Abstract:
A housing ( 1 ) is provided with an eject lever ( 3 ) for ejecting a card ( 10 ). The eject lever holds a locking member ( 4 ) to be swingable around a support shaft ( 13 ). The housing is provided with a cam portion ( 7 ). The locking member is provided with a cam follower portion ( 14 ) to be engaged with the cam portion and a locking portion ( 15 ) for locking the card to inhibit the release of the card. When the eject lever is made to perform sliding movement, the cam portion and the cam follower portion cooperate to swing the locking member so that the card is locked and unlocked by the locking portion.

Description:
The invention claims priority to prior Japanese application JP 2002-377759, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a card connector to be connected to a card, such as an IC card and a communication card, and, in particular, to a card connector having a locking mechanism for preventing accidental release of a card. 
   Generally, a card connector has an eject mechanism for ejecting a card. For example, an eject mechanism called a W-PUSH type or a push—push type is known. The eject mechanism of this type has an eject lever to be moved within the connector together with the card inserted in the connector. 
   A structure in which the eject lever holds a locking member as a part of a locking mechanism for preventing accidental escape of the card from the card connector has been proposed, for example in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-326028. In this structure, the locking member is press-fitted to and held by the eject lever in a cantilevered fashion. Elastic deformation of the locking member moves a locking tab to lock the card and unlock the card. 
   Another known locking mechanism has a locking member rotatable around a rotation axis (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publications (JP-A) Nos. 2002-184525 and 2001-203034). 
   If the card connector is to be small in size, the eject lever must also be small. However, such an eject lever is disadvantageous because it is not rigid enough to support or withstand a moment during deformation of the locking member. In particular, in the structure in which the locking member is press-fitted to and held by the eject lever in a cantilevered fashion as disclosed in JP-A 2001-326028, the mechanical strength is insufficient in practical use. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a card connector with a locking mechanism high in durability even if the eject lever is reduced in size. 
   Other objects of the present invention will become clear as the description proceeds. 
   According to an aspect of the present invention, the card connector for use in connecting a card comprises a housing defining a card receiving area and having a cam portion, an eject lever slidably held by the housing and adapted to eject the card receiving area, a support shaft coupled to the eject lever, and a locking member mounted to the eject lever to be swingable around the support shaft. The locking member has a cam follower portion to be engaged with the cam portion and a locking portion for locking the card to inhibit the release of the card. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a card connector according to an preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the card connector illustrated in  FIG. 1 , with the cover removed; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a part of the card connector illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a plan view of a combination of an eject lever and a locking member contained in the card connector illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of the locking member contained in the card connector illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of the card connector illustrated in  FIG. 1 , where a card is not inserted, and the cover being depicted in dash-dot lines; and 
       FIG. 6B  is a similar perspective view, where the card is inserted. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the card connector is to be connected to a card  10 , such as an IC card and a communication card, and comprises a case or a housing  1  defining a card receiving area  1   a  for receiving the card  10 , a detection switch  2  disposed at one end of the housing  1  to detect insertion of the card  10 , an eject lever  3  held by the housing  1  to be reciprocally slidable in first and second directions A 1  and A 2  and adapted to eject the card  10  from the card receiving area  1   a , and a locking member  3  swingably held by the eject lever  3 . 
   The housing  1  has an insulating base  5  and a cover  6  fixed to the base  5 . Between the base  5  and the cover  6 , the card receiving area  1   a  is defined. The eject lever  3  is held by the base  5 . The cover  6  is provided with a cam portion  7 . The cam portion  7  has an inclined intermediate part  7   a  inclined with respect to the first and the second directions A 1  and A 2 . 
   The base  5  is provided with a plurality of conductive contacts  8  to be electrically connected to the card  10  inserted into the card receiving area  1   a  of the housing  1 , and a plurality of conductive hold-downs  9 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the eject lever  3  and the locking member  4  will be described. 
   The eject lever  3  is continuously urged in the first direction A 1  by a spring (not shown). The eject lever  3  is provided with a heart cam  11  which is engaged with a cam follower (not shown) fixed to the housing  1 . 
   When the card  10  is inserted from the other end of the housing  1  into the card receiving area  1   a , the eject lever  3  slides in the second direction A 2  under the pressure of the card  10  and energizes a spring (not shown). Once the card  10  is pushed inward to reach a predetermined position, the eject lever  3  is locked at the predetermined position under the action of the heart cam  11 , even if the pressure is released. At this time, the card  10  is electrically connected to the contacts  8 . 
   When the card  10  is pushed slightly further inward, the eject lever  3  is unlocked under the action of the heart cam  11 . Consequently, the eject lever  3  is moved in the first direction A 1  by the bias of the above-mentioned spring. During the movement, the eject lever  3  separates the card  10  from the contacts  8  and pushes the card  10  out of the card receiving area  1   a.    
   Thus, under the action of the heart cam  11 , the eject lever  3  serves as an eject mechanism of a W-PUSH type. The eject mechanism of this type is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-184525 and will not be described herein any further. 
   The locking member  4  has a generally U-shaped portion  12  which has a U-shaped bottom  12   a  rotatably engaged with the eject lever  3  by a support shaft  13  fixed to the eject lever  3 . The generally U-shaped portion  12  has a first end portion  12   b  provided with a cam follower  14  and a second end portion  12   c  provided with a locking portion  15 . 
   The cam follower portion  14  is inserted into and engaged with the cam portion  7  of the cover  6 . Therefore, when the eject lever  3  performs a reciprocal sliding movement in the first and the second directions A 1  and A 2 , the locking member  4  performs a swinging movement around the support shaft  13  in accordance with the shape of the cam portion  7 . 
   Following the swinging movement of the locking member  4 , the locking portion  15  enters into and exits from the card receiving area  1   a  If the locking portion  15  protrudes into the card receiving area  1   a  into which the card  10  is inserted, the locking portion  15  is engaged with a recess  10   a  at a lateral edge of the card  10  to lock the card  10 . When the locking portion  15  is retracted from the card receiving area  1   a , the card  10  which has been locked by the locking portion  15  is unlocked so that the card  10  can be released. Thus, the locking portion  15  is moved following the swinging movement of the locking member  4  to selectively lock and unlock the card  10 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , an actual operation of the card connector will be described. 
   In  FIG. 6A , the card  10  is not inserted. In this state, the eject lever  3  is moved in the first direction A 1  and the locking portion  15  is retracted from the card receiving area  1   a  When the card  10  is inserted, the eject lever  3  is pushed by the card to move in the second direction A 2 . At this time, the cam portion  7  and the cam follower portion  14  cooperate to swing the locking member  4  in one direction. 
   As a result, the locking portion  15  protrudes into the card receiving area  1   a  to be engaged with the recess  10   a  of the card  10 , as illustrated in FIG.  6 B. If the card  10  is further pushed in, the card  10  is connected to the contacts  8 . When the card  10  is connected to the contacts  8 , the card  10  is locked by the locking portion  15  to be prevented from being accidentally released. 
   When the card is further pushed inward, the eject lever  3  is unlocked under the action of the heart cam  11  and is moved in the first direction A 1  under the urging force of the spring, as mentioned above. During the movement, the cam portion  7  and the cam follower portion  14  cooperate to swing the locking member  4  in an opposite direction. As a result, the locking portion  15  is retracted from the card receiving area  1   a  to enter a depression  16  of the eject lever  3 , as illustrated in  FIG. 6A , so that the card  10  is disengaged from the recess. Therefore, the card  10  is smoothly separated from the contacts  8  and can be ejected from the card receiving area  1   a.    
   As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the cover  6  may be provided with a plurality of card brakes  17  for braking the card  10  and a plurality of connection springs  18  for connecting the cover  6  to the hold-downs  9 . 
   This invention has been described in conjunction with a preferred embodiment thereof. However, it will readily be understood by those skilled in the art that this invention is not restricted to the foregoing embodiment but may be modified in various manners with the scope of this invention.