Abstract:
Cards are enabled to be removed from a card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism, even in cases that fingers, jigs, and the like are unable to access an ejector thereof. The card edge connector is constituted by: an insulative housing having a slot; electrical contacts, provided in the slot, for electrically contacting conductive pads of a card, which is inserted into the slot; and the ejector, mounted only at one end of the insulative housing in its longitudinal direction, for ejecting the card. The card edge connector is constructed such that when a second edge of the card, opposite from a first edge at which an engaging protrusion is provided, is pulled in a direction substantially opposite the insertion direction of the card, the card rotates about the first edge, while the engaging protrusion urges a stopper to rotate the ejector, thereby disengaging the stopper from the engaging protrusion.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a card edge connector, and, particularly to a card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism, for ejecting a card (circuit board) mounted thereto.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     A conventional card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8(1996)-203608 (FIG. 1 and FIG. 5). This card edge connector comprises a L-shaped lever that extends along a lateral edge of a card. The lever is rotatably mounted at a first end of an elongate connector housing. The connector housing is equipped with a slot, which is formed along its longitudinal direction, for receiving the card (circuit board). The L-shaped lever is mounted toward a first end of the slot. The rotational center of the lever is toward the first end of the connector housing. The lever comprises: an operating portion, which is positioned at the lower edge of the inserted card (circuit board); and a handle portion, which is formed integrally with the operating portion and extends in the insertion/extraction direction of the card. To eject a card which is mounted in this card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism, the handle portion of the lever is moved outward within a plane parallel to the main surface of the inserted card. This outward movement causes the operating portion to lift the card in the manner of a lever, to eject the card from the slot.  
         [0003]     Another conventional card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism is known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,922 (FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7). This card edge connector comprises an ejector that extends from a connector housing along the lateral edge of a card. To eject a card which is mounted in this connector, the upper edge of the ejector is pressed toward the connector housing along the lateral edge of the card. This pressing motion causes a cam portion of the ejector to push the card out from the slot.  
         [0004]     Meanwhile, cards (miniature circuit boards), which are utilized by personal computers and the like, are increasing in capacity. Along with this increase, the number of electronic components, such as IC chips, which are mounted on the cards, is increasing. These increases are causing the cards themselves to become large in size. As a large card of this type, there are graphic cards and the like, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,368,124 (FIG. 2). This type of card has a width, which is wider than that of a connecting portion and perpendicular to the insertion/extraction direction thereof. Another characteristic of the shape of the card is that an engaging protrusion, for engaging an ejector, is provided.  
         [0005]     Both of the conventional card edge connectors having ejecting mechanisms, as disclosed in the above Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8(1996)-203608 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,922, comprise a lever that extend along the lateral edge of a card. However, in the case that the lever is shaped in this manner, it is impossible to mount the aforementioned large cards into these connectors. If the lever is miniaturized, it will be covered by a portion of the large card. Therefore, particularly in the case that a great number of card edge connectors are arranged at high density, it becomes difficult for fingers to approach the levers, thereby precluding operation thereof. Assuming that the levers are able to be operated, it becomes necessary to provide spaces, which are sufficiently large to enable fingers to approach the levers and to enable rotation thereof, adjacent to the card edge connectors having ejecting mechanisms. For this reason, there is a problem that card edge connectors having ejecting mechanisms, other card edge connectors, and electronic components cannot be mounted on a motherboard at high density.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism that enables easy ejection of cards, even in cases in which fingers or jigs cannot access ejectors.  
         [0007]     The card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism of the present invention comprises an insulative housing having a slot for receiving a first edge of a card with an engaging protrusion that protrudes toward the exterior in the longitudinal direction of the insulative housing from the vicinity of the first edge, in a state in which the card is mounted within the slot, along which first edge conductive pads are provided. A plurality of electrical contacts are provided on the card edge connector for electrically contacting the conductive pads. An ejector is mounted only at one end in the longitudinal direction of the insulative housing, for ejecting the card. The ejector comprises a stopper for preventing the engaging protrusion from being disengaged. The ejector is pivotally mounted so as to be rotatable, thereby enabling the stopper to engage and disengage the engaging protrusion. When a second edge of the card, opposite from the first edge, is pulled in a direction substantially opposite to the insertion direction of the card, the card rotates about the first edge, while the engaging protrusion urges the stopper to rotate the ejector, thereby disengaging the stopper from the engaging protrusion.  
         [0008]     A configuration may be adopted, wherein the ejector comprises a locking portion that engages the insulative housing while the ejector is engaged with the card. The locking portion is constructed to fittingly engage the insulative housing such that the fitting engagement is released when the card is pulled at its second edge thereby causing the ejector to rotate.  
         [0009]     A configuration may be adopted, wherein the ejector comprises a pressing surface, which is pressed by the card to rotate the ejector to a receiving position, at which the card is received in the card edge connector. The pressing surface may be an inclined surface, which is formed integrally with the engaging protrusion along the insertion direction of the card. Alternatively, the pressing surface may be a flat surface, which is formed integrally with the engaging protrusion in a direction that opposes the insertion direction of the card.  
         [0010]     Even in cases that fingers, jigs and the like cannot access the ejector due to the card being large or due to insufficient space in the periphery of the card edge connector, the card can be easily ejected simply by pulling on the side of the card opposite the ejector in an extraction direction.  
         [0011]     In the case that the pressing surface is an inclined surface, which is formed integrally with the engaging protrusion along the insertion direction of the card, the card can be inserted after abutting the inclined pressing surface. Therefore, the insertion procedure is facilitated. Alternatively, in the case that the pressing surface is a flat surface, which is formed integrally with the engaging protrusion in a direction that opposes the insertion direction of the card, the flat pressing surface can be visually confirmed during insertion of the card. Therefore, the operability of the card edge connector is extremely high. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]      FIG. 1A  and  FIG. 1B  illustrate a card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, wherein  FIG. 1A  is a plan view, and  FIG. 1B  is a right side view thereof.  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a magnified sectional view of the card edge connector of  FIGS. 1A and 1B , taken along line  2 - 2  of  FIG. 1A .  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a partial magnified perspective view of an extension of the card edge connector of  FIGS. 1A and 1B .  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an ejector of the card edge connector of  FIGS. 1A and 1B .  
         [0016]      FIG. 5A  is a front view,  FIG. 5B  is a right side view, and  FIG. 5C  is a rear view of the ejector of the card edge connector of  FIGS. 1A and 1B .  
         [0017]      FIG. 6A  is a plan view, and  FIG. 6B  is a sectional view of the ejector taken along the line  6 B- 6 B of  FIG. 5C .  
         [0018]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a card, which is to be inserted into the card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 8  is a partial magnified view of a state in which the card of  FIG. 7  is being inserted into the card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 9  is a partial magnified view illustrating a state in which the ejector is sufficiently rotated.  
         [0021]      FIG. 10  is a front view illustrating a state in which the card is being removed from the card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism, which is mounted on a motherboard. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0022]     Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the card edge connector having an ejecting mechanism (hereinafter, simply referred to as “card edge connector”) of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. As illustrated in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the card edge connector  1  comprises an elongate substantially rectangular insulative housing  2 . A slot  4 , which is open toward above, for receiving a card, to be described later, is formed in the insulative housing  2 , along the longitudinal direction thereof. A great number of contact cavities  8  are formed at predetermined intervals on both sides of the slot  4 . An electrical contact  6  is press fit and held in each contact cavity  8 .  
         [0023]     As best illustrated in  FIG. 2 , each electrical contact  6  comprises: a press fit portion  6   a , which is press fit into the insulative housing  2 ; a contact portion  6   b  that extends upward from the press fit portion  6   a ; and a tine portion  6   c  that extends eccentrically downward from the press fit portion, in a manner such that the tine portions  6   c  of all of the electrical contacts  6  are staggered. The card edge connector  1  is secured to a motherboard  10  (printed circuit board) by the tine portions  6   c  being inserted through apertures  10   a  of the motherboard  10  and soldered thereto.  
         [0024]     Walls  13  and  41  are integrally formed with the insulative housing  2 , at predetermined locations to the left and to the right of the slot  4 . The walls  13  and  41  extend in the insertion/extraction direction of a card  100  (refer to  FIG. 10 ), which will be described later. An extension  12  is formed on the insulative housing  2  at a first end thereof, that is, to the right of the wall  13  in  FIG. 1A . The slot  4  is open toward the top (out of the paper in  FIG. 1A ) and to the sides at the extension  12 , and no contacts are provided thereat. Hereinafter, the extension  12  will be described with reference to  FIG. 3 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  is a partial magnified perspective view of the extension  12  of the card edge connector  1 . The extension  12  comprises a pair of vertically extending support walls  14 , which are integrally formed with the insulative housing  2 . The slot  4  within the extension  12  is open at the first end of the insulative housing  2 , that is, between the pair of support walls  14 . Support apertures  16  for supporting an ejector  20  are formed in the vertical centers of the support walls  14  so as to penetrate through the insulative housing  2  across the slot  4 . Grooves  18  that extend vertically from the upper edges of the support walls  14  to the support apertures  16  are formed in the inner surfaces of the support walls  14 . The ejector  20 , which constitutes an ejecting mechanism, is rotatably mounted in the support apertures  16 .  
         [0026]     Next, the ejector  20  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 4 through 6 .  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the ejector  20 .  FIG. 5A  is a front view,  FIG. 5B  is a right side view, and  FIG. 5C  is a rear view of the ejector  20 .  FIG. 6A  is a plan view of the ejector  20 , and  FIG. 6B  is a sectional view taken along the line  6 B- 6 B of  FIG. 5C . The ejector is integrally molded by synthetic resin, and comprises: a main body  22  that extends in the vertical direction; an ejecting protrusion  24  that protrudes toward the slot  4  from the lower edge of the main body  22 ; and an operating portion  26  that extends in a direction opposite that of the ejecting protrusion  24  from the upper edge of the main body  22 .  
         [0027]     A pair of circular rotational shafts  28  are formed in opposing directions, at the approximate center of each side surface of the main body. The rotational shafts pass through the aforementioned grooves  18  of the insulative housing  2 , to be supported within the support apertures  16 . Downwardly facing tapers  28   a  are formed on the rotational shafts  28 , thereby facilitating insertion thereof into the grooves  18  during mounting of the ejector  20  onto the insulative housing  2 .  
         [0028]     Rectangular engaging protrusions  30  (locking portions) are formed above each rotational shaft  28 . Each engaging protrusion  30  comprises a gently inclined surface  30   a  toward the side of the slot  4 , and a sharply inclined surface  30   b  toward the side opposite that of the gently inclined surface  30   a . The engaging protrusions  30  fittingly engage with the aforementioned grooves  18 , to be secured to the insulative housing  2 . A vertically extending rectangular engaging aperture  32  that corresponds to the slot  4  is formed in the main body  22 . The upper edge of the engaging aperture  32  is a stopper  34  for engaging a card, to be described later. The disengagement prevention function of the stopper  34  will be described in detail later.  
         [0029]     An inclined surface  36  (first pressing surface) is formed along the insertion direction of a card  100  (miniature circuit board, refer to  FIG. 7 ) on the operating portion  26  toward the slot  4 . An engaging protrusion  106  (refer to  FIG. 7 ) of the card  100 , to be described later, is to press against the inclined surface  36 . A flat surface  38  (second pressing surface) is formed in a direction that opposes the insertion direction of the card on the upper surface of the operating portion  26 . The engaging protrusion  106  of the card  100  is to press against the flat surface  38  as well the inclined surface  36 . Stepped finger applying portions  40  are formed on both sides of the flat surface. Engagement between the ejector  20  and the insulative housing  2  can be released by pressing the card  100  against the inclined surface  36  and the flat surface  38 . The details of the release operation will be described later.  
         [0030]     Next, the card  100 , which is to be inserted into the slot  4  of the insulative housing  2 , will be described with reference to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the card  100 . The card  100  is substantially rectangular in shape and conforms to the PCI EXPRESS standard. Electronic components (not shown) are mounted on a main surface  100   a  of the card  100 . A great number of conductive pads  104  are arranged at predetermined intervals at a first edge  102  of the card  100 .  
         [0031]     The outwardly extending engagement protrusion  106  is formed at a position on the card  100  that corresponds to the first end in the longitudinal direction of the insulative housing  2 . A recess  120  is formed between the engaging protrusion  106  and the main surface  100   a . An enlarged width portion  126  of the card  100  is formed continuous with the recess  120 . The region denoted by reference numeral  108  in  FIG. 7  is the portion of the card  100  which is inserted into the slot  4  of the insulative housing  2 . Note that cutouts  112  and  114  that extend in the insertion/extraction direction  110  of the card  100  and open toward the edge  102  are formed in the card  100 . The cutout  112  receives the wall  41  within the slot  4  of the insulative housing  2 , to position the card  100  therein. The cutout  114  is formed at a position corresponding to the wall  13  of the slot  4 .  
         [0032]     Next, the manner in which the card  100  is inserted into the card edge connector  1  will be described with reference to  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  is a partial magnified view of a state in which the card  100  is being inserted into the card edge connector  1 . The portion of the card  100 , which is surrounded by the broken line in  FIG. 7 , is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . The ejector  20  is normally in a locked state so that it does not move during transport and assembly. When the card  100  is inserted into the card edge connector  1  by pressing it toward the slot  4  in the direction indicated by arrow  118 , a corner  106   a  of the engaging protrusion  106  abuts the inclined surface  36 . The abutment applies a rotational force to the ejector  20  in the direction indicated by arrow  42 , by cam action. As a result, the engagement between the engaging protrusions  30  and the grooves  18  is released. The sharply inclined surfaces  30   b  are formed on the engaging protrusions  30  of the ejector  20 . Therefore, the engagement between the sharply inclined surfaces  30   b  and the grooves  18  is released if a certain degree of rotational force is applied to the ejector  20 . Accordingly, during insertion of the card  100 , it is not necessary to open the ejector  20  by operating the operating portion  26  with a finger. It goes without saying, however, that the ejector may be manually opened, if there is sufficient space for fingers in the periphery of the ejector  20 .  
         [0033]     The rotation of the ejector  20  at this time will be described with reference to  FIG. 9 .  FIG. 9  is a partial magnified view illustrating a state in which the ejector  20  is sufficiently rotated. When the engaging protrusions  30  of the ejector are disengaged from the grooves  18 , the ejector  20  opens outward. Thereby, the engaging aperture  32  faces upward, facilitating insertion of the engaging protrusion  106 . If the card  100  is inserted into the slot  4  in this state, the corner  106   a  of the engaging protrusion  106  presses the upper surface  24   a  of the ejecting protrusion  24  downward Thereby, the ejector  20  is rotated counterclockwise, the card  100  is mounted at a predetermined position, the engaging protrusions  30  engage the grooves  18 , and the ejector  20  is locked. At this time, the engaging protrusion  106  of the card  10  is positioned directly below the stopper  34  within the engaging aperture  32 . Therefore, the card  100  is locked within the slot  4 , that is, prevented from being extracted therefrom.  
         [0034]     A case has been described above in which the engagement protrusion  106  presses against the inclined surface  36  to rotate the ejector  20 . Alternatively, the engagement protrusion  106  may press against the flat surface  38  of the ejector  20 . In this case as well, a rotational moment that causes the ejector  20  to rotate is generated. Therefore, the engaging protrusions  30  disengage from the grooves and the ejector  20  is opened, as illustrated in  FIG. 9 . In addition, the portion of the card  100  that presses against the ejector  20  may be a portion other than the engaging protrusion  106 .  
         [0035]     Next, the manner in which the card  100  is removed from the card edge connector  1  will be described with reference to  FIG. 10 .  FIG. 10  is a front view illustrating a state in which the card  100  is being removed from the card edge connector  1 , which is mounted on a motherboard  10 . Note that to simplify the description, the card edge connector  1  is partially illustrated in a sectional view. When the upper edge  122  of the card  100  is lifted upward at the end of the card  100  opposite that of the engaging protrusion  106 , the card  100  rotates about the first edge thereof, that is, the end at which the ejector  20  is positioned. At this time, the upper surface  106   b  of the engaging protrusion  106  abuts the stopper  34  of the ejector  20 . The engaging protrusions  30  of the ejector  20  disengage from the grooves  18 , and the ejector  20  is enabled to rotate in the clockwise direction. If the card  100  is continued to be lifted upward, the card  100  can be removed from the card edge connector  1 . Accordingly, it is not necessary to insert a finger to operate the ejector  20  when removing the card  100 . Therefore, the card  100  can be removed easily. Note that if there is sufficient space, a finger may be inserted to press the finger applying portion  40  downward, to rotate the ejector  20 , thereby releasing the engagement between the ejector  20  and the card  100 .  
         [0036]     Note that in  FIG. 10 , reference numeral  150  denotes a case of a computer or the like. It is possible to easily remove the card  100  from the card edge connector  1 , even if the card  100  is extremely close to the case  150  when mounted in the card edge connector  1 , as illustrated in  FIG. 10 . In addition, only space sufficient to accommodate the shift of the card  100  due to rotation thereof needs to be secured on the side of the first end of the card edge connector  1 . Therefore, the card edge connector  1  may be mounted close to the case  150  at either side thereof.