WO2005114559A1

WO2005114559A1 - Memory card connector

Info

Publication number: WO2005114559A1
Application number: PCT/US2005/016535
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yi-Tse Ho
Original assignee: Molex Incorporated
Priority date: 2004-05-12
Filing date: 2005-05-11
Publication date: 2005-12-01
Also published as: CN1697260A; CN100426593C

Abstract

A memory card connector (32) includes a metal housing (40) having a generally planar top wall (40a) and a pair of side walls (40b) defining a receiving space (48) therebetween for receiving a memory card (36) inserted into the receiving space through an insert opening (54) at a front end of the housing. An insulating socket (38) is located at a rear end (52) of the metal housing opposite the insertion opening. A plurality of conductive terminals (44) are mounted in the insulating socket for electrical connection to the memory card. The front end of the metal housing is wider than the rear end thereof whereby the receiving space is generally L-shaped in a plane generally parallel to the top wall of the metal housing. A card eject mechanism (42) is located behind the wider front end of the metal housing alongside the narrower rear end thereof.

Description

MEMORY CARD CONNECTOR

Field of the Invention: This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, particularly, to a memory card connector for an ExpressCard type memory card and having a card eject mechanism.

Background of the Invention: Memory cards are known in the art and contain intelligence in the form of a memory circuit or other electronic program. Some form of card reader reads the information or memory stored on the card. Such cards are used in many applications in today's electronic society, including video cameras, digital still cameras, smart phones, PDA's, music players, ATMs, cable television decoders, toys, games, PC adapters, multi-media cards and other electronic applications. Typically, a memory card includes a contact or terminal array for connection through a card connector to a card reader system and then to external equipment. The connector readily accommodates insertion and removal of the card to provide quick access to the information and program on the card. The card connector includes terminals for yieldingly engaging the contact array of the memory card. The memory card connector often is mounted on a printed circuit board. The memory card, itself, writes or reads via the connector and can transmit between electrical appliances, such as a word processor, personal computer, personal data assistant or the like. With circuit board mounted connectors, the terminals of a connector include tail portions which are connected to appropriate circuit traces on the printed circuit board by various systems, such as surface mount technology where the tail portions are reflow soldered to the circuit traces. Through hole technology involves inserting the tail portions of the terminals into the holes in the printed circuit board for connection, as by soldering, to circuit traces on the board and/or in the holes. FIG. 15 shows somewhat schematically a board mounted memory card connector, generally designated 12, for mounting on a printed circuit board according to the prior art and adapted for receiving existing memory cards. The connector includes a frame or housing, generally designated 14, having a front card-receiving end 16 and a rear end 18. The housing is molded of dielectric material such as plastic or the like and includes a pair of side walls 14a and 14b projecting forwardly from opposite ends of a rear terminal-mounting section 14c. A card- receiving space, generally designated 20, is formed between side walls 14a and 14b for receiving a memory card, generally designated 22, inserted into the connector in the direction of arrow "A". A card eject mechanism, generally designated 24, is mounted on side wall 14b and includes a push rod 24a pivotally connected to an ejection rod 24b which is pivoted to the rear terminal-mounting section 14c of the housing at pivot point 26. After memory card 22 is inserted into the card-receiving space 20, the card can be ejected by pushing on rod 24a in the direction of arrow "B" which, in turn, pivots a distal end of ejecting rod 24b in the direction of arrow "C" to at least partially eject the memory card from its fully connected position. Insertion of a memory card back into the connector restores the eject mechanism to its ejection condition as shown in full lines in FIG. 15. Prior art connector 12 normally is used with existing types of memory cards. Theoretically, such a configuration could be used with the new standard ExpressCard type memory card. However, present electronic devices tend to be very light, thin, short and small, and it is typically required that the memory card connector be quite miniaturized. For example, a notebook PC often requires that the width of the front end of the memory card connector approach the width of the memory card, itself, so that the memory card connector occupies the smallest amount of available area and so that the memory card connector does not affect the configurations of adjacent electronic assemblies because the available area is very limited to accommodate various connecting ports with different standards for connecting various peripheral equipment. It can be understood that the prior art connector shown in FIG. 15 requires considerable lateral area that is occupied by the side walls of the dielectric housing as well as the eject mechanism which projects outwardly from one of the side walls. The present invention is directed to solving these problems by providing a memory card connector wherein the lateral dimensions of the connector very closely proximates the width of the memory card, itself.

Summary of the Invention: An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved memory card connector of the character described. Another object of the invention is to provide a memory card connector wherein the width of the front insertion end of the connector closely proximates the width of the memory card, itself. Another object of the invention is to provide a memory card connector for receiving a standard ExpressCard, and having a card eject mechanism. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, a memory card connector includes a metal housing having a generally planar top wall and a pair of side walls defining a receiving space therebetween for receiving a memory card inserted into the receiving space through an insert opening at a front end of the housing. An insulating socket is located at a rear end of the metal housing opposite the insertion opening. A plurality of conductive terminals are mounted in the insulating socket for electrical connection to the memory card. The front end of the metal housing is wider than the rear end thereof whereby the receiving space is generally L-shaped in a plane generally parallel to the top wall of the metal housing. According to one aspect of the invention, the side walls of the metal housing define the sides of the insert opening at the front end of the metal housing. In the preferred embodiment, guide grooves are provided inside the side walls for guiding the memory card into and out of the receiving space. The metal housing preferably is stamped and formed of sheet metal material and, therefore, the front end of the metal housing and, thereby, the memory card connector closely proximates the width of the memory card, itself. According to another aspect of the invention, a card eject mechanism is located behind the wider front end of the metal housing alongside the narrower rear end of the metal housing. In the preferred embodiment, the card eject mechanism comprises a push/push type eject mechanism which includes a body and a slider movably mounted on the body. The body is located outside the metal housing alongside the narrower rear end thereof, and the slider has an arm portion projecting into the receiving space for engagement and movement with the memory card. According to other aspects of the invention, the insulating socket is located substantially entirely within the narrower rear end of the metal housing. One of the pair of side walls of the housing extends continuously from the front to the rear of the housing. The other of the pair of side walls extends from the insert opening only to the card eject mechanism Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the 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 an exploded perspective view of a memory card connector according to one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the memory card connector mounted on a printed circuit board and in conjunction with two different types of memory cards; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the insulating socket of the connector; FIG. 4 is a perspective of the card eject mechanism of the connector; FIGS. 5-8 are sequential top plan views illustrating the operation of the connector; FIG. 9 is a partially exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the invention; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the metal housing of a third embodiment of the invention; FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the connector according to the third embodiment; FIG. 12 is a bottom perspective view of a memory card connector according to a fourth embodiment of the invention; FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a memory card connector according to a fifth embodiment of the invention; FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the memory card connector of FIG. 13 receiving an

ExpressCard/34 memory card; and FIG. 15 is a top plan view of the prior art connector described in the Background, above.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments: Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the invention is incorporated in a memory card connector, generally designated 32, for mounting on a printed circuit board, generally designated 34. The connector receives a memory card, such as an ExpressCard/54 type memory card, generally designated 36, or an ExpressCard/34 type memory card, generally designated 36A. The cards are inserted into the connector in the direction of arrow "A" in FIG. 2. The connector includes an interior, insulating terminal socket, generally designated 38; an outer, shielding metal housing, generally designated 40; and an interior card eject mechanism, generally designated 42. A plurality of conductive terminals, generally designated 44 (Fig. 3), are mounted in the terminal socket. Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 1, terminal socket 38 is a one-piece structure unitarily molded of dielectric material such as plastic or the like. The socket includes a body 38a having a plurality of terminal-receiving passages 38b for receiving terminals 44. Body 38a has a front mating end 38c. As best seen in FIG. 3, when terminals 44 are mounted in terminal socket 38, the terminals have front contact ends 44a for engaging appropriate contacts on the memory card. The terminals have rear tail portions 44b for connection, as by soldering, to a plurality of circuit traces 46 (Fig. 1) on a top surface 34a of printed circuit board 34. Metal housing 40 is stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material and includes a top wall 40a and a pair of side walls 40b which define a card-receiving space, generally designated 48, therebetween. The metal housing has a wider front end portion 50 (Fig. 2) in a narrower rear end portion 52, whereby card-receiving space 48 is generally L-shaped in a horizontal plane or generally parallel to the top wall of the metal housing. A front insert opening 54 is formed at the front of the metal housing between side walls 40b thereof. Guide grooves 56 are formed in the insides of side walls 40b of the metal housing. A flexible grounding finger 58 is stamped and formed out of each side wall 40b and projects inwardly therefrom, for purposes to be described below. Finally, a spring finger 60 is stamped and formed out of top wall 40a of the metal shell, again for purposes described below. Before proceeding, and referring specifically to FIG. 2, memory card connector 36 is according to the ExpressCard/54 specification. Consequently, the memory card includes a narrower leading end portion 36a and a wider trailing end portion 36b which matches the L- shaped horizontal configuration of metal housing 40 as the memory card is inserted into the connector in the direction of arrow "A". Leading end portion 36a of the memory card has a socket (not visible in the drawing) within which a plurality of appropriate contacts are exposed for engaging contact portions 44a of terminals 44. A pair of ground contacts 36d are disposed at opposite sides of memory card 36 for engaging the flexible grounding fingers 58 of metal housing 40. As seen in FIG. 2, ExpressCard/34 36A is generally rectangular but still can be inserted into the L-shaped housing 40 of connector 32. Memory card 36A includes a leading end portion 36b having a socket (not visible in the drawing) within which a plurality of appropriate contacts are exposed for engaging contact portions 44a of terminals 44. Ground contacts 36b are disposed at opposite sides of memory card 36A, with one of the ground contacts engageable with one of the flexible grounding fingers 58 of metal housing 40. Printed circuit board 34 has a pair of ground pads 62 on top surface 34a of the board. A through hole 64 extends through the circuit board and through each ground pad 62 for receiving an appropriate fastener inserted upwardly through the hole and through the ground pad. The circuit board includes a pair of mounting holes 70 for mounting terminal socket 38 to the board, along with a pair of mounting holes 72 for mounting card eject mechanism 42 to the board. As seen in FIG. 3, terminal socket 38 has a pair of mounting posts 73 for insertion into mounting holes 70 in the printed circuit board. Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2, card eject mechanism 42 is mounted in the narrower rear end portion 52 of metal housing 40, alongside terminal socket 38. The eject mechanism is a push/push type ejector and includes a cam slider, generally designated 74, slidably mounted on a base, generally designated 76, which is fixed to printed circuit board 34 by appropriate fasteners in mounting holes 72 in the board. Base 76 has a vertical portion 76a and a body portion 76b which extends in a front-to-rear direction relative to the connector. A sliding groove 76c is formed in the top of body portion 76b for receiving a sliding body portion 74a of cam slider 74. A coil spring 78 is positioned within the rear end of groove 76c of base 76 and abuts against body portion 74a of cam slider 74 to bias the cam slider forwardly in the eject direction. Cam slider 74 has a transverse portion 74b for engaging the leading edge of leading end portion 36a (Fig. 2) of either memory card 36 or 36A. A guiding surface 74c projects upwardly from transverse portion 74b for engaging a guide finger 79 (Figs. 1 and 2) in top wall 40a of the metal housing. Still referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 1, cam slider 74 has a cam slot 80 in the top of body portion 74a which, as is known in the art, is generally heart-shaped to define the push/push movement of the memory card into and out of card-receiving space 48. Generally, a cam follower, generally designated 82, rides within cam slot 80 to control movement of cam slider 74 in its push/push action. Specifically, cam follower 82 is generally U-shaped and includes a hook portion 82a at one end thereof fixed to base 76, and a pivot portion 82b at the opposite end thereof which projects into and rides within cam slot 80. FIGS. 5-8 show how card eject mechanism 42 operates sequentially in response to insertion of memory card 36 into card-receiving space 48 of connector 32. FIG. 5 basically shows the initial or "card-out" position of the memory card relative to the connector. In this position, cam slider 74 is biased forwardly by coil spring 78. The narrower leading end portion 36a (Fig. 2) of the memory card is in engagement with transverse portion 74b of cam slider 74. Pivot portion 82b of cam follower 82 is at the front end of cam slot 80. FIG. 6 shows memory card 36 pushed inwardly in the direction of arrow "A", pushing cam slider 74 therewith. With hook portion 82a of cam follower 82 fixing the cam follower to base 76, pivot end 82b of the cam follower rides forwardly within cam slot 80 to a sort of overrun position within the slot. Upon removal of the pushing forces on memory card 36, coil spring 78 is effective to bias cam slider 74 and the memory card back outwardly, slightly to a locked position shown in FIG. 7 as defined by the interengagement of pivot end 82b of cam follower 82 within cam slot 80. The cam slider and memory card are stopped or locked at this point as is known in the art of such push/push eject mechanisms which include heart-shaped cam slots. When it is desired to eject the memory card, the card is pushed back inwardly a second time, whereupon the locked condition of the card is released as pivot end 82b of cam follower 82 moves along the cam slot, and whereupon coil spring 78 is effective to eject the card back to its "card-out" position as shown in FIG. 8 and allow the card to be withdrawn from the card-receiving space 48 of the connector. In the locked position of the card as shown in FIG. 7, appropriate contacts on the card engage contact portions 44a of terminals 44. In order to mount housing 40 to printed circuit board 34 and to ground the metal housing to ground pads 62 on the board, a grounding portion 88 projects outwardly from each side wall 40b of the metal housing as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. The grounding portions are aligned with and engage ground pads 62 on printed circuit board 34. The grounding portions have through holes which are aligned with the through holes 64 in the circuit board for receiving appropriate fasteners which fix the metal housing to the circuit board and ground the metal housing to the board through grounding portions 88 of the metal housing and grounds pads 62 of the circuit board. FIGS. 9-14 show additional embodiments of the invention. Wherever possible, like reference numerals have been applied in the following descriptions of the additional drawings to designate like components described above in relation to the first embodiment of FIGS. 1-8. With that understanding, FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, grounding portions 88 of metal housing 40 are bent inwardly rather than outwardly as shown in the first embodiment in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inwardly bent grounding portions of the second embodiment in FIG. 9, do not occupy valuable area or "real estate" on printed circuit board 34 laterally outwardly of the metal housing. Ground pads 62 on the circuit board are correspondingly conFIG.d to extend inwardly toward each other for alignment with the inwardly bent grounding portions 88 of the metal housing of the second embodiment. FIGS. 10 and 11 show a third embodiment of the invention. In the third embodiment, separate grounding members 90 are positioned on top of inwardly bent grounding portions 88 of metal housing 40. The grounding members are located on top of grounding portions 88 by mounting clips 92. Grounding members 90 have internally threaded through holes 90a which are aligned with the through holes 64 in circuit board 34 for receiving externally threaded fasteners, such as bolts, projecting upwardly through the board and threaded into the internally threaded through holes 90a of grounding members 90. FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention. This embodiment simply shows memory card connector 32 mounted to a bottom surface 34b of printed circuit board 34. This would accommodate memory cards 36 or 36A being inserted below the printed circuit board. FIGS. 13 and 14 show a fifth embodiment of the invention. The fifth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a triangularly-shaped, plate-like extension 94 projects forwardly from vertical portion 76a of base 76 of card eject mechanism 42. The triangularly- shaped extension 94 has an inwardly facing, angled camming surface 96. As can be understood from the description of the two ExpressCards 36 and 36A in FIG. 2, it can be seen that ExpressCard/34 36 is significantly narrower than the L-shaped ExpressCard/54 36A. With the front insert opening 54 of card-receiving space 48 being sufficiently wide to accept memory card 36, the insert opening obviously is wider than memory card 36A. Therefore, when memory card 36A is inserted into the connector offset from the narrower rear end portion 52 of the card- receiving space as seen in FIG. 14, a leading corner 98 of the memory card will engage camming surface 96, and the camming surface will bias the memory card laterally in the direction of arrow "B" (Fig. 14) and into the narrower rear end portion 52 of the card-receiving space. Cam slider 74 has a guide rib 100 that rides in a guide slot 102 in top wall 40a of metal housing 40. It can be seen from the various embodiments above, that metal housing 40 not only serves a function of providing an EMI shield, but the metal housing provides a guiding surface for inserting the memory card(s) into and out of memory card connector 32, particularly the ExpressCard/54 36 which is as wide as the card-receiving space 48. With the metal housing being stamped and formed of sheet metal material, the overall width of the metal housing is larger than memory card 36 only by the thicknesses of side walls 40b of the metal housing. With the side walls being of thin metal material, the lateral dimensions of the overall connector closely proximates the width of the memory card, itself. 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: What is claimed is: 1. A memory card connector, comprising: a metal housing having a generally planar top wall and a pair of side walls defining a receiving space therebetween for receiving a memory card inserted into the receiving space through an insert opening at a front end of the housing; an insulating socket at a rear end of the metal housing opposite said insert opening; a plurality of conductive terminals mounted in the insulating socket for electrical connection to the memory card; said front end of the metal housing being wider than the rear end thereof whereby said receiving space is generally L-shaped in a plane generally parallel to the top wall of the metal housing; and a card eject mechanism located behind the wider front end of the metal housing alongside the narrower rear end of the metal housing.

2. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein said insulating socket is located substantially entirely within the narrower rear end of the metal housing.

3. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein the side walls of said metal housing define the sides of said inset opening at the front end of the metal housing.

4. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein the side walls of said metal housing include inside guide grooves for guiding the memory card into and out of said receiving space.

5. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein said metal housing is stamped and formed of sheet metal material.

6. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein one of said pair of side walls of the metal housing extends continuously from the front to the rear of the metal housing.

7. The memory card connector of claim 6 wherein the other of said pair of side walls of the metal housing extends from the insert opening only to the card eject mechanism.

8. The memory card connector of claim 1 wherein said card eject mechanism comprises a push/push type eject mechanism.

9. The memory card connector of claim 8 wherein said card eject mechanism includes a body and a slider movably mounted on the body.

10. The memory card connector of claim 9 wherein said body is located alongside the metal housing and the slider has an arm portion projecting into the receiving space within the metal housing for engagement and movement with the memory card.

11. A memory card connector, comprising: a metal housing stamped and formed of sheet metal material and having a generally planar top wall and a pair of side walls defining a receiving space therebetween for receiving a memory card inserted into the receiving space through an insert opening at a front end of the housing, the side walls defining the sides of the insert opening and having inside guide grooves for guiding the memory card into and out of the receiving space; an insulating socket located substantially entirely within a rear end of the metal housing opposite said insert opening; a plurality of conductive terminals mounted in the insulating socket for electrical connection to the memory card; said front end of the metal housing being wider than the rear end thereof whereby said receiving space is generally L-shaped in a plane generally parallel to the top wall of the metal housing; and a card eject mechanism located behind the wider front end of the metal housing alongside the narrower rear end of the metal housing.

12. The memory card connector of claim 11 wherein one of said pair of side walls of the metal housing extends continuously from the front to the rear of the metal housing.

13. The memory card connector of claim 12 wherein the other of said pair of side walls of the metal housing extends from the insert opening only to the card eject mechanism.

14. The memory card connector of claim 11 wherein said card eject mechanism comprises a push/push type eject mechanism.

15. The memory card connector of claim 14 wherein said card eject mechanism includes a body and a slider movably mounted on the body.

16. The memory card connector of claim 15 wherein said body is located alongside the metal housing and the slider has an arm portion projecting into the receiving space within the metal housing for engagement and movement with the memory card.

17. A memory card connector, comprising: a metal housing stamped and formed of sheet metal material and having a generally planar top wall and a pair of side walls defining a receiving space therebetween for receiving a memory card inserted into the receiving space through an insert opening at a front end of the housing, the side walls defining the sides of the insert opening at the front end of the metal housing whereby the front end of the housing closely proximates the width of the memory card, itself; an insulating socket at a rear end of the metal housing opposite said insert opening; and a plurality of conductive terminals mounted in the insulating socket for electrical connection to the memory card.

18. The memory card connector of claim 17 wherein the side walls of said metal housing include inside guide grooves for guiding the memory card into and out of said receiving space.