JP5681524B2 - Card connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card connector to which a small card such as a SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module Card) is connected.

Conventionally, as a card connector to which a card such as a memory card is connected, a connector adopting a so-called push-push type eject mechanism is known (see Patent Document 1).
The card connector described in Patent Document 1 includes a housing in which a card is inserted and a plurality of contacts are attached, and a push-push type eject mechanism that is disposed in the housing and ejects the card in the card ejection direction. I have. The eject mechanism includes a slider that abuts the front end of the card and is urged by a spring member in the card ejection direction to eject the card, and a cam that stops the slider at the fitting position and the ejection position along the card ejection direction. Mechanism.

  In the card connector provided with this push-push type eject mechanism, the card is inserted when the slider is at the ejection position (the most retracted position). When the card is inserted, the front end of the card comes into contact with the slider. At this point, the rear end of the card protrudes from the connector. When the rear end of the card is further pressed, the slider moves forward to a fitting position, the card and the contact are electrically connected, and the card insertion is completed. When ejecting the card, the card is pressed again from the card insertion completion state to release the card. Then, the slider moves backward by the action of the spring member to the discharge position, and the card also moves backward together with the slider. Thereby, the card protrudes from the connector, and the card can be discharged.

JP 2005-353372 A

  By the way, in recent years, so-called SIM cards have become widespread as IC cards in which a unique ID number for specifying a telephone subscriber used in a mobile phone is recorded. This SIM card was not originally intended to be frequently inserted into and ejected from the card connector. However, recently, there has been a demand for applications in which card connectors are frequently inserted and ejected.

The SIM card is smaller in size than the card connected to the card connector described in Patent Document 1. In particular, what is called a micro-SIM card has outer dimensions of a width of 15 mm, a depth of 12 mm, and a thickness of 0.76 mm.
Therefore, when the card connector described in Patent Document 1 is employed to insert and eject a small SIM card, the operability of inserting and ejecting the card becomes extremely difficult.

  That is, in the card connector described in Patent Document 1, when the card is inserted into the card connector and the front end of the card comes into contact with the slider (when the slider is at the ejection position), the rear end of the card is It will protrude from the connector. Here, if the card is a small SIM card, the protruding length is extremely small. In this state, it is necessary to further press the rear end of the card by manual operation. However, since the protruding length of the card is small and there are no operation members other than the card, the operability of card insertion becomes extremely difficult.

Even when the card is ejected, the card projects from the connector at the slider ejection position. At this time, if the card is a small SIM card, the protruding length is extremely small. In this state, it is necessary to eject the card by manual operation. However, since the protruding length of the card is small and there is no operation member other than the card, the operability of card ejection becomes extremely difficult.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is a so-called push-push type eject mechanism that improves the operability of insertion and ejection of a small card such as a SIM card. It is providing the connector for cards provided with.

In order to achieve the above object, a card connector according to claim 1 of the present invention is a housing in which a card is inserted and a contact that contacts a conductive pad of the card is attached, and the card is disposed in the housing. A push-push type eject mechanism for ejecting the card in the eject direction, the eject mechanism abutting against the front portion of the card, and urged by a spring member in the card eject direction, and a fitting position and a pressing position And a card connector provided with a slider that can move between the discharge positions and a cam mechanism , wherein the slider is movable to a pull-out position that protrudes rearward from the discharge position and is formed integrally with the slider. It is, have a projection extending along the rear side of the card so as to contact with the card, the slider, the cam base portion The cam mechanism includes a heart-shaped cam groove formed on the cam base and a cam rod that swings along the cam groove. A linear portion that extends, a first bypass portion that deviates in the width direction from the rear end of the linear portion, a second detour portion that deviates in the width direction from the rear end of the linear portion, and the first detour portion And a connecting part that connects the second bypass part .

A card connector according to a second aspect of the present invention is the card connector according to the first aspect, wherein the protrusion has an engaging portion with a claw.
Furthermore, the card connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the card connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the protruding portion extends from one end in the width direction of the card to a substantially central portion in the width direction. It is characterized by extending along the rear edge of the card.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the card connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the protrusion extends from one end in the width direction to the other end in the width direction of the card. It is characterized by extending along the rear edge of the card.

  According to the card connector of the present invention, the slider can be moved to the drawer position that protrudes rearward from the ejection position, and is formed integrally with the slider along the rear edge of the card so as to contact the card. And a projecting portion that extends. Therefore, in the card insertion operation, the card is inserted into the housing at the drawer position where the slider protrudes rearward from the ejection position, the front part of the card is brought into contact with the slider, and the rear end side of the card is set to the slider. It is made to contact | abut to the protrusion part. And a card | curd can be inserted by pressing the protrusion part of a slider from a rear side and advancing a slider and a card | curd. Therefore, when the card is inserted, the projecting portion of the slider may be pressed from the rear side with a long projecting length from the rear end portion of the housing to the rear end portion including the projecting portion of the slider. For this reason, even if the card is a small card such as a SIM card, the card insertion operation can be easily performed. Further, since the projecting portion of the slider that is in contact with the rear end side of the card is pushed without directly pushing the card, the projecting length can be increased by the amount of the projecting portion, and the card can be easily inserted.

  Moreover, in the card insertion completion state, the protruding portion of the slider is in contact with the rear end side of the card, so that the card can be prevented from being pulled out. Further, since the protruding portion for preventing the card from being pulled out is formed integrally with the slider, it is not necessary to provide a separate part for preventing the card from being pulled out. Further, it is not necessary to form a notch or the like in the card in order to prevent the card from being pulled out.

  Further, when the card is ejected, the slider is positioned at the drawer position by pulling the protruding portion of the slider backward from the slider ejection position, and in this state, the card is lifted and removed from the slider. Since the protruding length from the rear end portion of the housing to the rear end portion including the protruding portion of the slider is longer than the protruding length at the ejecting position at the slider drawing position, the card may be a small card such as a SIM card. The card can be easily ejected.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a card connector according to the present invention. However, a part of the shell is notched to represent the cam mechanism. It is a perspective view of the state which removed the shell from the connector for cards shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the card connector shown in FIG. 1. However, a part of the shell is notched to represent the cam mechanism. It is a top view of the state which removed the shell from the connector for cards shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process of inserting a card into the card connector illustrated in FIG. 1 and a state in which a card is inserted when a slider is in a drawer position. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a card is inserted when a slider is in a discharge position, showing a step of inserting a card into the card connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state where a card is inserted when a slider is in a pressing position, showing a step of inserting a card into the card connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state where a card is inserted when a slider is in a fitting position, showing a step of inserting the card into the card connector shown in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the slider used for the connector for cards shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the modification of the slider used for the connector for cards shown in FIG. It is a top view of the card connector using another modification of the slider used for the card connector shown in FIG.

Embodiments of a card connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The card connector 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is one in which a small card C (see FIG. 5) such as a SIM card is inserted and ejected. The card C is inserted from the back (lower in FIG. 5) to the front (upper in FIG. 5) with respect to the card C. Hereinafter, “lower” in FIG. 5 is “rear”, and “upper” in FIG. 5 is “front”.

The card connector 1 includes a housing 10 into which a card C is inserted, a plurality of contacts 20, a card detection switch mechanism 30, a push-push type eject mechanism 40, and a metal shell 80.
Here, the housing 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and has a card insertion space 15 into which the card C is inserted between the housing 10 and the shell 80 attached from above. A plurality of openings 11 through which the contacts 20 protrude upward are provided in the bottom plate portion of the housing 10. The housing 10 is formed by molding an insulating synthetic resin.

  The plurality of contacts 20 are attached to the housing 10 in a plurality of rows (two rows in the present embodiment) along the width direction of the housing 10 (the left-right direction in FIG. 3). Each contact 20 is formed by punching and bending a conductive metal plate. The contact portion of each contact 20 protrudes upward from the opening 11 of the housing 10, that is, into the card insertion space 15, and contacts the conductive pad C <b> 1 (see FIG. 5) of the card C inserted into the card insertion space 15. A board connecting portion of each contact 20 extends below the housing 10 and is connected to a circuit board (not shown).

The card detection switch mechanism 30 includes a metal first terminal 31 attached to the base 12 at the front end of the housing 10 (upper end in FIG. 5), and a metal second terminal 32 provided at the front end of the shell 80. Consists of. The first terminal 31 and the second terminal 32 can contact each other.
The eject mechanism 40 is a so-called push-push type, and is disposed in the housing 10 to eject the card C in the card ejection direction (front to rear). The eject mechanism 40 includes a slider 50 and a cam mechanism 60, as shown in FIGS.

  The slider 50 is arranged on one end side in the width direction of the housing 10 (right end side in FIG. 1), and is drawn out as shown in FIG. 5, discharged as shown in FIG. 6, pressed as shown in FIG. 7, and fitted as shown in FIG. It is possible to move between matching positions. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the slider 50 is urged in the card discharge direction by a spring member 70 disposed between the housing 10 and the slider 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the slider 50 includes a slider base 51 having a substantially rectangular cross section extending in the front-rear direction of the housing 10, and a cam base 58 provided on the outer side in the width direction of the slider base 51. ing. The slider 50 is manufactured by inserting a metal member into the inside. By mechanically molding the metal member, the mechanical strength of the slider 50 can be improved. A notch 52 for disposing the spring member 70 is formed at the front end of the base 51 and on the inner side in the width direction of the cam base 58. A support protrusion 53 for supporting the spring member 70 is formed in the notch 52 so as to protrude forward. Both ends of the spring member 70 are supported by a support protrusion 53 provided on the slider 50 and a support protrusion 13 provided on the front wall of the housing 10.

  Further, a protrusion 57 that protrudes inward in the width direction is provided at the front end of the slider base 51, and a protrusion 54 that protrudes inward in the width direction is provided at the rear end of the slider base 51. . The protrusion 57 is formed integrally with the slider base 51, and the front portion of the card C abuts when the card C is inserted at the position shown in FIG. On the other hand, the protrusion 54 is formed integrally with the slider base 51 and extends along the rear end side of the card C so as to come into contact with the card C when the card C is inserted as shown in FIG. Yes. And the protrusion part 54 is extended along the rear end side of the card | curd C from the width direction one end side of the card | curd C to the width direction substantially center part. Further, an engaging portion 55 with a fingernail is provided on the upper surface of the protruding portion 54. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 9, the shape of the engaging portion 55 is a shape obtained by cutting the circular arc with a linear portion when viewed from above, and this is recessed from the upper surface of the protruding portion 54. This is a substantially arc-shaped recess 55a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the cam mechanism 60 includes a heart-shaped cam groove 56 and a cam rod 61 that swings along the cam groove 56. As shown in FIG. 4, the cam groove 56 is formed on the upper surface of the cam base 58 of the slider 50 and includes a linear portion 56 a extending in the front-rear direction. The cam groove 56 includes a detour portion 56b that deviates in the width direction from the rear end of the linear portion 56a, a detour portion 56d that deviates in the width direction from the rear end of the linear portion 56a, and a detour portion 56b. A connecting portion 56c that connects the portion 56d is provided. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the cam rod 61 is pivotally supported by the rear end portion 14 of the housing 10 so that the front end portion of the cam rod 61 swings along the cam groove 56. The cam rod 61 is formed by bending both ends of a linear metal rod in the same direction.

  The shell 80 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate, and is formed in a substantially flat plate shape that covers the upper surface of the housing 10. The shell 80 is fixed to the housing 10 by both side walls in the width direction and the front wall. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the shell 80 is provided with a tongue piece 81 for pressing the cam rod 61 from above.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, when the card C is not inserted into the housing 10 and the card C is inserted, the slider 50 is pulled to be positioned at the drawing position shown in FIG. This pull-out position is a position where the slider 50 is pulled rearward from a later-described discharge position of the slider 50, and the protruding length from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 is S1. ing. At the position where the slider 50 is pulled out, the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is in contact with the front end portion of the linear portion 56a of the cam groove 56, and further pulling of the slider 50 is prevented. Further, the biasing force of the spring member 70 is not working.

In this state, the card C is obliquely inserted into the housing 10 from the rear side of the housing 10, the front portion of the card C is brought into contact with the protrusion 57 of the slider 50, and the rear end side of the card C is set to the slider 50. The protrusion 54 is brought into contact with the protrusion 54.
And the protrusion part 54 of the slider 50 is pressed from the back side, and the slider 50 and the card | curd C are advanced. Then, the slider 50 and the card C are located at the discharge position shown in FIG. This discharge position is such that the length from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 from S1 in a state where the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is positioned on the linear portion 56a of the cam groove 56. Short S2.

  The pressing of the slider 50 is continued, and the slider 50 and the card C are advanced until the slider 50 comes into contact with the front wall of the housing 10. Then, the slider 50 and the card C are located at the pressing position shown in FIG. This pressing position is such that the protruding length from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 in a state where the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is located at the rearmost end of the bypass portion 56 b of the cam groove 56. S3 is shorter than S2. In this state, the spring member 70 is compressed to a state where the urging force is the largest.

  When the hand is released from the projecting portion 54 of the slider 50 in this state, the slider 50 is urged in the card ejection direction (rear direction) by the action of the spring member 70, and the card C also moves in the card ejection direction together with the slider 50. This is the fitting position shown in FIG. In this fitting position, the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is positioned at the connecting portion 56c of the cam groove 56, and the movement of the slider 50 in the front-rear direction is restricted. At the fitting position of the slider 50, the protruding length from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 is S4 longer than S3. At this fitting position, the insertion of the card C is completed, and the contact portion of the contact 20 contacts the conductive pad C1 formed on the lower surface of the card C.

  In the state where the insertion of the card C is completed, that is, in the mating position of the slider 50, as described above, the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is located at the connecting portion 56c of the cam groove 56, and the slider 50 is moved in the front-rear direction. It is regulated. And the protrusion part 54 of the slider 50 is contact | abutting to the rear end side of the card | curd C, as shown in FIG. The card C can be prevented from being pulled out by the abutting action of the protruding portion 54 against the rear end side of the card C. Further, since the protruding portion 54 for preventing the card C from being pulled out is formed integrally with the slider 50, it is not necessary to provide another part such as a lock spring for preventing the card C from being pulled out. Further, it is not necessary to form a notch or the like in the card C in order to prevent the card C from being pulled out.

  In the card C insertion operation described above, the card C is inserted into the housing 10 at the drawing position where the slider 50 protrudes rearward from the ejection position, and the front portion of the card C is inserted into the protrusion 57 of the slider 50. The rear end side of the card C is brought into contact with the protruding portion 50 of the slider 50. In the pulled-out position, the protruding length S4 from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 is longer than the protruding length S3 at the discharge position. In this state, the projecting portion 54 of the slider 50 is pressed from the rear side to advance the slider 50 and the card C. Therefore, when the card C is inserted, the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 may be pressed from the rear side in a state where the protruding length from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 is long. For this reason, even if the card C is a small card such as a SIM card, the card insertion operation can be easily performed. Further, since the projecting portion 54 of the slider 50 abutting against the rear end side of the card C is pushed without directly pushing the card C, the projecting length can be increased by the amount of the projecting portion 54, and the card can be easily inserted. be able to.

  On the other hand, when the card C is ejected, the projecting portion 54 of the slider 50 is pressed again from the fitting position shown in FIG. 8 and the slider 50 and the card C are advanced until the slider 50 comes into contact with the front wall of the housing 10. Let Then, the slider 50 and the card | curd C will be in the press position shown in FIG. At this time, the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is positioned at the rearmost end of the detour portion 56 d of the cam groove 56.

  In this state, when the hand is released from the projecting portion 54 of the slider 50, the slider 50 is biased in the card ejection direction (rear direction) by the action of the spring member 70, and the card C is also moved in the card ejection direction together with the slider 50. It moves to the discharge position shown in FIG. In this discharge position, the front end portion of the cam rod 61 is positioned on the linear portion 56 a of the cam groove 56. Then, the contact state between the conductive pad C1 formed on the lower surface of the card C and the contact portion of the contact 20 is released.

Further, from this state, the protrusion 54 of the slider 50 is pulled backward. Then, the slider 50 and the card C are located at the drawing position shown in FIG. In this state, the card C is lifted and removed from the slider 50. Thereby, the card C can be taken out.
Here, at the drawing position of the slider 50, the protruding length S1 from the rear end portion of the housing 10 to the rear end portion including the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 is longer than the protruding length S2 at the discharge position. In this state, since the card C is lifted and taken out from the slider 50, the card can be easily ejected even if the card C is a small card such as a SIM card.

Here, when the slider 50 and the card C are positioned at the drawing position shown in FIG. 5, the protruding portion 54 that is in contact with the rear end side of the card C may be pulled backward. Operation can be performed easily.
Further, the protrusion 54 is formed with an engaging portion 55 with a claw. For this reason, when the slider 50 and the card C are pulled out, the fingernail is engaged with the engaging part 55 and the protruding part 54 is pulled. Thereby, the drawer operation of the slider 50 and the card | curd C can be performed more easily. That is, the protrusion 54 may be pulled by hooking a fingernail on the substantially arcuate recess 55a constituting the engaging portion 55.

  Further, the protruding portion 54 of the slider 50 extends along the rear end side of the card C from the one end side in the width direction of the card C to the substantially central portion in the width direction. For this reason, when the card C is taken out from the slider 50 drawn to the drawing position, the card C can be accessed from the other end in the width direction of the card C where the protruding portion 54 does not exist. Therefore, the card C can be easily taken out from the slider 50.

Next, a modified example of the slider will be described with reference to FIG. 10, the same members as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The slider 50 shown in FIG. 10 has the same basic configuration as the slider 50 shown in FIG. 9, but the shape of the engaging portion 55 is different.
That is, the engaging portion 55 of the slider 50 shown in FIG. 10 is formed by a raised portion 55b that protrudes upward from the rear upper surface of the protruding portion 54 over the entire region where the protruding portion 54 extends. According to the slider 50 shown in FIG. 10, when the slider 50 and the card C are pulled out, the protruding portion 54 may be pulled by engaging a fingernail with the raised portion 55 b constituting the engaging portion 55. Thereby, the drawer operation of the slider 50 and the card | curd C can be performed easily.

Further, another modification of the slider will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, the same members as those in FIGS. 1 to 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
The slider 50 used in the card connector 1 shown in FIG. 11 has the same basic configuration as the slider 50 shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, but the shape of the protruding portion 54 is different.
That is, the protrusion 54 of the slider 50 in FIG. 11 extends along the rear end side of the card C from the one end side in the width direction of the card C to the other end side in the width direction. In this way, by extending the protrusion 54 from one end in the width direction of the card C to the other end in the width direction, for example, the card is connected to the card connector 1 from the opening 91 of the housing 90 such as a mobile phone. When mounted so as to insert and remove C, the projecting portion 94 can also have a function as a lid for the opening 91.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention has been described, this invention is not limited to this, A various change and improvement can be performed.
For example, the card C inserted into the card connector 1 is not limited to a SIM card as long as it is small.
Moreover, the protrusion 54 should just extend along the rear end side of the card | curd C so that it may contact | abut to the card | curd C, and does not necessarily reach from the width direction one end side of the card | curd C to the width direction substantially center part, or the card | curd C's. It does not need to extend from the width direction one end side to the width direction other end side.
Moreover, the slider 50 does not need to be manufactured by insert molding a metal member therein, and may be manufactured by molding only a synthetic resin.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card connector 10 Housing 20 Contact 40 Eject mechanism 50 Slider 54 Projection part 55 Engagement part 70 Spring member C Card C1 Conductive pad

Claims (4)

A housing in which a contact for contacting a conductive pad of the card is inserted and a push-push type ejection mechanism that is disposed in the housing and ejects the card in the card ejection direction. A card connector provided with a slider that abuts against the front portion of the card and is urged by a spring member in the card ejection direction and is movable between a fitting position, a pressing position, and a ejection position; and a cam mechanism ;
The slider is movable to a pull-out position that protrudes rearward from the discharge position, and has a protrusion that is formed integrally with the slider and extends along the rear edge of the card so as to contact the card. And
The slider has a cam base portion integrally,
The cam mechanism includes a heart-shaped cam groove formed on the cam base portion and a cam rod that swings along the cam groove, and the cam groove includes a linear portion extending in the front-rear direction. A first detour portion that deviates in the width direction from the rear end of the linear portion, a second detour portion that deviates in the width direction from the rear end of the linear portion, the first detour portion, and the second detour portion A card connector comprising: a connecting portion that connects the bypass portion .   The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion has an engaging portion with a claw.   3. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein the projecting portion extends along a rear end side of the card from one end side in the width direction of the card to a substantially central portion in the width direction. The card connector according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding portion extends along a rear end side of the card from one end in the width direction of the card to the other end in the width direction.

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