Registers – Coded record sensors – Particular sensor structure
Patent
1995-11-14
1998-03-10
Hajec, Donald T.
Registers
Coded record sensors
Particular sensor structure
235492, 235486, 235482, 439493, 439152, G06K 706, G06K 700, G06K 1906, H01R 1362
Patent
active
057264325
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a contacting system in particular for cards containing a chip, e.g. chip cards or SIM-cards.
2. Description of Related Arts
Chip card contacting systems (which are also simply called chip card readers) are known in many forms; attention is drawn for instance to U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,897, EP 0 234 654 and FR 86 02 401. The present invention intends in particular to provide a contacting system which is extremely inexpensive and which is suitable for realizing component groups which are particularly flat as is required for mobile telephones. Moreover, the invention has the object to arrange larger tolerances for the distance in the case of sandwich designs of the chip card reader.
Particularly in the area of PCM mobile telephones, there is a fast increasing need for contacting apparatus for chip cards or the like. This means that there is an increasing desire for low-cost contacting systems so that the costs of the apparatus using the contacting system remain favourable.
As a rule, the low cost CCAD is similar to the classic direct connector but the materials and methods used therefore have too high cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a first aspect of the invention a flexible circuit board (flex print) is used for realizing the contact elements of a reader, for instance, a chip card reader. Inasmuch as the flexible circuit board is, generally speaking, a foil or film, the reader created in this manner can also be referred to as a "foil connector". In the contact area a cover foil of the flexible circuit board is interrupted. Preferably, a Cu conductor path of the flexible circuit board is deformed into a cusp and is coated with an appropriate noble metal. The contacting force is provided by a spring element which is preferably of single piece or integral design. Said contacting force will only be applied if the card is in a reading position in said contacting apparatus.
By using the features of the invention, the following will result:
Contact resistances due to contact springs will not exist.
If said flexible circuit board or foils are used and are coated with metal on both sides, then a chip adjacent said foil is shielded over its surface.
As is customary, contacting can occur at the termination side of the foil. In SMT (surface mounted technology) groups of components only the foil connector needs to be exposed to the heat of soldering.
Poliflexfoils can also be directly soldered.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the inventive principle can also be used for readers designed for transverse insertion of the card.
Further, readers with any desirable direction of insertion can be realized in accordance with a second and third aspect of the invention. For this purpose the flexible circuit board comprises preferably four contact fields, each two at the upper side and at the bottom side of the card. Moreover, this feature concerns only the contact less card. Also, a minimum height for the foil reader can be realized.
By special design of a pressure applying spring element, a larger balance of the height for making contact can be realized. This feature is particularly decisive, if the contacting system or unit is formed by two groups of components, the distance of which has larger tolerances. An example is the arrangement of the reader between the housing of the telephone and the battery pack of the telephone.
Further aspects of the present invention will be seen from the following description. Also, further advantages, objects and details of the invention can be gathered from the description of embodiments of the invention in connection with the drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a part of a contacting system of the invention of FIG. 2 in accordance with a first aspect of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the contacting system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a detail of the contacting system of FIGS. 1 and 2;
FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of a flexible circui
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Amphenol-Tuchel Electronics GmbH
Hajec Donald T.
Rodriguez Douglas X.
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