Abstract:
A surface contact card holder ( 100 ) includes a receiving seat ( 10 ), a cover ( 20 ) and a pivot shaft ( 30 ). The receiving seat is configured for carrying a surface contact card ( 300 ) therein. The cover covers the receiving seat and releasably latches the receiving seat. The pivot shaft rotatably connects the cover to the receiving seat for allowing insertion and removal of the surface contact card.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to structures for holding cards in an electronic device and, particularly, to surface contact card holders for holding a surface contact card in a portable electronic device. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    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&#39; 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. 
         [0005]    During the insertion and/or removal of SIM cards from personal electronic devices, friction is produced between the SIM card and a connector under the SIM card. Thus, after repeated use, the contact terminals of the SIM card and the connector are likely to wear. This wear may result, e.g., in an ineffective electrical connection between the chip card and the connector. 
         [0006]    Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    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. 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is an assembled view of a surface contact card holder incorporated into a portable electronic device. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is an exploded, isometric view of the surface contact card holder in accordance with an exemplary embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is an assembled process view of the surface contact card holder; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3 , but viewed from another aspect; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0012]    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. 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a surface contact card holder  100  for a SIM card  300  incorporated in a mobile phone/portable electronic device. The mobile phone and the SIM card  300  are exemplary applications for the purposes of describing details of the surface contact holder  100  of the exemplary embodiment. The mobile phone has a main body  200 . The main body  200  defines a rectangular cavity  210  surrounded by four sidewalls  230  and having a bottom surface  232 . An electronic board  220  is positioned on the bottom surface  232 . The electronic board  220  forms a plurality of electrical contacts (not shown). A portion of one of the sidewalls  230  defines an arcuate surface  234 . A rectangular protrusion  236  extends from the arcuate surface  234  and is tilted relative to the arcuate surface  234 . 
         [0014]    The surface contact card holder  100  is configured for being received in the cavity  210 , and includes a receiving seat  10 , a cover  20 , and a pivot shaft  30  connecting the receiving seat  10  and the cover  20 . 
         [0015]    The receiving seat  10  may, advantageously, be made of a metal. The receiving seat  10  includes a bottom plate  12  and a plurality of flanges  124  perpendicularly extending from an edge of the bottom plate  12 . The flanges  124  surround a receiving space  14 . The bottom plate  12  defines an opening  122 . A plurality of stacked portions  126  are formed among the flanges  124  for electronically connecting to the electronic board  220 . In this exemplary embodiment, a stacked portion  126  is arranged at each end of the bottom plate  12 . A barrel  128  is formed between the two stacked portions  126  at one side of the bottom plate  12 . Each flange  124  at an opposite side of the barrel  128  respectively defines a recess  1242 . Correspondingly, referring to  FIG. 3 , a projection  1244  is formed at an opposite side thereof. The flanges  124 , the stacked portions  126  and the barrel  128  are integrally formed together by punching. 
         [0016]    The cover  20  may be made of a metal. The cover  20  includes a panel  22  for covering the receiving space  14 . The configuration of the panel  22  corresponds to a configuration of the bottom plate  12 . The panel  22  defines a first hole  2222  and a second hole  2224 . A partition wall  2226  is formed between the first hole  2222  and the second hole  2224 . Several concave portions  229  are formed on the cover  20  for applying pressure to the SIM card  300 . One side of the cover  20  forms two spaced mounting portion  224 . A distance between the two mounting portion  224  is substantially equal to a length of the barrel  128 . The other side of the cover  20  forms two latching portions  228  and a locking portion  226  between the latching portions  228 . Each latching portion  228  is substantially S-shaped for elastically engaging with the projection  1244  of the flanges  124 . The locking portion  226  extends upward from the edge of the panel  22 . The locking portion  226  defines a fixing hole  2262  for receiving the protrusion  236  of the main body  200 . A interlocking portion  2264  extends from an inner edge of the fixing hole  2262 . 
         [0017]    The pivot shaft  30  is substantially a cylindrical rod, and is used for passing through the barrel  128  and the mounting portions  224  for rotatably connected the cover  20  to the receiving seat  10 . 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when assembling the cover  20  to the receiving seat  10 , the mounting portions  224  are positioned at two sides of the barrel  228 . The pivot shaft  30  is inserted through the barrel  128  and the mounting portions  224 . The cover  20  rotatably covers the receiving seat  10 , and the latching portions  228  respectively interlock with the projections  1244  for latching the cover  20  to the receiving seat  10 , thereby completing the assembly of the surface contact card holder  100 . 
         [0019]    When assembling the surface contact card holder  100  to the main body  200  of the mobile phone, the receiving seat  10  with the cover  20  is positioned on the electronic board  220 . The receiving seat  10  is fixed on the electronic board  220  through the stacked portions  126  by welding. The electrical contacts on the electronic board  220  are exposed from the opening  122 . The locking portion  226  interlocks with the concave portion  234 , and the protrusion  236  is received in the fixing hole  2262 . The protrusion  236  further interlocks with the interlocking portion  2264 , thereby latching the locking portion  226  to the main body  200 . 
         [0020]    When assembling of the SIM card  300  to the holder  100 , firstly, the user places a finger on the concave portion  234  of the mobile phone  100  and pushes the locking portion  226  away from the concave portion  234  of the main body  200 . Accordingly, the fixing hole  2262  separates away from the protrusion  236 . Then, the locking portion  226  is pushed so as to force the cover  20  to rotate to open relative to the receiving seat  10  along the shaft  39 . After that, the SIM card  300  is put in the receiving space  14 . When the SIM card  300  is completely put into the receiving space  14 , the cover  20  rotatably covers the receiving seat  10 . The latching portions  228  respectively latch the projections  1244  of the flanges  124  so that the SIM card  300  is prevented from sliding out. 
         [0021]    The steps of removing the SIM card  300  from the surface contact card holder  100  are the reverse of the put method shown above. 
         [0022]    It is to be further understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present embodiments have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structures and functions of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.