WO2003005294A1

WO2003005294A1 - Card connector with sliding cover

Info

Publication number: WO2003005294A1
Application number: PCT/US2002/020227
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masanori Yagi; Yoshikazu Ito
Original assignee: Molex Incorporated
Priority date: 2001-07-05
Filing date: 2002-06-26
Publication date: 2003-01-16
Also published as: WO2003005294B1; JP2003031307A; TW565059U

Abstract

A memory card connector includes a main body and a cover movably mounted on the body for receiving a memory card therebetween. The card is insertable to a fully mated position. The cover is movable from an inoperative position to a card eject position. A decelerating device is operatively associated with the cover for reducing the speed at which the cover moves during at least a portion of its movement between the inoperative and eject positions.

Description

CARD CONNECTOR WITH SLIDING COVER

Field of the Invention:

This invention generally relates to the art of memory card connectors and, particularly, to a decelerating device for a sliding cover of such a connector.

Background of the Invention: FIG. 11 shows a memory card connector, generally designated 10, according to the prior art. The connector includes a main body 12 and a cover 14. The cover is slidably mounted on the body for movement between an inoperative position PI an eject position P2. An eject device, generally designated 16, is provided for ejecting a memory card inserted into the connector between body 12 and cover 15. Eject device 16 includes a rotary member 18 mounted on body 12, along with a torsion coil spring 20. The torsion coil spring is located such that one end thereof abuts against an inner wall of the body and an opposite end thereof is fixed to rotary member 18 to

. 1 . i urge the rotary member in a clockwise directed by the coil spring.

When cover 14 is slidably moved from its inoperative position PI to its eject position P2, a leading edge 18a of rotary member 18 is engaged with a protruding portion 14a projecting upwardly from the upper surface of cover 14, to thereby inhibit rotation of rotary member 18.

When cover 14 reaches its eject position P2, leading edge 18a of the rotary member disengages from protruding portion 14a of the cover, so that stored energy in coil spring 20 rotates the rotary member in the clockwise direction. The rotary member is provided with a card push-out portion 18b, so that when a memory card is inserted between the body and the cover, it is ejected by the card push-out portion in a direction indicated by arrow "A".

After the memory card is ejected, cover 14 is slidably moved back to its inoperative position PI by the action of a separate, second spring 22 interconnected between the body and the cover. In conjunction therewith, rotary member 18 is rotated counterclockwise by the action of protruding portion 14a on the cover engaging the rotary member.

A problem with card ejecting systems of the prior art is that, when the sliding cover is "powered" back to its inoperative position PI by such components as coil spring 22, the cover moves rather rapidly and abruptly slams into whatever portions of the body or other frame undesirable impulsive sound, but such abrupt engagements between components of the connector can cause damage thereto or at least deterioration of the connector over time and repeated usage. The present invention is directed to solving these problems by providing a unique decelerating device which slows the sliding movement of the cover. Not only does the decelerating device slow movement of the cover back to its inoperative position under the urging of spring forces, but the decelerating device can slow movement of the cover when the card is pushed into the connector to also protect the components thereof.

Summary of the Invention: An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved memory card connector of the character described.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the connector includes a main body and a cover movably mounted on the body for receiving a memory card therebetween. The card is msertable in an insertion direction to a fully mated position. The cover is slidably movable with the card from an inoperative position to a card eject position. A decelerating device is operatively associated with the cover for reducing the speed at which the cover moves during at least a portion of its movement between the inoperative and eject positions. According to one aspect of the invention, the cover is stamped and formed of sheet metal material and a gear rack is formed integrally therewith and projecting outwardly from one side thereof. The decelerating device includes a gear to which rotational resistance is imparted. The gear is in mesh with the gear rack on- the cover. The gear is part of an oil damper device. . . ^■ ,

.1 : 1 ' '.

According to other aspects of the invention, the gear rack has a length in the direction of movement of the cover which is less than the length of the cover. Preferably, one of the gear racks is provided at each opposite side of the cover with respect to the insertion direction of the card, to accommodate a pair of the decelerating devices at opposite sides of the connector if so desired. The decelerating devices is mounted at least in part to the main body. In the preferred embodiment, the decelerating device has a first portion mounting the device to the main body and a second portion mounting the device to an appropriate external support structure.

. i C JJf following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the figures and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a memory card connector according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the,' card, looking at the left-hand side of FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 3-8 are enlarged-scale plan views of the comer of the connector where the eject device is located and showing sequential views of the operation thereof;

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the connector, in conjunction with a decelerating device, according to the invention;

». 1 1 ; . FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the oil damper of the decelerating device; and

. ' H . I

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the card connector of the prior art described in the "Background", above.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment:

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention is

' , M '^" f ; embodied in a memory card connector, generally designated 30, which has a thin box-like

, • • . U K ^' ι shape substantially rectangular in a plan view a d.iήcludes a main body 32 and a cover 34. The cover is superimposed and mounted on the body for sliding movement relative thereto between an inoperative position PI and an eject position P2. An eject device, generally designated 36, is provided for ejecting a memory, card C which is inserted between body 32 and cover 34 in the direction of arrow "A" (Fig. 1), to a fully inserted or mated position, described hereinafter.

Main body 32 has upwardly extending side walls 32 (Fig. 2). Both side edges of cover 34 have downwardly bent tabs 34a which are provided with slits 34b which received convex portions on side walls 32a of body 32.. The convex portions which are disposed in the cover relative to the body.

As seen in FIG. 2, a thin board B is mounted to a back or underside of body 32. The board is a circuit board with wiring patterns and terminals that are connected to the wiring patterns, although the wiring patterns and terminals are not visible in the drawings. The terminals are engageable with contacts (not shown) on the underside of memory card C when it is inserted into its fully mated position within the connector. An electrical cable 38 is connected to the wiring patterns on circuit board B. Although not visible in the drawings, the terminals on the circuit board extend through holes formed in body 32 and into the card- receiving space between the body and cover 34, so that the terminals contact the contacts on the underside of the memory card when in its fully mated position.

Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 1, eject device 13 includes a rotary member 40 rotatably mounted on a rotational shaft 42 which is integral with or mounted to body 32. A single torsion coil spring 44 embraces the rotational shaft, whereby the axis of the torsion coil spring is coincident with the axis of rotation of rotary member 40. Generally, the single coil spring has a first portion or end 44a operatively associated with cover 34 to bias the cover toward its inoperative position PI. The torsion coil spring 15 has a second portion or opposite end 44b operatively associated with memory card C for biasing the card in an eject direction opposite the insertion direction of arrow "A" (Fig. 1). More particularly, first portion or end 44a of torsion coil spring 44 engages a leading end 34c of cover 34. The second portion or opposite end 44b of the torsion coil spring is secured to rotary member 40 which has a card push-out portion 40a which engages a front or lead edge CI of memory card C.

Generally, an inhibiting means, generally designated 46 (Fig. 3), is operatively associated between cover 34 and second portion 44b of torsion coil spring 44, to prevent the second portion of the coil spring from ejecting the memory card until the cover substantially reaches its eject position P2. hi particular, a latch arm 48 is provided on the cover and is engageable with a latch surface 40b on rotary member 40. The latch arm is slidably movable along the latch surface until the latch arm reaches an end-point 50 of the latch surface, whereat the latch arm disengages from the latch surface and moves onto an inner circumferential surface 40c, for purposes described hereinafter. eject button 52 (Figs. 1 and 2) maybe attached to cover 34. An operator pushes in on the eject button to cause cover 34 to slidably move on body 32 in the direction of arrow "B" (Fig. 1). The cover is moved from its inoperative position PI to its eject position P2. During the course of this sliding movement, leading end 34c of the cover is in engagement with the first portion or end 44a of torsion coil spring 44. FIG. 3 shows the position of the cover and first end 44a of the spring when the cover is in its inoperative position. FIG. 4 shows the cover having been pushed toward its eject position, and it can be seen that first end 44a of the torsion coil spring has moved with the cover to store further energy in the first end of the spring. However, it should be noted in FIG. 4 that, while latch arm 48 on the cover has moved along latch surface 40b of rotary member 40, the rotary member still is inhibited from

. ι I rotating clockwise because latch arm 50 has not reached end-point 40 of the latch surface.

FIG. 5 shows cover 34 having been moved completely to its eject position P2. It can be seen that latch arm 48 has moved off of end-point 50 of latch surface 40b and onto inner circumferential surface 40c, whereupon rotary member 40 now moves clockwise in the direction of arrow "C" under the influence of the second portion or opposite end 44b of the torsion coil spring, the opposite end being secured to rotary member 40. When the rotary member is moved clockwise by the torsion coil spring, card push-out portion 40a of the rotary member engages the front or lead edge CI of memory card C to eject the memory card in the direction of arrow "D".

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 basically are duplications of FIGS. 5, 4 and 3, respectively, to show the reverse action of eject device 36 when memory card C is inserted into the connector in the direction of arrow "A" (Fig. 6). Specifically, lead edge CI of memory card C engages card push-out portion 40a on rotary member 40 to move the rotary member counterclockwise in the direction of arrow "E" while, at the same time, biasing or cocking the second portion or opposite end 44b of torsion coil spring 44 also in the counterclockwise direction.

Further movement of memory card C toward its fully inserted or mated position is shown in FIG. 7. However, cover 34 has yet to move back from its eject position P2 to its inoperative position PI, because latch arm 48 has yet to reach end-point 50 of latch surface 40b. along latch surface 40b, as the first portion or end 44a of the torsion coil spring has moved cover 34 back to its inoperative position in the direction of arrow "F". FIG. 8 shows that rotary member 40 has a protruding engagement portion 54 which defines a stop for engaging latch arm 48 when the cover returns to its inoperative position, h other words, the stop defined by protruding portion 54 defines the outer or inoperative position of the cover, while inner circumferential surface 40c of the rotary member defines the inner or eject position of the cover.

As stated in the "Background", above, one of the problems with card connectors which have sliding covers that are "powered" between the respective positions of the covers, as by coil spring 22 in FIG. 9 or torsion coil spring 44 in FIGS. 1-8, is that there is a tendency for the cover to be powered too fast. Not only does this create an undesirable impulsive sound, but damage can be caused to various components of the connector, as when latch arm 48 on cover 34 engages protruding engagement portion 52 on rotary member 40. To that end, a decelerating device, generally designated 60, is operatively associated with cover 34 and is shown in FIG. 9. The decelerating device is effective to reduce the speed at which the cover moves during at least a portion of its movement between its eject and inoperative positions. A part of decelerating device 60 is the provision of a gear rack 62 formed integrally with cover 34. Preferably, the cover is stamped and formed of sheet metal material, and the gear rack can be easily stamped and formed therefrom. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 9, one of the gear racks 62 is provided at each opposite side of the cover with respect to the insertion direction of memory card C. Although only one decelerating device 60 is shown in FIG. 9, the pair of gear racks will allow a pair of decelerating devices to be located at opposite sides of the comiector to equal the loads applied to the cover, if desired. Referring to FIG. 10 in conjunction with FIG. 9, decelerating device 60 (Fig. 9) includes an oil damper, generally designated 64. The oil damper is typical of commercially available devices and includes a housing 64a defining a casing for containing oil. An internal gear (not shown) or other resistance component is rotatably mounted within the oil and is connected to an external gear 64b whereby rotational resistance is imparted to gear 64b by the oil within housing 64a. Gear 64b is in mesh with one of the gear racks 62 integral with cover

34, as seen in FIG. 9. recess 64d at one side of the housing. A second mounting ear 64e projects from the opposite side of the housing and has a mounting hole 64f. The oil damper is mounted to housing 32 of coimector 30 by an appropriate fastener 66 as seen in FIG. 9. The fastener may be an appropriate screw or bolt. The opposite side of the oil damper is mounted to an appropriate external support structure such as a casing 68 having a tab 68a which projects into recess 64d (Fig. 10) of mounting ear 64c (Fig. 9) of the housing of the decelerating device. Of course, the oil damper could be appropriately mounted to the housing, alone.

FIG. 9 shows that the length HI of gear racks 62 with respect to the sliding direction of the cover is smaller than the length H2 of the cover, itself. This is because it is only necessary for the gear racks to be long enough to be capable of decelerating the sliding movement of the cover between its inoperative position PI and its eject position P2. Although the operation of decelerating device 60 in conjunction with comiector 30 has been described herein as being provided primarily for reducing the speed at which the cover moves back to its inoperative position by the "power" of torsion coil spring 44 (or spring 22-Fig.

11), it should be understood that the decelerating device is effective to reduce the speed of movement of the cover in either direction. In other words, excessive forces may be used by an operator in pushing the cover in from its inoperative position to its eject position which also could damage the connector components. The decelerating device is effective to slow or resist fast movement of the cover in this regard also.

It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A memory card connector, comprising: a main body; a cover movably mounted on the body for receiving a memory card therebetween, the card being insertable to a fully mated position, and the cover being movable from an inoperative position to a card eject position; and a decelerating device operatively associated with the cover for reducing the speed at which the cover moves during at least a portion of its movement between said inoperative and eject positions.

2. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein a portion of said decelerating device is integral with the cover.

3. The memory card connector of claim 2 wherein said portion of the decelerating device comprises a gear rack on the cover.

4. The memory card connector of claim 3 wherein said cover is stamped and formed of sheet metal material and the gear rack is form therefrom.

5. The memory card connector of claim 3 wherein said decelerating device includes a gear to which rotational resistance is imparted, the gear being in mesh with said ι gear rack on the cover.

6. The memory card connector of claim 5 wherein said gear is part of an oil damper device.

7. The memory card connector of claim 3 wherein said gear rack has a length in the direction of movement of the cover which is less than the length of the cover.

8. The memory card connector of claim 3, including one of said gear racks at each opposite side of the cover with respect to the insertion direction of the card to accommodate a pair of said decelerating devices at opposite sides of the connector.

9. The memory card connector of claim 1, including means for mounting the decelerating device at least in part to said main body.

10. The memory card connector of claim 9 wherein said decelerating device has a first mounting portion for mounting the device to the main body and a second mounting portion for mounting to an appropriate external support structure.

11. A memory card connector, comprising: a main body; a cover movably mounted on the body for receiving a memory card therebetween, the card being insertable to a fully mated position, and the cover being movable from an inoperative position to a card eject position; and a decelerating device operatively associated with the cover for reducing the speed at which the cover moves during at least a portion of its movement between said inoperative and eject positions, said decelerating device including a gear rack on the cover and having a length in the direction of movement of the cover which is less than the length of the cover, and a gear to which rotational resistance is imparted with the gear being in mesh with the gear rack on the cover.

12. The memory card connector of claim 11 wherein said gear rack is integral with the cover.

13. The memory card connector of claim 12 wherein said cover is stamped and formed of sheet metal material and the gear rack is form therefrom.

14. The memory card connector of claim 11 wherein said gear is part of an oil damper device.

15. The memory card connector of claim 11 , including one of said gear racks at each opposite side of the cover with respect to the insertion direction of the card to accommodate a pair of said decelerating devices at opposite sides of the connector.

16. The memory card connector of claim 11 , including means for mounting the decelerating device at least in part to said main body.

17. The memory card connector of claim 16 wherein said decelerating device has a first mountmg portion for mounting the device to the main body and a second mounting portion for mounting to an appropriate external support structure.