Abstract:
A memory card connector includes a main body and a slide plate. There are a plurality of terminals, a halt prevention hook and a slide rail in the main body. The slide plate has a rod, an opening at one end enabling insertion of a memory card a plurality of jacks extending to the other side thereof. Each jack has a guided chamfer therein, and each terminal is bent at the middle part thereof to form a pressing structure to avoid direct abrasion of the chip on the memory card as well as to avoid misinsertion or misejection of the memory card. With a special fastener on the memory card connector, the memory can connector can be coupled with another memory card connector (may be of a different size or specification) for hosting more memory cards.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a memory card connector, and more particularly to a memory card connector that can work with different memory cards; wherein said connector can avoid direct friction between the chip on the memory card and the terminals based on the special structure of pressing terminal and with the halt prevention hook and the guided rod, said connector helps to determine whether the memory card is misinserted as well as avoid misejection of the memory card. Furthermore, with a special fastener on it, said connector can be coupled with a memory card of a different size or specification to form an assembly that can host different memory cards. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Memory cards are usually used as a storage media for digital peripheral equipment. As there are different types of digital products in the market and they can work only with specific memory cards, memory cards are often made into different sizes or specifications to adapt to specific digital products. Therefore, users always find they cannot use the memory cards because of the low changeable of the digital products. Currently, a universal memory card connector is available in the market, someone provided one kind of memory card connector, which can support the following 4 types of memory cards: Smart Media Card, Secure Digital Card, Multimedia Card, and Memory Stick Card. Though the memory card connector can work with 4 different types of memory cards, it has the following shortcomings in actual application: 
     1. When a memory card is inserted into the memory card connector, the chip on that memory card has to contact with the I/O terminals on the memory card connector. However, in insertion of the memory card, the chip will abrade the terminals on the card connector, resulting in abrasion of the chip on the memory card and finally loose contact between the chip and the terminals on the card connector. 
     2. Though some memory card connectors that work with different memory cards may form into assemblies with the memory cards quickly, they shall work with the help of a PCMCIA interface equipped in the notebooks and desktops, resulting in the narrow application field. 
     3. Memory cards are often misinserted due to carelessness, thus the chip on the memory cards don&#39;t contact with the terminals on the card connector, resulting in the memory card unworkable. 
     4. In case a memory card is misinserted, the user may assume that the memory card or the digital peripheral equipment is failed and reparation work may be necessary. Such cases not only add the workload to maintenance and reparation personnel, but also bring inconvenience to the user. 
     5. Though some existing memory card connectors have a card ejector component, misactions may often occur due to the ineffectiveness of the card ejectors, resulting in the occurrence of badness ratio. 
     In consideration of above problems, the inventor provides an improved memory card connector that can work with different types of memory cards. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of this invention is to provide a memory card connector comprising a main body and a slide plate, wherein said main body can be coupled with a cover, and it has an opening on one end to enable insertion of a memory card. There is a plurality of terminals and springs at certain positions in the main body. The slide plate can move forward and backward in the main body. The slide plate has a socket on one side to enable the insertion of a memory card, and it has a plurality of jacks extending to the other side to host the terminals. Each jack has a guided chamber in it, and it is bent at the middle part to form a pressing structure. 
     In actual applications, when a memory card is inserted into the socket on the slide plate via the opening on the main body, the memory card will push the slide plate to move forward, thus the guided chamber on the slide plate will press down the pressing structures on the terminals to make the terminals contact with the chip on the memory card. In this way, the friction between the chip on the memory card and the terminals on the card connector can be avoided, eliminating any abrasion of the chip. 
     Another purpose of this invention is to provide a memory card connector, wherein when the cover of said memory card is removed, the memory card connector can be coupled with another memory card connector with the fastener on the main body to form an assembly, which can work with different types of memory cards, minimizing the size and cost. 
     Another purpose of this invention is to provide a memory card connector, wherein the slide plate has a rod in it and a halt prevention hook against the main body. Said rod can move forward and backward in the guided groove in the slide plate. With that structure, in case a memory card is misinserted, the slide plate and the memory card will be blocked by the halt prevention hook and will not be pushed forward as the memory card can&#39;t push the guided rod, which in turn can&#39;t press down the halt prevention hook. Thus, the user will notice his/her wrong action and correct it at once. 
     Another purpose of this invention is to provide a memory card connector, wherein the main body has a slide rail and the slide plate has a guided rod at the position where the slide plate faces against the slide rail. The guided rod can move along the slide rail when the slide plate moves forward and backward on the main body. The slide rail has the first notch, the second notch, the third notch, and the fourth notch, each of which is of a specific height. Those notches are designed to avoid misejection of the memory card. 
     The structure, efficacy, and principle of this invention is further detailed in the following illustrations and description. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a 3D assembly view of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an abridged general view ( 1 ) of the structure of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 3 is an abridged general view ( 2 ) of the structure of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 4 is an abridged general view of the slide rail of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 5 is an abridged general view of the main body with terminals of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG.  6  and FIG. 7 are abridged general views of the slide plate&#39; appearance of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG.  8  and FIG. 9 are assembly views of the slide plate of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 10 is a 3D exploded view of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 11 is an assembly view of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 12 is an application view of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view ( 1 ) of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 14 is a sectional view ( 2 ) of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG.  15  and FIG. 16 are abridged general view of procedures for correct insertion of a memory card into the memory card connector in this invention. 
     FIG. 17 is an abridged general view of the misinsertion of a memory card into the memory card connection in this invention. 
     FIG.  18  and FIG. 19 are application view of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention, with the guided rod being at different positions on the slide rail. 
     FIG. 20 is a 3D exploded view of another preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG.  21  and FIG. 22 is an abridged general view of the structure of the memory card connector in another preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 23 is an assembly view of another preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 24 is a 3D assembly view of another preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
     FIG. 25 is an application view of another preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE SYMBOLS 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 1 
                 Main Body 
                 11 
                 Containing Part 
               
               
                 12 
                 Opening 
                 13 
                 Through Hole 
               
               
                 14 
                 Bulge 
                 15, 15′ 
                 Terminal Seat 
               
               
                 151, 151′ 
                 Terminal 
                 152 
                 Pressing Structure 
               
               
                 16 
                 Jack 
                 161 
                 Terminal 
               
               
                 17 
                 Seat 
                 18 
                 Slide Rail 
               
               
                 181 
                 First Notch 
                 182 
                 Second Notch 
               
               
                 183 
                 Third Notch 
                 184 
                 Fourth Notch 
               
               
                 19 
                 Halt prevention Hook 
                 191 
                 Clamp 
               
               
                 192 
                 Hook 
                 193 
                 Extending Part 
               
               
                 2 
                 Slide Plate 
                 21 
                 Guided Groove 
               
               
                 211 
                 Fastener 
                 212 
                 Blocking Part 
               
               
                 213 
                 Flange 
                 22 
                 Opening 
               
               
                 221 
                 Jack 
                 222 
                 Guided Chamber 
               
               
                 23 
                 Socket 
                 231 
                 Slot 
               
               
                 24 
                 Hooking Part 
                 25 
                 Hook 
               
               
                 251 
                 Spring 
                 26 
                 Fixing Seat 
               
               
                 261 
                 Guided Rod 
                 27 
                 Rod 
               
               
                 271 
                 Connecting Part 
                 272 
                 Guided Chamber 
               
               
                 273 
                 Flange 
                 28 
                 Blocking Part 
               
               
                 3 
                 Cover 
                 31 
                 Through Hole 
               
               
                 4 
                 Memory Card Connector 
                 41 
                 Slot 
               
               
                 42, 42′ 
                 Terminal Seat 
                 421 
                 Terminal 
               
               
                 43 
                 Coupling Part 
                 431 
                 Location Hole 
               
               
                 44 
                 Guided Groove 
                 441 
                 Location Hole 
               
               
                 442 
                 Pressing Part 
                 45 
                 Pushing Rod 
               
               
                 46 
                 Through Hole 
                 461 
                 Fixing Rod 
               
               
                 462 
                 Blot 
                 47 
                 Connecting Groove 
               
               
                 471 
                 Jack 
                 48 
                 Connecting Port 
               
               
                 481 
                 Leg 
                 5 
                 Circuit Board 
               
               
                 51 
                 Through Hole 
                 52 
                 Contact 
               
               
                 A, B, C, D 
                 Memory Card 
                 A1, C1 
                 Chip 
               
               
                 C2 
                 Notch 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 is a 3D assembly view of a preferred embodiment implemented According to this invention. From the drawing we can see that the invention mainly comprises a main body  1 , a slide plate  2 , and a cover  3 . There is a containing part  11  at the center of the main body  1  (refer to FIG.  2 ), and there is an opening  12  at one side of the main body to enable insertion of different memory cards A, B, or C (refer to FIG.  12 ). There is a terminal seat  15 ′ at one end of the opening  12  of the main body  1  to fix the terminals  151 ′, and there are a terminal seat  15  and a jack  16  at the other end of the main body  1  to fix the terminals  15  and terminals  16 . There is a plurality of bulges  14  on the circumference of the main body  1 . There is a through hole  13  on the bottom part of each side of the containing part  11  (refer to FIG.  5 ), and there are a seat  17  to fix the halt prevention hook  19  and a slid rail  18  to enable the guided rod  261  to move forward and backward near each through hole  13  (refer to FIG.  3 ). The halt prevention hook  19  is made of an elastic material, and it is bent on both ends to form a clamp  191  on one end and a hook  192  and an extending part  193  on the other end. The slide rail  18  has the first notch  181 , the second notch  182 , the third notch  183 , and the fourth notch  184  (refer to FIG.  4 ), and each notch is of a specific height. The slide plate  2  can be placed into the containing part  11  of the main body, and it has a plurality of slots  22  at one end to enable insertion of a memory card A (refer to FIG. 6) and a plurality of jacks  221  extending to the other end to host terminals  151 . Each jack  221  has a guided chamber  222  in it (refer to FIG.  13 ), and each the terminal  151  is bent at the middle part to form a pressing structure  152 . There is a plurality of slots  231  to enable insertion of terminals  161  (refer to FIG.  7 ). The slots  231  are connected to a socket  23  to host a memory card B. There is a fixing seat  26  to fix a guided rod  261  near the socket  23  (refer to FIG.  9 ). There is a blocking part  28  near the fixing seat  26 , and the slide plate  2  has a plurality hooking parts  24  and a hook  25  to hook a spring  251  on each side of it. There is a guided groove  21  at a certain position on the slide plate  2 , extending to one end (refer to FIG.  7 ). Said guided groove can host a rod  27  and enable the rod  27  to slide forward and backward in it. There is a bulge  211  on one end of the guided groove  21  and a blocking part  212  on the other end of the guided groove  21 . There is a flange  213  on one side of the guided groove  21 . Thus the rod  27  can slide in the guided groove and can&#39;t slide out of it. There is a flange  273  and a guided chamber  272  on one side of the rod  27  (refer to FIG.  8 ), and a connecting part  271  extends from the guided chamber  272 . The cover  3  has through holes  31  on both sides to couple with the bulges  14  on the main body (refer to FIG.  10 ). 
     In assembly, firstly, place the rod  27  into the guided groove  21  on the slide plate  2 , insert and fix the guided rod  261  into the fixing seat  26 , and attach the springs  251  onto the corresponding hooks  25 ; then place the assembled slide plate  2  in the containing part  11  of the main body  1  and couple the hooking part  24  on both sides of the slide plate  2  with the through holes  13  on the main body  1 ; and fix the other end of each spring  251  on the hook  25  onto the main body  1 . In this way, the slide plate can slide forward and backward in the containing part  11  of the main body  1 . Then, insert the terminals  151 ,  151 ′,  161  into the corresponding terminal seats  15 ,  15 ′ and the terminal jacks  16 , wherein, the terminals  151  are inserted into corresponding jacks  221  on the slide plate  92  via the terminal seat  15  on the main body  1  refer to FIG. 13 to make the extending part  193  of the halt prevention hook  19  prop on the flange  213  of the slide plate  2  refer to FIG. 15; then place the guided rod  261  on the slide plate  2  into the slide rail  18  of the main body  1  (refer to FIG.  18 ); finally, fit the cover  3  on the main body  1  (refer to FIG. 11) to make the through holes  31  on the cover  3  couple with the bulges  14  on the main body. Then the assembled structure can be fixed into a DSC or a multimedia AN device. 
     When in use, different memory cards A, B, C (e.g., Smart Media Card, Secure Digital Card, Multimedia Card, or Memory Stick Card) can be inserted into the assembly (refer to FIG.  12 ). With a CCD or an equivalent (not shown) and an opticalelectric component in the digital peripheral equipment, images or data can be saved into the chip A 1  of memory card A (or B, C). Then, the assembly can be connected to a computer, which will access the information stored in the memory card A, B, or C. 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view ( 1 ) of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention, wherein when no memory card A (or B, C) is inserted into the memory card connector in this invention, the slide plate  2  on the memory card connector is located at one end of the main body  1  under the pushing force of the spring  251 . However, when memory card A is inserted into the opening  22  of the slide plate  2  via the opening  12  on the main body  1 , it pushes the slide plate  2  to move forward, and the guided chamber  222  on the slide plate  2  will press down the pressing structures  152  of the terminals  151  (refer to FIG. 14) to make the terminals  151  contact with the chip A 1  (not shown) on memory card A in that way, any abrasion of the chip A 1  on the memory card A due to direct friction between the chip A 1  and the terminals  151  will be avoided. 
     When the memory card C is inserted into the memory card connector in this invention (refer to FIG.  15 ), the chip C 1  on the memory card C will contact with the terminals  151 ′ (not shown) on the main body  1  if memory card C is correctly inserted into the assembly, and the notch C 2  on the memory card C will couple with the blocking part  28  on the slide plate  2  (refer to FIG.  16 ). When the memory card C pushes the rod  27  on the slide plate  2 , it pushes the guided chamber  272  beside the rod  27  to press aside the hook  192  on the halt prevention hook  19 . Thus the extending part  193  of the halt prevention hook  19  will slide aside to enable the slide plate  2  and the memory card C to move forward. Finally, the chip C 1  on the memory card C will completely contact with the terminals  151 ′ (not shown). However, if the memory card is misinserted (refer to FIG.  17 ), the memory card C can&#39;t be pushed forward due to the blocking of the blocking part  28  on the slide plate  2 , thus it can&#39;t push the rod  27 , and as the result, the rod  27  can&#39;t press aside the extending part  193  of the halt prevention hook  19 , thus the flange  213  of the slide plate  2  is constantly propped by the extending part  193 . In that case, the operator can easily notice the wrong operation and correct it at once. 
     Similarly, When the memory card A or B is correctly inserted into the opening of above memory card connector, it will push the rod  27  in the slide plate  2 , which will in turn press aside the guided chamber  272  and press down the hook  192  on the halt prevention hook  19  to make the extending part  193  on the halt prevention hook  19  slide aside. As the result, the slide plate  2  and the memory card A or B can move forward. 
     FIG.  18  and FIG. 19 show the actions of the slide rail of a preferred embodiment implemented according to this invention. Please refer to FIG. 4 at the same time. When no memory card A (or B, or C) is inserted into the memory card connection in this invention, the guided rod  261  on the slide plate  2  is located at the far end of the first notch  181  on the slide rail  18 . When a memory card A or B or C is inserted into said connector, it pushes the slide plate  2 , thus the guided rod  261  on the slide plate  2  will move towards the second notch. However, the guided rod  261  will not slide into the fourth notch  184 , as the notch  184  is higher than the first notch  181 . When the slide plate moves to the top of the main body, the guided rod  261  will slide into the second notch  182  because that the second notch is lower that the first notch. At this time, the slide plate  2  will move backward a bit under the pushing force of the spring  251 , and the guide rod  261  will slide into the third notch  183  because the third notch  183  is lower than the second notch  182 . Then, the guide rod  261  will wedge into the third notch  183  and be blocked there due to the sunk-arc shape of the third notch  183 . 
     At ejecting the card, the operator may push the memory card A (or B, or C) forward to make the slide plate  2  move forward. Because the second notch  182  is higher that the third notch  183 , any misaction of card ejection can be avoided. The guided rod  261  will directly slide into the fourth notch  184  because that the fourth notch  184  is lower a bit than the third notch  183 . Then, the slide plate will return to it original position where no memory card is inserted under the pushing force of the spring  251 , it will return to the first notch  181  from the fourth notch  184 . 
     In addition, when the cover  3  is removed from the main body  1 , the memory card connector can be coupled with another memory card connector  4  with the bulges  14  on the main body  1  (refer to FIG.  20 ). The main body  1  can be welded on a circuit board  5  through its terminals  151 ,  161  and other components. The circuit board  5  has preset through holes  51 , contacts  52 , and circuits to work with different memory cards with the help of the connecting grooves  47  and the connecting ports  48 . The memory card connector  4  has an opening  41  to enable insertion of different cards (refer to FIG. 25) on one end and terminal seats  42 ,  42 ′ to fix terminals  421  on the other end. The terminal seats  42 ,  42 ′ have a groove  44  on each side to couple with a pressing part  442  (refer to FIG.  210 ), and each groove  44  has a plurality of location holes  441  in it. The pressing parts  442  work with the pushing rod  45  in the terminal seat  42  to constitute a card ejecting part. The memory card connector  4  has a plurality of coupling parts extending from on side and a plurality of through holes  46  at certain positions to host some fixing rods  461 . 
     In assembly, firstly, insert one ends of the terminals  421  into the terminal seats  42 ,  42 ′ (refer to FIG.  22 ); insert the other ends of the terminals  421  into the jacks  471  in the connecting groove  47 ; fix the legs  481  of the connecting port  48  onto the circuit board  5 , against the contacts; the coupling parts  43  and the location holes  431 ,  441  in the guided groove  44  on the memory card connector  4  can be fastened to the bulges  14  on the main body  1 , and the fixing rods  46  can fix the memory card connector  4  onto the circuit board  5  with the bolts  462  (refer to FIG.  23 ); finally, insert the terminals  121  into the connecting port  3  (refer to FIG. 24) to finish the assembly. In this way, the user can substitute the memory card connector  4  with an expected one to form an assembly that can work with different memory cards, without significantly increasing the size and the cost of the assembly. 
     From above description we can see that the memory card connector in this invention can avoid abrasion of the chip on memory cards, helps to verify the correct insertion of memory cards, avoid misejection of memory cards, and be coupled with other memory card connectors to enable insertion of different memory cards at the same time significantly increasing the size and cost of the structure. Thus the inventor applies for a new patent for it. 
     Above description are only for some preferred embodiments of the invention and shall not be deemed to constitute any limitation to the application scope of this invention. Any implementation will equivalent modifications or embellishments shall fall into the concept of this invention.