Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to electrical connection devices and more particularly, to a multi-in-one card connector that allows insertion of only one single card member. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Various multi-in-one card connectors have been disclosed for use with a card reader to fit different card members. In order to prevent a reading error due to insertion of multiple cards at a time, multi-in-one card connectors that allow insertion of only one card member are created. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,908,321 discloses a card connector entitled All-in-one card connector that is comprised of a base frame, two plate-like members, and a plurality of terminals. The base frame has an opening formed at a front end thereof, two lateral sections formed respectively at bilateral sides of the opening, a concavity formed at one lateral section, a movable guide member mounted in the concavity for upward and downward movement respectively for blocking a large width card and a small width card, and a springy member mounted between the guide member and the base frame for generating resilience keeping movement of the guide member. The base frame is mounted closely between the two plate-like members. Each of the terminals is mounted on the plate-like member and extends into the opening to be electrically connected with contact pads of an inserted electronic card. Accordingly, when an electronic card is inserted into the card connector, the guide member allows the entry of the card to be pushed by the card to move towards a direction to further stop entry of another card. 
   According to the aforesaid prior art design, the guide member is moved vertically up and down to control insertion of a card member (SD memory card or XD memory card) into the space above or below. Therefore, the guide member requires a big vertical space. This limitation is not in favor of a low profile design. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a multi-in-one card connector that has a low profile characteristic and prohibits insertion of a second card member after insertion of one first card member. 
   To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, the multi-in-one card connector comprises an electrically insulative base frame that has a bottom panel, two upright sidewalls vertically upwardly extending from two opposite lateral sides of the bottom panel and defining with the bottom panel a front insertion opening, and at least one guide groove formed on a front side of at least one of the two upright sidewalls, a plurality of terminal sets respectively mounted inside the base frame at different locations for the contact of different memory cards, at least one limiter block mounted in and vertically movable along the at least one guide groove, each limiter block comprising a top stop flange and a bottom stop flange respectively extending from the top side and bottom side thereof toward the inside of the base frame, at least one of the top stop flange and the bottom stop flange being held in the front insertion opening, and at least one elastic member connected between the base frame and the at least one limiter block to support the at least one limiter block in a predetermined position. By means of the aforesaid arrangement, the multi-in-one card connector has a low profile, and prohibits insertion of a second memory card after insertion of one memory card. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded top elevation of a multi-in-one card connector in accordance with the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of a part of the multi-in-one card connector in accordance with the present invention, showing the structure of the base frame and the limiter blocks. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective assembly view of  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the multi-in-one card connector in accordance with the present invention after removal of the top cover. 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view taken along line  5 - 5  of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic drawing of the present invention, showing a SD memory card inserted into the multi-in-one card connector. 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 8  is a schematic drawing of the present invention, showing a XD memory card inserted into the multi-in-one card connector. 
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view taken along line  9 - 9  of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic drawing of the present invention, showing a MMC memory card stopped on the outside after insertion of a XD memory card into the multi-in-one card connector. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1˜5 , a multi-in-one card connector  10  in accordance with the present invention is shown comprised of a base frame  11 , multiple terminal sets  21 , two vertically movable limiter blocks  31 , two elastic members  41 , and a top cover  51 . 
   The base frame  11  is an electrically insulative member having a bottom panel  12 , two upright sidewalls  14  perpendicularly upwardly extending from the bottom panel  12  at two opposite lateral sides, two vertical sliding grooves  16  respectively formed on the upright sidewalls  14  near the front side, and a front insertion opening  18  defined by the bottom panel  12  and the upright sidewalls  14  through which a memory card is insertable into the multi-in-one card connector  10 . The upright sidewalls  14  each have a front shoulder  15  suspending above the front insertion opening  18 . The front shoulder  15  has a through hole  151  in communication with the associating vertical sliding groove  16 . The bottom panel  12  has two locating grooves  161  bilaterally disposed on the top surface adjacent to the vertical sliding grooves  16 , and an upright pin  162  in each locating groove  161 . 
   The number of the multiple terminal sets  21  according to the present preferred embodiment is 3. These three terminal sets  21  are respectively installed in the bottom panel  12  at different locations for the contact of a respective memory card (for example, a MS (Memory Stick) memory card, SD (Secure Digital) memory card, or XD (Extreme Digital) memory card). 
   The two limiter blocks  31  are respectively mounted in and movable along the vertical sliding grooves  16 . Further, the limiter blocks  31  have a respective stepped inner lateral side facing each other to fit the side edge configurations of different memory cards. The two limiter blocks  31  each have a top stop flange  32  and a bottom stop flange  34  respectively extending from the top and bottom sides in same direction. At least one of the top stop flange  32  and the bottom stop flange  34  is suspending in the front insertion opening  18 . The top flange  32  of each limiter block  31  is inserted through the through hole  151  of the associating front shoulder  15  and constrained by the associating through hole  151 . The bottom flange  34  faces one locating groove  161  of the bottom panel  12 . When the limiter blocks  31  are lowered, the bottom flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  are respectively forced into the locating grooves  161  of the bottom panel  12 . The bottom flange  34  of each limiter block  31  has a sloping surface  35  disposed at the front side and facing upwards. Each limiter block  31  further has an accommodation groove  36  at the outer lateral side opposite to the stepped inner lateral side. 
   The two elastic members  41  according to the present preferred embodiment are compression springs respectively accommodated in the accommodation grooves  36  of the limiter blocks  31  and respectively sleeved onto the upright pins  162  in the locating grooves  161  of the bottom panel  12  and respectively stopped between the bottom panel  12  and the limiter blocks  31 . 
   The top cover  51  is covered on the base frame  11  over the shoulders  15 . Subject to the spring force of the elastic members  41 , the limiter blocks  31  are stopped at the bottom side of the top cover  51 . 
   The operation of the present invention is outlined hereinafter. 
   Referring to  FIG. 5 , before insertion of a card, the spring force of the two elastic members  51  supports the limiter blocks  31  in the upper limit position. At this time, the bottom stop flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  are suspending in the front insertion opening  18  and the top stop flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  are in the associating through holes  151  in flush with the associating shoulders  15 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , when inserting a MS card  91  into the multi-in-one card connector  10 , the two opposite stepped side edges  911  of the MS card  91  do not touch the sloping surfaces  35  of the bottom flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  (see  FIG. 2 ), and therefore the MS card  91  can be smoothly inserted through the front insertion opening  18  into contact with the corresponding terminal set  21 . At this time, the MS card  91  occupies the major part of the cross section of the front insertion opening  18 , and therefore there is no room for the insertion of any other memory card. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , when inserting a XD memory card  92  into the multi-in-one card connector  10 , the front edge of the XD memory card  92  will touch the sloping surfaces  35  of the bottom stop flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  (see  FIG. 2 ) and will further force the bottom stop flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  downward to the associating locating grooves  161 . When the bottom stop flanges  34  of the limiter blocks  31  are downward to the associating locating grooves  161 , the top stop flanges  32  are also lowered into the front insertion opening  18  to prohibit insertion of any other memory card.  FIG. 10  illustrates the positioning status of the limiter blocks  31  after the XD memory card  92  has been set into position. When inserting any other memory card, for example, MMC (MultiMediaCard) memory card  91 ′ into the space above the XD (Extreme Digital) memory card  92  at this time, the front edge of the MMC memory card  91 ′ will be stopped by the top stop flanges  32 , and therefore the insertion of the MMC memory card  91 ′ is prohibited. 
   Further, because a MS (Memory Stick) memory card (not shown) is thicker than a SD card  91 , when a MS memory card is inserted into the multi-in-one card connector  10 , it occupies the whole space of the front insertion opening  18 , prohibiting insertion of any other memory card. The insertion status of a MS memory card is similar to the insertion status of a SD card  91 , no further description in this regard is necessary. 
   As stated above, the multi-in-one card connector  10  does not allow insertion of any other memory card after the insertion of a SD memory card  91 . When a XD memory card  92  is inserted into the multi-in-one card connector  10 , the top stop flanges  32  are lowered with the limiter blocks  31  into the front insertion opening  18  to prohibit insertion of any other memory card (SD memory card  91  or MMC memory card  91 ′). 
   In conclusion, the invention has the advantages and features as follows: 
   The invention effectively reduces the vertical height and allows insertion of one single memory card only. When inserting a SD memory card  91  into the multi-in-one card connector  10 , the limiter blocks  31  are immovable. The limiter blocks  31  will be moved only when a XD memory card  92  is inserted into the multi-in-one card connector  10 . Therefore, designing the space for allowing movement of the limiter blocks  31  needs only to consider the moving range of one kind of memory card. Further, the limiter blocks  31  needs to be lowered through a small distance to prohibit insertion of a SD memory card  91  or MMC memory card  91 ′ after the insertion of a XD memory card  92 . 
   Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.

Technology Category: 5