SEH, Seung-Jong (854-22, Ewha 3-Ri Woojeong-Eub,Hwaseong-si, Geonggi-do 445-954, KR)
JOO, Sung-Hyuk (No.512-401 Jugong Apt, 1844Jeongwang-dong, Siheung-si, Geonggi-do 429-450, KR)
SEH, Seung-Jong (854-22, Ewha 3-Ri Woojeong-Eub,Hwaseong-si, Geonggi-do 445-954, KR)
| Claims
[1] A dual card type connector of a mobile phone comprising: a housing including a memory card receiving space in which a micro SD card is inserted in a side direction and a SIM card receiving space in which a SIM card is inserted in a front-rear direction, the SIM card receiving space and the memory card receiving space being defined above and under the housing, the housing being provided at a rear wall center of the SIM card receiving space with a separation hole for separating the SIM card frontward; a first cover formed of metal, the first cover covering the SIM card receiving space of the housing and being provided at a side with a separation groove formed inward at a center of a bent portion of the first cover opposite to the receiving direction of the SIM card to separate the SIM card; a second cover formed of metal, the second cover covering the memory card receiving space of the housing; a connection terminal to which the SIM card and the micro SD card are connected in the respective receiving spaces; a locking unit installed in the memory card receiving space to lock the micro SD card; and a pair of switch terminals that are installed at a rear side with respect to the micro
SD card insertion direction in the memory card receiving space to detect if the micro SD card is installed.
[2] The dual card type connector of claim 1, wherein the housing is provided at one side with a guide projection allowing the first and second covers to be accurately aligned with and coupled to the housing and the first and second covers are provided at the bent portion with guide grooves for aligning the first and second cover with the housing, the guide projections of the housing being guided by and coupled to the guide grooves of the first and second covers.
[3] The dual card type connector of claim 1, wherein the locking unit includes a heart cam whose pivot motion is restricted according to its location in the memory card receiving space and sliding leftward and rightward in the memory card receiving space together with the micro SD card received, an elastic spring biasing the heart cam toward an inlet of the memory card receiving space, a movement preventing wall for preventing the movement of the heart cam, a shelter space formed near the inlet of the memory card receiving space to allow the heart cam to pivot, and a pin rod for fixing or releasing the heart cam.
[4] The dual card type connector of claim 3, wherein the heart cam includes a body formed in a long bar structure that pivots in accordance with a location at the memory card receiving space, and that, when the heart cam is located near the inlet of the first receiving space, pivots toward the shelter space by a predetermined angle and, when the heart cam moves far away from the inlet, is restricted in the movement by the movement preventing wall; a guide groove having an insertion guide groove that is formed on the body to guide an end of the pin rod when the second card is being inserted, a fixing groove for fixing the pin rod when the card is completely inserted, and a separation guide groove for guiding the separation of the pin rod from the fixing groove when the second card is being separated; an engaging portion that is formed on an end of the body to be engaged with the second card; and a first fitting projection that is formed on an end of the engaging portion and around which an end of the elastic spring is fitted.
[5] The dual card type connector of claim 3, wherein the heart cam is located near the inlet of the memory card receiving space by the elastic force of the elastic spring in a normal state and pivots toward the shelter space by a projection of the micro SD card when the micro SD card is inserted, the heart cam being engaged with the micro SD card and pushed inward; when the micro SD card is completely inserted, the heart cam is locked by the pin rod and prevent the micro SD card from being separated by the movement preventing wall and the side wall even when the micro SD card is pushed toward the inlet by the restoring force of the elastic spring; and when a locking state of the pin rod is released and the heart cam is pushed frontward by the restoring force of the elastic spring during the separation of the micro SD card by a user, the heart cam pivots toward the shelter space and is disengaged with the micro SD card and thus the micro SD card is separated. |
Description DUAL CARD TYPE CONNECTOR OF MOBILE PHONE
Technical Field
[1] The present invention relates to a dual card type connector of a mobile phone, which is configured to receive two different types of cards. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dual card type connector of a mobile phone, which can detect if a micro SD card is mounted or not before the micro SD card inserted in a receiving space is connected to a connection terminal and reliably lock and remove the card in or from the receiving space. Background Art
[2] Generally, a mobile phone has a memory card (hereinafter, referred to as an "authorizing memory card" used for authorizing personal information and credit payment and another memory card (hereinafter, referred to as a "data memory card") for storing data for a variety of contents.
[3] A variety of cards such as a SIM card, an RUIM card, a MONETA card, a bank-on card, and the like are used as the authorizing memory card. A mini SD card, a smart media card, a memory stick, an XD picture card, a micro SD card, and the like are used as the data memory card.
[4] The authorizing memory card is generally installed on a coupling surface of a back case on which a battery pack closely contacts so as to reduce the risk of loss of the card. Therefore, it is impossible to replace the authorizing memory card unless the battery pack is separated from the mobile phone. The data memory card is generally installed on a side surface of the mobile phone so that it can be immediately replaced.
[5] As described above, in the prior art, since a connector for fixing and connecting the authorizing memory and a connector for fixing and connecting the data memory card are individually mounted and installed on respective locations, spaces for mounting the connectors are required. This makes it difficult to reduce the thickness and size of the mobile phone. Furthermore, there is a limitation in installing parts for adding new functions.
[6] In order to solve the above-described problems, a dual card type connector having a single connector in which the authorizing and data memory cards are fixed and connected together has been developed and proposed. For example, Korean Laid-Open Patent Nos. 2005-0100874 and 2005-0100875 disclose a dual connector for connecting storing media and a mobile phone having the dual connector.
[7] However, the dual connector disclosed in the patents, since it is impossible to identify in advance if the memory card is mounted during the course of the connection
of the memory card received in a receiving portion to a connecting member, other electron circuits may malfunction during the connection of the memory card to the connecting member.
[8] Further, since the dual connector of the patents has no locking mechanism for locking the memory card inserted in the receiving portion of the connector, the memory card may be easily removed from the receiving portion. Therefore, there may be an error during the use of the mobile phone.
[9] Particularly, the authorizing memory card such as the SIM card used for authorizing the personal information and credit payment has the above-described installation and separation problems, an error may occur in use of the mobile phone. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem
[10] The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-described problems of the prior art and it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual card type connector of a mobile phone, which has a locking unit using a heart cam in a receiving space to reliably maintain a connection state of a micro SD card to a connection terminal by stably locking the micro SD card in the receiving space.
[11] It is another object of the present invention to provide a dual card type connector for a mobile phone, which a detecting unit for detecting if a micro SD card is mounted before the micro SD card received in a receiving space is connected, thereby preventing in advance the malfunction of other electron circuits, which may be caused by connection of the micro SD card to a connecting terminal.
[12] It is still another object of the present invention to provide a dual card type connector of a mobile phone, which is configured to easily mount and separate a SIM card in or from a mounting space that is formed on a cover for covering a receiving space of a housing. Technical Solution
[13] To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a dual card type connector of a mobile phone including: a housing including a memory card receiving space in which a micro SD card is inserted in a side direction and a SIM card receiving space in which a SIM card is inserted in a front-rear direction, the SIM card receiving space and the memory card receiving space being defined above and under the housing, the housing being provided at a rear wall center of the SIM card receiving space with a separation hole for separating the SIM card frontward; a first cover formed of metal, the first cover covering the SIM card receiving space of the housing and being provided at a side with a separation groove formed inward at a center of a
bent portion of the first cover opposite to the receiving direction of the SIM card to separate the SIM card; a second cover formed of metal, the second cover covering the memory card receiving space of the housing; a connection terminal to which the SIM card and the micro SD card are connected in the respective receiving spaces; a locking unit installed in the memory card receiving space to lock the micro SD card; and a pair of switch terminals that are installed at a rear side with respect to the micro SD card insertion direction in the memory card receiving space to detect if the micro SD card is installed.
[14] The housing is provided at one side with a guide projection allowing the first and second covers to be accurately aligned with and coupled to the housing and the first and second covers are provided at the bent portion with guide grooves for aligning the first and second cover with the housing, the guide projections of the housing being guided by and coupled to the guide grooves of the first and second covers. Brief Description of the Drawings
[15] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dual card type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[16] FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dual card type connector of FIG. 1.
[17] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dual card type connector of FIG. 1, when an upper cover is disassembled.
[18] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the dual card type connector of FIG. 2, when a lower cover, a locking unit, a switch terminal, and a fitting nail are disassembled.
[19] FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. 1.
[20] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[21] FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of FIG. 6.
[22] FIGS. 8 through 12 are views illustrating a process for inserting and separating a micro SD card in and from a lower receiving space of the housing.
[23] FIGS. 13 through 15 are views illustrating a process for insertion and separation of a SIM card in an upper receiving space of the housing. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[24] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
[25] In an embodiment of the present invention, a SIM card used for authorizing is illustrated as a first card 10 by way of example. In addition, a micro SD card for storing data is illustrated as a second card 20 by way of example. For descriptive convenience, the first card 10 is inserted rearward in an upper receiving space of a housing and the
second card 20 is installed rightward in a lower receiving space of the housing.
[26] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dual card type connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the dual card type connector of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the dual card type connector of FIG. 1, when an upper cover is disassembled. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the dual card type connector of FIG. 2, when a lower cover, a locking unit, a switch terminal, and a fitting nail are disassembled. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of FIG. 1.
[27] As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5, the dual card type connector for a mobile phone according to an embodiment of the present invention has a first cover 200 and a housing 100. A first receiving space 101 for receiving the first card 10 is defined between a top portion of the first cover 200 and the housing 100. In addition, a second receiving space 102 is defined between a bottom of the housing 100 and a second cover 300. The first card 10 is installed in the first receiving space 101 by being inserted in a rearward direction. The second card 20 is installed in the second receiving space 102 by being inserted in a rightward direction.
[28] A first connection terminal 400 that is connected to a connection terminal of the first card 10 to transmit signals to an external side is formed in the first receiving space 101 defined at an upper portion of the housing 100. A second connection terminal 500 that is connected to a connection terminal of the second card 20 to transmit signals to an external side is formed in the second receiving space 102 defined at a lower portion of the housing 100. In addition, a locking unit 600 for locking the second card 20 inserted in the second receiving space 102 and a pair of switch terminals 700 and 800 are formed in the second receiving space 102. Further, the dual card type connector 1 is fixed on a printed circuit board built in the mobile phone by a fitting nail 900.
[29] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a housing according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of FIG. 6.
[30] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the housing 100 is formed of a synthetic resin. The housing 100 is provided at the upper portion with the first receiving space 101 in and from which the first card (e.g., a SIM card) 10 is installed and separated by being moved frontward and rearward. The housing 100 is further provided at the lower portion with the second receiving space 102 in and from which the second card (e.g., a micro smart card) by being moved leftward and rightward.
[31] At this point, a plurality of fixing projections 103 are formed extending from left and right sides and a rear side of the housing 100. Bent edges of the covers 200 and 300 are fixed on the fixing projections 103. The housing 100 is provided at a front end with a through hole 104 formed through the bent front end edge of the second cover 300. The fixing projection 103 on which the bent front end edge of the second cover
300 is fixed is formed on a wall of the through hole 104.
[32] A separation hole 105 is formed on a rear wall center of the first receiving space 10
1 so that the user can separate the first card 10 by pushing the first card 10 received in the first receiving space 101 frontward using his/her finger.
[33] The housing 100 is provided with a first exposing hole 106 through which a connection portion of the first connection terminal (e.g., an authorizing terminal) 400 connected to the first card (SIM card) 10 is exposed to the first receiving space 101. The housing 100 is provided with a second exposing hole 107 through which a connection portion of the second connection terminal (e.g., a data terminal) 500 connected to the second card (micro SD card) 10 is exposed to the second receiving space 101.
[34] Meanwhile, the housing 100 is provided at front and rear portions of one side with fitting nail fixing grooves 108 on which fixing portions 901 of the fitting nail 900 are inserted and fixed.
[35] Further, a right wall of the second receiving space 10 is provided with a pair of switch terminal fixing grooves 109 and 109 on which the pair of switch terminals 700 and 800 are fixed and spaced apart from each other in a left-right direction. The second rear receiving space 102 is provided at a location that is spaced apart from a rear side wall with a movement preventing wall 110 for preventing a heart cam 601 from moving in a front-rear direction when the heart cam 601 is pushed rightward in the drawing.
[36] Further, the second receiving space 102 for receiving the second card 20 is provided at an inlet with a shelter space 111 for allowing an end of the heart cam 601 to pivot when the second card 20 is inserted in or separated from the second receiving space 102.
[37] Meanwhile, the housing 100 is provided at a bottom rear side edge of one side with a deformation preventing projection 113 contacting a corner of the second cover 300. Therefore, when bottom front and bottom rear edges of one side of the housing 100 intend to be bent by heart generated during a soldering process, the deformation preventing projection 113 contacts the corner of the second cover 300 to prevent the housing from being bent.
[38] At this point, as shown in the drawings, the deformation preventing projection 113 may be formed only on the bottom rear edge of one side of the housing 100. However, the deformation preventing projection 113 may be further formed on the bottom front edge of one side of the housing 100.
[39] Further, the housing 100 may be further provided at a side surface of one side with a guide projection 114 allowing the first and second covers 200 and 300 to be accurately aligned with and coupled to the housing 100. The guide projection 114
guides the guide grooves 214 formed on the first and second covers 200 and 300 so that the first and second covers 200 and 30 can be accurately aligned with and coupled to the housing 10. This will be described later.
[40] As shown in FIGS. 1 through 4, the first and second covers 200 and 300 are provided to enclose the receiving spaces 101 and 102 defined above and below the housing 100. The first and second covers 200 and 300 are formed of a metal material. The covers 200 and 300 are provided at bent edges with fitting holes 201 and 301 in which the fixing projections 103 of the housing 100 are fitted.
[41] Here, the second cover 300 is provided with a shelter hole 302 disallowing ends of the connection portions of the switch terminals 700 and 800 to contact. If the switch terminal 800 contacts the second cover 300 formed of the metal material, a short circuit may occur and thus the switch terminals 700 and 800 may not perform their inherent functions.
[42] Further, the first cover 200 is provided with an integrally-formed reinforcing portion 202 for enhancing strength of the first cover 200. The reinforcing portion 202 is formed through a forging process. The reinforcing portion 202 protrudes toward the first receiving space 101 to press the first card inserted in the receiving space 101, thereby preventing the first card from lifting.
[43] Further, a separation groove 205 for separating the first card 10 from the first receiving space 101 is formed on a bent portion of the first cover 200 opposite to the inlet of the first receiving space 101. The separation groove 205 is formed inward at a center of the bent portion of the first cover 200 so that the user can easily separate the first card 10 received in the first receiving space 101 by pushing the first card 10 frontward using his/her finger.
[44] Further, the first cover 200 is provided at a side of the bent portion with guide grooves 214 for aligning the first cover 200 with the housing 100. That is, the guide projection 214 of the housing 100 is guided by and coupled to the groove 214 of the first cover. Although not shown in the drawing, the guide groove 214 may be further formed on the bent portion of the second cover 300 so that the housing and the second cover 300 can be aligned with and coupled to each other.
[45] The connection terminals 400 and 500 are respectively exposed to the first and second receiving spaces 101 and 102 and connected to the first and second cards 10 and 20. First ends of the respective connection terminals 400 and 500 are provided with connection portions connected to the respective receiving spaces 101 and 102. Second ends of the respective connection terminals 400 and 500 are provided with soldering portions welded on respective connection points of the printed circuit boards built in the mobile phone. The soldering portions are bent downward.
[46] At this point, the connection terminals 400 and 500 are integrated with the housing
100 through a molding process.
[47] FIGS. 8 through 11 show a process for inserting the second card in the second receiving space of the housing. That is, FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a state where the second card is not inserted, FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an initial insertion state of the first card, FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a state where the first card is completely inserted and locked, and FIG. 12 is a view illustrating a state where the first card inserted is being separated.
[48] As shown in FIG. 4, the locking unit 600 is installed in the second receiving space
102 formed under the housing 100 to lock and unlock the second card 20 received in the second receiving space 102. The locking unit 600 includes the heart cam 601 sliding leftward and rightward in the receiving space 102, an elastic spring 607 biasing the heart cam 601 in a direction, and a pin rod 608 for fixing or releasing the heart cam 601.
[49] Here, the heart cam 601 includes a body 604 formed in a long bar structure that pivots in accordance with a location at the memory card receiving space, and that, when the heart cam 601 is located near the inlet of the first receiving space 102, pivots toward the shelter space 111 by a predetermined angle and, when the heart cam 601 moves far away from the inlet, is restricted in the movement by the movement preventing wall 110; a guide groove 603 having an insertion guide groove that is formed on the body 604 to guide an end of the pin rod when the second card is being inserted, a fixing groove for fixing the pin rod 608 when the card is completely inserted, and a separation guide groove for guiding the separation of the pin rod from the fixing groove when the second card is being separated; an engaging portion 604 that is formed on an end of the body 604 to be engaged with the second card 20; and a first fitting projection 606 that is formed on an end of the engaging portion 604 and around which an end of the elastic spring 607 is fitted.
[50] The elastic spring 607 is installed to extend leftward and rightward in the lower receiving space 102 to bias the heart cam 601 in a direction. The elastic spring 607 has a first end fitted around the first fitting projection 606 and a second end fitted around a second fitting projection 112 formed on a right wall of the second receiving space 102.
[51] The elastic spring 607 is compressed when the heart cam 601 slides rightward in the drawing by the insertion of the second card 20. In this state, when the second card 20 is pushed to be separated, the second card 20 is pushed leftward in the drawing by the restoring force of the elastic spring 607, thereby being effectively separated.
[52] The first end of the pin rod 608 is bent downward and pivotally fixed on a side wall of the second receiving space 102 and the second end of the pin rod 608 is also bent downward and inserted in the guide groove 603 of the heart cam 601. At this point, the guide groove 603 has tow different guide path, i.e., a first guide path for guiding the
pin rod 608 when the second card 20 is being separated and a second guide path for guiding the pin rod when the second card 20 is being separated. Through these two different guide paths, the second card is locked and unlocked.
[53] The following will describe the insertion and separation processes of the second card 20 with reference to FIGS. 8 through 12. Before the second card 20 is inserted, the heart cam 601 is located at the inlet of the receiving space 102 by the elastic force of the elastic spring 607. In this state, as shown in FIG. 9, when the card 20 is being inserted, the heart cam 601 is pushed by the protrusion portion of the card to pivot into the shelter space 111 and thus the locking projection 605 of the heart cam is engaged with the locking groove 20a. Therefore, the heart cam is pushed in an arrow direction together with the card as shown in FIG. 10. When the card is completely inserted, as shown in FIG. 11, the pin rod 608 that is being guide by the guide groove 604 of the heart cam is hooked on the fixing groove of the guide groove 604 to lock the card 20. In this state, even when pulling the card 20, the card is not separated since one end of the heart cam 601 is holed on the movement preventing wall 110 and the body closely contacts the sidewall not to pivot.
[54] After the above, when the user pushes the card 20 inward to separate the card 20, the pin rod 608 hooked on the fixing groove of the guide groove 603 is guided through a path different from the path for the insertion, thereby being separated from the fixing groove. When the force pushing the card 20 is released, the elastic spring 607 compressed is restored to push the heart cam 601 and the card 20 toward the inlet so that the card 20 can protrude out of the inlet. In this state, when the user pulls the card 20, the heart cam 601 pivots toward the shelter space 111 as shown in FIG. 12 and thus the heart cam 601 is disengaged with the card 20, thereby separating the card.
[55] In addition, the switch terminals 700 and 800 detects the second card 20 before the second card 20 inserted in the receiving space 102 is connected to the connection terminal 500 installed at a rear side with respect to the advancing direction of the second card 20, i.e., at a right side of the second receiving space 102. The detected signal is transmitted to the control unit (not shown) of the mobile phone to prevent the malfunction of the electron circuits including the connection terminal, which may be caused by the connection of the second card 20 with the connection terminal 500.
[56] The switch terminal 700, 800 includes a fixing portion 701, 801 fixed on the switch terminal fixing groove 109, 109 that is formed on a rear side wall of the receiving space and spaced apart, a soldering portion 702, 802 that extends horizontally at the lower end of the fixing portion 701, 801 is welded on a connection point of the printed circuit board installed in the mobile phone, and a connection portion 703, 803 that extends from an end of the fixing portion 701, 801. The connection portions 703 and 803 are installed at front and rear portions with respect to the advancing direction of
the second card 20 and connected to each other by being pushed by the second card 20 before the second card 20 is connected to the data connection terminal 500. An end (the connection portion 703) of the switch terminal 700 located on the front portion with respect to the advancing direction of the second card 20 is enlarged as compared with other portion to increase the contact area with the connection portion 803 of the switch terminal 800.
[57] As shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5, the fitting nails 900 are provided to fix the printed circuit board installed in the housing in the mobile phone. The fitting nails 900 are inserted and fixed in the fitting nail fixing grooves 108 formed at front and rear portions of a side of the housing 100 and have bent lower ends that are welded on the printed circuit board.
[58] One of the fitting nails 900 contacts the first cover 200 and the other contacts the second cover 300 to ground the static electricity generated from the covers 200 and 300.
[59] FIGS. 13 through 15 shows insertion and separation processes of the first card (i.e., the SIM card) in the first receiving space of the housing.
[60] Referring to FIGS. 13 through 15, the first card 10 is inserted in the first receiving space 101 of the housing enclosed by the first and second covers 200 and 300 and connected to the connection terminal 400.
[61] Meanwhile, when it is intended to separate the first card 10 from the housing 100, the user pushes an end of the first card 10, which protrudes through the separation hole 105 of the housing 100 and the separation groove 205 of the first cover 200. Then, the first card 10 is separated from the receiving space 101 effectively.
[62] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Industrial Applicability
[63] According to the dual card type connector of the mobile phone according to the present invention, the micro SD card is stably inserted and separated by the locking unit using the heart cam. Further, since the separation hole is formed on the housing having the receiving space for receiving the micro SIM card and the separation groove is formed on the upper cover covering the receiving space of the housing, the SIM card received in the receiving space can be easily separated.
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