CARD CONNECTOR

Abstract

A card connector for accommodating a removable card, includes a housing into and from which the removable card is inserted and ejected; connector terminals which come in contact with contacts of the removable card, respectively, when the removable card is inserted into the housing; a slider which moves in a card insertion direction and a card ejection direction, opposite to the card insertion direction, when the removable card is inserted and ejected into and from the housing, respectively; a first coil spring which biases the slider in the card insertion direction; and a second coil spring which biases the slider in the card ejection direction. Each of the first coil spring and the second coil spring remains in contact with the slider and the housing, respectively, regardless of the position of the slider.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be discussed below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of a card connector according to the present invention, showing the structure thereof;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the card connector shown in FIG. 1 and a card, showing a state where the card is in the process of being inserted into the card connector;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, showing a state where the card is held temporarily in the card connector;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, showing a state where the card has been inserted into the card connector to a point at which a slider reaches an over-stroke position thereof;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, showing a state where the card has been inserted into the card connector and installed therein into position;

FIG. 6A is a graph showing variations of a force exerted on the slider in the process of inserting/ejecting the card into and from the card connector in the case of the embodiment of the card connector according to the present invention, wherein the vertical axis and the horizontal axis represent the force exerted on the slider and the position of the slider in the forward/rearward direction thereof;

FIG. 6B is a graph similar to that of FIG. 6A, showing variations of a force exerted on a slider in the process of inserting/ejecting the card into and from a conventional card connector;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a modified embodiment of the card connector, showing a state where the card is held temporarily in the card connector;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal cross sectional view of a second switch terminal and a portion around the periphery thereof;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to that of FIG. 7, showing state where the card has been inserted into the card connector and installed therein into position;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional card connector, showing the structure thereof; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the conventional card connector shown in FIG. 10 and a card, showing a state where the card is in the process of being inserted into the card connector.

Claims

1. A card connector for accommodating a removable card, comprising: a housing into and from which said removable card is inserted and ejected;connector terminals which come in contact with contacts of said removable card, respectively, when said removable card is inserted into said housing;a slider which moves in a card insertion direction and a card ejection direction, opposite to said card insertion direction, when said removable card is inserted and ejected into and from said housing, respectively;a first coil spring which biases said slider in said card insertion direction; anda second coil spring which biases said slider in said card ejection direction,wherein each of said first coil spring and said second coil spring remains in contact with said slider and said housing, respectively, regardless of the position of said slider.

2. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said first coil spring and said second coil spring are coaxially arranged along said card insertion direction and said card ejection direction.

3. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein a biasing force exerted on said slider by resiliency of said second coil spring is greater than a biasing force exerted on said slider by resiliency of said first coil spring.

4. The card connector according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of said slider is held between a positioning portion formed on said housing and said second coil spring in a state where said removable card is not inserted into said housing.

5. The card connector according to claim 2, wherein each of said first coil spring and said second coil spring comprises a compression coil spring.

6. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said removable card comprises a memory card.

7. The card connector according to claim 6, wherein said memory card comprises a micro-sized SD memory card.

8. The card connector according to claim 2, wherein said housing comprises a housing body and a housing cover which covers said housing body, wherein said slider is mounted on said housing body to be slidable thereon inside said housing, andwherein said first coil spring and said second coil spring are positioned on opposite sides of said slider along said card insertion direction and said card ejection direction.

9. The card connector according to claim 4, wherein said positioning portion projects toward said slider in a direction substantially orthogonal to said card insertion direction and said card ejection direction from said housing.

10. The card connector according to claim 1, wherein said slider comprises a heart-shaped cam.

11. The card connector according to claim 1, further comprising a lock member for temporarily holding said removable card when said removable card is inserted into and ejected from said housing, said lock member being mounted to said slider.

12. A card connector including a housing into which a removable card is inserted, comprising: connector terminals arranged inside said housing and coming in contact with contacts of said removable card, respectively, when said removable card is inserted into said housing;a slider positioned in said housing and slidingly movable in a card insertion direction and a card ejection direction, opposite to said card insertion direction, when said removable card is inserted and ejected into and from said housing, respectively;a first spring which biases said slider in said card insertion direction; anda second spring which biases said slider in said card ejection direction,wherein said first coil spring and said second coil spring remain in contact with said slider from opposite directions, respectively, regardless of the position of said slider.

13. The card connector according to claim 12, wherein each of said first spring and said second spring comprises a compression coil spring.