JP2000268135A - 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 notch 11 is formed at an end of the open portion of the metal plate 6, and an arc-shaped protrusion 12 is formed at a portion corresponding to the notch 11 of the sub-base plate 4. When the mounting of the sub-base plate 4 is completed, the protrusion 12 is fitted into the notch 11, 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. 11 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. For example, 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 cutout is formed at an end of the open portion of the metal plate, and a protrusion that elastically fits into the cutout is formed at a portion corresponding to the cutout of the sub-base plate. .

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 external terminals of the memory chip are integrated, a sub-base plate to which the memory chip plate is fixed, 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. An open end is provided with a concave portion for inserting and removing the sub-base plate from the open portion, a bottom portion of the concave portion is made of a metal plate, and a cutout is formed at an end of the open portion of the metal plate. The sub-base plate is characterized in that a protrusion corresponding to the notch is formed at a portion corresponding to the notch.

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

A fifth aspect of the present invention is directed to a memory card including the memory chip plate and the sub-base plate according to the first aspect.

[0014]

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. FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view in the direction B of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the back side of the sub-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 thereof is open 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. 6 to 8). 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 has an I
C memory chip is electrically connected and then sealed and fixed.
On its front side, the external terminals of the memory chip are formed.
The contact type terminals 5A are arranged.

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. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, this metal plate 6
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 10 (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. 10), 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.

Note that the main base plate 3 is
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 notch 11 larger than a semicircle is formed at the end of the open portion of the metal plate 6, and as shown in FIGS. In a portion of the sub-base plate 4 corresponding to the notch 11,
An arc-shaped projection 12 larger than a semicircle having substantially the same size as the notch 11 is formed.

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 projection 12 of the sub-base plate 4 hits the notch 11 at the end of the open portion of the metal plate 6. That is, the arc-shaped notch 11 is larger than a semicircle, and the projection 12 is also larger than the semicircle.
2, the insertion operator applying a force to the sub-base plate 4 in the direction of insertion causes a sense of resistance, and when the insertion is further advanced, the projections 12 of the sub-base plate 4 Since it is pushed and elastically deformed, resistance to the operator is maintained. The elastic deformation of the projections 12 of the sub-base plate 4 disappears at the moment when the projections 12 of the sub-base plate 4 are fitted into the notches 11, so that the insertion operation of the sub-base plate 4 must be performed. The person who has performed the so-called click feeling, and the sub-
It is possible to reliably know that the base plate 4 has been completely mounted (see FIG. 3). The projection 12 has a notch 1
The sub-base plate 4 is prevented from falling off from the main base plate 3 by the fitting of 1.

FIGS. 6 to 8 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. 6 shows an arc-shaped depression 15 formed at one end on the front side, and FIG. 7 shows a tape 16 having a surface having a high friction coefficient adhered to one end on the front side. 8, FIG. 8 shows a case where the front side surface is a textured surface 17, and any of these can give a sufficient resistance to the operator's finger.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment relating to the fixing of the main base plate 3 to the metal plate. In this embodiment,
A bent portion 6A is formed around the metal plate 6 (excluding the end of the open portion of the concave portion 3A), and the metal plate 6 is put 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.

[0026]

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 partial sectional view in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the back side of the sub-base plate.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the back side of the main base plate.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another embodiment of the sub-base plate itself.

FIG. 7 is a view showing still another embodiment of the sub-base plate itself.

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

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another mode relating to the attachment of the main base plate 3 to the metal plate.

FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing one of respective ends located at open portions on both sides of a concave portion of the main base plate.

FIG. 11 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 Takeshi Abe 2480 Mado, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term in the Hiratsuka Plant of Mitsubishi Plastics Corporation (reference) 2C005 MA17 MA33 MA38 MB04 NA05 NA24 NA25 NA26 NB04 NB11 NB24 PA26 QC02 QC08 RA26 5B058 CA13 CA40 KA40 YA20

Claims (5)

[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 formed of a metal plate coated on one or both sides thereof, and a notch is provided at an end of the open portion of the metal plate. A memory card, wherein a projection is formed at a portion of the sub-base plate corresponding to the notch, and a protrusion elastically fits into the notch. 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 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, and a notch is formed at an end of the open portion of the metal plate; A memory card, characterized in that a protrusion corresponding to the notch is formed at a portion corresponding to the notch. 4. The memory card according to claim 1, wherein both sides of the recess are formed as guide grooves for guiding both sides of the sub-base plate. 5. The memory chip plate and the sub-chip according to claim 1,
Memory card consisting of a base plate.