Patent Publication Number: US-7214076-B1

Title: Card connector with anti-mismating device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is related to copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/095,277 filed on Mar. 30, 2005. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention is generally related to a card connector, and especially to a card connector with anti-mismating means for assuring different size/type cards can be correctly received in corresponding receiving spaces. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   It is popular to provide one single Integrated Circuit (IC) card connector with different sets of terminals at different locations to engage the different size/type IC cards which mutually exclusively enter the common receiving space defined in the card connector via the same entrance opening. Understandably, the housing of the card connector provides some key/keyway in the guiding channels to guidably retain the inserted cards in position. However, sometimes a card of smaller dimensions may be inadvertently inserted into the entrance opening in an improper tilted manner that it may be incorrectly positioned, thus either damaging the terminals or being damaged by the terminals. The safest way is to provide different spaces and/or different entrance openings in the card connector, However this would increase the total thickness of the connector, which is opposite to the trend of miniaturization. Accordingly, it is desired to provide a safe structure for the card connector to regulate different cards&#39; insertion and not increase the thickness of the card connector. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,633 discloses a protection member which is located at an entrance opening of the card connector and can be moved either linearly or pivotally to allow the corresponding card to be inserted into the card connector for mating under a condition that the protection member is controlled by a locking member which moveably and releasably locks the protection member which can be released by the inserted card when the correctly sized card is inserted into the card entrance opening. 
   However, sometimes a small sized card is still required to be inserted into the combo type card connector for mating with the corresponding contacts in the card connector. In order to overcome the limitations of the currently offered products, it is expected to modify the protection member aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,633 which is capable of retaining a small sized card in position when the small sized card is inserted into the receiving space for mating with the corresponding terminals while not obstructing insertion of a large sized card. 
   Hence, an improved card connector is highly desired to overcome the aforementioned problem of the prior art. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a card connector which has anti-mismating device to prevent card from mismating. 
   To achieve the above object, a card connector comprises an insulating housing defining a pair of grooves and a receiving space with a first entrance opening; first and second sets of contacts retained in the insulating housing and exposed in the receiving space; a protection door moveably covering the first entrance opening for receiving a first card and defining a second entrance opening smaller than the first entrance opening therein for receiving a second card; a pivotal door associated with the protection door to moveably cover the second entrance opening, and a positioning member having a respective positioning portion exposed into the groove. When the second card is inserted in the second entrance opening, the positioning portion of the positioning member moves to one end of the corresponding groove to prevent the protection door from opening. 
   Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will be drawn from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention with attached drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an assembled, perspective view of a card connector in accordance with the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded, perspective view of the card connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an assembled, perspective view of a protection door and a pivotal door of the card connector of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is an assembled, perspective view similar to  FIG. 2 , but taken from another aspect; 
       FIG. 5  is an assembled, perspective view of the card connector of  FIG. 1  wherein the pivotal door is in an open position; and 
       FIG. 6  is an assembled, perspective view of the card connector of  FIG. 1 , showing an insertion state of a first card. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–6 , the card connector in accordance with the present invention is adapted for receiving a first card  300 , such as a Compact Flash (CF) card, and a second card, such as an Secure Digital (SD) card, is smaller than the first card  300  in size. 
   The card connector  100  comprises a connector housing  10  having opposite front wall  11  and rear wall  27 , opposite top wall  12  and bottom wall  14 , and opposite two side walls  16  commonly define a receiving space  18  in the connector housing  10 . A first set of contacts  22  are disposed on the rear wall  27  and forwardly extending into the receiving space  18  for mating with the first card  300  (shown in  FIG. 6 ). A second set of contacts  24  are disposed on the bottom wall  14  and upwardly extending above an upper face of the bottom wall  14  and into the receiving space  18  for mating with the second card. A first entrance opening  19  is formed in the front wall  11  of the housing  10  and in communication with the receiving space  18 . The top wall  12  defines a pair of receiving recesses  121  recessed downwardly from a front end of an upper face thereof adjacent to the opposite sidewalls  16 . Each of the sidewalls  16  defines a groove  17  having a first groove section  171  and a second groove section  172  communicating with and locating under the first groove section  171 . The first and second groove sections  171 ,  172  are approximately arc configuration, respectively. The groove  17  is in communication with the receiving space  18 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , a protection door  40  having two opposite pivots  42  thereon, is pivotally received in the recesses  121  of the top wall  12  of the housing  10  to moveably block the first entrance opening  19 . The protection door  40  comprises a front plate  44  defining a cutout to form a second entrance opening  46  therein wherein in this preferred embodiment the second entrance opening  46  is essentially overlapped with a portion of the first entrance opening  19  and smaller than the first entrance opening  19 . A pair of guiding rails  48  extend rearward from a back surface  50  of the front plate  44  at positions right beside the second entrance opening  46 . A supporting plate  52  integrally extends rearward from a bottom edge of the front plate  44  so as to cooperate with the pair of guiding rails  48  to hold the inserted second card in position. A card stopper  54  is formed at the rear end of one of the guiding rails  48  for engagement with a distal end of the second card. A pair of protrusions  51  are formed on an upper portion of the back surface  50 . 
   A pivotal door  56  having two positioning members  58  thereon, is pivotally mounted to the back surface  50  of the front plate  44  of the protection door  40  adjacent to the second entrance opening  46 . The pivotal door  56  moveably blocks the second entrance opening  46  on the back surface  50  of the front plate  44 . Each of the positioning members  58  is formed with a positioning portion  582  at a free end thereof. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1–6 , the top wall  12  of the housing  10  defines therein an opening  13  to accommodate the protection door  40  therein when the protection door  40  is upwardly raised by the first card. The bottom wall  14  of the housing  10  defines therein a recess  15  to accommodate the supporting plate  52  when the protection door  40  is in a closed position where the second card can be inserted into the receiving space  18 . 
   When no card is received in the receiving space  18 , the protection door  40  in the closed position to cover the first entrance opening  19  under a condition that the pivotal door  56  is in a vertical portion to cover the second entrance opening  46 . The positioning portion  582  of the pivotal door  56  is exposed into a connection of the first groove section  171  and the second groove section  172  of the groove  17 . Under this situation, when the first card  300  is inserted into the receiving space  18  through the first entrance opening  19 , the first card  300  pushes and upwardly raises the protection door  40  under a pivotal manner to have the guiding rails  48  pass through the opening  13  of the top wall  12 , and then have the front plate  44  essentially located in a horizontal position. In this course, the positioning portions  582  of the positioning members  58  move into the first groove section  171  of the groove  17  and finally position at a distal end of the first groove section  171 . 
   When the first card is withdrawn from the housing  10  via a reverse procedure, the protection door  40  is pushed back to the original closed position by its own gravity. Certainly, the card connector can be formed with a resilient member to urge the protection door  40  to the original closed position from an opening position. 
   Oppositely, if no first card  300  is available, a second card is also allowed to be inserted into the receiving space  18  via the second entrance opening  46  wherein the pivotal door  56  is upwardly raised by the inserted second card to a horizontal position. In this course, the inserted second card is positioned by the guiding rails  48 . The bottom plate  52  serves to support the card-cage (made up of  48  and  54 ) in the horizontal position. On the other hand, the positioning portions  582  of the positioning members  58  move into the second groove section  172  of the groove  17  from the connection the first and second groove sections  171 ,  172 , and the positioning portions  582  are positioned at a distal end of the groove section  172  finally to prevent the protection door from opening because a length of the second groove section  172  is smaller than that of the first groove section  171  along a front-to-rear direction and the positioning member  58  is disposed on the protection door  40 . 
   When the second card is withdraw from the housing  10 , the pivotal door  56  is pushed back to the closed position by its own gravity. Certainly, the pivotal door  56  can return to the closed position by a restoration force generated by a resilient member. 
   Referring to  FIG. 4 , a moveable first switch contact  70  is associated located on the protection door  40  having a first contact end  72  and a second contact end  74 . A stationary second switch contact  76  and a third switch contact  78  are disposed in the insulating housing  10 . The second switch contact  76  comprises a contact section adapted to engage with the first contact end  72  of the first switch contact  70  when the protection door  40  is in the closed position. The third switch contact  78  is adapted to engage with the second contact end  74  of the first switch contact  70  when the protection door  40  is in the closed position and the second card pushed rearward away the pivotal door  56  and is inserted into the second entrance opening  46 . 
   While a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention has been shown and described, equivalent modifications and changes known to persons skilled in the art according to the spirit of the present invention are considered within the scope of the present invention as described in the appended claims.