EP1969681A1

EP1969681A1 - Card connector

Info

Publication number: EP1969681A1
Application number: EP05820259A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Benny Chen
Original assignee: FCI SA; Framatome Connectors International SAS
Current assignee: FCI SA
Priority date: 2004-12-29
Filing date: 2005-12-29
Publication date: 2008-09-17
Also published as: CN101095267A; WO2006071202A1; EP1969681A4; TW200623552A; CN100555762C; JP2008525978A

Abstract

A card connector comprises a shield [1] having a first [11], second [12]and a third side [13], a card pushing mechanism [2] including a first spring [3] having a first end [31] and a second end [32], the first end is fixed along the first side [11] of the shield, a linkage [4] having a first end [41]and a second end [42] and a position pin [43] having a first end [431] and a second end [432], a housing [5] having a groove [51] wherein the first end [41] of the linkage extends through the housing and is linked to the second end [32] of the spring, an ejector [6] disposed along the second side [12] of the shield, having a first end [61], a second end [62], and a contact surface [63], the first end is engaged with the second end [42] of the linkage, the contact surface is capable of coming into contact with the card a second spring [7] having a first end [71] and a second end [72], the first end is fixed along the third side [13] of the shield and the second end is coupled to the second end [62] of the ejector.

Description

CARD CONNECTOR

Background of the Invention

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a card connector, and more particularly, to a card connector for detachably connecting a card to a host system. The card connector comprises a shield and a card-pushing mechanism. Through the card- pushing mechanism, a card is received on (or pushed out of) the shield, thereby being connected with (or disconnected from) a host system.

Description of the Prior Art

Recently, portable electronic devices, such as notebook computers or word processors, have provided a card connector to connect to the printed circuit board, like the card connector contained in a motherboard. The card connector is used to connect to or remove the so-called IC card or PC card, thereby expanding the memory capacity or providing extra functions.

U.S. Patent No. 6,398,567 discloses the locking and releasing mechanisms in an IC card connection mechanism for connecting to or removing the IC card. The card connection mechanism generates a spring force by applying a force to each spring at two sides of the card socket in the card connection mechanism, such that the card is ejected and thus is disconnected from the card connection mechanism. Furthermore, U.S. Patent No. 6,056,566 discloses a card connector of an ejection mechanism with an extended ejection stroke. The card connector comprises a frame and an ejection mechanism for connecting to or removing a card, wherein the ejection mechanism includes an ejection board, a lever, a coupling device, and a rotation-inhibiting mechanism. However, the card connector ejects the card by two finger sheets through applying the spring force generated by the lever to the two finger sheet. The mechanism of the above prior arts is complex, so the manufacturing cost of the prior arts increases. The problem of uneven force exerted by the card ejection mechanism therein is the most important one. When connecting to or removing a card, due to the uneven force, the card connector and the card may be broken or damaged easily, thus reducing the service life of the card connector and the card.

Therefore, there is a need for a card connector which is simplified and can achieve a more effective function of connecting to or removing a card.

Summary of the Invention

To overcome the above disadvantages, a main object of the present invention is to provide a card connector. The card connector comprises: a shield, having a first side, a second side, and a third side; and a card-pushing mechanism, including: a first spring, having a first end fixed along the first side of the shield, and a second end; a linkage, including a first end, a second end, and a position pin having a first end and a second end; a housing, having a groove, wherein the first end of the linkage extends through the housing, and is connected to the second end of the first spring; an ejector, disposed along the second side of the shield, wherein the ejector has a first end engaged with the second end of the linkage, a second end, and a contact surface capable of coming into contact with the card; and a second spring, having a first end fixed along the third side of the shield, and a second end connected to the second end of the ejector.

The card-pushing mechanism has a connect position and a remove position relative to the shield. When a card is disposed on a shield, the card-pushing mechanism is located in a remove position, and when a pushing force is applied to the card, the card-pushing mechanism is driven from the remove position to the connect position by the pushing force, such that the card is connected to a host system, and at the same' time, a spring force is generated in the card-pushing mechanism. When a pushing force is applied to the card again, the card-pushing mechanism is pushed away from the connect position, and the card-pushing mechanism is pushed back to the remove position by evenly distributing and releasing the previously generated spring force to an ejector, thereby removing the card from the host system.

Other features and functions of the present invention can be further understood through the following detailed description and the brief description of the drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figs. IA and IB are a top view and a bottom view of a card connector according to the present invention respectively;

Fig. 2 shows a shield in the card connector of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 shows a structure of a card-pushing mechanism in the card connector of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4 shows a structure of a linkage in the card-pushing mechanism of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 further shows a detailed structure of a connection rod of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 further shows a detailed structure of a position pin of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 further shows a detailed structure of a spring band of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 shows a structure of an ejector in the card-pushing mechanism of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 shows a structure of a housing in the card-pushing mechanism of Fig. 3;

Fig. 10 shows a first spring in the card-pushing mechanism of Fig. 3;

Fig. 11 shows a second spring in the card-pushing mechanism of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 12 shows a host connector in the card connector of Fig. 1.

Reference Numerals of the Elements

1 shield

2 card-pushing mechanism

3 first spring

4 linkage

5 housing

6 ejector

7 second spring

8 host connector

11 first side of the shield

12 second side of the shield

13 third side of the shield first end of the first spring

second end of the first spring

first end of the linkage

second end of the linkage

position pin

connection rod

spring band

groove

start position

stop position

first end of the ejector

second end of the ejector

contact surface

first end of the second spring

second end of the second spring

first end of the position pin

second end of the position pin

engaging hole of the connection rod 451 engaging hole of the spring band

Detailed Description

Figs. IA and IB are a top view and a bottom view of a card connector according to the present invention respectively. As shown in Figs. IA and IB, the card connector of the present invention comprises a shield (1) and a card-pushing mechanism (2).

Fig. 2 shows a shield (1) of a card connector of Fig. 1. The shield (1) includes a first side (11), a second side (12), and a third side (13).

Fig. 3 shows a structure of the card-pushing mechanism (2) in the card connector of Fig. 1. The card-pushing mechanism (2) includes a first spring (3), a linkage (4), a housing (5), an ejector (6), and a second spring (7).

Fig. 4 shows a structure of a linkage (4) in the card-pushing mechanism (2) of Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 4, the linkage (4) includes a first end (41), a second end (42), a position pin (43), and a connection rod (44).

Fig. 5 further shows a detailed structure of a connection rod (44) of Fig. 4. The connection rod (44) further includes an engaging hole (441).

Fig. 6 further shows a detailed structure of the position pin (43) of Fig. 4. The position pin (43) has a first end (431) and a second end (432).

Fig. 7 further shows a detailed structure of the spring band (45) of the linkage (4) of Fig. 4. The spring band (45) has an engaging hole (451).

Fig. 8 shows a structure of the ejector (6) in the card-pushing mechanism (2) of Fig. 3. The ejector (6) has a first end (61), a second end (62), and a contact surface (63) capable of coming into contact with a card. Fig. 9 shows a structure of the housing (5) in the card-pushing mechanism (2) of Fig. 3. As show in Fig. 9, the housing has a heart-shaped groove (51), a start position (52) and a stop position (53).

Fig. 10 shows a first spring (3) in the card-pushing mechanism (2) of Fig. 3. The first spring (3) has a first end (31) and a second end (32).

Fig. 11 shows a second spring (7) in the card-pushing mechanism (2) of Fig. 3. The second spring (7) has a first end (71) and a second end (72).

Fig. 12 shows a host connector (8) in the card connector of Fig. 1. The card connector further includes a host connector (8).

According to the present invention, the first spring (3) is disposed along the first side (11) of the shield (1), wherein the first end (31) of the first spring (3) is fixed thereon, and the second end (32) of the first spring (3) is connected to the first end (41) of the linkage (4). The linkage (4) extends through the housing (5), and the second end (42) of the linkage (4) is connected to the first end (61) of the ejector (6). The first end (431) of the position pin (43) of the linkage (4) extends through the engaging hole (451) of the spring band (45), and is connected to the engaging hole (441) of the connection rod (44). And the second end (432) of the position pin (43) is hooked on the heart-shaped groove (51) of the housing (5). The spring band (45) is used to hold the position pin (43) of the linkage (4), such that the position pin (43) slides against the heart-shaped groove (51) of the housing (5). The start position (52) of the housing (5) corresponds to the remove position of the card-pushing mechanism (2), while the stop position (53) of the housing (5) corresponds to the connect position of the card-pushing mechanism (2).

The ejector (6) is disposed along the second side (12) of the shield (1), such that the contact surface (63) of the ejector (6) contacts the card when connecting or pushing out a card. The second end (62) of the ejector (6) is connected to the second end (72) of the second spring (7). The second spring (7) is disposed along the second side (12) of the shield (1), and the first end (71) of the second spring (7) is fixed thereon.

The card connector further comprises a host connector (8).

When a card is disposed on the shield (1), the card-pushing mechanism (2) is located in a remove position, that is, the position pin (43) is located in the start position (52) of the housing (5). When a pushing force is applied to the card, the pushing force is evenly distributed on the contact surface (63) of the ejector (6) contacting the card, thereby pushing the connection rod (44), such that the position pin (43) moves from the start position (52) to the stop position (53) along the heart-shaped grooves (51) of the housing (5). At this time, the card-pushing mechanism (2) is located in a connect position, and the card is connected to the host connector (8) of a host system. When moving, the position pin (43) drives the connection rod (44) and stretches the first spring (3) and the second spring (7) through the ejector (6), to generate a spring force. The spring force does not function, as the position pin (43) is located in the stop position (53).

When a pushing force is applied to the card again, the connection rod (44) is pushed by the pushing force through the contact surface (63) of the ejector (6) contacting the card, such that the position pin (43) leaves the stop position (53) along the heart-shaped groove (51) of the housing (5). By evenly distributing and releasing the spring force that is generated when the position pin (43) is moving on the contact surface (63) of the ejector (6), the connection rod (44) is pushed, such that the position pin (43) returns back to the start position (52) along the heart-shaped groove (51) of the housing (5). At the same time, through the contact surface (63) of the ejector (6), the card is ejected, and thereby is disconnected from the host connector (8) and removed from the host system. And then, the card pushing mechanism (2) returns back to the remove position. As the card connector of the present invention can evenly distribute the force of ejecting a card on a card-pushing mechanism, a card can be connected to or removed from a host system. As such, when connecting or removing a card, the card connector or the card will not be broken or damaged due to the uneven ejection force. Furthermore, since the design of the present invention is simple, the purpose of saving costs can be achieved.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but does not limit the claims of the present invention. Any equivalent variation or modification performed without departing from the spirits disclosed by the present invention should be included in the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A card connector for detachably connecting a card to a host system, the card connector comprising:

a shield (1) having a first side (11), a second side (12), and a third side (13); and

a card-pushing mechanism (2), including:

a first spring (3) having: a first end (31) fixed along the first side (11) of the shield (1), and a second end (32);

a linkage (4) having a first end (41), a second end (42), and a position pin (43) having a first end (431) and a second end (432);

a housing (5) having a groove (51), wherein the first end (41) of the linkage (4) extends through the housing (5) and is linked to the second end (32) of the spring

(3);

an ejector (6) disposed along the second side (12) of the shield (1), having: a first end (61) engaged with the second end (42) of the linkage (4), a second end (62), and a contact surface (63) capable of coming into contact with the card; and

a second spring (7) having a first end (71) fixed along the third side (13) of the shield (1), and a second end (72) coupled to the second end (62) of the ejector (6).

2. The card connector as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the linkage (4) further comprises a connection rod (44) having an engaging hole (441) and a spring band (45) having an engaging hole (451).

3. The card connector as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the first end (431) of the position pin (43) extending through the engaging hole (451) of the spring band (45) is engaged to the engaging hole (441) of the connection rod (44) and the second end (432) of the position pin (43) is hooked on the groove (51) of the housing (5).

4. The card connector as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the spring band (45) is provided to hold the position pin (43) of the linkage (4) to slide along the groove (51) of the housing (5).

5. The card connector as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the housing (5) further comprises a start position (52) and a stop position (53).

6. The card connector as claimed in Claim 1, further comprising a host connector (8).