Abstract:
SIM-card connector having a cover disposed on a contact support for pivotal movement about a pivoting axis, wherein said pivoting axis is displaced towards the front to reduce the longitudinal dimension, and an optimized roll off geometry recessed in the contact support is provided.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a smart-card connector and in particular to a SIM-card connector comprising a contact support on which a cover is supported for a pivotal movement about a pivoting axis, said cover receiving the smart card or, in particular, the SIM-card. The smart-card, in particular the SIM-card is occasionally referred to below as a “card”. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     From the DE 40 08 655 A1 a contacting apparatus or card connector, in particular for a SIM (subscriber identity module) card is already known, wherein the card, in particular the SIM-card is received in a cover and is supported at its rear edge by a supporting surface during the pivotal movement from an open position to a closed position. These SIM-card connectors are often used in devices such as mobile phones in which little or limited construction space is available. The desire for progressively smaller devices, as it is the case for example for mobile phones, makes it necessary to thrive for the further reduction of the size of the SIM-card connector which is to be inserted into such devices. 
     The card connector of DE 40 08 655 A1 is shown in cross section in FIG.  9 . For receiving and guiding a SIM-card  1  in a cover  164 , the cover  164  is provided with two guide projections  90  (only one of which is shown in FIG.  9 ). The projections  90  define—as is shown in FIG.  9 —a tunnel, wherein oppositely located wall portions  92  provide for the guidance of the SIM-card at its side edges. A guiding means  140  comprises an abutment surface  88  at the contact support  63  which limits the depth of insertion of the SIM-card  1 . When closing the cover  164  the SIM-card is rotated along the abutment surface  88  into a recess  78  of the contact support  63 . The cover  164  also comprises a locking pin  89  for locking the closed cover. A pivot point  65  for pivotally supporting the cover  164  on the contact support  63  is provided on supporting blocks  124  and is located further to a rearward direction (towards the left in FIG. 9) of the contact support in comparison to the abutment surface  88 . 
     A modification of the connector of the prior art is shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, where the abutment surface  88  is formed by an abutment shoulder  138  having a semicircular shape. A pivoting axis  160  for the cover  170  is defined at the supporting blocks  124  for supporting the cover  170  on the contact support in a similar fashion as the cover  164  is supported by the pivot points  65  in FIG.  9 . When moving the cover  170  together with the inserted SIM-card  1  from its open position to its closed position, a rear edge of the SIM-card  1  is guided by the abutment surface  88  along a semicircular path or curve. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has realized that by displacing the pivoting axis of the cover, in particular in connection with an optimized guiding geometry which is formed in a recessed manner in the contact support, there can be obtained, in particular, a reduced longitudinal dimension. 
     In accordance with the invention a smart-card connector, in particular a SIM-card connector is provided in which a contact support supporting contacts comprises a recess or groove in its upper or top surface. Further, the pivoting axis is displaced in front of the stop surface for the card, wherein the card is safely guided when the cover is moved from its opening or open position to its closing or closed position. 
     With the new geometry of the guiding curve formed by the groove it is possible to prevent hindering forces occurring during the opening process in the prior art, said forces might result in a “forceful ejection” of the card out of the cover. 
     Further, in accordance with the invention the coding chamfer is reduced to minimize the dimension, i.e. the longitudinal dimension. 
     The invention further provides for the use of a metal cover to minimize the vertical dimension of the SIM-card connector, which is achieved in particular in connection with the attachment of a rivet as a point of rotation for locking. The construction of the components is devised so as an air gap between the SIM-card and the card slot is practically pressed out. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide for a SIM-card connector in which good and basically uniform contact pressures are achieved together with a small longitudinal dimension, and, in particular, also together with a small vertical dimension. 
     To solve this problem, a SIM-card connector is formed in accordance with the invention as set forth in the independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a SIM-card connector in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged detail of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail of FIG.  2 : 
     FIG. 3A is an enlarged detail of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic cross section of the prior art (illustrated in detail in FIG. 9) wherein the movement of the card into the opening position is illustrated; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic cross section similar to FIG. 4, however of an embodiment of the invention, wherein again an intermediate position towards the opening position of the cover together with the card is illustrated; 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic cross sectional representation of the known SIM-card connector of FIG. 4, wherein the manner in which the card together with the cover can be pivoted from an opening position into a closing position is illustrated; 
     FIG. 7 is a schematic cross sectional view similar to FIG. 5 of the embodiment according to the invention, wherein it is illustrated that the card can be pivoted from the opening or initial position to a closing position together with the cover; 
     FIG. 8 is a detail of FIG. 7; and 
     FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of a known SIM-card connector in accordance with DE OS 40 08 655. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 shows a SIM-card connector  10  in accordance with the invention comprising a housing or a contact support  14  and a cover  17  supported on the contact support  14  for pivotal movement. The invention is also applicable, in general, for a smart-card, but is particularly useful for a SIM-card. SIM-cards are frequently used in applications like a cellular or mobile phone, where as a little space as possible should be taken up by the connector  10 . 
     The contact support  14  is preferably panel shaped or in the form of a plate and includes a panel or plate portion  18  with recesses  19 ,  20  formed on both of its longitudinal sides, said recesses forming cut outs for lateral guidance of the cover  17 . Surfaces  21 ,  22  formed by the recesses  19 ,  20  may be provided also only partly across the recesses  19 ,  20 , or they may be omitted completely. The panel portion  18  forms a card support surface  23 . 
     At one end of the contact support  14 , also referred to as rear end of the contact support  14 , supporting or bearing blocks  24  and  25  are formed integrally on both sides from the plastic material which is also used for the panel portion  18 . 
     In accordance with the invention the cover  17  is made from metal, preferably from sheet metal, and is pivotally mounted on the contact support  14  made of plastic material. 
     Openings  26  (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) are formed in the supporting blocks  24 ,  25 , said openings  26  have the function to receive hinge means  56  (see FIG. 2) provided on arms  55  of the cover  17 , yet to be described. 
     The contact support  14  comprises a bottom surface  27  with which the connector  10  may be placed, in use, on a part of a device, e.g. a mobile phone. At the front end of the contact support  14  a stop or abutment means  28  with an inclined surface  29  (a so called front abutment means) is provided in such a manner so as to form a locking slot  30  which may cooperate with the cover  17 . The inclined surface  29  is also referred to as polarizing surface. It functions to ensure that the card  1  is inserted with the correct orientation. 
     Opposite to the stop  28  on the other longitudinal side of the contact support  14  also on its front end, there is formed a block  31  having a slot  32  for receiving a locking tab  48 . The block  31  further forms a stop or abutment surface  33  for the front side edge of the SIM-card  1 . 
     Further, the contact support  14  has slots  34  formed therein through which the ends of contacts or contact elements  35  project, said contacts are molded into the panel portion  18 , for example, and have contacting or terminal ends  36 . The contacting ends  36  terminate in a recess in the contact support  14  within the outline or periphery of the inserted card. 
     Preferably the panel portion  18  has a transverse portion  100  formed integrally therewith which extends preferably between the two supporting blocks  24 ,  25 . 
     The transverse portion  100  forms card end edge engagement means since the SIM-card  1  inserted into the cover  17  engages with its edge, referred to as rear edge  2 , the end edge engagement means which guide the card  1  during the pivotal movement of the cover  17 . Opposite to the rear edge  2  the card  1  has a front edge  3  as well as an inclined edge (polarizing inclination)  4 . 
     Specifically, the end edge engagement means  100 , briefly referred to as the transverse portion  100 , comprise a recess or groove  40  in the panel portion  18 . This recess  40  may be referred to as an engaging or guiding means  40 . As shown in FIGS. 5,  7  and  8 , when the cover  17  is pivoted together with the card  1 , the rear edge  2  engages the surface of the groove  40 , which thus guides the card  1 . The groove  40  forms so to say a guiding or roll off curve  42 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the end edge engagement means (briefly the transverse portion)  100  further forms a web  41 , which may be referred to as abutment or stop and guiding means  41 . In the closing and locking positions, yet to be described, of the SIM-card connector  10  the card  1  (i.e. illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 8) engages this web  41  forming an abutment surface  95 , and it is guided to some extent by the web  41 . The web  41  thus forms the abutment surface  95  for the rear edge  2  both in the closing and the locking position of the cover  17 . The abutment surface  95  may also be referred to as a rear abutment means (in contrast to the front abutment means  29 ). 
     Further, there maybe provided at or on the contact support  14  a stop or abutment  70  (FIG.  7 ), in particular on one or both of the supporting blocks  24 ,  25 , to define the insertion position for the card  1  into the cover  17 . 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 it is shown that the metal cover  17  has a planar surface portion having an extended or large area corresponding approximately to the area of the SIM-card, and it comprises side portions  43  and  44  (also referred to as receiving means) on its longitudinal edges. Said side portions form slots  45  and  46  for receiving the card  1 . At the front end of the cover  17 , on both ends, locking tabs  47 ,  48  are formed from the sheet metal forming the cover  17  and the side portions  43 ,  44 . Said locking tabs protect through or engage the slots  30  and  32  of the contact support  14  when locking the cover  17 . The side portions  43 ,  44  have formed thereon surfaces  49  and  50 , respectively, which immerse or are received into the recesses  19 ,  20 , and which may extend parallel to the surfaces  21 ,  22 . In this manner the vertical dimension of the SIM-card connector  10  is reduced. The side portions  43 ,  44  have further formed, see FIG. 1, supporting surfaces  66  (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) for the SIM-card  1 . The cover  17  is provided with openings  51  which are located adjacent to the contacts or contact elements in the contact support  14  or the contact portions thereof when the cover  17  is closed. 
     FIG. 2 shows in detail the construction of the lower or bottom part of the cover  17  and the rear portion of the contact support  14 . One notices a cut out  53  in the contact support  14  in which one end of a retaining element  54  projects which is soldered e.g. to a printed circuit board. This is done similarly to the soldering of the contact elements on the opposite side of the contact support so as to securely fix the connector  10  on both sides on said printed circuit board. The cut out  53  is located within the periphery or outline of the card  1  being placed in a reading position. 
     FIG. 2 further shows one of the two arms  55  integrally formed with the cover  17  and forming the hinge means  56  at the lower or bottom end, said hinge means are illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 3A. The hinge means  56  each comprises a head  58  as well as a guiding nut or guiding projection  59 . The hinge means  56  may also comprise, as shown, a rivet as the point of rotation for locking. In the shown embodiment, the hinge means  56  is a rivet which is inserted with its head  58  into a bore  52  and which is riveted therein. The stem extending from the head  58  forms, see FIG. 3A, the guiding nut  59 . A stem is chamfered on both sides of its free end. The chamfers  261  and  262  are located opposite to each other with reference to the direction or the extent of the arms  55 , and they facilitate the longitudinal displacement in and opposite to the direction of the arrow  62  (FIG. 2) by means of a cam or a shoulder  260  in the opening  26 . The cam  260  divides the opening  26  in two sections. The rotational or pivoting axis for the cover  17  is also seen in FIG. 2 indicated at  60  with a dotted line. The cover  17  (together with the card  1 ) in its closing position is pivoted around the pivoting axis  60  to be then pushed or displaced from its closing position in the longitudinal direction, indicated with reference numeral  62  in FIG. 2, into its locking position. It is also possible, not to construct the cover  17  being pushable in a longitudinal direction. Preferably, in this case other cover locking means are employed. 
     Further, as one can see in FIG. 2, the pivotal axis  60  is also displaced in the longitudinal direction  62  “towards the front” (towards the left) with regard to the location of the abutment surface  95  indicated by the line  64 . 
     In particular with reference to FIG. 8, in addition to the displacement of the point at rotation or the pivoting axis  60  in comparison to the pivoting axis  65  of the prior art (see FIG.  9 ), it will be now referred to the design of the end edge engagement means  100 . FIG. 8 shows that the recess  40  (the abutment or guiding means for the rear edge  2  of the card  1 ) cuts into the panel portion  18  approximately at a starting point or starting line  93 , and then forms the guiding or roll off curve  42  which is selected corresponding to the location of pivoting point  60 . In the shown embodiment the roll off curve  42  initially falls with a slow inclination to the lowest or deepest point  98  and then rises with a higher inclination towards the end point  94  which is positioned at the height of the supporting surface  23  of the panel portion  18 . From there the roll off curve  42  continuously merges into the abutment and guiding means  41  in the area of the web  41  formimg the already mentioned abutment surface  95  (also referred to as rear abutment means) for the rear edge  2  of the card  1 . 
     FIGS. 4 to  7  illustrate the significant reduction of the longitudinal dimension obtained by the displacement of the point of rotation according to the invention. In the depicted embodiment a reduction of the longitudinal dimension from 27 mm (FIGS. 4 and 6) down to 25.5 mm (FIGS. 5 and 7) is achieved. 
     The operation of the SIM-card connector  10  in accordance with the invention is similar to the prior art as referred to in the FIGS. 4,  6  and  9 . The SIM-card  1  is inserted (when the cover  17  is open; FIG. 1) into the slots  45 ,  46  with the rear edge  2  leading, and then the card  1  engages with its rear edge  2  the end edge engagement means  100  (i.e. the transverse portion  100 ). Then the cover  17  and the card  1  (see now FIG. 7) are pivoted towards the right, whereby the rear edge  2  follows the roll off curve  42 . Finally cover  17  reaches the closing position indicated in FIGS. 5 and 7 with the card  1  in dotted lines. In the closing position the card abuts with its rear edge  2  at the abutment surface  95  and with its front edge at the front abutment means  29 . Then the cover  17  is (preferably) pushed or displaced into the longitudinal direction  62  (FIG. 2) towards the front (in its pressed down position) until the locking tabs  47 ,  48  of the cover  17  engage the slots  30 ,  32  thus locking the cover  17 . Instead of displacing the whole cover  17  it is possible to displace parts of the cover as a sort of a sledge in the longitudinal direction.