JP4628304B2 - Card connector device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector device to which a card having an electrode portion is mounted, and more particularly to a small and inexpensive card connector device in which a push lock mechanism is omitted.

  A card used as an information storage medium or a communication module is electrically connected to an external circuit by being mounted on a dedicated connector device. Usually, this type of card connector device has a back portion of a card mounting space. A housing in which a plurality of terminal members are arranged, a slide member held in the housing so as to be movable forward and backward, a spring member for urging the slide member in the card ejection direction, and the card can be smoothly attached and detached. And a push lock mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This push lock mechanism is constituted by, for example, a heart-shaped cam groove formed in a slide member and a cam follower held by a housing, and the tip of the cam follower is engaged with the heart-shaped cam groove.

In the conventional card connector device generally configured as described above, when the operator inserts the card into the card mounting space of the housing, the slide member is driven to the inner side of the housing while being engaged with the card, and accordingly, the cam follower is driven. The tip of is traced in the heart-shaped cam groove. When the operator who pushes the card to the innermost position removes the pushing force, the slide member is pushed back slightly in the ejecting direction by the biasing force of the spring member, so that the cam follower is locked at the lock position of the heart-shaped cam groove. . As a result, the card engaging with the slide member is held at a predetermined mounting position, and the state in which the electrode portions of the card are brought into contact with a plurality of terminal members arranged on the back side of the card mounting space can be maintained. Since the slide member is slightly pushed back by the spring member immediately before being locked at the lock position, the card is slightly pushed back from the innermost position to a predetermined mounting position. At this time, the electrode portion of the card is Self-cleaning is performed by sliding against the terminal member of the connector device. Also, when the operator pushes the card in the attached state slightly toward the back side, the cam follower disengages from the lock position of the heart-shaped cam groove, so that the slide member moves by the biasing force of the spring member, and the card is moved to the predetermined discharge position. To be pushed out.
JP 2001-267013 A (page 2-3, FIG. 1)

  Since the conventional card connector device described above includes a push lock mechanism including a heart-shaped cam groove of the slide member and a cam follower on the housing side, the card connector device for the card can be obtained by repeatedly pushing the card. Although it can be smoothly mounted and ejected from the card connector device, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size and cost of the entire device. Therefore, in the case of a card connector device that requires very little frequency of card insertion / removal operation, it is conceivable that the push lock mechanism is omitted in order to achieve downsizing and cost reduction. Since the self-cleaning of automatically returning the card from the innermost position to the predetermined mounting position by using the member pushed back by the spring member is not performed, foreign matters such as dust adhering to the electrode portion of the card Is difficult to remove, and the problem arises that the reliability of conduction is impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation of the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to provide a card connector device having a self-cleaning function and high reliability of conduction while being small and inexpensive. It is in.

In order to achieve the above object, in the card connector device of the present invention, a base member having a card mounting space into which the front end of the card can be inserted and a back wall portion standing up at the innermost part of the card mounting space; A terminal member that is held by the base member and can be elastically contacted with the electrode portion of the card; and a cover member that is attached to the base member and covers at least an upper portion of the card mounting space. An elastic piece that extends into the card mounting space and faces the back wall portion with a gap is provided, and the elastic piece elastically contacts the tip of the card inserted into the card mounting space to eject the card. It was configured to push back to a predetermined amount.

In this way, the card connector device in which the elastic piece that can be elastically contacted with the tip of the card is provided in a part of the cover member made of sheet metal that covers at least the upper part of the card mounting space. Since the elastic piece can be elastically deformed when being pushed to the innermost position, the card can be pushed back in the ejection direction by the elastic restoring force of the elastic piece after the operator removes the pushing force. Therefore, it is possible to perform self-cleaning by sliding the electrode part of the card at the time of mounting with respect to the terminal member of the card connector device, and to ensure the reliability of conduction, even though the push lock mechanism is omitted. In addition, it is possible to promote downsizing and cost reduction of the entire apparatus. Since the cover member having the elastic piece is a member that becomes a housing of the card connector device in combination with the base member, the number of parts does not increase by attaching the elastic piece, and the cover member is made of sheet metal. It is also easy to form an elastic piece.

  In the above configuration, when the concave step portion facing the elastic piece of the cover member is formed on the back wall portion of the base member, and the elastic piece that is elastically deformed by being pushed into the card enters the concave step portion, When the tip of the card pushed in by the operator comes into contact with the back wall portion of the base member, the elastic piece that is urged by the card and elastically deformed can be released into the recessed step portion, so that the card insertion operation can be performed. A simple structure that regulates at the back wall can be adopted, which is preferable.

  Further, in the above configuration, when the elastic piece of the cover member extends substantially in the center in the width direction of the card mounting space, the card at the time of mounting is placed in the ejection direction only by providing the elastic piece at one place of the cover member. The self-cleaning operation for pressing back the fixed amount can be surely performed.

  In the card connector device of the present invention, the elastic piece provided on the cover member can be elastically deformed when the operator pushes the card to the innermost position of the card mounting space, so that the operator removes the pushing force. The card can be pushed back in the discharge direction by a predetermined amount by the elastic restoring force of the elastic piece. Therefore, it is possible to perform self-cleaning by sliding the electrode portion of the card at the time of mounting with respect to the terminal member of the card connector device, and to ensure the reliability of conduction, even though the push lock mechanism is simple. In addition, it is possible to promote downsizing and cost reduction of the entire apparatus.

  An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state where a card is mounted on a card connector device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view corresponding to FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion IV in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the card connector device, and FIG. 7 is a rear view of the card connector device, FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the card connector device, and FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the card shown in FIGS.

  1 to 8 includes a synthetic resin base member 3 holding a plurality of terminal members 2 and a sheet metal cover member 4 attached to the base member 3. Has been. The base member 3 is a molded product formed by inserting the terminal member 2 into the mold, or a molded product in which the terminal member 2 is press-fitted into the base member 3. A plurality of base members 3 are formed at a predetermined pitch on the bottom surface side of the base member 3. Terminal members 2 are arranged in a row. The base member 3 is provided with a rear wall portion 3a for positioning the vicinity of the connection terminal portion 2a of each terminal member 2 and a pair of left and right side wall portions 3b and 3c facing each other through the group of terminal members 2. The space partitioned by the back wall portion 3a and the side wall portions 3b, 3c in a substantially U shape in plan view is a card mounting space S into which the front end portion of the card 10 can be inserted (see FIG. 6). Locking claws 3d are formed on the outer surfaces of the back wall portion 3a and the side wall portions 3b and 3c to fit into the mounting holes 4b of the cover member 4 and lock the bent pieces 4a. A concave step 3e is formed at the upper center of the inner surface of the wall 3a (see FIG. 3). Each terminal member 2 has a connection terminal portion 2a soldered to a printed circuit board (not shown) on the base end side, and a contact portion 2b formed in a substantially square shape on the free end side. As shown in FIG. 6, when the card 10 is not mounted, the contact portion 2b of each terminal member 2 is in a position where it has floated greatly into the card mounting space S, but the card 10 is mounted as shown in FIG. In the state, the contact portion 2b of each terminal member 2 is in a position where it is pushed down by the card 10 and is immersed below the card mounting space S.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the cover member 4 covers the card mounting space S. The cover member 4 is provided with a bent piece 4a extending along the outer surface of the back wall portion 3a and the side wall portions 3b and 3c, and the base member is attached to the mounting hole 4b formed in the plurality of bent pieces 4a. The cover member 4 can be easily attached to the base member 3 by snap fitting in which the three locking claws 3d are inserted. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an elastic piece 4c that extends into the card mounting space S and faces the back wall 3a with a gap is provided vertically at the center near the top of the top portion of the cover member 4. The elastic piece 4c can be elastically brought into contact with the front end portion of the card 10 inserted into the card mounting space S. When the card 10 is pushed inward in the state of FIG. 3 and brought into contact with the inner surface of the back wall 3a, the elastic piece 4c is urged by the card 10 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. It is elastically deformed in the recessed step portion 3e.

  For example, the card 10 is used as a communication module including an antenna (not shown). As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of electrode portions 11 are arranged on the bottom surface of the card 10 at a pitch equivalent to the group of terminal members 2. It is arranged in a shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the card 10 can be attached to the card connector device 1 by inserting one end side of the group of electrode portions 11 into the card mounting space S. Thus, when the card 10 is mounted. Since each electrode part 11 elastically contacts the corresponding contact part 2b of the terminal member 2, the card 10 and an external circuit can be electrically connected via the connection terminal part 2a. The card 10 functions as a permanent communication module by being mounted on the card connector device 1 mounted on the printed circuit board, and the card 10 is taken out from the card connector device 1 except for inspection and repair. There is no. However, the card 10 can be easily removed from the card connector device 1 if the operator (operator) pinches the card 10 mounted on the card connector device 1 with his / her finger and pulls it out.

  Next, an operation when the card 10 is mounted on the card connector device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. When the operator performs an insertion operation of pushing the card 10 into the card mounting space S, each contact portion 2b of the terminal member 2 group is pushed down by the card 10 and bent downward, so that each contact portion 2b corresponds. Elastic contact with the electrode part 11. Further, since the upper end of the card 10 moving to the back side in the card mounting space S comes into contact with the elastic piece 4c immediately before coming into contact with the inner surface of the back wall 3a, the card 10 is further pushed into the back wall 3a. When it is brought into contact with the inner surface, the elastic piece 4c is urged by the card 10 to be elastically deformed in the recessed step portion 3e, and the insertion operation of the card 10 is restricted by the back wall portion 3a. When the operator removes the pushing force in this state, the card 10 is slightly pushed back in the ejecting direction by the elastic restoring force of the elastic piece 4c, and is held at the predetermined mounting position shown in FIGS. become.

  As described above, the card connector device 1 according to this embodiment can elastically deform the elastic piece 4c of the cover member 4 when the operator pushes the card 10 to the innermost position of the card mounting space S. After the operator removes the pushing force, the card 10 can be pushed back in the ejection direction by a predetermined amount by the elastic restoring force of the elastic piece 4c. Therefore, the card connector device 1 has a simple configuration in which the push lock mechanism is omitted, but can perform self-cleaning in which the electrode portion 11 of the card 10 at the time of mounting is slid with respect to the terminal member 2. The reliability of conduction can be ensured. Further, the omission of the push lock mechanism can promote the downsizing and cost reduction of the entire apparatus. Since the cover member 4 is a member that becomes a housing of the card connector device 1 in combination with the base member 3, the number of parts does not increase even if the elastic piece 4c is formed on the cover member 4, and the cover member Since 4 is made of sheet metal, it is easy to form the elastic piece 4c.

  Further, in the card connector device 1, a concave step portion 3e serving as a clearance space for the elastic piece 4c is formed on the back wall portion 3a of the base member 3, and the tip of the card 10 pushed into the operator is at the back. When the abutting against the wall 3a, the elastic piece 4c that is elastically deformed by being urged by the card 10 enters the recessed step 3e, so that the insertion operation of the card 10 is restricted by the back wall 3a. A simple structure can be adopted.

  If the elastic piece 4c extends substantially in the center in the width direction of the card mounting space S as in the present embodiment, the card 10 can be self-cleaning only by providing the elastic piece 4c at one location of the cover member 4. It can be done reliably. However, the elastic pieces 4 c may be arranged in a balanced manner at a plurality of locations on the cover member 4.

It is a top view which shows the state which mounted | wore the card | curd connector apparatus which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention with the card | curd. It is a side view corresponding to FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the III-III line of FIG. It is the IV section enlarged view of FIG. It is a top view of this card connector device. It is a front view of this card connector device. It is a rear view of this card connector device. It is a bottom view of this card connector device. It is a bottom view of the card | curd used for this card | curd connector apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector apparatus 2 Terminal member 2b Contact part 3 Base member 3a Back wall part 3e Concave step part 4 Cover member 4c Elastic piece 10 Card 11 Electrode part S Card mounting space

Claims (3)

A base member having a card mounting space in which a front end of the card can be inserted and a back wall portion standing up at the innermost portion of the card mounting space, and held by the base member and capable of elastically contacting the electrode portion of the card A terminal member and a sheet metal cover member attached to the base member and covering at least the upper portion of the card mounting space;
The cover member is provided with an elastic piece that extends into the card mounting space and opposes the back wall with a gap, and the elastic piece elastically contacts the tip of the card inserted into the card mounting space. A card connector device characterized in that the card is pushed back a predetermined amount in the ejection direction.   2. A concave step portion facing the elastic piece is formed in the back wall portion of the base member according to claim 1, and the elastic piece which is elastically deformed by being pushed into a card enters the concave step portion. A card connector device.   3. The card connector device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic piece extends substantially in the center in the width direction of the card mounting space.

Images