Abstract:
A surface contact card holder ( 100 ) includes a body ( 10 ), a frame ( 30 ) and a sliding groove ( 14 ). The frame is configured for carrying a surface contact card therein. The sliding groove is provided on the body for receiving the frame. The frame is slidably received in the sliding groove to allow insertion and removal of the surface contact card.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present invention generally relates to structures for holding card members in an electronic device and, particularly, to a surface contact card holder for holding a surface contact card in a portable electronic device.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     With the development of wireless communication and information processing technologies, portable electronic devices such as mobile phones are now in widespread use. These electronic devices enable consumers to enjoy high-tech services anytime and anywhere. Surface contact cards having special circuits are widely used in portable electronic devices to enhance or specialize the functions of the portable electronic devices. For example, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card can be placed in a mobile phone to dedicate the mobile phone′ functions to the SIM card owner. By changing SIM cards, a single mobile phone can be used by many different SIM card owners as a personal phone.  
         [0003]     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , a conventional structure for holding a SIM card therein includes a base  42  made of insulating material and a holding structure  44 . The base  42  defines a receiving groove  421  and a SIM connector  40  including a plurality of contacts is set in the middle of the receiving groove  421 . The shape and size of the receiving groove  421  are the same as those of the SIM card. The holding structure  44  is located adjacent to one end of the receiving groove  421  and can be moved back and forth along the direction as indicated by the arrow shown in  FIG. 7 .  
         [0004]     In use, firstly, the holding structure  44  is moved away from the receiving groove  421  and the SIM card is inserted into the receiving groove  421 . Then, the holding structure  44  is moved adjacent to the receiving groove  421  so as to latch the SIM card in the receiving groove  421 . In the same way, the SIM card can be released by moving the holding structure  44  away from the receiving groove  421 .  
         [0005]     In the above conventional structure for holding a SIM card, the holding structure  44  can be easily moved, if a mobile phone employing such a structure for holding a SIM card drops to ground, and shock can easily force the holding structure  44  to move off the receiving groove  421 . As a result, the SIM card may not connect well with the SIM contactor or may even become separated from the receiving groove  421 . Obviously, such a conventional structure cannot hold the SIM card steadily in the receiving groove  421 .  
         [0006]     Therefore, there is a need for a new surface contact card holder which can hold a surface contact card steadily in a portable electronic device.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     In one embodiment, a surface contact card holder includes a body, a frame and a sliding groove. The frame is configured for carrying a surface contact card therein. The sliding groove is provided on the body for receiving the frame. The frame is slidably received in the sliding groove allowing insertion and removal of the surface contact card.  
         [0008]     Other advantages and novel features of the present embodiment will become more apparent from the following detailed description thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     Many aspects of the surface contact card holder can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present surface contact card holder. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is an exploded, isometric view of a surface contact card holder with a surface contact card in accordance with a preferred embodiment;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is similar to  FIG. 1  but viewed from another aspect;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is enlarged cross-sectional view of the surface contact card holder taken along the area of IV in  FIG. 2 ;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is an assembled process view of the surface contact card holder with the surface contact card;  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is similar to  FIG. 2 , but viewed from another aspect;  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is an assembled view of the surface contact card holder with the surface contact card; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 7  is an assembled view of a conventional SIM card holder. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     The present surface contact card holder is suitable for portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, and so on. The surface contact card holder can be used for holding surface contact cards such as SIM cards, compact flash cards (CFs), multimedia cards (MMCs), and so on.  
         [0018]     Referring now to the drawings in detail,  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  show a surface contact card holder  100  for a SIM card  20  incorporated in a mobile phone/portable electronic device  200 . The mobile phone  200  and the SIM card  20  are taken here as an exemplary application for the purposes of describing details of the surface contact holder  100  of the preferred embodiment. The mobile phone  200  includes a main body  10  with a first surface  111  and an opposite second surface  113 . A receiving cavity  12  is defined at the main body  10  for receiving a battery (not shown). The receiving cavity  12  communicates with the first surface  111  and the second surface  113 , and includes an end wall  122  and two sidewalls  123 . One side of the end wall and the sidewalls  123  is substantially coplanar with the first surface  111 , the other side of the end wall  122  and the sidewalls  123  extend above the second surface  113 .  
         [0019]     The surface contact card holder  100  includes a sliding groove  14 , a cutout  15 , two pairs of latches  144  and a frame  30 . The sliding groove  14 , the cutout  15  and the latches  144  are formed in the main body  10 , adjacent to the receiving cavity  12 .  
         [0020]     The sliding groove  14  is substantially rectangular in shape, and is formed by recessing the second surface  113  towards the first surface  111 . The cutout  15  is defined at the end wall  122 , and communicates with the receiving cavity  12 . The SIM card  20  enters or exits via the cutout  15 . An operation portion  140  is formed at the intersection of the cutout  15  and the first surface  111 . The operation portion  140  is substantially a concave surface formed thereat for conveniently operating the frame  130 . The two pairs of latches  144  extend from two sides of the sliding groove  14 . Each latch  144  includes an extending portion  1441  and a connection portion  1440  with a L-shaped. Referring to  FIG. 3 , the connecting portion  1440  is spaced from the second surface  113 . The extending portion  1441  is parallel with the second surface  113  of the main body  10 . A half-sphere projection  145  is formed at one side of the extending portion  1441  toward the second surface  113 .  
         [0021]     The frame  30  is substantially a rectangular with a top surface  300  and a bottom surface  302 . The shape and size of the frame  30  corresponds to the sliding groove  14 . The frame  30  includes a flange  304  extending from the top surface  300 . A receiving groove  31  is defined at the top surface  300  for receiving the SIM card  20 , and the shape and size of the receiving groove  31  corresponds to the SIM card  20 . An aperture  32  is defined in a bottom of the receiving groove  31 . When the SIM card  20  is received in the receiving groove  31 , the SIM card  20  may be electronically connected with a printed circuited board (PCB) of the mobile phone. Opposite to the top surface  300 , two pairs of indentations  33  are formed at the bottom surface  302 . Each indentation  33  is a half-sphere shape, thereby corresponding to each projection  145  of the latches  144 . Two limiting wedge-shaped protrusions  34  are formed at two sides of the aperture  32 . Each limiting protrusion  34  is elastic and may be deformable.  
         [0022]     When assembling, referring to FIGS.  4  to  6 , one end opposite to the flange  304  of the frame  30  is inserted to the sliding groove  14  from the cutout  15 . The user further exerts a force on the frame  30  via the flange  304 , such that the frame  30  slides into the sliding groove  14 , and resists one pair of latches  144 . Then, the limiting protrusions  34  contact with the end wall  122  of the main body  10 . Due to the elastic characteristics of the limiting protrusion  34 , the limiting protrusion  30  is deformable so that it may pass through the end wall  122 . Accordingly, the frame  30  is kept in the sliding groove  14  and cannot break away from the sliding groove  14 .  
         [0023]     In use, the user draws the flange  304  of the frame  30 . After the frame  30  is pulled out until the limiting protrusions  34  resists the end wall  122 , the SIM card  20  is partially placed at the receiving groove  31  of the frame  30 . Then, the SIM card  20  is further pushed into the receiving groove  31 . After that, the user pushes the frame  30  so that the frame  30  is entirely received into the sliding groove  14 , with each of projections  145  engaging in a corresponding indentation  33 . The SIM card  20  abuts the PCB. The battery (not shown) is received in the cavity  12 , with the battery abutting the frame  30 . The battery can prevent the frame  30  from becoming separated from the sliding groove  14 . Thus, the SIM card  20  is held steadily in the frame  30 .  
         [0024]     To remove the SIM card  20 , the user resists the operation portion  140  of the main body  10 , and pulls on the flange  304 . Thus, the frame  30  is partially pulled out from the sliding groove  14 . Accordingly, the SIM card  20  is taken out from the receiving groove  31 .  
         [0025]     In alternative embodiments, the sliding groove  14  may be not disposed adjacent to the receiving cavity  12 , and is disposed outside of the main body  10 . Accordingly, the SIM card  20  may easily be taken out without removing the battery.  
         [0026]     In a still further alternative embodiment, the engagement between the projections  145  and the indentations  33  together acts as a locking structure to lock the frame in the receiving groove. Understandably, the locking structure disclosed above may be replaced with other structures. The two limiting protrusions  34  act as a limiting element to avoid the frame  30  being pulled out of the sliding groove  14 . Understandably, the limiting element disclosed above may be replaced with other structures.  
         [0027]     The frame  30  acts as a sliding element to slide in the body. The sliding groove  14  acts as a receiving portion to contain the sliding element. Understandably, the frame  30  and the sliding groove  14  disclosed above may be replaced with other structures.  
         [0028]     It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiments of the invention.