Abstract:
A card connector which is able to be connected to at least two cards, includes contacts corresponding to the number of the cards, a tray in which at least two cards can be mounted, and a housing having a fitting opening for receiving the tray therein and for arranging and holding the contacts. Also, a card connector which is able to be connected to four cards, includes four kinds of contacts, a tray having card mounting sections in which four cards can be mounted, and a housing having a fitting opening for receiving the tray therein and for arranging and holding the four kinds of contacts. With these constructions, miniaturization in height or reduced overall height of connector is possible with a simple construction.

Description:
[0001]     This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/372,608 filed Mar. 9, 2006; the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to a card connector for use in electric and electronic appliances in instruments and for use in printers and card readers and more particularly to a card connector miniaturized in height by the use of a tray.  
         [0003]     There have been many kinds of cards as media for a wide variety of information. It has been a common practice to acquire or store various information from or onto a card inserted into a card connector connected to an information appliance.  
         [0004]     In order to connect cards to a card connector, the connector may be provided with a plurality of fitting openings for receiving a required number of cards therein, and contact portions of contacts may extend into the fitting openings so as to bring the cards into contact with the contact portions of the contacts, thereby achieving continuity therebetween.  
         [0005]     With these card connectors, it may be considered that there are provided fitting openings of the number corresponding to the number of required cards or there is provided a single fitting opening which is able to receive a plurality of cards. As shown in Patent Literatures 1 to 4 described below, card connectors having fitting openings for cards arranged one above the other are disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 and 4 and FIG. 8 of the Patent Literature 2, and a connector having fitting openings each capable of receiving a plurality of cards is disclosed in the Patent Literature 3.  
         [0000]     Patent Literature 1  
         [0006]     According to the Abstract of Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2001-357,917, this invention has an object to provide a method for arranging contacts of a connector for memory cards, which is able to receive cards in a plurality of inserting openings arranged one above the other and to bring the contacts for the plurality of inserting openings into contact with substrates with ease, in spite of narrow occupied areas of the substrates. Disclosed in the Patent Literature 1 is the method for arranging contacts of a memory card connector comprising a housing having fitting openings for receiving two cards, and the contacts held and fixed by the housing, wherein the contacts adapted to contact a card inserted into the upper inserting opening are arranged to extend in both width directions of the housing and to be connected to patterns of the substrate. As shown in FIG. 1 of the Patent Literature 1, the fitting openings for receiving cards are arranged one above the other.  
         [0000]     Patent Literature 2  
         [0007]     According to the Abstract of Japanese Patent Application Opened No. 2001-351,709, this invention has an object to provide a connector into which a plurality of memory cards different in thickness are selectively inserted for operating information appliances. A connector main body comprises side walls on both sides and a rear wall, the side walls being formed with receiving portions along their length adapted to conform to side edges of cards. The connector comprises card identification terminals arranged one above the other on the inner surface of the side wall, terminals suitably provided on the rear wall for acquiring the accumulated information in the cards and writing electronic information to cards, and protective terminals arranged at suitable positions on the other side wall for prohibiting writing. The card identification terminals are formed by spring-like metal strips and arranged one above the other on one side wall of the connector, while identification tabs for identifying the existence of cards by contacting the respective card identification terminal are arranged on the side wall and spaced from the card identification terminals when no card is inserted. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, fitting openings for receiving cards are suitably arranged one above the other.  
         [0000]     Patent Literature 3  
         [0008]     According to the Abstract of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-307,794, the invention has an object to provide a card connector which, once a card has been inserted, is capable of preventing a further card from being inserted with a simple construction and capable of achieving the miniaturization of the connector without any limitation in substrate circuit design without obstructing high-density of contacts, and is easy to design the housing and easy to insert and remove a card. A card connector into and from which a plurality of memory cards are inserted and removed, including a plurality of contacts adapted to contact the connection portions of the plurality of memory cards, and a housing having a plurality of inserting openings for receiving the plurality of memory cards and for arranging and holding the contacts, wherein the housing includes at predetermined positions a required number of sliders forming parts of the plurality of inserting openings and a required number of holders for movably holding the sliders so that one kind of memory cards can only be inserted. As shown in FIG. 1, the fitting openings are suitably arranged, which can receive five cards.  
         [0000]     Patent Literature 4  
         [0009]     According to the Abstract of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-321,645, this invention has an object to provide a card connector which is easy to assemble and superior in mounting operationality by a customer without limiting the freedom of design of substrates and connector, and without complicating arrangement of connection portions of contacts. Disclosed in this application is a card connector into and from which a plurality of cards are inserted and removed, including a required number of contacts each having a contact portion adapted to contact a card, and a housing arranging and holding the contacts and having one or a plurality of fitting openings into which a card or cards are inserted, wherein the contacts each comprise at least two contact portions adapted to contact at least two cards, thereby enabling one contact to be in contact with at least two cards. As shown in FIG. 1 of the Patent Literature 4, the fitting openings are arranged one above the other, although they have some portions common to different cards.  
         [0010]     In recent years, miniaturizations have proceeded in the information appliances as well as substrates or cards used therein so that areas occupied by the substrates have become extremely narrower. Such a limitation of area occupied by the substrate necessarily leads to the use of a plurality of substrates. On the other hand, if a plurality of connectors are required for exchanging a plurality of memory cards, information appliances would become bulky which would be inconvenient for carrying them.  
         [0011]     In the case that there is a limitation in height, particularly, the card connectors as disclosed in the Patent Literatures 1 to 4 cannot achieve miniaturization in height of connectors because their fitting openings for receiving cards are arranged one above the other.  
         [0012]     With a card connector for receiving a plurality of cards different in thickness into a single fitting opening, the construction would become complicated because of difference in length and width of the cards.  
         [0013]     Moreover, as there are cards having lengths shorter than those of other kinds of cards, insertion and removal of such short cards would become difficult in the usual slot system.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]     It is an object of the invention to provide a card connector which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art described above and which is simple in construction and achieves the miniaturization in height or reduced overall height of the connector.  
         [0015]     The above object can be achieved by a card connector  10  which is able to be connected to at least two cards  60  and comprises contacts  14  corresponding to the number of the cards  60 , a tray  16  in which at least two cards  60  can be mounted, and a housing  12  having a fitting opening  20  for receiving the tray  16  therein and for arranging and holding the contacts  14 .  
         [0016]     The above object can also be achieved by a card connector  10  which is able to be connected to four cards  60  and comprises four kinds of contacts  14 , a tray  16  having card mounting sections  22  in which four cards  60  can be mounted, and a housing  12  having a fitting opening  20  for receiving the tray  16  therein and for arranging and holding the four kinds of contacts  14 .  
         [0017]     The tray  16  is provided with at least one card mounting section  22  not having a part overlapping in relation to at least two cards  60  so as to allow at least the two cards  60  to be mounted in the card mounting section  22 , and the tray  16  is further provided with card identification means for identifying the cards  60  to be used. In the case that a plurality of cards  60  are mounted, as means for identifying cards to be used there are a sensor, metal spring switch or metal dome switch and the like for identifying cards. Among them, the metal spring switch is preferable in view of cost and ease in assembling.  
         [0018]     The housing  12  is provided with stopper means on the side of the fitting opening  20  for preventing the tray  16  from being extended from the housing.  
         [0019]     The card connector further comprises means for drawing the tray  16  to some extent relative to the housing by pushing the tray  16  in the state that insertion of the tray  16  has been completed. As mechanisms for removing the tray  16  there are means using a coil spring  18  and a heart cam, means using an ejector lever and slider, and the like. In view of the cost, ease in assembling and miniaturization of connector, use of the coil spring  18  and heart cam is preferable.  
         [0020]     As can be seen from the above description, the card connector  10  according to the invention can bring about the following significant functions and effects.  
         [0021]     (1) According to the invention, the card connector  10  which is able to be connected to at least two cards  60 , comprises contacts  14  corresponding to the number of the cards  60 , a tray  16  in which at least two cards  60  can be mounted, and a housing  12  having a fitting opening  20  for receiving the tray  16  therein and for arranging and holding the contacts  14 . Therefore, only by inserting the tray  16  together with a plurality of cards  60  mounted therein into one fitting opening  20 , a connection between the cards  60  and the respective contacts  14  can be easily achieved and at the same time the miniaturization in height of connector can be achieved.  
         [0022]     (2) According to the invention, the card connector  10  which is able to be connected to four cards  60 , comprises four kinds of contacts  14 , a tray  16  having card mounting sections  22  in which four cards  60  can be mounted, and a housing  12  having a fitting opening  20  for receiving the tray  16  therein and for arranging and holding the four kinds of contacts  14 . Accordingly, only by inserting the tray  16  together with four cards  60  mounted therein into one fitting opening  20 , a connection between the cards  60  and the respective contacts  14  can be easily achieved and at the same time the miniaturization in height of connector can be achieved.  
         [0023]     (4) According to the invention, the tray  16  is provided with at least one card mounting section  22  not having a part overlapping in relation to at least two cards  60  so as to allow at least the two cards  60  to be mounted in the card mounting section  22 , and the tray  16  is further provided with card identification means for identifying the cards  60  to be used. Consequently, even if a plurality of cards  60  are inserted into the card connector at a time, the integrated circuits for controlling the cards  60  do not cause any error, thereby achieving stable connection to the cards  60  with the aid of the simple construction for limiting the cards to be used.  
         [0024]     (5) According to the invention, the housing  12  is provided with stopper means on the side of the fitting opening  20  for preventing the tray  16  from being extended from the housing. Therefore, the tray  16  is prevented from being dislodged from the housing  12 , thereby protecting the tray  16  and cards  60  from being damaged.  
         [0025]     (6) According to the invention, the card connector further comprises means for drawing the tray  16  to some extent relative to the housing by pushing the tray  16  in the state that insertion of the tray  16  has been completed. Accordingly, the tray  16  can be readily removed from the housing.  
         [0026]     The invention will be more fully understood by referring to the following detailed specification and claims taken in connection with the appended drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0027]      FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a connector according to the invention viewed from the fitting opening side;  
         [0028]      FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the connector according to the invention viewed from the opposite side of the fitting opening;  
         [0029]      FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the connector according to the invention with the tray removed, viewed from the fitting opening side;  
         [0030]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of the connector according to the invention with the tray removed, viewed from the opposite side of the fitting opening;  
         [0031]      FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of a tray used in the card connector according to the invention;  
         [0032]      FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of the tray shown in  FIG. 4A  with a plurality of cards mounted therein;  
         [0033]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the connector with the tray drawn out, viewed from the fitting opening side; and  
         [0034]      FIGS. 6A  to  6 I are views for explaining positional relationship between a tip of coil spring and precut grooves when the tray is inserted into and removed from the housing.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0035]     One embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to  FIGS. 1A  to  6 I.  FIG. 1A  is a perspective view of a card connector according to the invention viewed from the fitting opening side, while  FIG. 1B  is a perspective view of the card connector shown in  FIG. 1A  viewed from the opposite side of the fitting opening.  FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the card connector similar to  FIG. 1A  with the tray removed, and  FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of the card connector similar to  FIG. 1B  with the tray removed.  FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of the tray used in the card connector, and  FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of the tray with a plurality of cards mounted therein.  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the card connector with the tray drawn, viewed from the fitting opening side.  FIGS. 6A  to  6 I are views for explaining movement of the tip of a coil spring along precut grooves when the tray is moved relative to housing of the card connector.  
         [0036]     The card connector  10  according to the invention mainly comprises a plurality of contacts  14 , a housing  12 , and a tray  16 .  
         [0037]     Before explaining the components of the card connector, the cards  60  will be explained. The cards  60  are used for printers, card readers and the like. The cards  60  each mainly comprise contact portions adapted to contact the contact portions  24  of the contacts  14 , patterns connecting from the contact portions of the card to circuits, and connection portions adapted to be connected to integrated circuits and central processing units mounted on the patterns. Cards  60  to be used for the card connector  10  according to the invention include Multimedia card (registered trademark), SD card (Secure Digital memory card) (registered trademark), Mini-SD card (Mini Secure Digital memory card) (registered trademark), Memory Stick card (registered trademark), SmartMedia card (registered trademark), CompactFlash card (registered trademark), xD card (registered trademark), RS-MMC card (Reduce Size MMC card) (registered trademark), Transflash card (registered trademark), S card (registered trademark), and the like, these being IC cards having built-in CPU or IC for memory.  
         [0038]     With the tray  16  of the card connector  10  in the illustrated embodiment, the four kinds of cards can be mounted in the tray  16 , that is, the Mini-SD card, RS-MMC card, Transflash card and S card. Among which, either of the Mini-SD card and RS-MMC card can be mounted in one location. In other words, three cards can be mounted in the tray  16  at a time, that is, the Transflash card and the S card, and either of the Mini-SD card and the RS-MMC.  
         [0039]     First, the tray  16  will be explained, which is a subject matter of the invention. The tray  16  is formed from an electrically insulating plastic material by means of the injection molding of the known technique. The materials suitable for the tray  16  include polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamide (66PA or 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC) and the like and combination thereof in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, manufacturing cost and the like.  
         [0040]     In the state that the tray has been completely inserted into the connector, the tray extends approximately 0.5 to 2 mm from the housing to facilitate drawing the tray from the housing. Engaging means using springs made of a metal or plastic material are provided on both ends in the width direction of the tray for preventing the completely inserted tray from being removed when subjected to shock and the like.  
         [0041]     The tray  16  is provided with card mounting sections  22  for arranging a plurality of cards. The shapes of the card mounting sections  22  are adapted to correspond to the shapes of the respective cards to be mounted therein for preventing wrong cards from being mounted in the respective card mounting sections  22 .  
         [0042]     In another embodiment of the tray  16  shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the tray  16  is suitably designed so that card mounting sections are each formed in a manner not having a part overlapping in relation to a plurality of cards  60  so as to allow the plurality of cards to be mounted in the card mounting section, and further in consideration of miniaturization of connector (reduced occupied areas of substrates) and holding spaces for the contacts  14  in the housing  12 . Moreover, there are provided sensing means such as sensors for detecting the cards  60  to be used. The arrangement of the card mounting sections in the tray is substantially similar to that of the tray shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0043]     The housing  12  will then be explained. The housing  12  is formed from an electrically insulating plastic material by means of the injection molding of the known technique. The materials suitable for the housing  12  include polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamide (66PA or 46PA), liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polycarbonate (PC) and the like and combination thereof in consideration of dimensional stability, workability, manufacturing cost and the like. The housing  12  is provided with one fitting opening into which the tray  16  is inserted. The size of the fitting opening  20  for the tray  16  may be any size insofar as the tray  16  can be inserted into the fitting opening  20  and may be suitably designed to enable the stable connection between the cards and the contact portions  24  of the contacts  14  respectively corresponding to the cards when the insertion of the tray has been completed. The plurality of contacts are arranged and held in the housing  12  so that the contact portions  24  of the contacts  14  extend into the fitting opening  20  at positions corresponding to the respective cards corresponding to the respective contacts  14  when the insertion of the tray  16  has been completed. The housing  12  is formed with a required number of inserting holes  28  for arranging and holding the contacts  14 , respectively.  
         [0044]     The housing  12  is further provided on the side of the fitting opening  20  with stopper means for preventing the tray  16  from being unintentionally extended from the housing. For providing the stopper means, the housing  12  is formed in the proximity of the fitting opening  20  with a hole into which a member made of a metal or plastic material is fitted so as to extend slightly from the housing  12 . On the other hand, the tray is provided with a protrusion at a predetermined position so that the member provided in the housing is caused to engage the protrusion of the tray, thereby forming the stopper means (not shown). The positional relationship between the member and the protrusion and their sizes may be suitably designed so that no dislodgment of the tray from the housing occurs when the tray is drawn, and cards can be mounted in the tray without any obstruction. While the member is provided in the housing as a separate part, it may be formed integrally with the housing  12 . It is desirable to provide the stopper means on both the sides of the housing  12  in view of balancing of forces. However, only one stopper means may be sufficient insofar as it can perform its function.  
         [0045]     Finally, the contacts  14  will be explained. The contacts  14  are made of a metal and formed by means of the press-working of the known technique. Preferred metals from which to form the contacts  14  include brass, beryllium copper, phosphor bronze and the like which comply with the requirements such as springiness, electric conductivity and the like. The contacts  14  each comprise at least a contact portion  24  adapted to contact the card  60 , a fixed portion to be fixed to the housing  12 , and a connection portion  26  adapted to be connected to a substrate.  
         [0046]     Referring to  FIGS. 6A  to  6 I, inserting and drawing of the tray  16  will be explained.  FIGS. 6A  to  6 I illustrate the state that the tip of a coil spring  18  moves along precut grooves  30  in the form of a heart cam. In the illustrated embodiment, the coil spring  18  and the grooves  30  in the form of the heat cam are used in consideration of fabrication cost, ease in assembling, and miniaturization of the connector. One of the side walls of the housing  12  is formed with precut grooves  30  substantially in the form of the heart cam. A tip end of the coil spring  18  is engaged in the precut grooves  30 , and the other tip end of the coil spring  18  is held in the housing  12  at a predetermined position such that the central portion of the coil spring  18  is in contact with the tray  16 . Before inserting the tray  16  into the housing (or after removal of the tray), the tip end of the coil spring  18  is at a position X ( FIGS. 6A and 6I ), while when the tray  16  has been completely inserted, the tip end of the coil spring  18  is at a position Y ( FIG. 6E ). When it is desired to remove the tray  16 , the tray  16  is somewhat pushed by hand, as a result of which, the tip end of the coil spring  18  passes along the grooves on the side shown by an arrow Z and moves into the position X, whereby the tray  16  is removed from the housing by the elastic force of the coil spring  18 . When it is desired to insert the tray  18  into the housing  12 , the coil spring  18  is pushed by the tray  16  so that the tip end of the coil spring  18  passes along the grooves on the side shown by an arrow Z′ and moves into the position Y, whereby the insertion of the tray  16  has been completed.  
         [0047]     The present invention is applicable to card connectors for use in electric and electronic appliances in instruments and for use in printers and card readers, and particularly to connectors of miniaturization in height or reduced overall height which is achieved by the use of the tray  16  according to the invention.  
         [0048]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.