Patent ID: 6609936
Filing Date: 2003-08-26
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
An electrical connector for mounting on an upper face of a circuit board and for use with a smart card which is of generally rectangular shape and which has an active face with a front portion having contact pads thereon, said connector comprising a support of insulating material which has laterally opposite sides and front and rear ends, said support having a support upper face for lying substantially against the front portion of said card active face, said support face having opposite side portions and a main portion lying between said side portions, said main portion of said support face having a lateral width and having front and rear ends (84, 86) that are longitudinally spaced by a predetermined main portion length, and said connector including a plurality of contacts with card-engaging ends lying in a primarily laterally extending row on said support main portion and projecting above said support face, said connector including a sheet metal cover with integral cover upper and lower portions having front sections lying respectively above and below the level of said support face, wherein:said cover upper portion has a rear section that extends rearward of said support main portion rear end by at least 25% of the length of said support main portion between its ends (84, 86), and said cover rear section forms lower rear flanges that lie under said cover upper portion, said lower rear flanges extend towards each other and lie at about the same level as said support face to guide a forwardly inserted card from a location between said cover upper and lower portion rear sections to a location between said support face and said cover upper portion; said rear flanges extend longitudinally rearward of said support main portion rear end by a distance that is at least 25% of said length of said support main portion, said lower rear flanges extend toward each other, but with a gap between them that is about as wide as said support main portion, whereby to leave a wide open area on the circuit board; wherein the contacts have tails lying at the rear end of said support main portion and said cover upper portion has at least one slot aligned with each said tails.