Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5746607?dq=7,339,580
Timestamp: 2017-05-25 10:47:09
Document Index: 62069478

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 68', 'arts 34', 'art 68', 'art 68', 'arts 68', 'arts 34', 'art 68']

Patent US5746607 - Smart card electrical connector - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsAn electrical connector (16) is provided for mounting on a circuit board (10) to connect contact pads (100) of the card to conductive traces (102) on the circuit board. The connector includes a body (20) that carries sheet metal strip contacts (26, 26') that project above an upper face (36) of the body....http://www.google.com/patents/US5746607?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5746607 - Smart card electrical connectorAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS5746607 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 08/688,180Publication dateMay 5, 1998Filing dateJul 26, 1996Priority dateJul 28, 1995Fee statusLapsedAlso published asEP0756355A1Publication number08688180, 688180, US 5746607 A, US 5746607A, US-A-5746607, US5746607 A, US5746607AInventorsHerve Guy Bricaud, Fabrice ValcherOriginal AssigneeItt Composants Et InstrumentsExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (7), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (48), Classifications (7), Legal Events (11) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSmart card electrical connector
1. A combination of a smart card that has contact pads, and a read/write device that includes a circuit board with an upper face and conductive traces thereon and that also includes a connector for connecting said card contact pads to said traces, wherein:said connector includes an insulative body having upper and lower faces and upper and lower contact-engaging stops (40, 58) lying adjacent to said faces, said connector also includes a first set of contacts mounted on said body, with each of said contacts having a card-engaging portion with a card-engaging part that projects above said body upper face, with each contact having a tail with a trace-engaging part that lies at said lower face and engages one of said traces, and with each contact having a fixing portion that lies between said card engaging portion and said tail and that is substantially fixed to said body; each of said contacts being formed of a strip of sheet metal which has a length in a predetermined longitudinal horizontal direction that is a plurality of times its length in a perpendicular lateral horizontal direction as seen in a plan view; the card engaging portion of each contact has a free forward end (32) biased up against said upper stop and has a rear end that forms an upper elbow (38) comprising a largely 180° upper loop that merges with said fixing portion (28), with said fixing portion extending primarily forwardly from said upper elbow along most of the longitudinal length of said contact, with said tail having a forward-upper end forming a lower elbow (50) comprising a lower loop of more than 90° and with said tail having a tail limb (46) extending at a downward incline from said lower elbow to said trace-engaging part, and with said tail having a free rear end (54) biased down against said lower stop; said upper elbow (38), the opposite sides of said upper loop are free to deflect closer together by bending along the largely 180° of said upper loop; at said lower elbow (50) the opposite sides of said lower loop are free to deflect closer together by bending along said more than 90° of said lower loop, to raise said tail limb (48). 2. An electrical card connector for connecting contact pads of a smart card to a circuit board of a device, where the circuit board has an upper face with conductive traces thereon, wherein the connector has an insulative body with an upwardly-facing face for lying closely under the card and with a lower bearing face for lying on the upwardly-facing face of the circuit board, and has a plurality of sheet metal contacts mounted on the body, each contact having a card-engaging portion that projects above the body upper face, an intermediate fixing portion mounted on the body, and a contact tail for engaging a circuit board trace, wherein:each of said contact tails has a trace-engaging part, and each of said tails is resiliently deflectable and is downwardly biased toward a position wherein said trace-engaging part lies below said lower bearing face of the connector body, but with said connector body having a cavity that opens into said lower bearing face, and with said trace-engaging part being movable up into said cavity and down below said cavity; each of said contact tails includes a substantially straight tail limb (46) extending at an acute angle of less than 60° with respect to the plane of said body lower bearing face (66), and said tail has a lower elbow (50) that is curved by more than 90° and that connects said fixing portion (28) to said tail limb, said elbow being resiliently bendable to allow said tail limb and said trace-engaging part (68) to pivot about an axis (X1) lying substantially at said elbow in movement of said trace-engaging part below said cavity primarily by bending of said elbow. 3. An electrical card connector for connecting contact pads of a smart card to a circuit board of a device, where the circuit board has an upwardly-facing face with conductive traces thereon, wherein the connector has an insulative body with an upper face for lying closely under the card and with a lower bearing face for lying on the upper face of the circuit board, and has a plurality of sheet metal contacts mounted on the body, each contact having a card-engaging portion that projects above the body upwardly-facing face, an intermediate fixing portion mounted on the body, and a contact tail for engaging a circuit board trace, wherein:each of said contact tails has a trace-engaging part, and each of said tails is resiliently deflectable and is downwardly biased toward a position wherein said trace-engaging part lies below said lower bearing face of the connector body, but with said connector body having a cavity that opens into said lower bearing face, and with said trace-engaging part being movable up into said cavity and down below said cavity; said plurality of contacts includes first and second sets of contacts (26, 26'), with all of said plurality of contacts being elongated in forward and rearward longitudinal directions as seen in a plan view, with the contacts of each set being laterally spaced apart, and with said contacts of said first set lying forward of said contacts of said second set; said contact tails having elongated longitudinally-extending limbs, with the limbs (46) of said contacts of said first set extending rearwardly and the limbs (46') of said contacts of said second set extending forwardly and positioning said trace-engaging parts (68') of said second contacts so they lie closer, in a longitudinal direction, to the trace-engaging parts (68) of said first contacts, then do the card-engaging parts (26, 26') of said first and second contacts. 4. A combination of a circuit board and an electrical card connector mounted on said circuit board, for connecting contact pads of a smart card to the circuit board of a device, where the circuit board has an upper face with conductive traces thereon, wherein the connector has an insulative body with an upwardly-facing face for lying closely under the card and with a lower bearing face lying on an upper face of the circuit board, and wherein the connector has a plurality of sheet metal contacts mounted on the body, each contact having a card-engaging portion that projects above the body upwardly-facing face, an intermediate fixing portion mounted on the body, and a contact tail for engaging a circuit board trace, wherein:each of said contact tails has a trace-engaging part, and each of said tails is resiliently deflectable and is downwardly biased toward a position wherein said trace-engaging part lies below said lower bearing face of the connector body, but with said connector body having a cavity that opens into said lower bearing face, and with said trace-engaging part being movable up into said cavity and down below said cavity; a protective metal casing (18) mounted on said circuit board, said casing horizontally completely surrounding said connector body so said connector can be installed in said casing when said casing lies on said circuit board, only by downwardly movement of said connector into said casing, with said casing having an open top lying no higher than the level of the top of said connector body, for the passage of the card-engaging parts of said contacts, and with said casing having an open bottom for the passage of said trace-engaging parts of said contact tails. Description
Each contact has a fixing portion that is substantially fixed to the connector body. Each contact tail includes an elbow forming a bend, the elbow merging with a substantially straight connection limb extending at an acute angle of less than 60° to the horizontal, the connection limb ending in the trace-engaging part of the tail. Pivoting of the tail occurs largely at the elbow. The tail has a free end that bears against a stop surface of the body, so as to determine an initial position of the trace-engaging part so it lies a predetermined distance below the lower face of the connector body.
FIG. 8 shows that the two sets of contacts 26, 26' have tails 44, 44' of different constructions. For the forward contacts 26, the trace-engaging parts 68 lie substantially below the card-engaging parts 34. The contacts are not laterally bent, and FIG. 6 shows the centerline 110 of the contact is positioned so the card-engaging portion 30 of each contact lies in substantially the same plane as the tail 44 of the contact. FIG. 8 shows that the rear set of contacts 66 have tails 44' which are differently constructed. The second contacts 26' have second tail limbs 86 that extend substantially horizontally and parallel to the fixing portion 28 and that connect at a bend 50 of about 35° to a first tail end 46'. This construction results in the trace-engaging part 68' of each rear contact lying much closer to the trace-engaging part 68 of the front contacts. The close spacing of the trace-engaging parts 68, 68' results in the engaged location of the circuit board traces lying in a small area of the board, so additional area of the board is available for other connecting traces. The card-engaging parts 34 of the contact have their longitudinal spacing fixed by the spacing of the contact pads of the smart card.
FIG. 8 shows that when the connector is moved down against the circuit board, the trace-engaging part 68 of the forward contacts, moves upward and rearward, the rearward motion causing sliding contact with the traces. Moderate sliding contact is desirable to assure low resistance contact. This is achieved by having the tail limb 46 extend at a moderate angle A from the horizontal, such as 35°. After the connector is installed, the tail limb 46 extends at a smaller angle B from the horizontal, such as 25°. If the initial angle A were much larger, such as more than 60°, then there is a possibility that frictional engagement of the tail with the circuit board trace would cause collapse of the tail instead of its smooth sliding. Also, such a large angle of more than 60° would result in large horizontal movement of the trace-engaging part. Thus, applicant prefers that the initial angle A be less than 60°.
Thus, the invention provides an electrical connector for connecting contact pads of a smart card to traces on a circuit board, wherein the connector is constructed to enable easy rapid installation. The connector has a plurality of contacts mounted on a connector body, each contact having an upper card-engaging portion for engaging a smart card, a lower tail for engaging a trace on the circuit board, and a fixing portion that is mounted on the connector body. The tail includes a lower elbow connecting the fixing portion to a largely straight elongated tail limb that extends at an angle of less than 60° to the horizontal, and that carries a trace-engaging portion at its lower end. When the connector is lowered onto the circuit board, the trace-engaging portion bears against the trace and deflects upwardly while continuing to press downwardly against the trace. A casing can be mounted on the circuit board and form an area into which the connector can be lowered and to which the connector can be latched, so that installation of the connector can be accomplished very easily.
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