only near the end of.

The second aspect of the present invention is the same as the first aspect, wherein the contact mechanism includes a card support member that supports the IC card from the back side, a fixed cam, and a movable cam that is manually displaced. Then, the card supporting member relatively moves the IC card toward and away from the connector portion in parallel with the relative displacement of the movable cam with respect to the fixed cam.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an eject mechanism for urging and ejecting the inserted IC card, and a locking mechanism for automatically locking and fixing the eject mechanism in the card inserted state. , And an eject operation tool for releasing the locking mechanism by a manual operation.

[0011]

According to the structure of the first aspect of the present invention, the contact mechanism is operated only after the card is inserted or near the end of the card insertion, so that the contact terminals of the connector section are stopped or almost stopped. Will come into contact with.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the IC
After inserting the card, the movable cam is operated manually to activate the contact mechanism, and the card support member moves the IC card parallel and relatively close to the connector section, and the conductor section on the card surface becomes the contact terminal of the connector section. Will be in contact.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, the IC card is automatically locked and fixed when the IC card is inserted against the ejection biasing force of the eject mechanism, and the lock release operation is not performed by the eject operation tool. As long as you can not take out the IC card.

[0014]

【Example】

[Embodiment 1] FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of an IC card connector according to the present invention. FIGS. 1 and 4 (a) show an initial state, and FIGS. B) shows the card insertion state.

A case 1 of this IC card connector is formed in a vertically thin box shape, a card insertion port 2 is provided at one end (the right end in the drawing), and a shutter 3 which is in a closed posture due to its own weight is a fulcrum. It is provided so as to be rotatable around a.

Inside the case 1, there is provided a slider 5 which constitutes an eject mechanism 4 for ejecting the inserted IC card Ca. This slider 5 is slidable in the card insertion / removal direction (left and right in the figure), and is urged to slide toward the card insertion slot 2 by a spring 6, and at the rear end thereof, the front end of the inserted IC card Ca is received. The abutting portion 5a for supporting is formed upright. Therefore, I
After the C card Ca is received and supported by the contact portion 5a, the IC card Ca is further inserted into the card insertion slot 2 until the slider 5 is retracted against the spring 6.
Further, the slider 5 is returned by the spring 6 so that the rear portion of the IC card Ca is projected from the card insertion slot 2.

A locking claw 7 capable of laterally locking the contact portion 5a of the slider 5 is provided on the inner rear portion of the case 1 so as to be rotatable around a fulcrum b. This locking claw is urged to rotate in the locking direction by a spring (not shown), and when the IC card Ca is pushed into the case until it is retracted, the locking claw is automatically operated to move the slider 5 of the eject mechanism 4 to that position. A locking mechanism 8 for fixing the fixed position is configured.

Further, a side of the case 1 is provided with a push button-shaped eject operation tool 9 for rotating the locking claw 7 in the locking release direction against the rotational biasing force by a pushing operation. When the eject operation tool 9 is pushed in and the locking claw 7 is forcibly rotated in the card inserted state of FIG.
The eject mechanism 4 operates so as to eject the card.

A connector portion 10 connected to an external input / output device main body is fixedly arranged in the upper inner part of the case 1, and a plurality of contact terminals 1 are attached to the connector portion 10.
1 cantilevered in parallel. The free end of the contact terminal 11 is an IC card C inserted up to a certain position.
It is configured to face a conductor portion (not shown) formed on the surface of a at an appropriate interval.

In the lower center part of the case 1, the inserted IC
A contact mechanism 12 is provided for lifting the card Ca and bringing its surface conductor portion into contact with the contact terminal 11.

The contact mechanism 12 includes a rectangular plate-shaped card support member 13 that can move back and forth in the slider movement direction and can move up and down, and an operation lever 1 that can swing about a fulcrum c.
4, a movable cam 15 integrally formed on the lower surface of the card support member 13, and a fixed cam 16 fixed to the bottom surface of the case. The card support member 13 is inserted into the IC card Ca via an opening 17 formed in the slider 5. It faces the back of the.

In the initial state shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (a) and in the card loaded state shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 (b), the card support member 13 is at a height that is recessed in the opening 17 of the slider 5. , As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (c),
When the operation lever 14 is swung counterclockwise in the card loaded state, the movable cam 15 rides on the fixed cam 16 along with the forward displacement of the card support member 13, and the card support member 13 is displaced upward in parallel. IC card C
a is lifted and the conductor portion on the card surface is pressed into contact with the contact terminal 11.

As described above, the IC card Ca and the contact terminal 11 are brought into contact with each other to enable data input / output processing, but the IC card Ca is prevented from being accidentally taken out during the processing as follows. Means are provided.

That is, the knob 18 provided at the end of the operation lever 14 has a lock plate 1 slidable back and forth.
9 is provided, a check hole 20 penetrating the eject operation tool is provided at a front end portion of the lock plate 19, and a check portion 21 acting on the shutter 3 is provided at a rear end portion of the lock plate 19. It is provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, the check hole 20 has a large diameter portion 20 which allows the pushing operation of the eject operation tool 9.
a and the constricted portion 9 formed between the eject operation tool 9
It is configured as a long hole having a small diameter portion 20b that engages with a. Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, in the card loading state in which the card support member 13 is lowered, the eject operation tool 9 is located at the large diameter portion 20a of the restraining hole 20 and the pushing operation is possible. The shutter 3 can be rotated, and as shown in FIG. 5B, in the contact state in which the lock plate 19 is moved rearward to raise the card support member 13, the eject operation tool 9 moves the check hole. It is located at the small-diameter portion 20b of 20 and the pushing operation of the eject operation tool is blocked, and the rotation of the shutter 3 is blocked by the contact with the restraining section 21.

The case 1 has a switch 23 which is pressed by an operation protrusion 22 provided on the slider 5,
A switch 25, which is pressed by an operation protrusion 24 provided on the lock plate 19, is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the slider 5 moves to the card loading position to open the switch 23, and the lock plate is operated. The circuit is configured so that data input / output processing can be performed only when 19 is displaced to the lock position and the switch 25 is opened.

That is, the IC card Ca is properly loaded, and the data input / output process can be performed only when the inserted IC card Ca cannot be taken out.

[Second Embodiment] FIGS. 6 to 9 show a second embodiment of the IC card connector according to the present invention.
The same parts or functional parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Contact mechanism 12 in this embodiment
Has a structure for vertically moving the support plate 30 including the connector portion 10.

An arm 30a extending from the left and right of the front end of the support plate 30 is pivotally connected to a disk 31 rotatable about an axis d via an eccentric shaft 32, and protrudes to the left and right of the rear part of the support plate 30. The pin 33 provided is a guide hole 3 having a partial arc shape formed in the vertical plate portion 34 on the case 1 side.
5, the support plate 30 is configured to move up and down in parallel by rotating the disk in the clockwise direction in the figure, and a spring 36 is installed between the eccentric shaft 32 and the case 1. Has been done.

A roller 38 having an outer periphery covered with an elastic body is attached to a support shaft 37 that rotatably supports the disk 31 about an axis d, and the roller 38 of the IC card Ca inserted from the card insertion slot 2 is attached. When the tip passes between the roller 38 and the card guide surface 39 on the bottom of the case, the roller 38
The distance between the roller 38 and the card guide surface 39 is set to be slightly smaller than the thickness of the card so that the card can be rotated clockwise in the figure by contact with the IC card Ca.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in the initial state, the eccentric shaft 32 is located immediately above the axis d, and the support plate 30 is
Is in an elevated position.

As shown in FIG. 7B, the IC card Ca
When is pushed in, the roller 38 is contact-rotated and the eccentric shaft 32 also moves clockwise in the figure, and when the eccentric shaft 32 passes through the dead point DP connecting the shaft center c and the spring receiving pin 40, the spring 36 moves. The disk 31 is rotated clockwise by the restoring force and the roller 38 is biased and rotated, so that the IC card Ca is pulled in.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), the support plate 30 is moved downward with the clockwise rotation of the disk 31, and the contact terminal 11 of the connector portion 10 is pressed into contact with the conductor portion on the surface of the IC card Ca. To be done.

A lock member 41 engaging with the pin 33 is mounted on the side of the case 1 so as to be slidable forward and backward. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, after inserting the IC card Ca to the end as described above,
As shown in (c), by sliding the lock member 41 forward (to the left), the pin 33 located at the lower end of the guide hole 35 is further pushed downward to be displaced, and is connected to the lower end of the guide hole. It is dropped into the established lock recess 42. By pushing down the pin 33, the support plate 30 is tilted slightly downward, so that the contact terminal 11 is slightly pushed against the card surface. At this time, the elastic stopper 43 such as rubber provided on the lower surface of the support plate 30 is compressed and pressed against the bottom surface of the case.

Further, when the lock member 41 is slid backward (to the right), the protrusion 4 provided on the upper portion of the lock member 41.
The switch 4 is brought into contact with a switch 45 provided on the vertical plate portion, and data input / output processing can be performed only when the switch 45 is operated.

The side of the case 1 has an eject operation tool 9
Is equipped to move back and forth. The eject operation tool 9 and the eccentric shaft 32 are linked by a link 46,
When the eject operation tool 9 is moved backward (to the right) from the card loaded state shown in FIG. 9A, the disc 31 and the roller 38 are rotated counterclockwise, and the IC card Ca
Is also sent toward the card insertion slot 2.

When the eccentric shaft 32 passes through the dead point DP, the restoring force of the spring 36 is reversed in the direction for rotating the disk 31 counterclockwise, and the disk 31 and the roller 38 are urged to rotate counterclockwise. Then, the rear portion of the IC card Ca sent out is projected from the card insertion slot 2.

That is, in this embodiment, the ejecting mechanism 4 is constructed in which the roller 36 is rotated in the normal and reverse directions by the spring 36 which reverses depending on the position of the eccentric shaft 32 to draw in and eject the card. Needless to say, the lock member 41 is operated forward (leftward) to release the lock prior to the card eject operation. Further, the forward / reverse rotation limit of the disk 31 depends on the contact between the eccentric shaft 31 and the stopper portion 47 provided upright in the case.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, the first embodiment
According to the invention, the contact mechanism for relatively moving the connector part and the IC card toward and away from each other in parallel to the card surface is operated only after the card is inserted or near the end of the card insertion. Since the contact terminal of the card portion does not come into sliding contact with the conductor portion on the card surface for a long time, it is possible to prevent occurrence of a scratch on the card surface and maintain the appearance quality. Further, it is possible to suppress the abrasion of the conductor portion and to prevent dust and dirt on the surface of the card from adhering to the contact terminals, which is effective in preventing contact failure.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the contact mechanism is
The IC card is composed of a card support member that supports the IC card from the back side, a fixed cam, and a movable cam that is manually displaced, and the card support member connects the IC card to the connector portion according to the relative displacement of the movable cam with respect to the fixed cam. Since it is configured to relatively approach and separate in parallel with respect to, the relative approach and separation operation can be performed mechanically and reliably, and the contact terminal can be brought into contact with the conductor portion on the card surface without sliding contact. 1 The effects of the invention can be properly exerted.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the inserted I
Since the eject mechanism for urging and ejecting the C card, the locking mechanism for automatically locking and fixing the eject mechanism in the card insertion state, and the eject operation tool for manually releasing the locking mechanism are provided, It has become possible to prevent data input / output processing from being performed without proper card insertion and loading. In addition, since it is impossible to extract the card randomly, it is possible to prevent accidents such as the card being pulled out during data input / output processing, resulting in data damage or loss of IC function on the card. It was

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an IC card connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention in an initial state.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a card inserted state.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state where a contact operation and a lock operation are performed.

FIG. 4 is a vertical side view of a main part (a) initial state (b) card insertion state (c) contact operation state

FIG. 5 is a side view of the lock plate (a) initial state (b) lock operation state

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an IC card connector according to a second embodiment in an initial state.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the operation of the contact mechanism. (A) Initial state (b) Card insertion in progress (c) Card insertion and contact completed

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the operation of the contact mechanism and the locking means. (A) A state during card insertion (b) A state where card insertion and contact are completed (c) Lock operating state

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the operation of the eject mechanism. (A) Card inserted state (b) Card ejection completed state

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a conventional example (a) a state in which a card is being inserted (b) card insertion completion and contact state

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Case 4 Eject Mechanism 8 Locking Mechanism 9 Eject Operation Tool 10 Connector Part 11 Contact Terminal 12 Contact Mechanism 13 Card Support Member 15 Movable Cam 16 Fixed Cam Ca IC Card

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A connector part is attached to a case into which an IC card can be inserted and removed in a fixed posture, and contact terminals provided in the connector part are brought into contact with a conductor part on the surface of the inserted card to input and output data. The IC card connector is provided with a contact mechanism for relatively moving the connector section and the IC card toward and away from each other in the card surface direction, and is configured to be operable only after the card is inserted or near the end of the card insertion. An IC card connector characterized in that 2. The IC card connector according to claim 1, wherein the contact mechanism includes a card support member that supports the IC card from the back side, a fixed cam, and a movable cam that is manually displaced. An IC card connector configured such that a card support member relatively moves the IC card toward and away from the connector portion in parallel with the relative displacement of the movable cam with respect to the fixed cam. 3. The IC card connector according to claim 1, wherein an eject mechanism for urging and ejecting the inserted IC card, and a locking mechanism for automatically locking and fixing the eject mechanism in a card inserted state. And an eject operation tool for manually releasing the locking mechanism.
Card connector.