JPH0318217Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a memory card with a built-in IC (integrated circuit) chip.

Memory cards with built-in IC chips have a larger storage capacity than conventional magnetic cards and cannot be easily counterfeited, so they are promising as identification cards, credit cards, game cards, educational cards, etc., and various proposals have been made. ing.

(Prior art and its problems) This type of memory card consists of a card body that has an IC chip and an external terminal connected to the IC chip, but since the external terminal is exposed to the outside, when handling the card, The terminals are easily soiled, the external terminals may be peeled off by external force, and there is a risk that the card may malfunction or become inoperable when connected to an external device such as an external computer or video game device. Therefore, there has been a need for a memory card that is easy to handle and that can reliably protect the external terminals.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and includes a card body having an IC chip and an external terminal connected to the IC chip, and an external terminal of the card body. A memory card consisting of a protection plate that slidably protects the memory card, and the card body has a gap for sliding the protection plate on both sides of the external terminal portion, and a groove for sliding is formed at the gap. On the other hand, the protective plate is formed with a through hole through which the external terminal portion of the card body is inserted, and engaging protrusions that engage with the sliding grooves are formed at both ends, and the protective plate is formed in the sliding grooves of the card body. The protective plate is made to be slidable relative to the card body by engaging the engaging protrusions of the protective plate, and a pressing spring material is disposed to urge the protective plate to return to a position covering the external terminal.
After removing the memory card from the connector of a computer, etc., protect the external terminals of the card body with a protective plate to make handling easier and to ensure that the external terminals do not get dirty or peel off due to external force. This is what I did.

(Example) Hereinafter, the specific structure of the present invention will be explained based on the example shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the memory card of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the protective plate of the memory card shown in Fig. 1 is slid to expose external terminals, and Fig. 3 The figure is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the state in which the memory card of the present invention is connected to a connector of an external device such as a computer.

In Figures 1 to 4, 1 is a card body,
Substrate 1 made of glass epoxy or polyimide, etc.
IC such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM on the top surface of 1
A chip 12 is molded and mounted.
Further, a large number of external terminals 13 are provided at the end of the card body 1 for connection with external devices such as a computer or a video game device, and the IC chip 12 is connected to the external terminals 13 through printed wiring (not shown).
is connected to.

The card body 1 is constituted by housing the substrate 11 in a case 2 consisting of an upper half 2a and a lower half 2b. The upper half body 2a and the lower half body 2b may be manufactured by injection molding synthetic resin such as polyvinyl chloride or ABS resin.

A protection plate 3 protects the external terminal 13 of the card body 1 from the external environment, and is slidably provided on the external terminal 13 of the card body 1. That is, both sides of the external terminal 13 portion of the card body 1 are cut out to form a gap T for sliding the protection plate 3, and a sliding groove 21 is formed at the gap T.
On the other hand, the protection plate 3 is formed with a through hole 31 through which the external terminal 13 of the card body 1 is inserted.
Engagement protrusions 32 are formed on both ends of. An engaging protrusion 32 of the protection plate 3 is engaged with a sliding groove 21 formed in the card body 1, so that the protection plate 3 can be freely slid with respect to the card body 1. In this way, the protection plate 3 becomes slidable inside the card body. Reference numeral 4 denotes a pressing spring member that urges the sliding plate 3 to return to the external terminal 13 side of the card body 1, that is, to the position covering the external terminal 13.

The operation of the memory card of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be explained below. That is, as shown in FIG. insert. Then, the protection plate 3 resists the urging force of the pressing spring material 4,
The engagement protrusion 32 of the protection plate 3 is guided by the sliding groove 21 and slides, and the external terminal 13 is exposed and the connector 5
It is connected to the connection phlegm terminal 51 of. Then, when the memory card is removed from the connector 5, the protective plate 3 is restored by the urging force of the pressing spring member 4 and covers the external terminal 13 again.

In this way, after the memory card is removed from the connector 5, the external terminal 13 is protected by the protection plate 3.

The card body 1 includes an IC chip 12 and an IC chip 12.
The present invention can also be applied to card bodies 1 of other configurations as long as they are equipped with external terminals 13 connected to chips 12. Although the external terminals 13 are shown in the drawings on one side of the end of the memory card, it is of course possible to apply the external terminals 13 on both sides.

(Effects of the invention) Since the present invention has the above structure, the external terminal of the memory card is covered with a protective plate, and the protective plate is slidable inside the card body, so that the protective plate is protected while the memory card is being carried. The external terminals will not be exposed due to accidental sliding, and when the memory card is removed from an external device such as a computer, the protective plate will be restored by the biasing force of the pressing spring material, and the external terminals will be protected by the protective plate. The external terminals can be reliably prevented from getting dirty or peeling off due to external force, and the protective plate has through holes through which the external terminals of the card body are inserted. Since a gap for sliding the protective plate is formed so that the external terminal portion of the card body is covered from the front and back sides by the protective plate, it can also be applied to cards having external terminal portions on the front and back sides of the card body. Furthermore, since sliding grooves are provided on both sides of the external terminal portion of the card body, and pressure springs are placed in the sliding grooves, the protection plate can slide freely against the card body without increasing the thickness of the card body. It has the advantage that it can be

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the memory card of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the protective plate of the memory card shown in Fig. 1 is slid to expose external terminals, and Fig. 3 The figure is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the state in which the memory card of the present invention is connected to a connector of an external device such as a computer. In the figure, 1 is the card body, 11 is the board, and 12 is the IC
13 is an external terminal, 21 is a sliding groove, 3 is a protection plate, 32 is an engagement protrusion, and 4 is a pressing spring member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A memory card consisting of a card body having an IC chip and an external terminal connected to the IC chip, and a protection plate that slidably protects the external terminal of the card body. A sliding gap is formed in the protective plate, and a sliding groove is formed at the gap, while a through hole is formed in the protective plate through which the external terminal part of the card body is inserted, and the above-mentioned groove is formed in the protective plate at both ends. An engaging protrusion that engages with the sliding groove is formed, and the engaging protrusion of the protection plate is engaged with the sliding groove of the card body so that the protection plate can freely slide on the card body. A memory card characterized in that a pressing spring material is provided to urge the memory card to return to a position covering an external terminal.