Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7771238?dq=6,243,373
Timestamp: 2014-03-16 00:09:11
Document Index: 550101384

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n3', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 104', 'art 104', 'art 104']

Patent US7771238 - Card-type peripheral device - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA card-type peripheral device includes an electronic component disposed in a case, and a terminal part including connection terminals connectable with a to-be-connected device, wherein a function of the electronic component and the number of terminals of the terminal part are maintained to be compatible...http://www.google.com/patents/US7771238?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7771238 - Card-type peripheral deviceAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7771238 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 12/229,767Publication dateAug 10, 2010Filing dateAug 27, 2008Priority dateAug 31, 2007Also published asCN101377828A, CN101377828B, EP2048595A2, EP2048595A3, US20090061688Publication number12229767, 229767, US 7771238 B2, US 7771238B2, US-B2-7771238, US7771238 B2, US7771238B2InventorsYoshitaka Aoki, Keiichi TsutsuiOriginal AssigneeSony CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (16), Non-Patent Citations (3), Referenced by (3), Classifications (9), Legal Events (1) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCard-type peripheral deviceUS 7771238 B2Abstract A card-type peripheral device includes an electronic component disposed in a case, and a terminal part including connection terminals connectable with a to-be-connected device, wherein a function of the electronic component and the number of terminals of the terminal part are maintained to be compatible with those of the to-be-connected device, and the outside dimensions of the case are set to be smaller than the outside dimensions of the to-be-connected device and greater than the outside dimensions of a predetermined small-size card.
a terminal part including connection terminals connectable with terminals of a to-be-connected device, wherein
a function of the electronic component and the number of terminals of the terminal part are maintained to be compatible with those of the to-be-connected device, the number of terminals of the terminal part being less than the number of terminals of the to-be-connected device, wherein the electronic component includes a nonvolatile memory and functions as a memory card capable of writing and reading data via an interface,
outside dimensions of the case are set to be smaller than outside dimensions of a standard PCI Express card medium and greater than outside dimensions of a memory stick Duo (registered trademark) or an SD (registered trademark) card,
2. The card-type peripheral device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal cover is formed of an electrically conductive material, and the terminal cover has a contact part connectable with a common terminal in a state in which the terminal cover is disposed on the terminal cover receiving part.
3. The card-type peripheral device according to claim 2, wherein the common terminal is formed on a circuit board. Description
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Application JP 2007-227206 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Aug. 31, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, this card has outside dimensions of 75 mm in length, 34 mm in width, and 5 mm in thickness, which is not small enough to be used in small-size electronic devices such as a portable telephone device, an information terminal device, a digital still camera, etc., although the dimensions are smaller than that of the PC card currently used. That is, the not-small-enough dimensions of the ExpressCard are disadvantageous when the card is installed in a small-size electronic device. Thus, there is a need for a new card-type peripheral device that is smaller in outside dimensions than the ExpressCard and that can be installed in an ExpressCard slot.
In the card-type peripheral device 100, a card case 101 is formed between a first surface 100 a and a second surface 100 b opposing to the first surface 100 a. The card case 101 has a form of a box located on the first surface 100 a. A terminal part 102 including terminals 1021 arranged in a line is formed in a front end portion of the second surface 100 b. The terminal part 102 allows the memory card 100 to receive electric power and transmit/receive data via contact pins of a connector disposed on the host device (not shown). Note that in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the memory card 100 is in a basic state in which a terminal cover is not placed on the terminal part 102.
The front end portion of the second surface 100 b is recessed toward the first surface 100 a so as form a recess 103, and the terminal part 102 is located on the bottom of this recess 103 such that the terminal part 102 is exposed to the outside via the recess 103. The recess 103 is surrounded by side walls 1031 and 1032 that are formed on respective sides of the terminal part 102 and by a side wall 1033 that is formed at a rear end of the terminal part 102 such that the side walls 1031, 1032, and 1033 function as partition walls. Furthermore, on the second surface 100 b, a terminal cover receiving part 104 is formed such that a terminal cover described later is allowed to be fitted therein. The terminal cover receiving part 104 is configured in the shape of a step recessed from the second surface 100 b into the inside of the card to a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the terminal cover such that the terminal cover in the form of a thin plate can be fitted in the terminal cover receiving part 104 in such a manner that one surface of the terminal cover is flush with the second surface 100 b. In a rear end part of the card-type peripheral device 100, a grip 105 used to hold the card is formed on the first surface 100 a, notches 106 and 107 usable for the same purpose as the grip 105 are formed on the second surface 100 b or on a side face.
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS7057268 *Jan 27, 2004Jun 6, 2006Amkor Technology, Inc.Cavity case with clip/plug for use on multi-media cardUS7172464 *Jul 19, 2006Feb 6, 2007Yun-Hsiu LeeCard adapterUS7210967 *Jul 19, 2006May 1, 2007Yun-Hsiu LeeCard adapter structureUS7325745 *Apr 25, 2005Feb 5, 2008Alcor Micro, Corp.Card reader assemblyUS7427026 *Oct 8, 2003Sep 23, 2008Molex IncorporatedMemory card adapter for connecting a miniature card to a standard card connector, along with a method of fabricating sameUS20050138288Dec 23, 2003Jun 23, 2005Horng-Yee ChouDual mode USB and PCI express deviceUS20050258243 *Feb 12, 2004Nov 24, 2005Hsiang-An HsiehExpress card interface adapter for small storage mediaUS20080071963Oct 31, 2007Mar 20, 2008Super Talent Electronics Inc.Express card with extended USB interfaceUS20090063743Aug 27, 2008Mar 5, 2009Sony CorporationCard-type peripheral deviceUS20090077295Sep 9, 2008Mar 19, 2009Sony CorporationCard-type peripheral deviceJP2005050280A Title not availableJP2005284323A Title not availableJP2006106826A Title not availableJP2006185677A Title not availableJPH04124790A Title not availableJPH10334206A Title not available* Cited by examinerNon-Patent CitationsReference1Nikkei Electronics, "Lending Trends", Jun. 9, 2003, pp. 67-76.2PCMCIA: "The ExpressCard(TM) Standard-The Next Generation PC Card Technology" Oct. 2003, Retrieved from the Internet: URL: http://www.expresscard.org/files/ExpressCardWP.pdf , [retrieved on Aug. 9, 2005].3PCMCIA: "The ExpressCard� Standard�The Next Generation PC Card Technology" Oct. 2003, Retrieved from the Internet: URL: http://www.expresscard.org/files/ExpressCardWP.pdf , [retrieved on Aug. 9, 2005].Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS8456850 *Dec 7, 2010Jun 4, 2013Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Memory cards and electronic machinesUS8550858 *Apr 7, 2011Oct 8, 2013Apple Inc.Extensible memory card-compatible receptacle and port expansion deviceUS20110134620 *Dec 7, 2010Jun 9, 2011Kang JintaeMemory cards and electronic machines* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification439/630, 235/441International ClassificationH01R24/00Cooperative ClassificationG06K19/07743, G06K19/07739, G06K19/07732European ClassificationG06K19/077G2, G06K19/077E7, G06K19/077KLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionAug 27, 2008ASAssignmentOwner name: SONY CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:AOKI, YOSHITAKA;TSUTSUI, KEIICHI;REEL/FRAME:021512/0429Effective date: 20080701RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google