Registers – Records – Conductive
Patent
1997-02-13
1999-06-01
Gross, Anita Pellman
Registers
Records
Conductive
235441, 235482, 235483, 235486, G06K 700, G06K 1300
Patent
active
059090251
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention is based on a reader for chip cards according to the preamble of claim 1.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,630 a reader of this kind has become known in which the frame is held in a stable position by means of the contact lead-ins introduced into the frame from mutually opposing sides. In this known chip card reader, the chip card impacts against the tang of a skid upon insertion into the insertion slot and entrains it upon further insertion, so that the skid slides along a ramp and thus is lifted so that the conductors of the chip will rest against the contacts. The disadvantage of the known reader consists in its complicated design, and in particular, the contact module must be connected with a source of electric power by means of a flexible line, so that the device has an increased susceptibility to interference.
In addition, a reader for chip cards with fixed contacts is known, but where the contacts scrape along the card along the entire insertion length and thus it is used only in special cases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is based on the problem of creating a reader for chip cards in which the scraping of the contacts across the card and in particular the chip is prevented during insertion of the card.
This problem is solved by a reader for chip cards with the properties presented in claim 1.
By means of this invention, a reader for chip cards is created in which the electrical contact is not established by the approach of the card to the contacts due to lateral deflection of a linearly moving skid by means of a ramp, but rather conversely, by pivoting the contacts in the direction on the card, while the contact frame holding the contacts in their opposing position is not held in a stable, fixed position in the contact lead-ins, but rather is held in an elastically yielding manner, so that, in addition to performing their assigned electrical function, these lead-ins form an elastic support of the frame and thus of the contacts stabilized in their opposing position. A displacement of the contacts on the card does not occur, i.e., the contact of the contacts against the card and/or the microchip, takes place directly before reaching the end position of the card. In this case, another significant advantage is that the actuator element held on torsion spring arms likewise performs two functions, namely to press down the frame holding the contacts upon insertion of the chip card, and secondly, the fixed (elastic) clamping of the chip card in its insertion position. Consequently, the reader has an exceptionally simple design consisting of only a few parts and this will simplify its assembly.
One significant advantage of the invented microchip reader is also that, because of the parallel arrangement of the contact lead-ins from the side of the insertion slot, a "back-engaging" of the contacts is avoided, thus preventing bending of the contacts and consequent damage to the structural and operational integrity of the device. It is important to note that this configuration enables electrical attachment of the contacts in any manner that is conducive to the operation of the device, including insulation displacement connection, press-in technology, SMD technology or soldering.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Additional details of the invention characterized in the claims will be explained on the basis of the attached figures. We have:
FIG. 1 a view of the contact device of a chip card reader according to the invention;
FIG. 2 a cross section along A--A through FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 a cross section along B--B through FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 a cross section along C--C through FIG. 1; and
FIG. 5 a view of the limit switch of the chip card reader.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The reader for chip cards presented in the figures consists of a housing 3 with an insertion slot 1 for the chip card 2 and of a number of pairs of contacts 6, 7 corresponding to the number of read tracks; these contacts are connected by means of contact lead-ins 4
REFERENCES:
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patent: 4839509 (1989-06-01), Yasuma et al.
patent: 4932889 (1990-06-01), Bleier et al.
patent: 4940418 (1990-07-01), Shimizu et al.
patent: 4984994 (1991-01-01), Yamamoto
patent: 5012078 (1991-04-01), Pernet
patent: 5198645 (1993-03-01), Martin et al.
patent: 5225653 (1993-07-01), Martin et al.
patent: 5286957 (1994-02-01), Defrasne
patent: 5369259 (1994-11-01), Bleier et al.
Lotz Reinhard
Schmitt Jochen
Gross Anita Pellman
Rodriguez Douglas X.
Thomas & Betts Corporation
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