Electrical Card Connector with Supporting Rails

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional electrical card connectors face difficulties in convenient insertion and retraction due to large contacting surfaces between the card and the housing, leading to increased friction.

Innovation Solution

The electrical card connector features an insulative housing with side walls, a connecting plate, and supporting rails that form a receiving slot, reducing friction by allowing the card's bottom surface to only contact the supporting rails, along with a switch mechanism and ejecting mechanism for smooth card insertion and ejection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the card contacts with the upper face of the bottom wall of the insulative housing, then the card is supported and positioned, but the friction between contacting surfaces increases making insertion and retraction inconvenient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconvenience of card insertion and retractionVSAvoidfriction between card and housing

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the card support function from the bottom wall's upper face and relocates it to dedicated supporting rails. This separation allows the bottom wall to no longer provide frictional contact with the card, while the supporting rails provide the necessary support and positioning functions, thereby reducing friction during insertion and retraction operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the housing structure by introducing supporting rails as separate elements from the bottom wall. These rails are positioned to contact only specific portions of the card's bottom face, dividing the contact function into discrete points rather than a continuous surface, which reduces overall friction while maintaining card support and positioning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If the card contacts with the upper face of the bottom wall, then the card is supported during insertion, but the large contacting surfaces increase friction and make operation difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecard support and positioningVSAvoidconvenience of card insertion and retraction

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the card support function from the bottom wall's upper face and relocates it to dedicated supporting rails. This separation allows the bottom wall to no longer provide frictional contact with the card, while the supporting rails provide the necessary support and positioning functions, thereby reducing friction during insertion and retraction operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by providing support only at specific locations through the supporting rails rather than across the entire bottom wall surface. The rails are positioned to contact specific portions of the card's bottom face, providing localized support and positioning while minimizing overall contact area and friction.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS7780476B2Electrical card connector

Publication Date: 2010.08.24 HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO LTD

AI summary

An electrical card connector (100) includes an insulative housing (1) and a plurality of signal contacts (3) retained in the insulative housing. The insulative housing has a pair of side walls (14), a connecting plate (17) extending laterally to connect the side walls, and a pair of supporting rails (172) being adjacent to the side walls and extending upwardly from the connecting plate. A receiving slot (13) is formed between the side walls and the supporting rails to receive an electrical card. The signal contacts (3) extend into the receiving slot.