Electrical connectors – With coupling separator – Nonconducting pusher
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-18
2003-11-25
Gilman, Alexander (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With coupling separator
Nonconducting pusher
C439S152000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06652299
ABSTRACT:
This application is based on Patent Application No. 2000-319891 filed Oct. 19, 2000 in Japan, the content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card connector mounted on electronic devices, such as cellular phones, telephones, PDAs (personal digital assistants), portable audio devices and cameras, and more specifically to a structure for locking a card ejection mechanism ejecting a card when the card is loaded.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electronic devices such as cellular phones, telephones, PDAs and cameras, a variety of functions are added by loading an IC card with a built-in CPU or memory IC, such as a SIM (subscriber identity module) card, an MMC (multimedia card) (trademark), an SD (super density) card, a Memory Stick (trademark) and a Smart Media (trademark).
The connector structure for removably accommodating such an IC card has a plurality of contact terminals in a connector housing that are connected to a variety of signal processing circuits and a power supply circuit of the electronic device on which the connector is mounted. These contact terminals are brought into contact with a plurality of contact pads formed on a front or back surface of the loaded IC card, causing the IC card to be electrically connected to the electronic device on which the connector is mounted.
Many of such card connectors have an ejection mechanism for withdrawing the loaded IC card from the connector.
A proposed system of this ejection mechanism is shown in FIG.
13
.
The card connector shown in
FIG. 13
has an ejection member
102
urged in an ejection direction by coil springs
100
to eject a card
101
, a looking piece
103
adapted to engage with a locking projection
102
a
formed at an end of the ejection member
102
to restrict the movement of the ejection member
102
in the ejection direction, and an ejection button
104
for releasing the restriction imposed by the locking piece
103
to allow the card to be ejected. At the locking piece
103
is formed an engagement hole
103
a
for fixing the locking projection
102
a
. The ejection button
104
is urged in the ejection direction by a coil spring
105
. The ejection button
104
has a cam surface
104
a
that displaces a front end of the locking piece
103
in a lateral direction C.
In the construction described above, with the card
101
loaded in the connector and the ejection member
102
held immovable by the locking piece
103
as shown in
FIG. 13
, when the ejection button
104
is depressed, the pressing force from the cam surface
104
a
displaces the front end of the locking piece
103
away from the locking projection
102
a
, disengaging the ejection member
102
from the locking piece
103
, with the result that the ejection member
102
moves in the ejection direction by the force of the coil springs
100
, which allows the loaded card
101
to extrude out of the connector.
There is a growing demand on the card connector of this kind for size reduction as the electronic devices are becoming smaller and smaller. To meet this demand a variety of parts need to be laid out efficiently in a small space.
In the card connector described above, however, since the front end of the locking piece
103
is displaced in the lateral direction C of the connector housing, it is necessary to secure a space in which to displace the locking piece
103
laterally. Further, the cam surface
104
a
of the ejection button
104
needs to be extended in the lateral direction C, which results in an increase in the width of the connector housing in the lateral direction C and therefore there are some problems that the mounting area of the connector increases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and its primary object is to provide a card connector which can reduce the width of its connector housing and therefore the card mounting area.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a card connector for holding a card in a connector housing in such a way that a plurality of contact pads provided on a bottom surface of the card are in contact with contact terminals arranged in the connector housing. The card connector comprises: an ejection mechanism having an ejection member, the ejection member being adapted to move in a card insertion direction as the card is inserted into the connector housing, and move in a card ejection direction in response to a card ejection operation to eject the card; a locking piece displaceable vertically of the connector housing and adapted to fix the ejection member, when the card is loaded, to restrict the movement of the ejection member in the card ejection direction; and an releasing means for unlocking the locking piece in response to the card ejection operation.
As described above, because the locking piece for locking the ejection member is displaced vertically of the connector housing to lock or unlock the ejection member, the present invention makes it possible to reduce the width of the connector housing and therefore the mounting area of the connector housing.
The above and other objects, effects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Gilman Alexander
Yamaichi Electronics Co. Ltd.
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