Abstract:
A dongle is formed by a module having an integrated circuit chip which is connected to contact pads which are flush with the surface of the module. The dongle is intended to be connected to a port of a telecommunications device, having electric connecting pins. The contact pads correspond to the electric connecting pins in such a way that the pads can be directly connected to the pins.

Description:
This disclosure is based upon French Application No. 01/12276, filed Sep. 24, 2001, and International Application No. PCT/FR02/03247, filed on Sep. 24, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention concerns a dongle comprising a module comprising an integrated circuit chip connected to contact areas flush with the surface of the, said module, intended to be connected to a port of a telecommunication device. 
     The invention also relates to a method of manufacturing the said dongle. 
     The field of the invention is that of the protection of data, access to the Internet, identification, electronic commerce, on-line payment, etc, by means of a dongle of the USB (from the name of the standard “Universal Serial Bus” in English) type connected to a USB-type port of a telecommunication device such as a computer or mobile telephone; the field of application is the same as that of the chip card. 
     The user of a USB dongle can connect it to a personal computer, disconnect it therefrom when for example the use of the dongle is no longer necessary to the application which he has launched and then put it on his key ring in order to connect it subsequently. 
     The dimensions and electrical characteristics of the USB port and consequently those of the part of the dongle which is inserted in the port are standard. 
     However, several types of dongle exist at the present time. 
     Amongst these, the dongle described in the patent application WO 00/70533 under the name portable reader can be cited. 
     This portable reader  1  comprises, as indicated in  FIG. 1 , a part  2  for electrical connection to a port of a personal computer and an insertion part  4  of a removable electronic module  5 . The electrical connection part  2 , also depicted in  FIG. 2 , has a plastic support element  7  on the surface of which four parallel metallised lines forming a connector for an electrical connection of the reader  1  to the port fit flush. A first line  8  is intended for a Vbus current supply to the reader, second  9  and third  10  lines are intended for communicating digital data to the said reader  1  and a fourth line  11  is intended for earthing the reader  1 . 
     The insertion part  4 , more particularly shown in  FIG. 2 , has a connector  12 , insertion runners  26  for the module  5  and a protective shell  14  enclosed by a cap  15 . 
     The connector  12  is composed of a set of at least four connecting lugs  16 ,  17 ,  18  and  19  each electrically connected to one of the connection lines  8 ,  9 ,  10  and  11  of the connection part  2 , as depicted in  FIG. 3 . The other lugs  20 ,  21 ,  22  and  23  are connected or not for example to an ISO/USB protocol conversion element  24  and/or to a clock element  25 . 
     The module  5  obtained using a method of manufacturing a chip card  29  and depicted in  FIG. 1  is composed of a plastic module body  27  in which there is embedded an integrated circuit chip connected to contact areas  28  flush with the surface of the said module  5  and comprising at least four contact areas for supplying current to the chip, communicating digital data and earthing. 
     When the reader  1  is connected to the computer and the latter is powered up, this computer detects the presence of the reader  1  and data can be exchanged between the chip of the module  5  and the computer via the USB bus system, according to the application resident in the chip: protection of data, Internet access, identification, electronic commerce, on-line payment, etc. 
     The cost of manufacturing these dongles is high because in particular of the number of elements  2 ,  5 ,  12  to be manufactured, assembled and electrically connected. 
     The purpose of the present invention is therefore to propose a dongle which is less expensive to manufacture. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One object of the invention is a dongle comprising a module  5  comprising an integrated circuit chip connected by connection means to contact areas  28  flush with the surface of the said module, intended to be connected to a port of a telecommunication device, the said port comprising electrical connection lugs, principally characterised in that the said contact areas  28  correspond to the said electrical connection lugs so as to be able to be directly connected to these lugs. 
     The port may be of the USB type. 
     The module  5  preferably comprises a module body  27  with the thickness of a chip card  29 . 
     According to one characteristic of the invention, the dongle comprises a means for making all or part of its thickness, in particular at the level of the said contact areas  28 , equal to a thickness determined by the thickness of the port. 
     The module body  27  having longitudinal edges, the said means can be composed of the said longitudinal edges having a thickness equal to the said determined thickness. 
     The means can also be a lining, possibly made from resin, applied to all or part of one of the faces of the module  5 , opposite to that of the contact areas  28  and referred to as the bottom face, the lining and the module  5  then having together a thickness equal to the said determined thickness. 
     Preferentially, the dongle  1  and the module  5  form only a single element. 
     According to another characteristic of the invention, the means is an adaptor able to receive all or part of the said module  5 . 
     The adaptor advantageously comprises means of guiding and locking the said module  5  and possibly means of positioning the module  5  at a height corresponding to a height determined by the thickness of the port. 
     Another object of the invention is a method of manufacturing a dongle comprising a module comprising an integrated circuit chip connected by connection means to contact areas flush with the surface of the said module, intended to be connected to a port of a telecommunication device, the said port comprising electrical connection lugs, characterised in that the said module is manufactured using a chip-card manufacturing method and in that its contact areas correspond to the electrical connection lugs so as to be able to be directly connected to the said connection lugs. 
     According to one characteristic of the invention, the port is of the USB type. 
     The port having a given format, and the module also comprising a module body, the method may comprise the step consisting of cutting out the module body in a format compatible with that of the port. 
     According to another characteristic of the invention, the module having longitudinal edges, the method comprises the step consisting of bending or curving the longitudinal edges so that these edges have a thickness equal to a thickness determined by the thickness of the port or the step consisting of fitting in or thermoforming or overmoulding a groove on each of the said longitudinal edges so that the said edges have a thickness equal to a thickness determined by the thickness of the port. 
     According to another characteristic of the invention, the method comprises the step consisting of depositing material on all or part of a face of the said module opposite to that of the contact areas so that the module has in whole or in part a thickness equal to a thickness determined by the thickness of the port and the step consisting of inserting the said module in an adaptor intended itself to be inserted in the said port. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other particularities and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from a reading of the description given by way of non-limiting example and with regard to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1 and 2 , already described, depict schematically various elements of a portable reader according to the prior art, 
         FIG. 3 , already described, illustrates schematically various electrical connection lines within a portable reader according to the prior art, 
         FIG. 4  depicts schematically a personal computer comprising a USB port in which a dongle is inserted, 
         FIG. 5  illustrates schematically a chip card to the ISO format intended to become a dongle according to the invention, 
         FIG. 6  depicts schematically the contact areas of a module intended to be connected to a port of the USB type, 
         FIGS. 7   a ,  7   b  and  7   c  depict respectively a longitudinal section and a transverse section of a USB port and a longitudinal section of the port in which a dongle according to the invention is inserted, 
         FIGS. 8   a  and  8   b  depict schematically a dongle obtained according to a first embodiment of the invention, seen in perspective from above and below, 
         FIG. 9  depicts schematically a dongle obtained according to a second embodiment of the invention, seen in perspective from above, 
         FIGS. 10   a ,  10   b  and  10   c  depict schematically various steps of obtaining a dongle according to a third embodiment of the invention, seen in perspective from above. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the remainder of the description, the same references are used for designating the same elements as those in the figures already described. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a personal computer  100  comprising a USB port  3  in which a dongle  1  according to the invention is inserted. 
     The dongle  1  according to the invention integrates, in a single element, in this case the module  5 , the various elements constituting this dongle described in the prior art. 
     As depicted in  FIG. 5 , the module  5  is advantageously cut from a chip card  29  of the contact type to the ISO format for example, along a cut  53  reproducing for example the shape of a key, the contact areas  28  of the chip card  29  being present on the part  51  of the dongle intended to be inserted in the port  3 , the part  52  consisting of the body  27  of the card enabling the user of the dongle to manipulate it. 
     The module  5  is manufactured so that the contact areas  28  of the module  5  are disposed in a configuration corresponding to the electrical connection lugs of the port which is described below. Four contact areas corresponding to the connection lugs of a port of the USB type are depicted in  FIG. 6 : one VCC for the current supply, another GND for the earth, the other two D− and D+ for the communication of the data, in accordance with the USB standard. 
     These contact areas are then advantageously substituted for the four metallised lines  8 ,  9 ,  10  and  11  depicted in  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  and then make the connector  12  and the means of connecting this connector to the four metallised lines superfluous. 
     In addition, the current chip cards of the contact type such as ISO cards already have certain characteristics ensuring for them good resistance to attacks caused by frequent usage, such as for example that of a bank card. It is then no longer necessary to provide, for the dongle according to the invention, elements for protecting the module such as the elements  6 ,  14  and  15  depicted in  FIG. 1 . 
     The dongle  1  according to the invention is finally composed only of the module  5 . The method of manufacturing such a dongle  1  is then identical to the well-known method of manufacturing a chip card and has the advantage of eliminating the manufacture and assembly of the majority of the elements described in the prior art. 
     A port  3  of the USB type in which a dongle according to the invention is inserted is depicted in  FIG. 7   c . The port  3  without a dongle will first of all be described. 
     Such a port  3  is depicted in  FIG. 7   a  along a longitudinal section and  FIG. 7   b  along a transverse section. There can also be seen the connection lugs  32  fixed to a projecting connection part  31 , top  33   a  and bottom  33   b  locking blades intended to lock the dongle in the port  3  when it is inserted therein. This locking is of course not definitive since the dongle is removable. 
     When the dongle according to the invention is inserted in the port as depicted in  FIG. 7   c , the contact areas  28  of the module are in contact with the connection lugs  32  of the port and the exchanges between the computer and the chip of the module can then take place, via the USB port. The bottom locking blades  33   b  (not shown in  FIG. 7   c ) lock the dongle  1  in the inserted position; the top locking blades  33   a  are not used. 
     The majority of chip cards of the contact type manufactured at the present time, such as ISO cards, have a thickness of approximately 0.8 mm. The thickness of the dongle must be approximately 2 mm so that the contact areas  28  of the module can be in contact with the electrical connection lugs  32  of a port of the USB type when the dongle is inserted in the port, as depicted in  FIG. 7   c.    
     It is then necessary in this case to develop new specific ports of the USB type for dongles of this thickness or increase up to the desired thickness the thickness of the module or at the very least that of the part  51  which is intended to be inserted in the port. 
     Several methods can be envisaged. 
     As depicted in  FIGS. 8   a  and  8   b , a lining  511  can be applied to all or part of the bottom face of this part  51  of the module, that is to say the face opposite to the one where the contact areas  28  lie flush. This lining  511  can for example be obtained by the deposition of material, this material being able to be resin. 
     When the lining  511  is applied to all the bottom face of the part  51 , it preferably has openings  512  intended to receive the bottom locking blades  33   b  of the port. 
     However, as depicted in  FIG. 9 , this lining  511  may be applied for example only to the longitudinal edges  513  of this part  51 . The bottom locking blades  33   b  are then no longer used; the friction of the dongle  1  in the port  3  may suffice to lock the dongle  1  but any other locking means can be used. 
     The edges  513  of the module can also be curved at the part  51  by bending or curving in order to achieve the desired thickness. 
     A groove can also be added at the edges by embedding (adhesive bonding), thermoforming or overmoulding. 
     Another method consists of using an adaptor  514  depicted in  FIGS. 10   a ,  10   b  and  10   c , intended to receive the module  5  or at the very least the part  51  of the module and whose outside dimensions are compatible with the inside dimensions of the port: the adaptor can for example take the outside dimensions of the part  6  depicted in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     More precisely,  FIG. 10   a  shows the adaptor  514  in which the module  5  has not yet been inserted,  FIG. 10   b  the adaptor  514  in which the module  5  is in the course of being inserted and  FIG. 10   c  the adaptor  514  in which the module  5  is inserted. 
     The adaptor  514  comprises means  515  of guiding the module  5  or the part  51  of the module, consisting for example of ribs situated on the sides, and means (not shown) of locking the module  5  or the part  51 , in the inserted position in the adaptor, consisting for example of a stop disposed at the bottom of the connector. These locking means do not necessarily lock the module in the adaptor definitively; the module is preferably removable in order possibly to be replaced by another module. 
     It also comprises means  516  for raising the module  5  or the part  51  so that the contact areas  28  are in contact with the connection lugs  32  when the dongle  1  consisting of the adaptor plus module assembly is inserted in the port  3 : these means  516  can be ribs situated at the base of the connector  514  or on the sides and thus cooperate with the guidance means  515 . The guidance means  515  of the module then also ensure the positioning of the module at the correct height. 
     The ribs can be obtained by bending, pressing, punching etc. 
     The adaptor  514  can also comprise top and/or bottom openings  512  (not visible in these plan views) intended to receive the locking blades  33   a  and/or  33   b  when it is inserted in the port  3 . 
     This adaptor also provides additional protection for the module. 
     It may also provide additional protection for a module having the required thickness such as those depicted in  FIGS. 8   a  and  9 , then not requiring to be raised; in this case, the adaptor does not comprise any means  516  for raising the module. 
     In the chip card technology used by the invention, the devices with an integrated circuit chip or module according to the invention use, as starting components, components in accordance with all or part of ISO 7816 or the standard for SIM minicards or even the cards of the next generation. Thus, for example, according to the 7816 standard, the card body is a rectangular body having flat top and bottom faces and whose thickness is equal to 0.76 mm; the contact areas are at the same level as the top face of the card body. According to the standard the tolerance in level is for example 50 μm; the integrated circuit chip is situated vertically level with the contact areas to which it is electrically connected; it forms part of a micromodule which is then embedded in a cavity of a card body obtained generally by injection moulding or lamination. 
     The micromodule generally comprises a dielectric support film carrying on one side contact areas and on the other, vertically in line with the contact areas, the integrated circuit chip. A drop of protective resin generally coats the integrated circuit chip and its connections to the contact areas. The micromodule is fixed in the cavity in particular by adhesive bonding by means in particular of an adhesive film or drops of adhesive. The cavity receiving the micromodule is generally in two stages, one for receiving the dielectric and the contact areas, the other for receiving the integrated circuit chip. 
     To obtain the device of the invention, the body is then adapted to the format of the port envisaged to allow its insertion and electrical connection by direct physical contact of the contact areas with the port connectors. The adaptation can be made either via a shape adaptor or by creating linings on certain parts of the body, in particular on certain parts of the bottom face of the body, the linings can be formed in particular by deformation of the body or by adding material to certain parts of the body. 
     The device of the invention therefore preferably comprises, for reasons of cost, the most possible of the characteristics of the above chip card components.