Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a holder for a card. In particular, it relates to an arrangement for retaining and releasing a data card. 
     Data cards take various forms and those used, for example, in cellular devices, may include passive memory cards (ie essentially a ROM), or an active processor card (ie capable of processing information internally within the card). An example of the latter is a smart card, which includes the memory implemented as an integrated circuit, commonly referred to as a “chip”, in which information is stored. The smart card may comprise a subscriber identity module (SIM). Also, in addition to the subscriber identity information, such as a subscriber telephone number, and personal identification number (PIN), the smart card may store for example, call charge information (ie a charge meter), a telephone number index, or false pin entries. 
     SIM cards are currently available in two sizes. The functionality of the SIM is the same for each, it is essentially that the physical dimensions are different. One is a credit card size SIM, and the other is a plug in SIM about 15 mm by 20 mm. 
     Other active processor cards include expansion cards which typically provide a communication device with additional functions, such as a modem function, or provide a driver for an external device (for example video cards, printer cards). 
     One type of expansion card is a PCMCIA card (personal computer memory card international association). This card, and the device to which it is to be connected, are provided with connectors complying with the PCMCIA standard. The connector of the electronic (communication) device is a male connector (ie it has connector pins) and the card connector is a female connector (ie it has conductor barrels). When the PCMCIA card is connected with the PCMCIA connection of the electronic device, an electric coupling is formed between the connector pins and their corresponding conductor sockets. The PCMCIA standard defines the usual functions for each connector pin and corresponding conductor socket. Consequently, for example in an application where the PCMCIA connection is implemented in a personal computer, each data line in the data bus of the computer is connected to one connector pin in the PCMCIA. Further, at least some of the address and control lines are forward to the connector. 
     The main faces of the PCMCIA cards are of similar size to a credit card (85.6 mm by 54 mm), but the thickness may be 3.3 mm (type I), 5.0 mm (type II) or 10.5 mm (type III). Essentially, the PCMCIA cards are connected with an electronic device as an {fraction (8/16)} bit I/O connection or memory. The card complying with the PCMCIA standard has a memory area which may be read by the electronic device and contains information for identifying the card (ie an information member data file—card information member, CIS). 
     Mobile station applications have been developed, particularly in connection with portable data processors (laptop PCs, hand held communication devices such as palm top PCs etc), in which at least the transmitter/receiver unit of the mobile station is arranged in PCMCIA standard card form. One such communication device is Nokia&#39;s cellular card phone. This comprises a micro-controller (MCU) for controlling the operation of the card. The microcontroller comprises, for example, a processor, a memory (RAM, ROM), and input output lines for connecting the microcontroller with the other electronics of the card. Further, an external memory, such as a SIM, can be connected to the micro-controller via an integral SIM card reader in the transceiver unit. The card is an autonomous cellular transceiver and comprises all the components which would be found in the transceiver of a conventional radio telephone. 
     Traditional data card holders include compartments having their full face open to the user, and slots into which the card is inserted longitudinally. 
     Compartments with their full face open to the user provide easy access to the card when it needs to be removed, and avoid the need to a complicated ejector. However, with the card removed, the open face of the card reader exposes components of the electronic apparatus to outside elements, such as dust and moisture. Further it restricts the component layout possibilities of the electronic device of which the holder forms a part, as a space the size of the user&#39;s finger must always be accessible to the user. 
     Generally, in slot type card holders a portion of the card is made accessible to the user so that he can grip the card to remove it from the slot. However, again miniaturisation of the device is restricted. WO/13952 shows a radio with one such design. This radio has a card slot in its radio portion. The slot is closed by a battery portion of the radio, which also has a groove for receiving the part of the card which protrudes from the slot for the user to grip. Removal of the card is a two stage action. Firstly, the battery portion is removed from the radio portion, and secondly the user grips the protruding part of the card and pulls it out of the slot. 
     Another slot type data card holder has a partial open face at one end enough for the users finger to be inserted to pull the card out. An example of this can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,234. 
     Other designs of card holder avoid the need for accessibility of the card by the user when in its holder, by providing an ejector mechanism. For example, the apparatus in GB 22 51 505 is provided with a chip card reader ejector knob which the user slides to eject the card from the chip card reader. This card slot is protected from external elements by the battery pack, and access to the card is provided by a multistage action. Furthermore, the ejector mechanism increases the depth of the holder. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention there is provided a data card holder comprising a housing defining an aperture for receiving a card; and a cover movable with respect to the housing between a closed position in which it prevents removal of the card from the housing, and an open position in which it allows removal of the card from the housing wherein the holder further comprises an ejector coupled to the cover for ejecting the card from the housing when the cover is moved to the open position. 
     Such a data card holder has a compact design. Further, the coupling of the ejector and cover simplifies removal of the card from the aperture, as the card is accessible by the single action of opening the cover. These advantages are further enhanced when the ejector and cover are directly connected. 
     Preferably, the ejector comprises a stop for limiting the longitudinal movement of the card when the cover is in the closed position. Such a stop enables the card to be positively located. Also, along with the cover, this stop maintains the card in the correct position, and provides shock absorption if the holder is knocked or dropped. 
     Desirably, the holder comprises a component which is multifunctional. For example, the stop may also provide the functions of ejecting the card and/or shock absorption and/or a link with the cover. This reduces the number of components required in the holder and consequently makes the holder easier to assemble, smaller, cheaper and more durable. 
     Preferably, the cover is pivotally linked to the housing, as this can reduce the size of the holder further. This is especially true when the pivot point is near the ejector. 
     Further reduction in the number of parts required is provided if the cover is resiliently biased towards the closed position, as this avoids the need for catches etc to maintain the cover in the closed position. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an interface for a communication device comprising a holder of the present invention and a connector for the transfer of data between the card and the communication device. Preferably the connector is fixed to the housing to improve durability. 
     According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a communication device comprising such an interface. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the communication device comprises a user interface, and is arranged to receive an RF card and transfer data between the RF card and the user interface. This device can be used, for example, in different radio systems by changing the RF card. 
     Preferably, the cover forms part of the cover of the interface or communication device, as this improves compactness further. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which; 
     FIG. 1 shows removal of a card from a card holder according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows removal of a card from a card holder according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 shows a SIM card in a SIM card reader according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 a  is a longitudinal section of an RF card holder showing ejection of the card; 
     FIG. 4 b  shows an RF card holder arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 5 a  and  5   b  illustrate the implementation of a card holder for a SIM card in an RF card; 
     FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section of a radio telephone comprising the RF card of FIG. 4; and 
     FIG. 7 shows front and rear perspective views of a radio telephone housing comprising the RF card holder of FIG.  4  and an RF card. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 shows a card holder  10  according to an embodiment of the present invention and a card  11 . The card holder comprises a housing with a card slot  12 . Walls  13  and  14  of the slot  12  are separated by a gap  15 , and wall  14  acts as a card support surface along which the card  11  is slid when being inserted or removed from the slot  12 . The holder also comprises a unitary member  16 , one portion of which provides a cover  17  for card slot  11 , and another portion of which  18  provides card ejection. The ejector portion  18  extends into the gap  15  between the walls  13 ,  14 . In this embodiment, the width of the ejector  18  is narrower than the gap  15  by an amount equivalent to that required to protrude from the slot  12  when the card  11  is to be removed. 
     Insertion of the card into the holder is possible when the cover  17  is in its open position, ie when it uncovers the slot  12  sufficiently for the end of the card  11  to be inserted in the slot  12 . The card  11  is slid into the holder  10 , and the cover  17  moved into its closed position, ie the position at which it closes the slot  12 . As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the cover  17  forms part of the unitary member  16  of which the ejector  18  also forms a part, so that movement of the cover  17  results in the corresponding movement of the ejector  18 . Thus, when the cover is closed, ejector  18  is inserted into the front end of the gap  15  as shown in FIG. 1 a,  and acts as a stop preventing the card from travelling further forward into the holder  10 . The unitary member is dimensioned so that the card  11  fits snugly between the ejector  18  and the cover  17 . Consequently, abrupt movement of the holder is dampened and damage to the face of the card etc is prevented. 
     Removal of the card is achieved by sliding the cover  17  in the longitudinal direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1 b,  until ejector  18  abuts the rear end of gap  15 , and then moving the cover  17  in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 c  until it reaches its open position. The longitudinal sliding action causes the ejector  18  to abut the end of the card  11  and forward the card out of the end of the slot  12  sufficiently for the user to grip it for complete removal from the holder  10 . 
     A person skilled in the art will realise that a number of different mechanical arrangements can be used to releasably connect the unitary member  16  from the main housing of the holder  10  and to enable the unitary member  16  to be slid with respect to this main housing. For example appropriately shaped grooves may be provided on the housing and corresponding projections may be provided on the unitary member  16 . 
     FIG. 2 illustrates an alternative data card holder to that shown in FIG.  1 . The main housing of the holder is similar to that shown in FIG. 1, but the holder of this embodiment has a preferred unitary member which is pivotally connected to the main housing. 
     In FIG. 2, the card holder  20  comprises a card slot  22  for receiving a data card  21 . Again the housing comprises walls  23  and  24 , which are separated by a gap  25 , and the wall  24  acts as a card support surface, along which the card is slid when being inserted or removed from the slot. A unitary member  26  again has one portion which provides a cover  27  for the slot  22  and a portion  28  for providing card ejection. Likewise, this card ejector  28  extends into the gap  25  between the walls  23  and  24 . In this embodiment, the unitary member  26  is pivotally mounted about the ejector  28 . Consequently, the width of the gap can be smaller than that required in the embodiment shown in FIG.  1 . 
     Insertion of the card in the holder  20  is possible when the cover  27  is in its open position, ie when the unitary member  26  has been rotated about the pivotal point so that the cover  27  clears the slot  22  sufficiently for the card  21  to be inserted. The card is slid along wall  24  into the holder. In this embodiment, the pivotal point of the member  26  is positioned such that the card abuts the end of the ejector  28  when it is only partially inserted and the continued insertion of the card into the holder causes the unitary member  26  to rotate anti-clockwise about the pivot point. The unitary member  26  continues to be rotated until it reaches its closed position, ie when it closes the slot  22 . 
     The pivotal link may be provided in a number of ways, an example of which is shown in FIG.  4  and discussed below. Further, maintaining the cover in the closed position may be effected using a latch or other similar mechanism. However, preferably, the unitary member  26  is resiliently biased towards the closed position as this further simplifies the member of the holder. Removal of the card is achieved by rotating the cover  27  clockwise which, in turn, causes the ejector  18  to push the card out of the slot  22 . The cover  27  is rotated until the card protrudes out of the end of the slot sufficiently for the user to grip it for complete removal. 
     FIG. 3 shows the perspective view of a SIM card reader  30  for a small size (plug in) SIM card  21 . This SIM card reader comprises a card holder  20  with a longitudinal section like that shown in FIG.  2 . The top face of the card slot comprises a PCB  33  bearing electronics to carry out the card reading. It also comprises a SIM connector, preferably comprising flexible connector lugs  31  which are connected to the card reading circuitry, and make electrical contact with contact on the respective surface of the SIM card when the card is positioned in the holder  20 . 
     Clearly, this card reader could be modified for other memory cards such as MMC cards, for example. It is particularly suited to those cards with contacts on their full face. In contrast, FIG. 4 a  is a longitudinal section of a card holder which is suited to cards with end contacts. In this embodiment, the holder is an RF card holder. The RF card  41  has a first portion  41   a  at the end of which PCMCIA connectors are situated, and a second portion  41   b,  which is thicker than the first, and may for example hold large SMD components, an integral antenna, and a connector to an external antenna. (Another example of an RF card is described with reference to FIGS. 5 a  and  5   b ). The card holder slot is shaped to received this RF card, connector end first. As can be seen in FIG. 4 a,  the unitary member  46  is pivotally connected to the main housing such that when the card is inserted the front edge  41   c  of the wide portion  41   b  of the RF card  41  abuts the ejector portion  48  of the unitary member and when the cover  47  is moved to its open position, the ejector rotates clockwise, applying increasing pressure to the wide portion of the RF card  41  so that a sufficient portion of the card is pushed out of the holder for the user to grip and totally remove the card from the holder. 
     FIG. 4 b  shows a perspective view of an RF card holder  40  comprising a main housing and a unitary member  46 . The unitary member  46  comprises a cover  47 , claw shaped ejector  48  and shaft  49   a , whilst the housing has a corresponding shaft holder  49   b . The shaft  49   a  and shaft holder  49   b  together provide a pivotal linkage between the unitary member and the housing, the shaft  49   a  extending from the ejector  48 . A ramp  48   a  couples the ejector and cover and serves to push the card upwards in the slot for a tight fit, and also strengthens the ejector. The distance between the card abutment face of the ejector  48  and the opposing face of the cover  47  is chosen close to the length of the wider portion  41   b  of the RF card so that the card fits snugly between. Consequently, the ejector  48  also functions as a shock absorber. 
     The RF card holder of the embodiment also comprises an external antenna  42 . This can be arranged so that when the RF card is located in the RF card slot, the end of the antenna is in electrical contact with the external antenna connector of the RF card. 
     FIG. 5 a  shows an RF card comprising a SIM card reader  51 . This SIM card reader may be similar to that shown in FIG. 3, for example. Further, this RF card itself may be inserted into an RF card holder such as that shown in FIG. 4 with its connector end  52  inserted first. 
     FIG. 5 b  shows the RF card of FIG. 5 a  in more detail. It comprises 5 parts: a front cover made up of a front metal plate (part of the narrower portion  41   a ), a plastic end module including an antenna insert (thicker part  41   b ), a PCB module and a unitary member  46  comprising an ejector  48  and cover  47 , and a rear cover made up of a rear metal plate. 
     The assembly of this card is simple as the 5 components merely click together, and the assembly is along the z axis only. Firstly, the PCB is installed into the plastic end part and then this combination is installed into the front metal plate, to complete the front cover. Finally, this front cover is connected to the rear cover. 
     The PCB layout of this card is as follows. SMD capacitors are positioned in the thicker region  41   b  of the card. An antenna insert  54  also resides in this thicker region  41   b,  and its RF connection is effected by a metal spring on the PCB. A ground connection is also provided for an optional external antenna by means of another similar spring. 
     The card comprises an RF subsystem  55 , baseband subsystem  57 , and RF shielding in the form of conductive foam walls  56 . These walls are moulded directly to the inner surfaces of the front and rear metal covers. Ideally local RF shielding to the different RF subsections is achieved using the same shielding technique. Alternatively open topped metal shields may be provided which are connected to the front and rear metal covers using spring-like metal joints. Both of these alternatives enable the provision of a thin RF card. 
     As mentioned above, the SIM card reader  51  may be similar to that shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a communication device  61  comprising an RF card holder as described with reference to FIG.  4 . In this embodiment, the cover  67  forms part of the outer housing of the communication device. This communication device may, for example, be a radio telephone, a lap top PC, a hand held device such as a palm top PC, WLAN mobile or fixed part etc. 
     FIG. 7 shows perspective views of a mobile phone incorporating an RF card  71  in more detail. As can be seen, the housing of the communication device comprises three parts, a front cover  72 , and a rear part comprising a main rear portion  73 , and a unitary member  74  comprising the RF card slot cover, card ejector and a shaft. The shaft, together with corresponding shaft supports on the rear housing  73 , provides a pivotal link between these rear parts. 
     In this embodiment the cover  74  has a recessed portion with a surface  75  which is in contact with the inside surface  76  of the phone&#39;s front cover  72  when the cover  74  is in its closed position. To release the cover from its closed position, the cover  74  is pushed inwards, so that the surface  75  no longer contacts the inside surface  76  of the front cover  72 , and then rotated clockwise. This design is advantageous as it provides an improved release of the card from the holder for the following reason. The pushing inwards of the cover  74  causes the card to push against the ejector which in turn pivots anticlockwise. This causes an increased exertion of the clockwise rotational force acting on the ejector when the cover  74  is moved into its open position. 
     As FIG. 7 illustrates, the present invention reduces the number of components required in a card holder, and thus simplifies the design of an electronic device comprising such a holder. In this embodiment, manufacturing is also simplified not only because of the reduced number of components, but also because they are all assembled along the z axis. For example the shaft may be a simple push fit into the shaft holder of the main rear body portion  73 . 
     The present invention includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalisation thereof irrespective of whether or not it relates to the claimed invention or mitigates any or all of the problems addressed. 
     In view of the foregoing description it would be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

Technology Category: 3