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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. An ejector for ejecting a memory card from a card receiving chamber,
comprising:
a slide member movable between a retracted position and an eject position,
at said retracted position said memory card being connectable to a
connector mounted at an innermost position of said card receiving chamber,
and at said eject position a rear end of said memory card extending out of
said card receiving chamber while a front end of said memory card is
pushed by said slide member;
an operation member operated when said memory card is ejected;
an associated member swingable between a first range and a second range, in
association with said operation member;
an eject member for moving said slide member from said retracted position
to said eject position, said eject member being rotatably mounted on said
associated member and moving integrally with said associated member while
said associated member swings in said first range, and during the motion
of said eject member, one end of said eject member causing said slide
member to move from said retracted position to dismount said memory card
from said connector; and
a stop member for receiving the other end of said eject member to rotate
said eject member while said associated member rotates in said second
range, said slide member being moved to said eject position by rotation of
said eject member.
2. An ejector according to claim 1, wherein one end of said associated
member is rotatably supported, and the other end thereof is coupled to
said operation member.
3. An ejector according to claim 2, wherein said operation member is
slidable.
4. An ejector according to claim 3, wherein said card receiving chamber is
defined by a chassis and a card holder having a channel shape mounted on
said chassis.
5. An ejector according to claim 4, wherein said slide member includes at
least one hook for pushing said front end of said memory card, and said at
least one hook extends via a guide opening formed in said card holder int
said card receiving chamber, under the condition in which said slide
member is superposed upon a card holder.
6. An ejector according to claim 5, wherein said slide member includes a
tongue which is adapted to come in contact with said eject member, and
said tongue is slidable and in engagement with a second guide opening
formed in said card holder.
7. An ejector according to claim 6, wherein said associated member is
swingably mounted on said card holder so as to superpose upon said tongue.
8. An ejector according to claim 7, further comprising: a card detecting
member for detecting that said memory card is at a load completed position
at which said memory card is completely connected to said connector, while
said card detecting member is pushed by said front end of said memory card
under loading; a card lock member for locking said memory card at said
load completed position while said card lock member moves in association
with said card detecting member from a lock release position to a lock
position; a lock release member for releasing a locked state of said card
lock member; and switch means for detecting that said card lock member is
at said lock position.
9. An ejector according to claim 8, wherein said switch means includes a
first contact piece which is pushed by said card lock member and a second
contact piece which comes in contact with said first contact piece, said
first contact piece having an elasticity for biasing said card lock member
toward said lock position.
10. An ejector according to claim 9, wherein said first contact piece is
coated with insulating material at an area where said first contact piece
contacts said card lock member.
11. An ejector according to claim 10, further comprising a spring member
extended between said slide member and said card detecting member, said
spring member biasing said slide member toward said retracted position and
biasing said card detecting member in the direction of ejecting said
memory card.
12. An ejector according to claim 11, further comprising a printed circuit
board mounted on a back surface of said chassis, and a flexible wiring
sheet electrically connecting said printed circuit board to said
connector.
13. An ejector according to claim 12, wherein said connector is mounted on
said chassis.
14. An ejector for ejecting a memory card from a card receiving chamber,
comprising:
a card holder forming said card receiving chamber;
a slide member superposed on said card holder, for moving between a
retracted position and an eject position, at said retracted position said
memory card being connectable to a connector mounted at an innermost
position of said card receiving chamber, and at said eject position a rear
end of said memory card extending out of said card receiving chamber;
a hook formed on said slide member for pushing a front end of said memory
card while said slide member moves toward said eject position;
a guide opening formed in said card holder so as to guide a movement of
said slide member, via said guide opening said hook being extended into
said card receiving chamber;
an operation member which is slid when ejecting said memory card; and
an associated lever rotatably supported by said card holder for moving said
slide member from said retracted position to said eject position, in
association with said operation member.
15. An ejector for ejecting a memory card from a card receiving chamber,
comprising:
a slide member for moving between a retracted position and an eject
position, at said retracted position said memory card being connectable to
a connector mounted at an innermost position of said card receiving
chamber, and at said eject position a rear end of said memory card
extending out of said card receiving chamber while a front end of said
memory card is pushed by said slide member;
an operation member which is slid when ejecting said memory card;
an associated member for moving said slide member from said retracted
position to said eject position, one end of said operation member being
coupled to said associated member and the other end thereof being
rotatably supported;
a card detecting member for detecting that said memory card is connected to
said connector; and
a spring member for biasing said slide member toward said retracted
position and biasing said card detecting member in the direction of
ejecting said memory card, said spring member being extended between said
slide member and said card detecting member.
16. An ejector for ejecting a memory card from a card receiving chamber,
comprising:
a slide member for moving between a retracted position and an eject
position, at said retracted position said memory card being connectable to
a connector mounted at an innermost position of said card receiving
chamber, and at said eject position a rear end of said memory card
extending out of said card receiving chamber while a front end of said
memory card is pushed by said slide member;
a card lock member for locking said memory card by moving to a lock
position when said memory card is completely loaded within said card
receiving chamber; and
switch means for generating a memory card load completion signal by
detecting that said card lock member is at said lock position.
17. An ejector for ejecting a memory card from a card receiving chamber,
comprising:
a chassis;
a card holder having a generally channel shape and fixedly mounted on said
chassis, said chassis and said card holder defining said card receiving
chamber;
a connector disposed at an innermost position of said card receiving
chamber, said connector being connected to said memory card when said
memory card is loaded in said card receiving chamber;
a printed circuit board connected to said connector and mounted on a bottom
surface of said chassis;
a slide member for moving between a retracted position and an eject
position, at said retracted position said memory card being connectable to
said connector, and at said eject position a rear end of said memory card
extending out of said card receiving chamber while a front end of said
memory card is pushed by said slide member;
an operation member which is slid when ejecting said memory card; and
an associated member for moving said slide member from said retracted
position to said eject position, one end of said associated member being
coupled to said operation member and the other end thereof being rotatably
supported. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ejector for memory cards used with
electronic still cameras, information processing apparatus or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a memory card (also called an IC card) of about 2 mm thickness
has been used widely as an external memory for an electronic still camera,
information processing apparatus, or the like. The memory card is provided
with a number of terminal holes at a front side for transferring a great
amount of information to and from an apparatus main body. The apparatus
main body is formed with a card receiving chamber which is provided at the
innermost position thereof with a connector having a number of terminal
pins. When the memory card is loaded in the apparatus main body, it is
contained completely within the chamber. To move the memory card to the
position at which an operator can manually draw it out, there is provided
an ejector.
In an electronic still camera, whether a memory card is being loaded or not
is checked from an echo signal in response to a check signal sent to the
connector upon turning on the power source. If a memory card is still not
loaded, an indication such as "00" is flashed on a liquid crystal panel to
urge a user to load a memory card. When the memory card is loaded, an
empty recording area is checked to display the number of frames capable of
taking pictures or scenes, on the liquid crystal panel.
One known type of a conventional ejector is constructed such that, when an
eject knob is slid, an eject member moves toward both lateral sides of a
connector and pushes lateral ends of the front side of a memory card and
moves it back to a card inlet port. As the front side lateral ends of the
memory card are pushed, first the memory card is dismounted from the
connector, and then the rear side of the card comes out of the card inlet
port.
A connector and a card are coupled together by a plurality of terminal pins
and holes, so that a relatively large force is required to dismount the
memory card from the connector. In each of the terminal holes, a pair of
contact segments are disposed to receive and tightly clamp one of the
terminal pins inserted therebetween. In the above-described conventional
ejector, the eject knob is formed integrally with the eject member. Force
applied to the eject knob is directly transmitted to the eject member.
Therefore, a relatively large force is required to dismount a memory card,
posing a problem of a poor performance in manual handling.
When a power switch of a conventional electronic still camera is turned on,
circuit components of the camera main body are powered to enter a standby
state of photographing, even if a memory card is still not loaded and
cannot actually take a scene, posing a problem of consuming unnecessary
power. Furthermore, a conventional ejector is used with a card receiving
chamber whose one wall is constituted by a printed circuit board mounted
with a connector, along which circuit board a memory card is connected to
the connector. Since the connector occupies a partial area of the printed
circuit board, the number of components to be mounted on the board is
reduced, thereby reducing the effective application of the circuit board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a principle object of the present invention to provide a
memory card ejector capable of providing a good performance for manual
operation in ejecting a memory card.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a memory card
ejector capable of reliably detecting a completion of the loading of a
memory card, and preventing unnecessary power from being consumed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a memory card
ejector allowing a printed circuit board to have a highly effective
application.
Generally, a rather large force is required to pull out a memory card from
a card receiving chamber for about the first 3 mm. Thereafter, a
relatively small force is enough to pull out the card. In view of this,
according to the present invention, two levers are used. A first stage
lever having a large leverage is used to dismount a memory card from the
connector with a relatively large force. After dismounting the card from
the connector, a second stage lever having a small leverage is used to
push the card so that a small stroke of an operation member allows a large
retract motion of the card.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an ejector is
provided with a slide member which moves between a retracted position and
an eject position. At the retracted position, the memory card is
connectable to the connector disposed at the innermost position of a card
receiving chamber. At the eject position, the rear end of the memory card
extends out of the card receiving chamber while the front end of the card
is pushed. As an operation member is slid for ejecting the memory card, an
associated member rotates about its one end so that an eject member
disposed in the rotation range of the associated member pushes the slide
member toward the eject portion. A hook of the slide member pushes the
front end of the memory card to dismount it from a connector. Immediately
thereafter, one end of an eject lever is received by a stopper member so
that the eject lever rotates to push the slide member using the other end.
The slide member moves a long distance relative to a small stroke of the
operation member.
According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a card
holder is fixedly mounted on a chassis, the card holder and the chassis
defining the card receiving chamber. A guide opening is formed in the card
holder. The hook of the slide member extends via this guide opening into
the card receiving chamber. The hook guides the motion of the slide
member. There are also provided a card detecting member for detecting that
the memory card is connected to the connector, a card lock member for
locking the memory card by moving to a lock position as the card detecting
member moves, and a switch means for detecting that the card lock member
is at the lock position, to control the power circuit components of the
apparatus. A spring member is extended between the card detecting member
and the slide member so that the card detecting member is biased in the
direction of ejecting the card, and the slide member is biased to the
retracted position. On the bottom surface of the chassis, there is mounted
a printed circuit board on which circuit components constituting a
read/write controller are assembled. The printed circuit board is
connected to the connector via a flexible wiring sheet.
According to the present invention, during the initial stage of the sliding
of the operation member, the eject member is moved in association with the
associated member. The associated member has a large leverage, and one end
of the eject member pushes the slide member strongly. As a result, a light
or gentle sliding of the operation member causes the dismounting of the
memory card from the connector. After dismounting the memory card from the
connector, as the eject member rotates, the slide member moves by a large
amount upon application of a small stroke of the operation member. It is
therefore possible to eject the memory card to such a position whereat the
rear end of the card can be manually grasped.
There is further provided a card lock member for locking a memory card
inserted to a load completion position. A switch means operates in
association with the card lock member. The switch means turns on the power
of the apparatus. It is therefore possible to reliably detect the
presence/absence of a loaded memory card, and prevent unnecessary
consumption of a battery power source. Furthermore, the slide member and
associated member are superposed upon the card holder in association with
each other. It is therefore simple to assemble and easy to unite them,
resulting in an efficient assembly operation and a low manufacturing cost.
A spring is extended between the slide member and the card detecting
member to bias them in opposite directions, thereby reducing the number of
springs. Still further, a printed circuit board is mounted on the bottom
surface of the chassis, and it is not used as a wall of the card receiving
chamber. As a result, the size of the printed circuit board can be made
small, and the effective application of the circuit component can be
improved.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more
apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment
when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic still camera provided with a
memory card ejector according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a memory
card ejector;
FIG. 3 is a cross section of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, with a memory
card being in a completely dismounted state; 15 FIG. 4 is a front view of
the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, before loading a memory card;
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, with a memory card being loaded;
FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, with a memory card being dismounted
from a connector; and
FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4, with a memory card being in a
completely dismounted state.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows an electronic still camera provided with a memory card ejector
according to the present invention. On the back panel of the electronic
still camera 2, there is formed an elongated card inlet port 4 via which a
memory card 3 is inserted and pulled out, and an operation member in the
form of a slidable eject knob 6 at the lower position. A lock release
button 7, for releasing a lock state of the memory card 3, is mounted at
the middle of the eject knob 6. As the eject knob 6 is slid in the
direction indicated by an arrow while pushing down the lock release button
7, the memory card 3 is ejected out to the position whereat the memory
card 3 can be grasped by the user's fingers.
A window 5 is formed on the side panel of the electronic still camera 2,
the window allowing the operator to observe the loading condition of the
memory card 3. A taking lens 8 is mounted on the front side of the
electronic still camera 2, and a view finder 9 on the back side. Reference
numeral 10 represents a grip belt, and reference numeral 11 represents a
curved recess so as to permit an easy grasp of a rear end 3a of the memory
card 3 by the user.
The memory card 3 has a RAM therein and is packaged with plastics into a
rectangular shape having a thickness of about 2 mm, as is well known. When
taking a scene, video signals are written in the RAM, and when reproducing
the scene, they are read from the RAM. At the front end 3b of the memory
card 3, a number of terminal holes 3d (refer to FIG. 3) are formed. A
recess 3c is formed in one of the two long sides of the memory card 3,
which recess is designed to engage with a lock mechanism as the card 3 is
loaded.
FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a memory card ejector. On a chassis 15, there
are fixedly mounted a card holder 21 in generally a channel shape by means
of three screws 14a to 14c, the card holder is in generally a channel
shape as observed from a lateral side. A card receiving chamber 13 is
formed between the chassis 15 and card holder 21 to load the memory card 3
therein. A slide member in the form of a slide plate 24 is provided above
the card holder 21, which plate can freely slide so as to eject the memory
card 3 out of the card receiving chamber 13. The slide plate 24 moves
between an eject position and a retracted position. At the eject position,
the rear end 3a of the memory card 3 extends out of the card inlet port 4.
At the retracted position, the slide plate 24 is retracted to the position
whereat the plate will not obstruct the connection operation of the memory
card 3 to a connector 17.
The connector 17 has a plurality of slender pins 16 corresponding to
terminal holes 3d of the memory card 3. The connector 17 is fixedly
mounted to the chassis 15 within the card receiving chamber 13 at the
innermost position. The connector 17 is integrally formed with guides 17a
and 17b into which the corners at the front end 3b of the memory card are
fitted for position alignment therebetween.
A card detecting switch 18, normally in an ON state, is mounted below the
connector 17, the switch 18 being turned OFF only when the memory card 3
is coupled to the connector 17. The card detecting switch 18 turns ON a
main switch (not shown) when it is in an OFF state, to thereby power
circuit components of the camera. In this manner, powering the electronic
still camera 2 can be automatically executed. In addition, an unnecessary
consumption of power can be prevented when the memory card 3 is still not
loaded and taking a picture is impossible.
The card holder 21 is formed with an opening 22 facing the window 5, and
guide openings 26 to 28 used for slidably holding the slide plate 24. A
tongue 25 of the slide plate 24 enters the guide opening 26, and hooks 24a
and 24b, for pushing the front end 3a of the memory card 3, enter the
guide openings 27 and 28, respectively. At the center of the slide plate
24, there are formed an opening 24c facing the opening 22 for confirming
whether the memory card 3 is being loaded or not, and an elongated opening
24d. The latter opening 24d is fitted on a guide protrusion 21a formed on
the card holder 21 to move the slide plate 24 along the guide protrusion
21a.
A boss 31 is mounted on the card holder 21, the boss 31 being inserted into
a hole 33 of an associated member or lever 32 allowing a rotation of the
lever 32. The eject knob 6 is coupled to the distal end 34 of the
associated lever 32. As the eject knob 6 is slid in the direction of
ejecting the card 3, the associated lever 32 is rotated about the boss 31
in the counter-clockwise direction. Another hole 36 is formed in an
extended portion 35 of the associated lever 32 into which a boss 39 of an
eject member or lever 38 is inserted, allowing a rotation of the eject
lever 38. A protrusion 38a of the eject lever 38 pushes the inner surface
of a bent portion 25a of the tongue 25 to move the slide plate 24 together
with the memory card 3 from the retracted position to the eject position.
As fingers are detached from the eject knob 6, the slide plate 24 recovers
back to the retracted position from its eject position, by means of a coil
spring 29. In association with the slide plate 24, the associated lever 32
as well as the eject knob 6 moves back to the initial position.
The associated lever 32 is formed with a step 32a at the position one third
of the length thereof from one end 34. The side edge of the step 32a
pushes the side edge of the eject lever 38 as the associated lever 32 is
rotated in the ejection direction (counter-clockwise direction). In place
of the step 32a, a protrusion or pin may be mounted on the associated
lever 32. The associated lever 32 constitutes a first stage lever having a
rather large leverage, and it applies a large force to the slide plate 24
via the eject lever 38.
At the lower position of the card holder 21, a stopper 21b is provided. The
stopper 21b abuts the side edge 38b of the eject lever 38 when the
associated lever 32 is rotated by a predetermined amount, i.e., when the
memory card 3 is dismounted from the connector 17. With the operation of
the stopper 21b, as the associated lever 32 is further rotated in the
clockwise direction, the eject lever 38 rotates in the clockwise
direction. Therefore, the eject lever 38 constitutes a second stage lever,
and it moves the slide plate 24 a great distance upon a small amount of
sliding of the eject knob 6.
A plate spring 41 is mounted on the card holder 21 and in turn on the
chassis 15 by means of the screw 14c. A protrusion 41a of the plate spring
41 is inserted into a hole 43 of a guide protrusion 21a, and another
protrusion 41b of the plate spring 41 is inserted into a hole 44 of a bent
protrusion 21c. A spring portion 41c of the plate spring 41 extends to the
rear side of the card holder 21 through a recess 21d formed in the card
holder 21. A tapered protrusion 46 at the distal end of the plate spring
41 extends out of a recess 21e of the card holder 21. The plate spring 41
pushes the associated lever 32 so as to prevent the boss 31 from escaping
from the hole 33, and prevents the guide protrusion 21a from escaping from
the opening 24d of the slide plate 24. Since the associated lever 32 rides
on the slide plate 24, the tongue 25 of the slide plate 24 will not escape
from the guide opening 26.
The slide plate 24, associated lever 32, and eject lever 38 are superpo | | |
