1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a card connector used for memory cards for use in various portable information terminals, such as a portable telephone or a PC, or memory support equipments such as a digital camera or a digital AV equipment.
2. Description of Prior Arts
A card connector is generally used as an expanded recording apparatus of an electronic equipment such as a personal computer or a digital camera. As a storage medium of the card connector, a PC card or a memory card has come into wide use.
This PC card or memory card is installed in the card connector to write and read necessary information. An express card, for example, has two types different in width. One is I-shaped and the other is L-shaped. Accordingly, an L-shaped express card connector with an L-shaped receiving room turns up for selectively receiving the I-shaped or the L-shaped card. However, the I-shaped card may be fall off from the L-shaped receiving room, because the I-shaped card is narrower than the L-shaped card and only one side ruler formed on the L-shaped card connector can guide insertion of the card.
To solve the problem as described above, an express card connector with a metal plate mounted on the bottom thereof is appeared in recent years. U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,650, for example, discloses a card connector having a bottom plate to prevent an inserted card from falling off the card connector, and an ejecting mechanism mounted on one lateral side thereof for pushing the inserted card out. The bottom plate is mounted in a manner that a plurality of stabbing pieces formed on the opposite side edges thereof mate with corresponding locking holes on a shell of the card connector. Particularly, the ejecting mechanism is placed on a lateral side of the shell in the same way as the bottom plate described above. In this case, the ejecting mechanism and the bottom plate may interfere each other because of a limited room on the shell. When the ejecting mechanism is operated, the bottom plate may shake and tends to become loose. So, it is an object of the present invention to solve the above described problem.
An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a card connector having a bottom plate firmly retained thereon.
In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, an electrical card connector includes a shell structured as L-shaped, an insulating housing covered by the shell, a plurality of terminals retained in the insulating housing, a triangular guiding plate placed in the card room for guiding a card insertion, and a bottom plate confirming in shape with the shell placed under the bottom plate. The shell has a shorter side wall and a longer side wall opposite to the shorter side wall, a card room defined by the shell for receiving a card. The guiding plate locks with the bottom plate, therefore, the guiding plate and the bottom plate are locked with each other more firmly.
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.
Referring to
The connector 100 comprises a metal shell 1, an insulating housing 2 covered by the shell 1, a plurality of terminals 3 retained in the insulating housing 2, a guiding plate 4 disposed in a space defined by the shell 1, an expanding plate 5 placed at the front end of the shell 1, an ejecting mechanism 6 mounted at one lateral side of the shell 1 and a bottom plate 7 located under the shell 1.
The elements of the connector as mentioned above will be described detailedly in following segments.
As shown in
The insulating housing 2 has a tongue plate 22, a plurality of terminal channels 21 going through the tongue plate 22 for retaining the terminals 3. The terminals 3 each has an engaging portion protruding into the card room for contacting electrically with a card.
The guiding plate 4, structured as a triangle type and adapted for guiding a card insertion, is made of plastic material. The guiding plate 4 has a triangular second body plate 41 with a first side edge 43 and a second side edge 44 perpendicular to the first side edge 43. A second clasp 42 is formed on the second body plate 41. In this embodiment, the second body plate 41 and the second clasp 42 are integral.
As shown in
When the selected card is pushed out by pushing the pushing bar 610, the ejecting mechanism 6 works in this manner that the slider moves in the hearted groove controlling the pushing bar 610 to a desirable position, then the subordinating bar 620 is operated and moves backwardly. Accordingly, the subordinating bar 620 makes one end of the rotary bar 621 move backwardly and the rotary bar 621 rotates around a rotation center 6210 formed thereof to bring the other end connecting with the ejecting bar 622 forwardly. As a result, the ejecting bar 622 is driven forwardly. So the card is ejected.
As shown in
Going with the
At first, the insulating housing 2 is placed in the card room defined by the shell 1 and opposite to the card insertion opening B. The guiding plate 4 is also located in the card room with the first side edge 43 and the second side edge 44 fastening with the shorter side wall 13 and the transverse plate 14, respectively. The expanding plate 5 is located on the head of the body plate 11 of the shell 1 to expand the body plate 11. Secondly, the bottom plate 7 is mated with the shell by the tabs 72 and 73 on the longer side edge 710 of the bottom plate 7 locking with the corresponding locking holes 120 of the longer side wall 12 of the shell 1, at the same time, the tab 73 on the shorter edge 711 locking with corresponding locking hole 130 of the shorter side wall 13, the first locking hole 74 locking with the first clasp 131. Particularly, the second clasp 42 of the guiding plate locks with the locking hole 74 of the bottom plate 7, allowing the shell 1 and the bottom plate 7 to lock with each other more firmly. Finally, the ejecting mechanism 6 is placed on the shorter side wall 13 of the shell 1 with the ejecting member 622 partially disposed in the gap 111 of the shell 1 and movably with a card insertion or ejection.
In this embodiment, the second clasp is formed on the guiding plate 4, and the corresponding hole 75 is defined on the bottom plate 7. In another embodiment of the present invention, the second clasp 42 can also be formed on the bottom plate 7, and the corresponding hole 75 is defined on the guiding plate 4. In a word, any fastener formed on the guiding plate 4 to mating with another fastener formed on the bottom plate 7 allowing the shell and the bottom plate locking with each other more firmly is suitable in this invention.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of 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 |
---|---|---|---|
96203303 | Feb 2007 | TW | national |