Patent ID: 7044802

Claim:
A framed card with an integrated Universal-Serial-Bus (USB) connector comprising: a circuit board having a top surface and a bottom surface substantially parallel to the top surface, the circuit board having edges around a perimeter of the top and bottom surfaces, the circuit board having wiring traces; an integrated circuit mounted on the bottom surface of the circuit board; a perimeter frame shaped to surround the circuit board on at least three of the edges of the circuit board, the perimeter frame having a height that is greater than a thickness of the circuit board between the top and bottom surfaces, the perimeter frame having a central opening approximately matching a shape of the bottom surface of the circuit board so that the circuit board can be inserted within the perimeter frame during assembly; an upper cover, attachable to the perimeter frame during assembly, for covering the central opening of the perimeter frame to encapsulate the top surface of the circuit board when assembled; a lower cover, attachable to the perimeter frame during assembly, for covering the central opening of the perimeter frame to encapsulate the bottom surface of the circuit board when assembled; and a USB connector, extending from the perimeter frame and electrically connected to the circuit board, having USB metal contacts for mating with corresponding USB metal contacts in a USB socket when the USB connector is inserted into the USB socket the USB connector being attached to the circuit board so that the USB metal contacts are electrically connected to the integrated circuit on the circuit board through the wiring traces on the circuit board; a plurality of dividers, substantially parallel to the USB metal contacts and formed between the USB metal contacts, each divider disposed between an adjacent pair of the USB metal contacts, the plurality of dividers rising above a level of the USB metal contacts when assembled; wherein the plurality of dividers are for filling in a gap between the USB connector and the USB socket when the USB connector is inserted into the USB socket, whereby the circuit board is encapsulated on the edges by the perimeter frame and is encapsulated on a top by the upper cover and on a bottom by the lower cover that attach to the perimeter frame.