JP2000268134A - Memory card - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a memory card with improved versatility and handleability. A concave portion (3A) of a main base plate (3) is open, and a sub base plate (4) is held from this open portion so as to be insertable and removable. The bottom of the recess 3A is made of a metal plate 6. An arc-shaped projection 11 is formed near one end on one side of the sub-base plate 4, and the concave portion 3 of the main base plate 3 is formed.
An arc-shaped recess 12 is formed in a portion corresponding to the protrusion 11 on one side of A. When the mounting of the sub-base plate 4 is completed, the projection 11 is fitted into the recess 12, so that the sense of resistance disappears and the operator can feel a click.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a memory card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of types of small memory cards having different sizes, structures, and the like are known, and they are called, for example, compact flash, smart media, and the like. Such a small memory card, for example,
It is loaded into a digital camera or the like and stores data such as captured images. In addition, such a small memory card is attached to a card-type adapter corresponding to a card slot of a so-called notebook-type personal computer, and the card-type adapter is inserted into and connected to the card slot. Data is also exchanged between the parties. Further, it has been proposed that such a small memory card is inserted into and connected to a portable information device to exchange data with the device.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing an example of the above-mentioned small memory card. At a predetermined position on one side of a plastic base plate 1, a chip of a memory IC and a chip of the memory IC to which the chip is fixed are attached. A terminal plate 2 having a plurality of (for example, 22) contact type terminals 2A constituting an external terminal is embedded, and this terminal plate 2 is arranged on one side surface of the base plate 1 and on the back side of the terminal plate 2. The memory IC chip is located (ie, the memory IC chip is not visible from the outside). Therefore, the base plate and the memory I
It is inseparable from the C chip. Then, such a memory card is attached to a predetermined location of a counterpart device (for example, a digital camera, a card-type adapter, etc.), and the terminals of the terminal plate 2 are connected to a contact-type connection portion of a predetermined location of the counterpart device. , An electrical connection is made between the memory IC and the other device.

[0004]

The size of the above-mentioned memory card is determined. For example, smart media is about 37mm wide, about 45mm high, and about 0.7m thick
m.

Therefore, such a memory card is
Its use is limited. That is, for example, with respect to smart media, the other party's device is limited to a device that can mount the smart media or a device that can be connected to the smart media via an adapter. The device cannot connect to SmartMedia. Also, it is difficult to attach a smart media to a very small device such as a mobile phone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a memory card which can be mounted on a smaller device by adopting a structure separable from a base plate. And

Another object of the present invention is to provide a memory card which can be securely attached to and detached from a base plate.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a memory card which can be adapted to various memory card standards by being detachably mounted on a base plate.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a memory chip board in which a memory chip and an external terminal of the memory chip are integrated, and a sub chip on which the memory chip board is fixed. A base plate, and a main base plate having a predetermined size connectable to an electronic device and holding the sub base plate at a predetermined position so as to be able to be inserted and withdrawn, wherein the main base plate has the predetermined size. At the position
Opening at one end of the main base plate has a concave portion for inserting and removing the sub-base plate from the open portion, the bottom portion of the concave portion is formed of a metal plate coated on one or both sides thereof, A projection is formed on at least one of both sides of the sub-base plate or at least one of both sides of the concave portion.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the coating is one of a thermoplastic resin and a thermosetting resin or a combination of both.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a memory chip plate in which a memory chip and an external terminal of the memory chip are integrated, a sub-base plate to which the memory chip plate is fixed, and a predetermined connectable to an electronic device. A main base plate having a size of and holding the sub base plate at a predetermined position so as to be able to be inserted and withdrawn, wherein the main base plate is provided at one side of the main base plate at the predetermined position. It has a concave portion which is opened at the end and for inserting and removing the sub-base plate from the open portion. It is characterized in that at least one of the projections is formed with a projection.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the first to third aspects, portions corresponding to the projections on both sides of the concave portion or both sides of the sub-base plate are recessed. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, both sides of the concave portion are guide grooves for guiding both sides of the sub-base plate. .

Further, the invention of claim 6 is characterized by a memory card comprising the memory chip plate and the sub-base plate of claim 1.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state before a sub-base plate is mounted on a main base plate. FIG. 2 is another perspective view showing the same embodiment, and shows a state after the sub base plate is mounted and held on the main base plate. This embodiment is applied to a memory card called a smart media.

As shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes a main base plate, and a substantially rectangular recess 3A formed at a predetermined position is opened at one end of the main base plate 3. From this open portion, a sub-base plate 4 having substantially the same size as the recess 3A is inserted and held in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, by extracting the sub base plate 4 from the main base plate 3 in the direction of arrow A, the sub base plate 4 is removed from the main base plate 3.
Can be removed.

The sub-base plate 4 is made of plastic and has a hole formed in the center thereof (see FIGS. 8 to 10). The periphery of the memory chip plate 5 is fixed to the periphery of the hole by an adhesive or the like. I have. The memory chip plate 5 is electrically connected to a memory chip of the IC on the back side thereof and then sealed and fixed, and the front side is provided with 22 contact-type terminals 5A constituting external terminals of the memory chip. .

The bottom of the concave portion 3A formed at a predetermined position of the main base plate 3 is made of a reinforcing metal plate (for example, a stainless steel plate) 6. One or both surfaces of the metal plate 6 are coated for insulation (the same applies to the embodiments described below). If necessary,
The invention also applies to uncoated metal plates.

The coating is one or a combination of a thermoplastic resin and a thermosetting resin;
Examples of the thermoplastic resin include polyolefin, nylon, polyester, and polyetherimide, and examples of the thermosetting resin include epoxy and polyester. Further, as shown in FIG.
A part of the back side is recessed by the thickness of the metal plate 6 so as to be fixed to a part of the back side of the main base plate 3 with an adhesive and to be flush with the remaining part of the back side. I have.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 12 (partial sectional views in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2), guide grooves 7 are formed on both sides of a concave portion 3A formed at a predetermined position of the main base plate 3. . That is, both sides of the concave portion 3A are cut obliquely from the upper end to the bottom, and both sides of the sub-base plate 4 are inclined from the upper end to the lower end so as to face the guide groove 7. (This inclined portion is indicated by 8 in FIG. 12), when the sub-base plate 4 is inserted into the concave portion 3A,
The inclined portions 8 on both sides of the sub-base plate 4 contact the guide grooves 7 on both sides of the concave portion 3A. That is, the sub base plate 4
Is in a state fitted in the recess 3A. Therefore, when the sub base plate 4 is inserted into or removed from the recess 3A formed at a predetermined position of the main base plate 3, the inclined portions on both sides of the sub base plate 4 are inserted into the guide grooves 7 on both sides of the recess 3A. Slides (guided) along the sub base plate 4
Insertion and removal are performed smoothly.

It should be noted that the sub base plate 3
When inserting and removing the base plate 4, one end of the sub-base plate 4 is pinched by a finger, but two recesses 9 are formed near one end on the front side of the sub-base plate 4. This dent 9
Gives resistance to the surface of the finger, so that the sub-base plate 4 is securely held between the fingers, and the insertion and removal is more reliably performed. An oblique notch 10 is formed on one side of the other end of the sub-base plate 4, and the other end of the concave portion 3A of the main base plate 3 is correspondingly formed. Since one side is inclined, when inserting and removing the sub-base plate 4, the front and back and the insertion direction are not mistaken.

As shown in FIG. 1, an arc-shaped projection 11 is formed near one end on one side of the sub-base plate 4, and as shown in FIGS. An arc-shaped recess 12 is formed in a portion of the plate 3 corresponding to the protrusion 11 on one side of the recess 3A.

According to the above configuration, when the sub base plate 4 is inserted into the concave portion 3A of the main base plate 3, the inclined portions on both sides of the sub base plate 4
A comes into contact with the guide grooves 7 on both sides of A, so that insertion is performed smoothly. Then, in the concave portion 3A of the main base plate 3,
Immediately before the sub-base plate 4 is completely mounted (the state shown in FIG. 2), the sub-base plate 4 is provided on one side of the open portion of the recess 3A.
The projection 11 hits the insertion operator, causing a sense of resistance,
When the insertion is further advanced, the sub-base plate 4
Is relatively pushed back from one side of the body, so that the operator has a constant feeling of resistance. At the moment when the projection 11 of the sub base plate 4 reaches the recess 12 on one side of the recess 3A, that is, at the moment when the projection 11 fits into the recess 12,
Since the push-back pressure from one side of the concave portion 3A against the base plate 4 disappears, at that time, a person who is performing the insertion operation of the sub-base plate 4 can obtain a so-called click feeling,
The fact that the sub base plate 4 is completely mounted in the recess 3A of the main base plate 3 can be surely known. Further, the presence of the projections 11 prevents the sub base plate 4 from coming off the main base plate 3.

Even if the recess 12 is not formed in the recess 3A, immediately before the sub base plate 4 is completely mounted in the recess 3A of the main base plate 3 (the state shown in FIG. 2), the recess 3 is formed.
The projection 11 of the sub-base plate 4 hits one side of the open portion of A, causing a feeling of resistance to the insertion operator, so that the operator can confirm that the insertion of the sub-base plate 4 has been completed. An effect of preventing the base plate 4 from coming off the main base plate 3 is also obtained. Further, the above-mentioned protrusion 11 and recess 12 are formed by the sub base plate 4 and the main base plate 3.
May be formed on both sides.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment, and shows a state before the sub base plate is mounted on the main base plate. FIG. 6 is another perspective view showing the same embodiment, and shows a state after the sub-base plate is mounted and held on the main base plate. This embodiment is applied to a memory card called a smart media.

In this embodiment, an arc-shaped recess 13 is formed near the other end on one side of the sub-base plate 4, and as shown in FIGS. An arc-shaped projection 14 is formed in a portion corresponding to the dent 13 on one side of the third concave portion 3A.

With the above configuration, FIGS.
The same effects as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. That is,
When the sub-base plate 4 is inserted into the concave portion 3A of the main base plate 3, the sub-base plate 4 is smoothly inserted because the inclined portions on both sides thereof contact the guide grooves 7 on both sides of the concave portion 3A. Is performed. Immediately before the sub base plate 4 is completely mounted in the concave portion 3A of the main base plate 3 (the state of FIG. 6), the insertion tip of the sub base plate 4 is inserted into the protrusion 14 on one side of the concave portion 3A. Therefore, the insertion operator feels resistance, and when the insertion is further advanced, the sub-base plate 4 is relatively pushed back from the protrusion 14,
The operator maintains a certain resistance. Then, the recess 13 of the sub-base plate 4 reaches the protrusion 14 on one side of the recess 3A,
That is, at the moment when the projection 14 is fitted into the recess 13, the push-back pressure from one side of the recess 3A against the sub-base plate 4 disappears. At this time, the sub-base plate 4 is inserted. The user can obtain a so-called click feeling, and can surely know that the sub base plate 4 is completely mounted in the concave portion 3A of the main base plate 3.
Further, the presence of the projections 14 prevents the sub base plate 4 from coming off the main base plate 3.

It is to be noted that even if the recess 13 is not formed in the sub base plate 4, the sub
Immediately before the base plate 4 is completely mounted (the state shown in FIG. 6), the insertion end of the sub-base plate 4 hits the projection 14 of the concave portion 3A, and the operator feels resistance until the insertion is completed. The user can confirm that the insertion of the sub-base plate 4 has been completed, and the effect of preventing the sub-base plate 4 from coming off from the main base plate 3 can be obtained. Further, the above-described recess 13 and protrusion 14 may be formed on both sides of the sub base plate 4 and the main base plate 3.

FIGS. 8 to 10 show another embodiment of the sub-base plate 4 itself, each of which has a feature in a structure for giving a sense of resistance to the operator's finger at the time of the insertion / extraction operation. That is, FIG. 8 shows an arc-shaped depression 15 formed at one end on the front side, and FIG. 9 shows a tape 16 having a surface with a high coefficient of friction attached to one end on the front side. FIG. 10 shows that the front side surface has a textured surface 17.
All of these can give a sufficient sense of resistance to the operator's finger.

FIG. 11 shows another embodiment relating to the attachment of the main base plate 3 to the metal plate. In this embodiment, the main base plate 3 is bent around the metal plate 6 (excluding the end of the open portion of the recess 3A). A portion 6A is formed, and the metal plate 6 is placed in a mold and filled with resin. As a result, the metal plate 6 is fixedly integrated with the resin portion, and a material equivalent to the one fixed with the above-mentioned adhesive is obtained.

In the above description, the smart media is taken as an example, but the present invention can be applied to any other type of memory card.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By adopting a structure that can be separated from the main base plate, a memory card that can be mounted on a smaller device can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a memory card which can be securely attached to and detached from the main base plate.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a memory card capable of complying with various memory card standards by being detachably mounted on the main base plate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is another perspective view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main base plate in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the back side of the main base plate.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another perspective view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main base plate in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view showing another embodiment of the sub-base plate itself.

FIG. 9 is a view showing still another mode of the sub-base plate itself.

FIG. 10 is a view showing still another embodiment of the sub-base plate itself.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another embodiment relating to the fixing of the main base plate 3 to the metal plate.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view showing one of respective ends located at open portions on both sides of a concave portion of a main base plate.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing an example of a conventional memory card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Main / base plate 3A recess 4 Sub / base plate 5 Memory chip plate 6 Metal plate

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Masayoshi Sekiyama 2480 Masaki, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Pref. Inside the Hiratsuka Plant of Mitsubishi Plastics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tatsuya Hayashi 2480 Mado, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Mitsubishi Plastics Inside the Hiratsuka Plant (72) Inventor Ken Abe 2480 Mado, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa F-term in the Hiratsuka Plant of Mitsubishi Plastics Corporation (reference) 5B058 KA40

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A memory chip plate in which a memory chip and external terminals of the memory chip are integrated, a sub-base plate to which the memory chip plate is fixed, a predetermined size connectable to an electronic device, and A main base plate for holding the sub base plate at a predetermined position so as to be able to be inserted and withdrawn, wherein the main base plate is open at one end of the main base plate at the predetermined position and is open. A concave portion for inserting and removing the sub-base plate from a portion, a bottom portion of the concave portion is made of a metal plate coated on one or both sides thereof, and at least one of both sides of the sub-base plate or the concave portion A memory card, wherein a projection is formed on at least one of both sides. 2. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein the coating is one of a thermoplastic resin and a thermosetting resin or a combination of both. 3. A memory chip plate in which a memory chip and external terminals of the memory chip are integrated, a sub-base plate to which the memory chip plate is fixed, a predetermined size connectable to an electronic device, and A main base plate for holding the sub base plate at a predetermined position so as to be able to be inserted and withdrawn, wherein the main base plate is opened at one end of the main base plate at the predetermined position and is open. A concave portion for inserting and removing the sub-base plate from a portion, a bottom portion of the concave portion is made of a metal plate, and a projection is formed on at least one of both sides of the sub-base plate or at least one of both sides of the concave portion. A memory card characterized by being formed. 4. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein portions corresponding to the protrusions on both sides of the recess or both sides of the sub-base plate are recessed. 5. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein both sides of the recess are guide grooves for guiding both sides of the sub base plate. 6. The memory chip plate and the sub-chip according to claim 1,
Memory card consisting of a base plate.