JPH10199619A - Card connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve life characteristics and make easy to achieve minimization and thinning card connector itself for the card connector used for the cards for the use of electronic money and a like, by making possible to insert and remove without scraping card surface. SOLUTION: The end parts 62 and 72 of contact pieces 61 and 71 are attached to a body 1 with a guide part 25 for inserting and removing a card. The contact pieces 61 and 71 have the contacts 64 and 74, being fluctuated between the spring contacting and estranging positions to and from electric poles of the card C. A cover 4 is attached via a supporting axle 44 at the front end of the body 1 and the cover 4 is enforced to the closing direction by a spring structure 8. The cover 4 is equipped with an inclined working plane 91, the overlapping plane 92 and the contact piece holding part 51.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card connector for use with a card which requires a long service life.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, attempts for electronic transactions have been actively made, and a high life performance is required for an electronic money card used therein. For card connectors that use the card,
There are demands for improving the durability and for achieving miniaturization and thinning.

[0003] In card connectors conventionally used in the field of electronic information communication, functions for maintaining a long life performance of a card to be used, improvement in durability of the card connector itself, and miniaturization and thinness have been achieved. There have been various proposals for achieving the realization.

One of the functions for maintaining the high life performance of the card is, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-3340.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1 (1993), a card lifting mechanism is incorporated in a card connector, and the contact of the connector and the surface of the card are rubbed when the card is inserted or removed by the action of the card lifting mechanism. Some things didn't fit.

Further, various means have been proposed as means for improving the durability of the card connector itself and for achieving a reduction in size and thickness.

[0006]

However, in a conventional card connector having a built-in card lifting mechanism, the number of parts is increased because the card lifting mechanism is incorporated separately from the card connector. There is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the price increases. In addition, the built-in card lifting mechanism reduces the size of the card connector.
It was also a factor that hindered thinning.

The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and can maintain the long life of the card while eliminating the need for the card lifting mechanism described above. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card connector that can easily achieve a reduction in size and thickness of a card.

Further, the present invention makes it easier to improve the durability of the card connector itself by devising the arrangement of the contact pieces provided in the body of the card connector, and at the same time, to reduce the size and thickness of the card connector. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card connector that can be easily achieved and that can ensure high contact reliability between a contact provided on a contact piece and an electrode of a card.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a card connector capable of improving the contact stability between the electrode of the card and the contact of the contact piece.

[0010]

According to the card connector of the present invention, one end of an elastically deformable contact piece is attached to a body having a guide portion for guiding insertion and removal of the card. A contact which is displaced between an elastic contact position and a detached position with respect to the electrode of the card inserted into the body via elastic deformation is provided on this contact piece, and a cover is provided at a position corresponding to a start portion of the guide portion. The cover is slidably mounted in the opening and closing directions with respect to the body around the support shaft, and the cover is constantly urged in the closing direction, and the cover and the body come into contact with each other. A stopper for positioning the cover at the closed position is provided, and the cover faces the front end of the card inserted into the body when the cover is located at the closed position, and has a cover. An inclined operating surface that swings the cover in the opening direction by sliding with the tip of the card; and an overlapping surface that overlaps the card when the tip of the card passes through the operating surface. When located at the closed position, the receiving portion provided on the contact piece is pushed down to dispose the contact at the separated position, and
A pressing portion that allows the contact piece to be elastically deformed so that the contact point is located at the elastic contact position when the overlapping surface overlaps with the card inserted into the body is provided on the cover, That is.

In the card connector of the present invention, when the card is not inserted into the body, the cover which is constantly urged in the closing direction is positioned at the closed position by the action of the stopper. When the cover is positioned at the closed position, the pressing portion of the cover pushes down the receiving portion of the contact piece to position the contact point of the contact piece at the separation position. Therefore, even when the card is guided by the guide portion of the body and is inserted into the body when the cover is positioned at the closed position, the surface of the card does not rub against the contact during the insertion. The same applies when the card is guided by the guide portion of the body and is pulled out of the body.

After the tip of the card inserted into the body comes into contact with the inclined operating surface provided on the cover and the cover is further inserted, the tip of the card slides on the operating surface. It is swung in the opening direction about the support shaft. For this reason, the holding portion provided on the cover is also swung in the same direction as the cover, and the contact piece is elastically deformed accordingly, so that the contact approaches the elastic contact position. Then, when the leading end of the card passes through the operating surface and the overlapping surface on the cover side overlaps with the card, the contact point is arranged at the elastic contact position, and the contact elastically contacts the electrode of the card. When the card is pulled out from the state where the contacts are in elastic contact with the electrodes of the card, the tip of the card slides against the operating surface on the cover side and retreats in the withdrawal direction. The biased cover gradually closes, and the cover reaches the closed position when the leading end of the card separates from the operating surface on the cover side, and is positioned at the closed position by the action of the stopper.

A card connector according to a second aspect of the present invention
2. The guide portion according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion includes a first support surface which cooperates with the overlapping surface when the card inserted into the body overlaps the clamping surface to clamp the card. It is.

According to the present invention, when the contact of the contact piece is disposed at the elastic contact position and the contact is elastically contacting the electrode on the card side, the card is sandwiched between the first support surface and the overlapping surface. Therefore, the card is inadvertently moved and the contact state between the electrode and the contact of the contact piece is less likely to be impaired, and the contact stability is improved accordingly.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the cover is at the closed position, the cover is separated from the card inserted into the body. A second support surface that is disposed at a position and that is disposed at a position to support the card by contacting the card when the overlapping surface overlaps with the card inserted into the body. It is more remarkably exhibited by adopting such a configuration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card connector comprising:
3. The card according to claim 1, wherein the body is provided with a contact surface which abuts on a leading end of the card at a position where the overlapping surface overlaps with the card inserted into the body to position the card. It is that it is.

According to the present invention, the set position of the card is fixed at the fixed position by the contact surface which contacts the leading end of the card and positions the card. This is useful for improving the contact stability and contact reliability between the card-side electrode and the contact of the contact piece.

The card connector of the invention according to claim 5 is as follows.
In any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4, a large number of the contact pieces are arranged in parallel with the body to form a contact piece group. .
According to this invention as well, the effects described for the inventions according to claims 1 to 4 are exerted.

The card connector of the invention according to claim 6 is:
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein one end of each of the contact pieces forming the contact piece group is provided at two places in the body in the card insertion / removal direction. The contact piece group is formed by a first contact piece group having one end portion attached to one of the attachment locations, and a second contact piece group having one end portion attached to the other attachment location. The individual contact pieces belonging to the first contact piece group and the individual contact pieces belonging to the second contact piece group are arranged in an overlapping manner in a direction orthogonal to a card insertion / removal direction with respect to the body. It is.

According to the present invention, each contact piece belonging to the first contact piece group and each contact piece belonging to the second contact piece group are arranged in a manner different from each other in a case where the contact pieces face each other. It becomes possible to lengthen each contact piece of a piece group. Therefore, it is easy to increase the length of each contact piece for the size of the body to improve its durability.

The card connector of the invention according to claim 7 is:
7. The device according to claim 6, wherein each of the contact pieces belonging to the first contact piece group and each of the contact pieces belonging to the second contact piece group are arranged in a direction in which a card is inserted into and removed from the body. It extends obliquely in the intersecting direction.

According to the present invention, the individual contact pieces included in the first contact piece group and the individual contact pieces included in the second contact piece group extend in a direction orthogonal to the card insertion / extraction direction. As compared with the case, the length of each contact piece can be increased. Therefore, in combination with the operation of the invention according to claim 6, it is possible to further increase the length of each contact piece for the size of the body and further improve its durability.

[0023]

FIG. 1 shows a body 1 and a cover 4 employed in a card connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the card connector, FIG. 3 is a front view of the card connector, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the card connector as viewed from the back. 5 and 6 are explanatory views showing the above-described card connector in a sectional view in principle, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a section along the line VII-VII in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 corresponds to FIG. FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view of the card connector corresponding to FIG.

This card connector comprises a body 1 and a cover 4
And As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the body 1 includes a front beam portion 11, a rear beam portion 12, and a pair of left and right horizontal beam portions 1.
3 and 14 form a substantially rectangular ring in plan view. 1 and 4, the direction of insertion and removal of the card C described later is indicated by an arrow A. At each of the front beam portion 11 and the rear beam portion 12 that are opposed to each other in the insertion direction A of the card C, attachment portions 15 and 16 are provided as attachment portions of a contact piece group including a large number of contact pieces described later. . The contact piece group includes a first contact piece group 6 formed by a large number of contact pieces 61 attached to the attachment section 15 of the front beam section 11 and a large number of contact pieces attached to the attachment section 16 of the rear beam section 12. Are divided into a second contact piece group 7 formed by the pieces 71.

As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 8, FIG. 9, etc., each of the contact pieces 61 of the first contact piece group 6 has one end 62 attached to the attachment section 15 on the front end side of the body 1. The contact pieces 61 are arranged in parallel with each other, and the individual contact pieces 71 of the second contact piece group 7 are attached at one end 72 to the attachment section 16 on the rear end side of the body 1 and The contact pieces 71 are arranged in parallel. Moreover, the individual contact pieces 71 belonging to the second contact piece group 7 are arranged so as to be individually fitted between the individual contact pieces 61 belonging to the first contact piece group 6. Therefore, the individual contact pieces 61 belonging to the first contact piece group 6
And the individual contact pieces 71 belonging to the second contact piece group 7 are arranged in an overlapping manner in a direction orthogonal to the insertion / removal direction A of the card C with respect to the body 1 (matching in the front-back direction). Become. Also, the individual contact pieces 61 belonging to the first contact piece group 6 and the individual contact pieces 71 belonging to the second contact piece group 7 extend obliquely in a direction intersecting the card insertion / removal direction A. Is out. In the above embodiment, since the individual contact pieces 61 of the first contact piece group 6 and the individual contact pieces 71 of the second contact piece group 7 are attached to the body 1, the vertical width D of the body 1 is short. Also, a large number of contact pieces 61, 71,.
Can be lengthened without difficulty. Therefore, the contact pieces 61, 71, ... formed of thin metal pieces having elasticity are extended from the respective mounting portions 15, 16 so that the contact pieces 61, 71, ... It is possible to make it deformable. Moreover, in the illustrated example, one end 62 of the contact piece 61 is attached to the front end of the mounting portion 15.
Are fixed to one end 72 of the contact pieces 71... At the rear end of the mounting portion 16 so that the contact pieces 61.
The effective length of 1 (the length of a portion that can be elastically deformed with the fixed point as a fulcrum) is made as long as possible.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each of the large number of contact pieces 61,..., 71 has bent portions 63, 73 projecting upward at the tip end thereof.
The top of 3,73 is formed at the contacts 64,74. Also, the protruding pieces 65, 75 are protruded from the bent portions 63, 73.
Are projected, and these protruding pieces 65 and 75 correspond to the receiving surfaces 17 and 18 formed on the back surfaces of the mounting portions 15 and 16, respectively. The projecting pieces 65, 75 abut against the receiving surfaces 17, 18, thereby forming the contact pieces 61, 71.
The amount of upward elastic deformation is restricted.
Each end piece 6 of each of the contact pieces 61.
2, 71 have terminal portions 66, 76 extending downward, which project below the body 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the left and right cross beams 13,
Protrusions 23 and 24 for guiding the left and right edges of the card C are provided on each of the fourteen. The projecting pieces 23 and 24 cooperate with the upper surface of the front beam portion 11 and the upper surface of the rear beam portion 12 of the body 1 to guide the card C inserted into and removed from the body 1. Is formed.
Further, the rear beam portion 12 abuts against a leading end C1 (see FIG. 6) of the card C inserted and guided by the guide portion 25 to position the card C at a fixed position in the front-rear direction. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cover 4 has mounting pieces 41, 42 on both left and right sides of the front end thereof. The mounting pieces 41, 42 are provided on both left and right sides of the front end of the body 1 side. As shown in FIG. 3, the mounting pieces 27 and 28 are superimposed on each other, and their overlapping portions are connected via support shafts 43 and 44. Therefore, the cover 4 can swing about the support shafts 43 and 44 in the opening and closing directions with respect to the body 1. Note that the support shafts 43 and 44 are provided at positions corresponding to the start portion of the guide portion 25 (a portion where a card insertion slot 55 described later is located). Also, cover 4
A spring receiving portion 47 is provided at a rear end portion of the spring body 8. As shown in FIG. Is hung. The base end 82 of the spring body 8 is hooked on the body 1 side. The cover 4 is constantly urged in the closing direction by the force of the spring body 8. Further, a stopper 46 is constituted by a contact piece 45 provided at the rear end of the cover 4 and a receiving surface 29 provided at the rear end of the body 1. , The cover 4 is positioned at the closed position (see FIG. 6).

As shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 6, 8, and 9,
Protrusions 9 are provided at several places on the rear surface side of the rear end of the cover 4. The projection 9 has an operating surface 91 extending from the back surface of the cover 4 and inclined downward and downward, and an overlapping surface 92 extending rearward from the lower end of the operating surface 91. Then, by the action of the stopper 46, the cover 4
5 is positioned at the closed position shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 8, the operating surface 91 vertically moves the rear portion of the card insertion space S formed between the cover 4 and the guide portion 25 on the body 1 side. It crosses diagonally in the direction.

The cover 4 has a holding portion 51 and a supporting piece 52 provided in parallel with each other, and a supporting piece 53 is also provided on the side of the holding portion 51. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, when the cover 4 is positioned at the closed position, the upper surfaces 54 and 55 of the holding portion 51 and the support piece 52 are slightly inclined rearward and downward. Upper surface 5
The distance between the upper and lower surfaces of the card 4 and 55 and the back surface of the cover 4 is slightly larger than the thickness of the card C. The same applies to the mutual spacing between the upper surface (not shown) of the other support piece 53 and the back surface of the cover 4. When the cover 4 is positioned at the closed position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, a card insertion slot 55 (see FIG. 3) formed between the front end of the cover 4 and the front beam 11 of the body 1. , FIG. 5, FIG. 6, FIG. 8, FIG. 9), when the card C is inserted, the card C is guided by the guide portion 25 and the upper surface 54, 55 of the pressing portion 51 and the support piece portion 52 and the cover C. 4 and the space between the upper surface of the support piece 53 and the back surface of the cover 4.

Further, when the cover 4 is positioned at the closed position, the pressing portions 51 provided on the cover 4 are provided with the respective contact pieces belonging to the first contact piece group 6 and the second contact piece group 7. 61, 71 (FIG. 4,
8 and 9) 67 and 77 are depressed downward to deflect the contact pieces 61 and 71 downward, and accordingly, their contacts 64 and 74 recede below the card insertion space S and move therefrom. Are arranged at positions (separation positions) apart from electrodes (not shown) provided on the surface of the card C. On the other hand, the cover 4 is opened, and the pressing portion 51 is moved to the receiving portions 67 of the contact pieces 61 and 71.
When it is away from 77, the contact pieces 61, 71 and the protruding pieces 65, 75 provided on them receive the receiving faces 17, 18.
And the contacts 64 and 74 are projected upward into the card insertion space S. Therefore, assuming that the card C is inserted into the card insertion space S, the contacts 64 and 74 are arranged at positions (elastic contact positions) where they come into elastic contact with the electrodes of the card C.

Next, the slide surface (upper surface) of the rear beam portion 12 forming the guide portion 25 cooperates with the overlapping surface 92 formed on the projection 9 on the cover 4 side to insert the card C into the card C.
Corresponds to the first support surface 31 that sandwiches. The upper surfaces 54 and 55 of the pressing portion 51, the support piece 52, and the upper surface of the support piece 53 come into contact with the card C inserted into the body 1 when the overlap surface 92 overlaps the card C. It corresponds to the second support surface 56 arranged at a position for supporting the card C from below.

The operation of the card connector configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 and FIG.

When the card C is not inserted into the body 1, the cover 4 constantly urged in the closing direction by the force of the spring body 8 is positioned at the closed position by the action of the stopper 46 as shown in FIG. Have been. At this time,
The holding portion 51 of the cover 4 is
77 (see FIG. 4) is pushed down to
Are located at the separated positions. Therefore, even if the card C is guided by the guide portion 25 of the body 1 and inserted into the body 1, the surface of the card C does not rub against the contacts 64 and 74 during the insertion.

When the cover 4 is positioned at the closed position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the card C is guided by the guide portion 25 and inserted into the body 1, and as shown in FIG.
When the card C is further inserted as shown by an arrow P in FIG. 9 after the leading end C1 of the card C comes into contact with the operating surface 91 on the cover 4 side, the leading end C1 of the card C slides on the operating surface 91. ,
The cover 4 is swung in the opening direction around the support shafts 43 and 44 against the force of the spring body 8 (arrow U in FIG. 9). Therefore, the holding portion 51 provided on the cover 4 is also swung in the same direction as the cover 4, whereby the contact pieces 61, 71 are elastically deformed, and the contacts 64, 74 approach the elastic contact position. When the leading end C1 of the card C passes through the operating surface 91, the overlapping surface 92 on the cover 4 side overlaps the card C as shown in FIGS. At this time, the contact 6
4, 74 are arranged at the above-mentioned elastic contact position and elastically contact the electrode on the card C side. Further, at this time, the first support surface 31 cooperates with the overlapping surface 92 to hold the card C by the force of the spring body 8, and the second support surface 56 supports the card C from below. For this reason, the contact state between the electrodes and the contacts 64 and 74 due to the accidental movement or removal of the card C is unlikely to be impaired, and high contact stability is ensured. Further, since the leading end C1 of the card C is also positioned in the front-rear direction by hitting the contact surface 26 on the body 1 side, the set position of the card C is determined at a fixed position. It is useful for improving the contact stability and contact reliability with the C. 74.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, when the card C is removed from the state where the card C is completely inserted, the card C is initially overlapped with the first support surface 31 at the initial stage.
2, the operating surface 91 slides on the leading end C1 of the card C. During this time, the electrodes of the card C are in contact with the contacts 64 and 74. Then, when the leading end C1 of the card C is separated from the operating surface 91, the cover 4 is positioned at the closed position by the action of the stopper 46, so that the pressing portion 51 pushes down the receiving portions 67, 77 of the contact pieces 61, 71, and Are retracted below the card insertion space S. Therefore, after that, the card C is pulled out of the body 1 without the surface thereof rubbing against the contacts 64 and 74.

In this embodiment, a large number of contact pieces 61.
1, the first contact piece group 6 and the second contact piece group 7 are formed. However, in the card connector of the present invention, the number of contact pieces is not limited to a large number, and is extremely one. Is also good.

[0038]

According to the present invention, the surface of the card is brought into contact with the contact piece when the card is inserted or removed, even though a separate component such as a card lifting mechanism used in a conventional card connector is not used. Since there is no occurrence of rubbing and scratching, there is no room for such damage to shorten the useful life of the card, and the high life performance of the card is surely maintained.

Further, according to the present invention, when the contact of the contact piece is in elastic contact with the electrode on the card side, the card unexpectedly moves to damage the contact state between the electrode and the contact, or the position of the card is changed. It is possible to prevent a situation such as not being specified in a fixed position, and thereby, the contact stability and contact reliability between the electrode on the card side and the contact of the contact piece are improved.

Further, according to the present invention, when a multi-pole connector having a large number of contact pieces is configured, the length of each contact piece is increased for the size of the body to increase the durability. Therefore, even if the card connector itself is reduced in size and thickness, the durability of the contact piece is not impaired. This has the advantage that the durability of the card connector itself is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a body 1, a cover 4, and the like employed in a card connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the card connector.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the card connector.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the card connector as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the above-mentioned card connector in a state where a card is not inserted in principle in a sectional view.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the above-described card connector in a card inserted state in principle in a sectional view.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a section along a line VII-VII in FIG. 5 in a sectional view.

8 is a vertical sectional side view of the card connector corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view of the card connector corresponding to FIG. 6;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 body 6 first contact piece group 7 second contact piece group 15, 16 attachment part (attachment point) 25 guide part 26 contact surface 31 first support surface 43, 44 support shaft 46 stopper 51 holding part 56 second support surface 61 , 71 contact piece 62, 72 one end of contact piece 64, 74 contact 67, 77 receiving part 91 operating surface 92 overlapping surface A card insertion / extraction direction C card C1 tip of card

Claims (7)

[Claims] An end of an elastically deformable contact piece is attached to a body provided with a guide portion for guiding insertion and removal of a card, and an electrode of the card inserted into the body is inserted through the elastic deformation of the contact piece. A contact point displaced between an elastic contact position and a detached position is provided on the contact piece, and a cover opens and closes with respect to the body around a support shaft at a position corresponding to a start portion of the guide portion. The cover is always urged in the closing direction, and the cover and the body are provided with stoppers that abut against each other to position the cover in the closed position. When the cover is in the closed position, the cover is swung in the opening direction by sliding against the front end of the card inserted into the body and the front end of the card. An inclined operating surface to be inclined, and an overlapping surface that overlaps the card when the leading end of the card passes through the operating surface, and is provided on the contact piece when the cover is at the closed position. The contact portion is pushed down to dispose the contact at the detached position, and the contact is arranged at the elastic contact position when the overlapping surface overlaps the card inserted into the body. A card connector, characterized in that a holding portion allowing elastic deformation of the piece is provided on the cover. 2. The guide section further includes a first support surface which cooperates with the overlapping surface of the card inserted in the body to hold the card when the overlapping surface overlaps the card. 2. The card connector according to 1. 3. The card according to claim 1, wherein the body is provided with a contact surface which abuts on a tip of the card and positions the card at a position where the overlapping surface overlaps with the card inserted into the body. Item 2. The card connector according to Item 2. 4. When the cover is in its closed position, the cover is arranged at a position separated from the card inserted into the body, and the cover is inserted into the body. 2. The card according to claim 1, wherein the card has a second support surface which is arranged at a position for supporting the card by contacting the card when the overlap surface overlaps.
The card connector according to claim 2. 5. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein a large number of the contact pieces are arranged in parallel with the body to form a contact piece group. 6. An attachment portion at one end of each of said contact pieces forming said contact piece group is provided at two places in said body in said card insertion / removal direction. A group is formed by a first contact piece group having one end portion attached to one of the attachment locations, and a second contact piece group having one end portion attached to the other attachment location. An individual contact piece belonging to one contact piece group;
The card connector according to claim 5, wherein the individual contact pieces belonging to the second contact piece group are arranged in an overlapping manner in a direction orthogonal to a card insertion / removal direction with respect to the body. 7. A direction in which each of the contact pieces belonging to the first contact piece group and each of the contact pieces belonging to the second contact piece group intersect with a card insertion / removal direction with respect to the body. 7. The card connector according to claim 6, which extends obliquely.