Abstract:
A card ejector comprises a frame ( 10 ) having a support section ( 11 ) for guiding and supporting a removable card (C) and a guide plate ( 23 ) extending substantially parallel to said support section ( 11 ) and having a guiding slot ( 24 ); an ejector lever ( 39 ) provided on said frame ( 10 ) for ejecting the card (C); a first push rod ( 31 ) made of a flat metal sheet and provided in parallel to said guide plate ( 30 ) for sliding therealong upon depression; a second push rod ( 32 ) made of a flat metal sheet and provided in parallel to said guide plate ( 23 ) for transmitting a force from said first push rod ( 31 ) to said ejector lever ( 39 ); and a cam member ( 40 ) provided behind said first rod ( 31 ) so as to face said second rod ( 32 ) for engagement with said guiding slot ( 24 ) such that when said first rod ( 31 ) is depressed, said second rod ( 32 ) pushes said ejector lever ( 39 ) for rotation, thereby pushing said card (C) for ejection.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to card ejectors for ejecting cards from electronic equipment. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Japanese patent application Kokai No. 11-219756 discloses a card ejector of this type. The card ejector comprises a frame for guiding and supporting a removable card, a push rod provided on a side of the frame for sliding on the frame, and an ejector lever pushed by the push rod to eject the card. 
     The push rod comprises a first rod depressed by the operator, a second rod for transmitting the force to the ejector lever, and an intermediate member for engaging the rods. The intermediate member is supported by the first rod for rotation between an engaging position to engage the second rod and a release position to release the engagement. The rotation of the intermediate member is made by the circular movement of a pin section of the intermediate member along a heart-shaped cam channel in step with the reciprocation of the first rod. 
     The cam channel has a sloped and a stepped bottom to prevent the pin section from moving backward. To eject the card, the intermediate member engages the second rod to move the ejector lever, and the engagement is released thereafter. Under the engagement condition, the push button of the first rod projects from the front face of the equipment but, under the release condition, it is almost flush with the front face. 
     There has been a demand for a smaller card ejector. The heart-shaped cam member, however, makes the miniaturization difficult. It has a stepped bottom and needs the thick bottom wall. In addition, it has a complicated shape and is made by molding with a resin. The resin is not a rigid material, making the thick wall necessary. Moreover, the heart-shaped cam member needs a number of components, such as a pin section of the intermediate member and a bias member, which in turn requires a large space in which they operate. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple, economical, and compact card ejector. 
     According to the invention there is provided a card ejector which comprises a frame made of a flat metal sheet and having a support section for guiding and supporting a removable card and a guide plate made of a flat metal sheet and extending substantially parallel to said support section and having guiding means, an ejector lever provided on said frame for ejecting a card, a first push rod made of a flat metal sheet and provided in parallel to said guide plate for sliding therealong upon depression, a second push rod made of a flat metal sheet and provided in parallel to said guide plate for transmitting a force from said first push rod to said ejector lever, and a cam member provided behind said first rod so as to face said second rod for engagement with said guiding means such that when said first rod is depressed, said second rod pushes said ejector lever for rotation, thereby pushing said card for ejection. Since the support section of the frame, the first and second push rods are made of a metal sheet and provided in parallel with each other and also the cam member is guided by the guide plate provided in parallel to the support section, it is possible to make the connector small in a direction of the thickness of the metal sheets and the connector is strong because of the material of metal. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a card ejector according to an embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the card ejector assembled; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a cam member for the card ejector; 
     FIGS.  4 ( 1 )-( 4 )A are sectional views of the card ejector taken along the guide slot of a guide plate when a card is ejected; 
     FIGS.  4 ( 1 )-( 4 )B are side views of the card ejector when a card is ejected; 
     FIGS.  5 ( 1 )-( 3 )A are sectional views of the card ejector taken along the guide slot of a guide plate when a card is inserted; 
     FIGS.  5 ( 1 )-( 3 )B are side views of the card ejector when a card is inserted; 
     FIG.  6 (A) is a sectional view of the card ejector taken along the guide slot when no card is inserted; 
     FIG.  6 (B) is a side view of the card ejector when no card is inserted; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a push rod and a cam member according to another embodiment of the invention; and 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a card ejector according to still another embodiment of the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In FIG. 1, a frame  10  has a pair of support sections  11  and  12  for supporting a card C, such as a PC card, movable in the direction of an arrow X. The frame  10  is made by stamping and bending a metal sheet such that provide a flat section  10 A and the support sections  11  and  12  make a staple-shaped cross-section. The support sections  11  and  12  support the card C on the opposite sides such that the card C is movable in the direction X. 
     A pair or ground contacts  15  and  16  are provided on side walls  13  and  14  of the support sections  11  and  12 , respectively. The ground contacts  15  and  16  have a staple-shaped slit in the side walls  13  and  14  such that they become cantilevered flexible pieces, making inwardly bent contact portions  15 A and  16 A, respectively, for contact with the ground portions of the inserted card C. An attaching tab  11 A extends outwardly from each of the side walls  11  and  12 . 
     In this embodiment, part of an ejector is provided on the support section  11 . A pair of U-shaped upper guide pieces  17  and  18  and three U-shaped lower guide pieces  19 ,  20 , and  21  extend outwardly from the side wall  13  for supporting and guiding first and second push rods (later described). Another U-shaped guide piece  22  extends outwardly from the side wall  13  near the lower guide piece  21 . The upper guide piece  17  has an outwardly extending engaging portion  17 A and an engaging groove  17 B behind the engaging portion  17 A. 
     A guide plate  23  extends outwardly from and in parallel to the side wall  13  between the lower guide piece  20  and the guide piece  22  and has a guide slot  24  in its central portion. The guide slot  24  has a horizontal section  25  and a vertical section  26  communicating with the horizontal section  25 , making a hook-shaped configuration. An abutting piece  27  extends upwardly from the guide plate  23  and has an inclined edge  27 A. An introducing face  23 A extends obliquely outwardly from the guide plate  23 . 
     The push rod  30  consists of first and second rods  31  and  32  that are made of a metal sheet so as to provide a flat faces. The first rod  31  is provided with a push button  33  at its front, a semicircular support recess  34  at its rear, and an opening  35  in its middle for allowing flexure of the ground contact  15 . 
     The second rod  32  has a pushing recess  36  at its rear end, and abutment and release arms  37  and  38 , respectively, at its front. The abutment arm  37  is made longer than the release arm  38 . The abutment and release arms  37  and  38  correspond in height to the horizontal and vertical sections  25  and  26 , respectively, of the guide slot  24 . The abutment arm  37  has a cam follower  37 A at the free end. The release arm  38  has an outwardly inclined free end  38 A. The pushing recess  36  engages and pushes an eject lever  39  for rotation, which ejects the card C. 
     A cam member  40  is provided between the first and second rods  31  and  32 . As best shown in FIG. 3, it has a flat body  41 , a substantially circular bearing portion  42 , and an engaging piece  43  extending laterally from the flat body  41  and has an engaging recess  43 A in its upper edge. An engaging bend  44  is provided on the lower edge of the body  41 . 
     The first and second rods  31  and  32  are assembled as follows. 
     In FIG. 2, the first rod  31  with the push button  33  attached is supported by the upper and lower guide pieces  17 ,  19 , and  20  on the side wall  13  such that the bearing portion  42  of the cam member  40  fits in the support recess  34  for swinging up and down. The cam member  40  is biased by a coil spring  45  with its ends  45 A and  45 B engaging the engaging recess  43 A and the engaging groove  17 B, respectively. Under this condition, the engaging bend  44  of the cam member  40  engages the horizontal slot  25  of the guide plate  23  and the contact portion  15 A of the ground contact  15  is located in the opening  35  of the first rod  31 . 
     The second rod  32  are supported by the guide pieces  18 ,  21 , and  22  for guidance along the side wall  13 , wherein the guide piece  22  is located in a slot between the abutment and releasing arms  37  and  38 . The inclined free end  38 A of the releasing arm  38  is located in the vertical hook section  26  of the guide plate  23 . The first and second rods  31  and  32  and the body section  41  of the cam member are located in the same plane so that the thickness of the ejector rod section is minimized. The joint portion between the guide plate  23  and the frame  10  may be used to support the first and second rods  31  and  32 . 
     The axis of the coil spring  45  is made higher than the guide slot  24 , and the engaging groove  17 B of the guide piece  17  is located in front of the engaging recess  43 A of the cam member  40  so that the engaging recess  43 A of the cam member  40  is pulled to rotate the cam member  40  at the bearing portion  42  as a fulcrum. Consequently, the coil spring  45  biases not only forwardly the cam member  40  but also upwardly the engaging portion  44  against the inside of the guide plate  23 . 
     The operation of the card ejector will be described with reference to FIGS.  4 ( 1 )A through  5 ( 3 )B. 
     In FIGS.  4 ( 1 )A and B, the card is being inserted and connected to the connector. The cam member  40  is pulled by the coil spring  45  to a retreated position where it abuts on the abutment face  27 A of the guide plate  23 . Under this condition, the push button  33  of the first rod  31  projects from the front panel of equipment. The engaging portion  44  of the cam member  40  is located at a retreated position in the horizontal slot section  25  of the guide slot  24  to be opposed to the abutment arm  37  of the second rod  32 . 
     Then, to eject the card, the push button  33  is depressed against the coil spring  45  to move the first rod  31  rearwardly so that the engaging portion  44  of the cam member  40  moves in the hook section  26  as shown in FIGS.  4 ( 1 )A and B through FIGS.  4 ( 3 )A and B. The rearward movement of the engaging portion  44  moves rearwardly the second rod  32 . This rearward movement rotates the ejector lever  39  to bring the card forward to a position from which the card can be removed. 
     Since the cam member  40  is biased by the coil spring  45  forwardly and upwardly, the engaging portion  44  enters the vertical hook section  26  as shown in FIGS.  4 ( 3 )A and B and retrieves to the position shown in FIGS.  4 ( 4 )A and B. The engaging portion  44  is guided into the hook section  26  by the inclined rear end of the horizontal straight section  25 . Under this condition, the push button  33  no longer projects from the equipment panel. 
     When the card is inserted into the connector for connection, the ejector lever  39  rotates clockwise to push the second rod  32  forwardly. The engaging section  44  of the cam member  40  is located above the abutment arm  37  of the second rod  32  but opposed to the release arm  38  as shown in FIGS.  5 ( 1 )A and B. This is the normal condition where the card is inserted in electronic equipment for use. When the card is inserted in the frame  10 , its side faces make spring contact with the ground contacts  15  and  16  provided on the side walls  13  and  14 . Consequently, the ground contacts  15  and  16  are flexed outwardly into the opening  35  of the first rod  31  so that it is possible to provide the frame  10  and the push rod  30  closely. 
     When the push button  33  is depressed to eject the card, moving the first rod  31  and the cam member  40  rearwardly, the inclined portion  38 A of the release arm  38  pushes the engaging section  44  of the cam member  40  in such a direction that the engaging section  44  is released from the hook section  26  of the guide slot  24 . Since the cam member  40  is biased by the coil spring  45  forwardly and upwardly, the engaging section  44  slides forwardly along the guide member from the position of FIGS.  5 ( 2 )A and B to FIGS.  5 ( 3 )A and B, with the cam member  40  not interacting with the second rod  32 . Consequently, the second rod  32  remains at the position of FIGS.  5 ( 1 )A and B. The opening  35  of the first rod  31  is sufficiently long to avoid interference between the first rod  31  and the ground contacts  15  and  16 . 
     When the cam member  40  is further moved forwardly, it abuts against the abutment edge  27 A of the guide plate  23  for clockwise rotation. Consequently, the engaging section  44  slides downwardly on the guide plate  23  to enter the horizontal straight section  25  of the guide slot  24 , returning to the condition of FIGS.  4 ( 1 )A and B and being ready for another card rejection operation. 
     Where no card is inserted, the second rod  32  is not pushed by the ejector lever  39  and remains at the position of FIGS.  4 ( 4 )A and B, where the push button  33  does not project from the panel. If the push button  33  is depressed, the release arm  38  is at the rear position and does not make interference so that the cam member  40  moves within the range of the hook section  26  of the guide slot  24  as shown in FIGS.  6 (A) and (B) and does not engage the second rod  32 . Thus, if the push button  33  is depressed where no card is inserted, it does not project. That is, it projects only when the inserted card is ejected, thus preventing interference with operator. 
     In FIG. 7, this embodiment is characterized that the cam member  40  is made together with the first rod  31  as a unit. A spring arm  46 , which replaces the coil spring, links the first rod  31  and the cam member  40  as a unit. By setting the no-load position of the engaging section  44  above and outside the guide slot, the spring arm  46  is made flexible in two directions perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the spring arm  46  to bias the engaging section  44  in those directions. The coil spring  45  biases the cam member  40  in the three directions, but the spring arm  46  joins the first rod  31  and the cam member  40  as a unit so that no bias is needed in the upward direction. 
     In FIG. 8, according to this third embodiment, a guiding edge  24 A, which corresponds to the guide slot  24 , is provided in the guide plate  23  that is linked to the upper edge of the frame  1  by engaging pieces  10 B. The guiding edge  24 A has a straight edge section  25 A, which corresponds to the straight slot section  25 , and a hook section  26 A, which corresponds to the hook section  26  of FIG.  1 . In other words, the guiding edge  24 A is made by cutting off such a portion of the guide plate as indicated by dotted line in FIG.  8 . 
     An auxiliary guide section  47  is provided on the lower edge of the engaging piece  43  for engagement with the upper guiding edge  28  of the guide plate  23 . An inclined abutment edge  27 A, which is similar to the one  27 A shown in FIG. 1, is provided on the rear edge of the abutment piece  27 . 
     In operation, when the cam member  40  is pushed rearwardly by the first rod  31 , the engaging section  44  slides along the straight edge section  25 A to the hook section  26 A, with the auxiliary guide section  47  sliding on the upper guiding edge  28 . The cam member  40  is biased by a coil spring similar to that of FIG. 1 so that when the engaging section  44  reaches the hook section  26 A, it abuts against the upper edge of the hook section  26 A. Then, when the engaging section  44  is released from the hook section  26  by the release arm  38  of the second rod  32 , it slides on the inside face of the guide plate  23 , allowing forward movement of the cam member  40 . At the uttermost front position, the engaging piece  43  abuts against the inclined abutment edge  27 A, rotating the cam member  40  clockwise so that the engaging section  44  engages again the straight edge section  25 A. 
     Many variations may be made to the invention. For example, the engaging section of the cam member  40  in FIG. 1, which moves forward along the guide plate  23 , may be made so as to engage another groove for forward movement. Consequently, it is moved from the guide slot  24  to the other groove by the release arm  38  of the second rod  32  and returned to the guide slot  24  from the other groove by the abutment edge  27 A. The guide plate  23  may be a separate member from the frame  10  and be attached to the frame. 
     As has been described above, according to the invention, the push rod for ejecting the ejector lever is made up of the first and second rods which operate via a cam member. The guide plate with a guide slot and the rods and the cam member are made flat and parallel to each other to minimize the thickness of the ejector. The guide plate made of a metal sheet, which is strong and thin, further minimizes the ejector. The guide plate, which is made in a simple press, minimizes the process cost and the number of components. Even if the ground contact is provided on the guiding face of the frame, the guiding face can be provided close to the push rod, thus minimizing the thickness of the ejector.