Electricity: electrical systems and devices – Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical... – For electronic systems and devices
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-18
2001-11-27
Gaffin, Jeffrey (Department: 2841)
Electricity: electrical systems and devices
Housing or mounting assemblies with diverse electrical...
For electronic systems and devices
C361S752000, C361S796000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324064
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to an interface device for chip cards in standardized credit card format.
DE 43 10 517 C2 already discloses an interface device for chip cards which has a flat housing in the standardized PCMCIA format. This housing is inserted into a corresponding accommodation slot of a computer and has at its front end a plug-in socket which corresponds to a multiple contact row at the bottom of the accommodation slot in the computer. Extending from its rear end there is provided an accommodation channel for a chip card.
EP 0 704 813 A2 shows an interface device for chip cards of the same type, which is employed in particular in the case of portable computers.
The breadth of a conventional housing for PCMCIA apparatus is 54 mm and is exactly the same as the standardized breadth of a chip card in the credit card format. The accommodation channel for the chip card accordingly extends over the entire breadth of the housing of the interface device so that this housing is open on the two narrow sides. In order to still ensure a lateral guidance for the chip card, the housing is provided at its rear end with a widened collar which projects out of the accommodation slot of the computer and also forms a lateral rim of the insertion slot for the chip card. This collar is considered to be indispensable to the lateral guidance of the chip card because the breadth of the chip card is identical with that of the housing of a PCMCIA device.
The invention now provides an interface device for chip cards which enables a lateral guidance for the chip card even without a collar protruding from the accommodation slot. In the interface device according to the invention, the breadth of the housing in its edge region adjoining the plug-in socket is the same as that of the standardized chip card format. The accommodation channel for the chip card terminates already before the edge region of the housing adjoining the plug-in socket. At least at its rear end the housing is closed on the sides and has a breadth there which exceeds that of the chip card format by up to 0.5 mm. That portion of the housing of the interface device which is inserted in the accommodation slot also comprises at least the major portion of the rear end closed on the sides. The width of the accommodation channel at the rear end of the housing is about the same as the breadth of the chip card format. The invention is based on the idea that the standard breadth of the PCMCIA housing needs to be given only in the vicinity of the plug-in socket while the accommodation slot has an increased width in the region of its insertion opening to provide on the one hand for a facilitated insertion of the PCMCIA housing and on the other hand to allow the attachment of spring contacts which are fitted on the narrow sides of the accommodation slot and intended to come into contact with the metallic housing of the PCMCIA apparatus so as to establish a ground connection between the computer and the housing. Although the width of the accommodation slot in this region only slightly exceeds the breadth of the standardized credit card format, this difference is sufficient to accommodate thin side walls of the housing which are able to provide for perfect lateral guidance of a chip card. The side walls of the housing may have a thickness of up to 0.25 mm in this area, i.e. a thickness which is not less than in conventional housing designs of PCMCIA apparatus, so that the side walls may be formed integrally with the main surfaces. It is thus not necessary for separate lateral wall parts to be attached to the narrow sides of the housing, so that an additional layer of material is avoided, which could result in a local increase in the wall thickness.
It would be desirable to close the accommodation channel for the chip card on the sides over its entire length so as to firstly prevent any foreign bodies from penetrating and secondly to avoid any edges or steps on the side faces which might get interlocked with the spring contacts. It is however not possible to extend the side walls provided in accordance with the invention at the rear end of the housing as far as up to the region of the plug-in socket because the accommodation slot is not sufficiently wide in that region.
The measure of the invention according to which the accommodation channel terminates already before the edge region of the housing adjoining the plug-in socket makes it possible however to close the lateral intermediate region of the housing by thin edge strips the wall thickness of which may amount to about half the wall thickness of the side walls in the region of the rear end of the housing, that is, about 0.1 to 0.15 mm. Since the edge strips, owing to the reduced depth of the accommodation slot, need not be extended as far as up to the plug-in socket, the accommodation channel has a width sufficient to accommodate the edge strips in the region of their front ends.
The side walls or lateral edge strips of the housing are preferably attached not to the narrow sides, but rather to the main surfaces of the housing, more particularly to the lateral longitudinal edges of the main surfaces of the housing which are set off from the central region of the main surfaces by a step, thus providing sufficient room for accommodating a double thickness of material.
A special advantage of the configuration of the interface device in accordance with the invention resides in that in contrast to a housing designed to have open sides, it ensures a perfect contact at the side walls by means of the spring contacts provided in the accommodation slot. The side walls may in this way also provide for the lateral guidance of the housing in the accommodation slot.
In order to perfect the lateral guidance of the chip card at its front end in the accommodation channel so that its contact surfaces are precisely aligned with the contacts of the interface device, in the preferred embodiment the accommodation channel has rounded guide surfaces at its front end adjoining the edge region of the housing, which correspond to the rounded corners of the credit card format, or rectangular guide surfaces which have an analogous guiding function.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5375037 (1994-12-01), Le Roux
patent: 6069795 (2000-05-01), Klatt et al.
patent: 6097605 (2000-08-01), Klatt et al.
patent: 43 10517 C2 (1994-10-01), None
patent: 195 29 949 A1 (1996-03-01), None
patent: 296 07 253 U1 (1996-08-01), None
patent: 0 552 078 A1 (1993-01-01), None
patent: 0 532 166 A (1993-03-01), None
patent: 0 704 813 A (1996-04-01), None
patent: 03 141486 (1991-06-01), None
Friedman Stuart J.
Gaffin Jeffrey
Nixon & Peabody LLP
SCM Microsystems GmbH
Vu Phuong T.
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