Card ejecting device

Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C361S753000, C361S759000, C361S801000, C439S260000, C235S486000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06285557

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card ejecting device, and more particularly to a card ejecting device for causing a card inserted in a holder having contacts to be ejected from the holder.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electronic equipment, a card having information, such as a PC card, is inserted into the electronic equipment as required and in such a manner as to be capable of replacing a different card, and is connected to a circuit of the electronic equipment, so as to enhance the functions of the electronic equipment. The card is accommodated in a holder through an insertion slit provided in the electronic equipment. Contacts are provided in the holder, and the card is electrically connected to the contacts and cooperates with a circuit portion in the equipment, to which the contacts are connected.
When the card is unnecessary or is replaced with another card, the card is removed from the electronic equipment, and the removal is effected by a card ejecting mechanism. The card ejecting mechanism generally has an eject lever having an eject button, which is operated from the outside, a link mechanism connected thereto, and a slider which receives the force from the eject lever through the link mechanism and presses the card while the movement of the slider is guided by the holder, so as to move the card to a removing position.
The basic principle of operation of the holder and the slider is shown in FIGS.
4
(A) and
4
(B), for example.
In FIG.
4
(A), a stepped guide portion
51
A for accommodating a card C is provided in a holder
51
, and a space for insertion of the card C is formed by the stepped guide portion
51
A and a half case-shaped cover member
52
attached to an upper surface side of the holder
51
. The space is open rightwardly in FIG.
4
(A). In addition, a slider
53
which is guided by the cover member
52
is provided on the holder
51
. The slider
53
is provided with a pressing portion
53
A which is formed by being bent on its rear end side. The slider
53
is engaged with a link mechanism (not shown) attached to the cover member
52
, and the link mechanism is connected to an eject lever (not shown) having an eject button which is operated from the outside.
When the card C is inserted from the right-hand side into the inserting space formed by the holder
51
and the cover member
52
, and is accommodated in a predetermined position in FIG.
4
(A), resiliently contacting portions (not shown) of contacts held by the holder
51
are brought into contact with circuit portions formed on the surface of the card C. Hence, the card C is electrically connected to a predetermined circuit in the electronic equipment, to which the contacts are connected.
When the card C is to be removed, a user of the electronic equipment presses the aforementioned eject button. The eject lever transmits this pressing force (the force oriented in the leftward direction in the drawing) to the slider
53
through the link mechanism as a force for moving the slider
53
in the forward direction (a force oriented in the rightward direction in the drawing). Upon receiving this force, the slider
53
moves by a distance L
1
in the rightward direction so as to cause the card C to project in the forward direction from the cover member
52
of the holder
51
by a large amount by means of the pressing portion
53
A of the slider
53
, thereby moving the card to a removing position, as shown in FIG.
4
(B).
With the card C shown in FIG.
4
(B), the larger the projecting distance for ejection, the larger the amount of the card C projecting from the inlet of the inserting slit in the electronic equipment and the more the removal is facilitated. Due to the tendency of demand for compact electronic equipment, the size of the device, i.e., the holder and the cover member, in the ejecting direction is generally designed to a small size up to a limit. To increase the projecting distance of the card for the ejection of the card, it is conceivable to reduce the dimension of the cover member in the aforementioned direction. In the above-described situation, however, it is difficult to do so, and if that dimension is reduced more than is necessary, the function of holding the card, the function of protecting the contacts, and the like would be impaired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above-described circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a card ejecting device which, without being made large in size, is capable of causing a card to be pushed out of the device by as large an amount as possible by moving the slider by a large distance, thereby moving the card to a removing position where the card can be removed easily.
To this end, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card ejecting device comprising: a case-shaped holder into which a card is slidingly inserted up to a predetermined position so as to allow the card to be connected to a contacting portion of a contact attached to the holder; and a slider which moves while being guided by the holder, the slider having a pressing portion for pushing a rear-end portion of the card in a forward direction so as to move the card up to a removing position, wherein a notched portion allowing the entry of the pressing portion of the slider therein is formed in the holder.
In the above-described first aspect of the invention, the pressing portion may be formed by a pressing piece provided on the slider in such a manner as to extend in a direction in which the card is pressed.
In the first aspect of the invention having the above-described arrangement, when the card is ejected, the slider pushes the card in the forward direction by its pressing portion and moves it to the removing position. At that juncture, since the pressing portion of the slider advances into the notched portion of the holder, the moving distance of the pressing portion can be set to a large distance, with the result that the card is pushed out until it projects by a large amount, thereby making it possible to remove the card easily.
Further, in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, an arrangement is provided such that the pressing portion is formed by a pressing piece provided on the slider in such a manner as to extend from a rear end of the pressing piece in a direction in which the card is pressed, the rear end of the pressing piece being located rearwardly of a rear end of the card.
In this case, although a portion of the pressing piece projects rearwardly of the card, a space is frequently formed there in the rear of a rear-end portion of the holder, and this space can be made use of. In addition, the pressing portion may be extended further in the rearward direction and project rearwardly from the holder. In that case, since electronic components of short height are usually connected on a circuit board where the holder is mounted, so that in such a case no hindrance is caused even if the portion of the pressing piece is located in the space above them, and effective use can be made of the space instead.
In addition, an arrangement may be provided such that a portion to be pressed is provided on the slider, and a force from an eject lever having an eject button which is operated from the outside is received by the portion to be pressed through a link mechanism so as to allow the slider to move while being guided by the holder.
As described above, in accordance with the above-described first aspect of the invention, the slider for pushing out the card at the time of ejection of the card is provided with the pressing piece extending in the pressing direction, a front end portion of the pressing piece is formed as the pressing portion, and the space (notched portion) allowing the advance of the pressing portion during the advance of the slider is formed in the holder. Therefore, without making the device large in size in the pushing-out direction, the forwardly moving distance of the pressing piece can be set to a large distan

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