Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Plural-contact coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2001-09-07
2003-03-04
Nasri, Javaid (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Plural-contact coupling part
C439S924100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527590
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure of a card connector used with an IC card used as a storage medium of a personal computer or the like, and used with a compact flash (CF) card used in electronic equipment such as digital cameras.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An IC card connector is generally used as an additional recording apparatus of personal computers and the like. The IC card is widely used as a storage medium of the IC card connector.
The IC card is mounted in the IC card connector to perform writing and reading of necessary information. Well-known IC card connectors have a locking mechanism that locks an IC card in a mounting position when it is inserted, and performs unlocking to eject it from the mounting position when it is ejected.
The locking mechanism comprises a heart-shaped lock cam provided in a frame having an IC card housing recess, and a lock pin engaged in the lock cam at one end thereof and rotatably supported by a sliding member at another end thereof, wherein the sliding member is moved in an insertion direction as an IC card is inserted, whereby one end part of the lock pin slides in the lock cam to perform locking and unlocking.
In the locking mechanism, as the IC card is moved in an insertion direction, the lock pin slides within the lock cam and the IC card is temporarily subjected to overstroke, then locked in a mounting position. To unlock the IC card, the IC card locked in the mounting position is temporarily pressed (overstroke) in the insertion direction, whereby the lock pin is disengaged from a lock part of the lock cam and the IC card is ejected in an ejection direction by the energizing force of a coil spring energizing the sliding member in the ejection direction.
In the structure of the above-described conventional IC card connector, to eject the IC card from the mounting position, it must be temporarily pressed (i.e., “overstroke”) along the insertion direction. Thereby, when the IC card is inserted or ejected, it is temporarily moved in the card insertion direction (toward the depth) from the mounting position by the overstroke, then again returns to the mounting position, and inevitably, the contact parts of connector terminals provided in a housing temporarily slide to rear ends of contact terminal parts of the IC card and again are slid to the tips thereof. Hence, if contact positions of contact parts of the connector terminals with the contact terminal parts when the IC card is in the mounting position are set on the rear end side of the contact terminal parts, when the IC card temporarily moves in the card insertion direction (toward the depth), since the contact parts of the connector terminals will lose contact with the contact terminal parts, usually, contact positions of contact parts with the contact terminal parts when the IC card is in the mounting position are preferably set on the tip side of the contact terminal parts so that the contact between the contact terminal parts and the contact parts does not become unstable.
However, for example, in the case where two types of IC cards different in the layout of contact terminal parts are used by one connector, and the case where sequence operation (time difference is provided for contacting timing) is required because of a relation with other contact terminal parts within an IC card), contact positions of contact parts of the connector terminals with the contact terminal parts when the IC card is in the mounting position must be set on the rear end side of the contact terminal parts, posing the problem that contact positions of contact parts of the connector terminals with the contact terminal parts when the IC card is in the mounting position cannot be set on the tip side of the contact terminal parts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems and provides a card connector capable of preventing contact parts of connector terminals from coming off card contact terminal parts due to overstroke after the contact parts contact the card contact terminal parts when the card is mounted.
To solve the above-described problems, as first means of the present invention, there is provided a card connector that comprises a housing in which a card at one end of which plural contact terminal parts are juxtaposed is mounted, and plural connector terminals, placed at one end of a card housing recess of the housing, having contact parts connected with the contact terminal parts as the card is inserted, wherein the housing is disposed with a first contact part and a second contact part which are different from each other in placement position in a card insertion direction, corresponding to at least one of the contact terminal parts, and wherein when the card is inserted or ejected, as long as the card is further subjected to overstroke in the insertion direction from a card mounting position, at least one of the first contact part and the second contact part is formed so as to always contact the one contact terminal part.
As second means, there is provided the card connector, wherein the first contact part and the second contact part are formed by dividing a tip of one of the plural connector terminals.
As third means, there is provided the card connector, wherein the first contact part is formed longer in the card insertion direction than the second contact part and placed on the card insertion port side, and wherein when the distance between the first contact part and the second contact part is A, the distance from a contact position of the first contact part with the contact terminal part to the card insertion port side edge of the contact terminal part is B when the card is in a mounting position, the length of the contact terminal part in a card insertion direction is L, and an overstroke amount of the card is S, a relation of L>A>S−B is satisfied among them.
As fourth means, there is provided the card connector, wherein the first contact part and the second contact part are formed by dividing a tip of one of the plural connector terminals to two branches.
As fifth means, there is provided the card connector, wherein the connector terminals having the first and second contact parts are ground or power connector terminals.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3470522 (1969-09-01), Lawrence
patent: 3631381 (1971-12-01), Pittman
patent: 5040991 (1991-08-01), Collier
patent: 5080613 (1992-01-01), Orui et al.
patent: 5463210 (1995-10-01), Imura
patent: 5775929 (1998-07-01), Hashiguchi
patent: 5969329 (1999-10-01), Vallat
patent: 0595305 (1994-05-01), None
Beyer Weaver & Thomas
Nasri Javaid
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