Patent Publication Number: US-6655973-B2

Title: Electrical card connector with card eject mechanism

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an electrical card connector, and more particularly to an electrical card connector with an improved card eject mechanism. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Electrical card connectors used for Multimedia cards (MMC) or Secure Digital (SD) cards usually have card eject mechanisms for ejecting inserted cards. 
     Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 2000-251024, 2000-251025, U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,791B1 and Publication No. 2001/0055896A1 disclose electrical card connectors with similar card eject mechanisms. FIG. 5 shows a card eject mechanism  6  of an electrical card connector disclosed in US Publication No. 2001/0055896A1. The card eject mechanism  6  includes a coil spring  62 , a movable member  63 , a link rod  64 , and a curved guide groove  66  defined in a base  60  encircling a heart-shaped cam  65 . The guide groove  66  defines a locking position “C” and a releasing position “D”. The coil spring  62  has a front end secured to the base  60  and a rear end connected to the movable member  63 . A rear portion of the movable member  63  is linked with a front end of the link rod  64 . A rear end of the link rod  64  is engaged in the locking position “C” when a card is fully received in the connector and engaged in the releasing position “D” when the card is pushed out of the connector. However, the guide groove  66  described above is defined in an upper portion of the base  60 , thereby enlarging the width of the base  60 . Moreover, the link rod  64  and the movable member  63  are usually required to be hingably linked, which requires a relatively complicated process. 
     Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-135192 discloses another conventional electrical card connector with a card eject mechanism. The card eject mechanism includes a coil spring, a movable member, and a link rod. The movable member defines a guide groove in a lateral side thereof. The guide groove defines a locking position and a releasing position. One end of the coil spring is secured to a base of the electrical card connector and the other end of the coil spring is connected with the movable member. The link rod has one end secured to the base by insert-molding. The other end of the link rod is received in the guide groove of the movable member and engaged in the locking position when a card is fully received in the electrical card connector and engaged in the releasing position when the card is ejected. However, one end of the link rod is insert-molded with the base, which requires a relatively complicated process and thus increases manufacturing cost. 
     JP Patent Publication No. 2001-85089 discloses an electrical card connector with a card eject mechanism similar to that of Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-135192. A link rod of the electrical connector is secured to a base by riveting, which takes up much more space and also requires a relatively complicated process. 
     Hence, an electrical card connector with an improved card eject mechanism is needed to overcome the foregoing shortcomings. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical card connector with an improved card eject mechanism. A link rod of the card eject mechanism is secured to a base by a rear side of a shield. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical card connector with an improved card eject mechanism which is easy for manufacturing and assembly. 
     An electrical card connector comprises an insulative base, a plurality of conductive terminals, an card eject mechanism and a shield. The insulative base defines a locking indentation at a rear end thereof. The card eject mechanism includes a movable member, a coil spring and a link rod. The link rod has a first end engaging with the movable member at either a locking position or a releasing position of the movable member and a second end received in the indentation of the base. The shield has a hook received in the indentation of the base and engaged with the rear end of the link rod, thereby securing the rear end of the link rod to the base. 
    
    
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical card connector according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a partially exploded view of the electrical card connector, with a card eject mechanism and switch contacts assembled on a base of the electrical card connector of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an assembled view of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 4 is a partially cross-sectional view of the electrical card connector of the present invention, showing a rear end of a link rod received between a pair of legs of a shield. 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a card eject mechanism of a conventional electrical card connector. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an electrical card connector  100  according to the present invention includes an insulative base  10 , a plurality of conductive terminals  30  received in the base  10 , a card eject mechanism  40  for smoothly and easily ejecting an electronic card (not shown) inserted in the connector  100 , switch contacts  50  for detecting write-protect of the card and full insertion of the card, and a shield  20 . Since the structure of the conductive terminals  30  and the switch contacts  50  are well known to those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein. 
     The base  10  includes a traverse portion  13  with the conductive terminals  30  insert-molded therewith, and a first and a second arms  14 ,  15 . The first arm  14  defines a longitudinal groove  17  in a top surface thereof. A projection  16  extends laterally from a middle portion of the first arm  14 . The projection  16  defines an L-shaped locking recess  161  in a top surface thereof. A locking indentation  11  is defined at a distal end of the first arm  14 . The locking indentation  11  is generally crossed and includes a longitudinal part  111  and a traverse part  112 . The longitudinal part  111  extends vertically through the top surface and a bottom surface of the first arm  14 . The traverse part  112  communicates with the longitudinal part  111  extend only through the top surface of the first arm  14 . 
     The card eject mechanism  40  includes a coil spring  43 , a movable member  42 , a link rod  41  and a retention element  44 . The movable member  42  defines a curved guide groove  421  in a lateral side thereof which encircles a heart-shaped cam  424 . A substantially semi-circular channel  422  is defined at a front end of the movable member  42 . The movable member  42  further has an actuation portion  423  extending laterally from a front portion thereof. The link rod  41  has a longitudinal portion  413 , and a front and a rear ends  412 ,  411  respectively extending laterally from opposite ends of the longitudinal portion  413 . 
     The shield  20  includes a substantially rectangular main body  25 . A forked hook  21  depends from a lateral side of the main body  25  adjacent to a rear end thereof. The hook  21  has a pair of downward legs  211 . A tab  22  also depends from the same side of the main body  25  and located in front of the forked hook  21 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in assembly, the switch contacts  50  are mounted in the second arm  15  of the insulative base  10 . The card eject mechanism  40  is mounted to the first arm  14  of the insulative base  10 . The movable member  42  is slidably received in the groove  17  of the first arm  14 . The coil spring  43  has a front end secured to the traverse portion  13  of the insulative base  10  and a rear end received in the channel  422  of the movable member  42 . The front end  412  of the link rod  41  is disposed in the guiding groove  421  of the movable member  42  in a releasing position “B”. The rear end  411  of the link rod  41  is received in the traverse part  112  of the locking indentation  11 . The L-shaped retention element  44  is received in the L-shaped locking recess  161 . A rear end of the retention element  44  extends out of the recess  161  and abuts against the link rod  41  for preventing the front end  412  of the link rod  41  from disengaging from the guide groove  421 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the shield  20  is attached to the base  10 . The forked hook  21  engages in the longitudinal part  111  of the indention  11 , with the rear end  411  of the link rod  41  sandwiched between the legs  211 , thereby securing the rear end  411  of the link rod  41  to the base  10 . The tab  22  of the shield  20  abuts against an outside of a rear portion of the link rod  41  for preventing the link rod  41  from deviating outwardly. 
     During the insertion of an electronic card into the electrical card connector  100 , the actuation portion  423  of the movable member  42  abuts against a front end of the electronic card. The movable member  42  moves forwardly together with the electronic card. The coil spring  43  is compressed. The front end  412  of the link rod  41  slides in the guide groove  421 . When the card is fully inserted in the electrical card connector  100 , the front end  412  of the link rod  41  is locked in a locking position “A” of the guide groove  421 . When further exerting a forward force on the fully inserted card, the card, together with the movable member  42 , moves rearwardly. The front end  412  of the link rod  41  moves in the guide groove  421  from the locking position “A” to the original releasing position “B”. The compressed coil spring  43  exerts a rearward force on the movable member  42 , thereby exerting a rearward force on the front end of the electronic card via the actuation portion  423 . The electronic card is thus pushed out of the electrical card connector  100 . 
     It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous, characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set fourth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosed is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.