IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide an IC card in which a sub-frame for fixing a connector by holding it between a main frame and the sub-frame is made difficult to separate, and the engagement between these parts is facilitated. Of a connector supporting part 20 of a main frame 2 and a sub-frame 30, both of which receive holding parts 1c of a connector 1, the connector supporting part 20 has barrier parts 8 each of which has a height of half or more that of the holding parts 1c and which are respectively formed on recesses 20b thereof so that the recesses 20b on which the barrier parts 8 are formed receive the force applied in the direction along the bonded surfaces of the connector supporting part 20 and the sub-frame 30. Tapered surfaces are respectively provided at the edges of each of the barrier parts 8 and the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 so that these parts can be easily engaged with each other at regular positions even if there is a position deviation in each of the parts.

Description: The present invention relates to a mechanism for supporting and fixing a connector loaded on a main frame of an IC card together with a circuit substrate. Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional IC card. An IC card 10 comprises a main frame 2 and a circuit substrate 4 and a connector 1, both of which are loaded thereon. A circuit pattern 4b is formed on one or both of the sides of the circuit substrate 4, and a plurality of electronic parts 4a are mounted on the pattern 4b so as to be connected thereto. The circuit substrate 4 is supported by the inner side of a circuit substrate supporting/fixing part 2a of the main frame 2 and fixed thereto by caulking (not shown in the drawing) or the like. On the other hand, the connector 1 comprises a connector body part 1b having a plurality of external connection terminals la and holding parts 1c respectively formed on both sides of the body part 1b for the purpose of fixing the connector 1. The connector 1 is provided separately from the circuit substrate 4, and each of the external connection terminals la is electrically connected to the circuit pattern 4b of the substrate 4 by a lead wire (not shown) or the like. The external connection terminals 1a are exposed to air from the terminal surface of the connector body part 1b, which surface forms a surface on the insertion side of the IC card 10, so as to be connectable from the outside thereof. The lower connector-supporting part 2b of the main frame 2 is previously formed into a shape which engages with the lower half of the connector 1 so that the connector 1 is engaged with the connector-supporting part 2b. A sub-frame 3 which is previously formed into a shape which engages with the upper half of the connector 1 is fixed to the connector-supporting part 2b by an adhesive 7, with the connector 1 held therebetween (refer to Fig. 7), whereby the connector 1 is fixed. Fig. 7 is a partially sectional view taken along an arrow B in Fig. 6 and shows the state wherein the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 are engaged with the connector-supporting part 2b and the sub-frame 3 and fixed thereby after the IC card has been assembled. Metal panels 5 and 6 are bonded, by an adhesive (not shown), to both sides of the circuit substrate supporting/fixing part 2a of the main frame 2 on which the circuit substrate 4 is loaded so as to cover the both sides of the circuit substrate 4. The panels bonded respectively extend over the whole front and rear sides of the IC card 10, which include the surface portions of the connector supporting part 2b of the main frame 2, the sub-frame 3 and the connector body part 1b. The state wherein the connector 1 engages with the connector-supporting part 2b and the sub-frame 3 is described in detail below. The connector body part 1b of the connector 1 has substantially the same thickness (height) as that of the circuit substrate supporting/fixing part 2a of the main frame 2. Each of the holding parts 1c provided on both sides of the body part 1b has a shape having a width along the direction of card insertion and a thickness, both of which are smaller than those of the body part 1b. Both the connector supporting part 2b and the sub-frame 3 have a thickness (height) of about half that of the circuit substrate supporting/fixing part 2a or the body part 1b of the connector 1. The connector supporting part 2b has an opening 2c which is formed so as to engage with the lower half of the body part 1b of the connector 1 and recesses 2d which are formed so as to respectively engage with the lower halves of the holding parts 1c. The sub-frame 3 has an opening 3a which is formed so as to engage with the upper half of the body part 1b of the connector 1 and recesses 3b which are formed so as to respectively engage with the upper halves of the holding parts 1c. The opening 2c and the recesses 2d have the same shapes as those of the opening 3a and the recesses 3b, respectively. The sub-frame 3 is bonded to the connector supporting part 2b so that the connector 1 is vertically held between the connector supporting part 2b and the sub-frame 3 and fixed therebetween. The holding parts 1c of the connector 1 are respectively held and fixed between the upper and lower recesses 2d, 3b, and the body part 1b is engaged with the openings 2c, 3a and fixed thereby. Since the conventional mechanism for supporting and fixing a connector in an IC card has the above configuration, the mechanism has the problem that, for example, when the card is dropped, if force is applied to the portion for fixing the connector, particularly, in the direction along the bonded surfaces of the connector supporting part of the main frame and the sub-frame, there is the danger of separation of the sub-frame from the connector supporting part and disassembling the card. The conventional mechanism has the other problem that when the connector is mounted during the process of assembling the IC card, much time is taken for adjusting the positions of the holding parts of the connector and the recesses of the connector supporting part and the sub-frame because of small allowable error of engagement therebetween. US-A-4 924 076 discloses an IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. The present invention has been achieved for solving the above-mentioned problems, to improve the mounting strength of a connector so as to prevent a card from being disassembled even if a mechanism for supporting and fixing the connector is subjected to force when the card is dropped or the like, and to facilitate the engagement between the connector supporting part of a main frame, the connector and a sub-frame during the process of assembling the IC card. The present invention, as defined in claim 1, provides an IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism for supporting and fixing a connector provided with a plurality of external connector terminals to a portion of a main frame on the card insertion side at the position where a circuit substrate having electronic parts mounted thereon is provided, the mechanism comprising a connector comprising a connector body part having a terminal surface from which the plurality of external connector terminals electrically connected to the electronic parts mounted on the circuit substrate are exposed to air so as to be connectable from the outside, and holding parts which are respectively provided on both sides of the connector body part in the direction of card insertion, each of which has a width along the direction of card insertion and a thickness, both of which are smaller than those of the connector body part, and each of which has a surface on the card insertion side, the side surface along the direction of card insertion and a surface on the substrate side; a lower connector supporting part which is formed according to the shape of the lower half of the connector so that about a lower half of the connector is fitted thereinto, which has barrier parts each having a height of half or more the thickness of the holding parts of the connector and provided at least along the portions which respectively contact with surfaces of the holding parts of the connector on the card insertion side and the side surfaces thereof, and which is formed in the main frame on the card insertion side so as to support the connector without deviating it in the horizontal direction; a sub-frame which fixes the connector held between the sub-frame and the lower connector supporting part of the main frame so as to fix the connector without deviating it in the horizontal and vertical directions and which is formed according to the shape of the upper half of the connector and the shapes of the barrier parts of the lower connector supporting part so that the upper half of the connector and the barrier parts are fitted thereinto; and fixing means for fixing the sub-frame to the lower connector supporting part. In the present invention, each of the barrier parts and the holding parts of the connector has tapered surfaces respectively provided at the edges thereof. In the present invention, since the holding parts of the connector are respectively held by the barrier parts which are provided on the connector supporting part of the main frame and each of which has a height of half or more the thickness of the holding parts, even if force is applied in the direction along the bonded surfaces of the connector supporting part and the sub-frame, there is no danger of separation of the sub-frame from the connector supporting part because the whole force is received on the side of the connector supporting part provided with the barrier parts. In addition, since the tapered surface is provided on each of the barrier parts and the holding parts of the connector, when the connector supporting part, the connector and the sub-frame are engaged with each other during the process of assembling an IC card, the mounting positions thereof can be corrected to regular positions even if there are deviations in the mounting positions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an IC card provided with a connector supporting/fixing mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partially sectional view of the circumference of the connector of an assembled card taken along the direction of an arrow B in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the portion in a circle C shown by a broken line in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an exploded sectional view of the circumference of the connector taken along the direction of an arrow B in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an exploded sectional view of the circumference of the connector taken along the direction of an arrow A in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional IC card; and Fig. 7 is a partially sectional view of the circumference of the connector assembled taken along the direction of an arrow B in Fig. 6. DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the attached drawings. Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an IC card provided with a connector supporting/fixing mechanism in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially sectional view of a portion near a connector of the assembled IC card taken along the direction shown by an arrow B in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the portion in a circle C shown by a broken line in Fig. 2. The same reference numerals as those in the conventional IC card shown in Figs. 6 and 7 denote the same or equivalent portions which are not described below. In Figs. 1 and 2, although a connector 1 is the same as the conventional connector, the surface on the card insertion side, the side surfaces and the surface on the substrate side of each of the holding parts 1c are denoted by 1e, 1f and 1g, respectively, for the sake of convenience of description. The lower connector supporting part 20 formed in a portion of the main frame 2 on the card insertion side and the sub-frame 30 which serves as an upper connector supporting part engaged with the supporting part 20 have a thickness (height) of about half that of the circuit substrate supporting/fixing part 2a or the body part 1b of the connector 1. The connector supporting part 20 has an opening 20a formed so as to engage with the lower half of the body part 1b of the connector 1 and recesses 20b formed so as to respectively engage with the lower halves of the holding parts 1c. Barrier parts 8 each having a height of half or more that of the holding parts 1c are respectively formed on portions of the recesses 20b, which respectively contact with the surfaces 1e of the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 on the card insertion side and the side surfaces 1f thereof. The sub-frame 30 has an opening 30a formed so as to engage with the upper half of the body part 1b of the connector 1 and recesses 30b formed so as to respectively engage with the upper halves of the holding parts 1c and the barrier parts 8 formed in the connector supporting part 20. The sub-frame 30 is engaged with the connector supporting part 20, with the connector 1 therebetween, and fixed to the connector supporting part 20 by fixing means such as an adhesive 7 or the like. For example, even if force is applied to the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 in the direction shown by an arrow D in Fig. 3 when an IC card is dropped, and even if force is thus applied in the direction along the bonded surfaces of the connector supporting part 20 and the sub-frame 30, since the whole force is therefore received by the recesses 20b of the connector supporting part 20 due to the barrier parts 8, the sub-frame 30 is not separated from the connector supporting part 20. This applies to the direction vertical to the direction of card insertion, i.e., the direction shown by an arrow A in Fig. 1. In order to explain the assembly of the connector 1, the connector supporting part 20 and the sub-frame 30, Fig. 4 shows an exploded sectional view of the circumference of the connector 1 taken along the direction of the arrow B in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 shows an exploded sectional view taken along the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1. As can be seen from the drawings, each of the recesses 30b formed in the sub-frame 30 has a size which can receive the upper half of each of the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 and each of the barrier parts 8 formed in the connector supporting part 20 in the directions of the arrows A and B in Fig. 1. In addition, a tapered surface 8a may be provided at the upper edge of each of the barrier parts 8. Similarly, a tapered surface 1d may be formed at the edge of each of the holding parts 1c of the connector 1, which edge extends along the direction vertical to the direction of card insertion. The tapered surfaces 8a, 1d enable the connector 1, the connector supporting part 20 and the sub-frame 30 to be easily engaged with each other at regular positions thereof during the engaging process even if there is a position deviation in each of the parts. In the above embodiment, no barrier part 8 is provided on the portions of the recesses 20b of the connector supporting part 20, which respectively contact with the surfaces 1g of the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 on the substrate side. This is because when force is applied in the direction toward the surfaces 1g, the circuit substrate supporting/fixing part 2a receives the force because the surfaces 1g of the holding parts 1c on the substrate side are placed inside the card, and there is thus little possibility of separation of the sub-frame 3. However, when the connector 1 is more stably fixed, the barrier parts 8 may be respectively provided on the portions of the recesses 20b, which respectively contact with the surfaces 1g of the holding parts 1c on the substrate side. As described above, the IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism in accordance with the present invention comprises the barrier parts 8 which each have a height of half or more that of the holding parts 1c of the connector 1 and which are respectively formed on the recesses 20b of the connector supporting part 20 on the side of the main frame 2. When the card is dropped, therefore, the recesses 20b of the connector supporting part 20, on which the barrier are respectively formed, receive the force applied in the direction along the bonded surfaces of the connector supporting part 20 and the sub-frame 30. The mechanism thus has the effect of making the sub-frame 30 difficult to separate. In addition, since the tapered surfaces 8a, 1d are respectively provided at the upper edges of the barrier parts 8 and the edges of the holding parts 1c of the connector 1, the mechanism has the effect of enabling the connector 1, the connector supporting part 20 and the sub-frame 30 to be easily engaged with each other at regular positions during assembly even if there is a position deviation in each of the parts.

Claims: An IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism for supporting and fixing a connector (1) provided with a plurality of external connection terminals (la) to a portion of a main frame (2) on the card insertion side thereof at the position where a circuit substrate (4) having electronic parts (4a) mounted thereon is provided, said mechanism comprising: a connector (1) comprising a connector body part (1b) having a terminal surface from which said plurality of external connection terminals (la) electrically connected to said electronic parts (4a) mounted on said circuit substrate (4) are exposed to air so as to be connectable from the outside, and holding parts (1c) which are respectively provided on both sides of said connector body part (1b) in the direction of card insertion, each of which holding parts (1c) has a width along said direction of card insertion and a thickness, both of which are smaller than those of said connector body part (1b), and each of which holding parts (1c) has a surface (le) on the card insertion side, a side surface (1f) along said direction of card insertion, and a surface (1g) on the substrate side; a lower connector-supporting part (20) which is formed according to the shape of the lower half of said connector (1) so that about the lower half of said connector (1) is fitted into said connector-supporting part (20); a sub-frame (30) which fixes said connector (1) by holding it between said lower connector-supporting part (20) and said sub-frame (30) so as to fix said connector (1) without deviating it in the horizontal and vertical directions, and which is formed according to the shape of the upper half of said connector (1); and fixing means (7) for fixing said sub-frame (30) to said lower connector-supporting part (20); characterised in that: said lower connector-supporting part (20) has barrier parts (8) each having a height of half or more of the thickness of said holding parts (1c) and respectively provided at least on the portions which contact with said surfaces (le) of said holding parts (1c) of said connector on said card insertion side and said side surfaces (1f) thereof so as to support said connector (1) without deviating it in the horizontal direction, the lower connector-supporting part (20) being formed integrally with said main frame (2) on said card insertion side thereof; and the sub-frame (30) is formed according to the shapes of said barrier parts (8) of said lower connector-supporting part (20), said upper half of said connector holding parts (1c) and said barrier parts (8) being fitted into said sub-frame (30). An IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism according to Claim 1, wherein each of said barrier parts (8) of said lower connector-supporting part (20) has a plurality of edges at the upper end thereof, and each of said holding parts (1c) of said connector (1) has a plurality of edges extending in the direction vertical to said direction of card insertion, a tapered surface (8a, 1d) being provided at one or more of said edges so that said lower connector-supporting part (20), said connector (1) and said sub-frame (30) are easily engaged with each other. An IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said lower connectorsupporting part (20) has an opening (20a) which engages with said connector body part (1b) and recesses (20b) which respectively engage with said holding parts (1c), and said subframe (30) has an opening (30a) which engages with said connector body part (1b) and recesses (30b) which respectively engage with said holding parts (1c) and said barrier parts (8) of said lower connector-supporting part (20). An IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism according to any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein said fixing means (7) is an adhesive (7). An IC card connector supporting/fixing mechanism according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein said lower connector supporting part (20) further has barrier parts (8) which are respectively provided along the portions in contact with said surfaces (1g) of said holding parts (1c) of said connector on said substrate side and each of which has a height of half or more of the thickness of each of said holding parts (1c).

Inventors: MAEDA HAJIME, MIZUTANI YOSHITAKA, ONODA SHIGEO, MAEDA, HAJIME, MIZUTANI, YOSHITAKA, ONODA, SHIGEO, Maeda, Hajime, c/o Mitsubishi Denki K.K., Onoda, Shigeo, c/o Mitsubishi Denki K.K.
Applicants: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORP, MITSUBISHI DENKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1992
Main classification: G06K19
IPC codes: G06K19, H01R12, B42D15