Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1996-04-24
2001-01-09
Picard, Leo P. (Department: 2835)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S786000, C361S689000, C312S223100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06172867
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic apparatuses, such as laptop personal computers, word processors, etc., card-type electronic components used with the electronic apparatuses, for the delivery of signals, e.g., data transmission, therewith, and electronic systems having an expanding apparatus for expanding the functions of the electronic apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some of laptop personal computers can incorporate card-type electronic components, such as memory cards, modem cards, etc., which are adapted to be laterally inserted into the computer body, in order to expand their functions.
Generally, in the computers of this type, a card inlet slot is formed in a side face of the body, and a card storing section is formed in the body so as to communicate with the inlet slot. A card can be incorporated into the computer body by being inserted into the card storing section through the inlet slot.
The card must be taken out of the computer body when its use is finished or when it is to be replaced with another one. Cards are so thin, however, that they are not very easy to handle. Conventionally, therefore, computers use ejector mechanisms of the following three types.
Type 1: The size of the card storing section is adjusted so that incorporating the card is finished when the card is inserted to about half its length into the storing section. When the incorporation is finished, therefore, the rear portion of the card projects long outside the computer body. Thus, a user can remove the card by taking it out of the card storing section with the exposed or projecting portion of the card between his fingers.
Type 2: The card storing section formed in the computer body has a size large enough to receive the whole card. The storing section is arranged close and parallel to a side face of the computer body which extends at right angles to the body side face in which the card inlet slot is formed. Formed on this side face is a knob which is slidable in the loading direction of the card. The knob is connected with a card push-out mechanism in the card storing section. When the push-out mechanism is actuated in association with the sliding motion of the knob, the card in the storing section is pushed out of the body through the card inlet slot.
Type 3: The card storing section formed in the computer body has a size large enough to receive the whole card. Two recesses are formed individually at the opposite side face portions of the body which are adjacent to the opposite end sides of the card inlet slot of the card storing section. These recesses can receive the user's finger tips which are to hold and draw out an end portion of the card long from the storing section. Thus, the user can take out the card from the card storing section to the outside of the computer body by inserting his finger tips into the recesses, holding that portion of the card at the end portions of the inlet slot between the finger tips, and then drawing out the card from the body.
According to the card ejector mechanism of the first type described above, part of the loaded card projects long from the computer body, constituting a hindrance to the transfer of the computer. A laptop computer, which is a portable computer, may be carried with the card therein. In doing this, however, the projecting card is liable to interfere with some other parts, thus hindering the transfer of the computer.
In the card ejector mechanism of the second type, the card, which is housed in the computer body, is not a hindrance to the conveyance of the computer. Since the card is pushed out of the computer body by sliding the knob, however, the knob and the card storing section should be located adjacent to each other. According to this arrangement, therefore, the space for the incorporation of the card is inevitably restricted to the regions on either side of the computer body.
In the card ejector mechanism of the third type, as in the case of the second-type ejector mechanism, the card is not a hindrance to the conveyance of the computer. Since the recesses formed on the opposite end sides of the card inlet slot are large, however, the regions adjacent to the slot are occupied by the recesses. In the case of a laptop personal computer in which a dead space in its body is utilized for the incorporation of the card, therefore, the computer body must inevitably be increased in size.
With the progress of semiconductor technology, various card-type electronic components which are in conformity to the standards provided by, e.g., JEIDA (Japanese Electric Industry Development Association) have recently been developed and spread. The card-type electronic components include various cards, such as modem cards, which handle high-frequency signals. These components must be fully shielded. In conventional card-type electronic components, which are represented by memory cards, for example, grounding terminals are arranged only in an interface connector to be connected to the computer body. In this case, the ground contact area cannot be wide enough for satisfactorily antijamming.
Accordingly, it has been proposed that one such card-type electronic component should be designed so that flat shielding plates are arranged individually on the upper and lower surfaces of a card body, and are connected electrically to grounding contact pieces on the computer body to be loaded with the electronic component. When the electronic component is loaded into a card storing section of the computer body, the shielding plates are brought individually into direct contact with the grounding contact pieces, which are arranged above and below in the card storing section.
However, the above-described arrangement involves the following problems.
In the standardized card-type electronic components, the thickness of the card body is prescribed only with respect to its maximum value (e.g., 5.0 mm in the case of the standards Type II provided by JEIDA), so that it varies depending on the types of components, manufacturers, etc. In some of various kinds of cards, those portions which are to be in contact with the grounding contact pieces in the card holding section of the computer body are extremely different in thickness. In alternatively loading these various cards into the same card storing section, in particular, the following problems are aroused.
If a relatively thin card is used after prolonged use of a thicker card of which the thickness of the portions to be in contact with the grounding contact pieces in the card holding section is substantially equal to the prescribed maximum dimension, or if thick and thin cards are repeatedly used by turns, the grounding contact pieces fail to enjoy satisfactory contact with the shielding plates of the card, thus bringing about a non-contact or unstable contact state, due to reduction of the spring pressure of the grounding contact pieces. In such a case, the shielding effect of the card is ruined completely, or noises are liable to be produced due to unstable contact.
In loading into or unloading the card-type component from the card storing section, in the arrangement described above, moreover, the grounding contact pieces in the holding section slide individually on the upper and lower shielding plates of the card. As the contact pieces slide in this manner, the shielding plates and/or the contact pieces are shaven away to produce metallic powder. This metallic powder may possibly enter the computer body and cause wrong operation of the computer. In general, moreover, the upper and lower shielding plates of the card-type component are each in the form of a design plate bearing a coating, patterns, etc. for improved design properties, except for those conduction portions thereof which are brought into contact with the grounding contact pieces when the component is set in a predetermined position in the card storing section. When the card-type component is loaded into or unloaded from the card storing section, as mentioned before, however, design p
Sasaki Katumaru
Satou Youji
Edmonds Lisa Lea
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Limbach & Limbach LLP
Picard Leo P.
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