Patent ID: 7350705

Claim:
A compact, robust, Europay/Mastercard/Visa (EMV) certified (#11687 0405 400 20 FIM), landing style contact smart card reader comprising: a top and bottom housing being of minimum size, with a tapered card insertion opening, a card receiving area, a plurality of contacts molded into a robust plastic base, located above said card receiving area with each of said contacts having a leg connected (soldered) to an integral printed circuit board that provides electrical connection to said printed circuit board, which is mounted in a carrier sandwiched between said top and bottom housings, which is engaged by a pivot that is characterized by: features on said pivot, that when contacted by said smart card's leading edge, cause said pivot to move said carrier and said printed circuit board with said contacts through apertures in said bottom housing into said card receiving area, landing on, and making electrical connection with, said smart card's respective contact pads, prior to the leading edge of said smart card activating a card seated switch via a lever, with said smart card then contacting a mechanical stop, completing the insertion of said smart card, wherein the reader's said contacts have a long cantilever spring design that locates the front row of said contacts in close proximity to the front of said card insertion opening, which allows the completed insertion of said smart card to be accomplished in a minimum depth of 21.5 mm, resulting in said top and bottom housings to be of minimum size, thereby enabling the reader to fit within enclosures requiring a small, 21.5 millimeter (mm) insertion depth robust smart card reader that is smaller than existing, stand alone, self contained, landing style contact smart card readers.