WO2004032035A1

WO2004032035A1 - Connector for card

Info

Publication number: WO2004032035A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/012720
Authority: WO
Inventors: Osamu Nishida
Original assignee: J.S.T.Mfg.Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-10-03
Filing date: 2003-10-03
Publication date: 2004-04-15
Also published as: JP4226869B2; TW200414624A; AU2003269492A1; JP2004127767A

Abstract

A housing 11 is provided with a heart cam block 20 for being slid in card inserting and extracting directions R1 and R2, thereby constituting a push-push type card discharging mechanism. An elastic piece 40 for locking having a lock click portion 45 capable of being engaged with a concave portion 3 for locking of an SD card 1 is fixed to the heart cam block 20. When the heart cam block 20 is pushed in the card inserting direction R1 togerther with the SD card 1, the elactic piece 40 for locking is elastically deformed by a spring member 35, the lock click portion 45 is engaged with the concave portion 3 for locking and the heart cam block 20 is locked in that state. When the SD card 1 is forcibly extracted, the elastic piece 40 for locking is elastically deformed so that the lock click portion 45 and the concave portion 3 for locking are disengaged from each other.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Connector for Card

Technical Field The present invention relates to a connector for a card which serves to electrically connect a card (particularly, a card with a built-in integrated circuit) represented by a memory card such as an SD (Secure Digital) memory card, a multimedia cardandamemorystick to awiringboardof an electronic apparatus (for example, a portable electronic apparatus or a notebook computer) . Background of Invention

Inmany cases, aportable electronic apparatus represented by a mobile phone, a digital camera and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is provided with a memory slot for attaching a memory card. The memory slot includes a connector for a card which serves to electrically connect the electric contact of thememory card to a wiring board in an inner part.

The conventional art related to the connector for a card has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication JP-A-2002-83651. The connector for a card according to the conventional art includes an insulating- housing having a plurality of terminals attached transversely, a shell cover assembled into the housing and a heart cam block for being moved forward andbackward in inserting and extracting directions with the insertion and extraction of the card, and employs a so-called push-push type card discharging mechanism. The heart cam block is energized in a card discharging direction by a coiled spring. The heart cam block has a heart-shaped cam groove, and a transmitting pin formed by once bending a metal rod at a right angle is engaged with the cam groove . The other end of the metal rod is fixed to the housing.

The heart cam block is pushed into the inner part of the housing together with the card by the application of external force in the inserting direction of the card. In this process, the operating portion of the transmitting pin is moved in the cam groove and is guided into the locking position of the cam groove by eliminating the external force to be applied to the card. Consequently, the heart cam block is held to be pushed in the housing.

When the external force in the inserting direction is applied to the card again, the operating portion of the transmitting pin gets out of the locking position in the cam groove. Then, when the external force to be applied to the card is eliminated, the heart camblock is moved in the card extracting direction by energizing force applied from the coiled spring and the operating portion of the transmitting pin is circulated in the cam groove. Consequently, the card is pushed out of the housing together with the heart cam block. The heart cam block is provided with a projection for engagement to be engaged with a concave portion formed on the side surface of the memory card. Moreover, the heart ca block is provided with a protruded portion to be engaged with the guide groove having a special shape which is formed in the shell cover and the housing.

By this structure, when the heart cam block is slid in the inserting and extracting directions, the protruded portion is guidedbythe guide groove so that theproj ection for engagement is shifted in a direction toward the side surface of the memory card and a separating direction from the side surface of the memory card. More specifically, the projection for engagement is engaged with the concave portion formed on the side surface of the memory card in a process in which the heart cam block is inserted into the inner part of the housing, and is retreated from the concave portion and is thus disengaged in a process in which the heart cam block is moved in the card extracting direction.

In a state in which the card is attached to the connector, the rear end of the card is slightly protruded from a card slot. The reason is that a push-in margin is to be maintained when the card is taken out.

In some cases, however, a user who is unfamiliar with the push-push type card discharging mechanism picks the rear end of the card protruded slightly from the card slot and pulls the card out of the card slot. In such a case, in the conventional art, the concave portion formed on the side surface of the card is maintained to be engaged with the projection for engagement and the heart cam block is pulled out together with the card. At this time, the operating portion of the transmitting pin is moved beyond the cam groove formed on the heart cam block and damages the cam groove in that case. For this reason, if the user repeats the same operation many times, the cam groove of the heart cam block is broken so that the heart cam block is not held in such a position as to be pushed in the housing (a state in which the card is inserted) . As a result, the memory card cannot be attached to the memory slot so that a failure is caused. Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a connector for a card in which a failure is not caused even if the card is pulled out by an erroneous operation, resulting in an enhancement in a durability.

In order to attain the object, a first aspect of the invention is directed to a connector (10) for a card which serves to electrically connect a card (1) having an engaging concave portion (3) ona side surface to an apparatus, comprisingahousing

(11) having a housing space (15) for accommodating the card and provided with an electric contact (13) to come in contact with an electric contact of the card, a lock click portion (45, 65, 75) to be engaged with the engaging concave portion of the card when the card is inserted into a predetermined complete inserting position in the housing, and an elastic piece (40, 60, 70) for supporting the lock click portion andbeing elastically deformed upon receipt of force applied from the card to the lock click portion to release an engagement state of the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card when external force is appliedto the card in a card extractingdirection (for example, when a user directly applies such external force to the card) . Alphanumeric characters in parentheses denote corresponding components in the following embodiments. The following is the same as this paragraph.

According to the structure, when the card is inserted in the complete inserting position, the engaging concave portion of the card and the lock click portion are engaged with each other so that the card can be prevented from inadvertently slipping off. On the other hand, the lock click portion is supported on the elastic piece. If an attempt to extract the card is made in a state in which the engaging concave portion of the card is engaged with the lock click portion, therefore, the lock click portion is disengaged from the engaging concave portion by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece. Accordingly, the lock click portion can be prevented from being moved in the card extracting direction together with the card. Consequently, components coupledto the elasticpiece supporting the lock click portion can be prevented from being damaged. Accordingly, a failure is not caused even if the card is extracted by an erroneous operation. Thus, the durabilityof the connector for a card can be enhanced.

The lock click portion may be a separate component from the elastic piece or may be formed integrally with the elastic piece. More specifically, the lock click portion may be protruded from a part of the elastic piece toward the housing space in the case in which the elastic piece is constituted by a plated spring member, for example. A second aspect of the invention is directed to the connector for a cardaccording to the first aspect ofthe invention, wherein the engaging concave portion has an engagement surface

(3a) which is almost orthogonal to card inserting and extracting directions with respect to the housing (for example, inaparallel direction with the side surface of the card) , the lock click portion has a lock engagement side or a lock engagement surface

(45a, 65a, 75a) which is opposed to the engagement surface of the engaging concave portion, and the lock engagement side or the lock engagement surface is inclined to a side surface of the card and comes in sliding contact with an outlet edge of the engaging concave portion of the card in a state in which external force in the card extracting direction is applied to the card and the elastic piece is elastically deformed upon receipt of external force applied from the card to the lock click portion. By this structure, the lock engagement side or lock engagement surface of the lock click portion can come in sliding contact with the outlet edge of the engaging concave portion of the card by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece. When the card is to be extracted by an erroneous operation, therefore, the lock click portion can be reliably disengaged from the engaging concave portion of the card.

Athird aspect of the invention is directed to the connector for a cardaccordingto the firstor secondaspect of the invention, further comprising a push-push type slide member (20) which is coupled to the housing slidably in the card inserting and extracting directions, and is slid in the card inserting direction upon receipt of force applied from the card in the card inserting direction and is locked in apredetermined locking position when the card is to be inserted in the housing, and is unlocked by further pushing the card in the card inserting direction in the locking state, and energizing means (31) for energizing thepush-push type slidemember in the card extracting direction. By this structure, it is possible to guide the card to the complete inserting position while sliding the push-push type slide member in the card inserting direction by pushing the card in the card inserting direction and to lock the push-push type slide member in the locking position in that state. When the card is further pushed in the card inserting direction in this state, the locking state of the push-push type slide member is released and the push-push type slide member is slid in the card extracting direction by the action of the energizing means so that the card is pushed out of the housing by the push-push type slide member.

The push-push type slide member may be provided with a heart-shaped cam groove (21) . In this case, it is preferable that one of ends should be provided with an operating portion

(33a) for being circulated in one direction in the cam groove and the other end should further include a transmitting pin (33) coupled to the housing.

Moreover, a cam block having the heart-shaped cam groove may be provided on the housing side, and the operating portion of the transmitting pin may be engaged with the cam groove of the cam block and the other end may be coupled to the push-push type slide member.

In any case, it is preferable that the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card shouldbe disengaged from each other with the operating portion of the transmitting pin held in the locking position in the cam groove when a user does not carry out such a correct operation as to press the card in the card inserting direction but an operation for directly giving external force to the card in the cardextracting direction to forcibly extract the card. A fourth aspect of the invention is directed to the connector for a cardaccording to the thirdaspect of the invention, further comprising an elastic piece driving member (35, 68) for guiding the elastic piece into such an attitude that the lock click portion is engaged with the engaging concave portion of the card when the push-push type slide member is slid in the card inserting direction, and for guiding the elastic piece into such an attitude that the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card are disengaged from each other when the unlocked push-push type slide member is slid in the card extracting direction upon receipt of energizing force from the energizing means.

By this structure, the attitude of the elastic piece is changed in such a manner that the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card are engaged with each other when the push-push type slide member is slid in the card inserting direction and the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card are disengaged from each other when the push-push type slide member is slid in the card extracting direction by the action of the elastic piece driving member. On the other hand, when an operation for pushing the card in the card inserting direction is not carried out but such an erroneous operation as to pick the rear end of the card and to pull out the card in the card extracting direction is carried out in the extraction of the card, the disengagement of the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card cannot be achieved by the action of the elastic piece driving member but mainly by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece. Accordingly, the user extracts the card while feeling a resistance due to the engagement of the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card.

A fifth aspect of the invention is directed to the connector for a cardaccordingto the thirdor fourthaspect of the invention, wherein the elastic piece is attached to the push-push type slide member, and the elastic piece driving member is fixed to the housing.

By this structure, the relative movement of the elastic piece and the elastic piece driving member is performed with the sliding operation of the push-push type slide member. By utilizing the relative movement, therefore, it is possible to drive the elastic piece.

When the card is to be forcibly extracted from the housing by the erroneous operation, the external force in the card extracting direction is transmitted from the engaging concave portion of the card to the push-push type slide member through the lock click portion and the elastic piece. At this time, it is preferable that the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card should be disengaged from each other by the deformation of the elastic piece with the push-push type slide member held in the locking position. Consequently, it is possible to prevent a mechanism for holding the push-push type slide member in the locking position from being broken.

For example, the elastic piece drivingmembermaybe formed integrally with the metal shell fixed to the housing in order to cover at least a part of the housing. For example, in the case in which a metal plate is processed to fabricate the metal shell, the elastic piece driving member can be constituted by a cantilever formed on the metal shell by blanking.

Asixth aspect of the invention is directed to the connector for a card according to any of the third to fifth aspects of the invention, wherein the elastic piece drivingmember is formed by an elastic deformable member.

By this structure, when the card is tobe forcibly extracted from the housing by the erroneous operation, the elastic piece is elastically deformed, and furthermore, the elastic piece driving member is elastically deformed. Consequently, the engaging concave portion of the card and the lock click portion can smoothlybe disengaged from each other . Thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the failure of the connector for a card.

For example, as in a seventh aspect of the invention, the elastic piece may be serve to energize the lock click portion in such a direction as to separate from the engaging concave portion of the card. In this case, the elastic piece driving member may serve to deform the elastic piece to be guided to an engaging position in which the lock click portion is engaged with the engaging concave portion of the card against the energizing force by sliding the push-push type slide member in the card inserting direction. Brief Description of Drawings

Fig.1 is apianviewshowing a connector for a cardaccording to a first embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a right side view showing the connector for a card in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along a cutting line I - I in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the connector for a card with a metal shell removed,

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the enlarged structure of the main parts of the connector for a card,

Fig.6 is apartially enlargedplanview showing a situation in which the rear end of an SD card is being picked and extracted forcibly,

Fig. 7(a) is a typical view showing a heart-shaped cam groove and Fig. 7 (b) is a developed view showing the structure of the cam face of the cam groove, Fig. 8 is a partial plan view showing the structure of the vicinity of one of the arm portions of a housing,

Fig. 9(a) is a plan view showing a heart cam block, Fig. 9 (b) is a right side view showing the heart cam block, Fig. 9 (c) is a bottom view showing the heart cam block, Fig. 9(d) is a front view showing the heart ca block, and Fig. 9(e) is a rear view showing the heart cam block,

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing the structure of the main parts of a connector for a card according to a second embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 11 is a plan view for explaining the structure of a connector for a card according to a third embodiment of the invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

An embodiment of the invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig.1 is apianview showing a connector for a cardaccording to a first embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a right side view showing the connector for a card, and Fig.3 is a sectional view taken along a cutting line I - I in Fig. 1. A connector 10 for a card serves to electrically connect an SD card 1 according to an example of a memory card to the wiring board of an electronic apparatus. Figs. 1 to 3 illustrate the enlarged connector 10 for a card, and the connector 10 for a card actually has a length of approximately 30 mm, a width of approximately 28 mm and a thickness of approximately 3 mm, for example.

The SD card 1 is a thin memory card sealing a memory IC

(integrated circuit) with a resin therein and is formed almost rectangularly as seen on a plane, and has a nick 2 for preventing erroneous insertion formed in one of corner portions on a front end thereof. In the SD card 1, a concave portion 3 for locking is formed with a rectangular nick on the rear side surface of the nick 2. A write protecting switch 4 for inhibiting the rewrite of a memory is provided on a side surface other than the rear side surface. The write protecting switch 4 is slid along the side surface of the SD card 1 so that the SD card 1 can be switched into a write enable state and a write inhibit state. On the other hand, a plurality of signal contacts 5 is provided in an exposure state on one of the surfaces of the SD card '1 (a surface on the back side of the paper in Fig. 1) . The connector 10 for a card comprises a housing 11 formed of a resin, a metal shell 12 having a U-shaped section which covers the upper and side surfaces of the housing 11 formed of the resin, and a plurality of signal contacts 13 provided in the housing 11. A press contact portion 13a to be pressed in contact with the signal contact 5 of the SD card 1 is provided on one of the ends of each of the signal contacts 13, anda soldering portion 13b to be soldered onto the surface of the wiring board of an electronic apparatus is provided on the other end of the signal contact 13. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the connector 10 for a card in a state in which the metal shell 12 is removed. The housing 11 is formed to be almost U-shaped as seen on a plane, and forms a card housing space 15 opened toward a front end side in which the SD card 1 is to be inserted. More specifically, the housing 11 has a body portion 11A in which the signal contacts 13 are arranged in parallel with each other in an inserting direction

Rl of the SDcardl and an extracting directionR2 which is directly opposite thereto (both of the directions will be generally referred to as ^λλcard inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2") , and a pair of armportions 11B and 11C protruded in parallel with each other in the card extracting direction R2 from both side parts of the body portion IIA. The SD card 1 is received between the arm portions 11B and 11C, and the signal contact 5 is pressed in contact with the press contact portion 13a of the signal contact 13 provided in the body portion IIA.

Description will be given on the assumption that the card extracting direction R2 side (that is, the side on which the SD card 1 is received) is set to be a forward side with regard to the connector 10 for a card and the card inserting direction Rl side (that is, the opposed side to the connector 10 for a card) is set to be the forward side with regard to the SD card 1.

A card detecting switch 16 for detecting that the SD card 1 is completely attached to the card housing space 15 is fixed to the rear end of the body portion IIA. Moreover, a write protection detecting switch 17 is fixedalong the outside surface of the arm portion 11B. A common terminal 18 is fixed to the body portion IIA between the write protection detecting switch 17 and the card detecting switch 16. The common terminal 18 is formed by ametallic plate spring piece, and has a soldering portion 18a to be soldered to the surface of the wiring board in the vicinity of the rear end of the body portion IIA, and furthermore, a card detecting contact 18b entering the card housing space 15 from a contact portion 16a of the card detecting switch 16, and a write protecting switch detecting contact 18c entering the card housing space 15 from a contact portion 17a of the write protection detecting switch 17.

The card detecting switch 16 is formed by a metallic plate spring piece, and has the contact portion 16a facing the card detecting contact 18b of the common terminal 18 and a soldering portion 16b to be soldered to the surface of the wiring board.

The write protection detecting switch 17 has the contact portion 17a facing the write protecting switch detecting contact 18c of the common terminal 18 which is provided on one of ends and a soldering portion 17b to be soldered to the surface of the wiring board which is provided on the other end positioned in the vicinity of the tip of the arm portion 11B.

In a state in which the SD card 1 is completely inserted and attached into the card housing space 15, the card detecting contact 18b is elastically deformed to be pressed in contact with the contact portion 16a of the card detecting switch 16. By detecting the presence of an electric conduction between the carddetecting switch 16 andthe commonterminal 18, accordingly, it is possible to detect that the SD card 1 is attached or not. On the other hand, the write protecting switch detecting contact 18c is provided so as to be opposedto the write protecting switch 4 of the SD card 1 inserted completely in the card housing space 15 when the write protecting switch 4 is placed in a write enable position and so as not to be opposed to the write protecting switch 4 when the write protecting switch 4 is placed in a write inhibit position. Only in the case in which the SD card 1 is completely inserted in the card housing space 15 and the write protecting switch 4 is placed in the write enable position, therefore, the write protecting switch detecting contact 18c of the common terminal 18 is pushed out toward the contact portion 17a side of thewrite protection detecting switch 17 and is pressed in contact with the contact portion 17a. By detecting the presence of the electric conduction between the write protection detecting switch 17 and the common terminal 18, accordingly, it is possible to detect the attached SD card 1 is set to a write protection or not.

A heart cam block 20 which can be reciprocally slid in the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2 along the arm portion IIC is engaged with the arm portion IIC side of the housing 11. The heart cam block 20 is energized in the card extracting directionR2 upon receipt of spring force applied from a coiled spring 31 accommodated in a spring housing groove 30 formed in the housing 11 in the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2. Moreover, the displacement of the heart cam block 20 in the card extracting direction R2 is regulated by a stopper portion 32 formed in the tip portion of the arm portion IIC.

The heart cam block 20 has a heart-shaped cam groove 21 on an upper surface (an opposite surface to a lower surface on the opposed side to the wiring board) . A transmitting pin 33 is provided between the cam groove 21 and the stopper portion 32. More specifically, the transmitting pin 33 is formed by bending both ends of a metal rod at an almost right angle and providing parallel pins with each other on both ends. One of the pins serves as an operating portion 33a for being circulated in the cam groove 21 and the other pin is rotatably received in a receiving hole formed on the stopper portion 32.

The heart cam block 20 is formed to be almost inverted L-shaped as seen on a plane, and has a card receiving portion 22 protruded into the card housing space 15 on the rear side of the housing 11. The card receiving portion 22 includes a card receiving surface 22a having an inclined surface corresponding to the nick 2 in order to receive a corner portion on the nick 2 side of the SD card 1 and a vertical surface formed orthogonally to the card inserting direction Rl corresponding to the front end face of the SD card 1.

When the SD card 1 is pushed in the card inserting direction Rl, accordingly, it is received by the card receiving portion 22. In order to completely insert the SD card 1 into the card housing space 15, an operator further pushes the SD card 1 in the card inserting direction Rl against the spring force of the coiled spring 31.

In this process, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 is moved in the cam groove 21 and is guided to a lockingposition thereof . Consequently, the heart camblock 20 is locked in a position in which the SD card 1 is completely inserted in the card inserting directionRl (the lockingposition of the heart cam block 20) . When the SD card 1 is pushed again in the card inserting direction Rl very slightly against the spring force of the coiled spring 31 in this state, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 gets out of the locking position to be moved in the cam groove 21. Consequently, the heart cam block 20 is pushed out in the card extracting direction R2 by the spring force of the coiled spring 31 and the SD card 1 is pushed out of the connector 10 for a card upon receipt of force applied from the card receiving portion 22 of the heart cam block 20.

An elastic piece 40 for locking which is formed by a plate spring piece is fixed to the heart cam block 20. More specifically, a press-in groove 24 is formed on the rear end of the heart cam block 20 and a base end 41 of the elastic piece 40 for locking is pressed into the press-in groove 24.

The elastic piece 40 for locking is cantilevered to be rocked around the base end 41 fixed to the press-in groove 24, and has the base end 41, a coupling portion 42 extended obliquely from the base end 41 toward one side of the card housing space 15 (the arm portion IIC side) , a rocking arm portion 43 having such a shape as to be extended from the coupling portion 42 in the card extracting direction R2 in a state in which external force is not received, and to be then bent obliquely to separate fromthe cardhousing space 15 andtobe extendedinthat direction, and furthermore, to be bent again toward the card housing space 15 side, and a lock click portion 45 formed to be protruded from a tip portion 43a of the rocking arm portion 43 toward the card housing space 15bybending. Aconcaveportion23 formaintaining the operating space of the lock click portion 45 is formed on the heart cam block 20.

The lock clickportion 45 is provided in anopposedposition to the concave portion 3 for locking in the SD card 1 with the front end abutting on the card receiving portion 22. The lock click portion 45 has a lock engagement side 45a to be engaged with an internal wall surface 3a of the concave portion 3 for locking on a downstream side in the card inserting direction Rl.

Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) are plan views showing the enlarged structure of main parts. As shown in Figs. 5(a) and 5(b) and Fig. 2, the side wall of the metal shell 12 on the arm portion IIC side is provided with a cantilever-shaped spring member 35 taking the shape of a "dogleg" protruded toward the inside of the card housing space 15 by blanking.

As shown in Fig.5(a), a pressing portion 35a of the spring member 35 abuts on the surface of the rocking arm portion 43 in a position on the base end 41 side in the elastic piece 40 for locking (a portion which is almost parallel with the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2) when the heart camblock 20 is positioned on an end at the extracting direction R2 side.

On the other hand, when the heart cam block 20 is pushed in the card inserting direction Rl together with the SD card 1, the relative positions of the pressing portion 35a of the spring member 35 and the elastic piece 40 for locking fluctuate and the pressing portion 35a is slid and guided over the surface of the rocking arm portion 43 and reaches the vicinity of the tip portion 43a of the rocking arm portion 43 as shown in Fig. 5 (b) in a state in which the SD card 1 is completely accommodated in the card housing space 15. Consequently, the elastic piece 40 for locking is elastically deformed upon receipt of pressing force applied from the pressing portion 35a and the lock click portion 45 is pushed out to be protruded into the card housing space 15. Consequently, the lock click portion 45 enters the concave portion 3 for locking so that the lock engagement side 45a and the internal wall surface 3a are engaged with each other. Thus, it is possible to prevent the SD card 1 from inadvertently slipping off. Fig.6 is a partially enlargedplanview showing a situation inwhich an operator picks a rear endprotruded from the connector 10 for a card to forcibly extract the SD card 1 in the card extracting direction R2 without carrying out such a correct operation as to push the SD card 1 again in the card inserting direction Rl when extracting the SD card 1. The lock click portion 45 is provided in the tip portion 43a of the rocking arm portion 43 which is elastically deformable. When force applied from the internal wall surface 3a of the concave portion 3 for locking of the SD card 1 is transmittedto the lock engagement side 45a, therefore, the lock clickpotion 45 starts to be rotated in a plane along the upper and lower surfaces of the SD card 1 while elastically deforming the elastic piece 40 for locking and the spring member 35. Consequently, the lock engagement side 45a abuts on the outlet edge of the internal wall surface 3a in an inclination state . Accordingly, the lock click portion 45 loses strong engaging force for the concave portion 3 for locking so that the lock click portion 45 is disengaged from the concave portion 3 for locking before the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 gets out of the locking position of the cam groove 21 of the heart camblock 20 to which the elastic piece 40 for locking is coupled.

More specifically, the lock click portion 45 is engaged with the concave portion 3 for locking against extracting force whichis not greater thanpredetermlned force, therebypreventing the SD card 1 from being inadvertently extracted. When such external force as to cause the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 to get out of the locking position of the cam groove 21 is applied, the lock click portion 45 is disengaged from the concave portion 3 for locking in order to prevent the operating portion 33a from being disengaged. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 from breaking the cam groove 21 and being moved. Consequently, the heart cam block 20 can be prevented from being broken and the durable life of a push-push type discharging mechanism can be enhanced, and furthermore, the durable life of the connector 10 for a card can be improved.

Fig. 7 (a) is a typical view showing the heart-shaped cam groove 21 and Fig.7 (b) is a developed view showing the structure of the cam face of the cam groove 21. The bottom face of the cam groove 21 is constituted by a plurality of cam faces A to H having different heights, and the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 is circulated in a direction of an arrow in Fig. 7(a) (clockwise in the drawing) over the cam faces A to H with the reciprocating operation of the heart cam block 20.

A portion to be the bottom of the V-shaped portion of the cam groove 21 taking the shape of a heart serves as the locking portion of the cam groove 21. The cam face E forming the locking portion is set to be higher than the adjacent cam face F in a circulating direction (a clockwise direction) and is set to be lower than the adjacent cam face D in a counter-circulating direction (a counterclockwise direction) .

In a state in which the SD card 1 is not attached, the heart camblock 20 is positioned on an end at the card extracting direction R2 side. At this time, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 is positioned on the cam face A.

When the SD card 1 is pushed into the card housing space 15 in the card inserting direction Rl to move the heart ca block 20 in the card inserting direction Rl in this state, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 passes through the cam face B to be a slant face from the cam face A and reaches the cam face C which is higher than the cam face A, and furthermore, is guided to the cam face D which is lower than the cam face C. When external force in the card inserting direction Rl is not applied to the SD card 1, then, the heart cam block 20 is moved in the card extracting direction R2 upon receipt of the restoring force of the coiled spring 31. At this time, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 cannot be returned to the cam face C due to a step between the cam faces C and D. Since the step portion between the cam faces C and D serves as a guide surface for guiding the operating portion 33a to the cam face E, moreover, the operating portion 33a is guided to the cam face E and to the bottom part of the V-shaped portion and is thus stabilized. Consequently, the heart cam block 20 is locked in a position in which the operating portion

33a of the transmitting pin 33 is pushed in the card inserting direction Rl from the cam face A.

When the SD card 1 is to be extracted in this state, the operator applies external force in the card inserting direction Rl to the SD card 1, thereby pushing the heart cam block 20 in the card inserting direction Rl . At this time, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 cannot be returned to the cam face D due to the step between the cam faces D and E, and is guided to an internal side wall in the cam face E portion and to the cam face F which is lower than the cam face E.

When the external force in the card inserting direction Rl is not applied to the SD card 1, thereafter, the heart cam block 20 is moved in the card extracting direction R2 by the restoring force of the coiled spring 31. Consequently, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 passes through the cam face G to be a slant face from the cam face F and reaches the cam face Hwhich is higher than the cam faceA, and furthermore, is guided to the cam face A. When the external force in the card inserting direction Rl is applied to the heart cam block 20, next, the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 cannot be returned to the cam face H due to the step between the cam face A and the cam face H. Moreover, the step portion forms a guide surface for guiding the operating portion 33a to the cam face B. Consequently, the operating portion 33a is guided toward the cam face B.

As shown in Fig. 2, the top wall of the metal shell 12 is provided with a cantilever-shaped transmitting pin presser member 28 formed by blanking in such a state as to be protruded inward toward the upper surface of the heart cam block 20 in order to prevent the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 from slipping from the cam groove 21. The transmitting pin presser member 28 is elastically deformable and pushes the operatingportion33a against the cam facesAtoHwhile permitting the vertical motion of the operating portion 33a of the transmitting pin 33 passing through the cam faces A to H.

Fig. 8 is a partial plan view showing the structure of the vicinity of the arm portion IIC of the housing 11, Fig. 9 (a) is a plan view showing the heart cam block 20, Fig. 9(b) is a right side view showing the heart cam block 20, Fig. 9(c) is a bottom view showing the heart cam block 20, Fig. 9(d) is a frontview showing theheart camblock20 seen inthe cardinserting direction Rl, and Fig. 9(e) is a rear view showing the heart cam block 20 seen in the card extracting direction R2.

The spring housing groove 30 is formed in the housing 11 in the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2, and the coiled spring 31 is accommodated therein. The position of the coiled spring 31 is regulated by a convex portion 36 formed on the bottom face of the spring housing groove 30 in the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2. The front end side of the coiled spring 31 is received by a spring receiving groove 25 provided on a bottom face 20a side of the heart cam block 20, and the front end of the coiled spring 31 abuts on an end face 25a on the card extracting direction R2 side of the spring receiving groove 25.

A key 26 formed by a convex portion in the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2 is provided on the card extracting direction R2 side from the spring receiving groove 25. The housing 11 is provided with a guide groove 37 linked to the spring housing groove 30 on the card extracting direction R2 side of the spring housing groove 30. The key 26 is slidably engaged with the guide groove 37 so that the heart cam block 20 can be slid in the card inserting and extracting directions Rl and R2.

Figs.10(a) and 10 (b) are plan views showing the structure of the main parts of a connector for a card according to a second embodiment of the invention. The embodiment will be described with reference to Figs . 1 to 4 again. In Figs .10 (a) and 10 (b) , portions corresponding to those in Figs . 1 to 9 have the same reference numerals as those in Figs. 1 to 9.

In the embodiment, an elastic piece 60 for locking which is attached to a heart cam block 20 has a base end 61 fixed to the rear end of the heart cam block 20, a coupling portion 62 extended from the base end 61 toward an arm portion IIC, and a rocking arm portion 63 extended from the coupling portion 62 almost along the arm portion IIC. The rocking arm portion 63 has an inclined portion 63b extended in an oblique direction from the coupling portion 62, a middle portion 63a provided with a lock click portion 65, and a guide portion 63c which is further extended from the middle portion 63a in a card extracting direction R2. The guide portion 63c is formed to be inclined toward the outside of a card housing space 15.

The lock click portion 65 is formed to be protruded from the middle portion 63a of the rocking arm portion 63 toward the card housing space 15. The lock click portion 65 has a lock engagement side 65a to be opposed to an internal wall surface 3a of a concave portion 3 for locking of an SD card 1 on a card inserting direction Rl side. A guide member 68 formed by bending suspends from the top surface of a metal shell 12 attached to a housing 11, for example. The guide member 68 is positioned on the arm portion IIC side from the card housing space 15. The elastic piece 60 for locking is a spring member for generating energizing force for rocking the rocking arm portion 63 toward the card housing space 15 and the rocking operation of the rocking arm portion 63 is regulated by the guide member 68. More specifically, the guide member 68 abuts on the surface of the rocking arm portion 63 on the card housing space 15 side. When the heart cam block 20 is positioned on an end at the card extracting direction R2 side, the guide member 68 abuts on the inclined portion 63b at the base end 61 side in place of the middle portion 63a in the rocking arm portion 63, and the lock click portion 65 is regulated into a position retreating from the card housing space 15 as shown in Fig. 10(a) .

When the SD card 1 is pushed in the card inserting direction Rl in this state, the heart cam block 20 is correspondingly displaced in the card inserting direction Rl . In the process, the guide member 68 is slid over the surface of the rocking arm portion 63 on the card housing space 15 side and is moved toward the guide portion 63c side on the tip side beyond the middle portion 63a. The middle portion 63a is provided with the lock click portion 65 to be protruded from the edge portion of the plate-shaped elastic piece 60 for locking on the opposite side (lower side) of the metal shell 12 toward the card housing space 15 side, for example, and the guide member 68 is formed to have such a length (an amount of suspension) as to be moved relatively with the rocking arm portion 63 without interfering with the lock click portion 65. When the SDcard 1 is completelypushedinto the cardhousing space 15, thus, the lock click portion 65 enters the concave portion 3 for locking by the restoring force of the elastic piece 60 for locking, thereby preventing the SD card 1 from being extracted as shown in Fig. 10(b). When the SD card 1 is to be forcibly extracted in this state without the execution of such a correct operation as to push the heart cam block 20 in the card inserting direction Rl again, the internal wall surface 3a of the concave portion 3 for locking abuts on the lock engagement side 65a of the lock click portion 65. Consequently, the rocking arm portion 63 is curved and deformed to separate from the card housing space 15 by external force acting on the lock click portion 65 so that the lock engagement side 65a is inclined to abut on the outlet edge of the internal wall surface 3a. When an operation for further extracting the SD card 1 is continuously carried out in this state, the lock engagement side 65a is guided to the outside of the concave portion 3 for locking while coming in sliding contact with the outlet edge of the internal wall surface 3a. Consequently, it is possible to extract the SD card 1 without breaking the heart cam block 20. [0050]

As a matter of course, even if the SD card 1 is to be pulled out in the card extracting direction Rl by such force that the heart cam block 20 is not broken, the SD card 1 can be prevented from being extracted because of the engagement of the concave portion 3 for locking and the lock click portion 65.

By the structure according to the embodiment, thus, the SD card 1 can be prevented from being inadvertently extracted and the heart cam block 20 can be prevented from being broken. [0051] _^ o Figs. 11(a) and 11(b) are plan views for explaining the structure of a connector for a cardaccordingto a third embodiment of the invention. In the embodiment, the side surface portion of a metal shell 12 on an arm portion IIC side is subjected to blanking and an elastic piece 70 for locking passing through a space provided above a heart cam block 20 and reaching the vicinity of a card housing space 15 is thus formed. The elastic piece 70 for locking has a portion 71 which is almost parallel with the inner edge of the arm portion IIC, and the portion 71 is provided with a lock click portion 75 protruded toward the card housing space 15. The lock click portion 75 is formed to take the shape of a trapezoid which is protruded toward the card housing space 15 as seen on a plane, and an oblique side on a card inserting direction Rl side forms a lock engagement side 75a inclined to the outlet edge of an internal wall surface 3a of a concave portion 3 for locking and an oblique side on a card extracting direction R2 side forms a guide side 75b inclined to the outside edge of an internal wall surface 3b of the concave portion 3 for locking on the card extracting direction R2 side. When an SD card 1 is pushed in the card inserting direction Rl, a nick 2 of the SD card 1 (see Fig. 1) abuts on the guide side 75b of the lock click portion 75 so that the lock click portion 75 is caused to come in sliding contact with the side of the SD card 1. When the SD card 1 is pushed in together with the heart cam block 20 in this state, the lock click portion 75 is fitted in the concave portion 3 for locking by the restoring force of the elastic piece 70 for locking. In this state, the heart cam block 20 is locked.

When the SD card 1 is slightly pushed in the card inserting direction Rl in this state, the locking state of the heart cam block 20 is released and the heart cam block 20 is energized in the card extracting direction R2 by means of a coiled spring 31 so that the SD card 1 is energized in the card extracting direction R2. Consequently, the engagement side 75a comes in sliding contact with the outlet edge of the internal wall surface 3a of the concave portion 3 for locking in the SD card 1 and the SD card 1 is further moved in the card extracting direction R2 by the spring force of the coiled spring 31. Consequently, the lock click portion 75 gets out of the concave portion 3 for locking. Thus, the SD card 1 is discharged.

On the other hand, there will be considered the case in which an operator does not carry out such a correct operation as to push the SD card 1 in the card inserting direction Rl but such an erroneous operation as to pick and extract the rear end of the SD card 1 in the card extracting direction R2. In this case, the SD card 1 is moved in the card extracting direction R2 by external force applied directly by the operator in place of force applied from the coiled spring 31, and the elastic piece 70 for locking is elastically deformed in the same manner as that in the correct operation and the lock click portion 75 is disengaged from the concave portion 3 for locking. In other words, the lock click portion 75 is disengaged from the concave portion 3 for locking with the locking state of the heart cam block 20 maintained, and the heart cam block 20 can be prevented from being broken. As a matter of course, the engagement of the lock click portion 75 and the concave portion 3 for locking is helduntil some external force ormore is applied. Therefore, the SD card 1 can be prevented from inadvertently slipping off. Industrial Applicability While the three embodiments of the invention have been describedabove, the invention can alsobe carriedout in a further embodiment. Although the description has been given to the examplin which the lock click portion has the engagement side in the embodiments, for example, it is also possible to use a lock click portion having an engagement surface to be engaged with the internal wall surface 3a of the concave portion 3 for locking in the SD card 1.

While the connector 10 for a card used for the SD card 1 has been taken as an example in the embodiments, moreover, the invention can also be applied to a connector for a card used for other kinds of memory cards represented by a memory stick, a multimedia card and smart media. Furthermore, the structure according to the invention can be applied to various card shapes which are identical to the shape of a function card having an I/O function. In addition, a design can be variously changed without departing from the scope of matters described in the claims.

Claims

1. A connector for a card which serves to electrically connect a cardhaving an engaging concaveportionon a side surf ce to an apparatus, comprising: a housing having a housing space for accommodating the card and provided with an electric contact to come in contact with an electric contact of the card; a lock clickportion to be engagedwith the engaging concave portion of the cardwhen the card is inserted into apredetermined complete inserting position in the housing; and an elastic piece for supporting the lock click portion and being elastically deformed upon receipt of force applied from the card to the lock click portion to release an engagement state of the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card when external force is applied to the card in a card extracting direction.

2. The connector for a cardaccording to claim1, wherein the engaging concave portion has an engagement surface which is almost orthogonal to card inserting and extracting directions with respect to the housing, the lock click portion has a lock engagement side or a lock engagement surface which is opposed to the engagement surface of the engaging concave portion, and the lock engagement side or the lock engagement surface is inclined to a side surface of the card and comes in sliding contact with an outlet edge of the engaging concave portion of the card in a state in which external force in the card extracting direction is applied to the card and the elastic piece is elastically deformed upon receipt of external force applied from the card to the lock click portion.

3. The connector for a cardaccordingto claim1, further comprising: a push-push type slide member which is coupled to the housing slidablyinthe cardinsertingandextractingdirections, and is slid in the card inserting direction upon receipt of force applied from the card in the card inserting direction and is locked in a predetermined locking position when the card is to be inserted in the housing, and is unlocked by further pushing the card in the card inserting direction in the locking state; and energizing means for energizing the push-push type slide member in the card extracting direction.

4. The connector for a cardaccording to claim2, further comprising: a push-push type slide member which is coupled to the housingslidablyinthe cardinsertingandextractingdirections, and is slid in the card inserting direction upon receipt of force applied from the card in the card inserting direction and is locked in a predetermined locking position when the card is to be inserted in the housing, and is unlocked by further pushing the card in the card inserting direction in the locking state; and energizing means for energizing the push-push type slide member in the card extracting direction.

5. The connector for a cardaccordingto claim3, further comprising an elastic piece driving member for guiding the elastic piece into such an attitude that the lock click portion is engaged with the engaging concave portion of the card when the push-push type slide member is slid in the card inserting direction, and for guiding the elasticpiece into such an attitude that the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card are disengaged from each other when the unlocked push-push type slide member is slid in the card extracting direction upon receipt of energizing force from the energizing means .

6. The connector for a cardaccording to claim4, further comprising an elastic piece driving member for guiding the elastic piece into such an attitude that the lock click portion is engaged with the engaging concave portion of the card when the push-push type slide member is slid in the card inserting direction, and for guiding the elasticpiece into such an attitude that the lock click portion and the engaging concave portion of the card are disengaged from each other when the unlocked push-push type slide member is slid in the card extracting direction upon receipt of energizing force from the energizing means .

7. The connector for a card according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the elastic piece is attached to the push-push type slide member, and the elastic piece driving member is fixed to the housing.

8. The connector for a card according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the elasticpiece driving member is formed by an elastic deformable member.

9. The connector for a card according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the elastic piece serves to energize the lock click portion in such a direction as to separate from the engaging concave portion of the card, and the elastic piece driving member serves to deform the elastic piece to be guided to an engaging position in which the lock click portion is engaged with the engaging concave portion of the card against the energizing force by sliding the push-push type slide member in the card inserting direction.