Source: http://patents.com/us-6382995.html
Timestamp: 2018-05-23 13:19:17
Document Index: 404524542

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 134', 'art 166', 'art 214', 'art 214', 'art 132', 'art 132', 'art 134', 'art 190', 'art 134', 'art 134']

US Patent # 6,382,995. Smart card connector with retain and eject means - Patents.com
United States Patent 6,382,995
Bricaud , et al. May 7, 2002
Inventors: Bricaud; Herve Guy (Dole, FR), Valcher; Fabrice (Dole, FR)
Assignee: ITT Manufacturing Enterprises, INC (Wilmington, DE)
Appl. No.: 09/693,322
PCTEP9903450 May., 1999
Current U.S. Class: 439/159 ; 439/328; 439/923
Current International Class: H01R 13/635 (20060101); H01R 13/633 (20060101); H01R 013/62 ()
Field of Search: 439/159,155,328,923,630
4931622 June 1990 Ohtsuki et al.
5151847 September 1992 Rautenberg
5202551 April 1993 Parrer et al.
6095868 March 1998 Hyland et al.
0459584 May., 1991 EP
0720259 Jul., 1996 EP
2742561 Jun., 1997 FR
said spring leg of said cover (74F) has a U-shape with a bend of more than 90.degree. at a middle of the U-shape, and with the U-shape having opposite sides with one side extending from said vertically-extending part and the other side extending into said cavity.
said arm free outer end portion is bent 180.degree. to form upper and lower layers lying facewise adjacent to each other, with said free outer end portion forming said shoulder.
said free outer end portion of said arm (162G) has two vertically-spaced bends (309) of about 90.degree. each to leave an arm front part between said bends that forms said shoulder.
FIG. 44A is a detailed sectional view taken on line 44A--44A of FIG. 43.
FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus for connecting to a smart card C of the MICROSIM type, which has a thickness of 0.8 mm, a width in lateral directions L of about 2 cm, and a length in forward F and rearward R longitudinal directions M of about 3 cm. The apparatus includes an electrical connector 70A which is mounted on a circuit board 224. The connector includes a housing 302A with a dielectric plastic molded support 72A and a sheet metal cover 74A mounted on the support. As shown in FIG. 8, the smart card C has lower and upper faces 90, 91, and has a plurality of contact pads 303 on its lower face. Each of the contact pads are connected to an integrated circuit (not shown) that is embedded in the smart card. The smart card has rear and front edges 120, 121, with the front edge having a polarizing corner 168 in the form of a diagonal or inclined corner edge which is inclined 45.degree. from the front edge 121.
It may be noted that the "A" in spring "130A" indicates that this is the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 11 shows a spring 130B of a second embodiment, FIG. 18 shows a spring 130C of a third embodiment, etc. Similar parts may have the same numbers in figures that illustrate different embodiments of the invention.
When the card has been fully inserted, a card retainer 304A locks the card in the connector, against the forward force of the spring. FIG. 4 shows that the card retainer 304A includes a carrier arm 162 that is formed in an upper plate 142 of the sheet metal cover, by a slit 164 that extends longitudinally M to the extreme front edge 150 of the cover. The bendable arm has an arm end 170 that extends from the rest of the cover, with the rest of the cover not bent during use and therefore which is fixed. A front end of the carrier arm is bent 180.degree. to form a retaining lip 160 with a card retainer edge 166A that faces at least partially rearward and preferably about 45.degree. from the rear. The edge 166A is intended to abut the polarizing edge 168 (FIG. 8) of the card. As a result, if the card is inserted upside down or with its front edge rearward, then when the card is fully inserted its polarizing edge will not lie behind the card retainer edge 166A and the card will move partially out of the cavity under the force of the spring. FIG. 2 shows the polarizing edge 168 of a partially inserted card moving towards a position where it will lie rearward of the retainer edge 166A. It is noted that the extreme front end 150' of the carrier arm forms a lead-in that helps to guide the card when its rear edge is initially inserted into the connector.
FIGS. 22-27 illustrate a connector 70D of another embodiment of the invention, with a modified spring. As shown in FIG. 23, the spring 130D is formed from a portion of the sheet metal cover 74D of the connector that lies over a support 72D. FIG. 27 shows that the rear end 148 of the sheet metal cover has a vertical part 134 resulting from a 90.degree. bend. Along a spring ejection branch or leg 136D, the vertical part is separated from the top plate 142 and is free to deflect. The sheet metal cover 74D is made of a spring temper metal such as a spring tempered stainless steel, to provide springiness for the card retainer 304D as well as for the spring leg 136D. The spring leg 136D lies in a vertical plane, in that its dimensions in the vertical directions U, D are a plurality of times as great as its thickness in a horizontal direction that is perpendicular to the vertical direction.
FIGS. 28-33 show a connector 70E of a fifth embodiment of the invention, with a modified spring. As shown in FIG. 33, the spring leg 130E extends from a vertical side wall 158 of the cover 74E, with the side wall lying in a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the horizontal top plate 142 of the cover. The spring leg 130E extends from a rear end of the bent-over side wall 158, with a first section 134 extending rearwardly to an approximately 90.degree. bend 202, to a largely laterally-extending branch 136E. A bend at 140E actually directly engages the rear end of the card. The support 72E is substantially unmodified.
FIGS. 34-39 illustrate another embodiment of the invention, with a modified spring leg. As shown in FIG. 39, the spring leg 130F, which is part of the cover 74F, has a more than 90.degree. bend at 204 that connects a vertical rear wall 134 to the top plate of the cover that lies in a horizontal plane. The over 90.degree. bend at 204 results in a longer spring leg being accommodated in a connector of given lateral width, for greater resilience. The support 72F is substantially unmodified.
FIGS. 40-42 show a connector 70G of a seventh embodiment of the invention, wherein the card retainer 304G is modified. As shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, the card retainer includes a carrier arm 162G with a pair of largely right-angle bends at 309 forming a largely vertically-extending sheet metal part 166G. The lip 160G forms a lip edge 166G that abuts the polarized edge of the smart card to retain it in the connector until tab 172 is lifted. A forward end 150' of the lip forms a lead-in that ensures that the carrier arm 162G will be deflected upward when a card is inserted. The lead-in 150' is flush with an adjacent fixed lead-in 150, only when pressed up during insertion of a card. During such card insertion, the carrier arm 162G biases the lead-in 150' and lip edge 166G downward, preferably until the carrier arm 162G lies against the top of the card.
FIGS. 45-52 illustrate a connector 70J of a ninth embodiment of the invention with a support 72J and cover 74J, where the cover 74J has a card retainer 304J that is modified to allow card release by pushing down against the manually actuated tab 172. As shown in FIG. 46, the carrier arm 162 lies in a horizontal plane that is spaced below the top plate 142 of the cover 74J, by about the thickness of the card. A vertical side wall 158 of the cover connects the top plate 142 to the carrier arm 162 in two 90.degree. bends. A forward extension 206 of the carrier arm merges with the side wall 158, and the carrier arm 162 projects forwardly therefrom. A front end of the carrier arm is folded over in an approximately 180.degree. bend to form a retainer lip 160J with a lip edge 166J that engages the polarized corner of the card. The card retainer 304J has the advantage that it releases the card from the retaining lip 166J by depression of the manually operated tab 172. It is more natural and easier to depress the tab than to lift it, and the construction of FIGS. 45-52 enables such release by depression of the tab.
FIGS. 57-63 illustrate a connector 70L of an eleventh embodiment of the invention with a support 72L and cover 74L, and with a card retainer 304L of different design. As shown in FIG. 57, the card retainer includes a carrier arm 162L with a V-shaped part 214 that projects into the path of the card during its insertion. Insertion of the card causes automatic deflection of the part 214 out of the path of the card. However, when the card is fully inserted, as in FIG. 58, the retainer lip 160L abuts the polarized corner of the card and presses with sufficient force to prevent forward movement of the card out of the cavity as a result of spring force. However, the tab 172 formed at the end of the carrier arm can be defected sidewardly to release the card so a spring pushes it forwardly and partially out of the cavity. The carrier arm 162L extends from a vertical edge 158 of the sheet metal cover, which is connected through a 90.degree. bend to the top plate of the cover. FIG. 61 shows that the molded plastic support 72L is provided with a cutout at 214 to receive the V-shaped part of the carrier arm.
FIGS. 64-70 illustrate a connector 70M of a twelfth embodiment of the invention with a support 72M and cover 74M, wherein the card retainer 304M is constructed so downward depression of a release tab 172 releases the card so it is pushed forward out of the card-receiving cavity by a spring 130M. As shown in FIGS. 66 and 67, the carrier arm 162M lies largely in a plane that is parallel to the top plate of the cover 74M but is spaced downwardly from it and connected by a vertical side wall of the cover. However, a lip edge 166M is not formed by a bent over part, but lies in the same plane as the carrier arm 162M. To do this, the support shown at 72M in FIG. 64 is provided with a cutout at 210 to allow the carrier arm to be upwardly biased to a position where the lip edge lies in the same plane as the fully installed card. FIG. 66 shows that the carrier arm has a lead-in 150'M that causes the carrier arm to be deflected downwardly as the card is installed. FIG. 69 shows that the support 72M has a downwardly-projecting block 220 that projects below the support lower surface 76M that lies on the circuit board. FIG. 70 shows that the circuit board 224 has recesses or holes at 222 to receive the projecting block.
As shown in FIG. 8, the connector has a spring means 130A in the form of a bent round metal wire with front and rear legs 136, 134 connected by a coil part 132. The coil part 132 extends around the stud 102, the coil preferably having about 11/2 turns, although it could have more or even less than one turn. The rear leg 134 lies in a slot 110 formed in the support. The front leg 136 is bent so that a free end portion 138 extends primarily in a transverse or lateral L direction when not deflected rearwardly by a card. The free end portion 138 is joined to the rest of the front leg by a bend 140.
The cover 74A (FIG. 4) forms the card retainer 304A that retains the card in the cavity after the card has been fully inserted into it. The card retainer includes a carrier arm 162 that is formed by a longitudinal slot 164 in the upper plate of the cover. The carrier arm has a 180.degree. bent retaining lip 160 which forms a lip edge 166A. One side of the retaining lip is received in a recess 124 (FIG. 5) at the front end of the insulating support, prior to receipt of a card. The lip edge 166A extends about 450 to the longitudinal direction M along which the card is inserted into the housing to engage the polarizing edge 91 of the card, which is also inclined 90.degree. to the front and side edges of the MICROSIM card.
When the card is fully inserted, as in FIG. 10, the card can be removed by lifting an actuator tab 172. The tab 172 extends transversely or laterally upward in the plane of the carrier arm 162 and beyond an adjacent edge of the support. The front free edge 150' (FIG. 2) forms a lead-in that causes the retaining lip edge 166A to move upward automatically when the card is inserted.
FIGS. 22-27 illustrate a fourth embodiment of the invention wherein the ejection spring is formed integrally with the sheet metal cover 74D. As shown in FIG. 27, the resilient cover includes a vertical part 134 bent 90.degree. with respect to the top plate 142, with a slot along the rear end 148 forming a resilient ejection strip or spring 130D. The strip 130D extends largely laterally within the card-holding cavity. It has a bend 140D with a forwardly-facing convex face that is slightly spaced from the lower face 154 of the plate. FIG. 25 shows that the insulating support 72D has an L-shaped projecting part 190 that is located near a corner formed between the rear edge 86 and side edge 98 of the support. The projecting part has a transverse branch 194 with a front vertical face 190D that forms a stop that engages the rear end of the fully inserted card. The projecting part has a rearwardly-extending branch 198 with a rear free end 196. As shown in FIG. 24, the rear free end 196 of the projection engages a mount part 134 of the resilient ejection strip to better fix its position.
FIGS. 34-39 show a sixth embodiment of the invention, where, as shown in FIG. 39, the ejection strip or spring 130F is integral with the sheet metal cover through a vertical rear part 134. However, the spring strip has a U-shaped bend 204 which is more than 90.degree.. It may be noted that the retaining lip 166F is formed by a 180.degree. bend at a front end of a carrier arm.
FIGS. 40-42 show a seventh embodiment of the invention with a different card retainer 304G. As shown in FIGS. 41 and 42, a pleat or stop lip 166G is formed by two bends 311 of about 90.degree. each.
FIGS. 43-44A show an eighth embodiment of the invention where the card retainer 304H includes a projection 160H formed at the front end of the carrier arm. The projection is in the form of an approximately hemispherical dish or plunged recess with a sharp stop edge 166H that is inclined at 45.degree. to the forward and rearward directions.
FIGS. 45-52 show a ninth embodiment of the invention, wherein the card is released by downwardly deflecting the tab 172. As shown in FIGS. 46-48, the vertical side wall 158 of the sheet metal cover has a lower edge 157 which extends below the lower face of the insulating support. A forward extension 206 of the lower edge is of increased width and merges with the carrier arm 162. In its free rest state, the carrier arm 162 extends at an upward and forward incline. A retention tab 160 that is bent by close to 180.degree. about the rest of the carrier arm, forms a lip edge 166J that extends at a 45.degree. angle to the forward and rearward direction, and directly engages the polarized edge of a card. As shown in FIGS. 51 and 52, the support 72J has a recess 208 that permits the carrier arm to extend at an upward and forward incline to place the lip edge against the polarized edge of the card. In the rest position of the carrier arm 162 (FIG. 47) the arm presses lightly against the inclined face 208 (FIG. 52) in order to accurately position the lip edge that prevents withdrawal of the card. The support 72J has a hole 210 forward of the recess 208, with the hole extending into the cavity along the side 98 (FIG. 51) of the card-receiving cavity. This construction allows the lip 166J (FIG. 47) to extend through the hole 210 (FIG. 51) so the lip edge lies at the rear of the cavity 88 at the polarized edge of the card, as shown in FIG. 50.
As the card is being inserted, its rear edge engages the 180.degree. bend that forms the retention lip 166J to depress the lip down into the hole 210. The insertion continues until the card is fully inserted, when the lip 166J automatically returns to its locking position shown in FIG. 50. To automatically eject the card, the user merely has to depress the tab 172.
FIGS. 53-56 illustrate a tenth embodiment of the invention with a different card-retainer 304K. As shown in FIGS. 55 and 56, the carrier arm 162K extends transversely, or laterally L and much of it lies in the plane of the upper plate 142 of the cover 74K near its front transverse edge 150. A laterally-extending slot 164 forms the carrier arm at the front of the upper plate. The arm has a retaining lip 160K that extends at a downward and rearward incline and that has a lip edge 166K. The lower face 150' of the lip is inclined and forms a ramp that is lifted during initial insertion of the card. A recess 124 (FIG. 54) in the side of the support 72K enables the lip to move down to the same plane as the card-receiving cavity. When the tab 172 is lifted, the lip edge moves out of the way of the card so it is ejected.
FIGS. 64-70 show a twelfth embodiment of the invention with a different card retainer 304M. As shown in FIG. 67, the card retainer includes a carrier arm 162M with a retaining lip 160M having a retaining lip edge 166M that lies in the same plane as the rest of the carrier arm to avoid a 180.degree. fold back. The lip 160M extends laterally to position the lip edge 166M to engage the polarizing edge of the card. The front edge 150'M of the carrier arm forms a chamfer or lead-in so insertion of the card deflects the lead-in and the front end of the carrier arm to automatically move the lip edge 166M out of the way of the card being inserted. As shown in FIG. 64, the support 72M has a cutout at 210M to allow the lip to lie in the same plane as the card-receiving cavity when not deflected down. The shape of cutouts depends upon whether or not there is a switch in the connector 70M.
While terms such as "upper" and "lower" have been used to describe the invention as illustrated, the connectors can be used in any orientation with respect to the Earth.
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