ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR AN ELECTRONIC-MEMORY CARD OR SMART CARD

Abstract: The invention provides an electrical connector (50) for a smart card (C), of the type comprising a support (52) made of insulating material which defines a housing (58) accommodating a front portion of a card (C) which is inserted longitudinally (1) from the front forwards into the housing (58) and which, on its lower face (76), includes conducting pads which are arranged near the front transverse edge (66) of the card and which engage with the contact ens (102, 102') of electrical-contact elements (100, 100') arranged in the bottom (62) of the housing when the card is its contact position, characterized in that the electrical-contact elements have free connection ends (104, 104') which all extend longitudinally beyond a rear transverse face (84) of the support (52) beyond which face the main portion of the body of the card (C) extends rearwards in a cantilevered fashion.

Description: ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR FOR AN ELECTRONIC-MEMORY CARD OR SMART CARD The present invention relates to an electrical connector for a contact-type smart card of rectangular general shape. The invention relates more particularly to a connector of the type comprising a support made of insulating material which defines a housing open in its upper face, th is housing being bounded laterally by two parallel long itudinal edges and transversely by at least one front bottom edge and accommodating a front portion of a card which is inserted into the housing in a long itudinal d irection parallel to its plane and which , on its lower main face, includes conducting contact pads which are arranged near the front transverse edge of the card and which engage with the contact ends of electrical-contact elements arranged in the bottom of the housing of the support when the card is in its contact position in which its front transverse edge butts against the front transverse bottom edge of the housing , and of the type in which the electrical-contact elements are carried by the support. Such a n example of a n electrical con necto r, sold by the company ITT, is described and il lustrated in the French Patent App l ication F R-A-2 ,742 , 561 . That document provides a connector for connecting a standard ized card of the M ICROSI M type which is a small card . Thus, the greater long itudinal part forming the front portion of the card is accommodated in the housing of the con nector support, that is to say the lower face of the card extends virtually over the entire area opposite the bottom of the housing formed in the insulating support, on ly a small rear longitudinal portion of the card projecting out of the housing , especially in order to be able to make it easier to g rip it. Moreover, the connection ends of the contact elements extend in g roups long itudinally to the front and respectively to the rear of the insulating support, and beyond the front and rear transverse faces of the latter, in order to engage with cond ucting tracks of a printed-circuit board which accommodates the con nector. Finally, that document also proposes the arrangement of a metal cover which is mounted so as to slide on the support and which holds the card in the housing of the insulating support by virtue of its main upper plate-shaped part which extends above the upper face of the card when the latter is in place in the housing . The invention aims more particularly to provide a connector suitable for connecting another type of card , also standardized , which especially makes it possible to store a large amount of data in order thus to constitute a removable data med ium which is generally of small size but of high storage capacity. Several embod iments of such a type of memory card , also called a " flash" card , the d imensions of which are becoming smaller and the storage capacity of which is becoming greater, are known . This is especially the case with the so-called " MMC" (MultiMed iaCard) card sold by the company SANDISK, the d imensions of whose body containing the integrated circuits and the positioning of its conducting contact pads are specifically defined by its manufacturer and by an association of users so as to have a standardized-type definition of such a card . This defin ition forms the subject, for example, of the publication MultiMediaCard System Specification Version 1 .4 Official Release @ February 1998 MMCA. This type of MMC card is generally similar in its shape and in its proportions to a M ICROSI M card , especially in that it includes polarizing means for correctly and unambiguously positioning it in a connector and/or in a read/write device, which consist of a cut corner formed at one of the corners of the card , wh ich is generally rectangular in shape. On the other hand , the contact pads on the MMC card consist . of a series of adjacent cond ucting pads which are aligned transversely along the short front end transverse edge of the MMC card in which the polarizing cut corner is also formed . However, the overall dimensions of the M MC card , or of other cards of the same type, are larger than those of a M ICROS I M card and the design of a connector proposed in the above-mentioned French Patent Application is not perfectly suitable for this type of card insofar as it results in a very large overall size of the connector, this being a significant drawback insofar as the surface area occupied by the insulating support of the connector on the upper face of a printed-circuit board on which it is mounted is large, this surface area then being , of course, no longer available for mounting other electronic components on the printed-circuit board . The invention therefore aims to provide a novel design of electrical con nector of the above-mentioned type which is suitable for connecting a smart card , especially a card of MMC type, and which remedies the above-mentioned d rawbacks, especially those relating to the size of the connector. To this end, the invention provides a connector characterized in that the electrical-contact elements have free connection ends which all extend longitudinally beyond a rear transverse face of the insulating support, beyond which face the main portion of the body of the card extends rearwards in a cantilevered fashion . Thus, the overall dimensions of the connector are reduced and the surface area of the printed-circuit board which extends beneath the main portion of the body of the card arranged so as to be cantilevered from the connector may carry other electronic components. According to other characteristics of the invention : - the length of the front portion of the card accommodated in the housing bounded long itud inally by the said front transverse bottom edge and by the said rear transverse face of the support is less than the transverse width of the card ; - the length of the front portion of the card accommodated in the housing bounded longitudinally by the said front transverse bottom edge and by the said rear transverse face of the support is eq ual to approximately one third of the length of the card ; - the insulating support is extended longitudinally rearwards, beyond the said rear transverse face, by two opposed lateral extensions in which the rear parts of the parallel longitud inal edges of the housing are formed for guid ing the card laterally ; - all the conducting pads on the card are aligned transversely, especially along the front end transverse edge of the card and the contact ends are aligned transversely apart from at least one of these ends which is offset longitudinally rearwards so that, when the card is inserted longitudinally from the rear to the front into its housing , the corresponding cond ucting pad on the card comes into contact with this offset contact end before the other cond ucting pads on the card each come into contact with one of the transversely aligned contact ends ; - it includes a metal cover for holding the card in the housing which extends above the upper face of the card and which is bounded longitudinally by two transverse edges, namely a front transverse edge and a rear transverse edge, located long itudinally approximately in line with the said front transverse bottom edge of the housing and in line with the said rear transverse face of the insulating support, respectively, and the cover has tabs for fixing it, by soldering , to the upper face of a board which carries the con nector, especially on cond ucting tracks connected to the earth plane of a printed-circuit board ; — e cover is made in the form of an upper plate which extends above the upper face of the card and the parallel lateral edges of which are extended by two flanges bent over downwards for mounting the cover on the insulating support ; - the two mounting flanges form slideways allowing the cover to be mounted on the insulating support by sliding in the long itud inal direction ; - the metal cover includes integrally formed retractable means for providing longitud inal retention of the card in its housing , against the elastic return force which is applied to it by a spring for automatically ejecting the card , which means engage with at least one portion of the rear transverse edge of the card ; - one of the said lateral extensions extends approximately the entire length of a first lateral edge of the card , the said retention means engage with that part of the rear transverse edge of the card which is adjacent to the said first lateral edge and the ejection spring engages with a portion of the front transverse edge of the card adjacent to the second lateral edge of the card ; - the automatic ejection spring is made in the form of a metal blade prod uced integ rally with the metal cover ; - the front transverse edge of the card has a corner cut at approximately 45° and intended to engage with a corresponding surface inclined at 45° formed at one of the ends of the front transverse bottom edge of the housing in order to form polarizing means defining a correct position for the card in the housing of the connector ; - it includes a switch for detecting the presence of the card in the contact position in the housing ; - the switch is carried by the insulating support and includes an actuator for tripping it, with which a portion of the front transverse edge of the card engages ; -t,he actuator is placed close to the said inclined surface and the said portion of the front transverse edge of the card consists of the cut corner of the card ; - the switch is of the type normally closed in the absence of a card and comprises an elastically deformable switch blade which is integrally prod uced with the metal cover and which extends vertically and longitudinally from the upper plate of the latter into the housing with its free end which , in the absence of a card , is in elastic bearing contact against a contact end of one of the contact elements of the connector in order to establish a switching circuit between the free connection end of this contact element and an electrical earth plane to which the metal cover is connected ; - a switch tab of the cover extends horizontally below the lower face of the insulating support opposite the free contact end part of a contact element which is extended vertically downwards by a switch blade, especially in the form of a loop, in order to form a normally-open switching circuit which is closed upon insertion of the card which causes the contact end to bend elastically downwards in order to bring the loop into contact with a facing portion of the said switch tab of the cover ; - the upper plate of the cover has as many test holes as there are contact ends with offset test holes opposite the offset ends. The invention also provides a double connector for connecting two similar smart cards arranged so as to be parallel, one above the other, of the type comprising a lower connector, W l hich is made according to any one of the preceding claims and wl hich accommodates a lower card , and an upper connector wl hich lies on top of the lower connector and accommodates the upper card , the design of the upper con nector being generally similar to that of the lower connector except for its contact elements, which extend , from the contact ends, longitudinally forwards with their free connection ends which extend long itud inally forwards beyond the front end transverse face of the insulating support of the lower connector and then vertically downwards , at least as far as level with the lower face of the insu lating support of the lower connector. According to other characteristics of the double connector : - the two cards are alig ned longitudinally when they each occupy their contact position ; - it includes a single metal cover common to both connectors in order to hold them in the superposed position and for fixing the double connector by soldering ; - the upper connector includes a switch of the normally- closed type and the lower connector includes a switch of the normally-open type, the two switches having a common point connected to an earth plane via the common cover. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear upon reading the detailed description which follows, for the comprehension of which reference will be made to the appended drawings in which : - Fig ure 1 is a top and three-quarter rear perspective view which illustrates a connector according to the invention , shown in the position mounted on a printed-circuit board and in association with an MMC-type card in the approach position for the purpose of inserting it into the connector ; - Figure 2 is a top view of the connector in Fig ure 1 , in which the card is illustrated in the inserted connection position in the connector ; - Fig ure 3 is a top view similar to that in Fig ure 2, in which the connector is illustrated without a card ; - Fig ure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view on the line 4-4 in Fig ure 3 ; - Fig ure 5 is a side view in the direction of the arrow F5 in Figure 3 ; - Figure 6 is a longitud inal end view in the d irection of the arrow F6 in Figure 3 , with a detailed part illustrated in cross section on the line 6-6 in Figure 4 ; - Figure 7 is a perspective view on a larger scale of the connector illustrated in Fig ure 1 , includ ing modifications making it easier to fit its metal cover ; - Figure 8 is a top view which illustrates only the metal cover of the connector ; - Fig ure 9 is a bottom view of the cover of the connector ; - Figure 1 0 is an end view in the direction of the arrow F 10 in Fig ure 8 ; - Fig ure 1 1 is a top and three-quarter rear perspective view which illustrates a first variant of the connector according to the invention , comprising retractable means for retaining the card in the connection position in the connector opposing an ejection force applied to the card by an ejection spring , the card being shown in Figure 1 1 in this position in its housing in the connector - Figure 12 is a view similar to that in Figure 1 1 , in which the card is illustrated in a position in which it is partially ejected from the connector ; - Fig ure 1 3 is a view similar to that in Figure 12, which shows the connector without a card ; - Fig ure 14 is a view similar to that in Fig ure 1 3, which shows the connector without its metal cover ; - Fig ure 15 is a top and three-q uarter rear perspective view which illustrates a variant of the connector illustrated in Fig ure 12 which differs from it due to the desig n of the spring for automatically ejecting the card ; - Fig ures 16 and 17 are views similar to those in Fig ures 3 and 6 , which illustrate another variant of a connector accord ing to the invention with regard to a first embod iment of a switch for detecting the presence of a card in the contact position ; - Figures 1 8 to 20 are views similar to those in Figures 3, 4 and 6 , which illustrate another variant of a connector according to the invention , comprising another embod iment of a switch for detecting the presence of a card in the contact position ; - Figures 21 and 22 are views similar to those in Figures 1 8 and 20 , which also illustrate another variant of a connector according to the invention comprising another embodiment of a switch for detecting the presence of a card in the contact position - Figures 23A, 23B and 23C are three similar views, in longitudinal section on the line 23-23 in Fig ure 21 , which illustrate th ree successive longitudinal insertion positions of the card in its housing ; - Fig ure 24 is a view on a larger scale of the detail D24 in Fig ure 21 , with partial cut-away of the corresponding portion of the cover of the connector ; - Fig ure 25 is a top and three-q uarter front perspective view which illustrates a double connector made according to the teachings of the invention with its two cards, namely the lower and upper cards , in the contact position , the connector being shown mounted on the upper face of a printed-circuit board ; - Figure 26 is a view similar to that in Figure 25, in which the con nector is illustrated in its metal cover ; - Fig ure 27 is a view similar to that in Fig ure 26 , in which the connector is illustrated without an upper card ; - Fig u re 28 is a view similar to that in Fig ure 27 , in which the connector is illustrated without a lower card ; - Fig ure 29 is a top and three-q uarter front perspective view of the connector shown in Figure 28 ; - Fig ures 30 to 33 are views similar to those in Figures 3 to 6, which relate to the double connector illustrated in Fig ure 25 but shown without any card ; - Fig ure 34 is a top and three-q uarter rear perspective view which shows the lower con nector of the double connector in Fig u re 25 ; - Figure 35 is a top and three-quarter rear perspective view which shows the upper connector of the double connector in Fig ure 25 ; - Fig ure 36 is a three-quarter front perspective view of the upper connector in Fig ure 35 ; - Figure 37 is a bottom and three-q uarter rear perspective view of the upper connector in Figure 35 ; - Figure 38 is a top and three-q uarter rear perspective view of the cover of the double connector in Figure 25 ; - Figure 39 is a top and three-quarter rear perspective view which illustrates a double connector according to the invention of the type illustrated in Figure 25 , but having a mod ified cover incorporating a switch blade for detecting the presence of the upper card ; - Fig ure 40 is a bottom and three-quarter rear perspective view illustrating the cover of the double connector illustrated in Figure 25 and showing a modification of its lower part in order to form a switch for detecting the presence of the lower card in the connector ; and - Fig u re 41 is a diagrammatic representation of the lower face of an MMC-type card . I n the description which follows, identical , similar or analogous components will be denoted by the same reference numbers. Fig ure 1 shows an electrical connector 50 made accord ing to the teachings of the invention , which connector is illustrated in the position mounted in and fixed to the upper face 52 of a board P which carries the connector 50 and which is, for example, a printed-circuit board whose upper face 52 has cond ucting tracks, not shown in detail in the figures. The connector 50 essentially consists of a generally plate- shaped insu lating support 52 made of plastic and of a metal cover or lid 54 which especially extends above the plane and horizontal upper face 56 of the insulating support 52 in which is formed a card housing 58 which is open vertically upwards opposite the upper plate-shaped main part 60 of the cover 54. The housi ng 58 is bou nded vertically d ownwards by a horizontal lower bottom wall 62 and it is open longitudinally rearwards in order to present a slot for the long itud inal insertion of the front portion of an electronic-memory card C which , for example, is an MMC-type card . The card C, of known desig n , has a rectangular general shape bounded longitudinally by a front end transverse edge 66 , by a rear end transverse edge 68 and by two parallel and opposed lateral edges 70 and 72. The front corner corresponding to the intersection of the edges 66 and 70 is a standardized 45° cut corner 64 for polarizing the position and orientation of the card C. Moreover, the card C has a horizontal free upper face 74 and an opposed and parallel lower face 76 wh ich is oriented downwards in the direction of the printed-circuit board and which has (see Fig ure 41 ), near its front end transverse edge 66, a series of seven conducting contact pads 77 and 77' which are all alig ned^t/ansversely and which are adjacent to the front end transverse edge 66. According to one aspect of the invention , the contact pads 77 and 77' are oriented downwards in the d irection of the printed-circuit board P. The card C is thus able to be inserted , in the d irection I ind icated in Figure 1 , from the rear to the front into the housing 58 u ntil its front transverse edge 66 butts against a front transverse bottom edge 78 by which the housing 58 is bounded at the front. The opposed lateral edges 70 and 72 of the card C are slid ing ly g uided in the housing 58 by parallel and opposed long itud inal edges 80 and 82 respectively (see Figure 14) by which the housing 58 is bounded transversely. As may be seen in the figures, the housing 58 proper, in wh ich the front portion of the card C is accommodated , is bounded transversely at the front by the front transverse bottom edge 78 and transversely at the rear by a rear end transverse face 84 of the insulating support 52. Moreover, the insulating support 52 is bounded transversely at the front by a front transverse face 86. I n order to improve the lateral sliding guidance of the card C as it is being inserted into or extracted from the housing 58 , the body of the insulating support 52 has two opposed long itud inal extensions 88 and 90 which extend longitud inally rearwards beyond the rear transverse face 84 in order to increase the length of the longitudinal guiding edges 80 and 82. The extensions 88 and 90 also have horizontal parts 92 and 94 which extend the plane of the bottom 92 with an insertion chamfer 96. I n order to fulfil the function of polarizing the position and orientation of the card C , the corner of the housing 58 corresponding to the intersection of the front transverse bottom edge 78 with the long itudinal edge 80 has a vertical face 98 inclined at 45° which is complementary to the shape and to the size of the cut corner 64 as may be seen in Fig u re 2 , when the card C is inserted into the correct position . According to a known technique in the field of connectors for connecting printed-circuit boards, the insulating support 52 carries a series of electrical-contact elements 1 00 which are made in the form of elastically deformable blades, a free contact end 102 of which projects vertically above the plane of the bottom 62 in order to engage with the conducting pads on the lower face 76 of the card C. I n the example illustrated in the figures, there are seven elastic contact blades 100, this being equal to the number of contact blades 77 and 77' , five of these blades 1 00 being aligned transversely near the front transverse bottom edge 78 of the housing 58 whereas the other two blades 100' are offset longitudinally rearwards so that their two contact ends 102' are offset longitudinally rearwards. The purpose of this offset is to comply with a req uirement pertaining to the standardization of the method of connection to the M MC card , which req uires two special contact pads 77' to be con nected to a power supply before the other pads are connected . For this purpose, the two contact ends 1 02' are offset long itudinally rearwards with respect to the contact ends 102 of the other five contact elements 100 and in the same way their associated connection ends 104' are offset long itud inally rearwards with respect to the other five connection ends 104. All the contact blades 100 and 1 00' are identical and each has a rear free con nection end 1 04 , 1 04' wh ich terminates approximately in line with the rear transverse face 84, each end 1 04 , 104j being desig ned here in the form of a lead to be soldered onto the surface of the upper face 51 of the printed- circu it board P . Because of the rearward long itudinal offset of two elastic blades 100' , the insulating support has a corresponding extension 1 06 which extends longitudinally rearwards slightly beyond the vertical plane corresponding to the rear transverse face 84. The length of the aligned contact pads 77 and 77' is such that it makes it possible to obtain a reliable electrical connection to all the pads when the card is in the butted contact position , despite the slight offset of the ends 1 02' . As may be seen especially with regard to Figures 3 and 4, the total length L 1 of the housing 58 which accommodates the front portion of the card C is marked ly less than the transverse width L2 of the housing 58 which itself is approximately equal to the transverse width of the card C. Moreover, the transverse length L1 bounded by the front transverse bottom edge 78 and the rear transverse face 84 here is substantially equal to about 1 /3 of the total length L3 of the card C . Thus, as may be seen more particularly in Fig ure 2, it is the approximately two thirds of the card C which extend longitud inally rearwards out of the housing 58 so as to be cantilevered above the facing portion of the upper face 51 of the board P. As may also be seen in Figures 3 and 4, the length of the upper plate 60 of the cover 54, bounded by its front transverse edge 1 08 and its rear transverse edge 1 10 , is also approximately eq ual to the length L1 of the housing 58, that is to say its edges 108 and 1 10 extend approximately in line with the front transverse bottom edge 78 and with the rear transverse face 84 of the insu lting support 52. By virtue of this dimensioning of the cover 54, the connection ends 1 04 and 1 04' are completely clear (see Fig ure 2) and visible in order to facilitate the infrared soldering operations and to allow a visual inspection of the soldered joints as well as a possible subseq uent repair, by manual intervention . Moreover, the lateral extensions 88 and 90 protect all the output leads 1 04 and 1 04' during manufacture and transportation of the connectors. As may be seen especially in Figure 4, the free connection ends 1 04 and 1 04' lie substantially in the plane of the lower plane face 57 of the insulating support 52. According to a general design known , for example, from the above-mentioned French patent application , the metal cover 54 has, in order to mount it on the insulating support 52, two parallel and opposed lateral flanges 120 and 122 which extend vertically downwards along corresponding portions 1 1 6 and 1 1 8 of the vertical external longitudinal faces of the insulating support 52 (see Figure 14, for example) . The flanges 120 and 122 are shaped so as to form slideways , that is to say they are extended horizontally beneath the insulating support 52 by inwardly-bent horizontal branches 124 and 126 which are accommodated in correspond ing housings formed in the lower face 57 of the insu lating support 52 so as not to extend beyond the plane of this face. According to one characteristic of the invention , the cover 54 has, near its front transverse edge 1 08, two lower horizontal tabs 1 32 and 1 34 which extend from the flanges 120 and 122 in order to be accommodated in recesses 1 36 in the lower face 57 so that the tabs 132 , 1 34 can be soldered , for example by reflow solderirjg, to the corresponding conducting tracks on the printed- circuit board P (these not being shown) which are preferably con nected to the earth plane of the electrical circuit of the printed-circuit board so as to electrically connect the metal cover 54 to this earth plane. Mechanically fastening , by soldering , the cover 54 by means of its soldering tabs allows the con nector 50 to be mechanically held in place at its front part, without requiring the use of any add itional piece or component. I n addition , this fastening of the front part balances the fastening of the rear part, provided by the soldering of the output leads 1 04 , 1 04' . The gap between the cover 54 and the insulating support 52 makes it possible to achieve automatic centring position ing when the connector is put into place in order to solder it with its front part having the soldering tabs which always come into contact. I n add ition , the cover 54 compensates for the forces involved if a user attempts to lift the card C wh ich then bears against the plate of the cover 54 which is soldered to the board P , no force being transferred to the support 52 or to the output leads 104 and 1 04' . I n the variant illustrated in Fig ures 12 to 14 , the connector 50 includes a first embodiment of means for automatically ejecting the card C which has, according to a design known especially from French Patent Application No. 98/06852, to the content of which reference may be made in order to understand the embodiment details thereof, an ejection spring 140 which here is a helical compression spring mounted in a semi- cyl indrical housing 142 open to the top and formed in the bottom 62 of the housing 58 and partly in a rear longitudinal extension 144 of the insulating support which is arranged laterally in the extension of the rear longitud inal extension 90 in line with the lateral side 72 of the card C. The automatic ejection means also include a retractable retention lip or tab 146 which , in the inserted position of the card illustrated in Fig ure 1 1 and against the force which is applied by the spring 140 to the front transverse edge 66 of the card C , provides long itudinal retention of the latter inside the housing 58. If the retention tab 146 is retracted , as illustrated in Figure 12 , the compressed spring 140 relaxes and causes total or partial ejection of the card C out of the housing 58. I n order to allow the arrangement of the retention tab 146, the rearward longitudinal extension 88 of the insulating support 52 , which lies on the opposite side to the extensions 90 and 144 that are adjacent to the point of action of the spring 140 on the front transverse edge 66 of the card C, extends substantially over the entire length of the lateral edge 70 of the card C , as may be seen in Figure 1 1 . Th us, the action of the spring 140, which tends to make the card C pivot in a swing ing motion in its plane about a vertical axis , is counteracted by the very long internal longitudinal g uid ing edge 80 which extends over the entire length of the rearward ly elongate longitudinal extension 88. The variant illustrated in Fig ure 1 5 d iffers from the previous one only by the desig n of the ejection spring 140, which here is an elastically deformable blade made as one piece with the metal cover 54 by cutting and bend ing . By virtue of this design , if it is compared with the previous one, the length of the insulating support 52 at the front is not extended beyond its front transverse face 86 , that is to say there is no excrescence of the type of that 144 which partly accommodates the coil spring 140. I n the variant shown in Figures 16 and 17, a connector 50 of the type illustrated in Figures 1 to 1 0 has been shown , that is to say without means for automatically ejecting the card C, but including a switch 1 50 for detecting the presence of a card C in the fully inserted position in the housing 58. I n this first example of the arrangement of a switch 150 , the latter is of a known general design and is a component attached to the insulating support, comprising an actuator in the form of a pedal 152 for tripping it. When the front transverse edge of the card C engages with the pedal 152 , it causes the switch 1 50 to trip . I n order to ensure that the switching signal is tripped as late as possible during the insertion movement of the card C, the actuator in the form of a pedal 152 is advantageously arranged close to the 45° inclined vertical face 98 for polarizing the card , that is to say it is the cut corner 64 of the card which engages with the pedal 1 52 at the very end of the insertion travel of the card C . The switch 1 50 has two output or connection leads 1 54 which extend long itudinally forwards in order to be connected to corresponding cond ucting tracks on the printed-circuit board P. The switch for detecting the presence of the card C, the desig n of which is illustrated in Figures 18 to 20 , is of another type, that is to say it consists essentially of an eig hth contact blade or element 100" and of a switch blade 160 made integrally with the upper plate 60 of the cover 54. As may be seen in Figures 18 to 20 , the switch blade 160 extends longitud inally forwards and vertically downwards inside the housing 58 so as to present an inclined ramp profile 162 with which the front transverse edge of the card C , and more particu larly its cut corner 64, is able to engage insofar as the lower free end 166 of the switch blade 160 engages with the electrical contact 1 00" , 1 02" which is located in line with the inclined polarizing face 98. I n its rest state illustrated in Fig ures 1 9 to 20, that is to say in the absence of a card C , the end 166 bears elastically against the contact end 1 02" of the contact element 100" which itself is slightly bent vertically downwards. As soon as the card C acts via its cut corner 64 simultaneously on the switch blade 160 and on the contact end 1 02" , the switching circuit opens, that is to say the blade 1 00" is no longer connected to the earth plane of the circuit via the switch blade 160 integrated into the metal cover 54. As may be seen in Figure 18 , in a top view, the switch blade 160 has an S-shaped sharply-angled profile so as to use a contact 1 00" which is similar to the other contact elements 100 and is placed transversely with the same spacing , this solution also having the advantage of placing the point at which the switch trips close to the vertical inclined face 98 in order to act at the last moment of the insertion travel of the card via the cut corner 64 of the latter. This arrangement makes it possible to g uarantee that, d uring insertion of the card C , the switch is on ly actuated at the end of insertion travel, that is to say after the contacts between the contact ends 1 02 and 102' and the pads 77 and 77' have been established , the switch thus acting as a means of detecting the end of insertion travel of the card into the connector. This same seq uence occurs in the reverse order when removing the card C from the connector 50. Although the switch described above with reference to Fig ures 1 8 to 20 was of the type normally closed - in the absence of a card - the switch whose design is illustrated in Figures 21 to 24 is of the type normally open , that is to say, in the absence of a card , the switching circuit is broken . The switch 150 illustrated in Figures 21 to 24 also makes use of a contact blade 100" which occupies the same position with respect to the other contacts as that mentioned above, but the free contact end 102" of which is shaped in the form of a loop , that is to say it is extended inside vertically downwards by a switch blade 170 which , when the switch is open , in the absence of the card C , is extended by its lower end 172 opposite the upper face 174 of a switch tab 175 of the metal cover 54 which , for this purpose extends transversely inwards beneath the switch blade 170. The operating cycle for closing the switch 150 is illustrated in Fig ures 23A to 23C which show that the front transverse edge of the card C , i.e. more specifically the cut corner 164, acts on the end 1 02" of the blade 100" so as to bend it elastically downwards and to bring the lower end 172 of the loop which comprises the switch blade 170 into contact with the switch tab 175 which is con nected to the earth plane of the printed circuit throug h the cover 54 which itself is connected to the earth plane by soldering . The shape of the loop forming the switch blade 170 is such that a self-cleaning effect is produced d uring the closing cycle by the lower end 172 engaging with the upper face 174 of the tab 132. I n this desig n , if it is compared with the previous one illustrated in Fig ures 1 8 to 20, all the elastically deformable contact elements used as signal contacts or for producing the switch act everywhere only on the lower face 76 of the card C which bears vertically upwards against the facing internal face of the upper plate 60 of the cover 54. As may be seen especially in Fig ure 2 , the upper plate 60 of the cover 54 has a series of holes 61 and 61 ' which , since the contact ends 1 02 and 102' face upwards, make it possible to test the equipment after the components and con nectors have been soldered , by connecting d irectly to the ends which are accessible in the absence of a card C. The forwardly offset test holes 61 ' are arranged in such a way that the reg ion separating them from the rear transverse edge 1 10 allows the connector to be picked up, in pick-and-place technology, appreciably more in line with the centre of gravity of the connector. The double con nector 500 illustrated in Fig ures 25 to 40 will now be described , in which figures the same references have been used as previously for the two connectors, namely the lower con nector 50i and the upper connector 50s by g iving them the suffixes " i" and " s" respectively. Thus, as may be seen in the figures, the double connector 500 essentially consists of the superposition on a lower connector 50i , which is everywhere identical to the single connector 50 described above, of an upper connector 50s whose desig n is similar but has certain mod ifications intended to allow its superposition and the electrical connection of the blade- shaped contact elements 100i and 1 00i' . As may be seen in Figu re 25 et seq . , the upper connector 50s rests with its plane lower face 57s on the upper face 56 i of the lower connector 50 i . I n order to allow correct relative position ing of the upper connector 50s on the lower connector 50i , the upper face 56 i of the latter has a hole 1 80i which accommodates a complementary stud 1 82s which extends vertically from the lower face 57s of the upper connector 50s . The means for the relative positioning of the two connectors are completed by two lateral tabs 184s and 1 86s which extend vertically downwards beneath the lower face 57s of the upper connector 50s in order to be accommodated in complementary notches 1 88i and 1 90i formed in the lateral faces 1 1 8i and 1 16i of the lower connector 50i. Thus , the position of the upper connector 50s with respect to the lower connector 50i is precisely defined , both longitudinally and transversely. As may be seen in Figure 37, the lower face 57s of the upper connector 50s is plane and smooth in order to form the upper face of the lower housing 58i in which the lower card Ci is accommodated . I n order to fasten the two connectors together so as to form a unitary double connector 500 and subseq uently to be fixed to the board P by soldering , the double connector 500 has a sing le common metal cover 54 whose design is generally identical to that of the cover 54 described above except for its lateral flanges 108 and 1 10 whose height is greater so as to extend vertically along the superposed lateral walls of the two connectors 50 i and 50s. As may be seen in Fig ure 26 , the upper face 74s of the upper card Cs is more or less flush with the plane of the upper face 56s of the upper connector 50s and it is the internal face of the upper plate 60 of the cover 54 which extends above the upper card Cs in order to define the housing 58s in the upward vertical d irection . As may be seen in Fig ure 31 , the relative positioning of the two connectors is such that the two cards are alig ned long itud inally. For this purpose, the transverse bottom edges 78i and 78s are aligned longitudinally. I n order to allow electrical connection , the contact blades 100s and 100' s of the upper connector generally extend long itud inally forwards in the insulating support 52s. From the free contact ends 102s and 102' s they extend long itudinally forwards in the direction of the front transverse wall 86s of the i nsulating support 52s and are then bent through a right angle so as to form tall vertical sections 192s and 1 92' s which extend until they are level with the horizontal plane of the lower face 57i of the lower con nector 50 i in order for their free connection ends 104s and 104' s to lie in the same plane as the connection ends 1 04 i and 1 04' i of the lower connector 50i. Because of the similar design of the two con nectors of the double connector 500, and as may be seen especially in Fig ure 33 , the free contact ends of the two connectors are alig ned vertically. Referring to Figure 30 and comparing it with Fig ure 3 , it may be seen that the longitudinal d imension of the double connector 500 is only slightly increased compared with a sing le con nector 50 and that the transverse dimension is maintained . As may be seen in Figures 39 and 40, it is possible to provide two switches for detecting the presence of each of the cards Ci and Cs in the double connector 500. Advantageously, in order to avoid having to use two i ndependent switches produced in the form of added components, it is proposed to make the lower switch in the form of the normally-open-type switch described with reference to Fig ures 21 to 24 while the upper switch is made in the form of the normally-closed-type switch described previously with reference to Figures 1 8 to 20. The cover 54 is then modified in the manner illustrated in Fig ures 39 and 40 in order to incorporate, on the one hand , the upper switch blade 160s and the extended tab 175i intended to engage with the lower switch blade (not shown in the figures). Thus, it will be noted that the two switches have a common point corresponding to the common earth to which the metal cover 54 is connected . The desig n of the lower connector is such that it forms a standard component, except of course for the cover 54, in order to prod uce single connectors or lower connectors for superposed multiple connectors. As may be seen in Figure 31 , it is possible to use tall components under the front part of the upper connector 50s which projects transversely forwards, between the rear transverse wall 86 i of the lower connector and the connection leads 1 04s and 1 04s' , the " wasted" area on the printed-circuit board th us being red uced to the minimum. If it is desired to make it easier to grip each card , the upper connector may be offset further forwards. By way of a variant that is not shown , it is of course possible to superpose a third connector, offsetting it slightly forwards with respect to the connector immediately below.

Claims: CLAIMS 1 . Electrical connector (50) for a contact-type smart card (C) of rectangular general shape, of the type comprising a support (52) made of insulating material which defines a housing (58) open in its upper face (56) , this housing being bounded laterally by two parallel long itudinal edges (80, 82) and transversely by at least one front bottom edge (78) and accommodating a front portion of a card (C) which is inserted longitud inally (I) from the front forwards into the housing (58) in a direction parallel to the general plane of the card and which , on its lower main face (76) includes cond ucting pads which are arranged near the front transverse edge (66) of the card and which engage with the contact ends (102, 1 02' ) of electrical- contact elements (100, 100' ) arranged in the bottom (62) of the housing of the support (52) when the card is in its contact position in which its front transverse edge (64 , 66) butts against the front transverse bottom edge (78) of the housing , and of the type in which the electrical-contact elements are carried by the support, characterized in that the electrical-contact elements have free connection ends ( 104, 104' ) which all extend long itudinally beyond a rear transverse face (84) of the support (52) , beyond which face the main portion of the body of the card (C) extends rearwards in a cantilevered fashion. 2. Connector accord ing to the preceding claim, characterized in that the length of the front portion of the card (C) accommodated in the housing (58) bounded longitudinally (L1 ) by the said front transverse bottom edge (78) and by the said rear transverse face (84) of the support is less than the transverse width (L2) of the card (C). 3. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the length of the front portion of the card (C) accommodated in the housing (58) bounded longitudinally (L1 ) by the said front transverse bottom edge (78) and by the said rear transverse face (84) of the support (52) is equal to approximately one third of the length (L3) of the card (C) . 4. Con nector accord ing to any one of the preced ing claims , ..characterized in that the insulating support (52) is extended longitudinally rearwards, beyond the said rear transverse face (84) , by two opposed lateral extensions (88, 90) in wh ich the rear parts of the parallel long itudina l edges (80, 82) of the housing (58) are formed for guid ing the card (C , 70, 72) laterally. 5. Connector accord ing to any one of the preced ing claims, characterized in that all the conducting pads on the card (C) are aligned transversely, especially along the front end transverse edge (66) of the card (C) and in that the contact ends ( 1 02) are alig ned transversely apart from at least one ( 1 02' ) of these ends which is offset longitudinally rearwards so that, when the card (C) is inserted longitudinally from the rear to the front into its housing (58) , the corresponding cond ucting pad on the card comes into contact with this offset contact end ( 102' ) before the other cond ucting pads on the card each come into contact with one of the transversely alig ned contact ends ( 1 02). 6. Connector according to any one of the preced ing claims , characterized in that it includes a metal cover (54) for hold ing the card (C) in the housing (58) which extends above the upper face (74) of the card and which is bounded longitudinally by two transverse edges, namely a front transverse edge ( 1 08) and a rear transverse edge ( 1 1 0) , located longitudinally approximately in line with the said front transverse bottom edge (78) of the housing (58) and in line with the said rear transverse face (84) of the insulating support (52), respectively, and in that the cover (54) has tabs ( 132, 1 34) for fixing it, by soldering , to the upper face (51 ) of a board (P) which carries the con nector (50) , especially on conducting tracks connected to the earth plane of a printed-circuit board . 7. Connector according to the preced ing claim, characterized in that the cover (54) is made in the form of an upper plate (60) which extends above the upper face (74) of the card (C) and the parallel lateral edges of which are extended by two flanges (120, 122) bent over downwards for mounting the cover (54) on the insulating support (52). 8. Connector according to the preceding claim , characterized in that the two mounting flanges ( 120 , 122) form slideways allowing the cover (54) to be mounted on the insulating support by sliding in the longitudinal direction (I) . 9. Connector according to any one of Claims 4 to 8, characterized in that the metal cover (54) includes integrally formed retractable means ( 146) for providing longitudinal retention of the card (C) in its housing (58) , against the elastic return force which is applied to it by a spring ( 140) for automatically ejecting the card (C) , which means engage with at least one portion of the rear transverse edge of the card (C) . 1 0. Connector according to the preced ing claim , taken in combination with Claim 4, characterized in that one (88) of the said lateral extensions (88 , 90) extends approximately the entire length of a first lateral edge (70) of the card (C) , in that the said retention means (146) engage with that part of the rear transverse edge (68) of the card (C) which is adjacent to the said first lateral edge (70) and in that the ejection spring ( 140) engages with a portion of the front transverse edge (66) of the card adjacent to the second lateral edge (72) of the card . 1 1 . Connector according to either of Claims 9 and 1 0 , characterized in that the automatic ejection spring (140) is made in the form of a metal blade produced integrally with the metal cover (54) . 12. Connector according to any one of the preced ing claims, characterized in that the front transverse edge (66) of the card has a corner (64) cut at approximately 45° and intended to engage with a corresponding surface (98) inclined at 45° formed at one of the ends of the front transverse bottom edge (78) of the housing (58) in order to form polarizing means defining a correct position for the card (C) in the housing (58) of the connector (50) . 1 3. Connector according to any one of the preceding claims , characterized in that it includes a switch ( 150) for detecting the presence of the card (C) in the contact position in the housing (58). 14. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the switch (150) is carried by the insulating support (52) and includes an actuator (152) for tripping it, with which a portion (64) of the front transverse edge (66) of the card (C) engages. 1 5. Connector according to the preceding claim taken in combination with Claim 12, characterized in that the actuator ( 1 52) is placed close to the said inclined surface (98) and in that the said portion of the front transverse edge (66) of the card consists of the cut corner (64) of the card . 16. Connector according to Claim 1 3 taken in combination with Claim 7, characterized in that the switch is of the type normally closed in the absence of a card and comprises an elastically deformable switch blade ( 160) which is integrally prod uced with the metal cover (54) and which extends vertically and longitudinally from the upper plate (60) of the latter into the housing (58) with its free end ( 166) which, in the absence of a card (C) , is in elastic bearing contact against a contact end (102") of one of the contact elements (100") of the connector (50) in order to establish a switching circuit between the free connection end (104") of this contact element and an electrical earth plane to which the metal cover (54) is connected. 17. Connector according to Claim 13 taken in combination with Clajm 6, characterized in that a switch tab (175) of the cover (54) extends horizontally below the lower face (57) of the insulating support (52) opposite the free contact end part of a contact element (100") which is extended vertically downwards by a switch blade (170), especially in the form of a loop, in order to form a normally-open switching circuit which is closed upon insertion of the card (C) which causes the contact end (102", 170) to bend elastically downwards in order to bring the loop into contact with a facing portion (134) of the said switch tab (175) of the cover. 18. Double connector for connecting two similar smart cards (Ci, Cs) arranged so as to be parallel, one above the other, of the type comprising a lower connector (50i), which is made according to any one of the preceding claims and which accommodates a lower card (Ci), and an upper connector (50s) which lies on top of the lower connector (50i) and accommodates the upper card (Cs), the design of the upper connector (50s) being generally similar to that of the lower connector (50i) except for the orientation of its contact elements (100s, 100's) which extend, from the contact ends (102s, 102's), longitudinally forwards with their free connection ends (104s, 104's) which extend longitudinally forwards beyond the front end transverse face (86 i) of the insulating support (52 i) of the lower connector (50i) and then vertically downwards, at least as far as level with the lower face (57i) of the insulating support (52 i) of the lower connector (50i). 19. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the two cards (Ci, Cs) are aligned longitudinally when they each occupy their contact position. 20. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it includes a single metal cover (54) common,to both connectors (50 i , 50s) in order to hold them in the superposed position and for fastening the double connector (500) by soldering. 21. Connector according to the preceding claim, taken in combination with Claims 16 and 17, characterized in that the upper connector (50s) includes a switch of the normally-closed type and in that the lower connector (50 i) includes a switch of the normally-open type, the two switches having a common point connected to an earth plane via the common cover (54). 22. Connector according to Claim 6 taken in combination with Claim 5, characterized in that the upper plate (22) of the cover (54) has as many test holes (61, 61') as there are contact ends (102, 102'), with test holes (61') offset with respect to the offset ends (102').

Inventors: BRICAUD HERVE, PIZARD YVES, BRICAUD, HERVE, PIZARD, YVES
Applicants: BRICAUD HERVE, ITT MFG ENTERPRISES INC, PIZARD YVES, BRICAUD, HERVE, ITT MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES, INC., PIZARD, YVES
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G06K7
IPC codes: G06K7, G06K17, H01R13, H01R24