Card Connector Sliding Ejection Unit with Inclined Sidewalls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional card connectors with push-push ejection mechanisms face challenges in reducing size while ensuring secure card retention and smooth ejection, with issues of tray size, card inclination during ejection, and insufficient holding force.
Innovation Solution
A card connector design featuring a sliding ejection unit with inclined and extended surfaces, elastic members, and a spring mechanism that securely holds the card from both sides, allowing for reduced size and efficient ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tray is provided to cover the whole bottom surface and side surfaces of the card, then the card is securely held, but the size of the card connector increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ejection unit is divided into a plate portion and a pair of sidewalls that can move independently relative to the housing. The sidewalls can slide along the insertion/pullout direction to eject the card, while the plate portion provides support. This segmentation allows the ejection function to be achieved with a smaller overall structure compared to a full tray covering all surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts only the essential ejection function from the traditional tray structure. Instead of providing a complete tray that covers the bottom and all side surfaces, only the necessary sidewalls with inclined surfaces are retained for card ejection, while other supporting structures are minimized or removed to reduce the overall size.
2Device complexity
If ejection force is applied on only one side surface of the card, then the structure is simplified, but the card becomes inclined during ejection
Solution Approach 1:
The inclined surfaces are provided on both sidewalls of the ejection unit, creating symmetric local qualities that match the symmetric structure of the card's side surfaces. This ensures that ejection force is distributed evenly on both sides, preventing card inclination during ejection while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
3Device complexity
If ejection force is applied on only one side surface of the card, then the structure is simplified, but sufficient holding force cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
Both sidewalls are equipped with inclined surfaces that can apply ejection force, ensuring sufficient total holding force is available to securely retain the card during insertion and provide reliable ejection when needed, while avoiding the complexity of more elaborate multi-component ejection mechanisms.
4Reliability
If the sidewalls sandwich the card from both sides, then the card is securely held, but the ejection unit size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sidewalls are designed to be movable rather than fixed, capable of sliding along the insertion/pullout direction. This dynamic design allows the sidewalls to converge to sandwich and eject the card when needed, while maintaining a compact form factor when the card is not being ejected, thus achieving secure card retention without permanently increasing the ejection unit size.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enables a compact card connector that securely retains and smoothly ejects cards, addressing the limitations of size and ejection force in conventional models.
Implementation Method 1
a spring member for urging the ejection unit in a direction that the card is pulled out
Implementation Method 2
At least one of the sidewalls includes an inclined surface corresponding to the inclined surface of the card
Data Source
AI summary
A card connector includes a housing for accommodating a card; a terminal for contacting with the card when the card is inserted into the housing; an ejection unit for placing the card and capable of sliding in the housing along a direction that the card is inserted into and pulled out; and a spring member for urging the ejection unit in a direction that the card is pulled out. The card has an inclined surface at a middle of a side surface thereof in a width direction thereof. In the card connector, the ejection unit includes a plate portion and a pair of sidewalls extending from the plate portion. The sidewalls sandwich the card placed on the plate portion from both sides in the width direction of the card. At least one of the sidewalls includes an inclined surface corresponding to the inclined surface of the card.