Abstract:
A dual SIM card connector for holding a first SIM card and a second SIM card and installing in a cellular phone is disclosed. The dual SIM card comprises a housing and an inter-layer. The inter-layer is inside the housing. Between the inter-layer and the housing, there forms a first slot and a second slot. The inter-layer comprises: a common recess on the first surface of the inter-layer, wherein the common recess has a through hole. A common GND contact spring leaf is mounted in the common recess and electrically coupled to both the first SIM card and the second SIM card through the through hole.

Description:
[0001]    This application incorporates by reference of Taiwan application Serial No. 090207781, filed May 11, 2001.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The invention relates in general to a SIM card connector for installing in a cellular phone, and more particularly to a dual SIM card connector for installing in a cellular phone.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    As is well-known, chip or smart cards are used for various purposes, for instance as prepaid telephone cards. Such a telephone card allows the purchaser to insert the card into a public telephone and then make telephone calls equivalent to the amount of money paid for said telephone card. Chip cards are also used to identify members of, for instance, a health organization and so on. SIM cards derive their name form the words “subscriber identity module”. SIM cards are frequently used in so-called cell phones, for instance to identify a subscriber of the respective telephone company.  
           [0006]    For miniaturization, particularly in the field of mobile telephones, it is an object of the present invention to make a contacting device for a SIM card as small as possible. Of particular importance is a small thickness or height of the contacting device. Preferably, a contacting device should be barely larger than the SIM card itself. Furthermore, the contacting device should be of simple construction and easy to operate. Misalignment or wrong orientation of the SIM card should be avoided.  
           [0007]    Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional SIM card connector is shown. The conventional SIM card connector  100  includes a connecting base  102 , clips  104   a ,  104   b ,  104   c  and  104   d . The clips  104   a  and  104   b  are positioned at the left side of the top surface  106  of the connecting base  102  and the clips  104   c  and  104   d  are positioned at the right side of the top surface  106  of the connecting base  102 . The connecting base  102  typically includes 6 recesses  110  and 6 contact points  112 . Each of the contact points  112  is positioned at each corresponding recesses  110 . The contact points  112  are electrically coupled to the six exposing points  114  of the SIM card  108 . The recesses typically include a VCC (supply voltage) recess, a RST (reset) recess, a CLK (Clock Signal) recess, an I/O (Data Input/Output) recess, a GND (Ground) recess and a VPP (Programming Voltage) recess. Correspondingly, the contact points  112  include a VCC contact point, a RST contact point, a CLK contact point, an I/O contact point, a GND contact point and a VPP contact point.  
           [0008]    The VCC contact point, the RST contact point, the CLK contact point, the I/O contact point, the GND contact point and the VPP contact point are respectively positioned at the VCC recess, the RST recess, the CLK recess, the I/O recess, the GND recess and the VPP recess. The exposing points  114  of the SIM card  108  include a VCC exposing point, a RST exposing point, a CLK exposing point, an I/O exposing point, a GND exposing point, and a VPP exposing point. Referring to FIG. 1, while the SIM card  108  is inserted into the SIM card connector  100  along the arrow  150 , the exposing points  114  of the SIM card  108  are electrically coupled to the contact points  112  of the connecting base  102  and the clips  104   a ,  104   b ,  104   c , and  104   d  latch the two sides of the SIM card  108  and firmly attach the SIM card  108  on the SIM card connector  100 . The contact points  112  extend from the SIM card connector  100  and are electrically coupled to the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) of the cellular phone.  
           [0009]    The conventional single SIM card connector as shown in FIG. 1 further includes 6 contact spring leaves (not shown). For people use more than two SIM cards, a single SIM card connector can be damaged by the frequent changes of SIM cards. Thus, a dual SIM card connector is developed. The conventional dual SIM card connector lays the two SIM card connecting bases parallel to each other and thus requires 12 contact spring leaves.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a dual SIM card connector with common contact spring leaves, which is more cost-effective and minimized.  
           [0011]    According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a dual SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card connector for holding a first SIM card and a second SIM card, is disclosed. The dual SIM card connector includes a housing and an inter-layer. The inter-layer is inside the housing, wherein the inter-layer comprises a first surface and a second surface, which are opposite to each other, and wherein between the first surface of the inter-layer and the housing, there forms a first slot for inserting a first SIM card and between the second surface of the inter-layer and the housing, there forms a second slot for inserting a second SIM card. The inter-layer comprises a common recess, a plurality of first recesses, a plurality of second recesses, a common contact spring leaf, a plurality of first contact spring leaves, and a plurality of second contact spring leaves. The common recess is on the first surface of the inter-layer and has a through hole. The first recesses are on the first surface of the inter-layer. The second recesses are on the second surface of the inter-layer. The common contact spring leaf is mounted in the common recess and electrically coupled to both the first SIM card and the second SIM card through the through hole. The first contact spring leaves are mounted in the first recesses and electrically coupled to the first SIM card. The second contact spring leaves are mounted in the second recesses and electrically coupled to the second SIM card.  
           [0012]    A dual SIM card connector for holding a first SIM card and a second SIM card and installing in a cellular phone is disclosed. The dual SIM card comprises a housing and an inter-layer. The inter-layer is inside the housing. The inter-layer comprises a first surface and a second surface, which are opposite to each other. Between the first surface of the inter-layer and the housing, there forms a first slot for inserting a first SIM card and between the second surface of the inter-layer and the housing, there forms a second slot for inserting a second SIM card. The inter-layer comprises: a common recess on the first surface of the inter-layer, wherein the common recess has a through hole; a plurality of first recesses on the first surface of the inter-layer; a plurality of second recesses on the second surface of the inter-layer; a common GND contact spring leaf mounted in the common recess and electrically coupled to both the first SIM card and the second SIM card through the through hole; a plurality of first contact spring leaves mounted in the first recesses and electrically coupled to the first SIM card; a plurality of second contact spring leaves mounted in the second recesses and electrically coupled to the second SIM card; and an indentation facilitating pushing out the first SIM card and the second SIM card.  
           [0013]    Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiments. The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 shows a conventional SIM card connector.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2, a prospective 3-dimentional view of the dual SIM card connector of the invention is illustrated.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3A, the elements on the surface  209   a  of the inter-layer  204  are shown in detail.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3B shows the positions of the contact spring leaves on the recesses.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4A, the elements on the surface  209   b  of the inter-layer  204  are shown in detail.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG.4B shows the positions of the contact spring leaves on the recesses. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]    According to the spirit of the invention, a dual SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card connector for installing in a cellular phone is disclosed. By the dual SIM card connector of the invention, the frequency of drawing out the SIM card is reduced, the chance of damaging the SIM card and the SIM card connector is also eliminated.  
         [0021]    Referring to FIG. 2, a prospective 3-dimentional view of the dual SIM card connector of the invention is illustrated. The dual SIM card connector  200  comprises a housing  202  and an inter-layer  204 . The inter-layer  204  is inside the housing  202  and divides the interior of the housing  202  into two slots  206   a  and  206   b.  The SIM card  208   a  and SIM card  208   b  insert into the slots  206   a  and  206   b  along the arrow  245 . The inter-layer  204  comprises two opposite surfaces  209   a  and  209   b  and the inter-layer  204  and the housing  202  are preferably unitary.  
         [0022]    Referring to FIG. 3A, the elements on the surface  209   a  of the inter-layer  204  are shown in detail. As shown in FIG. 3A, on the surface  209   a  of the inter-layer  204 , there are a common recess, a common contact spring leaf, a number of individual recesses and individual spring leaves. The common contact spring leaf and the individual spring leaves are used to be electrically connected to the SIM card  208   a,  as shown in FIG. 2. The common recess can be a GND (Ground) recess  210   e  and the common contact spring leaf can be a GND contact spring leaf  212   e.  At one end of the GND recess  210   e,  there is a through hole  211  penetrating the inter-layer  204 . These recesses include a VCC (supply voltage) recess  210   a,  a RST (reset) recess  210   b,  a CLK (clock signal) recess  210   c,  an I/O (Data Input/Output) recess  210   d  and a spare recess  210   f.  The contact spring leaves include a VCC contact spring leaf  212   a,  a RST contact spring leaf  212   b,  a CLK contact spring leaf  212   c  and an I/O contact spring leaf  212   d . The VCC contact spring leaf  212   a,  the RST contact spring leaf  212   b,  the CLK contact spring leaf  212   c  and the I/O contact spring leaf  212   d  respectively have a VCC contact point  214   a,  a RST contact point  214   b,  a CLK contact point  214   c  and an I/O contact point  214   d.  The VCC contact spring leaf  212   a , the RST contact spring leaf  212   b,  the CLK contact spring leaf  212   c  and the I/O contact spring leaf  212   d  and the GND contact spring leaf  212   e  are positioned at the VCC recess  210   a,  the RST recess  210   b,  the CLK recess  210   c,  the I/O recess  210   d  and the GND recess  210   e,  respectively, as shown in FIG. 3B. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the GND contact spring leaf  212   e  is designed as a common contact spring leaf with a contact point  214   e  and a contact point  314   e  at the through hole  211  in the GND recess  210   e.  The contact point  214   e  and the contact point  314   e  are electrically coupled to the SIM card  208   a  and the SIM card  208   b,  respectively.  
         [0023]    In FIG. 3B, the SIM card  208   a  include a VCC exposing contact  216   a,  a RST exposing contact  216   b,  a CLK exposing contact  216   c,  an I/O exposing contact  216   d,  a GND exposing contact  216   e  and a spare exposing contact  216   f.  While the SIM card  208   a  is inserted into the slot  206   a  along the arrow  260 , the VCC exposing contact  216   a,  the RST exposing contact  216   b,  the CLK exposing contact  216   c,  the I/O exposing contact  216   d,  and the GND exposing contact  216   e  of the SIM card  208   a  are electrically coupled to the VCC contact point  214   a,  the RST contact point  214   b,  the CLK contact point  214   c,  the I/O contact point  214   d  and the GND contact point  214   e.    
         [0024]    The SIM card  208   a  comprises a SIM card beveled edge  240   a  complementary to the extension  230   a  of the surface  209   a . The SIM card beveled edge  240   a  prevents itself from malposition. The inter-layer  204  further comprises an indentation  250  which facilitates pushing out the SIM card  208   a  from the slot  206   a.    
         [0025]    Referring to FIG. 4A, the elements on the surface  209   b  of the inter-layer  204  are shown in detail. As shown in FIG. 4A, on the surface  209   b  of the inter-layer  204 , there are a number of individual recesses and individual spring leaves. The common contact spring leaf and the individual spring leaves are used to be electrically connected to the SIM card  208   b,  as shown in FIG. 2. These recesses include a VCC recess  310   a,  a RST recess  310   b,  a CLK recess  310   c,  an I/O recess  310   d  and a spare recess  310   f.  The contact spring leaves include a VCC contact spring leaf  312   a,  a RST contact spring leaf  312   b,  a CLK contact spring leaf  312   c  and an I/O contact spring leaf  312   d.  The VCC contact spring leaf  312   a,  the RST contact spring leaf  312   b,  the CLK contact spring leaf  312   c  and the I/O contact spring leaf  312   d  respectively have a VCC contact point  314   a,  a RST contact point  314   b,  a CLK contact point  314   c  and an I/O contact point  314   d.  The VCC contact spring leaf  312   a,  the RST contact spring leaf  312   b,  the CLK contact spring leaf  312   c  and the I/O contact spring leaf  312   d  are positioned at the VCC recess  310   a,  the RST recess  310   b,  the CLK recess  310   c,  and the I/O recess  310   d,  respectively, as shown in FIG. 4B. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the GND contact spring leaf  212   e  penetrates the through hole  211  and exposes a GND contact point  314   e  at the surface  209   b . So the GND contact spring leaf  212   e  is used by both the SIM card  208   a  and the SIM card  208   b.  Compared to the conventional dual SIM card connector, less number of the GND contact spring leaf is used and consequently the manufacturing process is simplified and the cost is reduced.  
         [0026]    In FIG. 4B, the SIM card  208   b  includes a VCC exposing contact  316   a,  a RST exposing contact  316   b,  a CLK exposing contact  316   c,  an I/O exposing contact  316   d,  a GND exposing contact  316   e  and a spare exposing contact  316   f.  While the SIM card  208   b  is inserted into the slot  206   b  along the arrow  270 , the VCC exposing contact  316   a,  the RST exposing contact  316   b,  the CLK exposing contact  316   c,  the I/O exposing contact  316   d,  and the GND exposing contact  316   e  of the SIM card  208   b  are electrically coupled to the VCC contact point  314   a,  the RST contact point  314   b,  the CLK contact point  314   c,  the I/O contact point  314   d  and the GND contact point  314   e.    
         [0027]    The VCC contact spring leaf  212   a,  the VCC contact spring leaf  312   a,  the RST contact spring leaf  212   b,  the RST contact spring leaf  312   b,  the CLK contact spring leaf  212   c,  the CLk contact spring leaf  312   c,  the I/O contact spring leaf  212   d,  the I/O contact spring leaf  312   d,  and the GND contact spring leaf  212   e  are electrically coupled to the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) of a dual SIM card cellular phone.  
         [0028]    The SIM card  208   b  comprises a SIM card beveled edge  240   b  complementary to the extension  230   b  of the surface  209   b . The SIM card beveled edge  240   b  prevents itself from malposition. The inter-layer  204  further comprises an indentation  250  which facilitates pushing out the SIM card  208   b  from the slot  206   b.    
         [0029]    The dual SIM card connector  200  can be positioned with 2 SIM cards, having 9 contact spring leaves. Compared with the conventional one, less contact spring leaves are needed, which contributes reducing the cost. By the inter-layer inside the housing of the invention, one of the SIM cards can be arranged on the top of the other so that the overall size of the SIM card connector is reduced.  
         [0030]    While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Other modifications such as changing the direction of inserting the SIM cards, the shape of the contact points into spherical surface and cross-like shape or simplifying the housing are also within the scope of the invention.  
         [0031]    By the dual SIM card connector of the invention, the frequency of drawing out the SIM card is reduced, and the chance of damaging the SIM card and the SIM card connector is also eliminated. Also the dual SIM card connector includes common contact spring leaves, which is more cost-effective and has minimized size.  
         [0032]    While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements and procedures, and the scope of the appended claims therefore should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements and procedures.