The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application JP2005-349699 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Dec. 2, 2005, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.
The present application generally relates to a memory card. A memory card which has a data rewritable flash memory, and in that data is written and read to/from this flash memory has been provided.
As such memory card, there has been provided that is formed in a rectangular thin-plate form, by a housing that is made of an insulated material and in that a recessed part open upward and rectangular in a plane view is formed on the top surface being one surface in the thickness direction, and a rectangular multi-chip package that includes a flash memory and is contained in the recessed part (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-338274).
In this memory card, the housing has a rectangular bottom wall and side walls standing from the four sides of the bottom wall, and four side surfaces of the memory card are formed by the four side walls of the housing.
In recent years, because an increase of the storage capacity of a memory card has been required, the size of a flash memory to be set in a multi-chip package has been increased, and the outer dimension of the multi-chip package has been increased.
On the other hand, the outer dimension of a housing is fixed by the specifications of a memory card. Therefore, there is a limit in the size of a multi-chip package that can be contained in the recessed part of a housing.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a memory card formed in a rectangular thin-plate form, by a housing that is made of an insulated material and in that a recessed part is formed on the top surface being one surface in the thickness direction, and a rectangular multi-chip package contained in the above recessed part. The above housing has a rectangular bottom wall, and side walls standing from three of the four sides of the bottom wall. The above recessed part is formed to be open upward and sideward by the bottom wall and the three side walls. And the above multi-chip package extends on the whole area of the above bottom wall in the recessed part.
The nature, principle and utility of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals or characters.
Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings:
A first embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Note that, in this specification, a memory card 10 designates MEMORY STICK MICRO (a registered trademark of Sony Corporation) according to an embodiment.
As shown in
As the insulated material forming the housing 12, for example, thermoplastic resin such as polycarbonate and polybutylene terephthalate can be used.
As shown in
The recessed part 16 is formed to be open upward and sideward by the bottom wall 20 and the three side walls 22.
At the end parts of the side walls 22A facing to each other, a convex parts 24 which project more upward than the top surfaces 2202 of the remaining side walls 22A except the above end parts are formed.
On the outer side surfaces of the side walls 22A facing to each other, a recessed part 2210 is formed so that when this memory card 10 was inserted into a card connector (card slot) provided in an external device, lock mechanism to lock the insertion state of the memory card 10 is engaged with that.
The multi-chip package 14 extends on the whole area of the bottom wall 20 in the recessed part 16.
Then, as shown in
As shown in
The top surface of the multi-chip package 14 is formed by a flat plane 1410 extending on the remaining part except a part along one side of the multi-chip package 14 on the bottom wall 20 on which the side walls 22 (22A, 22B) do not stand, and a convex long narrow part 40 for finger hook that extends along the above one side higher than the flat plane 1410 at the part along the one side of the multi-chip package 14.
The multi-chip package 14 has a holding member 30 in a rectangular thin-plate form made of an insulated material (see
More specifically, a plurality of connecting pieces 36 are provided in line on the flat plane 1410, at a part of the side facing to the convex long narrow part 40, along the above side.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The top surface 2230 of the end parts (convex parts 24) of the two side walls 22A at the both ends of the convex long narrow part 40 in the extending direction are each formed to be higher than the top surfaces 2202 and 2220 of the three side walls 22A and 22B except each the end parts of the two side walls 22A, and to be as high as the top surface 4006 of the convex long narrow part 40.
As shown in
Note that, in this embodiment, to aim for the aforementioned smooth insertion, the top surface 2220 is formed in a slant surface in that as it goes to the top end, it becomes low. However, this slant surface may be formed successively from the top surface 2220 to the end part of the flat plane 1410.
Next, the multi-chip package 14 will be described in detail.
As shown in
As an insulated material forming the holding member 30, for example, thermoset as epoxy resin including glass fiber can be used.
The board 32 is formed in a rectangular thin-plate form from an insulated material. A conducting pattern is formed on its surface or inside, and it is on the top surface of the holding member 30.
The storage section 34 is provided as buried in the holding member 30 in the state where it is attached to the bottom surface of the holding member 32, and data can be written and/or read to/from it. In this embodiment, the storage section 34 is a data rewritable flash memory.
The connecting piece 36 is provided on the top surface being one surface of the holding member 30 in the thickness direction. Concretely, a part of the board 32 except the top surface is provided as buried in the holding member 30, and the connecting piece 36 is formed as penetrating the board 32 from the top surface to the bottom surface. The surface (top surface) of the board 32 is covered with a resist 3202 made of an insulated material. On the resist 3202, a part corresponding to the connecting piece 36 is opened, and the connecting piece 36 is exposed outward via this opening.
The controller 38 performs data communication with an external device via the connecting piece 36 provided as buried in the holding member 30, and data writing and/or reading to/from the storage section 34 is performed. In this embodiment, the controller 38 is provided as buried at a part of the holding member 30 on the storage section 34. However, the controller 38 may be provided as buried at a part of the holding member 30 on the board 32.
Note that, in
As shown in
As shown in
That is, a plurality of connecting pieces 36 includes a signal terminal for transmitting/receiving a signal to/from the controller 38, a ground terminal for supplying ground potential to the controller 38 and the storage section 34, and a power supply terminal for supplying power to the controller 38 and the storage section 34.
The connecting pieces 36-1 to 36-7 are the above-mentioned signal terminals, the connecting piece 36-8 is the above-mentioned power supply terminal, and the connecting piece 36-9 is the above-mentioned ground terminal.
If explaining in detail, the connecting piece 36-1 is a signal terminal for entering a bus state signal BS showing data segment communicated as data signals DATA0 to DATA3.
The connecting piece 36-2 is a signal terminal for performing input-output of the data signal DATA1, the connecting piece 36-3 is a signal terminal for performing input-output of the data signal DATA0. The connecting piece 36-4 is a signal terminal for performing input-output of the data signal DATA2. The connecting piece 36-6 is a signal terminal for performing input-output of the data signal DATA3.
The connecting piece 36-5 is a connecting piece for detecting insertion and pulling out, and is a signal terminal for transmitting/receiving an INS signal that is used by the above-mentioned external device for detecting insertion and pulling out of a memory card.
The connecting piece 36-7 is a signal terminal for entering a clock signal SLCK. The above-mentioned bus state signal BS and data signals DATA0 to DATA3 are communicated in synchronization with this clock signal SLCK.
The connecting piece 36-8 is a power supply terminal for entering a power source Vcc.
The connecting piece 36-9 is a ground terminal that is connected to a ground level (Vss).
Note that, the unused connecting pieces 36-10 and 36-11 are provided for expansion.
According to this embodiment, a recessed part 16 formed in a housing 12 is formed to be open upward and sideward by a bottom wall 20 and three side walls 22, and a multi-chip package 14 extends on the whole area of the bottom wall 20 in this recessed part 16. Since one side wall is less than a conventional memory card, a large area can be kept for a board 32 (multi-chip package 14). Therefore, a memory card 10 that although it is the same size as a conventional memory card, it has a storage section 34 (multi-chip package 14) in that the storage capacity is increased and the outer dimension is larger than conventional one can be obtained, or a memory card 10 that although the size is smaller than the conventional memory card, it has a storage section 34 having the same storage capacity as the conventional one can be obtained.
Furthermore, since the convex long narrow part 40 for finger hook is provided on the top surface of the multi-chip package 14, attachment/detachment of the memory card 10 can be performed readily. Moreover, since the groove 42 is provided on this convex long narrow part 40 for inserting the end part 3210 of the board 32, it is further advantageous for keeping the area of the board 32.
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the shape of the groove 42 for inserting the end part 3210 of the board 32.
Specifically, in the first embodiment, the groove 42 is formed as extending along the whole length of the convex long narrow part 40. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the groove 42 is provided along a part except the both ends of a convex long narrow part 40 in the extending direction.
If explaining in detail, the groove 42 is formed by a first groove part 42A that extends at a depth of a larger value than the first embodiment at the center part of the convex long narrow part 40 in the extending direction, and second groove parts 42B in which the depth becomes gradually smaller from the both ends of the first groove part and is connected to an inner side surface 4002.
According to the second embodiment, it is further advantageous for keeping the area of the board 32 by the first groove part 42A. Moreover, the strength of the convex long narrow part 40 can be maintained by side wall parts 44 forming the back part of the second groove parts 42B.
Of course, also in this second embodiment, similar effect to the first embodiment can be obtained.
The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the shape of the groove 42 for inserting the end part 3210 of the board 32.
Specifically, in the first embodiment, the groove 42 is formed as extending along the whole length of the convex long narrow part 40. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, a plurality of grooves 42 are formed at intervals in the extending direction of a convex long narrow part 40.
If explaining in detail, each groove 42 is formed as extending at a depth of a larger value than the first embodiment, and there is a wall part 46 between each the grooves 42.
Then, a part of the end part 3210 of the board 32 corresponding to each groove 42 is inserted to each groove 42.
According to the third embodiment, it is further advantageous for keeping the area of the board 32 by a plurality of grooves 42. Moreover, the strength of the convex long narrow part 40 can be maintained by the wall parts 46.
Of course, also in this third embodiment, similar effect to the first embodiment can be obtained.
The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the shape of the groove 42 for inserting the end part 3210 of the board 32.
Specifically, a groove 42 is formed as penetrating from the inner side surface toward the outer side surface with remaining the both ends of the convex long narrow part 40 in the extending direction, and a wall part 48 remains at the both ends of the groove 42 in the extending direction.
Then, a part corresponding to the groove 42 in the end part 3210 of the board 32 is inserted into the groove 42, and the above part is on the same plane as an external side surface 4004.
According to the fourth embodiment, it is further advantageous for keeping the area of the board 32 by the groove 42. Moreover, the strength of the convex long narrow part 40 can be maintained by the wall parts 48.
Of course, also in this fourth embodiment, similar effect to the first embodiment can be obtained.
The fifth embodiment is that the multi-chip package 14 is further strongly attached to the housing 12.
Specifically, as shown in
On the other hand, as shown in
Then, when the bottom surface of the multi-chip package 14 is attached to the bottom wall 20 of a recessed part 16 by adhesive S, the slope surfaces 50 and 52 are engaged with each other, so that the attachment of the multi-chip package 14 to the housing 12 becomes further strong. Furthermore, by that the slope surfaces 50 and 52 are engaged, it is advantageous for readily performing the positioning of the multi-chip package 14 to the housing 12.
Of course, also in this fifth embodiment, similar effect to the first embodiment can be obtained.
The sixth embodiment is that the multi-chip package 14 is further strongly attached to the housing 12.
Specifically, on one side of a bottom wall 20 that does not have a side wall 22, a projection 54 (housing-side engaging part) projecting upward from the bottom wall 20 is formed as expended along the one side.
On the other hand, at a part of the bottom surface of the multi-chip package 14 under a convex long narrow part 40, a recessed part 56 (a package-side engaging part) engageable with the projection 54 is formed as extending.
Then, when the bottom surface of the multi-chip package 14 is attached to the bottom wall 20 of a recessed part 16 by adhesive S, the projection 54 is engaged with the recessed part 56, so that the attachment of the multi-chip package 14 to the housing 12 becomes further strong. Furthermore, by that the projection 54 is engaged with the recessed part 56, it is advantageous for readily performing the positioning of the multi-chip package 14 to the housing 12.
Of course, also in this sixth embodiment, similar effect to the first embodiment can be obtained.
The seventh embodiment is that nine connecting pieces 36-12 to 36-20 are newly provided in addition to the connecting pieces 36-1 to 36-11 of the multi-chip package 14. In the first embodiment, the number of communicatable data signals is 4 bit. On the other hand, in the seventh embodiment, the number of communicatable data signal is increased to 8 bit.
Specifically, as shown in
In the example shown in
In the example shown in
Note that, the allocation of signals to the connecting pieces 36-1 to 36-11 is similar to the example shown in
According to this seventh embodiment, of course, the number of communicatable data signals can be increased to 8 bit, and also the similar effect to the first embodiment can be obtained.
Note that, in the aforementioned embodiments, it has dealt with the case where the memory card 10 is a Memory Stick Micro. However, the format of a memory card 10 is not limited to them.
Further, in the aforementioned embodiments, it has dealt with the case where a data rewritable flash memory is used as the storage section 34. However, the present application is not only limited to this, provided that it is a storage section 34 writable and/or readable data.
According to an embodiment, in a memory card, a multi-chip package extends on the whole area of a bottom wall in a recessed part formed in a housing, so that one side wall can be reduced in comparison to a conventional memory card. Thus, a larger area can be kept for a multi-chip package. Thereby, a memory card having a multi-chip package that although it is the same size as a conventional memory card, the storage capacity is increased and the outer dimension is larger than conventional one can be obtained. It is advantageous for coping with an increase of storage capacity.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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P2005-349699 | Dec 2005 | JP | national |