Card connector

The present invention relates to a card connector, more particularly, to a push-push type card connector whose switch mechanism is activated in response to attachment of a card at an appropriate position.

As an example of conventional card connectors, there is known a connector utilizing a so-called push-push mechanism. From Patent Document 1 for example, there is known a card connector including a slide member disposed inside a body of the card connector, an urging member for urging the slide member, a heart-shaped cam groove formed in the slide member, a pin member (cam pin) engageable in the cam groove, etc.

With the card connector described above, when the card is pushed to the deepest (innermost) portion within the body and then released from the pushing force, the pin member is retained at a predetermined position in the cam groove, whereby the card is maintained at its appropriate position inside the body. Then, if the card is pushed in again from the above condition, the retained condition of the card is released. And, upon subsequent release of the pushing force, under the urging force of the urging member, the card will be pushed back together with the slide member, thus being discharged. With such push-push mechanism, the card can be attached/detached in an easy and safe manner.

Patent Document

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-84623

Problem to be Solved by Invention

With the card connector described in Patent Document 1, a card recognizing switch for detecting the card is comprised of two plate springs provided at the deep portion in the body. In operation, when the card is pushed in to the deep portion inside the body, the two plate springs come into contact with each other, so that the switch is turned ON, thus detecting insertion of the card.

Since the card recognizing switch described above is turned ON in midway of the pushed-in displacement of the card, the ON-state of the switch is constantly maintained during the process from the pushing-back of the card by the urging member to its arrival at the appropriate position. If the card while being kept under the switch-ON state is moved, there is the possibility of occurrence of chattering or bounce due to friction between a contact provided in the card connector and the contact pad of the card. To avoid the problem resulting therefrom, it is needed to load a program for processing chattering/bounce in the card connector. Hence, this can be a cause of inviting program complexity.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described state of the art. The principal object of the invention is to provide a push-push type card connector capable of detecting a card with activation of a switch mechanism in response to attachment of the card at an appropriate position, the improved connector not requiring any program for processing chattering or bounce.

Means to Solve Problem

According to a first characterizing feature of a card connector relating to the present invention, the card connector comprises:

a slide member disposed on one lateral side inside a body having a space for allowing insertion of a card, the slide member coming into engagement with the card when the card is inserted, the slide member being movable along an inserting/withdrawing direction of the card;

an urging member for urging the slide member toward a card insertion opening;

a pin member having a slide end that is slidable within a cam groove formed in the slide member relative thereto and a support shaft end that is supported to the body;

wherein when the card is pushed in to the deepest position inside the body and then released from this pushing, the slide member is pushed back by the urging member and the slide end is retained at a lock portion formed in the cam groove, whereby the card is maintained at an appropriate position;

wherein, when the card is pushed in again away from the appropriate position and then released from this pushing, the slide end is released from the lock portion and the slide member is pushed back by the urging member, whereby the card is discharged from the body; and

a switch mechanism that is activated by the support shaft end when the slide end is pushed by the slide member in the urging direction of the urging member while the slide end is retained at the lock portion.

With the first characterizing feature described above, in the so-called push-push type card connector, the switch mechanism is activated only after the card has reached the appropriate position. The card is not detected in the course of its insertion, but detected only after its arrival at the appropriate position. Therefore, there is no need for the program for processing chattering/bounce which was required by the conventional card connector. Moreover, with the inventive construction above, since the pin member inherently provided in the push-push type card connector is utilized for the activation of the switch mechanism, there is no need for significant design change in the card connector.

According to a second characterizing feature of the present invention, the switch mechanism includes a pivotal member pivotable in association with movement of the support shaft end and a switch fixed to the body, the switch being turned ON in response to a depressing operation of a button thereof at the time of pivotal movement of the pivotal member.

With the second characterizing feature described above, through appropriate adjustment of the shape of the pivotal member and/or the pivot of the pivotal movement, it becomes possible to secure a large amount of movement for the portion adapted for pushing the switch even when the amount of the movement of the support shaft end is small. Consequently, the switch can be rendered into the ON state in a reliable manner.

According to a third characterizing feature of the present invention, the switch mechanism includes a relay member slidable in association with movement of the support shaft end and a switch fixed to the body, the switch being turned ON in response to a depressing operation of a button thereof when the relay member is slid.

With the third characterizing feature described above, various kinds of switch can be used, depending on the shape and the sliding direction of the relay member employed. Thus, this feature provides greater degree of freedom in the choice of the switch.

According to a fourth characterizing feature of the present invention, the switch mechanism includes a plate spring which is depressed by movement of the support shaft end and a metal contact element fixed to the body, the metal contact element coming into contact with the plate spring when the plate spring is depressed.

With the fourth characterizing feature described above, the construction is simple without any member being present between the support shaft end and the plate spring. So, it is possible to reduce the costs and the number of assembly steps. Moreover, it can be expected also that occurrence of trouble in the switch mechanism will be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a general perspective view of a card connector relating to a first embodiment,

FIG. 2 is an inner plan view showing the card connector relating to the first embodiment,

FIG. 3 are a plane view (a) and a section view (b) both showing in greater details a switch mechanism relating to the first embodiment,

FIG. 4 is a plane view showing operational states of the switch mechanism relating to the first embodiment,

FIG. 5 is a plane view showing operational states of a switch mechanism relating to a second embodiment, and

FIG. 6 is a plane view showing operational states of a switch mechanism relating to a third embodiment.

First Embodiment

Next, a first embodiment of a card connector relating to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1-4 . FIG. 1 is a plane view showing a general construction of a card connector 1 . FIG. 2 is a plane view showing the inside of the card connector 1 . FIG. 3 are a plane view (a) and a section view (b) both showing in greater details a switch mechanism M and a slide member 21 . FIG. 4 are plane views showing operational states of the switch mechanism M, (a) showing a card pushed-in state, (b) showing a card locked state and (c) showing a card re-pushed in state, respectively.

The card connector 1 consists essentially of a body 2 and a cover 3 , and a card 4 is inserted into an inner space formed when the cover 3 is attached to the body 2 . The slide member 21 is disposed to be movable along the inner wall surface of the body 2 along the inserting/withdrawing direction of the card 4 and this slide member 21 is constantly urged by an urging member 22 toward a card insertion opening. The slide member 21 includes an engaging member 22 and a projecting portion 24 and further includes a heart-shaped cam groove 25 . At the time of insertion of the card 4 , the engaging member 23 comes into engagement with a cutout portion 41 formed in a lateral face of the card 4 and also the leading end of the card 4 comes into contact with the projecting portion 24 , thus rendering the slide member 21 being movable together with the card 4 . The construction of the cam groove 25 will be detailed later.

A pin member 26 has a one-side opened rectangular shape, with one terminal end thereof being configured to function as a slide end 26 a slidable within the cam groove 25 in association with movement of the slide member 21 and relative thereto, the other terminal end thereof being configured to function as a support shaft end 26 b to be inserted into an engaging hole 27 formed in the body 2 . The engaging hole 27 has an oval shape to allow movement of the support shaft end 26 b along the urging direction of the urging member 22 . Further, the support shaft end 26 b is operably coupled to a pivotal member 52 pivotally mounted to the body 2 via a shaft member 53 . Under the assembled condition of the card connector 1 , a tongue-shaped elastic portion 31 formed in the cover 3 constantly presses the pin member 26 against the bottom face of the body 2 , thereby to prevent inadvertent detachment of the opposed ends of the pin member 26 from the cam groove 25 and the engaging hole 27 .

A contact 28 is a metal element which is provided at a deep position inside the body 2 on the side opposite to and away from the card insertion opening. Upon establishment of contact between an electrode (not shown) provided on the back face of the card 4 and the contact 28 , electric conduction is enabled between the card connector 1 and the card 4 . Under this condition, if the switch 51 is turned ON, reading data from the card 4 etc. becomes possible.

The cam groove 25 consists of a standby lane G 1 , an insertion lane G 2 , an introduction lane G 3 , a detachment lane G 4 , a discharge lane G 5 and a lock portion L. Absent insertion of the card 4 , the slide end 26 a is positioned at the standby lane G 1 ( FIG. 3 ).

Upon insertion of the card 4 , engagement is established between the engaging member 23 and the cutout portion 41 formed in the lateral portion of the card 4 and also contact is established between the leading end of the card 4 and the projecting portion 24 . If the card 4 is pushed in under this condition, the slide member 21 together with the card 4 will be slid deep into the body 2 . When the card 4 is pushed to the deepest portion of the body 2 , the slide end 26 a will move from the standby lane G 1 through the insertion lane G 2 and eventually reach the end point of the insertion lane G 2 (the start point of the introduction lane G 3 ) ( FIG. 4 ( a )).

Upon release of this pushing-in force to the card 4 , the slide member 21 will be pushed back toward the card insertion opening by the urging member 22 . In the course of this, the slide end 26 a will be guided by the insertion lane G 3 and then retained at the locking portion L, whereby the slide member 21 will be locked together with the card 4 ( FIG. 4 ( b )). In the following discussion, the position of the card 4 under this card locked condition will be referred to as the “appropriate position” of the card 4 .

When the card 4 is pushed in again from the appropriate position, the slide end 26 a will be detached from the locking portion L and then moved to the end point of the detachment lane G 4 (the start point of the discharge lane G 5 ) ( FIG. 4 ( c )).

Upon release of this pushing-in force to the card 4 , the slide member 21 will be pushed back by the urging member 22 , so that the slide end 26 a will be returned to the standby lane G 1 through the discharge lane G 5 and the card 4 will be discharged. In the course of this, since the cutout portion 41 of the card 4 is in engagement with the engaging member 23 , there will occur no jumping detachment of the card 4 out of the card connector 1 . When the card 4 is pulled, the above engagement will be released, so that withdrawal of the card 4 becomes possible.

In order to allow the above-described series of movements of the slide end 26 a to proceed in a reliable and smooth manner, the cam groove 25 is provided with appropriate steps. Namely, adjacent the border between the standby lane G 1 and the discharge lane G 5 , there is formed a step S 1 which is formed deeper on the side of the standby lane G 1 , so as to prevent invasion of the slide end 26 a from the standby lane G 1 into the discharge lane G 5 . Further, there is formed a step S 2 which is formed deeper on the side of the introduction lane G 3 relative to the insertion lane G 2 , so as to prevent backset of the slide end 26 a to the insertion lane G 2 from the introduction lane G 3 . Similarly, there formed a step S 3 which is formed deeper on the side of the locking portion L relative to the introduction lane G 3 and a step S 4 which is formed deeper on the side of the detachment lane G 4 relative to the locking portion L, so as to prevent backset of the slide end 26 a , respectively.

Next, with reference to FIG. 4 , there will be described operations of the switch mechanism M for recognizing that the card 4 has been attached to the appropriate position. The switch mechanism M of this embodiment consists essentially of the switch 51 and a pivotal member 52 . The switch 51 includes a button 51 a and maintains its OFF state unless a depressing force is applied to the button 51 a . The pivotal member 52 includes an arm 52 a . Normally, this arm 52 a does not depress the button 51 a ; whereas, the arm 52 a does depress the button 51 a when the pivotal member 52 is pivoted ( FIG. 4 ( a ), ( c )).

At the time of the card locked state shown in FIG. 4 ( b ), that is, when the card 4 has reached the appropriate position, the slide end 26 a of the pin member 26 is retained at the locking portion L. In this, since the slide member 21 is placed under the urging force of the urging member 22 , the slide end 26 a is subjected to a force toward the card insertion opening. As a result, the support shaft end 26 b as the other end of the pin member 26 , will move within the oval-shaped engaging hole 27 , toward the card insertion opening. In response to this movement of the support shaft end 26 b , the pivotal member 52 will be pivoted and the arm 52 a will depress the button 51 a , whereby the switch mechanism M will be activated.

Since the switch mechanism M is activated only after and when the card 4 has reached the appropriate position, a program for processing chattering and/or bounce will be no longer needed. Further, if the position adjustment of the shaft member 53 acting as the pivot for the pivotal movement of the pivotal member 52 and the choice of the shapes of the pivotal member 52 and/or the arm 52 a are done appropriately, it becomes possible for the arm 52 a to obtain a large amount of movement relative to the amount of movement of the support shaft end 26 b , so that button 51 a can be depressed even more reliably.

Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5 showing various operational state of the switch mechanism M, with (a) showing the card pushed-in state, (b) showing the card locked state, (c) showing the card re-pushed in state, respectively. This embodiment is identical to the first embodiment, except for the switch mechanism M. Therefore, explanation except for that of the switch mechanism M will be omitted below.

The switch mechanism M of this embodiment consists essentially of the switch 51 and a relay member 54 . The relay member 54 defines a recess 54 a and the support shaft end 26 b is positioned to be able to contact the bottom of this recess 54 a . The switch 51 includes the button 51 a , so that the switch 51 maintains its OFF state unless a depressing force is applied to the button 51 a . Normally, the relay member 54 does not depress the button 51 a , but depresses it when the relay member 54 is slid.

As described above in the first embodiment, when the card 4 reaches the appropriate position, the support shaft end 26 b is moved within the engaging hole 27 toward the card insertion opening. In the course of this, the support shaft end 26 b depresses the relay member 54 toward the card insertion opening, as a result of which the button 51 a is depressed, thereby to activate the switch mechanism M ( FIG. 5 ( b )). Unless the card is located at the appropriate position, the relay member 54 will not be slid and the switch mechanism M will remain un-activated ( FIG. 5 ( a ), ( c )).

In this way, since the switch mechanism M is activated only when and after the card 4 has reached the appropriate position, there is no need for a program for processing chattering and/our bounce. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the relay member 54 is slid toward the card insertion opening. Instead of this arrangement, it is also possible to employ a further arrangement where the relay member 54 is slid in a different direction to turn ON the switch 51 .

Third Embodiment

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6 showing various operational state of the switch mechanism M, with (a) showing the card pushed-in state, (b) showing the card locked state, (c) showing the card re-pushed in state, respectively. This embodiment is identical to the first embodiment, except for the switch mechanism M. Therefore, explanation except for that of the switch mechanism M will be omitted below.

The switch mechanism M used in this embodiment consists of two plate springs 56 , 56 both of which are metal pieces. Normally, the support shaft end 26 b is merely located adjacent the leading end of the plate spring 55 , not depressing this plate spring 55 . Hence, the plate spring 55 and the plate spring 56 are kept under non-contact condition.

As described above in the first embodiment, when the card 4 reaches the appropriate position, the support shaft end 26 b is moved within the engaging hole 27 toward the card insertion opening. In the course of this, the support shaft end 26 b depresses the plate spring 55 , whereby the plate springs 55 and 56 come into contact with each other ( FIG. 6 ( b )). With this contact, the switch mechanism M is rendered into electrically conductive state. Unless the card is located at the appropriate position, the plate springs 55 and 56 do not come into contact, thus, the switch mechanism M will remain un-activated ( FIG. 6 ( a ), ( c )).

In this way, since the switch mechanism M is activated only when and after the card 4 has reached the appropriate position, there is no need for a program for processing chattering and/our bounce. Also, since the switch mechanism M has the simple construction consisting of only the plate springs, it is possible to reduce the costs and the number of assembly steps. And, this construction is less liable to fail. Incidentally, instead of the plate spring 56 , a metal contact piece may be employed that is completely fixed to the box 2 so that no movement or deformation occurs therein.

There is provided a push-push type card connector capable of detecting a card with activation of a switch mechanism in response to attachment of the card at an appropriate position, the improved connector not requiring any program for processing chattering or bounce.

1 . card connector

2 . body

4 . card

21 . slide member

22 . urging member

25 . cam groove

26 . pin member

26 a . slide end

26 b . support shaft end

27 . engaging hole

51 . switch (switch mechanism)

52 . pivotal member (switch mechanism)

54 . relay member (switch mechanism)

55 , 56 . plate springs (switch mechanism)

L. locking portion

M. switch mechanism