CN102214865A - Elastic contact piece for card connector and card connector equipped with the elastic contact piece - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an elastic contact piece for a card connector and a card connector equipped with the elastic contact piece, wherein the spring force and the plug durability are prevented from being lowered, the removing effect of foreign materials and the contact reliability are improved. The card connector comprises a cover member, a base member and a plurality of elastic contact pieces. A card accommodation space is formed by the cover member and the base member for accommodating IC cards. Each of the plurality of elastic contact pieces is respectively equipped with a contact part, an elastic deformation part, a fixing part and a terminal part, which are fixed to the base member via the fixing part in the cantilever beam-like extending manner of the contact part and the elastic deformation part connected with the contact part. The contact part of the elastic contact piece is equipped with a plurality of point contact portions. The point contact portions are formed to be convex upwards into an arc shape along the cross-sectional shape of the center line and the profile shape orthogonal to the central line, which project upwards from the surface of the contact part.

Description

Elastic contact piece for card connector and card connector provided with the elastic contact piece

technical field

The present invention relates to an elastic contact piece for a card connector installed in electronic equipment such as a mobile phone and a camera, and a card connector provided with the elastic contact piece, and particularly relates to an elastic contact piece for a card connector with improved contact reliability and durability and a card connector equipped with the elastic contact piece. The resilient contact piece of the card connector.

Background technique

Typical elastic contact pieces conventionally used in such card connectors are shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B . In FIGS. 5A and 5B , the contact portion 71 of the elastic contact piece 70 is formed to be convexly curved upward in the longitudinal direction. The contact portion 71 is therefore configured to be in line contact with an external contact (not shown) of an inserted IC card (integrated circuit built-in card). Alternatively, the contact portion 71 is further convexly bent upward along the section line VB-VB, and is configured to make point contact with an external contact of the IC card at one point. In addition, in FIG. 5A , 72 is an elastic deformation portion for moving the contact portion 71 up and down, and 73 is a fixing portion for fixing the elastic contact piece to the card connector.

In the case of such line contact or single-point contact, there is a risk of poor contact due to foreign matter caught between the contact portion of the elastic contact piece and the external contact of the IC card. In order to improve such poor contact, multiple contacts have been proposed as disclosed in JP-A-04-012280 and JP-A-2002-100440.

However, in the Publication No. 04-012280, the cross-section of the contact portion is V-shaped to form a two-point contact, and the contact portion is formed in an edge shape, and there is a problem that the external contact of the IC card due to contact is worn. The contact portion of the elastic contact piece itself may cause a decrease in durability against insertion and extraction of the IC card. In addition, since the contact portion is formed in an edge shape, the external contacts of the IC card may be damaged, and there is a possibility that the contact with the elastic contact piece may become unstable.

In addition, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100440, the elastic contact piece is divided into two halves, so the width of each divided elastic contact piece is narrowed, thereby weakening the spring force, and the spring force is lower than that of conventional elastic contact pieces. slightly worse. Therefore, when the IC card is inserted and pulled out many times, the contact force obtained by the elastic contact piece decreases, and there is a possibility that a problem may arise in contact reliability.

Contents of the invention

In view of these problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a card connector for a card connector that does not reduce the spring force and plug durability, and can improve the removal effect of foreign matter and contact reliability, and does not hinder the downsizing of the card connector. An elastic contact piece and a card connector provided with the elastic contact piece.

The elastic contact piece for card connector of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the elastic contact piece for card connector is installed on the basic component of the card connector, and contacts with the external contact of IC card, it is characterized in that: the elastic contact piece includes A contact portion, an elastic deformation portion, a fixing portion, and a terminal portion, wherein the contact portion and the elastic deformation portion connected to the contact portion extend in a cantilever shape and protrude into the card storage space through the fixing portion. part is fixed to the base member; the contact part of the elastic contact piece has a plurality of point contact parts, and the point contact parts are formed in a cross-sectional shape along the center line and a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the center line Both are convexly curved upward in an arc shape, and protrude upward from the surface of the contact portion.

In the elastic contact piece for a card connector according to the present invention, it is preferable that a long hole penetrating the contact portion in the vertical direction is formed between the plurality of point contact portions.

Furthermore, the card connector according to the present invention includes: a base member on which a plurality of the above-mentioned elastic contact pieces are attached; and a cover member forming a card storage space for accommodating the IC card together with the base member.

The elastic contact piece for card connector of the present invention and the card connector that has this elastic contact piece, by such constitution, by having a plurality of point contact parts that protrude upwards, thereby, can be with respect to the external contact of corresponding IC card in many ways. point of contact. Therefore, if a few point contact parts are poor in contact, the remaining point contact parts compensate for the contact, and the contact reliability can be improved. In addition, even if rubbish exists between the contact portion and the external contact of the IC card, the rubbish can be removed or destroyed by sliding the plurality of point contact portions on the external contact of the IC card. Thus, the contact reliability of the elastic contact piece can be improved without damaging the external contacts of the IC card. Furthermore, the shape of the point contact portion is arcuate in cross-section, so the risk of deformation of the contact portion with respect to insertion and extraction of the IC card is reduced, the point contact is maintained, and the insertion and extraction durability is superior to that of conventional elastic contact pieces. In addition, since a plurality of point contact parts and the elastic deformation part are integrated, the width of the elastic deformation part can be formed wider, and the function of the elastic deformation part as a spring will not be reduced even if the IC card is frequently inserted and pulled out repeatedly. .

Further effects of the present invention will be clarified through the following detailed description (refer to the accompanying drawings).

Description of drawings

1A to 1D show the first embodiment of the elastic contact piece for the card connector of the present invention, FIG. 1A is a perspective view of the elastic contact piece, FIG. 1B is a top view, FIG. 1C is a side view, and FIG. 1D is along the ID of FIG. 1A - Cutaway view of the ID line.

2A and FIG. 2B are schematic diagrams of the card connector equipped with the elastic contact piece shown in FIG. 1A to FIG. 1D, FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the card connector, and FIG. 2B is a cover in the card connector shown in FIG. Perspective view of the card connector with components removed.

3A to 3C show the second embodiment of the elastic contact piece for the card connector of the present invention, FIG. 3A is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the elastic contact piece, FIG. 3B is a top view, and FIG. 3C is along the IIIC-IIIC line of FIG. 3A cutaway view.

4A to 4C show the third embodiment of the elastic contact piece for the card connector of the present invention, FIG. 4A is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the elastic contact piece, FIG. 4B is a plan view, and FIG. 4C is along the IVC-IVC line of FIG. 4A cutaway view.

5A and 5B show a conventional elastic contact piece for a card connector, FIG. 5A is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the elastic contact piece, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view along line VB-VB in FIG. 5A .

Detailed ways

Next, preferred embodiments of the elastic contact piece for card connectors according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(first embodiment)

First, the card connector 50 mounted with an IC card (hereinafter simply referred to as "card") will be briefly described. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the card connector 50 includes a cover member 51 and a base member 52 . By overlapping the cover member 51 and the base member 52, a card storage space 55 for storing an IC card is formed. The card storage space 55 opens in a direction opposite to the arrow X direction, and is formed as a card insertion opening. The cover member 51 constituting the card connector 50 is preferably formed of metal, and the base member 52 is preferably formed of electrically insulating synthetic resin. In addition, the card storage space 55 may also be formed by the inner peripheral part of the case (not shown) of the electronic equipment in which the card connector 50 is arrange|positioned, and the base member 52. As shown in FIG. At this time, the base member 52 is covered with the inner peripheral portion of the casing of the electronic device. The card connector 50 further includes a plurality of elastic contact pieces 10 attached to the bottom plate 53 of the base member 52 . In this embodiment, a plurality of elastic contact pieces 10 are arranged in two rows in the card insertion direction (arrow X), and each row is perpendicular to the card insertion direction, and the adjacent contact pieces 10, 10 of each row parallel to each other. In addition, in the present embodiment, the elastic contact pieces 10 are respectively embedded in the bottom plate 53 of the base member 52 by insert molding, thereby being fixed to the bottom plate 53 of the base member 52 .

By inserting an IC card (not shown) into the card receiving space 55 of the card connector in the direction of arrow X, the external contact of the IC card is electrically contacted with the corresponding elastic contact piece 10 . Accordingly, the IC card is electrically connected to electronic equipment (not shown) such as a mobile phone, a camera, and an information terminal equipped with the card connector 50 .

The elastic contact piece 10 in this embodiment has a bilaterally symmetrical shape with respect to the center line O-O as shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. In the present embodiment, the elastic contact piece 10 is integrally formed of a conductive metal plate by stamping as in the conventional case.

The contact portion 11 is a member that electrically contacts the external contacts of the IC card, and in this embodiment includes two point contact portions 11a and 11b that can electrically contact the external contacts of the IC card. As shown in FIG. 1B , the two point contact portions 11 a , 11 b are bilaterally symmetrical across the center line O-O and arranged parallel to each other. The point contact portions 11a, 11b are respectively configured to be convexly curved upward along the center line O-O in an arc shape, and as shown in FIG. Arc shape. That is, the point contact portions 11 a and 11 b are formed so as to protrude upward from the surface of the contact portion 11 in a substantially hemispherical shape as a whole. In this embodiment, the two point contact parts 11a, 11b are integrally formed, supported by the elastic deformation part 12 so as to be elastically displaceable in the vertical direction, and elastically contact the external contacts of the IC card with a predetermined contact pressure.

As shown in FIG. 1A , the elastic deformation portion 12 extends obliquely upward from the fixing portion 13 in a cantilever shape, and supports the contact portion 11 so as to be elastically displaceable up and down. The elastically deformable portion 12 is formed so as to be elastically deformable like a leaf spring centering on the connecting portion 12 a with the fixing portion 13 . The contact portion 11 and the elastic deformation portion 12 connected to the contact portion 11 are fixed to the bottom plate 53 of the base member 52 via the fixing portion 13 so as to protrude into the card storage space 55 .

The fixing portion 13 is a flat member formed between the elastic deformation portion 12 and the terminal portion 14 , and is a member for fixing the elastic contact piece 10 to the bottom plate 53 of the base member 52 constituting the card connector 50 . In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 13 is embedded in the bottom plate 53 by insert molding, thereby fixing the elastic contact piece 10 to the bottom plate 53 . Specifically, as clearly shown in FIG. 1B , the fixing portion 13 has a rectangular flat plate structure and includes a rectangular hole 13 a slightly larger than the rectangular opening 53 a formed in the bottom plate 53 . On the side of the terminal part 14 side (or the side opposite to the side) of the rectangular hole 13a of the fixed part 13, the contact part 11 and the elastic deformation part 12 connected thereto can pass in the hole 13a and be elastic up and down. In the way of displacement, the contact portion 11 and the elastic deformation portion 12 are provided via the connecting portion 12a. At this time, the size of the opening 53 a of the bottom plate 53 is also set so that the contact portion 11 and the elastic deformation portion 12 of the elastic contact piece 10 can pass through the opening 53 a and elastically displace up and down.

In addition, the shape of the fixing portion 13 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be formed in a belt shape so as to have substantially the same width from the elastic deformation portion 12 to the terminal portion 14 . In addition, the fixing portion 13 is not limited to being embedded in the bottom plate 53 by insert molding as in the present embodiment, and may be formed by pressing the fixing portion into a groove provided in the bottom plate 53 or the like as shown in JP-A-2002-100440. structure.

The terminal portion 14 is a member connected to an external terminal such as a printed circuit of an electronic device on which the card connector 50 is mounted by soldering or the like. The terminal portion 14 is disposed from the fixed portion 13 toward the outside along the center line O-O (for example, opposite to the contact portion 11 as shown in FIG. 1B ).

The elastic contact piece 10 in this embodiment is provided with two upwardly convex substantially hemispherical point contact portions 11a, 11b, so that it can point contact with the corresponding external contact of the IC card at two points. Therefore, when one of the point contact portions 11a or 11b assumes poor contact, the other point contact portion 11a or 11b compensates for the contact, thereby improving contact reliability. In addition, even if rubbish (foreign matter) exists between the contact portion 11 and the external contact of the IC card, the rubbish can be removed by sliding (sliding) on the external contact of the IC card by the two substantially hemispherical point contact portions 11a, 11b. exclude or destroy. As a result, the contact reliability of the elastic contact piece 10 can also be improved. However, since both point contact portions 11a, 11b are substantially hemispherical, there is no danger of damaging the external contacts of the IC card. Furthermore, the shape of the two point contact portions 11a, 11b forms an arc shape on the cross section along the ID-ID line and the cross section along the center line O-O, so there is a risk of deformation of the contact portion 11 relative to the insertion and extraction of the IC card. reduced, able to maintain point contact. Therefore, the insertion/extraction durability is superior to conventional elastic contact pieces. In addition, the two point contact parts 11a, 11b and the elastic deformation part 12 are integrated, so the width of the elastic deformation part 12 can be formed wider. function will not be reduced.

(second embodiment)

The main part of the second embodiment of the elastic contact piece of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C . The elastic contact piece 20 in the second embodiment has substantially the same shape as the elastic contact piece 10 in the above-mentioned first embodiment except for the elongated hole 21c. A long hole 21c is formed between the two point contact portions 21a and 21b of the contact portion 21 in such a manner as to extend along the center line O-O. The elongated hole 21c is formed to allow discharged or destroyed garbage to fall downward when the two point contact portions 21a, 21b come into contact with the external contacts of the IC card while sliding on the external contacts of the IC card. Therefore, the elongated hole 21c is formed to penetrate the contact portion 21 in the up-down direction. By providing such long holes 21c, dust and the like do not remain on the contact portion 21, thereby further reducing the probability of causing poor contact. In addition, since other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment as described above, description thereof will be omitted. At this time, the structure of the elastic contact piece 20 in the second embodiment can be easily understood by substituting the reference numeral 10 in the first embodiment with 20 .

(third embodiment)

The main part of the third embodiment of the elastic contact piece of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C . The elastic contact piece 30 in the third embodiment has substantially the same shape as the elastic contact piece 10 in the first embodiment described above except for the third point contact portion 31c. The third point contact portion 31c is formed between the two point contact portions 31a and 31b of the contact portion 31 in such a manner as to extend along the center line O-O. The third point contact portion 31c is formed in the same shape as the two point contact portions 31a and 31b formed on both sides, that is, formed to protrude upward in a substantially hemispherical shape. In the present embodiment, by further adding point contact portions, point contact can be made at three locations, and thus contact reliability can be further improved. In addition, since other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment as described above, description thereof will be omitted. At this time, the structure of the elastic contact piece 30 in the third embodiment can be easily understood by substituting the reference numeral 10 in the first embodiment with 30 . In addition, as in the second embodiment, elongated holes may be formed between the point contact portions 31a, 31b, and 31c so as to extend parallel to the center line O-O.

The present invention has been described above through preferred embodiments, but it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. The scope of the technical solutions of the present invention should be interpreted in the broadest sense, including all modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims (3)

1. card connector elastic contact chip, it is installed on the basic component of card connector, contacts with the external connector of IC-card, it is characterized in that:

Described elastic contact chip comprises contact site, strain portion, fixed part and portion of terminal, and with described contact site and the described strain portion cantilever beam shape that links to each other with this contact site extend and in described card accommodation space outstanding mode, be fixed in described basic component via described fixed part;

The described contact site of described elastic contact chip possesses a plurality of somes contact portions, described some contact portion forms, along the section shape of center line and with the section shape of this center line quadrature bend to all convexly circular-arc, outstanding upward from described contact site surface.

2. card connector elastic contact chip as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that: between described a plurality of somes contact portions, be formed with the slotted hole that connects described contact site on above-below direction.

3. card connector is characterized in that possessing:

Basic component, it is equipped with described claim 1 or 2 described elastic contact chips; With

The lid member, it forms the card accommodation space of taking in described IC-card with described basic component.

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