JPH0338956Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The present invention relates to a connector used to electrically connect a ROM card or IC card storing a computer program to a device equipped with a computer. .

[Conventional technology]

The ROM card is packaged with contacts provided on one side of the printed wiring board on which the ROM is wired and exposed to the outside. When this ROM card is inserted into the connector, the ROM card's printed wiring board is configured to be electrically connected to the main printed wiring board on the device main body side. Connectors that perform such functions are often used, for example, in television game machines, which have become popular in recent years.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional example of a connector. This connector is inserted into the card holding hole 2 of body 1.
As the card 3 is inserted, the curved contacts 6 formed on the contact piece 5 of the conductive piece 4 built into the body 1 rub against the ROM card 3 and are pushed outward as shown by the arrow. is,
When the ROM card 3 is inserted into the set position, the contacts 6 are configured to come into elastic contact with the contacts of the ROM card 3.

Further, FIG. 8 shows another conventional example of a connector. This connector rotates an expanding member 7 provided on a body 1 by a predetermined angle (for example, 90 degrees) in one direction to push away a conductive piece 4 held on the body 1 outward against elasticity. If the ROM card 3 is inserted from the insertion slot 2, the contacts of the ROM card 3 will not rub against the contacts 6 of the conductive piece 5, and after inserting the ROM card 3 into the set position, the expansion member 7 By rotating the conductive piece 4 by a predetermined angle in the opposite direction as shown by the imaginary line in the figure, the elasticity of the contact piece portion 5 of the conductive piece 4 causes the contact 6 to
When the contact 6 is returned to its original position, this contact 6
It is configured to make elastic contact with the contacts of the ROM card 3.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in the connector shown in FIG. 7, if the contacts 6 of the conductive piece 4 are brought into strong elastic contact with the contacts of the ROM card 3 to ensure continuity, a large insertion force will be required when inserting the ROM card 3. Not only does this make the insertion operation difficult, but when the ROM card 3 is inserted or removed, the contacts on the ROM card 3 and the contacts 6 on the conductive piece 4 may rub against each other, causing one or both of the contacts to be scraped. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to suppress the quality deterioration by reducing the preload of the contact piece portion 5 of the conductive piece 4, the contact pressure between the contacts decreases, which tends to cause poor conduction. Therefore, in order to suppress the quality deterioration of the contacts as much as possible in the connector shown in the same figure and to ensure good conduction, it is necessary not only to set the preload of the contact piece 5 appropriately, but also to It is necessary to use expensive high-performance spring material, and to make the plating layer of contact 6 thicker.
This was a factor in increasing costs. However, since the ROM card 3 is removed from the connector when not in use, it tends to be inserted and removed frequently, and even if the above-mentioned measures are taken, there is a problem in that the quality of the contacts deteriorates significantly.

On the other hand, in the connector shown in FIG. 8, if the contact piece portion 5 of the conductive piece 4 is pushed outward by the expanding member 7, the contact will be inserted into the contact 6 of the conductive piece 4 when the ROM card 3 is inserted or removed. Since the contacts do not rub against each other, even if the preload of the conductive piece 4 is increased to ensure reliable conduction, quality deterioration due to contact abrasion, which has been improved, is suppressed. However, this connector requires the expansion member 7 and various necessary parts to operate it, which complicates the configuration. In addition, each time the ROM card 3 is inserted or removed, the expansion member 7 There is a problem in that the operation is very troublesome because it has to be operated.

A similar problem exists with connectors that use IC cards instead of ROM cards.

This invention solves the above problems, and the ROM
The purpose of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive connector that is not troublesome to operate and is less likely to cause deterioration in the quality of the contacts by having a structure in which the contact portion of the conductive piece is displaced in conjunction with the operation of inserting and removing a card. do.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the connector of the present invention has a body equipped with a card holding hole into which a card equipped with contacts is inserted and removed, and a conductive piece with a fully shaped contact piece having spring properties on the tip side is held. In addition, the contact piece portion is provided with a contact that connects and separates from the contact of the card, and the tip of the card inserted into the card holding hole rides on a predetermined location on the bottom surface of the card holding hole. A guide surface is provided, and when the tip of the card rides on this guide surface, the contacts of the card abut the contacts of the contact piece, and after this contact, the contact piece loses its springiness. It is characterized by being configured so that it can be pushed up against the

Of course, the above card may be a ROM card or an IC card.

[Effect]

When a card is inserted into the card holding hole, the contacts of the card do not rub against the contacts of the contact piece until the leading end of the card reaches the guide surface, or even if they do rub, the contact pressure at that time is very small. When the tip of the card begins to climb up onto the guide surface,
The contacts on the card come into contact with the contacts on the contact piece, and from that point forward, the contacts on the card push up the contact piece against the spring force while remaining in contact with the contacts on the contact piece. Therefore, when the tip of the card completely rides on the guide surface, that is, when the card reaches the set position, the spring force of the contact piece causes the contacts of this contact piece to contact the card contacts. comes into ballistic contact with.

Conversely, when the card is pulled out from the set position and the leading end of the card begins to descend on the guide surface, the contact piece gradually begins to return to its original position due to its spring force as it descends. After the contact piece completely returns to its original position, the contacts of the card separate from the contacts of the contact piece. After this, the contacts of the card are pulled out without being rubbed by the contacts of the contact piece.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the connector.

The body 10 of the connector is constituted by a combination of a body main body 11 and a cover 12 made of plastic molding. The body main body 11 is
Bottom wall 13, rear wall 14, left and right side walls 15, 15
, a protrusion 16 protruding forward from the upper end of the rear wall 14 , and a support 17 facing the protrusion 16 with an interval and provided between the left and right side walls 15 , 15 . and a card holding hole 18 surrounded by these parts.

The card holding hole 18 opens at the front end surface of the main body 11, and a guide surface 19 is provided at the edge of the opening and is inclined to expand outward. Further, the left and right ends of the card holding hole 18 are connected to the bottom wall 13 and the side walls 15,
15, and serves as a guide groove 18a. Further, at the rear end of the bottom surface 20 of the card holding hole 18, that is, at a location near the rear wall 14, the rear wall 14
A guide surface 21 is provided which is inclined so as to be almost at the upper level approaching . Two slit-shaped holes 22 are provided at four equally spaced locations on the front end of the bottom wall 13. The front end portion of the protruding portion 16 becomes thinner as it approaches the tip, and this portion serves as an engaging portion 23 that supports an intermediate portion of a conductive piece 38, which will be described later. Further, the protrusion 16 has ribs 24 at a plurality of locations equally spaced in the width direction. Note that these ribs 15 reach the lower end of the rear wall 14. The support portion 17 has a stepped portion 25 facing the protruding portion 16, and the stepped portion 25 is divided by partitions 26 provided at equal intervals. Furthermore, claw portions 27 that protrude forward are provided at a plurality of locations on the support portion 17. Further, the opening 28 between the support portion 17 and the protruding portion 16 is also partitioned by a number of partitions 29 . A groove 30 extending in the front-rear direction is provided on the outer surface of the side wall 15.

The cover 12 is U-shaped in plan view, and the left and right side walls 31 are provided with protrusions 32 that fit into and engage with the grooves 30, and the lower end of the rear wall 33 is provided with the lower end of the rib 24. A claw portion 34 that engages with is provided. Furthermore, a hole 36 is formed in the front wall 35 and is engaged with the claw portion 27 of the body main body 11.

38 is a conductive piece. The conductive piece 38 is made of an elongated spring plate, and has a contact piece 39 on the distal end side of the engagement part with the engagement part 23, and the middle part of the contact piece 39 is bent in an inverted C-shape to form a contact 40. It is said that Before assembly, a large number of conductive pieces 38 are connected by tie bars (not shown). Further, the lead portion 41 of the conductive piece 38 is bent at a predetermined point at an angle close to a right angle. Furthermore, edge-shaped protrusions 42 are provided at predetermined locations on the lead portion 41.

43 is a card support. This card support 43 has two inverted U-shaped legs 44, 44, and these legs 44, 44 are provided with edge-shaped protrusions 45, 45. Furthermore, a terminal 46 is provided extending from one leg portion 44 .

The body 11, cover 12, conductive piece 38, and card support 43 described above are assembled as shown in FIG. In this assembled state, the lead portion 41 of the conductive piece 38 is fitted between the ribs 24, 24 of the protrusion 16, as shown in FIG.
Then, as shown in detail in FIG.
The protrusion 42 bites into the rib 24 and the lead portion 4
1 to the protrusion 16 firmly without wobbling. Furthermore, a preload is applied to the contact piece portion 39 of the conductive piece 38. Therefore, in the natural state, the contact piece portion 39 is in the state shown by the imaginary line in FIG. , 29 into the card holding hole 18. Further, the tip end 39a of the contact piece portion 39 is supported by the stepped portion 25 of the support portion 17. Card support 43
is fixed to the bottom wall 13 of the main body 11 by inserting its legs 44, 44 into the holes 22, 22. In this fixed state, the card support 4
The arcuate upper end 43a of No. 3 is connected to the card holding hole 18.
protrudes into the interior.

In the above configuration, the conductive piece 38 is almost entirely covered by the cover 12 to prevent dust from deteriorating its performance due to adhesion of dust. Further, the terminals 46 of the card support 43 are fixed to the printed wiring board of the main body of the device by soldering or the like. This reliably prevents the connector from rising from the printed wiring board.

FIG. 6 shows the dimensional relationship between each part. In the figure, l ₁ is the width of the card holding hole 18 on the front side of the guide surface 21, l ₂ is the width of the card holding hole 18 on the rear side of the guide surface 21, and h is the contact into the card holding hole 18. 40, a is the vertical distance between the upper end 43a of the card support 43 and the upper surface of the guide groove 18a, and t is
The thickness of the ROM card 50 is shown. Here, t≒a=l ₂ =(l ₁ -h)... However, t is smaller than a and l ₂ .

The relationship is established.

Next, the function of the above connector will be explained.

A state in which the ROM card 50 is inserted into the card holding hole 18 and its tip is butted against the lower end of the guide surface 21 is shown in phantom lines in FIG. In this state, the tip 50a of the ROM card 50 is in contact with the bottom surface 20 of the card holding hole 18, and
The middle part of the ROM card 50 is the card support 43
It is supported by the upper end portion 43a of. Also,
The contacts of the ROM card 50 are not in contact with the contacts 40 of the contact piece portion 39, or even if they are in contact, the contact pressure is close to zero. When the ROM card 50 is further pushed in from this state, the leading end 50a of the ROM card 50 begins to ride up on the guide surface 21. As a result, the contacts of the ROM card 50 come into contact with the contacts 40 of the contact piece portion 39, and after this contact point, the contacts of the ROM card 50 come into contact with the contacts 40 of the contact piece portion 39.
0, the contact piece portion 39 is pushed up against the spring force. Therefore, ROM card 50
When the tip 50a of the ROM card 50 completely rides on the guide surface 21, that is, when the tip 50a of the ROM card 50 reaches the set position where it touches the rear wall 14 as shown in FIG. The force causes the contact 40 of this contact piece portion 39 to ROM.
It makes elastic contact with the contacts of the card 50. . In this state, the ROM card 5 is held by the card support 43.
0 is supported, and the leading end 50a of the ROM card 50 is completely on top of the guide surface 21, and furthermore, t≒ as shown in the above formula.
Because the ROM card 50 is securely held in the card holding hole 18 without wobbling due to the relationship a=l ₂ ,
The contacts of the ROM card 50 and the contacts 40 of the contact piece portion 39 are reliably electrically connected. Television game machines and the like are used in this state. Note that if the inclination angle θ of the guide surface 21 shown in FIG. The difference in height between the upper end and the lower end becomes smaller, making it impossible to obtain sufficient elastic contact force between the contacts. Therefore, the above-mentioned inclination angle should be appropriately selected in consideration of these matters.

When the tip 50a of the ROM card 50 begins to descend on the guide surface 21 as the ROM card 50 is pulled out from the set position, the contact piece 39 gradually returns to its original position due to its spring force. Starts to come back. After the contact piece 39 has completely returned to its original position, the ROM card 5
0 contact is contact 40 of contact piece part 39
turn away from After this, the contacts of the ROM card are pulled out without being rubbed by the contacts 40 of the contact piece portion 39.

In the above, when the ROM card 50 is inserted, the contacts of the ROM card 50 contact the contacts 40 of the contact piece portion 39, and then the ROM card 50 is inserted.
Until the card 50 reaches the set position and when pulling out the ROM card 50
The contacts 40 of the contact piece 39 rub against the contacts of the ROM card 50 from the time the ROM card 50 begins to retreat from the set position until the contact piece completely returns to its original position. The rubbing of the contacts against each other in this case is useful for so-called self-cleaning of the contacts, and is convenient for maintaining good performance of the contacts.

In addition, instead of the ROM card 50 mentioned above, an IC
The same applies to connectors using cards.

[Effect of idea]

Since the connector of the present invention is constructed as described above, even if a large preload is applied to the contact portion of the conductive piece, the contacts are less likely to be scraped due to rubbing against each other, and the quality of the contacts is improved. Maintains well over a long period of time. Therefore, the connector has a long service life. Nevertheless, it has a simple configuration of just providing a guide surface in the card holding hole, and does not require the troublesome operations required in the conventional example shown in Figure 8, making it a compact, easy-to-use, and inexpensive connector. .
In addition, the contacts on the card and the contacts on the contact piece rub against each other only for a certain period of time when the tip of the card is climbing up or down the guide surface; This occurs along with the movement of the contact piece being pushed up by the force, so even if the preload is increased as described above, the force required to insert the card can be small.
Therefore, when applied to a connector having a large number of contacts, the card insertion force does not become large in proportion to the number of contacts, so usability is greatly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the connector, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the state when the ROM card is in the set position. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a sectional view for explaining the action of the protrusion of the conductive piece, Fig. 6 is an explanatory drawing showing the mutual dimensional relationship of each part, and Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional example, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of another conventional example. 10...Body, 18...Card holding hole, 20
...Bottom surface of card holding hole, 21 ...Guide surface, 3
8... Conductive piece, 39... Contact piece portion, 40... Contact, 50... Card, 50a... Card tip.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A body having a card holding hole into which a card equipped with contacts is inserted and removed holds a conductive piece having a springy contact part formed on the tip side, and a conductive piece having a spring contact part formed on the tip side. A contact is provided that moves toward and away from the card holding hole, and an inclined guide surface is provided at a predetermined location on the bottom of the card holding hole, on which the tip of the card inserted into the card holding hole rides, and the tip of the card rides on this guide surface. When climbing up on the card, the contacts on this card come into contact with the contacts on the contact piece,
A connector characterized in that the contact piece portion is configured to be pushed up against its spring property after this contact.