Abstract:
To obtain a housing with a lid at a low cost, which has high durability and performs reliable switching operation.  
     In a structure where the lid portion is mounted on the main housing body comprising apertures and in such a manner as to turn freely thereon, the concave lock portion and the locking protrusion adjacent thereto capable of locking the lid in the closed state are located in the aperture side of the main housing body. The lid portion is provided with the hooking piece comprising the spring portion  61  and the arc-shaped protrusion. When the lid portion turns to open or close the aperture portion, the arc-shaped protrusion comes into contact with the locking protrusion under pressure with the spring portion, in order that a force opposing to the turning direction may be applied thereto before and after it passes through the locking protrusion, to keep the lid portion in two states i.e. the open state and the closed state. The switch of the device is operated when the lid portion is in the closed state.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-164174, filed on Jun. 5, 2002.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a card interface device comprising a housing having a switching function on a lid.  
           [0004]    2. Related Art  
           [0005]    It has been required that input and output of a card interface device or a control device thereof can be turned on or off in accordance with open or close of a lid thereof, thereby to prevent the apparatus from being damaged and to improve reliability thereof. In a structure where a card is inserted into, for example, an input/output terminal of an interface of a personal computer or a loading slot for a memory card of a portable terminal or a digital camera, it is necessary that operation should be carried out under the condition that the card is inserted therein and is completely into contact with the contact point of the device. If the contact is not perfect, the device and the card may be damaged or may not function properly.  
           [0006]    A structure having a lid provided at a loading slot for a card has been considered to solve the problem mentioned above, thereby certifying the state of insertion of the card by opening or closing the lid and then making the device operate by turning on a switch of a power supply, etc. when the lid is closed. For instance, the lid is pivotally mounted on the loading slot of the housing accommodating an electronic circuit, and a cam connected to the turning axis of the lid turns on or off the switch located adjacent thereto.  
           [0007]    However, the turning axis of the lid has to be very small and the cam also be comes small in this structure for a miniaturized device, so that the axis and the cam driving the switch may become strained and result in lack of durability. Furthermore, instability such as turning on or adversely turning off of the switch may take place when the lid is not completely closed. To avoid the trouble described above, a structure that makes switch operation assured by applying a reverse torque to the direction of opening or closing of the lid (it means the circulation in regular or reverse direction) bounded by a certain turning position has been expected.  
           [0008]    The present invention is intended to overcome such inconvenience and to provide a card interface device that can comprise a housing with a lid ensuring high durability and accomplishing reliable switching operation at a low cost.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    Some aspects of the present invention are as follows:  
           [0010]    (1) A card interface device comprising:  
           [0011]    a main housing body having an opening portion,  
           [0012]    a lid portion mounted on the main housing body in such a manner as to turn freely thereon to open or close the, opening portion,  
           [0013]    a concave lock portion and a locking protrusion located adjacent to the concave lock portion, both of which are provided on the side of the opening portion of the main housing body in order to be able to lock the lid, portion in the closed state, and  
           [0014]    a hooking piece provided on the lid portion and comprising a spring portion and an arc-shaped protrusion,  
           [0015]    wherein the arc-shaped protrusion comes into contact with the locking protrusion under pressure by the aid of the spring portion when the lid portion is turning to open or close the opening portion, and receives a force opposing the turning direction before and after it passes through the locking protrusion.  
           [0016]    (2) A card interface device comprising:  
           [0017]    a main housing body having at least one card loading portion at the front part thereof and accommodating therein a circuit board containing a switch, and forming an aperture for the switch through which the switch is exposed,  
           [0018]    a lid portion mounted on the main housing body in such a manner as to turn freely thereon to open or close the card loading portion,  
           [0019]    a concave lock portion and a locking protrusion located adjacent to the concave lock portion, both of which are provided on the side of the card loading portion of the main housing body in order to be able to lock the lid portion in the closed state,  
           [0020]    a hooking piece provided on the lid portion and comprising a spring portion and an arc-shaped protrusion, and  
           [0021]    a switch pressing member provided at the side of the lid portion facing the aperture for the switch of the main housing body corresponding to the aperture for the switch,  
           [0022]    wherein the arc-shaped protrusion comes into contact with the locking protrusion under pressure by the aid of the spring portion when the lid portion is turning to open or close the opening portion, and receives a force opposing the turning direction before and after it passes through the locking protrusion, and the switch pressing member presses the switch by being inserted into the aperture for the switch when the lid is closed.  
           [0023]    (3) The card interface device in which the curvature of the locking protrusion is greater than the curvature of the arc-shaped protrusion.  
           [0024]    (4) The card interface device in which the hooking piece is integrally formed on the rear surface of the top surface portion of the lid portion.  
           [0025]    (5) The card interface device in which the hooking piece is formed on the front edge part of the lid portion.  
           [0026]    (6) The card interface device in which the curvature of the concave lock portion is approximately the same as the curvature of the arc-shaped protrusion.  
           [0027]    (7) The card interface device in which the switch pressing member, the concave lock portion and the locking protrusion are all together positioned offset on the same side of the lid portion.  
           [0028]    (8) The card interface device in which two card loading portions are located side by side to each other. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0029]    [0029]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention in the closed lid state;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention in the open lid state;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the lid in the first embodiment of the present invention seen from the rear surface side;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 4A is a partial cross section in the open lid state to explain an embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 4B is a partial cross section in the closed lid state to explain an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram explaining operation of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the present invention in the open lid state; and  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 7 is a front perspective view to show the lid of the second embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the rear surface to show the lid of the second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0036]    (First Embodiment)  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 1 to FIG. 5 show the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0038]    This embodiment is applied to a card interface device, which is connected to an electronic device such as an information terminal or a digital camera, to read and write a small-sized memory card. The small-sized memory card has a variety of standards that have different outlines and different terminals, for example Smart Media (trade name) or Compact Flash (trade name). Therefore, interfaces corresponding to plural types of cards are necessary. An apparatus  10  of this embodiment has a construction comprising card-loading slots (opening portions)  11  and  12  into which different types of memory cards  11   a  and  12   a  are inserted respectively, and being connected to a main body such as a computer via a connector, such as USB (Universal Serial Bus).  
         [0039]    The card interface device  10  comprises a housing portion  13  accommodating a main body and a lid portion  14  opening or closing about the housing portion. The housing portion is constructed by combining a flat top housing  15  and a bottom housing  16 , both of which are of resin mold. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the main body contains a circuit board  20 , a power switch  21  mounted on the circuit board, a semiconductor circuit including an IC, and a terminal for connecting a card (not shown). The circuit board is located between the top housing  15  and the bottom housing  16  substantially in parallel therewith. A cord  18  with a USB connector at the end thereof is elongated from the rear edge side  17  of the housing portion  13 , to be able to connect to a computer or a digital camera.  
         [0040]    On the front part  22  of the housing portion, memory card loading slots  11  and  12  corresponding to two kinds of cards are located at a different height from the bottom  23  of the housing and also shifted horizontally to each other. To facilitate insertion of cards, recesses  24  and  25 , which make easy for an operator to pinch a card with his/her fingers and thumb, are formed at the front part near the center of each slot. Thus projecting parts  26 ,  27 , and  28  are to be formed on the front part  22 , interposing the two recesses  24  and  25 , or intervening between them.  
         [0041]    The lid portion  14  is located on the front part of the top housing  15 . Therefore, the projecting parts  26 ,  27 , and  28 , both side ends  30 , and the top surface portion  31  of the front part are retracted from the outline of the main housing body by approximately the thickness of the lid portion  14 , in order that the lid portion may not stick out from the main housing body  13  when the lid is in the closed state, thereby the lid portion  14  is substantially on the same plane as the housing portion  13  to be able to assure a smooth outline when the lid is in the closed state. A contact edge  34  with which the lower edge  33  of the side end  32  of the lid portion comes into contact is formed on the retracted side end  30   a  of the top housing  15 , in order to settle the position of the lid portion when the lid is closed. A through hole  35  is formed under the left side projecting part  26  on the front part  22   of  the housing portion, and a light-emitting element (not shown) emitting a light when the power is on and the card is working is located in the through hole.  
         [0042]    A concave lock portion  40  and a locking protrusion  41  are formed on the right side projecting part  28  on the front part  22  of the housing portion. An aperture  42  for the switch is formed on the top surface portion  31  of the top housing slightly behind the projecting part  28 , and a push button  43  for the power switch  21  of the main body is located inside the aperture.  
         [0043]    The lid portion  14  is provided with lid side end portions  32  on the top surface portion  50 , the front end portion  51  on the side of the front part  22  of the housing portion, and both side edges thereof. The lid side end portion  32  is elongated backward more than the edge  56  of the top surface  50  thereof, and an axial protrusion  55  is projecting inside the rear end of the lid end  53  i.e. each lid side end portion. A through-hole socket  45  (referred to FIGS. 4A and 4B) is formed in the retracted side end  30   a  of the top housing. The lid portion  14  is pivotally mounted on the housing portion  13  in such a manner as to turn freely thereon, by inserting the axial protrusion  55  into the through-hole socket. The turning range of the lid portion  14  is up to the position where the rear edge  56  of the top surface  50  of the lid portion comes into contact with the top surface  31  of the housing portion when the lid is open (FIG. 4A), and up to the position where the lower edge  33  of the lid side end  32  comes into contact with the contact edge  34  of the top housing when the lid is closed (FIG. 4B). A tongue flap  57  is formed on the lower surface of the front end part of the lid portion for operation of opening or closing the lid.  
         [0044]    A hooking piece  60  of resin mold formed integrally with the lid portion  14  and a switch pressing member  58  of a rectangular pole located at a position on the rear edge side of the top surface  50  of the lid portion when one views it at the position of the hooking piece are provided on the back surface of the top surface  50  on the right side of the lid portion, viewed from the front part  22  of the housing. The hooking piece  60  comprises a leaf spring portion  61  warping arcuately toward the front part and an arc-shaped protrusion  62  provided on the top thereof. The switch pressing member  58  is inserted into the aperture  42  for the switch in the upper surface  50  of the top housing when the lid is in the closed state, and presses the push button  43  of the power switch  21 .  
         [0045]    The hooking piece  60 , the concave lock portion  40  and the locking protrusion  41 , the latter two of them being on the front part of the housing and opposing the former, will be explained hereinafter by referring to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5.  
         [0046]    The leaf spring portion  61  has a certain width, and one end  61   a  thereof is directly fixed to the back surface of the top surface  50  of the lid. The other end  61   b  thereof has the arc-shaped protrusion  62  with a predetermined curvature radius R 1  protruded inward to the front surface. R 1 , R 2 , and R 3  in the figure represent the curvature radii respectively. The locking protrusion  41  is formed on the projecting part  28  of the front part  22  of the housing, having a structure in which a portion of triangle pole whose peak  41   a  has a curvature radius R 2  smaller than the curvature radius of the arc-shaped protrusion is positioned like a bank along the horizontal direction of the housing. The structure thereof has an angled cross section forming oblique surfaces  41   b  and  41   c  bounded by the peak  41   a  in an opposite direction to each other.  
         [0047]    The concave lock portion  40  is lengthened from the lower oblique surface  41   c  of the locking protrusion  41 , being shaped like an arc whose curvature radius R 3  is approximately equal to the curvature radius R 1  of the arc-shaped protrusion  62  of the hooking piece  60 .  
         [0048]    When an operator presses the lid portion  14  downward to change the state of the housing from the open lid state into the closed lid state, the arc-shaped protrusion  62  of the hooking piece  60  slides with touching the upper oblique surface  41   b  of the locking protrusion by the aid of the leaf spring portion  61 . As shown in FIG. 5, the lid portion  14  receives a force P 1  thrusting it back upward until the arc-shaped protrusion  62  arrives at the peak  41   a , so that the lid portion jumps upward if the operator takes off his/her hand therefrom. The reason is that the reaction force fr 1  of the arc-shaped protrusion  62  at the contact surface thereof with the oblique surface  41   b  acts in the direction perpendicular to the oblique surface whereas the leaf spring portion  61  gives the arc-shaped protrusion  62  a force f 1  in approximately horizontal direction.  
         [0049]    When the arc-shaped protrusion  62  reaches the lower side oblique surface  41   c  after having passed the peak  41   a , the lid portion  14  receives a downward force P2 due to the force f 1  and the reaction force fr 2 , so that the arc-shaped protrusion  62  gets to the concave lock portion  40  even if the operator takes off his/her hand therefrom, and consequently the lid becomes in the closed state. The same action is also carried out when the lid is being opened. Though the dead point vanishes if both the curvature radii of the arc-shaped protrusion  62  and the locking protrusion  41  are decreased to sharpen, considerable effect can be obtained only by decreasing one of the curvature radii, and additionally abrasion thereof can be more diminished than the case where both curvature radii are decreased.  
         [0050]    As mentioned above, the lid portion  14  takes two states, i.e. either the open lid state or the closed lid state when the lid portion opens or closes. In the closed lid state, the switch pressing member  58  is inserted into the aperture  42  for the switch of the housing  13  to press the push button  43  of the power switch, and then turns on the power source. In consequence, the power source is never turned on unless the lid portion  14  takes the closed lid state completely. Accordingly, because the power source can be turned on only if the closed lid state is firmly secured after a memory card is inserted into the memory card loading slot  11  or  12 , the card in operation is never removed carelessly or the power source is never turned on or off if the lid is incompletely opened, so that information in the memory card is never damaged.  
         [0051]    Furthermore, the hooking piece  60  of the lid portion, the concave lock portion  40  and the locking protrusion  41  of the housing portion can be formed together by integral molding of resin when the lid portion and the top housing portion are formed. Therefore number of parts can be so reduced that manufacturing cost can be decreased.  
         [0052]    (Second Embodiment)  
         [0053]    This embodiment is characterized in that a part of the front end of the lid portion is formed as a hooking piece. Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, explanation will be carried out hereinafter. Each part denoted by the same mark as the first embodiment represents the same part of the first embodiment.  
         [0054]    On the front part  22   a  of the housing portion, memory card insertion slots  11   a  and  12   a  corresponding to two kinds of cards are located at a different height from the bottom  23  of the housing and also shifted horizontally to each other. To facilitate insertion of cards, recesses  24  and  25 , which make easy for an operator to pinch a card with his/her fingers and thumb, are formed at the front part near the center of each slot. Thus projecting parts  26 ,  27 , and  28  are to be formed on the front part  22   a , interposing the two recesses  24  and  25 , and intervening between them.  
         [0055]    The lid portion  14   a  is located on the front part of the top housing  15 . Therefore, the projecting parts  26 ,  27 , and  28   a , both side ends  30 , and the top surface portion  31  of the front part are retracted from the outline of the main housing body by approximately the thickness of the lid portion  14 , in order that the lid portion may not stick out from the main housing body  13  when the lid is in the closed state, thereby the lid portion  14   a  is substantially on the same plane as the housing portion  13  to be able to assure a smooth outline when the lid is in the closed state. A contact edge  34  with which the lower edge  33  of the side end  32  of the lid comes into contact is formed on the retracted side end  30   a  of the top housing  15 , to settle the position of the lid portion when the lid is closed. A through hole  35  is formed under the left side projecting part  26  of the front part  22   a  of the housing, and a light-emitting element (not shown) emitting a light when the power is on and the card is working is located in the through hole.  
         [0056]    A concave lock portion  40  and a locking protrusion  41  are formed on the right side projecting part  28   a  of the front part  22   a  of the housing portion. Positions where the concave lock portion  40  and the locking protrusion  41  are formed are projected toward the front of the main housing body compared to the first embodiment, and come into contact with the lid  14   a . An aperture  42  for the switch is formed slightly behind the projecting part  28   a  on the top surface portion  31  of the top housing, and a push button  43  of the power switch  21  of the main body is located inside the aperture.  
         [0057]    The lid portion  14  is provided with the top surface portion  50  and the front end portion  51 , and a lid side end portion  32  is located at each side end of the lid portion. The lid side end portion  32  is elongated backward more than the top surface  50 , and an axial protrusion  55  is projecting inside the rear end of the lid edge  53  i.e. each lid side end portion. Through-hole socket (not shown) extending downward from the top surface  31  of the housing is formed in the retracted side edge  30   a  of the top housing. The lid portion  14   a  is pivotally mounted on the housing portion  13  in such a manner as to turn freely thereon, by inserting the axial protrusion  55  into the through-hole socket. The turning range of the lid portion  14   a  is up to the position where the rear edge  56  of the top surface  50  of the lid portion comes into contact with the top surface  31  of the housing portion when the lid is open, and up to the position where the lower edge  33  of the lid side end  32  comes into contact with the contact edge  34  of the top housing when the lid is closed.  
         [0058]    As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the hooking piece  70  comprising the leaf spring portion  71  and the arc-shaped protrusion  72  formed on the top of the spring portion is located at the right side of the front end  51  of the lid portion  14   a , viewed from the front side  22   a  of the housing, with a part of the front end  51  being cut out. The front end  51  shapes a curved surface so as to be a part of a cylinder. The leaf spring portion  71  is formed along the front end  51 , and the base end  73  thereof is secured to the top part  50  of the lid portion  14   a . In other words, the hooking piece  70  combines a part of the surface of the lid  14   a , so that it can be formed integrally together with the lid when the lid is fabricated by resin molding.  
         [0059]    The leaf spring portion  71  curves along the direction of the outside of the lid, and the arc-shaped protrusion  72  is projecting inward. The leaf spring portion  71  gets stuck with the concave lock portion  40  and the locking protrusion  41  formed on the projecting part  28   a  of the housing, in order to secure the stable closed lid state by the function explained in the first embodiment.  
         [0060]    The switch pressing member  43  located behind the hooking piece on the rear surface of the lid  14   a  is formed like a rectangular pole, pressing the push button  43  of the power switch  21  by being inserted into the aperture  42  for the switch on the top surface  31  of the top housing when the lid is in the closed state.  
         [0061]    This embodiment has an advantage that possibility of breaking the hooking piece caused by hooking it improperly is lowered thanks to the hooking piece  70  being in the front end of the lid. Furthermore, number of the resin mold parts of the lid is small, so that manufacturing cost thereof can be decreased.  
         [0062]    Although the present invention was explained by the embodiments as mentioned above, it is needless to say that varieties of modifications can be allowed within the range of the invention. For example, the card loading slot can be changed to a loading slot for a medium other than cards. Moreover, pluralities of the hooking pieces can be formed. Though the spring portion of the hooking piece was bent along the turning direction of the lid in the embodiments mentioned above, it can also be formed linearly. Additionally, the switch pressing member may be formed in any other shapes, e.g. a cylinder, other than the rectangular pole.  
         [0063]    Because the present invention makes the lid be in two states i.e. the open state or the closed state, not in any intermediate states to the housing by the aid of the function of the hooking piece provided on the lid and the concave lock portion and the locking protrusion provided on the housing, the switch can be surely operated in the closed state and insertion of the card can be assured with the lid closed. Furthermore, the invention can provide regular operation of the card and the electronic device.