ELECTRONIC MODULE CONNECTOR HAVING A LOCKING COVER

Abstract: An electrical connector (10) is provided for receiving an electronic module (60), the connector (10) having an insulative base (20) which is mountable to a printed circuit board and supports electrical contacts (26) which are also connected to the printed circuit board. A cover (30) is provided for receiving the electronic module (60) and is rotatably mounted to the base (20) and securably thereto by the cooperation of a locking disc (40) with locking projections (21) extending from sidewalls of the base (20).

Description: ELECTRONIC MODULE CONNECTOR HAVING A LOCKING COVER This invention is directed to an electrical connector and more particularly to an electrical connector for receiving an module. Electronic modules such as subscriber identification modules (SIMs) are well known in the communications industry. They are small electronic smart cards, approximately 25 x 15 mm, which contain information to specifically identify a subscriber, for example a telephone subscriber. The modules are read by electronic devices such as telephones and allow a particular user to access the device. Electrical connectors have been provided in the electronic devices for reading these electronic modules. One example of such a connector is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,320,552 by Reichardt et al . This patent teaches a contacting apparatus 2 having a housing 3 which supports a series of electrical contacts 8 and a receiving slot 7 for a SIM. Abutment means are also provided on the support arm 4 which is adapted to hold the SIM 1 in the housing 3. The support arm 4 is best shown in Figure 1 and is depressed as the SIM 1 is inserted into the housing 3. The support arm 4 returns back to its relaxed position once the SIM 1 is fully inserted into the housing 3 and captivated in the support arm 4 by engagement with the engagement surface 21. In an alternate embodiment, Reichardt et al . teaches a cover 34 for receiving the SIM 1 which is hingeably mounted to a housing 33 which supports the electrical contacts 8. The hingeably mounted cover 34 may be rotated into an initial closed position and then linearly moved relative to the SIM 1 to a locked position where it is held by a recess 40. These connectors present several problems. For example, in the first embodiment, the support arm does not serve to reliably secure a SIM 1 into the housing. The SIM 1 can unintentionally be removed from the housing 3 by inadvertent depression of the support arm 4. Also, with both of these embodiments, there is a translating motion between the contact pads on the SIM- and the electrical contacts of the housing causing a wiping action over the pads of the SIM. Since SIMs are intended to have a high mating and unmating cycle life, excessive wiping action tends to prematurely wear the contact pads. One approach to solving these problems is presented by the CCM Smart Card Connector Part No. CCM03 by ITT Canon. This connector features a rotatable cover which receives the SIM. The cover has a slide bar associated therewith having tabs extending from its edges for locking the cover to the base by sliding the bar along the top of the cover. Since the locking motion is in the same direction as the card-mating motion, a similar problem of inadvertent sliding of the locking bar and release of the cover could occur. It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an electrical connector which will securely and reliably hold an electronic module such as a SIM therein. It is a further object of this invention to provide a module connector which does not prematurely wear the contact pads on the electronic module while providing reliable electrical connection during repeated cycles of mating and unmating. The objects of the invention have been achieved by providing an electrical connector for receiving an electronic module such as a SIM having an insulative base which is mountable to a printed circuit board and supports electrical contacts which are also connected to the printed circuit board. A cover for receiving the electronic module is rotatably mounted to the base and securable thereto by the cooperation of a locking disc mechanism with locking projections extending from sidewalls of the base. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying figures of which: Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the electronic module connector according to this invention. Figure 2 shows an exploded three-dimensional view of the major components of the electronic module connector according to this invention. Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional view of the elec t ronic module connector having a SIM inserte d and the cover in the open position. Figure 4 shows a three-dimensional view of the electronic module connector having an electronic module inserted therein and the cover rotate d into the closed position prior to locking. Figure 5 shows an exploded three-dimensional view of the cover and the underside of the locking disc. The invention will f irst be describe d generally with reference t o Figure l which shows the electronic module connector 10 according to this invention. The connector 1 0 consists of a base 20 having a pair of cover receiving channels 22 disposed at a pivot end 2 7 . Contacts 26 extend from the base 20 for surface mounting to a printed board circuit (not shown ) . A polarizing projection 24 is disposed at the card- receiving a end 2 *9 o u f i tmhe hcaasse 2 on0. L τ -o>c,-kιi•ng pro ections 21 extend from the sides of the base 20 towards a cover 3 0 which is hingeably mounted to the base 20 at the pivot end 2 7 . The cover 30 features mounting arms 36 having cylindrical projections 38 extending from the mounting arms 36 for hingeable engagement with the cover receiving channels 22 of the base 20. A slot 35 ( Fig. 2) is formed in the cover 30 for slidably receiving an electronic module 60 from the mating end 2 9 . Disc securing projections 32 extend from a top surface 39 of the cover 30 to form a disc-receiving area 33 and stop projections 34 are provided along the disc-receiving area 33 for limiting rotation of a locking disc 4 0. The locking disc 4 0 is captured by the disc projections 32 of the cover in the disc receiving area 33. The locking disc 4 0 is rotatable between an open position and a locked position in order to release or lock the cover 30 from the base 20. Each of the major components will now be described in greater detail with reference to Figure 2. The base 20 is profiled to be mounted to a printed circuit board and has surface mount contacts 26 mounted therein by well known techniques. A polarizing tab 24 is provided at a card mating end 29 for cooperation with a cutaway portion 62 of the SIM 60. Locking projections 21 extend from the sides of the base 20. Each of the locking projections 21 consists of a side wall 21a, a top wall 21b extending from the side wall 21a and a stop wall 21c extending from both the top wall 21b and the side wall 21a to form a channel 2Id therebetween. Cover receiving channels 22 are provided at the pivot end 27, each being profiled to have a semi-cylindrical section 22a and pair of cantilever arms 22b extending along the open end of the semi-cylindrical section 22a. The cover 30 is provided with mounting arms 36 extending from a cover body 39 towards the pivot end 27. Cylindrical projections 38, shown in phantom in Fig. 2, extend inward toward each other from each of the mounting arms 36. Disc securing projections 32 extend from a deflectable portion 39c of the cover body 39 along the top surface 39b to form a semi-circular slot 37 about a disc-receiving area 33. The disc securing projections 32 are profiled to have camming surfaces 32a which cooperate with a locking disc 40 to urge the disc securing projections 32 and the deflectable portions 39c outward during assembly which will be described in greater detail below. Stop projections 34 extend from the top surface 39 and are disposed at selected positions adjacent to the disc securing projections 32 on the deflectable portion 39c. A pair of open position detents 31a (Fig. 5) are disposed on the top surface 39b inside the disc receiving area 30 adjacent to the disc securing projections 32. Likewise, a pair of closed position detents 31b are provided on the top surface 39b inside the disc receiving area circumferentially spaced from the pair of open position detents 31a. A card- receiving slot 35 is formed on the underside 39a of the cover body 39 for slidably receiving a SIM 60 therein. Finally, a locking disc 40 is mountable to the cover 30 and features tabs 42 extending from edges thereof. The locking disc 40 is formed from a thin sheet of material and is generally circular along its major surfaces. A slot 44 is formed in the center of the disc 40 to assist in rotation using a tool such as a screwdriver. A locking arrow 46 is provided along the major visual surface of the disc 40 to indicate the direction of rotation necessary in order to lock the cover 30, to the base 20. Likewise, an open arrow 48 is provided to indicate the direction of rotation necessary in order to release the cover 30 from the base 20. As shown in Fig. 5, the underside of the locking disc 40 is profiled to have a pair of embossments 43 for cooperation with the open position detents 31a and the closed position detents 31b on the cover top surface 39b. Assembly of the major components will now be described in greater detail referring once again to Figure 2. First, the locking disc 40 is simply snapped into the disc securing projections 32 of the cover. Since the disc securing projections 32 extend from a deflectable portion 39c of the cover body 39 and feature camming surfaces 32a, they will tend to resile outward in order to receive the locking disc 40 and will return to a relaxed secured position after the locking disc 40 pases over the camming surfaces 32a. The disc is initially received in the disc receiving area 33 and rotatably secured into the slot 37 such that the tabs 42 are facing opposite sides of the cover 30 and lie between stop projections 34. The cover 30 is then mounted to the base 20 by simply pressing the cylindrical projections 38 into the cover receiving channels 22 The disc 40 is now rotatably mounted to the cover 30, and the cover 30 is hingeably mounted to the base 20. This completes the final assembly of the connector 10. Operation of the electrical connector will now be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. As shown in Figure 3, an electronic module 60 is inserted into the slot 35 (Fig. 2) of the cover 30 such that the cutaway portion 62 will be aligned to cooperate with the polarizing projection 24 of the base 20. The locking disc 40 is rotated counter clockwise as indicated by the open arrow 48 to an open position whereby tabs 42 engage the stop projections 34 of the cover 30 and the embossments 43 engage the open position detents 31a (Fig. 5) . The cover 30 is then rotated downward toward the base 20 to the position shown in Figure 4. The cover 30 being in the closed position over the base 20 may then be locked by simply rotating the locking disc 40 clockwise as indicated by the locking arrow 46 such that tabs 42 are urged into the channel 21d until they abut against the stop wall 21c of the locking projection 21 (Fig.l) and the embossments 43 engage the closed position detents 31b (Fig. 5) . Slot 44 is provided for insertion of a screw driver or similar tool to assist in rotating the locking disc 40. Alternatively, the locking disc 40 may be provided with a rough surface so that a simple depression and rotating action using a fingertip will suffice to lock the disc into its final position as shown in Figure 1. The advantage of this invention is that it provides a reliable electrical connection to an electronic module 60 without prematurely wearing the pads of the electronic module 60. An additional advantage is that a simple mechanism is provided for easy insertion of the electronic module into the connector and easy securing of the electronic module therein.

Claims: I Claim: 1. An electrical connector 10 having a base 20 and a cover 30 for receiving a planar electronic module 60, the cover 30 being rotatably attached to the base 20 and securable thereto, the connector 10 being characterized by: a locking disc mechanism disposed along a top surface of the cover 30 having a disc body 40 rotatably secured to the cover 30 and positioned for engaging a locking projection 21 extending from the base 20 toward the cover 30. 2. The electrical connector 10 according to claim 1 wherein the locking disc mechanism is characterized by a disc body 40 having at least one tab 42 extending from an edge thereof . 3. The electrical connector according to claim 2 wherein the disc body 40 is rotatably secured to the cover 30 in a disc receiving area by opposed disc locking projections 32 extending from a deflectable portion 39c of the cover 30 whereby the disc body 40 is rotatable on the cover 30 in a plane which is substantially parallel to the electronic module 60 received in the cover 30. 4. The electrical connector 10 according to claim 3 wherein the disc locking projections 32 are profiled to have camming surfaces 32a at a disc receiving edge whereby the respective opposed locking projections 32 and the deflectable portions 39c are urged apart as the locking disc 40 is urged into the disc receiving area 33. 5. The electrical connector according to claim 4 wherein the base 20 is further characterized by at least one locking projection 21 extending from one of its side walls for receiving the at least one tab 42 of the disc body 40. 6. The electrical connector 10 according to claim 5 wherein the at least one locking projection 21 consists of a side wall 2la , a top wall 2 1 b extending from the side wall 21a and a stop wall 2 1 c extending from both the top wall 21b and side wall 2 1 a to form a tab receiving channel 2id. 7 . The electrical connector 10 according to claim 6 wherein the disc body 40 is rotatably securable to the base 20 by engagement of the tab 42 with the top wall 2 1 b of the locking projection 21 and simultaneous engagement of at least one embossment 4 3 disposed on the underside of the locking disk 40 with at least one closed position detent 31b disposed on the top surface of the cover 30. 8. The electrical connector 10 according to claim 3 wherein the locking disc 40 is securable in an open position on the cover body by the engagement of the at least one embossment 43 disposed on the underside of the locking disk with at least one open position detent 31a disposed on the top surface of the cover 20.

Inventors: HYLAND JAMES H, HYLAND, JAMES, H.
Applicants: WHITAKER CORP, THE WHITAKER CORPORATION
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H01R23
IPC codes: G06K7, G06K17, H01R12