JP4668467B2 - Card connector with terminal protector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a card connector for connecting a small and thin card-type device, and more particularly to a technique of a card connector provided with a terminal protection device when a card is inserted.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a card connector including an ejecting device in which a card is inserted into a connector body at a set position and ejected from the set position by a so-called push-push operation.
[0003]
This type of card connector is described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-75983, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-150387, and the like. In the card connectors described in these publications, a terminal member having a contact corresponding to the electrical contact terminal on the card side is incorporated in the connector body. Furthermore, the connector body holds a slider slidably forward and backward in the card insertion direction. And it is designed so that when the card is inserted, the leading end of the card hits the engaging portion on the slider side, and the slider is pushed together with the card.
[0004]
Further, a cam mechanism is employed to enable push / push operations. This cam mechanism is composed of a combination of a cam portion and a pin member corresponding to the cam portion, and is arranged so as to be distributed between the lower surface of the slider and the bottom surface of the connector body corresponding to the lower surface. In this card connector, since the cam portion and the pin member are distributed and arranged in the thickness direction of the connector body, it is difficult to reduce the thickness of the entire card connector.
[0005]
As a card connector in consideration of this point, for example, a connector described in JP-A-11-135192 is known. The card connector described in this publication is equipped with a cam mechanism for alternatively positioning the slider at its forward position, backward position, and an intermediate position thereof. Then, the cam portion and the pin member of the cam mechanism are divided and arranged on the side portion of the slider and the side wall of the connector body facing the side portion, thereby achieving a reduction in thickness.
[0006]
Among this type of card connector, a small-sized card including a memory stick having a length of about several centimeters is used in a connector for a small and thin card that has been attracting attention in recent years. Therefore, in this type of card connector, in order to contribute to miniaturization and weight reduction of electronic devices (for example, mobile computers, digital cameras, portable digital video cameras, etc.) on which the card connector is mounted, further miniaturization of the card connector itself, In addition, the thickness is reduced.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the card connector provided with the push-push type eject device, the card size is small, so that it is difficult to distinguish the front and back of the card itself from the front and the back. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether the card insertion mode is normal. For this reason, in the existing card connector, the following erroneous insertion patterns (1) to (3) have occurred.
[0008]
(1) Incorrect insertion by inserting the card back and forth in the connector body.
(2) Incorrect insertion due to reverse insertion of the card into the connector body.
(3) Reverse insertion of the card back and forth + reverse insertion of the card upside down ((1) + (2)).
[0009]
When such erroneous insertion occurs, it causes damage or bending of the terminal member provided in the connector body and the electrical contact of the card that contacts the terminal member.
[0010]
Here, there is a connector that has already been adopted as a measure for preventing reverse insertion in (1). For example, a stopper rib is provided on the front side of the contact portion of the terminal member (contact) in the housing, and the stopper rib prevents a further insertion of a card that has been reversely inserted in the front-rear direction (butt insertion).
[0011]
However, there was a problem with this measure. That is, when a force of about several kilograms is applied to the card inserted in the butt, the card is inserted over the stopper rib. At this time, a force that decenters the card is applied as a reaction to the card by the stopper rib, so that a large displacement force is applied to the terminal member at a portion opposite to the portion where the stopper rib is provided. As a result, there is a problem that “sagging” occurs in the terminal member and the contact force (repulsive force) of the contact portion is reduced.
[0012]
Therefore, the subject of this invention is providing the card connector with a terminal protection apparatus which can protect a terminal member effectively, even when the insertion aspect of a card | curd is not normal and it is incorrect insertion.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A card connector with a terminal protection device according to the present invention includes a card that is electrically connected by insertion into a connector body, the connector body includes a housing provided with a terminal member that contacts an electrical contact of the card, A metal shell covering the housing, a card insertion slot provided between the metal shell and the housing, and a displacement means for displacing the card to the metal shell side during card insertion when the card insertion mode is not normal. It was set as the structure provided.
[0014]
According to the present invention, the displacement means for displacing the card to the metal shell side during the card insertion is provided. Thereby, when the insertion mode of the card with respect to the insertion slot is not normal, the card can be separated from the terminal member during the card insertion. Therefore, even when the card is erroneously inserted, the terminal member can be effectively protected.
[0015]
The card displacing means is preferably constituted by a rib provided on the housing. This is because the housing is usually made of resin, and ribs can be formed together when the housing is molded. Therefore, it is possible to adopt a configuration that does not require a separate member for the displacement means.
[0016]
The rib preferably includes a guide slope toward the metal shell side in the card insertion direction. This is because the card can be surely displaced toward the metal shell by the guide slope. Further, since it is a simple slope, it can be formed at the same time as the rib is formed.
[0017]
The metal shell preferably includes an upper plate portion that covers the surface of the connector body and left and right side plate portions, and the upper plate portion is formed of a metal plate that can be bent in a direction away from the housing. If comprised in this way, the property of the metal plate which can be bent can be used effectively. That is, the displacement force toward the upper plate portion applied to the card by the displacement means can be absorbed by the curved deformation of the upper plate portion. Thereby, the protective effect of a terminal member is exhibited more effectively.
[0018]
When the card insertion mode is normal, it is desirable that the front shape of the card insertion slot and the end surface shape in the card insertion direction match each other. In this way, when the card insertion mode is normal, the card insertion is allowed, and when it is not normal, the card insertion is restricted. In particular, in the case of reverse insertion in the front and rear direction, the insertion is possible at the beginning as in the normal insertion, but the terminal member is protected by being displaced so as to be lifted to the metal shell side during the insertion.
[0019]
It is desirable that thin portions extending in the length direction of the card are formed on both sides of the card, and the thin portions are formed by stepped portions provided on the back surface of the card. When thin portions are formed on both sides of the card, the end face of the card is not rectangular. That is, the key portion is formed by the thin portion with respect to the thick portion.
[0020]
It is desirable that an opening is provided in the upper plate portion of the metal shell. When an opening is provided in the upper plate portion, the upper plate portion can be more easily deformed by bending.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a connector for a card having a compact part and a thin part will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a housing of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the connector body as viewed from the insertion port side. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a case where the card is inserted into the connector body in a normal state or a reverse insertion in the front-rear direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the outer shape.
[0022]
The card connector 1 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape as a whole. The connector 1 includes an ejection device EJ for a card C that is inserted into the connector body B. The connector body B includes a housing 2 having an insertion slot 21 for the card C and a metal shell 3 that covers the housing 2. The housing 2 is formed of an insulating resin, and includes a bottom plate portion 2a, left and right side wall portions 22 and 23, and a terminal mounting portion 24 provided near one end of the housing 2.
[0023]
The metal shell 3 is formed by punching and bending a thin metal plate having a spring property, and has an upper plate portion 31 and left and right side plate portions 32 and 33. The metal shell 3 is formed of a conductive metal plate so as to exhibit the electromagnetic shielding function of the entire connector. An opening 35 is provided in the upper plate portion 31 of the metal shell 3. By providing the opening 35 in the upper plate portion 31, the upper plate portion 31 is more easily deformed by bending.
[0024]
A plurality of terminal members 4 having contact portions 4 a that come into contact with the electrical contacts e of the card C are mounted on the terminal mounting portion 24. These terminal members 4 are provided at intervals in the width direction of the housing 2. The number of terminal members is from No. 1 to No. 9, as shown in FIG. Each terminal member 4 includes a solder tail 4b connected to a circuit board (not shown) in addition to the contact portion 4a that contacts the electrical contact e of the card C. The contact portion 4a and the solder tail 4b are arranged at positions farther away from the insertion opening 21 of the card C in the insertion direction (opposite side) of the card C.
[0025]
In this embodiment, there is provided a displacement means 20 for displacing the card C toward the metal shell 3 during the insertion of the card C when the insertion mode of the card C is not normal, that is, when the card C is inserted backward and forward. The reason why the displacement means 20 is provided is to ensure that the card C is separated from the terminal member 4 when the insertion mode of the card C with respect to the insertion slot 21 is reverse insertion. Thereby, consideration is given so that the terminal member 4 can be effectively protected even when the card C is erroneously inserted.
[0026]
Here, the displacement means 20 of the card C is constituted by a rib provided on the housing 2. This is because the housing 2 is made of resin, and the ribs 20f can be formed together when the housing 2 is molded. Therefore, a member for the displacing means 20 need not be provided separately.
[0027]
The rib 20f is provided with a guide slope 20g toward the metal shell 3 as it goes in the card C insertion direction. This is because the card C can be surely displaced toward the metal shell 3 by the guide slope 20g. Moreover, since it is a simple slope, it can be formed simultaneously with the formation of the rib 20f.
[0028]
The metal shell 3 includes the upper plate portion 31 and the left and right side plate portions 32 and 33 that cover the surface of the connector body B as described above, and is formed of a metal plate that can be bent in a direction in which the upper plate portion 31 moves away from the housing 3. Has been. This configuration is to enable effective use of the properties of the bendable metal plate. That is, the displacement force to the upper plate portion 31 side applied to the card C by the displacement means 20 can be absorbed by the curved deformation of the upper plate portion 31. Thereby, the protective effect of the terminal member 4 is more effectively exhibited.
[0029]
The displacement means 20 is provided between the 7th and 8th terminal members 4 in the example shown in FIG.
That is, it is a position close to the left as viewed from the insertion direction of the card C. The reason is as described later. A stopper rib 90 is provided at a portion where the ninth terminal member 4 on the side opposite to the displacement means 20 (on the right side in FIG. 1) is provided.
[0030]
The stopper rib 90 is a rib for preventing the card C from being inserted backwards and forwards (butt insertion). The height of the stopper rib 90 is set low (about 1/3 of the thickness of the card C). The position of the stopper portion 91 of the stopper rib 90 is closer to the card insertion direction (the insertion port 21 side) than the contact portion 4a of the terminal member 4. Therefore, when the card C is inserted into the bottom, the stopper portion 91 prevents further entry.
[0031]
Here, when a strong force is applied to the card C, the upper plate portion 31 is curved upward and the card C can be inserted. The card C is decentered by the reaction at that time, and a larger displacement force than usual is applied to the 7th and 8th terminal members 4 on the side opposite to the stopper rib 90. However, since the card C is displaced toward the upper plate portion 31 by the displacing means 20, it does not come into strong contact with the contact portion 4a of the terminal member 4. As a result, the terminal member 4 is reliably protected. That is, it is possible to eliminate the cause that the terminal member 4 is sag and the contact force is weakened.
[0032]
This is the reason why the displacement means 20 is provided between the 7th and 8th terminal members 4 in order to suppress the displacement force of the card C. However, the position where the displacement means 20 is provided is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, it may be provided between No. 4 and No. 8.
[0033]
As shown in FIG. 3, when the insertion mode of the card C is normal, the front shape of the insertion slot 21 and the end surface shape in the insertion direction of the card C (substantially the same as the shape shown by hatching in FIG. 3) match each other. I'm doing it. With this configuration, when the insertion mode of the card C is normal, insertion of the card C is allowed, and when it is not normal, insertion of the card C is restricted (prevented).
[0034]
A specific shape of the card C will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, a thin portion 11 extending in the length direction of the card C is formed on both sides of the card C, and the thin portion 11 is formed by a step portion 11 a provided on the back surface of the card C. . By forming the thin portions 11 on both sides of the card C, the end face (end portion) 10 of the card C does not become rectangular. That is, the key portion is formed by the thin portion 11 with respect to the thick portion 12. Accordingly, the inner wall of the insertion slot 21 of the card C is provided with convex portions 22a and 23a that enter toward the stepped portion 11a.
[0035]
The electrical contacts e of the card C are arranged in two rows on one side (front surface) of the card C with an interval in the insertion direction of the card C, and each row extends in the width direction of the card C (see FIG. 4). This is because when the electrical contacts e are arranged on one side of the card C, it becomes easier to consider a reduction in the size and thickness of the connector as compared with the case where the electrical contacts e are provided on both sides. That is, when the electrical contacts e are provided on both sides of the card C, the terminal member 4 must also be provided in two stages with respect to the housing 2, and the connector itself becomes thicker accordingly.
[0036]
The ejecting device EJ is pushed in along with the insertion of the card C, and slides between a forward position that is the mounting position of the card C and a backward position that is the initial insertion position of the card C, and the slider 5 is moved to the card. The coil spring 6 is urged so as to return to the backward position side of C, and the cam mechanism 7 restricts the sliding operation of the slider 5 (see FIG. 1).
[0037]
The cam mechanism 7 is provided on the surface of the slider 5, and includes a first guide groove that determines the advance position of the slider 5, a second guide groove (none of which is shown) that determines the retract position of the slider 5, and each guide. And a pin member 8 that is guided along the groove and determines the slide position of the slider 5.
[0038]
The slider 5 is accommodated in a recess provided along the side of the housing 2 and covered with the metal shell 3.
[0039]
In this embodiment, when the card C is inserted backwards and forwards (butt insertion), the card 10 is displaced so that the end 10 of the card C is lifted by the guide slope 20 g of the displacement means 20, and the end 10 is the upper plate 31. Is bent upward. At this time, the position where the displacing means 20 and the stopper rib 90 are provided is on the near side of the contact portion 4a, so that each contact portion 4a is reliably protected.
[0040]
When the insertion mode of the card C is normal, the displacing means 20 and the stopper rib 90 almost do not function and can be inserted to the normal set position.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the card connector of the present invention, it is possible to provide a card connector with a terminal protection device that can effectively protect a terminal member even when the card insertion mode is not normal but erroneous insertion. be able to.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a housing of a card connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of the card connector according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the insertion port side.
FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing the relationship between the card connector insertion slot and the card according to the embodiment of the present invention.
4A and 4B show a card connector card according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view, FIG. 4B is a side view, and FIG. 4C is an end view.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector 2 Housing 2a Bottom plate part 20 Displacement means 20g Guide slope 21 Insert port 22 Side wall part 23 Side wall part 22a, 23a Convex part 3 Metal shell 31 Upper plate part 32, 33 Side plate part 4 Terminal member 4a Contact part 4b Solder tail 5 Slider 6 Coil spring 7 Cam mechanism 8 Pin member 10 End portion 11 Thin portion 11a Step portion 12 Thick portion B Connector body C Card e Electrical contact EJ Ejecting device

Claims (7)

A card connector comprising a card electrically connected by insertion into a connector body,
The connector body includes a housing provided with a terminal member that contacts an electrical contact of the card;
A metal shell covering the housing,
A card insertion slot provided between the metal shell and the housing;
A stopper rib for preventing entry in the middle of card insertion when the card insertion mode is not normal;
Displacement means provided on the side opposite to the stopper rib in the arrangement direction of the terminal members, and for displacing the card to the metal shell side during card insertion when the card insertion mode is not normal,
The end of the stopper rib on the card insertion side is located closer to the card insertion side than the end of the displacement means on the card insertion side,
Card connector with terminal protector.   The card connector with a terminal protection device according to claim 1, wherein the card displacing means is constituted by a rib provided on the housing.   The card connector with a terminal protection device according to claim 2, wherein the rib includes a guide slope toward the metal shell side toward an insertion direction of the card.   The metal shell includes an upper plate portion that covers a surface of the connector body and left and right side plate portions, and is formed of a metal plate that can be bent in a direction away from the housing. The card connector with a terminal protection device as described.   The card connector with a terminal protection device according to claim 1, wherein when the card insertion mode is normal, the front shape of the card insertion slot and the end surface shape in the card insertion direction match each other. The card connector with a terminal protection device according to claim 1, wherein a thin portion extending in a length direction of the card is formed on both sides of the card, and the thin portion is formed by a step portion provided on the back surface of the card. . Wherein the upper plate of the metal shell opening is provided, the terminal protection device with the card connector according to any one of claims 1-6.

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