Patent Grant
8926345
This application claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of an application entitled “Apparatus for Inserting and Extracting Insert Type Card for Electronic Device” filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jul. 21, 2011 and assigned Serial No. 10-2011-0072209, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for inserting/extracting an insert type card to/from an electronic device, and more particularly to an apparatus for inserting/extracting an insert type card using a card cover.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, electronic devices typically include portable communication devices, liquid crystal display devices, computers, portable electronic calculators, and battery packs.
A portable communication device enables mobile voice and data communications with a counterpart and includes an antenna unit, a data input/output unit, a data transmitting/receiving unit. The data input unit generally includes a keypad through which data can be input mainly by a pushing operation of a finger, and a touchpad or a touch screen are often used as the keypad.
The conventional portable communication device has evolved to have multiple functions according to various demands of users. For example, the multiple functions include voice communication, a radio set playing function, a digital camera function, an internet function, and a function for downloading and recreating MP3 music and videos. Such music and video files have large file sizes, and additionally require a memory card such as a secure digital (SD) card, a multimedia card (MMC), and a subscriber identification module (SIM) card. The memory card is inserted into and extracted from the portable communication device during operation.
As illustrated in
As shown, when the memory card 3 is to be inserted into the communication device body 2, the card cover 6 installed in the communication device body 2 is manually pulled out and rotated to open the card insert slot 4. In this state, the memory card 3 is inserted into the card insert slot 4, and then is inserted into the push-pull card socket 5 while being pushed, thus making an electrical contact with the push-pull card socket 5.
Thereafter, when the memory card 3 is to be extracted from the card insert slot 4, if the inserted memory card 3 is pushed again using a fingernail of a user or a tool (not shown), it is automatically extracted from the card insert slot 4 by the push-pull card socket 5.
Such a memory card inserting/extracting apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-119881 (published on May 11, 2006). However, since the conventional memory card inserting/extracting apparatus for an electronic device has a structure, it is difficult to extract the memory card without using a fingernail of a user or a separate tool.
Thus, there is a need for an improved apparatus for inserting/extracting a memory card into/from a card insert slot even without using a fingernail of a user or a separate tool.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art and provides additional advantages, by providing an apparatus for inserting/extracting an insert type card for an electronic device which allows a user to insert or extract the insert type card without using a fingernail of the user or a separate tool. This is achieved by configuring a card inserting/extracting portion such that the insert type card can be inserted or extracted using a card cover installed in a card insert slot, thus making it easy to insert or extract the insert type card.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for inserting/extracting an insert type card for an electronic device includes: a card insert slot formed in the electronic device; a card cover installed in the card insert slot; and at least one card inserting/extracting portion formed at a circumference of the card insert slot, wherein the card inserting/extracting portion allows the card cover to push in thereto the insert type card.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a terminal having an insert type card includes: a housing having a card insert slot to receive the insert type card, a card cover rotatably coupled to the card insert slot to selectively open and close the card insert slot, and at least one card inserting/extracting portion formed on the card insert slot to receive one end of the card cover when the insert type card is being pushed by the card cover.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the configurations described herein and illustrated in the drawings are merely the embodiments of the present invention and may be replaced by various modifications as of the time when the application is filed.
Referring to
The above insert type card 60 is one of various external memory cards, a secure digital (SD) card, a multimedia card (MMC), a personal information card, a check card, and a subscriber identification module (SIM) card, but may be any suitable insert type external card capable of storing large data.
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Hereinafter, an operation of the apparatus for inserting/extracting an insert type card for an electronic device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail. Referring to
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As described above, since the card inserting/extracting portions 50 are configured such that the end 42 of the card cover 40 which has been rotated and opened is guided and inserted, and the insert type card 60 is inserted and extracted by pushing the insert type card 60, the insert type card 60 can be inserted and extracted without using a fingernail of a user or a separate tool, thereby making it easy to insert and extract the insert type card 60.
Further, the apparatus 10 for inserting/extracting an insert type card according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to an electronic device as a representative example. However, it is not limited only to an electronic device, but may be applied to various types of products which require an apparatus for inserting/extracting an insert type card.
Examples of the electronic device 11 according to the embodiment of the present invention include all mobile communication terminals operated based on communication protocols corresponding to various communication systems, all information and communication devices such as a portable multimedia player (PMP), an MP3 player, a navigation system, a gaming device, a laptop computer, an advertising panel, a TV, a digital broadcasting player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, electronic devices and multimedia devices, and application devices thereof.
While the invention has been shown and described with reference to a certain embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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