Patent ID: 7249978

Claim:
A reduced-length, low-profile Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) device comprising: a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) including: a printed circuit board (PCB) including a relatively wide PCB handle section and a relatively narrow PCB plug section, the PCB having opposing first and second surfaces, a plurality of metal contacts disposed on the first surface of the PCB plug section, first and second integrated circuits (ICs) mounted on the second surface of the PCB, the first IC including means for processing USB signals, and a plurality of conductive structures mounted on the PCB for passing signals between the metal contacts and the first IC; and a housing attached to the PCBA and including a cover plate extending over both the PCB handle section and the PCB plug section, wherein the first IC is at least partially mounted on the PCB plug section of the PCB, wherein the cover plate includes a planar surface that is parallel to the PCB, and wherein a first thickness measured between the first surface of the PCB and the planar surface adjacent to the metal contacts is substantially equal to a second thickness between the first surface of the PCB and the planar surface adjacent to the IC.