1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a card connector mounted on an electronic device, and more particularly to a connector with a compact structure for reliably holding an inserted electrical card.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in conventional electrical card connector, many card connector have an eject mechanism to remove the inserted card from the connector. A related conventional card connector is disclosed in U.S. patent application Publication No. 2001/0055896A1. The conventional electrical card connector includes a cover, a plurality of conductive contacts and an eject mechanism. The eject mechanism comprises a heart cam element defining a guiding groove, a slider, a cam follower disposed between the guiding groove of the heart cam element and the slider, a coiled spring and a latching member. The coiled spring is disposed between the slider and the cover for providing enough elastic force. The latching member has an end fixing with the slider and an opposite end forming a hook for engaging with a notch of an electrical card and a protrusion portion upwardly extending into a guide hole of the cover. When the electrical card is inserted into the connector, the slider moves with the movement of the card. At the same time, the hook of the latching member engages with the notch of the card to prevent the card from falling out of the connector. When the card is ejected from the connector, the latching member disengages from the notch of the card, thereby free the card from the connector. However, the conventional connector need an additional latching member, as a result, the conventional connector includes more excessive components to make the eject mechanism complex.
Hence, an improved electrical card connector having a simplified structure is needed to solve the above problems.
A main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical card connector which is capable of reliably holding an inserted card in a compact mechanism.
In order to attain the object above, an electrical card connector for electrically connecting with an electrical card defining a notch includes a cover, a plurality of conductive contacts and an eject mechanism. The eject mechanism includes a heart cam element defining a heart-shaped guiding groove, a slider, a cam follower having a clap and a pair of coiled springs disposed between the heart cam element and the slider. The cam follower has an end connecting with the slider and an opposite end move in the guiding groove of the heart cam element. When the electrical card is displaced into the electrical card connector, the clasp of the cam follower is inserted into the notch of the card. When the card is ejected from the connector, the clasp disengages from the connector.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the figures and in which:
Reference will now be made to the drawing figures to describe the present invention in detail.
Referring to
The cover 1 includes a top plate 11 and a bottom plate 12. The top plate 11 includes a top wall 111, a pair of first sidewalls 112 and a rear wall 113. The top wall 111 forms a pair of leaf springs 1110 for abutting against the eject mechanism in one side thereof (as described in detail hereinafter). The top wall 111 further includes a number of first securing fingers 1111 downwardly bending from partial rear edge thereof. The first sidewalls 112 forms a number of locking tabs 1120 interiorly bending therefrom and a plurality of flanges 1121 transversely extending from a bottom edge thereof for fixing the electrical card connector 100 to an external equipment (not shown). The bottom plate 12 includes a bottom wall 121 and a pair of second sidewalls 122. The bottom wall 12 forms a stopping flap 1210 upwardly bending from the same side thereof as the leaf springs 1111 of the top wall 111 and a pair of second securing fingers 1211 upwardly bending from opposite sides of a rear edge thereof. The second sidewalls 122 define a plurality of openings 1220 for engaging with corresponding locking tabs 1120 of the first sidewalls 112 of the top plate 11. The second sidewalls 122 further form a pair of resistance tabs 1221 bending toward each other in front edges thereof. In addition, the top plate 11 cooperates with the bottom plate 12 to forms a receiving space 13 for receiving the electrical card 9.
The conductive contacts 2 are retained in the fixing member 4 and each comprises a contacting portion 21 for electrically connecting with the electrical card 9 and a soldering portion 22 rearward extending from the contacting portion 21. The detect contacts 3 are similar to the conductive contacts 2 and each includes a contacting portion (not labeled) and a soldering portion (not labeled). In the present invention, the soldering portions 22 of the conductive contacts 2 and the soldering portions of the detect contacts 3 electrically connect with a printed circuit board (not shown) through soldering method.
The fixing member 4 is substantially longitudinal and defines a plurality of recesses 40 in a top and bottom surface thereof for engaging with the first securing fingers 1111 and the second securing fingers 1211. The fixing member 4 further forms a first post 41 forwarding projecting from a front portion of one side thereof.
Referring to
The slider 52 is substantially a flat and includes a main portion 520 defining a receiving room 5201 for accommodating the electrical card 9, and further includes on a front portion a comb structure defining a plurality of aligning slots therein to respectively receive corresponding contacts 2 when said slider 52 is moved together with the card 9 and the cam follower 53 in said insertion direction. The main portion 520 forms a third post 521 in the same side as the first post 41 of the fixing member 4 and defines a receiving channel 522 in another side corresponding to the second post 511 of the heart cam element 51. At the same time, the slider 52 defines an orientation hole 523 in a top surface in the same side as the receiving channel 522 and a recess 524 adjacent to the receiving room 5201.
The cam follower 53 is substantially strip and forms a first hook 531 and a second hook 532 downwardly bending from opposite ends thereof. The cam follower 53 forms a clasp 533 interiorly projecting from a substantially middle portion thereof for latching with a notch 90 of the electrical card 9, thereby securely fixing the electrical card 9 in the electrical connector 100 (shown in
The coiled springs 54 give the slider 52 elastic force to realize eject the electrical card 9 from the electrical card connector 100. One of the coiled springs 54 is disposed between the first post 41 of the fixing member 4 and the third post 521 of the slider 52, while the other is disposed between the second post 511 of the heart cam element 51 and the receiving channel 522 of the slider 52.
Referring to
Referring to
When the card 9 is pushed interiorly again, the second hook 532 of the cam follower 53 is positioned in the second transition 51d of the guiding groove 510 of the heart cam element 51. Then the slider 52 return to the initiative point 51a via the elastic force recovery of the coiled springs 54 (shown in
Comparing to prior arts, the eject mechanism according to the present invention need not assemble additional latching member, thereby decreasing the produce and assembly process of latching member and simplifying the eject mechanism.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of number, shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2004 2 00248812 | Feb 2004 | CN | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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6648694 | Takamori et al. | Nov 2003 | B1 |
6729892 | Takada et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
6761569 | Nakamura | Jul 2004 | B1 |
6816386 | Oguchi et al. | Nov 2004 | B1 |
20010055896 | Takada et al. | Dec 2001 | A1 |
20050221649 | Tanaka et al. | Oct 2005 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20050186817 A1 | Aug 2005 | US |