Abstract:
The card reader connector for a SIM card comprising an insulative body and a cover pivotably mounted on pivot pins of the insulative body for movement between an open and closed position wherein contact portions of terminals mounted in the insulative body electrically connect with contacts of the card when the cover is in the closed position. The cover is slidably movable in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the pivot pins. A locking means is provided between the cover and the insulative body comprising an L-shaped engaging piece on the insulative body and a corresponding actuating piece on the cover which interengage when the cover is in its closed position to lock the cover to the insulative body. A leaf spring biases the cover in a direction away from the insulative body. The connector is characterized in that when the cover is moved to its closed position, it is slidably moved rearwardly, toward the axis of the pivot pins, to produce a spring force. Therefore, when the cover is in its closed position, it is in a fully locked position by the resilient spring force imparted by the leaf spring. The card reader connector therefore facilitates insertion and removal of the card and maintains its integrity and robustness irrespective of its small size.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to an electrical connector for a card, particularly, to a hinged card reader connector for a card such as a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card used in a portable telephone, such as a cellular phone. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Known card reader connectors, such as the connecting devices disclosed in Japanese Heisei 5-502959 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Heisei 9-185973, generally include an insulative body and a cover pivotally mounted on the insulative body for pivotal movement between an open and closed position. Contact areas on terminals mounted on the insulative body are adapted to mate with corresponding circuit conductors of a card inserted between the insulative body and the cover. Such a card reader is often mounted on a circuit board inside a cellular phone, so that the specific information loaded on the card can be accessed by the cellular phone user. The terminals typically include solder tails projecting outwardly from the insulative body, so that the card reader connector is connected to the circuit board by soldering the solder tails to corresponding circuit conductors on the underlying circuit board. After inserting the card into the connector while the cover is in its open position, the cover is closed and locked in the closed position. To remove the card, the lock is released, the cover is opened, and the card is manually extracted. 
     With hinged connectors such as those described above, it is desirable that the card be easily inserted and removed. There has also been a desire for miniaturizing this type of connector, and this makes operation of the smaller connectors less user friendly than their larger counterparts. For example, in the connectors disclosed in the above publications where a front end of a cover must be pulled for its release, it can be difficult to move the cover due to the small size. Furthermore, the presence of lock springs on both sides of the cover in the disclosed connectors results in less overall rigidity and strength in the cover and results in a card reader connector that is less robust than its larger counterparts. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention solves the problems set forth above. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hinged card reader connector having a cover which easily moves between its open and closed positions even if the connector is downsized, and which maintains strength and stiffness in its cover during movement between its open and closed positions. 
     To accomplish the above-mentioned object, the present invention contemplates a card reader connector constructed such that a hinged cover is slidably pivoted relative to an insulative body. 
     Namely, according to one aspect of the present invention, the hinged card reader connector for receiving a card comprises: 
     an insulative body including pivot pins integrally formed at one end thereof; 
     a cover pivotally supported on the insulative body at one end by the pivot pins; 
     terminals provided on the insulative body for contacting corresponding contacts on the card; 
     the cover being pivotably movable in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the pivot pins between an open position and a closed position; and 
     a resilient member for biasing the cover in a direction away from the pivot pins. 
     The disclosed card reader connector for a card further comprises locking means between the cover and the insulative body which holds the cover in the closed position by being biased by the resilient member. The locking means includes an L-shaped engaging piece on a portion of the insulative body and an actuating piece on the cover; wherein the cover is placed in the closed condition by sliding contact between a horizontal projecting piece on the engaging piece and an inclined piece formed on an end of the actuating piece during movement between the open position and the closed position. 
     The locking means in one embodiment includes an engaging arm having an engaging projection piece on an inside end of the actuating piece, an opening portion on a side wall of the cover adapted for opposing the engaging projection piece, and an actuating projection portion provided adjacent to the opening portion, wherein the cover is slidingly moved from its open position to its closed position to spread the engaging arm by the actuating projection portion and release the engagement between the engaging projection piece and the opening portion to lock the cover in its closed position. 
     The invention contemplates that the cover is slidably pivotable in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the pivot pins, and further contemplates that one of the cover or insulative body includes a resilient member for biasing the cover in a direction away from the pivot pin when the cover is in the closed position. Therefore, upon moving the cover from the open position to the closed position, the cover is slidably pushed toward the axis of the pivot pins against the resilient member to produce a spring force. Therefore, when the cover is completely closed, it is moved into a fully locked position by the spring force and held in place by the locking means. To move the cover from the closed position to the open position, the cover is again pushed toward the axis of the pivot pins and the cover is opened with the aid of a restoration force of the terminals mounted on the insulative body. 
     The horizontal projecting piece on the insulative body and the inclined piece on the cover slidingly contact one another during movement of the cover between the open and closed positions and resist the force provided by the resilient member so that the inclined piece is moved downwardly to lock the cover smoothly. 
     It is easy to release the engagement between the engaging arm on the insulative body and the opening portion on the cover by slidingly moving the cover toward the axis of the pivot pins. 
     The card may be mounted and held on the insulative body by the use of opposing guides provided on the side edges of the cover. 
     The subject design therefore permits the cover to be easily moved between its open and closed position and therefore facilitates insertion and removal of a card. Furthermore, sufficient rigidity of the cover is maintained, irrespective of the reduced overall size of the card reader connector. 
     Other features, aims and advantages of the invention in its various aspects and embodiments will become apparent from the following description of the disclosed embodiments given by way of example only and in which: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a card reader connector according to the present invention, as viewed from the front side with the cover is in its open position; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the card reader connector, as viewed from the rear side with the cover is in its open position; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the card reader connector, as viewed from the front side with the cover is in its closed position; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the card reader connector, as viewed from the rear side with the cover in its closed position; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the card reader connector, as viewed from the rear side with the cover in its open position; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment of the card reader connector, as viewed from the rear side with the cover in its closed position; 
     FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a third embodiment of the card reader connector according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cover of the third embodiment of the card reader connector as viewed from the rear side; and 
     FIG. 9 is an enlarged section showing the relationship between a side wall of the cover and a short piece of an engaging arm, ( a ) shows the case of forming an opening portion on the side wall, and ( b ) shows the case of forming a recess portion on the side wall. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will be discussed hereinafter in terms of the preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, known structures are not shown in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. 
     FIGS. 1 through 4 illustrate a first embodiment of a card reader connector  1  for a card such as a SIM card (see FIG. 7) used in a cellular phone. The card reader connector  1  includes an insulative body  2  and a cover  4  pivoted thereon for pivotally moving between an open and a closed position via pivot pins  3  provided on opposite sides of a rear edge of insulative body  2 . Insulative body  2  is molded of insulative plastic in the form of a rectangular plate, and includes a plurality of terminals  5  mounted in the body by insert molding. Each terminal  5  includes a cantilever arm-shaped contact piece  6  located within a recess portion  7  formed on an upper surface  2   a  of insulative body  2 , and a contact portion  8  projecting above upper surface  2   a . Each contact portion  8  is adapted to contact a corresponding contact pad of a circuit conductor of the SIM card mounted between insulative body  2  and cover  4 . Each terminal  5  further includes a solder tail  9  extending from contact piece  6  forwardly and rearwardly of insulative body  2  substantially flush with a lower surface  2   b  of insulative body  2  and adapted to be soldered to corresponding conductive traces of an underlying printed circuit board on which the card reader connector  1  is to be mounted. 
     The ends of pivot pins  3  are circular in cross section and project transversely outwardly from opposite sides of rear edge of insulative body  2 . Between pivot pins  3 , a substantially semi-circular transverse portion  10  is formed integrally with insulative body  2  along a rear edge thereof. A flat surface  11  of transverse portion  10  opposes a resilient member, which may be in the form of a leaf spring mounted on the cover, as discussed in more detail hereinafter. 
     Side walls  12  are provided along the side edges of upper surface  2   a  of insulative body  2  and enclose cover  4  therebetween. Extending portions  13  are provided on opposite sides of the front edge of insulative body  2  to surround forwardly extending solder tails  9 . An L-shaped side wall  14  is provided on one extending portion  13  along the edge thereof, and an inclined orienting wall  15  is provided on the inside of the other extending portion  13  to define the mounting direction of the SIM card, which is correspondingly shaped. On the rear side of the side edges of extending portions  13 , an L-shaped engaging piece  16  is mounted. This L-shaped engaging piece forms a portion of a locking means between cover  4  and insulative body  2  which interengage when the cover is in its closed position to lock the cover to the insulative body. The engaging piece is fabricated of a separate metallic piece fixed to the insulative body and includes a fixing piece  17  horizontally extending from a base portion of engaging piece  16  and fixed within extending portion  13 , and a horizontal projecting piece  18  projecting rearwardly away from extending portion  13 . 
     Cover  4  is preferably stamped and formed of metal. Side walls  20  extend along and generally perpendicular to the side edges of a rectangular plate forming main body  19 . Main body  19  is of a size substantially covering upper surface  2   a  of insulative body  2  and includes bearing portions  21  on a rear edge of side walls  20  each having an elongated hole  22  formed longitudinally of the respective bearing portion. By engaging the elongated holes with pivot pins  3  on insulative body  2 , cover  4  is slidably pivotable relative to insulative body  2 . Therefore, the rear edge of cover  4  serves as a base edge and the front edge serves as a free edge and allows cover  4  to pivotally move between an open and closed position. On a central portion of the inside of side walls  20 , a bending piece  23  is formed, extending generally parallel to main body  19  and providing a guide  24  between opposite side walls  20  for inserting a card (FIG. 7) into cover  4 . 
     On the front edge of side wall  20 , a forwardly projecting actuating piece  25  cooperates with engaging piece  16  on the insulative body to form the locking means. Actuating piece  25  includes a horizontal edge  26  extending substantially flush with main body  19  and an inclined piece  27  extending obliquely downwardly from a tip of horizontal edge  26 , and is adapted to slidingly contact horizontal projecting piece  18  of engaging piece  16  when cover  4  is pivoted toward insulative body  2 . 
     A projecting piece  28  is integrally formed at the center of and perpendicular to the rear edge of main body  19 . A cantilevered leaf spring  29  extends from opposite sides of projecting piece  28  toward bearing portion  21  to form the resilient member. Upon mounting bearing portion  21  of cover  4  on pivot pins  3  of insulative body  2 , the ends of the leaf spring oppose flat surface  11  formed on transverse portion  10 . When the cover is slidingly moved within elongated holes  22  relative to pivot pins  3 , i.e., in a direction perpendicular to an axis defined by pivot pins  3  along the longitudinal direction of cover  4  toward the base edge thereof, leaf spring piece  29  opposes flat surface portion  11  and is resiliently deformed to bias cover  4 , so that cover  4  is slidingly moved in the direction of the free end via the force of leaf spring  29 . Therefore, pivot pins  3  are located on the rear edge, i.e. the base edge, of elongated hole  22  in the closed position. It should be noted that leaf spring  29  may be formed to be placed in the biased condition by flat surface portion  11  prior to slidingly moving cover  4  so that cover  4  is constantly biased toward the free end thereof. In the shown embodiment, it is when the cover  4  is slidingly moved toward the base edge that flat spring piece  29  biases cover  4  toward the free end thereof. 
     Apertures  30  are provided in main body  19  of cover  4  for directly accessing contact pieces  6  of terminals  5  for electrical or mechanical testing of the card reader connector. Furthermore, a reinforcing rib  31  may be formed on main body  19  adjacent to these apertures. 
     To mount the SIM card within the card reader connector, cover  4  is placed in its open position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the SIM card is inserted between opposing guides  24  along main body  19 . The end of the SIM card is stopped by abutting against projecting piece  28  forming the base portion of leaf spring  29 . Next, cover  4  is pivoted toward insulative body  2  and moved to the closed position. When cover  4  approaches the closed position whereat the cover is almost parallel to insulative body  2 , the locking means formed by actuating pieces  25  on opposite sides of the free end of the cover and engaging pieces  16  on opposite sides of the front edge of the insulative body enters into its interengaging position. First, inclined edges  27  of actuating pieces  25  slidingly contact horizontal projecting pieces  18  of engaging pieces  16  to slidingly move cover  4  rearwardly by resiliently deforming leaf spring  29  and moving cover  4  toward the rear edge of hole  22  during the movement of cover  4  to the closed position. When the cover is in the closed position, horizontal edge  26  is located below projecting piece  18  and the locking means is in its interengaging condition holding cover  4  in the closed position. 
     While cover  4  is in the closed position, the SIM card is held between cover  4  and insulative body  2 , and the lower surface of the SIM card opposes upper surface  2   a  of insulative body  2 . Consequently contact portions  8  of terminals  5  projecting above upper surface  2   a  of insulative body  2  are depressed, so that contact pieces  6  are resiliently deformed and establish electrical engagement between contact portions  8  of the card reader connector and contact pads of the SIM card by the resilient restoration force of contact pieces  6 . 
     To remove the SIM card from the card reader connector, cover  4  is slidingly moved in a rearward direction, i.e. towards its base edge. A front edge of the SIM card will be exposed beyond the free edge of cover  4  extending to portions  13  of insulative body  2 . Therefore, cover  4  is moved rearwardly by pushing one edge of the SIM card toward the rear or base edge of the cover. When cover  4  is slidingly moved toward the base edge, actuating pieces  25  of the locking means are correspondingly moved rearwardly beyond engaging pieces  16 , so that the engagement between horizontal projecting pieces  18  and horizontal edges  26  is released. Since the SIM card is biased away from upper surface  2   a  of insulative body  2  by the resilient restoration force of contact portions  6 , cover  4  will be pivoted upwardly toward the open position. At this point, it is possible to remove the SIM card by manually withdrawing it from cover  4 . Therefore it is possible to remove the SIM card only when the cover is moved to its open position. 
     In the embodiment described above, the SIM card is inserted between guides  24  of cover  4 . It is also possible to mount the card on insulative body  2  by forming guiding features on side walls  12  of the insulative body. 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 disclose a second embodiment of a card reader connector  32 . The following description of the second embodiment may omit some detail where the reference numerals used correspond to the identical component parts of the first embodiment. The main difference between the card reader connector  32  of the second embodiment and the card reader of the first embodiment is the structure of cover  4 . In the second embodiment, a gripping portion  33  extends forwardly from the free edge of cover  4  and reinforcing rib  31  (see FIG. 1 or FIG. 2) provided on main body  19  in the first embodiment is not present in the second embodiment. 
     As described above with respect to the first embodiment of the card reader connector, the locking mechanism of the second embodiment of the card reader connector is also adapted to move into an interengaging condition by pivoting cover  4  toward the closed position after inserting the SIM card in the cover. Furthermore, the engagement of the locking mechanism is released and the SIM card removable only by slidingly moving cover  4  rearwardly towards its base edge. Gripping portion  33  provides an area for gripping the cover by a user and therefore facilitates the movement of cover  4  between its open and closed position for insertion and removal of the SIM card. 
     FIGS. 7 through 9 illustrate a third embodiment of a card reader connector  34 . There are some differences between the structure of the card reader connector  34  and that of the first and the second embodiments of the card reader connectors  1  and  32 . The differences will be discussed below, and the description may omit some detail where the reference numerals used correspond to the identical component parts of the first embodiment. 
     An arc-shaped leaf spring  35  comprises a resilient member and includes a forwardly projecting arcuate surface provided between pivot pins  3  on opposite sides of the rear edge of insulative body  2 . A cantilevered engaging arm  36  extends rearwardly from each extending portion  13  along opposite sides of the front of insulative body  2 . Engaging arm  36  includes an integral tip portion including an inclined piece  37  extending toward the side and rear of insulative body  2  and a short piece  38  generally parallel to the side of insulative body  2 . Engaging arm  36  is adapted to be engaged and laterally spread via short piece  38 . A downward and inward engaging projection piece  39  extends obliquely from the inside of short piece  38  as shown in FIG.  9 ( a ). The dimension between short pieces  38  of engaging arms  36  on opposite sides of insulative body  2  corresponds to the transverse dimension of cover  4 . Cover  4  is provided with a semi-circular spring mating surface  40  formed by a bending piece  41  along the base edge of the cover, this mating surface corresponds to the resilient member provided on the insulative body  2 . A stopper  42  for abutting the bottom edge of the SIM card is provided on opposite sides of bending piece  41 . Near the front edge of side walls  20  of cover  4 , a locking surface in the form of a square hole forms opening portion  43  for forming the locking means in cooperation with short piece  38  of engaging arm  36 . Adjacent to opening portion  43 , an actuating projection  44  is provided which opposes inclined piece  37  of engaging arm  36 . Reference numeral  45  in FIG. 7 denotes the SIM card. A cut edge  46  formed at one corner of the card corresponds to the inclined orienting surface  15  of insulative body  2 . 
     In the card reader connector  34 , when cover  4  into which SIM card  45  is inserted is pivoted toward the closed position toward insulative body  2 , side walls  20  of cover  4  move between engaging arms  36  and deflect them, spreading them apart by slidingly contacting engaging projection piece  39  provided on short piece  38 . Then, when engaging projection piece  39  opposes opening portion  43  of side wall  20 , engaging arms  36  move back toward their undeflected state, so that engaging projection piece  39  is positioned within opening portion  43  to lock the cover in its closed position. By this action, the locking means is placed in its interengaging condition. 
     To remove the SIM card, the interengagement of locking means must be released by slidingly moving cover  4  against the resilience of leaf spring  35  in the direction of PUSH arrow  47 , i.e. toward the base edge of the cover. Since inclined piece  37  of engaging arm  36  opposes actuating projection  44  formed on side wall  20  of cover  4 , engaging arms  36  are deflected and spread apart in order to release the locking between engaging projection piece  39  of short piece  38  and opening portion  43  which accordingly releases the locking means when cover  4  is moved in the direction of its base edge. As in the first and the second embodiments, cover  4  is pivoted in the opening direction by the resilient restoration force of contact pieces  6  of terminals  5 , at which time the SIM card can be easily removed. 
     The preferred embodiments discussed above are not to be taken as limiting to the disclosed invention. The resilient members disclosed as springs  29  and  35  can be in the form of springs such as a coil springs or the like. They can also be replaced with an element generating a reaction force in response to compression such as rubber or the like. Furthermore, this resilient member may be provided either on the cover side as shown in the first and second embodiments, or on the insulative body side as shown in the third embodiment. 
     In the embodiments disclosed, cover  4  is made of metal, however it may be formed of other materials such as plastic or the like. Certain disclosed features do not have to be made strictly according to the above description. For example, opening portion  43  formed on side walls  20  of cover  4  in the third embodiment may be replaced with a recess portion. In the case of processing the sheet metal for example, recess portion  43 B may be formed by an embossing process or semi-perf process as shown in FIG.  9 ( b ). 
     In conclusion, according to the present invention, the locking means between the cover and the insulative body is engaged only by pivoting the cover toward the closed position, and the interengagement of the locking means is released only by slidingly moving or pushing the cover toward its base edge. Therefore such a card reader connector facilitates insertion and removal of a SIM card even if it is miniaturized. Furthermore, since the cover is provided with a recess for locking the cover in its closed position, there is no possibility of degrading the stiffness of the cover to obtain the high reliability and performance of the card reader connector. 
     Although the present invention has been illustrated and described with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments set out above but includes all possible embodiments which can be embodied within the scope encompassed including equivalents thereof with respect to the features set out in the appended claims.