Card connector

A card connector is provided for receiving a card. The card connector includes a housing assembly and a tray. The housing assembly includes a housing and a plurality of contacts extending upward from the housing, with each of the plurality of contacts having a card connecting pad. The tray includes a frame and a pair of plates extending inward from opposite sides of the frame. Each plate of the pair of plates includes a supporting portion extending inward from the frame and a covering portion extending further inward and away from the supporting portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) of Japanese Patent Application no. 2013-004720, filed Aug. 14, 2013.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a card connector and, more particularly, to a card connector having a tray on which a card, such as a memory card, is placed.

BACKGROUND

Card connectors are commonly used to receive a card, such as a memory card. Such known card connectors are roughly classified into either a type in which a card is directly inserted into a housing or a type in which a card is placed on a tray. The tray type card connector is commonly used because using a tray makes it possible to use an outer wall face of the tray as a part of an outer wall face of a device equipped with the card connector.

In recent years, cards, such as memory cards, are increasingly being downsized, and accordingly card connectors have become smaller and/or thinner. Therefore, trays are commonly being made of metal since used of a resin tray has insufficient strength.

When a card is inserted into a card connector having pads formed on the lower face thereof, the pads come into contact with contacts of the card connector creating an electrical connection between the card and the card connector. The minimal area and position of the pads formed on the lower face of the card are specified by a standard. Accordingly, in a card connector into which the memory card is inserted, contacts are so disposed as to come into contact with the pads, as long as the pads are formed to the standard. However, the standard of the card only specifies a minimal area of the pads, and allows the pads to have an area larger than or equal to the minimal area. According to the standard, a region on the lower face of the card (where the pads are not formed) is only a peripheral region that is only 0.2 mm wide from the edge. On the other hand, a tray has a large opening in the center thereof to bring contacts into contact with the pads on the lower face of the memory card, and has a shape in which only a region in the vicinity of the periphery of the lower face of the memory card is placed on the tray.

As mentioned above, a metal tray is used for strength. However, a short circuit may occur if the metal tray comes into contact with the pad and, therefore, according to the above standard, the memory card can be placed on the tray along the very narrow region, which is only 0.2 mm wide or less from the edge of the lower face of the memory card.

Placing the memory card on the tray is performed mostly by a user of the card connector (i.e. in a mobile device). The memory card easily falls through the central opening when the card placing region of the tray has a narrow width and, therefore, it is difficult to exactly place the memory card on the tray.

In this regard, since the opening of the tray is required for a portion of the minimal area specified by the standard, there is a suggestion that a region on which the memory card is placed is made wider, and a nonconductive portion is provided by applying an insulation coating to a region possibly coming into contact with the pads (as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0255252).

Providing this nonconductive portion on the metal tray makes it possible to easily place the memory card on the tray, and prevents a short circuit between the metal tray and the pad.

However, providing the nonconductive portion on the metal tray as disclosed in the prior art causes an increase in cost, since the step of applying an insulation coating is added.

SUMMARY

The object of the present invention, in view of these circumstances, is to provide a card connector for receiving a card with a cost-efficient metal tray which enables simple placement of the card while also avoiding a short circuit. The card connector includes a housing assembly and a tray. The housing assembly includes a housing and a plurality of contacts extending upward from the housing, with each of the plurality of contacts having a card connecting pad. The tray includes a frame and a pair of plates extending inward from opposite sides of the frame. Each plate of the pair of plates includes a supporting portion extending inward from the frame and a covering portion extending further inward and away from the supporting portion. The covering portion is stepped down from an upper surface of the supporting portion, and the covering portion and supporting portion are integrally formed from the same metal material.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference toFIGS. 1-6.

As shown inFIG. 1, a card connector1is provided with a housing assembly10, a shell20, and a tray30. Also a memory card100is shown inFIG. 1, which is placed on the tray30.

A tray receiving passageway1ais provided between the housing assembly10and the shell20covering a top section of the housing assembly10. The tray30is inserted into the housing assembly10through the tray receiving passageway1a. An inner space is formed between the housing assembly10and the shell20, and is accessible through the tray receiving passageway1aWhen the memory card100is placed on the tray30, the tray30is fully insertable into the inner space that wholly receives the tray30and memory card100.

The shell20includes cantilever locks21that engage notches31disposed along right and left side faces of the tray30. The cantilever locks21catch the notches31when the tray30is inserted. Once the cantilever locks21engage the notches31, the tray30is locked as restricts easy ejection of the tray from the inner space. An outer wall32of the tray30forms a part of a casing of a device equipped with the card connector1. A distance is provided between the outer wall32of the tray and the tray receiving passageway1aso that a mounting position of the card connector1in the device is set back from the casing surface of the device.

Now with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3, the housing assembly10is provided with a resin housing11, and a plurality of metal contacts12(seeFIG. 3) formed integrally with the housing11. Each contact12has a board connecting portion12ato be soldered to a surface of a circuit board (not shown). Pads (not shown) for electrical connection are formed on a lower face of the memory card100. These contacts12serve to contact the pads on the lower face of the memory card100when placed on the tray30and to electrically interconnect the memory card100and the circuit board.

In addition, the housing assembly10is provided with a slider13and a lever14. The slider13is slidable along the housing11between a position where the slider13is pushed by an external pin (not shown) and a position when the slider13slides to the set-back position shown inFIG. 3.

A pin receiving passageway33is formed through the tray30. The pin receiving passageway33is sized to receive a pin. Furthermore, the housing11includes an opening11athat corresponds with the pin receiving passageway33and is also sized to receive the pin.

Further, the lever14has a central portion pivotally mounted on the housing11, and has one end disposed in a position of interaction with the slider and the other end disposed in a position of interaction with the tray30inserted. Therefore, when the tray30is inserted, the lever14is pushed by the tray30and turns clockwise to slide the slider13to the position shown inFIG. 2. When the slider13is pushed by inserting the pin through the pin receiving passageway33of the tray30, then the lever14is pushed by the slider13and turns counterclockwise, and pushes the tray30out. The outer wall32of the tray30having been pushed out to a pushed-out position projects from the device equipped with the card connector. Thereafter, a user hooks his/her finger or nail on the tray30and draws the tray30out.

As shown inFIG. 4, a portion of the tray30includes a frame34and a plate35on which the memory card100is placed. The frame34corresponds to side faces of the memory card100, and surrounds the side faces of the memory card100. This frame34guides the memory card100on the tray30. Further, the frame34restricts unintentional lateral movement of the memory card100.

In addition, the plate35extends inward from the frame34and faces the lower face of the memory card100. The plate35has a narrow width. Further, the tray30includes an opening36. The opening36exposes a wide central region in the lower face of the memory card100and brings the contacts12(seeFIG. 3) into contact with the pads on the lower face of the memory card100.

As shown inFIG. 5, the frame34and the plate35extend inward from the frame34. A rib371constituting a beam37(seeFIG. 3) is disposed on deep side of the tray30.

As shown inFIG. 6, the plate35includes a supporting portion351and a covering portion352. The supporting portion351is a portion extending inward from the frame34, and comes into contact with a peripheral edge region of the lower face of the memory card100and supports the peripheral edge region. On the other hand, the covering portion352is a portion spaced from the lower face of the memory card100and extends further inward from the supporting portion351for covering a peripheral edge bordering region adjacent to the peripheral edge region of the lower face of the memory card100. Further, the opening36extends through the plate35for exposing the central region inside the peripheral edge bordering region of the lower face of the memory card100. The opening allows the contacts12(seeFIG. 3) to make contact with the pads101on the lower face of the memory card100. In the example shown, the covering portion352is formed one step lower than the supporting portion351so as to avoid coming into contact with the pads of the memory card100.

As shown inFIG. 6, an area of each pad101is minimized. The pad101may extend to a position where the pad101overlaps with the covering portion352, but never extends to the supporting portion351. Since the covering portion352is formed one step lower than the supporting portion351, the pad101never comes into contact with the covering portion352even if overlapping with the covering portion352and, therefore, a short circuit should not occur. The supporting portion351supports the memory card100. Therefore, the covering portion352has nothing to do after the memory card100is correctly placed. However, the covering portion352is provided to prevent the memory card100from falling through the opening36when the memory card100is placed on the tray30, thereby assisting with the placement of the card100.

It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the covering portion352is formed one step lower than the supporting portion351, but the covering portion may extend obliquely downward from the supporting portion toward the opening.

Herein, an example of a card connector adopting a tray has been described, but the card connector of the present invention is not limited to this example, and is applicable to a wide variety of card connectors of a type in which a card is placed on a tray and the tray having the card thereon is inserted.