Electrical connectors – Preformed panel circuit arrangement – e.g. – pcb – icm – dip,... – With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-19
2001-12-04
Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...
With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...
C439S086000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325637
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a card reader and in particular a card reader of reduced dimensions.
Currently one of the drivers in the radio telephone market is phone size and it is desirable to reduce phone size. Over recent years there has been considerable success in reducing the length and width of a radio telephone. Although the depth of radio telephone has been reduced, it has been found that it is more difficult to reduce phone size in this dimension compared to other dimensions. This may result in aesthetically unappealing phone shapes.
Accordingly it would be desirable to reduce the size of a radio telephone along its depth dimension.
A typical radio telephone has a vast number of components. In the smaller radio telephones such as the NOKIA 8810 (Trade Mark) the phone has been carefully optimised to minimise weight and size. The innovation which underlies the present application results in part from the inventor's realisation that the SIM card reader, which is ostensibly optimally designed for space reduction, is one part of the radio telephone in which, with ingenuity, volume could be saved.
FIGS. 1 and 2
illustrate a current SIM card reader
2
. The SIM card reader
2
receives a SIM card
50
that has a card substrate
52
on which there is a plurality of separate conductive contact portions
54
. The reader
2
has an interconnect
30
each of which connects a contact portion
54
of the SIM card to a radio telephone printed circuit board
10
via a connect
36
. The interconnect
30
has a cantilevered portion
34
which is firmly held between an upper substrate
40
and a lower substrate
20
of the card reader
2
and a curved contact portion
32
for connecting with the a contact portion
54
of the SIM card. The lower substrate
20
has a recess
22
position beneath the curved contact portion
32
of the interconnect
30
. This recess
22
has a clearance or depth
24
. The upper substrate
40
has a catch or clamp
42
which defines an abutting surface
44
which overhangs a parallel restraining portion
46
of the upper substrate
40
. The gap between the abutting surface
44
of the catch
42
and the restraining surface is slightly greater than the thickness of a SIM card.
The SIM card
52
is placed into the card reader
2
by lowering the card
52
so that it abuts with the curved contact portion
34
of the interconnect
30
and flexes the interconnect and then sliding the card so that it nestles underneath the abutting surface
44
. Releasing the card results in it being held between the upward force provided by the flexed interconnect
30
and the restraining reaction provided by the abutting surface
44
. When the card is in position the cantilevered portion
34
of the interconnect is flexed downward and the curved portion
32
moves into the recess
22
. The cantilevering of the interconnect
30
between the restraining portion
46
of the upper substrate and the lower substrate allows the resilient interconnect to return to its quiescent position standing proud of the restraining surface
46
when the card is removed. It is important that the SIM card can be easily removed and returned to the reader without any tools.
Further SIM card readers according to the prior art are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,609 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,552.
These SIM card readers also use resiliently flexible interconnects to connect to the SIM card. Such interconnects in SIM card readers are reliable and up until now there has been no motivation to adapt them.
The inventor identified that the resiliently flexible interconnect provides the dual function of connecting the SIM card to the PCB and providing a sprung contact holding the SIM card in position. He realized that one feature limiting the reduction of the size of the card reader was that enough room must be provided in the SIM card reader to allow the recess
22
to accept the resilient interconnect when it flexes downwards on inserting the SIM card. The inventor after having successfully identified where volume might be saved additionally realized how this saving may be effected by the novel application of known technology to provide both a low volume and reliable contact.
This known technology includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,125,310, U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,184 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,277 which describe replacing the standard friction type connector which connects a flat cable to a circuit with a new type of two-part connector. A plurality of projecting interconnection features is provided on a first part of the connector. These projecting features are pressed against similar features or metallic connecting pads on a second part of the connector to form an electrical connection. The two connector parts are then physically clamped together ensuring the electrical contact between the two circuits. U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,184 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,277, in addition, relates to the additive electroforming of the plurality of projecting interconnection features. The circuit has an insulating substrate from which raised copper conductive elements protrude. The surface of the copper conductive elements is covered with gold. The techniques for forming and controlling the shape of the plurality of projecting interconnecting features are developed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,561 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,205. These documents describe how pyramidal and conical projecting features may be formed. The described connectors are available commercially from Packard-Hughes Interconnect under the trademark of “Gold Dot”.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a card reader comprising:
a housing having a recess, having a substantially planar floor portion and wall portions,
sized to accommodate and thereby position the card;
resilient material within the recess and overlying at least portions of the recess floor,
a dielectric substrate within the recess and supported by the resilient material, having an upper surface substantially planar to the floor of the recess and from the recess floor wherein each contact element comprises a raised three dimensional metallic structure which extends substantially perpendicularly relative to the substrate upper surface, from a base portion at the substrate upper surface to a free end of reduced area; and
means for holding the card within the recess while pressing the card toward the recess floor whereby the resilient material is compressed and physical connection is made between the card and the contact elements.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a radio communications device having a card reader comprising:
a housing having a recess, having a substantially planar floor portion and wall portions,
sized to accommodate and thereby position the card;
resilient material within the recess and overlying at least portions of the recess floor;
a dielectric substrate within the recess and supported by the resilient material, having an upper surface substantially planar to the floor of the recess and having contact elements extending from the substrate upper surface away from the recess floor wherein each contact element comprises a raised three dimensional metallic structure which extends substantially perpendicularly relative to the substrate upper surface, from a base portion at the substrate upper surface to a free end of reduced area; and
means for holding the card within the recess while pressing the card toward the recess floor whereby the resilient material is compressed and physical connection is made between the card and the contact elements.
The card reader is preferably a SIM card reader but may, for example, be a reader for other smart cards. The radio communications device is preferably a radio telephone but may, for example, be some other wireless device.
The means for holding the SIM card may comprise a clamp by which the SIM card is urged into the recess or an attachable/detachable battery for the radio telephone by which the SIM card is urged into the recess when the battery i
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Nokia Mobile Phone Limited
Patel Tulsidas
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