Patent Publication Number: US-2006014435-A1

Title: Card connector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention is related to a “card connector”, especially a device into which an electronic card is inserted for electric connection to a circuit structure or a storage device.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      An electronic card (IC card or smart card) is a data input device that can be electrically connected to a circuit structure or a storage device, for example, a word processor, a computer or other circuit structure, so the data stored in the electronic card can be transmitted to the circuit structure. The electronic card is a portable device with a card connector for simple insertion and removal.  
      Please refer to figures from  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4 . A traditional card connector is composed of an insulative body  1 ′ and a multiple number of conductive terminal  2 ′ on the insulative body  1 ′. The insulative body  1 ′ consists of a base  11 ′ for a card slot  111 ′ and one elastic arm  12 ′ sticking out at each end of the base  11 ′. On the inner side  121 ′ of the terminal of each elastic arm  12 ′, there is a bump  13 ′ with a differentiated section  131 ′ in a shape that the top is larger than the bottom. When an electronic card  3 ′ is obliquely inserted into the card slot  111 ′ and further pressed down, the electronic card  3 ′ will be put between the base  11 ′ and the two elastic arms  12 ′, as in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 4 . The electronic card  3 ′ is positioned because its two sides are subject to pressing by the two bumps  13 ′. The side of the electronic card  3 ′ locks into the differentiated section  131 ′ of each bump  13 ′. Although the card connector has the above-described connecting and positioning function for an electronic card  3 ′, with reference to  FIG. 2 , either side of the electronic card  3 ′ only locks into a small portion of the bump  13 ′ and easily creates a loose connection. This type of connecting mechanism is susceptible to card detachment.  
      Further, the above-described card connector is subject to destructive testing. When the already positioned electronic card  3 ′ is in destructive testing, the card connector and the electronic card  3 ′ will certainly be separate. Therefore, the connecting mechanism for a traditional card connector needs to be improved because of the drawback of easy card detachment.  
      Further, although enlarged bump  13 ′ may provide better connecting effect, it also increases the difficulty in pressing down the inserted electronic card  3 ′.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The inventor of the present invention has studied the card connector and proposed a reasonable design that can effectively improve the above-mentioned drawback for the traditional card connector.  
      The main objective of the present invention is to provide an effective connecting effect for a card connector with the ease of pressing down an electronic card.  
      To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides a card connector that is composed of an insulative body and a multiple number of conductive terminals. The insulative body consists of a base with a card slot and two sticking elastic arms symmetrically located at both sides of the base. The inner side of the terminal of each elastic arm has a bump and an auxiliary bump. The multiple number of conductive terminals is in the card slot. The design effectively enhances the connection and prevents the card from easy detachment. It also facilitates the positioning of the electronic card while it is inserted into the slot. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional illustration for a traditional card connector.  
       FIG. 2  is a partial top view for  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged view for A in  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view for  4 - 4  in  FIG. 2 .  
       FIG. 5  is three-dimensional illustration for the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a partial top view for the present invention according to  FIG. 5 .  
       FIG. 7  is a partially enlarged view for A in  FIG. 5 .  
       FIG. 8  is a cross sectional view for  8 - 8  in  FIG. 6 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Please refer to the contents from  FIG. 5  to  FIG. 8 . The present invention offers a card connector that mainly consists of an insulative body  4  and a multiple number of conductive terminals  5  in the insulative body  4 .  
      The insulative body  4  contains a base  41  with a card slot  411  and two sticking elastic arms  42  symmetrically located at both sides of the base  41 . The card slot  411  is located at one side of the base  41 , while the multiple number of conductive terminals  5  are in the card slot  411  for insertion of an electronic card  6  and electric connection of the electronic card  6  and the conductive terminals  5 .  
      Besides one bump  43  on the inner side  421  of the terminal of each elastic arm  42 , there is an auxiliary bump  44 . The bump  43  appears in a shape that the top is larger than the bottom and has a differentiated section  431 . The auxiliary bump  44  has an opposite arrangement, which includes a top slope  441  and a bottom flat  442  to increase the connection contact area for the electronic card  6  and facilitate the positioning of the electronic card  6  while it is pressed down.  
      The auxiliary bump  44  can be independently formed on the inner side  421  of the elastic arm  42  and behind the bump  43 , or situated behind the bump  43  to be integrated with the bump  43 , as shown in figures from  FIG. 5  to  FIG. 8 .  
      No matter what type of arrangement of the auxiliary bump  44 , it only increases the connection contact area in the front and in the back, but not on the sides. Thus, the present invention not only provides increased connection contact area (i.e. increased flat  442  area) for an enhanced connection to secure the card in the slot but also facilitates the positioning of the electronic card  6  through easy passing of the sides of the inserted electronic card  6  by the auxiliary bump  44  with a top slope  441 .